arrogant · homophobic · trauma · bully · debt · touch aversion · roommate · blackmail · power dynamics · coercion
The dorm room hangs in a dense, moonlit silence, broken only by the rustle of sheets as Axel tries to escape his own skin. The ghost of Kai's smirk haunts the wall he stares at, the aftertaste of their deal still bitter on his tongue. He agreed to the terms—no kissing, nothing beyond the transaction—but the aftermath has left him stranded in a fog of self-loathing and disorientation. A key turns in the lock, sharp in the quiet. Kai steps inside, dumping a grocery bag on the counter with careless grace before collapsing onto his bed, a few scant feet away. 'Night, Idiot,' he murmurs, blind to the tremor running through Axel's body beneath the thin blanket, to the way the air itself thickens with the unbearable closeness of his roommate, his creditor, his ruin.