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“Dave, get your skinny, smelly ass out of bed before I break each and every one of your stupid fingers!” Carcin (of course, who else) screams at you from down the hall of the apartment. It’s Saturday and you’re fairly certain that this type of behavior is considered illegal. You mentally flip him off as you roll over, enjoying your little blanket cocoon.
So, as you can see, your day started off…well, decent enough. Definitely could have been worse.
You’re almost back to la-la land when your door is pushed open and you hear soft footsteps approaching your bed. Aw, how sweet, maybe Carcin won’t yell at you thi-
Freezing water spills over your head, pillow, and under your blankets. You nearly get whiplash from how fast you jump up. Unfortunately, you’re still tired enough that you manage to fall out of bed in the process and watch miserably as Carcin leaves your room in a huff. The fucker. Your elbow and shoulder throb from where you landed on them, and your shirt his soaked through down the front. Even your shorts got a bit of a splash. If it weren’t so early you think you’d probably try to get Carcin back. But it is too early so you simply stand up and go change into something less wet and freezing.
After you change you get yourself a bowl of cereal and sit at the table in the kitchen, eyes staring straight ahead at the white walls blankly. It seems you didn’t get the memo for the day because you are fairly certain your plans included you, your bed, and potentially your hands if you felt up to it. For art, that is. As you contemplate what would happen if you just fell onto the floor and didn’t get up for the day Carcin walks into the kitchen with his coat on and a scarf in his hand.
“Make sure to grab your wallet. And bring a bag, we’re gonna be gone for a while.” Carcin is unusually soft spoken as he says this. You wonder what exactly requires you to be gone a while, but Carcin sighs and steps over to you so he can hug your head to his chest. The two of you stay like that, you breathing in Carcin’s warm smell and Carcin leaning over slightly with his fingers in your hair and an arm around your shoulder.
“Somethin’ up?” You maneuver your bowl between the two of you and continue eating. Carcin doesn’t pull away, but he does loosen his grip a little so you can get the spoon to your mouth.
“No…” Carcin fidgets minutely, a telltale sign that there’s more. “It’s just, we used to do this a lot right?” Oh yeah. You nod. Way back when, you and Carcin would run off and go chill together for a while just hugging if it was cold or one of you had had a bad day. Not gonna lie, you kind of missed the platonic cuddling.
“Right. We used to almost be the same size.” You snort a laugh, spoon in your mouth. Carcin does too and splays his fingers across the back of your head, idly carding them through your hair.
There’s a momentary lapse before Carcin says anything again. “I asked John if he wanted to come with us.”
“Is that so?” You finish your cereal and put the bowl back on the table. Now this sounds like something you’re interested in. “Which, by the way, you still haven’t told me what the hell we’re doing exactly.”
Carcin shrugs. “I wanted to go up north and visit the lake. I figured you’d wanna take pictures, and John’s got a friend up there so…yeah.” You hum and turn in your chair so you can face your roommate.
“Sounds good. I guess I should go get ready then, yeah?” Carcin sighs then nods and steps back so you can get up. You stand and look down at him, eyes trained on his face. His curly hair frames his square face and his eyelashes cast long shadows from the kitchen light. You think you like him better like this, soft and nice. Almost a 180 from when you guys were kids.
As you turn and head towards the bathroom to finish getting changed, you think that maybe you two of grown up a little.
After you’d finished your daily hygiene essentials and packed your bag with art supplies, snacks, and extra clothing, you and Carcin headed out. You two walk now side by side down the relatively empty sidewalk. It’s early as fuck and cold enough your breath spirals past your lips before dissipating in the early morning light. Orange seeps past buildings and under overpasses, reaching out with lazy fingers that warm your cheeks every time you walk through it.
You pull out a cigarette and light up as you and Carcin wait at a crosswalk. The nicotine is warm in your mouth and throat, a minor relief to the brisk morning air. Fingers no longer in your pocket, they get pink and stiff from the cold, feeling like plastic every time you go to flick the end of your cigarette. Eventually you see the coffee shop up ahead figure you’re stopping there to meet John. Your assumptions are confirmed when Carcin walks up and opens the door, not bothering to hold it open for you as he shuffles inside with his head almost completely bound by his scarf.
“Carcin, Dave, good to see you guys!” Fef greets you two as you walk in with a warm smile and a wave. You smile back and toss your cigarette bud into a trashcan as you head up to the counter. In the autumn spirit, Fef’s makeup is in shades of orange and brown, and her jewelry is a soft bronze that reflects the morning light coming in from the windows.
“How are you doing this fine cold ass morning?” You lean against the counter and rub your hands together as you ask. Fef grins and pats the massive braid she dons down.
“Pretty good! I took some pictures as I walked here with a friend of mine.” Fef snickers, expression openly amused. “He doesn’t like the cold much.”
You can’t help the warm buzz in your chest as she laughs. Or maybe that’s your body defrosting. Either way. “I share his sentiments. Striders were not made for the cold.”
“Oh whale, I suppose not everybody is!” You exchange a few more words and order a coffee, after which you find your seat across from Carcin who’s gazing out of the window, face propped up on the heel of his palm. Neither of you talk as you wait. Even after your coffee arrives, Carcin keeps his focus outside. This is spectacularly odd behavior for the Iranian and you’re starting to get kind of worried when John shows up with a flushed face, wide grin, and his hair a mess.
“Carcin! Dave! Sorry I’m so late, the train took forever to get here.” John plops down next to you with an exhale as he shrugs the strap of his bag over his head and sets it on the floor. Carcin finally turns away from the window and rubs his hands together.
“Jesus fuck, did you have to bring the cold in with you? Dave, why didn’t you get me coffee?” You roll your eyes. There’s the Carcin you know. You don’t bother responding to him, just push your own coffee over to him shove your hands into your pockets.
When you turn to look at John, he’s pulling his flyaway hair back and tying it into a tiny ponytail. It’s the cutest god damned thing you’ve ever see and you kinda wanna cry or kiss him.
“Hey Dave, can you help me with my bobby pins?” John looks over at you earnestly as he pulls out a thing of bobby pins and motions to his hair.
“Sure. But only if I can use some too. And Carcin.” Carcin grunts, sipping coffee. But John grins his stupidly cute lopsided smile and nods. So you take the pins and help him to clip back some of the hair that’s too short to go into the ponytail, leaving his bangs to curl over his forehead. Next you do yourself, braiding then pinning your bangs back as John laughs. His cheeks are oddly pink even though he’s been inside for a good ten minutes and he keeps stealing glances at you. Lastly, you switch to sitting next to Carcin and you pull back the top half of his hair and tie it (with one of John’s hair ties) and pin the front down where stubborn curls attempt to stay out.
“W-ow, look at these cuties ready for anyfin!” Fef in all of her tiny glory bounces on her toes as she looks over the group. “Can we get a selfie? This moment needs to be eternalized on the internet!” She doesn’t wait for a yes or no, simply pulls out a phone and holds it over her head towards the table. She gives a peace sign, you smile, Carcin gruffly drinks your coffee, and John sticks his tongue between two fingers. When she looks at it afterwards she laughs melodically and grins. “Perfect! Thanks!” Then she’s gone and you’re all left alone again.
“Hey, we should get some food from here and then go. I don’t wanna miss the morning up there!” You move back to sitting next to John and he sits down with his body touching yours and his hand suspiciously close to yours.
“Yeah, John’s got a point. We should get going. Is Rose picking us up once we’re out there?” Carcin idly picks at the cup in his hand, dark eyes pooling the light coming in from the window.
“Yeah. She said she’ll probably be there at 8.” Carcin nods his head and closes his eyes. Of course he picks right before you guys have to leave to feign tiredness. But John simply smiles and scoots his hand over to yours and links your fingers together, grinning and looking out of the window. You stare at him in surprise but tighten the hold and turn your gaze to the window as well. The sky blooms with pinks, yellows, and oranges, wisps of clouds dotting it like freckles. You sigh. You could stay here like this and your day would be perfectly content.