Dear Roommate Please Stop Being Hot [BL]-Chapter 99: Worth Waiting For

The sky had begun to shift into lavender, the soft prelude to twilight settling over campus.

Time passed.

Somehow, Luca had managed to stay focused for nearly forty minutes without checking his phone.

His head was tilted slightly, lips pressed in concentration as he underlined a key term.

Noel glanced at him from behind his own laptop screen, trying not to look impressed.

Alex yawned. "Okay, I need a break or a nap or a new brain."

Noel smirked. "You said we’d go two hours."

"I lied," Alex said, stretching. "Text me when you’re ready to quiz again. I’m going to the café downstairs."

He packed up and disappeared, leaving Luca and Noel alone at the table by the window. The sunlight was softer now, spilling gold across the pages.

Luca exhaled and leaned back slightly. "Am I doing okay?"

Noel looked at his notes. "Better than okay. You actually remembered stuff."

"I told you I’d try." Luca nudged him lightly with his knee under the table. "I want to be better at this."

Noel looked at him — really looked — and set his pen down. "You already are."

There was a beat of silence, heavy with meaning.

Then Luca smiled, a little sheepishly. "So... do I get a reward now?"

Noel arched a brow. "What kind of reward?"

"I don’t know." Luca leaned in, lips barely parted, voice dropping. "Something sweet. Something boyfriend-approved."

Noel flushed and flicked his pen at him. "Finish one more Chapter, then we’ll negotiate."

Luca grinned. "Deal."

He leaned closer again and whispered, "But I’m already thinking about how you’re gonna kiss me on the walk back."

Noel tried not to smile. He failed.

"Read," he said, trying to sound firm.

"Yes, professor," Luca said with mock obedience, flipping the page dramatically.

And they both settled back into the moment — safe, full of warmth, and perfectly in sync.

The warm breeze rustled the trees as students shuffled toward their last classes of the day.

Noel adjusted the strap of his bag as they approached the building.

"I still don’t get why this professor thinks evening lectures are acceptable," he muttered.

Luca walked beside him, hands tucked into his hoodie pockets, unbothered. "Probably because he doesn’t have a boyfriend waiting for him back at the dorm."

Noel gave him a look. "Subtle."

"I try." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

They stopped just outside the glass doors of the lecture hall. Inside, students were already beginning to fill the seats.

Luca turned to face him. "You gonna be long?"

"Depends on how many people ask dumb questions."

Luca chuckled. "So... yes."

Noel gave him a small smirk, then reached to fix the fold in Luca’s hoodie collar — a casual gesture, but gentle. "You should eat something while I’m gone."

"I’ll wait," Luca said. "I want us to eat together."

"Alright," Noel said, softer now. "I won’t take too long."

Luca leaned in, close enough for Noel to feel the warmth of his breath.

"I’ll be in bed when you come back," he murmured. "Waiting for my reward."

Noel flushed, gripping the strap of his bag a little tighter.

"Study something useful while you wait," he managed.

"Like how to kiss you better?" Luca whispered.

Noel laughed under his breath and shoved him lightly. "Go."

Luca stepped back, his grin lazy and satisfied. "Don’t take too long, or I’ll start negotiating interest on that reward."

Noel shook his head as he turned and disappeared into the lecture hall — but the smile on his face lingered long after the doors closed behind him.

The hallway was nearly empty when Luca reached their floor. His steps were slow, unrushed, as if he was savoring the silence.

He slipped the key into the door, pushed it open, and stepped inside.

The dorm still held the warmth of the day — Noel’s scent lingering faintly in the air, like the echo of a quiet promise.

Luca toed off his shoes, tugged off his hoodie, and let the door click shut behind him.

He stood there for a moment, just looking.

Noel’s desk was still scattered with highlighters and neat stacks of notes. His coffee mug, half-finished, sat by the window where the golden light slanted in. Their beds—unmade, sheets slightly tangled from that afternoon nap.

It all felt like something lived-in. Shared. Theirs.

Luca exhaled and ran a hand through his hair, still a little damp from earlier. He dropped onto his bed and reached for his phone.

6:17 PM.

No new messages.

He smiled anyway, imagining Noel sitting upright in that lecture hall, probably scribbling notes and judging the professor’s pacing in his head.

He told himself not to check again. But in the quiet, it was easy to remember all the nights he used to wait for nothing. No reply. No return. This was different. But sometimes his heart forgot.

"I’ll be in bed when you come back..."

Luca stretched out across his mattress, then rolled over to face the wall.

He stared at the ceiling for a second.

Then, with a small groan, sat up again and pulled his textbook toward him.

"Noel said I have to study," he muttered.

He cracked the spine open with exaggerated dramatics, flipping to the bookmarked Chapter.

"Marketing strategies in post-digital landscapes."

"Kill me," Luca whispered.

Still, he gave it a shot. Underlined a few things. Even highlighted a quote, though he mostly did it because the highlighter matched Noel’s.

After maybe fifteen minutes of real effort, he closed the book with a sigh and lay back down, arms spread, staring at the ceiling.

"I studied," he said to the air. "That counts, right?"

The room was still. Peaceful.

He reached for his phone again and typed quickly:

Luca: I studied. That’s worth extra kisses.

He smiled, satisfied with himself, and let the phone drop to his chest. Then rolled onto his side, curled slightly into the blanket Noel had folded earlier.

And waited.

Warm.

Soft.

A little restless.

But happy.

The faint ticking of the wall clock filled the room like a heartbeat. Outside the window, the sky had deepened into that rich, inky blue that only came just before full night. The air was still, tinged with the cool of the coming evening.

Luca hadn’t moved from his bed.

He lay on his stomach now, arms folded under his chin, his phone glowing just a few inches from his face. A lazy scroll — nothing intentional, just passing time.

His feed was full of the usual: blurry weekend stories, group pics, campus drama. Someone had posted about exam stress. Another had uploaded a reel of a dog eating cake.

He smiled faintly, double-tapped without thinking.

Then paused.

There, in between a meme and someone’s study rant, was a photo Jordan posted earlier — a group shot at the club, with the caption: "Chaotic weekend crew 🍻"

Luca’s smile faded slightly.

He didn’t click it. Just stared.

It already felt like another version of him. One from a week ago, maybe two. Someone who hadn’t kissed Noel breathless at the dorm door. Someone who hadn’t made a promise under soft morning light.

He hit the lock button and turned the screen face-down beside him.

Exhaled.

Stared at the ceiling again.

His voice was barely a whisper. "C’mon, Noel..."

He rolled onto his side and tugged Noel’s pillow closer, burying half his face into it. It smelled like clean laundry and something warmer — familiar.

The kind of familiar he never wanted to lose again.

A quiet buzz from his phone.

He reached without lifting his head, hopeful.

Noel: Lecture just ended. On my way.

Luca smiled against the pillow.

And waited.

This time, with his heart wide open.

Campus lights blinked on above, casting golden halos across the path. The sky had settled into full twilight now, stars beginning to edge through the blue.

Noel tugged the collar of his hoodie higher as a soft breeze brushed down the street.

His messenger bag hung heavy on one shoulder, a plastic bag swinging gently in the other — warm with the scent of takeout.

He checked his phone once more.

"Lecture just ended. On my way."

Luca hadn’t replied — but he didn’t need to.

Noel could already picture him, sprawled on the bed, probably still scrolling or half-asleep, waiting for his so-called reward with a grin he wouldn’t fully admit to.

He shook his head softly, a smile tugging at his lips.

The lecture had dragged, but walking back to their shared dorm felt lighter. Like he wasn’t heading to a room — but someone.

He climbed the stairs quietly, reached the door, and turned the handle.

Inside the Dorm

Luca looked up the moment the door opened, blinking like he’d been caught mid-nap.

"Finally," he muttered, voice low and sleepy. "I was starting to think my reward got delayed in traffic."

Noel laughed under his breath and lifted the takeout bag like a trophy. "I come bearing food."

Luca sat up, hair messy, shirt slightly wrinkled. "You’re forgiven."

Noel dropped the bag gently on the desk, peeled off his hoodie, and came to sit at the edge of the bed. "You didn’t even try to study, did you?"

Luca tilted his head, mock-serious. "Mentally, I prepared. That counts."

Noel just rolled his eyes, opening the containers one by one — warm rice, grilled vegetables, spiced chicken, and a small cup of soup.

They sat close, shoulder to shoulder, quietly eating off the same tray.

Luca chewed thoughtfully. "You really didn’t have to."

"I wanted to," Noel replied simply. "You waited for me."

"I’d wait again," Luca murmured.

Noel stilled slightly — then reached over and placed a soft kiss to his temple.

"Good," he whispered.

Their legs brushed.

Their dinner cooled slightly between them.

But neither really noticed.

Not when home felt this close.

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