“Nice shirt.” Luka smirked, blatantly staring down at Xander's black t-shirt that featured a cartoon sausage dog wearing a comically large hotdog costume. 

Xander rolled his eyes as he smiled back. “Thanks.”

Luka was bemused to see Xander's choice of fashion hadn't changed in the last two years. He'd always given the guy a hard time for his punny shirts, considering how otherwise attractive Xander was.

A whole 180cm of tall, dark, and handsome. Jet black hair and sharp golden-hazel eyes that glimmered whenever Xander smiled, his thin lips would curl and the little dimples in his cheeks would deepen. A mole under his bottom lip, just a little to the left—a target for Luka to aim his kisses. Black facial hair, always trimmed and shaped, framed his chiselled jawline. Well-toned biceps that Luka was familiar with being wrapped around him—and damn, did he miss the feel of those arms. And underneath those tacky, punny shirts that Xander always wore, hard muscles that would put even Michaelangelo’s David to shame. 

Seeing Xander standing at his front door again, Luka felt nostalgic, like two years hadn't gone and passed between them. 

“You changed your hair,” Xander stated, reminding Luka that time had, in fact, flown by. The last time they saw each other, only the tips of Luka's hair had been dyed blue. Now, one half of Luka's hair was entirely pastel blue while the other half remained his natural brunette. 

With a bright smile, Luka tousled his colourful strands as he spoke. “I did! What do you think?” 

He performed a slow motion hair flip, a move that would’ve been perfect for a shampoo commercial. This earned a chuckle out of Xander.

“Looks good. It suits you,” Xander complimented. 

Luka always loved an ego boost.

“Thanks. Come inside.” Luka giggled at the innuendo as he stepped aside to allow Xander to enter his—their—apartment. “Do you remember where everything is, or should I give you the grand tour?”

“Uh, you should probably remind me,” Xander said while stepping onto the familiar green carpet with his shoes still on. 

Luka guided Xander into the open kitchen and spoke as he walked towards the fridge. 

“Right,” he began. “Here's the kitchen, pantry, fridge. Lana and I used to share everything so we didn't label our food, but obviously if I didn't buy it I would ask her first before eating it. If you'd rather split the shelves or label stuff, just let me know.” 

“Uh—okay.” Xander nodded as he glanced into the fridge when Luka opened it. There was half a carton of eggs, some milk, about nine different sauce bottles, last night’s leftovers—spaghetti bolognese, and an entire shelf of alcohol.

“Want a beer?” Luka offered.

“I'm good,” Xander said. “Shouldn't drink since I'm driving back home tonight.”

Luka shrugged before pulling out two unopened bottles of pale ale. He placed one firmly on the table and gripped the neck of the other. With one quick, fluid motion—blink and you would’ve missed it—Luka used one bottle to pop the cap off the other. 

Sadly, Xander had blinked.

“Did you just—?” His eyes widened at the sight of Luka’s magically opened bottle. “I didn’t know you could do that!” His voice was filled with amazement. 

Luka burst out into a fit of laughter. 

“I’m a man of many, many talents, Xander,” Luka declared proudly. He had been practicing using various objects to open beer bottles for the past month since Lana moved out—as one does when their mother-figure of a friend is no longer living with them. He’d become skilled with using a second beer bottle, his house key, and a folded up piece of paper—Luka did, however, bend a spoon and shatter a bottle over his kitchen counter in a few failed attempts. But honestly, right now he was just happy to be able to show off his new skill to someone. 

Xander's eyes shifted between Luka's drink and the fridge. He looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated. 

“Do you want me to do it again?” Luka asked with a smirk. 

“Kind of,” Xander admitted. 

“If you're not drinking tonight, I'll show you another time.”  

The disappointment on Xander's face was obvious, but he agreed. 

Continuing with the tour, Luka led Xander through to the open living space that housed a three-seater couch and TV.  

“Wasn't there a coffee table here before?” Xander asked, staring at the empty space between the couch and the TV. 

“Oh, yeah, there was,” Luka answered. “It belongs to Lana, she took it with her when she moved out.” 

“I see...” Xander continued to survey the apartment, comparing what was in front of him now to how he remembered things from two years ago. 

“I was thinking of buying a new coffee table later,” Luka said, taking a swig from his beer. “Do you want to come along?”

“When are you going?”

“Next weekend.”

“I'm gonna go home on weekends, see my parents and Pipsqueak, but I can be back Sunday arvo.”

“Works for me. Can you be back here by twelve?”

Xander nodded while following Luka further into the apartment. 

And just like that, the two made plans to buy furniture together. Xander hadn’t even signed the lease agreement and they were already acting like a domestic couple.

“Bedrooms are to the left, bathroom's to the right, and communal laundry is downstairs.” Luka spun around to face Xander at the end of the short corridor. “Your room is pretty bare at the moment since Lana moved most of her stuff out. But there's a bed at least.”

Pushing the door open, Luka guided Xander into the modest-sized room with only a queen-sized bed and two unlabelled boxes.

Although Xander had never actually stepped foot into Lana's old bedroom before, it had a mirror layout to Luka's. And Xander had been in Luka's bedroom plenty of times. A wooden-framed window positioned on the opposite wall to the door, the wooden bed with dark green bedsheets to the left, and a built-in wardrobe to the right where the boxes sat.

“So, what do you think?” Luka asked with excitement, he was looking forward to living together with his friend. 

“Honestly?” The hesitation in Xander's voice suggested he didn't quite feel the same. “It feels kind of weird.”

“What does?” Luka was a bit more cautious with his tone.

“Just…” Xander scratched the back of his head as he spoke. “... All this. Being back here, moving into your old roommate's room, it feels kind of weird.”

“If you're uncomfortable, you don't have to move in with me.” The last thing Luka wanted was for his friendship with Xander to fall apart while living under the same roof. “Nothing is official until you sign the lease agreement.”

Noticing the concern on Luka's face, Xander inhaled a deep breath before lowering his hand from his head and curling his lips into a playful smirk. 

“What? And pass on the chance to have you open beer bottles for me every night?” His joke made Luka smile. “Besides, your place had the best location and was the most affordable. I run the risk of moving in with a psycho if I don't take you up on your offer.”

“Dude,” Luka took another swig of his beer before pointing the neck towards Xander. “I'll open as many beer bottles for you as you want. I'm also pretty good with a frypan.”

“More than just a pretty face, I see,” Xander joked. 

“I’ve got a pretty ass too—” Luka mentally kicked himself the moment the words left his mouth. He was too comfortable with making innuendos that he let his guard down. 

He watched as Xander's cheeks turned bright red and his eyes lowered to inspect Luka's claim—not that Xander didn't already know how pretty Luka's ass was. The awkward silence that hung between them should've been a foreshadowing of what was to come. But, neither of the men chose to listen to the warning sign. 

“Hey,” Luka broke the silence. “If we're gonna do this, we should probably set some ground rules.”

Xander kept his gaze on Luka's right sleeve as he replied, trying to avoid eye contact. “Definitely.”

“Firstly, you're not still in love with me, are you?” 

Golden eyes shot up to meet Luka's amethysts. 

Luka wasn't going to beat around the bush. He needed to know if this arrangement was going to work or not, because losing another roommate and friend didn't appeal to him. 

With a loud sigh, Xander crossed his arms in defiance as he replied, “No, Luka.” 

There was no quiver or uncertainty in his voice, but still, the redness that lingered on Xander's face made it hard for Luka to believe him. But Luka wanted to believe him. 

So, against his gut instincts, he chose to believe him. 

“Good.” 

“Okay, my turn,” Xander said. “If you're going to bring one of your sex friends home, give me a heads up so I can give you some privacy. Or do it on the weekend when I'm not here.” 

Luka was surprised. He would've thought Xander would demand Luka not bring anyone home, given the man's previous displays of jealousy in the past. Perhaps Xander really did no longer have romantic feelings towards Luka. 

“What if I bring two friends home?” Luka held up two fingers and a smile. 

This only made Xander roll his eyes. 

“Seriously, Luka,” he scoffed at the ridiculous question. 

“Okay, okay. I'm just joking. I promise to give you a heads up if I bring anyone over, not just people I'm sleeping with. But I expect you to do the same.” 

“Deal,” Xander agreed. “And, I guess, don't come into my room without my permission.”

Luka chuckled. “What are you, ten? That's a given. Make sure you pay rent on time and I won't complain. Okay?”

“Okay.” Xander reached out his hand to shake Luka's. 

With a firm grasp, Luka took Xander's hand in his own and the two made a gentleman's agreement. The heat radiating off Xander's palm spread through Luka's arm, straight to his chest, and down to his hips. 

It had been a long time since the two held hands—in any capacity—and Luka needed to remind himself that Xander was just a friend now, and to not let his lower half get the better of him. It shouldn't be too hard, right?

If anything, Luka needed to ensure things didn't get hard around Xander. 

The two let go of the handshake almost simultaneously, both hiding their hands in their pockets. 

“Sounds like we have a deal,” Luka began. “I'll have the paperwork ready for you to read over and sign on the weekend. When do you want to officially move in?”

Xander rubbed the back of his neck while staring at Luka's sleeve again. “Can I move in on Sunday?”