Acquired Tastes

Chapter Twenty-Four

When Neil woke up, Roman was gone, and the morning light was coming in around the edges of the curtains. Neil got up and got dressed for running.

Roman reentered the room with wet hair and new clothes. He gave Neil a little grin as he walked over to his side of the room and hung his towel on the hook on the wall. He pulled on a hoodie and socks. As Neil tied his shoes, he found his eyes absentmindedly following Roman around the room, as Roman tugged on his shoes and spoke without looking up. "For someone who hates being looked at, you're not very subtle about your staring problems."

Neil felt his cheeks grow warm even though Roman wasn't looking at him. He dropped his gaze to the floor, unsure what to say. Roman straightened up and walked over to him, putting his hand on Neil's chin and tilting his face up so he could kiss the tip of Neil's nose. "You're so cute," he whispered, and Neil's face went from warm to hot as Roman grinned at him. Finally, Roman let go of his chin and straightened up, but Neil wrapped his fingers around Roman's forearm to stop him from walking away.

Neil's heart skipped a beat as soon as his fingers closed around the Roman's arm, unmistakably bandaged beneath his sleeve. As soon as Neil hesitated, Roman read it on his face, and pulled his arm out of Neil's grip. Before Neil could react, Roman was meeting his lips again, pushing Neil backwards in his enthusiasm, his weight against his hand beside Neil's head. He ran his thumb over Neil's jawbone, then followed it with his tongue, and even with the shivers it sent through Neil's entire body, he couldn't quite get his mind off the bandages. When Roman sat back up, getting back to his feet, Neil sat up, eyes on Roman as he stepped over to his dresser to grab his water bottle.

"You're not going to talk to me about it?" Neil asked, finally.

Roman shook his head, pulling the door open and holding it. Neil stood up, hesitated, then walked out. Roman followed, and they were quiet until they'd made it out of the hall and begun down the stairs.

"Roman, I think you should-"

"I don't have to tell you about everything, Martin," Roman said sharply.

Neil hesitated, eyes on his feet as he stepped down the final few stairs. "I know," he said finally. "But I'm here...you know...if you want to."

Roman gave him his best attempt at a smile.

The next afternoon, sitting in the bleachers of the large room in Knapp, Neil found himself growing more and more overwhelmed by the increasing volume around him, so he put in earbuds and zoned out, eyes following the flow of students entering the room. His heart sped up a bit when he noticed Roman, and he found himself straightening up, eyes drifting with Roman as he got stopped every few steps by a different person or group. Watching him from this distance was almost disorienting, like he'd gotten so comfortable with Roman so quickly that he'd forgotten about the way Roman existed in other parts of his life. He couldn't deny that seeing everyone all over Roman did make him feel like a bit of a fool. It was almost a relief to be distracted as several people pushed past his knees and dropped beside him.

Neil dropped his chin against one hand and pulled out his phone, looking for something else to think about. He'd almost managed to shift his attention when Roman's name appeared on his screen. He just watched it for several seconds before answering, lifting his head to scan the crowd again. "Hey."

"Hey," came Roman's voice. "Where are you?"

Neil's eyes found Roman, still surrounded by a little crowd. He swallowed hard. "In the middle. Toward the top."

Roman looked over, eyes meeting Neil's, and gave him a little grin before sliding his phone back into his pocket. Neil watched him say something to the little crowd and then turn and make his way up the stairs, two at a time. Neil took his earbuds out as Roman approached and came to a stop beside him, kneeing him gently in the leg. "Thanks for saving me a seat," he said, through a grin.