lukewarm (krii7y)

lukewarm

"I am holding on to you tonight for dear life
I am holding on to you tonight for dear life"

--

John woke up still sleepy, he couldn't get a good rest no matter what he did, but last night was the best night's sleep he'd had in a while. He rubbed his eyes gently, yawning, half expecting to see Jaren not at his bedside. Though, he was pleasantly surprised because there he was - smelling like roses, fresh out of the shower. His hair was curly and his face was soft. Jaren was looking down, adjusting the sleeves of his slim-fitting long sleeved black turtleneck before throwing on some chains around his neck.

"Don't you have work?" Jaren asked him seriously, it had been something on his mind.

After all, he just spontaneously decided to travel across the world, probably without informing his boss first, if he even still had a job.

"Don't you have school?" John assumed, not wanting to be probed.

There was a silence. Jaren wrinkled his nose and pretended like that hadn't been brought up. He only had a month of school left before he graduated, and it wasn't really any of his business - but yeah, he was cool about it. As if John wasn't there, Jaren continued getting ready.

"Fine. Gonna raid your fridge," John announced, seeing as Jaren was in a mood.

As he got ready to get out of bed, he was in for a surprise as Jaren forcefully pinned him back down. It was such a force that the bed sounded as if it was going to give in, and John was breathless at what just happened.

"Don't think so."

"I'm so gonna kick your ass."

Jaren got off him and mumbled something about ordering some breakfast. Naturally, John liked the sound of that. They ordered through UberEats, and John tried to conceal his growling stomach with coughs at five minute intervals, but he wasn't fooling anyone. John must have fallen back asleep, because he awoke to the smell of waffles, syrup and honey.

The faint hum of the TV being on entered his ears, and a quiet Jaren was sitting beside him. John raised an eyebrow at the breakfast in bed, sceptical why he was being treated like royalty. Nevertheless, he ate it, savouring the sweet tastes (he hadn't eaten waffles in years) by steering his finger around his plate to catch all the honey. Jaren observed him, and how quickly he finished his food.

What John wanted to say was still on the tip of his tongue, it was hard to say the words especially when he'd been interrupted by a kiss.

"So do you wanna like...do something later?" John asked him, though it came out a lot more boring and unbothered than he intended.

He was playing it cool by showing Jaren that at least a part of him was interested, but he wasn't looking to rush things or get in too deep too soon. For a few seconds, Jaren eyed him before casting his eyes away to some shoes sticking out of his wardrobe.

"Got hockey practice, but you can come watch me play if you want," Jaren half-heartedly invited him.

It seemed he got his answer. John wasn't really hurt by it, a bit confused if anything, but he got the vibe from Jaren that he didn't really know what he wanted. After all, he was just eighteen. John also didn't know what he wanted in life, but didn't want the same outlook in another person. The Canadian sent him a screenshot of where he'd be playing. John just shrugged.

--

It wasn't important how it happened, but John was reluctantly sitting across from Eric at a local restaurant. John wasn't in the best mood.