Dear Roommate Please Stop Being Hot [BL]
Chapter 108: Wherever We Go

Chapter 108: Wherever We Go

The dorm block stood quiet under the mellow light of late afternoon, sun slipping between the trees like golden threads weaving into the shadows.

The faint hum of cicadas echoed from somewhere beyond the fence line.

Noel walked beside Luca, their steps unhurried. Gravel crunched under their shoes again, only now with less urgency—less of the morning’s rush, more of the day’s ease setting in.

Luca reached for the front door, holding it open without a word. Noel stepped inside, the cooler air brushing against his skin.

The familiar hallway greeted them—scuffed tile floors, faded noticeboards, and the lingering scent of something vaguely citrus from the janitor’s mop earlier in the day.

Noel glanced toward their door down the hall, fingers brushing the edge of his folder. "We actually going to fill this out now?"

Luca stretched lightly, his hand brushing the back of his neck. "If we don’t, Emily’s going to knock at sunrise and drag us to the bursary by our ankles."

A small laugh escaped Noel. "Fair."

They reached their room, the quiet click of the door behind them sealing off the noise of the world.

Inside, the light filtered through the curtains just enough to paint soft shadows across the desk.

Luca tossed his folder onto his bed and dropped down beside it with a sigh.

Noel slid his shoes off by the door, placed his folder neatly on the desk, then turned toward the tiny fridge in the corner. "Want something cold?"

"Water’s fine."

He passed Luca a chilled bottle, then opened one for himself.

For a moment, they sat in silence—two boys in a warm, lived-in room, notebooks and jackets half tucked away, a faint breeze moving through the curtain.

Then, almost without thinking, Noel pulled out the internship form and turned toward Luca.

"Let’s just get through the basics," he said. "Then we can crash."

Luca nodded, unscrewing the cap. "Yeah. Let’s do it."

Luca sat cross-legged on the bed, their internship forms spread between them like fragile maps.

His pen hovered over the blank spaces, but his eyes were on Noel, who leaned against the desk—calm, unreadable, like always when he was thinking too much.

"So," Luca started, his voice casual but not careless, "you thought about which one you’ll put first?"

Noel met his gaze. "Still deciding."

Luca tilted his head, studying him for a moment before saying, "Let’s just choose the same ones."

Noel raised a brow. "Same?"

"Yeah." Luca’s smile was soft but sure. "Same order. Same three companies.

Wherever we go... let’s just go together."

It sounded simple.

But maybe that was the point — in a life full of unknowns, this was something they could control.

Noel looked down at the form in his hand, then back at Luca. "What if only one of us gets accepted?"

"Then we still try. Apply to all three. They’re good choices—"BizNexus, GlobalTrade Co, and..." He paused only slightly. "Infinity Global Partners."

Noel leaned his hip against the desk, watching him more closely now. "That last one... Infinity Global Partners. You paused."

Luca kept his smile in place. "Just thinking. It’s one of the tougher ones, but we’ll see what happens."

But they all take a decent number of interns. We pick the same set, and wherever we get in—we go."

He didn’t mention that Infinity Global Partners was his father’s company. That detail could wait. Right now, this was about them—about something he wasn’t ready to lose to silence.

Noel didn’t press. Instead, he walked over, sat beside him on the bed, and pulled his own form closer.

"You really want to do this together?" he asked, a note of something quiet behind the words.

Luca turned to him, eyes steady. "Yeah. I do. It’s not just about where. It’s who you go with."

Noel’s hand tightened briefly around his pen. "Alright then. Same order."

They both began to fill out their forms, the scratch of pens the only sound between them.

A quiet partnership, a promise tucked in paperwork, written in ink and something heavier.

Luca’s grin widened. "BizNexus first?"

Noel nodded. "GlobalTrade Co second. Infinity Global Partners third."

"Perfect." Luca uncapped his pen and began writing, his letters neat, precise. Beside him, Noel did the same.

The scratch of their pens filled the silence between them—not empty, but tethered by something unspoken. It was a silence shaped by certainty.

A breeze slipped through the cracked window, carrying the scent of fresh grass and evening sun.

And in that small dorm room, they didn’t say it—but something in the way they filled out the lines said it all:

We’re in this together.

The sun had dipped lower, casting golden slants through the dorm window. Their forms were done. Stacked neatly on the desk.

Luca stretched out, arms behind his head, gaze drifting toward the ceiling. "That’s it then," he said, almost in disbelief. "It’s really happening."

Noel leaned back in the chair, arms folded across his chest, watching him with a quiet kind of fondness. "You nervous?"

Luca scoffed, then grinned. "About the internship? A little. About doing it with you? Not at all."

Noel’s lips quirked. "Cheesy."

"You like it."

"Mm. Maybe."

Their laughter was quiet — but it filled the room anyway.

The kind that meant something.

Luca sat up, resting his elbows on his knees, looking at Noel seriously now. "Hey."

Noel blinked. "Yeah?"

"Thanks. For not brushing me off. For doing this with me."

Noel lowered his gaze, thumb brushing the corner of the form still sitting beside him. "You really meant it, didn’t you? Wherever we get in... we’ll go together."

Luca nodded. "Of course I meant it."

A silence lingered—not awkward, but thoughtful.

Then Noel stood. "We should submit them early tomorrow. Bursary office opens at eight."

Luca grinned, standing too. "We’ll be the first ones there."

Noel grabbed the forms, slipped them into a folder, then looked back. "You hungry?"

Luca tilted his head. "You offering to cook?"

Noel didn’t answer. He just walked to the door and threw a look over his shoulder, a small smirk in place. "Come on, before you start eating your bedsheet."

Luca laughed, grabbing his hoodie. "Yes, Chef."

And just like that, they slipped out into the hallway—shoulder brushing shoulder.

The dorm door clicked shut behind them, and ahead was the stretch of evening, calm and full of quiet possibilities.

The kitchen light buzzed faintly as they stepped in, slippers brushing tile.

It wasn’t fancy—just a small space with a sink that dripped sometimes and cabinets that always needed a little extra push to close.

Luca opened the cupboard, peered in. "So... our options are noodles... or noodles."

Noel leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "Don’t act like you’re upset. You love instant noodles."

"I tolerate them," Luca said, pulling out two packs. "With great strength and sacrifice."

"You literally hoard the spicy ones."

Luca didn’t deny it. "You want spicy or chicken?"

"Spicy," Noel said, after a beat. "Let’s suffer together."

They moved easily around each other, falling into rhythm without needing to say much.

Luca filled the kettle; Noel prepped the bowls. At some point, Luca bumped Noel’s shoulder with his elbow, just enough to make him glance over.

"You cut the seasoning too neatly," Luca teased.

"You rip it like a gremlin," Noel shot back, deadpan.

Water boiled. Noodles softened. Steam curled up, fogging the little window above the sink.

Soon enough, they sat across from each other, legs drawn up, warm bowls in hand.

Luca blew on his noodles and slurped dramatically. "Ah. Five stars. Michelin. You’re welcome."

Noel gave him a look. "You poured hot water into a bowl."

"Exactly. Art."

They ate quietly after that, the kind of quiet that didn’t need to be filled.

The kitchen hummed around them, soft and steady, while the night pressed gently at the windows.

After a while, Noel murmured, "This feels... nice."

Luca looked up, chopsticks mid-air. "Yeah?"

Noel nodded, not looking up. "Simple. Easy."

Luca smiled, a little softer this time. "Yeah. It really does."

They rinsed the bowls with the lazy ease of two people used to doing everything side by side.

After drying his hands on the towel slung over his shoulder, Noel glanced at the clock. "It’s almost nine."

"So?" Luca flopped onto his bed with a dramatic sigh, arms spread like he was ready to ascend.

Noel didn’t move. "So... exam’s in two days."

Luca groaned into his pillow. "Noel, it’s literally nighttime. The brain shuts off after eight, science says so."

"I’m science now?" Noel raised a brow and went straight for his bag, pulling out his notes. "Twenty minutes. Just revision."

Luca peeked from the pillow. "Fifteen."

"Twenty."

"Seventeen and a half. Final offer."

Noel didn’t even look up. "Luca."

Luca sat up slowly, grabbing his notebook with the energy of someone heading into battle. "Fine. But I’m only doing this because you made me noodles."

"You’re welcome," Noel said dryly, flipping to the page on case studies.

They settled on the floor with their backs against the bedframes, notebooks open, pens tapping.

Noel read quietly, underlining points, occasionally glancing at Luca’s notes to correct a date or scribble something in the margin.

Luca blinked hard at his page. "Noel."

"Hm?"

"What does ’depreciation method’ mean again?"

"You ask me that every time we read."

"Because I forget every semester."

Noel tried not to smile as he explained it again, slower this time, drawing a tiny diagram in Luca’s book. Luca leaned in, watching his hand move.

"...You make it sound easier," he muttered.

Noel didn’t look up. "That’s because you’re not panicking yet."

"Give me time."

They stayed like that, heads close, words low and steady, the soft rustle of pages and scribbled ink the only noise in the room.

By the time twenty minutes turned to almost an hour, Luca’s head had drooped against Noel’s shoulder, his notes half-read and his pen resting limply in hand.

Noel paused, glancing at him.

Asleep.

He smiled faintly, shook his head, then reached up and gently brushed a few strands of hair out of Luca’s face.

"Hopeless," he whispered, barely audible. But his voice was warm.

The room had gone silent, save for the occasional chirp of crickets outside and the low hum of the ceiling fan spinning in slow, lazy circles.

Noel stayed still, not wanting to wake Luca. His shoulder was starting to ache a little from the weight against it, but he didn’t move.

Instead, he let the moment stretch.

There was something oddly peaceful about it—Luca breathing softly beside him, the notes they’d written scattered on the floor, forgotten.

Their shadows blurred together in the dim lamplight, long and gentle.

Noel let his gaze wander.

Luca’s lashes were long. Softer than his sharp tongue ever was. His features looked different in sleep—less teasing, more real.

And right now, impossibly close.

Noel reached over and carefully picked up the pen slipping from Luca’s fingers.

He capped it and placed it on the desk, then quietly pulled a thin blanket from his bed and draped it over both of them.

Luca stirred, just slightly, nuzzling closer in his sleep. His forehead brushed Noel’s collarbone.

Noel didn’t even breathe.

Seconds passed. Then minutes.

He glanced at the clock.

12:14 AM.

With a quiet sigh, Noel leaned his head back against the bed frame, eyes tracing the ceiling.

"Why do you make everything complicated?" he whispered, the words barely reaching the air.

But even as he said it, his thumb brushed over the back of Luca’s hand — not pushing away, not pulling back.

Just... holding on.

Luca didn’t answer. Of course he didn’t.

But his fingers twitched slightly under the blanket—and Noel, without thinking, let his own hand gently find his.

He didn’t pull away.