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Senior year was definitely a lot better than all three previous years of school. True, it was stressful and hectic with grad school applications and his honors thesis, but there was one major factor that made his life so much better. Kevin had been able to get into the shiny new senior housing on campus. Goodbye dorms, goodbye shoe box rooms, goodbye three shower stalls for a floor full of boys.
The senior housing apartments were nice. He had room mates still, but they each got their own room in a unit with shared kitchen and living room. Not only that, there were two bathrooms – he only had to share with one other guy. It was fantastic.
True, he could have gone for off campus apartment earlier, but his scholarships only covered on campus housing.
His room mates were pretty cool too. If they weren’t so busy with school, Kevin would probably be better friends with them than just mumbled hellos over breakfast and blood shot eyes over the coffee pot at three am during an all nighter. Kevin shared a few beers with Sam every now and then, and Garth was almost overly friendly but he was harmless. Cas didn’t come out of his room much, he was pretty weird, but quiet and thus a good room mate.
No one, however, was a good room mate – or decent human being – in the weeks winding down to finals. Sam was snappy, Garth was in a constant state of panicked frenzy, Kevin lived on coffee and caffeine pills, their apartment was a mess and Cas, well he apparently was averse to headphones to spare everyone else in the apartment the misery of his music tastes.
When Kevin heard the familiar strains of the same Adele CD that had been playing on loop for a few days - on a nice Saturday afternoon when he had projects to finish and tests to study for - instead of complaining about it he packed up and headed to the library.
The library was open late for three weeks before finals, but it did have to close at midnight. Grabbing coffee from a 24/7 Starbucks on the way home, Kevin was set for another all nighter cramming but when he kicked off his shoes inside their apartment, he could still hear that goddam Adele CD playing, the very same one that he had left because of that morning.
There was only so much he could take.
Sam and Garth were no where to be found, so it was up to Kevin. He was tired and hungry and every time he blinked he saw numbers on the inside of his eyelids and he just could not listen to this CD one more time.
Pounding on the door to Cas’ room, Kevin was maybe feeling a little bitchy, but the moment Cas opened the door – eyes red rimmed, hair wild, in a ratty t-shirt and boxers – Kevin stumbled over what he was going to say.
“Hey – uh… you okay Cas?”
He could see a tick in the other guy’s jaw. “I’m fine.”
God, he reeked of alcohol and desperation and Kevin tried to remember the last time he’d actually seen Cas outside his room.
“Dude you’ve been blasting Adele for the last three days, you are not okay.”
His shoulders slumped and Cas squinted at the floor, mumbling another “I’m fine” before trying to shut the door on Kevin.
Pushing it open, Kevin stepped into his room, taking the complete mess that was really nothing like what he’d seen of Cas so far, always neat pressed and on top of school.
“What’s going on?”
Cas sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It’s been a long week.”
“You clearly need better coping mechanisms.”
“I am aware of that, however, I am entirely unmotivated to change at this point.”
The Adele was still blaring, “Can we at least turn the music off, this CD is really getting on my nerves.”
Cas almost tripped on a bottle on his way across the room to shut his stereo off.
Kevin leaned against the door frame, still not going away, “Wouldn’t of figured you were a fan of hers.”
“I like a lot of different music.”
“Still not going to tell me what’s going on?”
“No.”
Rolling his eyes, Kevin stepped carefully over to Cas and grabbed his shirt, dragging him in the direction of the bathroom, “Okay, one, you reek – take a shower and brush your teeth. Two, I can’t remember when I saw you out of the room last, I’m gonna make dinner. Come out when you’re done.”
Cas scowled at Kevin, but let himself be herded into the bathroom where Kevin turned on the shower head before leaving and shutting the door. He had been so focused on school himself that he was probably being counterproductive because a deficiency of sleep and inadequate eating patterns could sap focus and reduce intelligence, so really, Kevin could use a break and he could definitely use food too.
-
This being finals week and college, food turned out to be Ramen noodles because the cupboards in their shared kitchen were almost bare. Kevin managed to scrounge up an old can of peas and carrots too, adding that in for a little color and variety. He had plenty of coffee though, and put on a pot while the noodles simmered.
Cas came out of the bathroom in boxers and an inside out tee shirt, but it was an improvement. Pink cheeked, thick stubble on his jaw, he shuffled over to the kitchen table and sat down. Kevin put a mug of coffee with a spoon of sugar in front of him.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Mixing in the flavor powder, Kevin split up the Ramen and sat down at the table with his own mug of coffee.
Cas practically inhaled the soup.
Kevin considered pushing his over, but it was actually pretty good with peas and carrots in it. “Are you still hungry? I think we have some tuna and crackers.”
Cas grunted and stood, taking his bowl to the sink and washing it before searching the cupboards for the tuna and crackers. He settled back at the table with just the open can and the box of crackers.
“This is more than just finals stress, isn’t it? You sure you’re ok Cas?”
Scrubbing his eyes, slumped over the table, Cas shrugged. “In the past week I’ve found out that my dad is back in rehab, I’m failing calculus, my favorite pair of jeans ripped, and I broke up with Cain.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Why’d you two break up?”
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Yeah, no that’s totally fine. I uh, I’m not really good at this kind of stuff, but I could help you study for calculus?”
Sipping his coffee, Cas offered a weak smile. “I know you’re busy with your own school work.”
“I really don’t mind, I’m going crazy working on my thesis paper, but math is actually pretty relaxing. I could use the break.”
Clearing the table, Cas refilled their coffee mugs. “You’re a very good friend Kevin.”
“Come on, grab your books, we’re studying in my room because yours is a wreck.”
-
It was five A.M by the time they closed their books. Cas was wicked smart but he had problems grasping the concepts the way the text explained them. Kevin just spun the theory from different angles until Cas latched on and then it wasn’t too bad. If he aced his final he’d pull through the class.
Jotting down a few more notes, legs folded on top of Kevin’s bed where they’d sprawled with pillows a few hours ago, Cas finally set everything aside. Kevin was yawning and weirdly still a little twitchy from all the coffee even though he was brain dead.
“I can’t believe you made that make sense. Thank you so much Kevin.”
Waving him off, Kevin face planted on the bed wedged between Cas and the wall. “S’no problem.”
Cas shifted away a little, looked down at Kevin, then at the door. Kevin decided to just loop an arm around his stomach and tug him back. He was warm. And he smelled good now that he was freshly showered. Kevin didn’t really have a lot of people in his bed. Like, ever. He didn’t really want anything other than someone to curl up next to. Was rebound cuddles a thing? It should totally be a thing.
“We’ll clean your bedroom together tomorrow, ok. You can stay here if you want. Just to cuddle.”
Cas stretched out on the bed, shuffling under the sheets and lying facing Kevin. Tentatively, he settled a hand on Kevin’s hip and it was a warm, comfortable weight. Kevin scooted closer and nudged his face against Cas’ chest.
“Are you sure this is all right?”
“Definitely. Go to sleep Cas.”
There was a light kiss on the top of his head and Cas wrapped an arm tighter around Kevin. He could feel the moment Cas actually relaxed, sagging against the too-hard, too-small mattress and curling up against Kevin. It was nice and that all he needed to know right now, they could think about it more in the morning over coffee.