Finn's POV:

I've been directed to wait until Eric is done with his work to "fraternize" with him, as he says. I do realize I'm acting childish and clingy, but really, it's not my fault we haven't had time to hang out at all for days on end.

After Eric woke from his nap and got off the bed, he picked his shirt up from the ground and was about to put it on when I protested; "Boo, nooo, keep it off, we need some fanservice in here so I don't get bored!"

He stuck his tongue out at me, but he dropped the shirt.

I sit on Eric's bed, legs crossed, head on my hand, watching him sit at his desk typing idly. Every once in a while, I check my phone, or go to the kitchen just to look in the fridge and pretend something new will be in there, but I always return to Eric's room. I'm determined to wait this out, because if I don't, Eric will get sucked back into his cycle of work and ignoring me. Whether the ignoring is intentional or not, it still isn't particularly fun, to say the least.

Finally, it seems like Eric is done, but he just unplugs his laptop and walks over to the bed where I'm still waiting.

"I'm not quite done, but I don't have to sit at my desk for this assignment." He pauses for a moment. "Spread your legs."

"Bold, are we?"

"Shut up."

I comply with his request, and he climbs onto the bed and sits in between my legs, leaning back against my chest with his laptop on his crossed legs. I wrap my arms around his stomach and lean against the back of the bed.

Every once in a while, Eric stops typing, sighs, and leans his head back frustratedly, but I don't say anything. I don't want to bother him more than I probably am, and I know I'm already imposing more than I should be while he's supposed to be working. So, I opt for sitting quietly and just holding him while he does whatever he needs to do.

After what seemed like ages, and I'm surprised Eric's laptop didn't die in that time, Eric finally closes his laptop and sets it on the table beside his bed, sighing with relief.

"I'm finally done," he says, raising his arms up and stretching. He turns toward me and wraps his arms around my torso, burying his face in my chest. "No more projects ever, please."

I laugh. "Are you done with the whole project?"

"After all these years, yes. Not literally years, but oh my god it felt like it."

I ruffle his hair. "That's great. I wasn't being distracting, was I? I felt very distracting."

Eric shakes his head, which is still pressed against my chest. "No, you weren't. Actually, I vote for this to happen every time I do homework."

I laugh again. "I'll see what I can do."

"Oh my gosh please do."

We sit next to each other on the bed, and I listen to Eric complain about his project. It turns out he really has a lot on his plate this year. He's trying to take as many advanced classes as possible, apparently to keep his parents from flaying him alive for being a creative writing major and daring to write creatively in his free time. To me, it sounds like his parents are too strict, and honestly, I can definitely see it, because Eric is so strict with himself even when his parents aren't around to tell him what to do. I also learned that Eric and his parents are from Sweden, (Well, his parents were both born in the United States- Eric was born in Sweden, where his parents lived then and still live now) and Eric can speak fluent Swedish, even though he much prefers English.

At this point, it's pretty late to be staying up and talking, especially when Eric still has some sleep to catch up on. Granted, I only noticed this when he yawned and checked his watch.

I offer to go back to my room so he can sleep, but he flashes me a grin.

"Sleep without you? I could never."

"You're getting pretty good at this 'seduce your roommate' game," I remark. "Should I be concerned that you have other guys lined up at your door?"

"As far as I know, guys don't line up at the door," Eric sneers. "They just walk in and fall asleep in my bed."

"Ouch. Point taken." I grin at him. "Anyway, am I staying or leaving?"

"Stay, please," He says sincerely. He walks over to the light switch and flicks the lights off. Then he says, sarcastically, "How could I ever sleep without you nearby?"

"And I, you," I say dramatically, lifting my shirt off and dropping it where Eric's was thrown. I arrange the sheets and then lie down on the bed, throwing my arms open and grinning at Eric. "Care to join me?"

Eric laughs and joins me, lying directly on top of me with his face against my chest.

"You're warm," he observes.

"And you're cold!" I protest.

"Warm me up, then," Eric mumbles.

"Are you trying to make a pass at me again? I swear, you're so flirty today!" I laugh.

Eric lifts his head to meet my eyes, his own eyes glinting mischievously. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Oh my god, Eric. Let me get some rest please. I thought we were going to sleep."

"It's on my list," Eric says smoothly. "Among other things."

"I'm swooning," I say flatly.

Eric rolls off of me. "I know you are," he muses. "When's my turn to swoon?" He shifts his gaze playfully over to me.

"You asked for it," I shrug.

"I did, didn't I?"

"Oh, shut up." In one quick motion, I turn to Eric and grab his wrists, pinning him to the bed and lowering my face just above his, our lips a breath away from touching.

"Make me," he whispers, his lips barely brushing mine.

I close the space between our faces, kissing him slowly. Immediately, he kisses me back, taking it a step further by slipping his tongue inside my mouth, startling me a little. It always surprises me how bold Eric can be, when most of the time, his shyness is almost overwhelming. I press my lips harder against his before pulling back and sitting on top of him without letting go of his wrists.

I sneer at him and say, "You look pretty 'shut up' to me."

Eric rolls his eyes, trying to struggle free of my grip. "You're mean."

"Indeed I am, now get some sleep before I knock you out and make you."

Eric finally stops struggling and sighs. "Can't believe you won't even make out with me before bed," he says sarcastically.

I shrug. "You're the one who needed time, remember? I don't want to push your boundaries, especially if we aren't even dating."

Eric sighs again. "Touche, but when we're dating for real, don't be a boyfriend that won't even let me kiss him."

I lower my face down to his again, but not quite so close this time. ""When we're dating for real?" Looks like someone has his mind made up faster than I thought."

Eric drops his lofty facade. "It's not that I'm not in love with you, it's just that I'm not ready to deal with what comes with that love. I know I sound noncommittal and like a player, especially after basically trying to bite your face off three seconds ago, but I promise that, after a while, we can be together for real."

I nod, hoping I understood him correctly. "And then we can make out before bed," I add reasonably.

Eric laughs. "Exactly."

Eric's POV:

I look up at Finn, who's still sitting on top of me, holding my wrists down. Conversations like this are important. Communication is the most important part of a healthy relationship, and without it, there really isn't much of a relationship at all. I glance up at Finn warmly, smiling a genuine smile, and hoping he could tell how much I love him just from that look, even if I'm not ready to say that out loud.

I laugh. "Finn, get off me. Save that for later. I thought we were going to sleep, hm?"

A small blush crosses Finn's face. "What do you mean save that for later?" I open my mouth to explain, but he cuts in. "No, actually, I know what you mean, and the question was rhetorical. You," he looks at me sternly. "Are as horny as a teenage boy."

"Guilty as charged," I admit.

Finn finally lets go of my wrists and moves off of me, stretching his arms across the bed with a yawn. I shift so my head is laying half on his shoulder and half on his bare chest. Before we go to sleep, I have to bother him one more time.

I crane my neck to whisper in his ear. "You're really hot."

Finn promptly pulls the blanket over my head. "Go to sleep, you flirt."

I laugh and lay my head down again.
I feel content with this life. If every day was like this one, my life might be perfect. Even though I had some issues earlier today, the end of today made up for it, 100%. Every moment with Finn is a moment well-spent, and a moment I might remember forever. Wait. Aside from being one of the most sappy things I've ever thought, that sounds a whole fucking lot like proper love, doesn't it? Holy shit.

I think I'm ready.

I glance up at Finn, who might already be sleeping, but fuck that.

I put my hands on his shoulders and hoist myself up so I'm sitting on him, straddling his lower torso. I lower my face toward his.

"Finn, wake the fuck up," I demand, and he blinks his eyes open and squints at me. He opens his mouth to say something, but I shove my hand in front of his mouth to stop him. "Shut up." I take a deep breath. "Finn, I'm in love with you. Oh my fucking god I'm in love with you."

Finn's eyes widen a little and he takes my hand off his mouth, revealing a huge grin. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, but it doesn't seem like he has the words to complete his thought. He grabs both my hands and looks me in the eyes.

"I- can I kiss you?" He ducks his head and curses under his breath, like that wasn't what he meant to say.

I smile at him, and I'm surprised to feel tears stinging the corners of my eyes.

"You don't need to ask."

Finn smiles warmly at me and removes one of his hands from mine, placing it lightly on my jaw and drawing my face closer to his. He presses his lips gently against mine, and I lean into the kiss. It's not a hungry kiss like the ones from earlier that night. This kiss has more emotions in it than I knew I had.

Finn draws back slowly and moves his hand farther up my face, brushing away tears I didn't know were there. His own eyes were starting to cloud with tears, possibly just from the fact that I was crying.

I tilt my forehead to rest against his and try to laugh, but it comes out a little choked.

"I guess we're allowed to make out before bed now, huh?" Another sort-of-laugh escapes my lips.

Finn laughs too, quietly. He meets my eyes. "I wish I knew what to say right now. I'm sorry to say that I'm not great with dramatic, heartfelt moments." He sighs, but his voice has an excited, jumpy undertone to it that tells me he feels the same way as I do.

After a surprisingly comfortable silence, I have one more thing to clarify.

"So... um, are we... boyfriends?"

Finn hesitates for a moment. "I didn't really think about that." He laughs again. "What do you want to be?"

"Boyfriends sounds great," I say after a moment. I sigh and rest my chin on his shoulder, hugging him tightly.

"Sounds great to me too," Finn hums, tilting his head to rest against mine.

There aren't many words to describe how I feel at the moment. Peaceful, maybe? Definitely happy. Maybe something like content. All of the above?

Finn's hand slides from my waist down to my thigh, and I can't tell if it's because he doesn't want to hold it on my waist anymore, or if he wants something else. I draw my face back to look at his face.

"Who's the horny teenager now?" I chide, and Finn raises his hands in defense with a grin. "Hey, I didn't say take your hands off, I'm just saying," I huff, and put my chin back on his shoulder.

Finn laughs and slides his hands back to their previous placement. "Better?"

I can practically hear him smirking.

"I'm trying so hard not to bite you right now. And I'm not talking in a weird way, I'm saying you won't survive." I turn my head and bite the side of his neck, leaving a mark that fades away in a few seconds.

"Trying to kill me, are you?" Finn muses.

"Maybe," I yawn. "What would you do about it?"

"Many things," he says smoothly. "But nothing right now, because someone has classes in the morning and it isn't me."

I sigh and let go of Finn, flopping down next to him on the bed. "You're no fun."

"You of all people should know that I'm plenty fun." He smirks at me.

"You can't just say things like that and act like I'm supposed to go right to sleep after! You're totally teasing me right now," I whine.

"Hmm, must suck for you," Finn hums.

"It does! You suck!"

Finn laughs. "Good night." He hesitates. "I love you."

"Love you too," I mumble.