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Every 7:20am, Duncan’s alarm began blaring out hard drums and guitar to shake him from his sleep. H e always groaned loudly and snoozed the alarm for ten more minutes, before he would eventually groan into the pillow again and roll himself into sitting up.
The green haired boy moved robotically through his “morning routine.” He pulled on his sweatpants, bunched up at the foot of the bed, and the first two socks he saw on the floor. Then he slipped into his converse, still untied, and grabbed a shirt on his way to the bathroom.
He brushed his teeth quickly and splashed warm water on his face (“That is not washing your face,” Alejandro had once remarked in abject horror, which had earned only a dismissive snort) before hurrying out to the kitchen at exactly 7:43.
Dj had been up since 6:30, and it showed. He beamed at his friend, already sipping from his tumbler of coffee. He had teal scrubs on under a white hoodie, matching perfectly with his durag. A slice of toast with peanut butter was waiting on the table and Duncan couldn’t help but smile back.
“You might want a jacket,” Dj suggested, watching fondly as Duncan tripped around the kitchen to tie his shoes and pick up his breakfast at the same time. “It’s getting a little cold out.”
“I’ll vbe fthine,” Duncan said back, mouth full of peanut butter. “‘re you ready thto go?”
“Are you?” Dj shot back with a chuckle.
Duncan stuck his middle finger up wordlessly as he grabbed his wallet from the table.
Their apartment was only one building away from Dj’s class, and leaving right on schedule at 7:45, the two young men had about ten extra minutes to kill just walking.
“God, my legs hurt,” Duncan complained, grabbing Dj’s cup from his hands and taking a sip. Dj liked to add vanilla creamer to his coffee, and always used almond milk, but Duncan didn’t mind it in small amounts. “Me and Alejandro were out till like, two in the morning skating. This park in the city had the coolest views, we were talking about takin’ everyone up there sometime.”
“Sounds cool,” Dj agreed, though he elbowed the shorter man affectionately. “You shoulda slept in if you were up so late, y’know. I can get to class alone.”
“Bullshit,” Duncan quickly scoffed. “I wake up early to spite my ex girlfriend.”
Dj rolled his eyes, giving only a sarcastic hum as he took his coffee back.
Duncan suddenly felt very awake and very much like he’d chosen the wrong dialogue option in a video game. Heat rushed to the back of his neck, ebbing away at the morning chill (damn, Dj had been right about needing a jacket), and he coughed awkwardly.
“And, y’know, of course I gotta walk my boy to class,” he added, tossing his shoulder into Dj’s. He smiled up at his handsome friend, flushed to his cheeks now. This fucking guy. “Can’t sleep through something so important.”
They reached a crosswalk and Dj had to throw an arm out in front of Duncan to make sure he looked both ways. He took this time to admire Duncan, even as he grouchily mumbled that you don’t have to do that all the time Deej there aren’t even any cars-
“You’re definitely cold, huh?” Dj interrupted with a light chuckle. “Your cheeks are all red.”
“Fuck you,” the words fell from Duncan’s mouth easily, no venom behind them. “I’m fine.”
Dj wasn’t listening as he pulled his backpack around to the front, extracting a plain lilac sweatshirt and handing it to Duncan lazily.
“Here, I knew you’d be cold.”
“This isn’t really my color,” Duncan replied, turning the sweater over in his hands a few times and not looking up at Dj. “What’s it, laundry day or something?”
“Put it on, jackass,” Dj reprimanded, grinning as Duncan was already pulling it over his head and mumbling curses to himself. “Oh no, c’mon, definitely your color.”
“Shut up, Deej,” he let the nickname slip again, and he idly rotated his lip piercing with his tongue. The blush high on his cheeks went unmentioned.
They reached the veterinary building too quickly, and Duncan suddenly plunged his hand into his pants pocket.
“Hang on, almost forgot,” he sighed, pulling out two granola bars and a baggie of fruit snacks. “I put these in there last night. Just as a snack between classes, I know you’ve got a longer day today and–“
Dj leaned down and kissed Duncan’s cheek, taking the snacks and slipping them into his backpack while Duncan stood there, dumbfounded.
“Thanks, Duncan,” Dj tried to sound casual as he took a step backward towards the door. “See you later?”
Duncan finally seemed to snap out of it, a grin pulling at his lips despite himself. He nodded quickly, running a hand through his hair to try and hide his face.
“Yeah, uh, deuces.”
-
“You said deuces?” Gwen repeated loudly, bursting into a cackle as Duncan dropped his head onto the diner table. “Oh, man, you are dumb!”
“Give me a break, okay, it’s early,” Duncan whined, muffled by his arms.
Gwen and Zoey had an art class at 9:00, and would occasionally invite Duncan to get coffee with them before class. Whether or not he’d had coffee at home, he still never denied the invitation.
“Why didn’t you kiss him back?!” Zoey asked frustratedly, sipping her highly caffeinated drink.
“I didn’t know I liked him, and could you both quit yelling?” He griped, sitting up with a glare.
“Duncan, you hate mornings,” Gwen emphasized, lowering their voice with a huff. “Courtney could barely get you up early. But a month after living with Dj, you’re up before eight am every day! That’s lovesick behavior, Duncan.”
“Groooooooss,” he groaned, hiding his face in his hands. The sleeves of dj’s sweatshirt were too long on him, and he sighed at the scent of Dj’s laundry detergent. He thought of how Dj made him coffee every morning and the sound of his laughter and figured he may have had feelings for his roommate for longer than he realized. “God damnit.”
A beat of silence passed as he came to terms with his realization, twisting his lip piercing.
“D’you think he likes me back?” he asked, squinting suspiciously at his friends.
The redhead’s eyes widened comically, and she shared a look with Gwen that Duncan couldn’t name. It pissed him off.
“Okay, what-?”
“He literally kissed you first!” Zoey cried suddenly, giggling loudly and startling the two others at the table and those nearby. She gasped suddenly and covered her mouth, whispering through her fingers. “Sorry!”
“Can’t take you anywhere,” Gwen mumbled, stretching an arm around Zoey’s shoulders and pulling her into a rough, good natured hug. They both giggled and Duncan couldn’t help but roll his eyes again. “Duncan, I’n gonna call you tonight, and if you haven’t started dating Dj by then I’m taking matters into my own hands.”
Duncan scoffed, shaking his head as the two of them stood to get to class.
“And how would you do that?” he asked.
“Oh, simple,” they replied airily, shooting him a teasing smile. “I’ll tell Geoff.”
-
“Duncan!” Dj exclaimed, eyebrows raising in surprise as he saw his roommate waiting outside the building at 9:15. Still wearing the purple sweater, too. “Hey, I thought you’d head back-“
Duncan, grinning wildly, hurried to Dj so quickly that the taller man couldn’t help but worry for a frantic half second that something was wrong. Before he could get a word out, Duncan reached up and pulled him down into a kiss. A proper one, Duncan smiling against Dj’s lips as their noses bumped. Dj kissed back without hesitation, humming contently as he held Duncan close by the side of the sweatshirt.
They only finally stopped so Dj could catch his breath, though both of them still smiled like idiots.
“I hate mornings,” Duncan stated dumbly.
“I know.”
“But I like when we walk to class,” he added slowly. “And I like that you knew I’d need this stupid sweater.”
Dj shrugged at that, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully.
“You knew I’d need a snack between classes,” Dj reminded him, eyes shining as he grinned. “I guess we spend too much time together.”
“Eh, who cares,” Duncan snarked, rubbing his thumb over Dj’s cheek as he stepped back. If he was on his toes a bit to reach Dj’s face, that was his business only. “Can I walk you to your next class?”
“Honestly, I wish you’d go home and sleep,” Dj chastised, grabbing Duncan’s head and playfully shoving at him. “But that won’t stop you, will it?”
“‘Course not.”
Duncan wasn’t sure if he wanted to shove at Dj again or pull him into another kiss, uncomfortable with the energy building in his chest and fingers. Dj seemed to sense this even through his grin, and reached out to link their fingers together.
“C’mon, then,” Dj tugged Duncan along with him. He followed easily, letting out a shaky laugh as he exhaled. Dj furrowed his brows again. “You good?”
“Yeah,” he huffed, squeezing the hand in his. “Yeah, I’m just, y’know, excited to walk my brofriend to class.”
“What the hell did you just say?”
“Nothin.”
“Is that you soft-launch asking me out?”
“Could it be?”
“Only because it’s early. You’ll definitely have to do better than that later,” Dj raised a coy eyebrow.
Duncan smiled like Dj had never seen.
“Deal.”