Genre: sliiiiiiiiight angst + fluffety floof, roommates!au+uni!au (disclaimer: this is not a BL/ one shot xD)
Note: written for the lovely heony-k.tumblr.com​ for the day6writers (directory on tumblr - check us out at day6writers.tumblr.com!) gift exchange event!

The sound of you typing furiously on your keyboard fills the tiny bedroom you’re in. It’s finals week and you have a paper due in two days, a poster to draft by next week, and a presentation for that poster the day right after new year’s - university life . Your roommate is lounged on the lower deck of the bunk bed behind you as usual, calmly flipping over a book as he revises his work.

You hear a shift behind you but pay it no mind, still making edits to the figures in your paper - your borderline OCD when it comes to assignments always makes you spend so much more time on little tweaks (that are honestly quite redundant). But no matter how many rushed deadlines and even missed deadlines that force you to beg your professors to give you some leeway you encounter, the perfectionist/procrastinator in you never seems to die.

The unfaltered concentration you have suddenly breaks as the sound of an acoustic guitar pierces the silence. You stiffen, breathing out slowly to calm yourself as you continue to type out your report. You are not in the mood for an argument - that would take up too much of the precious time you have left. Besides, you can tell your roommate is trying to play as softly as possible so as not to disturb you.

He does that sometimes. And most times you didn’t mind, say, if you were just doing your homework or a minor assignment. But you are currently working on a report that will contribute to 40% of your grade for this module and you are getting more irritable by the second. It doesn’t help when he begins to sing.

Continuing to pay him no mind, you focus your eyes on the paragraphs on the document before you even though staring at the words for so long just seems to render that even more incomprehensible by the second. Nothing was making sense and you were on the verge of a breakdown.

Mr. Roommate on the other hand is so into the song - a holiday medley that he thought would lighten the mood - suddenly forgets he’s trying to be quiet and belts out, “MAYBE JUST A LITTLE BIT MO-”

“YAH!”

His words die in his throat as his fingers simultaneously cease moving. A heavy quiet envelopes the room as he stares up at you from where you stand at your desk, hands pressed against the edge of the table where you had slammed them on just a moment ago. You turn around and glare at him as you point an accusing finger in his direction.

“I don’t give a damn if your final exam isn’t until next week and you’re a ing smartass so you don’t even need to study much - but in case you forgot, I have a paper due in less than 48 hours so would you SHUT. THE HELL. UP.”

“I was just trying to get in the holiday mood-”

“Then do that somewhere else, Brian!”

“Look, I didn’t know you weren’t okay with it-”

“I don’t want to talk right now,” you snap, cutting him off. You’re starting to tear up because you honestly didn’t want to blow up like that but you’re at a point of no return now. “Just keep quiet or bring that goddamned guitar to the hall. I’m sure Jae would appreciate the cacophony of your voice and guitar much more.”

Regret fills you the moment the words leave your mouth as you notice Brian bristle slightly. He stands up and walks towards you, towering over your smaller figure. “This is my room as much as it is yours so why don’t you get out instead?” he challenges. Oh, but you are not about to back down.

“You know I can’t study anywhere except for here or at the cafe and in case you forgot-” you pointed at the window for emphasis “it’s a blizzard out there which is why everyone’s home and the only place I can get some bloody peace. and. quiet. Is in here. But you just had to choose the best time to decide you wanted to pick up that stupid piece of junk-”

This time it’s you who shuts up when he suddenly shouts, flinching as a cold shiver runs down your spine. The two of you never fought other than over minor things. This is the first time he’s ever screamed at you and it honestly scared you. “One. Do not call my guitar a piece of junk. And two. In case you forgot -” he mimics your tone, “check your goddamned calendar.”

The door opens as Sungjin peeks his head in, staring curiously at the two of you. “Is everything alright?” he asks, ever the concerned self-appointed house mom. You both ignore the question before Brian picks his guitar up and storms out of the room, dragging a protesting Sungjin along as he slams the door behind him.

You immediately sink back down into your chair, your knees giving way the moment you’re alone. Before you notice your cheeks are wet and you’re a trembling mess as you try not to make a sound. The stress has finally caught up with you and everything that had just happened broke open the well that you were trying to hold in.

Staring at your desk calendar you wipe away your tears, shaking your head slightly. “Pabo… did you really think I forgot?”

A slow breath escapes your lips as you force yourself to calm down. You hear the faint sound of the rest of your housemates chatting outside, Brian’s laughter among the muffled voices and soft music. You decide to continue with your work - there was no use talking to him now. You both needed time to calm down. You just did it in different ways.

-

Two hours later Brian slowly opens the door to find the lights off with you still by your desk, the light from your desktop illuminating your features in the dark, the only other source of light in the room is the night lamp by your bunk. You continue with your work, not even turning to acknowledge his presence.

He places his guitar at the stand and sits on his bed as quietly as possible - the springs don’t even creak like they usually do. He rubs the back of his neck, trying to think of something to say to break the cold air - that’s how you two usually make up. Just talk as though nothing happened. But just as he opens his mouth you glance to the side. “I didn’t forget.”

“What?”

“The date today. I didn’t forget.”

“Oh- I was just being petty, you don’t need to pay what I said any mind. And I’m sorry, it’s just that my mom was the one that bought me that guitar. So I’m a little sensitive about it.”

You shook your head, getting up and taking a small box that you had put on the table a few moments ago with you. “I know. I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to say all of that but you know how high strung I get when I’m stressed and honestly I was on the verge of a breakdown like during midterms last year,” you take a seat next to him on his bed and with you in close proximity, he notices the slight puffiness to your eyes.

Before you can continue speaking his arms are around you and he’s rubbing your back soothingly. You laugh and weakly try to push him away. “Yah, you’re just going to make me cry again,” you joke but he simply tightens his arms around you and he doesn’t say a word even when your breath hitches and you start to cry into his chest.

But this time you’re also crying because you can’t be more grateful that you have someone who understands you as well as he does. So you let it all out, and you feel much better once it’s all out of your system. Sensing that you’re done, Brian pulls away and wipes your cheeks gingerly with the edge of his sleeve.

“God, I must look like such an ugly mess right now,” you chuckle as you pull a piece of tissue paper to dry your face and blow your nose.

“You look fine,” he reassures, taking your free hand between both of his and caressing it in a soothing manner that both calms you down and makes your heart skip a beat at the same time. He was always doing little things like these. Things that made you question the unthinkable but then he’d turn around and treat you like a ‘bro’ as always, making you swat those thoughts away.

“So, what is that you got for me?”

“AH!” you glance at the digital clock and whine when you realise it’s 10 minutes past midnight. You punch him in the arm and frown as you look at the box on your lap. “I wanted to give you these just before the 19th was over but you just had to make me cry, didn’t you?”

The deep chuckle that emanates from his stomach has you rolling your eyes at him as you shove the birthday present at him. He takes it good naturedly and opens the box, bringing it closer to the lamp by your bed to see it better. He gasps at the contents in the box.

“Do you like ‘em?” you ask, peeking over his shoulder. He snaps his head around so fast and you have to back away a little, his face inches from yours. The crinkles in his eyes are clearly visible with him this close. You swallow as you create more distance between you but he reaches out to place his hand over yours on the bed, taking you by surprise.

“I love them,” he replies, admiring the little triangular trinkets - limited edition guitar picks he’s been wanting for a while, now. You reach out and pick up a black string from the box, the guitar pick holder dangling along as you pull it out. You slip it around his head and smile, holding on to the metal pendant. You stay staring at you gift, so you don’t notice how he’s looking at you instead.

“It has your stage name in the band engraved here-” you flip the holder back, showing him the neat craftsmanship. “It can fit up to three picks so you can put all the ones with different thickness that you use…” you slip the single pick that’s lodged in the holder halfway up till just the bottom engraving is showing then bring it up to his eye level - you requested for a longer string for the necklace - before showing him the internal engraving.

‘오늘도 힘내라!’*

It reads. You watch his expression as his eyes squint slightly to read the text. His eyes shift to gaze at you, mouth slightly agape but you silence him with a raised hand, gesturing for him to hold that thought. You pull the pick out from the holder completely, revealing the engraving above the line he just read.

‘수고했어요,
오늘도~’*

He looks at it as the corner of his lip begins to lift. The smile is wide when his eyes meet with yours again, his perfectly lined pearly whites on full display. “I didn't know you've been listening in on our practices,” he remarks.

You redden at the statement. “Well, I can't help it since y'all practice in the living room whenever your practice location is booked by other bands… and that Dowoon kid can literally make a drum set out of anything, what the heck is up with that?”

His laughter resonates around the room and you can just imagine Jae nudging Sungjin in the neighbouring room, telling him he knew you two would've made up by now. “You should come for our actual band practices again some time - when you're not as busy, of course. Dowoon’s wild on the drums, for real. We only ever do acoustic practices here and you haven't been to our practices in forever - you'll definitely be in awe of that boy’s skills.”

“I don't know if he can beat you in the department of awesomeness, though,” you casually state, but the grin that you get in return catches you off guard. “You think I'm awesome?” Brian’s literally biting his lip to stop himself from grinning too wide.

“I- I mean-” you squinted and pointed a warning finger at him “now don't you get cocky here, mister. But like, I've always found it pretty damn amazing how you manage to balance being in the band and still get good grades in school and all. Plus you can play like so many instruments I don't even know how you do it? And every single song you write is a goddamn masterpiece? Honestly it's unfair how ing perfect you are-”

You stop short when you realise what you just spurted out. Brian raises an eyebrow. “You… you, of all people, think I'm perfect?” he shakes his head in disbelief. The flush to your cheeks seems to be darkening and you stay silent, not trusting your mouth to work properly anymore. “Give me a sec,” he says as he stands up abruptly, climbing up to his bunk.

You hear shuffling sounds and your curiosity gets the better of you, so you climb up the first two steps on the ladder and lean against the edge of his bed with your head cocked to the side. “Whatcha doin?” you ask as you try to peep at what he's scrounging for behind his pillows. He hides whatever it is behind his back, patting the spot next to him. You climb up, careful not to hit your head against the ceiling as you crawl over to him, sitting up expectantly once you were by his side.

“Close your eyes and hold out your hand,” he instructs and you follow his orders. You feel something light being placed in your palm and immediately open your eyes. “Oi!” Brian quickly covers your eyes with his palm, “no peeking.”

You wait for a few moments but you don't feel anything else being placed in your open palm so you furrow your brows and frown at his direction. “Can I open my eyes yet?” you ask but silence follows and you can feel that he's moving a little. “Just a second… Okay. Now.”

Opening your eyes, you first notice the charm bracelet in your hand - it was one you were planning to get for a while but never did, he must've seen you staring at it when all the housemates went to the mall last weekend. The next thing you notice is the little envelope in front of you. You look at your roommate as you pick the envelope up, but he doesn't seem to be able to hold your gaze, looking away as he clears his throat. Odd, you think. Brian seems nervous.

“I meant to give this to you on new year’s, or during the usual gift exchange we have, even though I'm not your secret santa… But… Yeah. Just read the letter,” he mumbles the last few words. You almost snicker at his demeanor; it was so unlike him.

His 'letter’ turns out to be just a little note but the few words written on the piece of parchment is enough to release a thousand butterflies in your stomach.

Hey there
You must not be aware
But I want you to know
That darling, you glow

Brighter than the moon
On a cloudless night
You're more dazzling
Than any star in sight

You're so breathtakingly perfect
I can't help but stare
Yet you don't seem to even see me
So stop being so unfair

Look at me now
I want you to see me
Answer me when I ask…
Would you be with me? 

You blink several times, not sure if you were reading right. You also seem to forget how to use your tongue and vocal chords, and the only word running around your head right now is a big huge W H A T? You open your mouth but still can't seem to get the words out.

“This… I- what? Brian, I'm-”

“Ok ok wait!” he suddenly stops you from saying another word. “If you're going to reject me lemme just hop off the bed real quick so we don't have an awkward time trying not to bump into each other when I try to get off later-” you pinch his lips together to silence him.

“God, you really can't shut up, huh?” you remark as you let go, pushing him down by the shoulders to make him sit back down since he was already prepared to jump off the bunk. “I'm not as good with words but… Could I have a pen?”

Brian’s face contorts in confusion but he heeds your request, dipping his hand into his pillow case to pull out a pen - one he always keeps at the ready in case inspiration strikes in the wee hours of the morn and he's too lazy to go to his desk. You begin scribbling on the paper, writing in your usual tiny penmanship, stopping to think at a couple points, but finally placing a bracket at the end of your reply.

You fold the paper in half, return it to the envelope, and pass it to the original sender. He slips it back out immediately, eyes skimming over the words quickly at first. He looks up at you for a fleeting second, then turns back to reread what is written.

I don't think I'm comparable
To the majestic orb in the sky
Nor am I as unfathomable
As the stars Man can't even quantify

I see not perfection in me,
And I know you deny it in you.
But I'm sure we can agree
We’re two imperfectly perfect youths.

But those last few words you speak
Are rather amusing to me
For my dear you are all
That my eyes ever see

(So need you ask?)

“Really?” he asks, and you nod sheepishly, feeling warm and giddy - but in a good way. He throws his arms around you, making you fall back and accidentally hit your head against the wall.

“Owww!” you exclaim and he speedily pulls you back up, cradling you in his arms as he rubs your head, apologies streaming out from his lips profusely. You can't help but fall into a pit of giggles as you hug him back reassuringly. “I'm fine, Brian.”

“You sure, baby?” he asks. You an eyebrow.

“Baby?”

“You don't like it? How about jagi, then? Or yeobo?”

The giggles return and feeling a random bout of boldness, you lean in to peck his chin, the slight prickly sensation from the stubble making you laugh even more - he was always lazy to shave as often as usual during exam season. He looks at you in surprise but you simply chuckle at his expression. “Anything is fine~” you smile up at him but he still looks both shocked and worried. “Did you hit your head too hard?” he wonders aloud as he rubs your head again, making you laugh even harder.

Sitting up, you put the bracelet you just received in his hand. Understanding your silent instructions, he puts it on for you, carefully closing the clasp and watching as you admire the glint if the unique charms in the dim light; a moon, star, a few scattered white beads and... You stop rotating your wrist when your eyes catch a flash of red and you realise that there’s an additional charm on the bracelet - he must have gotten it customized for you.

In the centre of the bracelet is a simple yet elegant red rose charm, clearly the attention stealer amidst the other ornaments that were either silver, black or white. How typical of him to include a classic symbol of romanticism; a red rose, for a confession. You glance at him and find that he’s been staring at you intently the entire time.

The pink hue that colours your cheeks doesn’t go unnoticed as you reach out to place your hand over his. “I love it, thank you,” you declare before you suddenly freeze, remembering something.

“I haven't properly said it, so,” you pause your sentence to peck his cheek, the act once more carving his face into that adorable look of shock and elation combined. “Happy birthday, Younghyun-ah,” you wish him, and his lips curve at the use of his other name that you rarely ever call him by.

Brian leans in towards you, his smile turning from one of happiness to one of mischief. “You know what, I think those guitar picks were a little short of enough. Plus, you wished me late. So there's something else I want for my birthday too.”

“Hmm?”

“More of those kisses,” he states, pulling you into his arms and smothering your face with kisses before you can object (not that you were about to). You manage to hold him at bay after he's covered every inch of your cheeks, forehead, nose and eyelids. “Hey! Come on, let me go, I need to finish that report, remember?” you rationalise in between laughs.

He pouts but lets you go, watching you disdainfully as you move to climb down the ladder. You stop midway as if contemplating something before calling him over to the edge of the bed. Still sulking like a child that got his candy taken away from him, he scoots over to you, asking what you want. You smirk in reply, hesitating for a second but finally decide to just go for it, tiptoeing on the step to quickly peck his lips before rushing down and scurrying over to your desk.

Brian can only stare at you dumbfoundedly before reaching up to touch his lips, the ghost of a smile gracing his lips before he flings himself back on his bed, trying to hold back a squeal. Meanwhile you yourself are having a hard time trying to contain your smile as you get back to work, forcing yourself to focus. A few minutes later you hear his voice again.

“Hey, y/n?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you call me Younghyun again?”

You don't turn around so he doesn't see you clamping your lips together to stop them from curling upwards.

“Why? You don't want me to call you babe? Or jagi? How about yeobo?” you tease, getting back at him for doing the same to you earlier. He groans in reply and you snigger under your breath.

“Goodnight, Younghyun-ah.”

A pause.

“Goodnight, babe~ anhi- jaljayo, yeobo~” he says as he buries himself under the covers; you can almost hear the grin in his voice. You bring your attention back to your laptop screen so you don't notice as he climbs down the bed until you feel a pair of strong hands massaging your tense shoulders.

“I don't think I can sleep right now, so let's burn the midnight oil studying together. Coffee?”

“You? Study?” you mock, earning an eye roll from the other, “Shut up, you know I study just as hard as everyone else.”

You let out a playful scoff and he presses down hard on your shoulders in retaliation. “Heyyy, that hurts!” you tell him as you reach up to hold his hand but the jest in your voice doesn't make your exclamation menacing. He resumes massaging your shoulders lightly and bends down to place a kiss on your crown.

“Coffee?” he repeats the offer.

“Haze-”

“Hazelnut latte, I got it.”

He walks out of the room and you wonder why it took you this long to realise that all this while, he was paying just as much attention to you as you were to him. Your trail of thought stops short when you realise something that has your temples throbbing slightly as you groan. , I'm never gonna hear the end of this from Jimin and Jae.

The two had been speculating that you and Brian would end up dating from the moment you both drew the unfortunate lots to be co-ed roomies. Jae and Sungjin snagged the neighbouring room, with Jimin and Yerin in the other. But you both had coyly denied the possibility (unbeknownst to you both that you were hurting each other's feelings).

But now that their prognosis was confirmed, neither of you were going to be free from those two's wrath. But well, at least you'd have each other.

* for those of you who can’t read hangul: 
- The first text says “oneuldo himnaera!” which literally translates to “today too, have strength!” and sorta means good luck for today. it’s the first text that can be seen when he slips off a guitar pick, hence wishing him good luck before practice/performances or anything, really. 
- The 2nd text that can only be seen when the whole pick is out says “sugohaesseoyo, oneuldo” which means smth like “you worked hard today” which is what he’ll see when he replaces the pick into the holder i.e. at the end of the day~ this was kinda inspired by their song “All Alone”/”혼자야” - y’all will understand if you check the lyrics out huhu. thank you for reading <33333