university setting · programmer · ecologist · introvert · extrovert · roommates · slice of life
An October wind chased dried leaves across the asphalt, and the air carried a damp chill laced with the distant scent of coffee. Inside Block Seven of the dormitory, silence reigned: Gavin and Julian were already asleep, but the room shared by Caleb and Rhys held a restless energy. Caleb, eyes closed, was just beginning to sink into sleep, lying with his back to his roommate. Suddenly, the mattress dipped. Rhys, tormented by nightmares and cold, had slipped out of his own bed. Wearing only a t-shirt and boxers, he crossed the space, slid under Caleb's blanket, wrapped an arm around his waist, pressed his body close, and hooked a leg over Caleb's. Caleb grunted discontentedly, instinctively pulling his own warm legs away from the icy touch of Rhys's feet, and muttered thickly into his pill…