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Lev chewed on his drink straw thoughtfully, watching Yaku (or rather, the top of Yaku’s head, since the sociology major was surrounded by stacks and stacks of readings and books) from where he was sprawled on the bed. Yaku’s room, usually so neat, was in a state of upheaval, and not the good kind that Lev associated with mind-blowing sex, either. It was the kind of mess that screamed “finals hell is here” and "stressed university student will sell soul to pass” - overlapping coffee rings marring the desktop and books and papers strewn over every available horizontal surface, competing for space with precariously stacked half-eaten bowls of instant ramen and the odd shirt or sock. Lev frowned; he’d gotten to Yaku’s room barely a half hour ago and he doubted Yaku honestly noticed; after a quick hug, he’d gone right back to work, brow furrowed as he wrestled his essay into shape. Lev sighed. He known this was in store for him, even before he’d set foot in the dorm.
To most people, Yaku Morisuke was a good student - conscientious, hardworking and tidy - but that was before finals hell. During finals week, Yaku’s room inevitable went from neat as a pin to disaster zone - something Lev was more than familiar with, considering the number of times he’d helped Yaku to clean up. It was the main reason why Lev had travelled to Kyoto after school had ended for him. As much as Yaku mothered people, he needed someone to look out for him, too, and Lev was more than happy to be that someone. Even if it meant touching week-old leftovers, and he might as well start with those first.
Wrinkling his nose, Lev went around the room, collecting the trash and tossing it out. Yaku had a tendency to use empty candy wrappers as bookmarks in a pinch (handy, but messy) - Lev got rid of them all, replacing them with sticky tabs he’d bought along the way to Kyoto University. That done, laundry was next - he scooped up all the dirty clothes, stripped the bed of hits sheets and sorted everything into baskets dug out from under Yaku’s bed, and headed down to the basement to toss them in the wash. The small cactus that Lev had bought for Yaku as a going-away gift of sorts wasn’t doing too well - it looked a little shrunken and sad, no doubt another unwitting victim of finals week, and Lev watered it, cooing softly to it in apology for Yaku’s forgetfulness. Once he was satisfied that Yaku’s room was livable once more (honestly, he had no idea how Yaku survived like this. Lev might be messy, but even he wasn’t this bad), he headed for the kitchen, humming tunelessly under his breath. The fridge was, as expected, devoid of food save for a sad bunch of wilted celery and a dubious container of what looked vaguely like cheese. Lev tossed both, and got to work. He’d learned to cook, mostly because Yaku couldn’t, and also because he liked Yaku’s pleased expression when he was trying one of Lev’s new recipes. Tonight’s dinner would be something hearty but simple - he figured he’d cook Yaku’s favorite food - stir-fried vegetables, along with rice, miso and a side of grilled mackerel.
The mingled smells of food cooking inevitably drew Yaku out of his room and into the common kitchen. Lev smiled at him. “Almost done! Shower first, then food.”
Yaku scowled at him, mouth turning down at the corners. “But I’m hungry,” he groused - finals week Yaku was almost always grouchy, but Lev had learned how to be firm with him.
The role reversal made him want to grin, but he bit his lip to hide his smile. “Shower.” Lev said firmly, propelling Yaku back towards his room. “You smell, and you look like you crawled out of the gutter. You’ll feel better after.”
Yaku slouched off towards the bathroom, grumbling something about ‘bossy giants’ under his breath, but he sounded fond nonetheless.
In the time that it took Yaku to wash up, Lev had finished cooking. He set the table and divided the food between them, making sure to give Yaku a generous portion, especially since he hadn’t been eating well lately. He’d prepared tea, too - genmaicha, and he held the steaming cup out to Yaku when he padded back into the kitchen, his hair damp from his shower. They ate in companionable silence; Yaku’s knee bumping against Lev’s calf under the table, both of them focussing on inhaling the food as quickly as possible since they were so hungry - so it was a good thing that Lev had cooked extras.
Lev shooed Yaku back to his room after dinner, refusing to let him help with the dishes, despite Yaku’s protests that Lev was his guest - he honestly didn’t mind, and besides, it would give Yaku some more time to get his studying in before Lev made him stop for the night. If he didn’t, Yaku would just continue until (a) the paper was done or (b) he fell asleep halfway, and that wouldn’t do.
“Alright, that’s enough.” Dishes done, he fixed Yaku with a firm stare. Outside, it had long gone dark. “Ten more minutes,” Yaku mumbled, already sounding fatigued.
“It’ll be better if you rest.” Yaku was stubborn as a mule, though; and cajoling had its limits. Fortunately, Lev had a secret weapon. He stepped up behind Yaku and rested his hands on his shoulders, kneading the tense muscles at the base of his neck. He worked out the knots one by one, Yaku making blissful noises as he slowly relaxed in Lev’s capable hands. By the time Lev was done, Yaku had gone completely pliant, and his fingers were slack on the keyboard. Lev chuckled. Seeing Yaku like this - oddly vulnerable, and yet beautiful in the yellow glow of his desk lamp made something warm and protective unfurl in Lev’s chest.
“C’mon, then.” He murmured, reaching a hand out to turn off the desk light. “You can finish it tomorrow.” Yaku leaned on him as he walked them towards the bed, which he’d made earlier. He lifted the covers to let Yaku crawl in first, and then snuggled in after him, tucking Yaku close. He buried his face in Yaku’s face and inhaled, breathing in soap and Yaku, and blinked away the sudden tears that pricked the corners of his eyes. He’d missed Yaku a lot, even though Yaku had gone back to Tokyo to meet him over the term break, and the warm weight of Yaku in his arms felt so much like home, even though they were both crammed into a bed which was far too small for the likes of Lev. He’d happily endure cramps if it meant that he got to stay with Yaku, though.
“G’night,” Yaku mumbled sleepily, and then he rolled, turning to face Lev. His lips bumped against Lev’s nose, then found his mouth. “Love you,” he breathed, and Lev grinned wide, warmth making him tingle all over, as though he's falling in love again. He kissed Yaku on the forehead, tucking him closer. “Love you too. Sleep now.”