Roommates

[Demeter]

Dane went from one field of chaos to another. The bookstore had been filled with new and returning students straining at the reins to get their books for the quarter. And their parents were equally eager to load up on the university branded items that they would proudly wear and plaster on their cars. 

With his experience as a cashier at both the family general store and the family christmas tree farm, Dane was well versed in dealing with harried, frustrated customers and was able to whip them though his counter. It was well past when his shift had been scheduled to end by the time his manager had signaled him to shut down and count out his drawer. 

When that chore was done, it was back to his dorm. The building was just as packed as the bookstore had been. And he'd been roped into helping hand out room assignments by his apparently desperate best friend. He could never resist Jackson when the football player got down on his knees and begged. He directed milling freshman and their parents, helped the returning students to haul boxes and bags and it took him three times as long to get to his floor. Praising God for his safe arrival, Dane headed down to his room. There were few new arrivals on his floor and the ones returning would trickle into the hall in the next few days. 

He would be getting a new roommate this year and he was glad about that. The one from last year had been just his type. Tall, blonde, and gorgeous. Matt had only had one little, teensy weeny flaw. He was undeniably straight. He'd also had a habit of bringing a whole parade of girls to the room. Dane couldn't stand another year of either being locked out of his own room or being rudely awakened by the sounds of sex so he'd requested a new person. Matt, already back at the dorm, had been utterly confused at the switch. It wasn't until the man's new roommate had told Matt that Dane would rather be the one having sex with Matt then just hearing it that the man finally understood. 

After stopping to chat with a few fellow students, Dane finally headed to his room. He noted that the door was open so the new roomie must have been moving in. Since he hadn't checked anyone into his room, someone else must have done it. 

He cautiously approached and knocked on the door frame. He smiled at the three men inside, wondering which one was his new roommate. "Hi, I'm Dane Black, the other occupant of this room," he said while motioning to his neatly organized side of the room. "I stayed over the summer, so I'm already moved in."

One of the two blonde men, the one with the bicolored eyes, had stepped forward to introduce himself as Larkin. After shaking hands, Dane grabbed his laptop. "I'll just take myself down to the common room and get out of your way while you get set up."

Once he was in the relatively quiet common room, Dane flopped onto a empty chair. His buddy from his hometown, Jackson, was there and nudged him. "What's up, man? Did you get a complete loser for a roomie this time around?"

Dane stared up at the ceiling. "No, I got another just my type hottie. A tall, blonde, gorgeous and, knowing my luck, probably straight as a ruler hottie."

"Dude, someone has it out for you?"

"Tell me about it. Do you know who does the room assignments? Did I do something to him or her?"

"Couldn't tell you, man. Maybe this one will actually be considerate and not bring girls to the room? Or you can just bring guys to the room?"

Dane lifted his head. "It's been six months since its been more then my right hand and my laptop."

Jackson shook his head. "We need to find you a guy. Now that everything is back in session, we should be able to hook you up fairly easily. What about that one guy, the RA? Isn't he like your go to guy?"

"You mean Jeremy? He's with some accounting major. Been with said accounting major for six months and it looks like they're trying for the long haul. But, you're right, the parties should start up again soon. Hopefully the new guy doesn't raise a fuss about me being gay. I don't think he will; his dad and step-dad were the one's moving him in."

"That's something at least. He probably will be cool with it so long as you don't sleep with anyone on his bed."

Dane grinned. That's how he'd gotten rid of his first roommate. Matt had been completely clueless but Dave had been a complete homophobe nut and a religious studies major. During the first few months, Dane had been a complete party animal and that had bothered Dave. After the quiet life in a very small town, Dane and all the others that had followed him here on the advise of Maxwell Greene, had gone a little crazy. 

They'd finally been able to hang out with others like them and they'd gotten wild. Parties, drinking, random sex had made up his first quarter at school and he'd past that by the skin of his teeth. He'd settled for the rest of year with the occasional party but man...those first three months...

And he'd ended that first fall quarter with a bang by sleeping with not one but two men on his roommate's bed. Dave had moved out after witnessing that. "I've only done that once, Jackson."

"If you believe Dave, you are damned to hell for that."
"Dave is a nut job," Dane said before opening the lid to his laptop. "How is life with Dave?"

"Sucks. Guy's a nut job. Not sure what I'll have to do to get rid of him."

"Fuck a guy, or two, on his bed. Worked for me."
Jackson just laughed. "Don't think that's gonna work for me, Dude. I'm just not that interested in other guy's asses. I don't get it."

"Its hard to explain. Girls are just to squishy and delicate. And they take to much work. And they fake it..."

"Not all girls. I mean, I get that girls aren't physically attractive to you but why is it so much better with guys?"
Dane looked over at Jackson. "Do you really want to know?" 

"Yeah, man. I mean, you were with Tara for how many years and then you just weren't. A lot of people back home still don't get, including Tara. All summer long, she kept asking me if you had a new girlfriend. You did wrong by her, man, not telling her the truth. I get not have a parade down main street but you should have told her."

Dane ran a hand through his hair and groaned. He knew that one day he'd have to explain to his junior high and high school sweetheart just why he broke things off with her. "I didn't know how to tell her that she just didn't do it for me. She's pretty and sweet and any man would be lucky to have her but I couldn't...well, get it up for her. I just couldn't tell her that I was hot for guys, not when her daddy is a preacher. I know that someday, I'll have to tell her, tell everyone, the truth but just not yet."

"Alright, man, I get it with not saying anything. No one who went home said a word about you group guys and getting it on with two of them at once. So, what is it about guys?"

Dane shrugged a shoulder. He hadn't been worried about anyone spilling about his adventures. Everyone that had come to Cedar Valley had been one of the kids attacked by that rouge feral and they'd all stuck together. Tara hadn't been there that day but Jackson had been. By now, all of the college aged ones knew each other's secrets. Previous to coming to this University, Jackson was the only one who knew about his liking of other men. After all, the guy had walked in on him furiously jerking to gay internet porn during their senior year. At the time, he'd been cool with it and hadn't asked any questions. Dane was curious about his sudden interest.

"I don't know how to explain it to you. I mean, I just like guys. I'm not attracted to women. She could be the nicest, sweetest, most caring and beautiful woman in the world and my reaction would still be 'meh.' I didn't really go through a phase of oh my god, I like guys. I was with Tara because that's what was expected but I didn't have a panic attack over it. I've never sat down and categorized why men do it for me. Why do you want to know?"

"No reason, just wondering. Hey, I gotta go. Coach wants the team on the field for drills."

"You have fun with that," Dane said as Jackson jogged out of the room. Not for the first time, he was glad that he wasn't on the football team. Now, if this school's equestrian team had an opening, he'd be tempted to try out but he hadn't ridden in three years and no longer had a horse. Banshee, the patient gelding he'd ridden for years, had taken kindly to the Mutari change in Dane and he'd found a new home for the animal. 

Shaking his head free from such thoughts, Dane settled to the task of writing his weekly email to his mother. She needed to know that he was alive and well. 

It was a few hours later, when groups of freshman started peeking into the common room that Dane packed up and headed back to the room. He knocked before opening the door. "Hey, looks like you are settling in," he said. His new roommate was fiddling with his stuff and arranging things to his liking. 

Dane dropped his stuff on his desk and looked over at Larkin. "Hey, I just have to tell you this now because I've had trouble with this in the past. I'm gay so if that bothers you, now is the time to change rooms. 

[Maira]

After his room mate's brief appearance, and quick retreat to the common room, Larkin found himself staring after the other man's retreating back a little too long. Then he caught his dad and step-dad sharing a look that he'd seen them share when they ran into him out at the local club and his date for the evening excused herself. With a grumble, Larkin told them sternly, "Knock it off you two." His dad, Dominic, tried to wipe the look from his face, but his step-dad Lysander, just laughed at him.

When Larkin turned his back on the older men to work on unpacking his suitcase full of clothes, he thought he heard Lysander mumble something along the lines of, "For his sake, I hope your boy isn't as stubborn as you were." This was answered by a soft thump as, he assumed, Dominic punched L in the shoulder lightly.

Once he'd put away all of his clothes, Larkin rolled the suitcase back over to the two men who were emptying another one, this one full of stuff instead of clothes, onto his bed. "I don't have anywhere to store these, so if you guys will take them home that'd be great," Larkin suggested when they looked at him curiously. Only after a minute did he realize he'd actually called their house 'home' and with a start he realized it was true. He finally had a place he could call home. It didn't matter that he was a grown man, this was the first time in his life he had some measure of stability and it just felt nice.

He watched as Dominic and L quickly finished unloading the other suitcase, then his dad walked over and gave him a hug and said warmly, "Don't be a stranger okay? Otherwise you're likely to wind up with Lani stalking you. She's gotten rather attached to you, you know." The smile he gave Larkin, made the younger man smile in return. He'd gotten rather attached to her as well so at least the feeling was mutual. L came and gave him a hug as well and then the two older men slipped out the door and down the hall. Larkin watched them leave, waved when they reached the elevator, and then got back to work putting his things away on his side of the room.

*****

By the time that Dane returned to their room, Larkin was just finishing up organizing his books and art supplies at his desk. He'd only nodded in answer to his roommate's observation about him settling in when the other man dropped a bomb on him. He stopped fiddling with his drawing pads and turned to look at Dane. He was quiet for a minute, just looking the other man over while he thought. His thoughts turned to the look L and Dominic had shared, as well as L's comments to Dominic when he thought Larkin couldn't hear him. He finally concluded that if the two of them were to be believed, maybe he was attracted to Dane after all. Curious, and more that willing to surprise Dane as much as he'd surprised him, Larkin closed the distance between them, tangled his fingers in Dane's hair, and pulled him close for a kiss.

He'd only intended the kiss to be a quick peck on the lips, just to see what he felt (if anything), but the kiss quickly intensified when Dane groaned and his body pressed into Larkin's. Before things could get out of control, Larkin let go of Dane and stepped back a few paces. The look of sheer surprise on Dane's face made one corner of Larkin's mouth turn up in a half smile. It seemed his dads were right about him after all. Bastards.

[Demeter]

When Larkin yanked him into a kiss, Dane's heart started racing as fireworks went off behind his closed eyes. He clutched at his new roommate, unconsciously wrapping himself around the other man. When Larkin finally released him, Dane stumbled backwards until he bumped into a support pole to his bed. He was panting, heart still pounding, as he stared at an equally startled Larkin.

"Well," Dane blinked when his voice was weak and hoarse. He coughed to clear it and swallowed. "Well, that was a new response to that statement. I take it this means that you have no objections?"

When Larkin mutely nodded, Dane winked at him. "Good because I'd very much like to do that again. Anytime, anyplace," he said before turning to gather his shower supplies. "I have to work tomorrow afternoon but, if you like, I can show you the place to get your books at a lower price in the morning but, for now, how about I take you to dinner after I shower?"

At short time later, he and Larkin were safely tucked into a booth at the nearby Red Robin restaurant. The place was crowded with college students and their families. Soon enough, Dane learned that Larkin was, more or less, a Valley local. He'd opted for Dorm life to have the experience. Dane told his new roommate that he'd come from a very small town in the midwest and that he had very little interest in returning.

In talking with Larkin, he got the impression that any thoughts of same sex relationships, much less acting on those thoughts, was still very new to the man. Because of that, he didn't press the man despite their explosive kiss earlier in the evening. The next move would have to be from the blonde man across from him.

[Maira]

Move-in had been on a Friday to give the new students plenty of time to get adjusted to their surroundings before classes on Monday. It being Friday night, alone, would have been reason enough for Red Robin to be crowded, then add in all the new students and their families? Larkin was surprised they had gotten a table in less than an hour.

By the time they were seated at a booth, he and Dane were on pretty friendly terms and were easily talking about themselves. By the time their meals arrived, Larkin was ready to switch to the other side of the booth (but refrained), by the time dessert rolled around Larkin had the urge to kiss the other man again. Damn his luck, and damn his fathers. Why did they have to be so right about him? He hadn't known them that long, yet they were still able to read him like a pretty open book.

Once they finished their meal, the two made their way back to campus and their shared room. Their floor seemed to be pretty quiet and Larkin figured most of the students were still out with their families or getting an early start on college parties. "Seems pretty dead, I think now would be a good time for me to grab a shower," Larkin told Dane as he gathered up his shower things. What he didn't tell his roomie was that it was going to be a cold shower. As he slipped out of their room and headed down the hall, Larkin couldn't help but wonder just how many cold showers he was going to need to take this year.

[Demeter]

His first roommate had been a fanatic homophobe. His second had been oblivious. It seemed that his third roommate would be perfect. Third time's a charm, Dane thought as he watched Larkin walk to the floor's shared bathroom.

He still wasn't sure about Larkin's level of experience. His own experience was all thanks to his wild first year. He had the physical aspects of a relationship down pat. Because of that, he'd picked up on Larkin's interest in him. Grinning with a wicked idea, Dane grabbed his towel and Dopp kit. He all but skipped down to the washroom. He'd given Larkin enough time to get into a shower stall.

As Larkin was the only other one using the washroom, he was easy enough to find. Dane picked the stall next to him and tossed his towel over the door. He knocked on Larkin's door. "You know, if you ever need help washing your back, I'm here to help. The its a tight fit for two in these showers but it can be done."