Roommates

Summary: When Nathan gets kicked out of his dorm, he finds himself rooming in Lucas' apartment. AU Slash.

Note: This is a story that has been in my head for a while and I've been going back and forth over how to approach things. This story will be a gradual progression towards Lathan and a look into their personal as well as physical relationship. This chapter is short but serves to introduce us into this world. Enjoy!


"You can just stay here with me?" Lucas offers and hopes he didn't come off as being too eager.

Lucas lucked out at the beginning of the semester. There was a housing shortage at UNC and he was able to rent a spacious semi-furnished one bedroom condo located in between Duke and UNC. The owner was a UNC alum who was transferred out of town for work and let the university sublet his condo for him. The apartment was big. As soon as you walked in, there was a coat closet to your left, then another closet which housed the laundry and then flowed into a kitchen which was completely open to the main living space where there was an island that separated the two. Just off the living space is a large bedroom with a huge walk in closet. The only downside was that the only access to the bathroom was from the bedroom but other than that the bathroom itself was also spacious with a separate tub and shower stall.

"You sure?" Nathan replies, offering Lucas an out. Nathan shudders at where Duke housing would put him up. There was some sort of pipe burst at his dormitory last week. Lucas was kind enough to let him crash while they fixed it but the problem was bigger than expected and everyone in the dorm was forced out for the rest of the semester.

But Lucas is grateful for the opportunity to get to know his brother better. Towards the end of high school, they made strides in building a real relationship, especially when a basketball title became more important than personal feelings. He thought that they could continue building on that relationship especially since their schools were nearby. Sure they were able to hang out here and there during the first few weeks of college but basketball kept Nathan pretty busy. This past week saw them hanging out all the time. Watching games on tv, fighting over the remote, heckling each other over NBA live. It seemed like they were making up for lost time and Lucas didn't mind Nathan's presence.

"Nate, it's fine. You've already been living here for a week already."

"But all my stuff is here in the living room."

Nathan points to a corner where has his luggage and the pillow on the couch where he sleeps.

"You must've forgotten about the big ass walk in closet I have." Lucas replied as he picks up Nathan's luggage and rolls over it over to his bedroom and into his closet.

"As you can tell, I'm no where close to filling this up." Lucas points out that his stuff fits on the left side of the closet with plenty of space left. "Although knowing you," he adds, "you might."

"Relax, moving's a bitch, I kept most of my things back in Tree Hill.. but are you sure? I have to go to the bathroom through your room and now my stuff. I don't want to impose."

Lucas' mind flashes to images of Nathan after taking a shower, towel hung lower across his hips, his chest and abs glistening… Lucas clears his throat and tries to push away such thoughts.

"You hog the remote all time, believe me you're already imposing." Lucas jokes. "But it's fine really, I mean I keep my door open anyway and its been okay so far, unless you have a problem?"

Nathan pauses for a moment. "I was just worried about bothering you but if your cool with it, I actually want to stay." Now it's Nathan's turn to sound as if he's not too eager. He'd much rather stay with Lucas than have Duke scramble to find him housing. He's heard horror stories from other people in his dorm, plus it was Luke. He gets along better with Lucas than his old roommate and sure they fight but their banter has always been part of their relationship. He likes it when he ribs on Lucas but more than that Lucas was someone Nathan could rely on, this recent housing crisis could attest to that. Nathan had always been used to being surrounded by people who were fake, Lucas wasn't one of those. Lucas was his brother and he too wanted to get to know him better.

"I really like the gym in this building too, no one ever uses it."

"And here I thought you wanted to hang out with your big bro." Lucas feigns feeling wounded.

Nathan rolls his eyes and reaches down to open his luggage to get his work out clothes. Nathan removes his shirt and pulls down his jeans. Slipping on a pair of basketball shorts,

"Be glad I'm here now so I can help you put some meat on these bones." Nathan jokes as squeezes Lucas biceps as he steps out.

"Hey, I'm okay, not everyone can look like they stepped out of an Abercrombie catalog." But as soon as the words come out of his mouth, Lucas is already shaking his head. He had meant to make an insult. Nathan looks down at his abs and just smirks.

"I walked right into that didn't I ?" Lucas shakes his head.

Nathan tries to hold back his laughter, "It's okay Luke, I know you want me."

TBC