Exams and Exhaustion

Disclaimer: The character of Mace is owned by Kamex, and the character of Metro by RetroSpecter. Unless directly stated otherwise by either of them, nothing in this work should be taken as canon to their characters or overarching universe- this is merely a fan work, loosely based on their canon and with a fair amount of homebrewed content to fill in gaps and flesh out the narrative. Please check out their content (be it on YouTube, Twitch, and/or Twitter) if you haven't already, and support them however you can!

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Infernal Paradise University was an unusual college in many regards, but currently it was wrapped in the all-too-common chaos of the end of a semester. Students were either scurrying throughout campus as they frantically tried to study and grind for the last scraps of credit and financial aid, or else were crashed in various beds and chairs as they recovered from such ordeals. Tension was very much in the air, a sense of ending that carried with it the potential for relief and catastrophe alike.

Metro navigated his way through these various crowds, heading toward the dorm room that his boyfriend and girlfriend shared. Normally, he moved with a fair bit of swagger, most students hurrying away just at the sight of him and the few who tried to give him trouble being silenced with little more than a cocky grin. But today, like most of the student body, he walked with a sagging posture and a crumpled expression.

He honestly personally didn't care that much about how he'd done on his finals thus far, but his dad cared very much and had made that fact clear at length and volume, and the prospect of potentially upsetting him and then having to deal with the fallout had put him on edge for a while now. Luckily, he'd taken his last one of the day, and so was seeking some much-needed company.

He finally got to the right room, knocking gently on the door.

"Just a second," came a muffled reply from the other side, followed by the almost-inaudible sound of frantically-clacking computer keys.

Metro grimaced. The voice from within the room had been gruff, deep, and ragged, which didn't bode well at all.

He waited for several long moments, before finally the sounds of typing ceased. "Okay, come in," the voice sighed.

Metro cautiously opened the door. "Hey Mace," he said gently as he did. "Was gonna grab some food, wannaaaaaaaah, shit."

The room was dark, the shades drawn and the main source of light the glow of the monitor on a desk across from the door- and within that glow was a serpentine figure.

Mace was normally slim and light blue, with long hair framing his head- but his current form also had dark streaks in it, his face mildly rugged and unshaven, and a waterfall of hair cascading down his chair. His fangs were far more pronounced and his ears much longer than normal, and his eyes were sunken in and weary. But perhaps just as striking was the ice encrusting the chair, as well as the bottom of the desk, the wall, and part of the bed.

This wasn't the first time Metro had seen his boyfriend like this, and he instantly knew why, so rather than surprise he felt a kind of helpless distress. He stepped into the room, making a halfhearted motion as if to embrace the ice dragon.

The latter held up a hand. "Hug me right now, and I'm gonna freak out, or cry, or pass out. Maybe all three, not necessarily in that order," Mace moaned.

Metro offered a sympathetic groan back. "You... You alright?"

"No," Mace flatly replied. He sighed. "I will be, eventually, but we're not there yet."

"Hang in there," Metro said softly. "How many more ya got?"

Mace sighed. "Three, plus-" he jerked his head toward the monitor behind him- "an essay due by the end of this week. What about you?"

"Same, 'cept for the essay... I... think?" Metro felt a cold pit of fear in his stomach, frantically going back over his mental checklist.

Mace rolled his eyes. "You been using that planner Maku got you?"

Metro giggled nervously. "Ah... been meaning to. But..." He sighed. "Look, I have a hard time sticking to routine as it is, you want me to stack keeping a journal on top of that?!"

In spite of himself, Mace laughed in reply. "Much as I want to, I can't fault that logic." He inclined his head. "And I'll make sure not to tell her that."

"Thanks." Metro took a breath. "Anyway... Lunch?"

Mace shook his head. "Would love to, but I really gotta finish this." As he said this, his stomach audibly growled.

Metro frowned. "Mace-"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Mace said hurriedly. "I ate earlier!"

Metro's eyes briefly roamed over the discarded fast food containers littering the desk and floor. "Just sayin', if it was me sayin' that, you'd tell me to eat."

"I can't right now!" Mace cried, turning back around in his chair. "I gotta get this essay finished, then I gotta go back over those chemical formulas, read over my engineering notes, and... and..." Mace slowly went silent, then slumped in his seat.

Metro shut the door, walking over to the desk and peeking around- then feeling a pain in his chest as he saw Mace's face. The latter looked on the verge of tears. On impulse, Metro wrapped his arms around him. He felt Mace stiffen in his grip. "I know you said not to, but... I think we both need this," he said quietly.

There was no reply for a long moment- then Metro felt Mace return the hug. A tremor ran through his body. "I just wanna be done," he said, his voice suddenly very rusty.

"I know man, I know," Metro purred. "We're almost there, one way or another."

They held each other for a decent length of time, silently reveling in the embrace- then Metro's stomach growled. Mace softly chuckled, then quickly burst out laughing. "Oops," Metro said with a little smile.

Mace continued to laugh for a minute, before hiccupping himself back to composure. "Okay... thanks, I needed that."

"Glad to help," Metro chuckled back. They broke the hug. "Should probably take care of that." He cocked his head. "Sure you don't wanna come with me? Just for a little bit?"

Mace looked again at his computer, his expression anguished... then he took a breath, shut off his monitor, them jumped out of his chair to float a few inches off the ground. "You know what, fuck it, I need to let off some steam."

Metro smirked. "I mean, if that's what you're after..."

"Shut the fuck up," Mace chuckled.

Metro laughed back, then gestured toward the door. "Shall we?"

With that, the two left the room.