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Changbin roommates/friends to lovers au written for @kawaiikalia, winner of the stray kids bias contest!
ugh Iâm so bad at keeping updates on schedule, but Iâll try to post again soon, thanks for waiting!
Also, HAPPY LATE BDAY BINNIE ILYâ¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸
Your eyes cracked open slightly as you listened to the coffee pot being put on. Pulling the covers back over your frigid shoulders, you reminded yourself to thank Changbin later for waking up early for once. Neither of you were early birds, but on occasion, one of you would take pity on the other and start breakfast. Binnie had a hangover last time you got up to cook, so at least he knew that it was his turn.
âGet up!â he shouted from the kitchen right next to your door. Binâs voice pierced through your complacent daydreaming of not having to go to work. Unfortunately, reality was not as sweet and the minutes ticked by on the alarm clock by your bed. Once you had hit the 10 minute mark of not moving, Changbin knocked on your door roughly.
âI know youâre still in bed so Iâm opening the door,â he mumbled, peeking inside, âcâmon, get up.â With your shoulder facing him, he knelt down by the side of your bed. âHey, the coffeeâs gonna get cold.â His voice peaked a little and rose as he spoke, bringing out the playfulness in his tone.Â
From the other side of the bed, eyes closed in protest, you snorted. âDonât try acting cute, BinnieâŚâ you mumbled.Â
âI knew you were awake!â
âShut up, dummy, Iâm getting up, OK?â Flipping over toward him, you leaned on your elbow and tried to think of some sarcastically scathing comment about how he probably made everything wrong. âJust-â
The two of you froze as your eyes met, barely a few inches from each other. His nose nearly had grazed yours as you looked up from the covers bunched around your torso. It was an odd sight to see Bin so close, but it just reaffirmed the fact that he was godly handsome, even this early in the morning. Starting at the top with his ruffled black hair and following the pretty curve of his face down to the lean muscle of his shoulders, you scanned him, becoming more and more confused as you did. Binâs face reflected yours as you noticed that he was tracing the slope of your neck with his stare, mouth hanging open slightly. A strange tension hung in the air like fog, unable to cut through because you couldnât quite grasp what it was. Neither of you had ever wanted anything more than a friendship, so why did it entice you to see him gulp and fluster at being so close to you?Â
The clock couldnât keep up with how fast the two of you pulled away after that thought. âIâm up,â you said, rolling over again and getting out of the bed. You ran your hands over your hair and your face, rubbing your eyes furiously. Putting on a forced smile, you told him that he could just leave it on the stove for you. âHope you didnât burn the eggs this time,â you joked, trying to put the airiness back in the conversation again.Â
The word âsureâ sounded like it died in his throat as Changbin moved awkwardly out of the room and back to the kitchen. His shoulders were tensed up to his ears, which were a burnt shade of crimson.
The day went on like the one before it, mindless and boring. The view of your car in the parking lot from behind the desk you sat at tantalized you the entire day. Once you had acted fake nice to the manager and the rest of your coworkers enough to get sent home early, you skipped out to the car and headed toward your roommates building about 30 minutes early. The breeze blew across your back as you rested yourself on the same bench, opening your book and twirling the ear of the page between your fingers. Hurry up, you thought lazily in Changbinâs direction, glancing every few seconds towards the door to see if he was walking through. Why am I getting antsy to see him? Your brain had asked the question you hadnât wanted to associate with your toes dancing in your shoes with giddiness. Because heâs my best friend, duh, you figured dismissively, ignoring your nagging mind in order to catch whoever just exited the building.Â
A flash of blonde made your stomach jump. It was the guy around Binâs age that also worked in the recording studio office, the one that had caught your eye yesterday. He was trying to shove his laptop into his backpack, very unsuccessfully, when he looked up and seemed happy to see you. However brief, his gaze stuck with you in your mind, making you questionâŚthings. Putting your nose back into your book, you listened to his footsteps stepping closer and closer until a backpack was set down carefully near your feet on the other end of the bench. The boy sat down and took his headphones off before clearing his throat and excusing himself. âAre you Changbinâs roommate?â
Surprised, you turned quickly and smiled, not realizing you were doing so just because of the mention of his name. âYeah, do you work with him?â
The blonde extended his hand to you. âChan. Iâm one of the other interns.â
Taking his hand and shaking it gingerly, you responded with your own name. âSo, whatâs he told you about me?â you asked, before cupping your hand next to your mouth to whisper to him, âItâs all untrue, whatever it is.â
Chan laughed musically. âTrust me, all good things. I saw the two of you together yesterday, and I kind of wanted to meet you, so I hope itâs not weird for me to come up and talk to you,â he scratched the back of his head, âThe last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable.â
Hands up in defense, you shook your head vigorously and assured him that it wasnât a problem. He was being so polite, and time wasnât ticking by any faster, so you and Chan began to chat about school and work, your hobbies, his hobbies, and everything in between. At least, enough to fill the 45 minutes until Changbin ran out the door of the office, running over to the two of you with a grin.
âHey, man,â Bin said, clapping Chan on the shoulder and turning to you with wide eyes. âYou guys been talking about me?â
âHa, you wish,â you laughed sarcastically, âweâre just passing the time until you got done. How come you never tell me cool stuff about work like Chan does?â
You and Bin stuck your tongues out at each other childishly, not paying much attention to the blondeâs laughing in the background.
Chan reached into his backpack and pulled out a slip of paper which he scribbled something down on in the palm of his hand. Handing it to you hurriedly, he apologized that his bus was here. âIt was really nice meeting you!â he called as he waved goodbye.
âYou too!â A small smile graced your lips as you returned the gesture. Chan was super cool, you wondered why Binnie had never mentioned him.
Changbin tugged on the sleeve of your shirt, giving you puppy dog eyes. âCan we eat out tonight?â It was almost like Chan hadnât even been there. âAlso, what did he give you?â
You uncovered the small slip of paper in your palm to find a messy scrawl of numbers with Chanâs name in the top corner. âHe gave me his phone number.â
âOh.â Bin turned away abruptly, like it would hurt his eyes if he looked on the paper too. âI could have just given it to you if you wanted it that badly,â he muttered, his tone sounding weirdly injured and cynical.Â
âThat badly? I didnât even ask for it,â you said. The look that he gave you was one that made it seem like he didnât believe you, but he began to walk to the car anyway.
There he was, the asshole personality that surfaced in Bin when he got annoyed. Huffing, you followed him and got in the passengerâs seat, now considerably less excited to see him. It was cruel that he looked just as good as yesterday after work.
Almost as a form of retaliation, you texted Chan as soon as you got home. Hey, Binâs acting like a brat. Is he like that at work too?, you sent, then threw yourself down on your bed, trying not to think about how it seemed all you could think about was Changbin. There didnât seem any use, though. Sooner or later, you would have to admit that you felt somethingâŚmore.
Your phone buzzed with Chanâs reply. Heâs not too bad, but he does like to brag about you a lot.
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â you asked aloud incredulously. Damn it, why did he have to act so differently when you werenât around!
âAre you talking to me?â Changbin stood outside your doorway.
Your spine tingled as you met his eyes again, like you had done so many times, but now it felt dangerous. You actually were conscious of you feelings now, but were still fighting the urge to argue with him just to deflect. âNo, just,â you sighed, âtalking to myselfâŚâ
His gaze was a little disappointed. âOK, let me know if you want to, I guess.â Walking back to his room, the door shut quietly, with finality.
When did it become difficult to talk to him? You picked up your phone and sent a few emojis back as a reply, though none of them had any correlation to what was actually in your head.Â
Closing your eyes, you took in the quiet noises of your room, the smell of your sheets, and the soft music playing in Changbinâs room. A buzz from your phone on your chest ensnared your attention again. Reading it slowly, you threw your phone down on your bed in horror before burying your face in your pillow and screaming mutedly.Â
Hey, Chan had said, do you want to grab coffee sometime?Â