Dear Roommate Please Stop Being Hot [BL]-Chapter 273: The Week Finds Its Rhythm

Wednesday

The week found its rhythm on Wednesday.

Morning classes, library sessions between lectures, Luca and Noel meeting for lunch at their usual table by the window.

"My capstone advisor wants a proposal by next week," Noel said, picking at his salad.

"That’s fast."

"That’s final semester."

They’d started finishing each other’s complaints, a side effect of spending too much time together—or exactly the right amount, depending on perspective. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

After lunch, Luca had his Business Studies seminar, a small class of twenty students all facing the same existential dread of impending graduation.

Emily was there, taking notes with the intensity of someone preparing for war rather than a discussion about organizational behavior.

"You okay?" Luca whispered during a lull.

"Fine. Just focused."

But there was something brittle in her voice, something she wasn’t saying.

Luca didn’t push.

That evening, he and Noel spread their work across the living room floor—textbooks, laptops, notebooks, both of them too restless for the couch, needing space to think.

"This is terrible," Luca announced around eight, dropping his pen.

"What is?"

"All of it. School. Reading. Thinking."

"You’re very dramatic when you’re tired."

"I’m appropriately dramatic when I’m tired."

Noel looked up from his own work, expression softening. "Take a break."

"You take a break."

"I will if you will."

They ordered pizza—becoming a pattern, but patterns were comfortable—and ate on the floor surrounded by their academic chaos, Luca Jr. navigating between papers like he owned the place.

Which, to be fair, he did.

Thursday

Thursday brought rain—cold, persistent, the kind that made campus feel smaller, everyone huddled under umbrellas and rushing between buildings.

Luca’s morning class was canceled, the professor sending an apologetic email about emergency, giving him an unexpected free period.

He texted Noel, who was stuck in his own class, then headed to the library alone.

The third floor was quiet, most students still in lectures, just a few dedicated souls already deep in research.

He claimed a desk near the window, watching rain streak down glass, and actually made progress on his reading for once.

Around noon, his phone buzzed.

Emily: team meeting tomorrow? need to finalize project choice

Luca: yeah what time

Emily: 3pm? library?

Luca: works for me

George: I’m in

Emily: perfect see you both then

Noel appeared around one, hair slightly damp from the rain, looking tired but determined.

"Productive morning?" Luca asked.

"Somewhat. You?"

"Actually yes. Finished half the reading for next week."

"Who are you and what have you done with Luca?"

"Funny."

They grabbed sandwiches from the café, eating quickly before Noel’s afternoon class, parting with a brief kiss that still felt significant despite being routine now.

That evening, Noel came home late—nearly eight—looking exhausted.

"Seminar ran over," he explained, dropping his bag. "Then I got caught by my advisor about the proposal."

"You okay?"

"Just tired."

Luca pulled him to the couch, maneuvering until Noel was lying with his head in Luca’s lap.

"Better?"

"Getting there."

They stayed like that, Luca’s fingers working through Noel’s hair, both of them too tired for conversation, just existing together in comfortable silence.

Friday

Friday arrived with a collective exhale—the first week nearly complete, everyone ready for the weekend.

Luca’s morning class was lighter than usual, the professor clearly also ready for a break, letting them out twenty minutes early.

He met Emily and George at the library at three, all of them settling into a study room with laptops and determination.

"Okay," Emily said, pulling up her notes. "Final decision time. Which company are we analyzing?"

They debated for thirty minutes, weighing pros and cons, eventually settling on a tech startup George’s family had connections with—international expansion, cross-cultural challenges, enough data to work with.

"I can get us financial reports," George said. "And probably an interview with their operations director."

"That’s perfect," Emily said, already typing. "We’ll need to outline our approach, divide responsibilities, set deadlines—"

"Emily," Luca interrupted. "It’s Friday. Can we plan the planning for Monday?"

She looked ready to protest, then sighed. "Fine. But Monday. No excuses."

"Deal."

They packed up, walking out together into the late afternoon.

"Any plans this weekend?" George asked.

"Actually," Luca said, "we should all hang out. Like old times. You, me, Emily, Noel. Maybe Alex and Lina if they’re free."

"I’m in," George said immediately.

"Me too," Emily agreed. "When?"

"Tomorrow night? Dinner somewhere?"

They coordinated quickly, Luca pulling out his phone to text the others.

Luca: dinner tomorrow night? the usual spot?

Noel: what usual spot

Luca: the one we went to that time

Noel: we’ve been to many places many times

Luca: the Italian place near campus

Noel: oh. yeah I’m in

Luca: asking Alex and Lina too

Noel: ok

Luca switched to a different chat.

Luca: hey, dinner tomorrow? whole group

Alex: yeah! what time

Luca: 7?

Alex: perfect. I’ll tell Lina

Lina: I’m here I can read. yes I’m in

By the time Luca got home, plans were solidified—six of them, Saturday at seven, the restaurant near campus that had good food and better prices.

Noel arrived an hour later, also released early from his Friday class, both of them grateful the week was over.

"So," Noel said, dropping onto the couch. "Dinner tomorrow."

"You don’t have to come if you don’t want to."

"I want to. Just... making sure you want me there."

"Obviously I want you there. It’s a group thing. You’re part of the group."

"Am I though? I’m not as close to them as you are."

"You’re close to Alex. And you’ve hung out with everyone before. Plus, I want you there, which should be reason enough."

Noel smiled. "Fair point."

They spent Friday evening doing nothing important—making dinner together, watching a movie they’d seen before, going to bed early because the week had exhausted them both.

Saturday

Saturday morning was lazy, both of them sleeping until ten, no alarms, no obligations until evening.

They had breakfast in bed—toast and coffee and fruit, crumbs definitely getting in the sheets but neither caring.

"What do you want to do today?" Noel asked, scrolling through his phone.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing until we have to get ready."

"That’s six hours of nothing."

"I’m very good at nothing."

They managed to fill those hours anyway—cleaning the apartment because it needed it, running errands they’d been putting off, existing in that comfortable domestic space that felt like home.

Around five, they started getting ready—actual effort this time, because it was the first time seeing everyone together in months.

Luca changed his shirt three times before settling on dark jeans and a navy sweater that Noel had once said made his eyes stand out.

Noel emerged from the bathroom in black jeans and a gray button-down, hair actually styled, looking unfairly good for someone who claimed not to care about appearance.

"Ready?" Noel asked.

"Yeah.....You look good."

"You’re required to say that."

"Doesn’t make it less true."

The restaurant was a ten-minute walk from their apartment, an Italian place they’d discovered during their early days of dating, before everything got complicated and then simple again.

They arrived at 6:55 to find Emily already there, seated at a large table near the back, scrolling through her phone.

"Hey!" She stood, hugging them both. "George is running late—train delay. Alex and Lina texted, they’re five minutes out."

They settled into seats, Emily immediately launching into a story about her week while they waited for the others.

George arrived moments later, slightly breathless, apologizing for the delay.

Then Alex and Lina appeared together, both of them looking windswept and happy, clearly having walked from campus.

"Sorry, sorry," Alex said, unwinding his scarf. "Lost track of time."

"You’re fine," Luca said. "We just got here."

They settled around the table—six of them, menus distributed, the initial awkwardness of gathering dissolving quickly into comfortable conversation.

"Can’t believe we’re all back," George said, looking around. "Feels like forever since we did this."

"Since before internship," Emily agreed. "What’s that, Six months?"

"Too long," Alex said. "We should make this regular again."

"Agreed," Lina added, already sketching something on her napkin. "Once a month at least."

The waiter appeared, took their orders—too much food, definitely, but they were students and students were always hungry.

While waiting, conversation flowed easily.

George told stories about China—the food, the work culture, his family’s business connections that had seemed intimidating but turned out fascinating.

"You sound different," Alex observed. "More confident maybe."

"I feel different," George admitted. "Being there, working with my family, seeing how they operate—it changed my perspective."

"In a good way?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. In a good way."

Alex talked about his art portfolio, the stress of senior year in a creative program, the pressure of making something meaningful.

"I have to present to a panel of professionals," he said. "Actual gallery owners and art critics. It’s terrifying."

"You’ll be great," Lina said with certainty. "Your work is incredible."

"You have to say that. You’re my friend."

"I’d tell you if it was bad. You know I would."

Everyone laughed because yes, Lina absolutely would.

Lina shared her own senior project stress—designing an entire fashion collection, from concept to execution, everything documented and presented.

"I haven’t slept properly in weeks," she said, but she was smiling. "But also it’s kind of exciting? Like, this is it. The culmination of four years."

Emily talked about her internship, the corporate world she’d discovered she actually enjoyed despite expecting to hate it.

"I thought I’d feel trapped," she said. "But there’s something satisfying about structure, you know? About knowing exactly what’s expected."

Luca and Noel shared looks throughout—this was Emily analyzing herself, rare and slightly uncomfortable, but honest.

The food arrived, and conversation shifted to lighter topics—complaining about professors, debating the best coffee on campus, sharing stories about terrible group project partners.

"Remember when we had that guy who didn’t show up until the final presentation?" George said.

"And tried to present like he’d done work?" Emily added, laughing. "Professor shut him down so fast."

"Brutal but deserved," Alex said.

They ate slowly, no rush, everyone relaxed in a way that only came from genuine friendship.

Around eight-thirty.

Throughout dinner, Lina and Emily had been polite but not close—sitting on opposite sides of the table, not making direct eye contact much, their usual dynamic completely absent.

But nobody mentioned it. Nobody asked.

Whatever had shifted between them, it was theirs to navigate.

The rest of the group just... adjusted, naturally, filling the space with conversation and laughter and the comfort of people who’d known each other long enough that some silences were okay.

By nine, they were finishing dessert—sharing tiramisu and cannoli because ordering individual desserts felt wrong somehow, this meal meant for sharing.

"We should do this again," George said. "Soon. Not wait another Six months."

"Agreed," everyone chorused.

They split the check, argued briefly about who owed what, eventually sorting it out with the mathematical precision of students on budgets.

Outside, the night was cold and clear, stars visible despite city lights.

"Walk back together?" Alex suggested.

They moved as a group through campus, naturally pairing off—Alex and Lina ahead, talking about something design-related, George and Emily behind discussing their project, Luca and Noel in the middle.

"This was nice," Noel said quietly.

"Yeah. Really nice."

"I missed this. All of us together."

"Me too."

They reached the point where paths diverged—Alex and Lina heading toward the arts building where their studios were, George catching the train back to his place, Emily walking toward her house in the opposite direction.

Hugs all around.

Luca and Noel walked the final blocks home alone, hands linked, both of them content.

"Good night?" Luca asked.

"Really good night."

Back at the apartment, they went through their routine—changing into comfortable clothes, brushing teeth, checking that Luca Jr. had food and water.

In bed, exhausted but satisfied, Luca said, "First week done."

"First week done," Noel confirmed.

"Many more to go."

"We’ll survive them."

"Together."

"Always together."

Outside, the city settled into Saturday night quiet. Inside, wrapped in each other and the comfort of home, they drifted toward sleep.

The semester had truly begun.

And whatever challenges came next, they’d face them the same way they’d faced everything else.

Together.