Uni. Okay. Neil looks around his tiny room. Uni, he can take. The tiny, shared dorms, even. But American uni? He sighs. This is going to be a fucking nightmare.

He's already met his roommate - Aidan, an effervescent, outgoing kind of person who already is talking about the kind of parties they'll be having. Neil considers going right down to the residence desk and asking for a new roommate, but he's already handed in his damage deposit and signed all the paperwork, so the chances of the staff actually doing anything are slim to none.

He takes a quick look around for the list his sister had made him, but there's no sign of it. She'd been adamant that he have some sort of organization to begin with - well, so much for that. He looks at his boxes - still labeled with things like kitchen supplies and christmas decorations from previous uses. Thinking back, he really should have taken Effie up on her offer to help him pack. But really, how hard can it be? He's going to be unloading it all, anyways.


When the knock comes on the door three hours later, Neil gives up on trying to unpack. It's useless, anyway - it looks a million times worse than when he started.

He manages to make his way through the haphazard pile of clothes, books, and empty boxes, and reaches to open the door. When he does, he's met by a tall, lanky, and annoyingly attractive guy standing in the doorway. Right, right - Aidan had told him that his boyfriend might be stopping by.

"Hi, I'm Tom." The man says in a voice that is probably meant to sound welcoming, but comes out vaguely disinterested. "I'm -"

"Yeah, I know. I've heard all about you. I'm Neil."

"I was just coming to introduce myself." The man says, looking mildly confused. Maybe Aidan didn't usually talk about him to roommates he'd only known for a matter of hours?

"Hey, come on in." Neil says, opening the door as much as possible with the amount of clutter on the floor. "I mean, if you can."

"Are you sure?" Tom looks surprisingly hesitant. What, he thought he was just going to have to wait in the hallway?

"'Course I'm sure." Neil replies, and gestures into the room. Tom manages to muddle past the doorway, and Neil shuts the door behind them.

"So." He says, suddenly self-conscious about the clutter. "Uh, Aidan's going to be back soon, so -"

"So we should get started, then." Tom replies, and before Neil can even comprehend what's happening, Tom is stepping closer to him and his tongue is in his mouth and holy shit -

"What the hell?" Neil pushes away, after a moment. (Tom's a handsome guy. Neil can forgive himself for a moment.)

"Is this not what we're doing?" Tom asks, and he's so calm and cool that Neil's sure he seems like a bumbling idiot.

"No!" Neil exclaims hotly. Then, "what is this, exactly?"

"So you didn't just invite me into your dorm to have sex with you." Tom replies, deadpan, and a wave of absolute mortification flashes through Neil. Oh, fuck no.

"You're - you're Aidan's boyfriend." He stammers, backpedaling wildly.

"Aidan . . ." There's no recognition on Tom's face.

"My roommate."

Tom laughs, suddenly - and then keeps laughing, until Neil is red in the face and more than a little pissed (at himself and at Tom). "Sorry, sorry." He manages to swallow the laughter. "We just got our wires crossed there. I'm Tom Cummings - your RA."

"Fuck."

"Uh, yeah." Tom reaches down to grab a folder that he must've dropped on the floor at some point, and when he straightens up to hand Neil a page out of it, he finally looks just the tiniest bit flustered. "There's some basic rules and regulations on there, and we have a meeting tonight at five in the common room."

"A meeting?" Neil's lack of enthusiasm must show, because Tom shrugs his shoulders.

"There'll be pizza." He replies nonchalantly.

"Well, then." Neil says a little too quickly, and Tom smirks again.

"Well, as . . . interesting as this was, I have other people to meet." He says, gesturing to the door. "Although I doubt they'll make as much of an impression."

Before Neil can get past his mental block, Tom is shooting him a smile and a "see you around," and walking out the door.


"Oh, fuck." Neil mutters to himself again; no doubt he's going to be saying that a lot in the next while.

He closes the door, and sinks back against the wall. What a way to start off his first day. Not even first day, technically, since classes don't start until tomorrow.

He closes his eyes for a quick second, and the image of Tom pressed up against him flashes through his head in vivid detail.

Oh, fuck.