And They Were Roommates

Chapter 16

Audu found it weird that he now had the exact date and time when he realised he was in love with Tosan, again in his head. There were so many things to love Tosan for, really. His cooking was magic, he cuddled like a giant teddy bear, he made you feel like the most important person in his world no matter what, he always listened back, his lips were Audu's fucking life force but no, these all piled up together in the long run, of course. It could have been so many reasons but no, no, it had to be when they were both covered in flour, surrounded by screeching children.

It all started when Mrs Davis, the baking contest host, gave him a call. She wasn't happy about it but one of the volunteers had called in sick quite late for a little charity baking lesson at an orphanage hours away from the cabin. It was an emergency. Tosan could only say he would get back to her, honestly surprised she even thought of him in the first place. She must have been truly desperate.

He moved his gaze to Audu who was sitting on the couch, eagerly watching Spongebob. He had been age regressed before and Audu switched it on for him but now that he was back to his usual self, Audu was still fully invested in the episode that had been on. Tosan stuck a spoon of ice cream in his mouth and stood in front of the TV screen, sighing loudly.

"Tosan, the fuck? Kilode naw?"

"The kind of passion you should put inside football match, na cartoon you dey direct am."

"I will direct my passion where I want to. You enjoy your football, sha. My preferred sport has to be watching wrestling. Omo if you see comedy. Men walking around in pant, talking shit to each other that doesn't even make sense, but the actual matches are a special kind of werey you can't even look away from-"

"Audu, I have... News?" Audu paused the show, turning to him expectantly. Tosan didn't really want to shatter this bubble they had around them. Their place felt like a safe space from all the possible external obstacles. It was just them hanging out with the occasional kiss or passionate moment in between. They spent their nights together in the living room and usually ended up sleeping off leaning against each other. Was it really safe to go out into the world, again?

"So... You remember Mrs Davis from the competition."

"'Course. Hard to forget her when she gave you the "fuck me" eyes."

"I'm not even gonna respond to that. Sha, she says there's an orphanage and they need an extra hand to teach the kids a thing or two about baking." Audu's lips immediately split into a smile and Tosan forced one of his own, choosing not to share his anxiety over it. Audu was happy, that was all that mattered.

It was only when they got to the orphanage that Tosan looked his roommate in the eyes, gripping his wrist just as they were about to leave. "Omo... I dey fear small."

"What? Why? This is your element, right here-"

"Baking, sure, being the centre of attention, hell yeah but I can't fucking do the children thing, Audu! I've never been able t- what if I accidentally crush one of their tiny little heads?! What then?!"

"Jesus, T, they aren't that small. Don't freak out, okay? I'll be supporting you from afar the whole time. Oya, give me your hand. We got this." Tosan rolled his eyes and came out on his own, adjusting his jacket collar and brushing past Audu with a haughty huff that had him chuckling. What a drama queen. He had a feeling Tosan and the children would get along fine.

They walked in practically side by side, Tosan smiling when he answered his phone and got thanked by Mrs Davis. But once that was over, he was left to join a few other bakers at their stations. The children looked at him with wide-eyes and he wondered why, until he realised he was the only dark-skinned man, there. The bakers were mainly women, save for one and he forced a smile, moving to his section where he had four children or so to teach.