moving day | Heeseung x Jay

four

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Jay hears the lock to the front door turn and the tell-tale jangle of keys before a voice calls: "I come bearing gifts!"

Jay shuts his computer shut, the player stats that he had been staring at like a zombie for the past hour shuttering to black as he pushes himself up from his bed and out into the living room. Heeseung is unlacing his sneakers and rubbing his lips like he just put chapstick on. Jay cuts his eyes away and focuses on the plastic bags at Heeseung's feet.

"Gifts?" He asks, catching the corner of a styrofoam lid from his view near the couch. Heeseung nods as he slips his shoes off and wriggles his sock-feet.

"In the form of Vietnamese food! Your favorite! Am I the best roommate or what?" His voice sounds strained at the edges.

"Sure, sure," Jay replies, wanting to be nice as he scoops the bags that have the styrofoam in them up from the ground and starts to bring them to their dining table.

Heeseung jogs over and plucks the bags from Jay's grasp, bringing them over to the coffee table before motioning for Jay to grab paper towels. "I feel like watching a movie and I know I'll fall asleep if I wait till after dinner, so we'll eat while watching."

"When did I agree to this?" Jay asks as he does as requested. Heeseung had been busy the whole of last week with his classes and had been struggling to find a happy medium.

"It's an unspoken agreement," Heeseung says as he digs through another plastic bag and tosses what turns out to be a box with four sets of chopsticks inside the clear packaging to Jay. "Here. Our utensils drawer was looking sad. I decided it needed some sprucing up."

Jay slides out two chopstick sets before putting the other two away in the drawer in the kitchen. He walks over to peer over Heeseung's shoulder as the man fusses with another bag's contents. "How much did you buy? And what did you buy?"

"Oh, you know, just some stuff for me. Don't worry, I didn't use our grocery money, just my own savings." Heeseung's eyes light up as he scrunches the remaining bags together and whisks them off to his room. Jay thinks he sees a flash of orange from inside of them but shrugs and makes himself comfortable on the couch.

We live together, he thinks, so whatever it is he'll see it eventually, anyway.

When Heeseung comes back he flops onto the couch, his thighs grazing Jay's as he lets out a loud groan. Jay witnesses the exact moment the other male's limbs fuse with the couch, and he stifles a sarcastic comment, simply happy that Heeseung looks so relaxed.

"Long day?" He asks, leaning back into the cushions and looking up at the ceiling. Heeseung hums in affirmation beside him.

"It's been months since my first day, but I still feel like I'm drowning," He complains. "It's only been a week into the second semester, and I already have so many presentations and exams to practice and study for, both of which are worth a hefty amount of my grade. It's brutal."

Jay scoffs and looks at him, reaching over to nudge him in the jaw, his knuckles scraping some facial hair.

"No kidding. You missed some stubble, right here." Heeseung's hand comes up in astonishment as they retrace where Jay's had been. "Nothing has ruined your shaving streak yet. Don't let school be the culprit to do so."

Heeseung's eyes are bright and glittering as they fully focus on Jay. "You could help me shave," he says, voice lower than usual. "Do it while I fix my hair and help me kill two birds with one stone."

Jay knows that when Heeseung speaks too much during the day his voice will get stuck in an octave below his regular tone. It doesn't excuse the way his own heart speeds up, however.