After a quick morning shower, Luka dried off with a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He continued his morning routine, brushing his teeth before shaving, applying moisturizer, and finally spraying two pumps of eau de parfum on his neck and wrists. 

He exited the bathroom while humming a ‘90s song to himself, walking towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Once he turned the corner, he spotted Xander, completely dressed in exercise gear—black leggings and shorts with a green singlet top featuring a silver X in the middle—cooking breakfast in the kitchen. The delicious smell of bacon and toast filled Luka's lungs.  

“Oooh, breakfast!” he cooed while walking further into the kitchen. 

Xander turned around and almost dropped the frypan when he saw Luka standing just about naked 6 feet away from him. 

“You're not dressed!” he exclaimed, tightening his grip on the handle before it fell.

As if he needed to check, Luka peered down at his bare chest and the blue towel around his hips. 

“Well, would you look at that!” he exclaimed theatrically. “You're right!”

Xander narrowed his eyes. “Why aren't you dressed?” His tone almost sounded annoyed. 

Luka shrugged. 

“I've gotten used to walking around the apartment naked since Lana moved out,” he explained, returning to his bedroom to change. He was a little disappointed that he would no longer have that freedom while living with Xander. 

Sliding the doors to his wardrobe open, Luka pulled out a pair of light blue boxer briefs, a dark blue button-down shirt, and a pair of ash grey trouser pants. He added a Tommy Hilfiger belt to the ensemble and threw his damp towel over his desk chair after drying his hair. 

Returning to the kitchen, Xander was now leaning on the counter with both hands firmly placed on the edge and his head hanging low. A heavy air hung over him. 

“You okay there?” Luka asked, concerned. 

With a sharp inhale, Xander lifted his head and combed his fingers through his black hair, tightly pulling his hair back. 

“Yup, great!” Xander announced, a bit too forcefully that Luka didn't quite believe him. But he chose not to prod further. “Here’s breakfast.”

Sliding a plate of crispy hot bacon and a slice of lightly buttered toast over to Luka, Xander returned to the stove to prepare his own plate. 

“Thanks!” Luka said as he carried the plate over to the couch. 

He sat down with his legs crossed and handled his food with his bare hands. The bacon was crispier—and borderline burnt—than he normally liked, and there wasn't nearly enough butter on his toast, but Luka wasn't going to complain when someone else made him food. 

“How is it?” Xander asked, joining Luka on the couch with his own identical plate. 

Luka wasn't going to complain… but since Xander asked, Luka had to be honest. 

“It's alright,” Luka started. “I like my bacon less crispy and my butter slathered on like sunscreen though.”

He took a bite of his toast. 

Xander scoffed as he held his own toast up to his mouth. 

“I'll keep the butter thing in mind for next time, but the bacon—” he dropped the toast on his plate and replaced it with his strip of charred meat, waving it in front of Luka as he continued speaking. “—this is your fault.”

“My fault? How?” 

“Coming into the kitchen half naked like that was obviously going to distract me,” Xander explained. 

Luka had to fight himself not to make a joke about ‘coming in the kitchen'. Instead, he allowed his lips to curl into an obnoxious grin and shrugged his shoulders. 

“Okay, okay. I'll keep my clothes on at home, and in return, you cook breakfast to my taste. Deal?”

“We've been making a lot of deals lately.”

“When business is good, you keep doing business.”

Xander chuckled before biting into his bacon. The dimples on his cheeks deepened as he smiled while chewing. His golden-hazel eyes seemed to shimmer when he stared back at Luka, like someone appreciating the morning sun after a long night. 

Dang, Luka thought. He sure is handsome.

Luka also thought about how much of a shame it was that he couldn't freely flirt with Xander anymore. If this were two years ago, Luka would have woken Xander up in a completely different way to how he did this morning. 

“Again, I'm sorry about this morning,” Xander said, his eyes focused on his bacon. “I was half asleep when I used the bathroom last night, and I must've just—”

“You need to stop apologising,” Luka insisted. “I understand it was an accident, just don't do it again.”

Luka couldn't admit to Xander that he enjoyed waking up next to him. 

“Still, it was really inappropriate,” Xander said. 

“You wanna make it up to me?” 

“Yes.”

Luka considered all the possible things he could ask Xander to do to make it up to him. But he chose not to listen to the suggestions made by his dick. 

“Wash all the dishes this week,” Luka finally said, handing his empty plate over. He wouldn't listen to his dick, but he could still be a dick. 

“The whole week?” Xander raised an eyebrow, but obediently took the plate. 

“Yeah.” 

“Isn't that a bit much?” 

Luka smiled before leaning back over the couch's armrest, bringing the back of his hand up to his forehead and putting on his best melodramatic performance. “Oh, woe is me. Now that I have been bedded, no respectable persons shall ever want my hand in marriage. My name's reputation has been tainted, along with my innocence.”

“Your reputation of being a slut has not been tainted,” Xander quipped back with an eye roll as he got up from the couch to the kitchen. 

With an audible gasp, Luka brought his hands to his chest. “How dare you slut shame me.”

Xander scoffed. “I'll wash the dishes this week.”

Luka leaned over the backrest of the couch so he could smile sweetly at Xander. 

“Thank you,” he said in a singsong voice. His lips pursed as he drew out the second word.

But after dropping the plates into the sink and turning on the tap for a second, Xander pulled out his phone to check the time. 

“I'll wash these when I come back tonight. I need to get going.” He turned the tap back off. 

“Sure. What's the time?” Luka asked. 

“It’s almost eight, I need to catch the train.”

Eight felt early for Luka. He normally didn't leave home until 8:40 to drive to work—8:30 on days when he grabbed coffee for his colleagues. 

“What time do you start?” Luka asked. 

“8:30, I'll finish at 4:30.”

“I normally don't get home until after 5:30.”

“I promise to have the dishes done by the time you come back,” Xander said. 

Luka smiled. He honestly didn't care if Xander washed the dishes or not, it wasn't going to bother him if he needed to do it himself. But he found it adorable that Xander felt the need to promise such a thing—like a newlywed couple trying to navigate domestic life together. 

Xander dashed back into his bedroom and came out holding his green carry bag filled with his work uniform, a spare change of clothes, drink bottle, and wallet. 

“Okay, I'm off,” Xander said. 

In his rush, he dashed straight up to Luka on the couch and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. He gave Luka a tight hug before realising what he was doing and hastily stepped back. 

Luka enjoyed the hug. But he wasn't going to admit it—at least not yet. 

“What was that?” Luka asked with a laugh. 

“Fuck! Sorry!” Xander combed his hands through his hair again. “I always hug Pipsqueak and my parents on the way out to work and I just… sorry.”

Thin lips curled into a sly smile. Luka was starting to suspect that Xander did these things on purpose, but he wasn’t going to make the accusation out loud. Hopping up off the couch, he walked around to where Xander was standing and casually wrapped his arms around his roommate's stiff body. He could feel Xander's muscles tense through the thin fabric of his clothes; his chest felt warm. Resting his head on Xander's shoulder, Luka inhaled the heavy smell of Lynx deodorant. 

“Um…” Xander hesitated, keeping his arms awkwardly by his side. 

Luka released Xander from his embrace and took a step back, showing his roommate a cheeky smile. 

“Have a good day at work, Xander,” Luka said in a sweet voice. “You better leave before you're late.” He then pointed to his wrist to indicate the time.

Xander checked his phone. 

“Shit! Gotta go!” 

He gave Luka a quick pat on the shoulder before hurrying past him and exiting through the front door, letting it slam shut on his way out.