Garrett POV

Although I was feeling considerably better the next morning, I'd be damned it I was going to Uni without Carlisle. Even though we weren't in the same classes, I couldn't stand to be there without him. He made it tolerable. And today he hadn't moved, meaning I wasn't going either.
"Carlisle, you okay?" I called, banging on this door. When he didn't answer me I threw it open, jumping onto him while he hid his face under his blanket. "Tell me, are you wearing pants to bed?" I teased.
"Wouldn't you like to know," he mumbled sleepily.
"I'm going to take that as a yes." I ripped his blankets off him, throwing open his curtains and letting the sunlight stream in.
"Garrett," he complained softly, curling up more tightly.
"Who the hell where's jeans to bed?" I demanded, trying to calm my erratic heartbeat; seeing Carlisle vulnerable and in bed wasn't something I was prepared for this early in the morning. But still, I wished I could be closer to him. Like last night. God, if cuddling him wasn't my new favourite activity.
His replying mumble was too distorted for me to understand as he lent his face against his arm, obviously not impressed with me. It was almost funny; usually it was the other way around, me not wanting to get out of bed and him making me.
"Get up." I poked him in the side, making him squirm away from my touch.
"Garrett…" he whined. "Go and have breakfast or something…" By now he was shivering a little.
"You're conning me into making you food?" I made sure he knew I was teasing, but tried to hide the fact that there really wasn't anything I'd rather do. Except maybe undress him. I fought to keep my cheeks from going red.
"Can you turn off the light please…" He sounded pleading, desperate enough to make me follow instructions with arguing. While he wrapped himself in his blankets again, I pulled the curtain closed.
"What's wrong?" I sat on the edge of the bed, closer to him than strictly appropriate, but I definitely wasn't thinking with my head right now.
"We walked home in the snow…"
"I suppose we did, but I feel fine. You're just soft." As I hugged him I partly lay on him.
"You're just an asshole." Despite his words he moved underneath me so we were face to face. It was agony not being able to kiss him, no matter how badly I wanted to. I loved him too much for that.
"Do I need to call Siobhan back again?" I held his face in my hands, my forehead resting against his. My breaths started to catch in my throat as I struggle to keep myself under control.
He looked up at me through long eyelashes, a small smile on his lips. "I don't need her. I have you." Immediately he blushed and glanced away, but I couldn't fight off a smile.
"Of course you do. Who needs girls, right?" Oh shit. I should not have said that.
Thankfully, he just looked uncomfortable without actually acknowledging the comment. "Right…" he answered unsurely.
I let out a shaky breath of relief.

Carlisle POV

"Tell me, are you wearing pants to bed?" Garrett questioned, grinning at me.
I swallowed nervously, unable to think straight with him this close to me. "Wouldn't you like to know," I managed, acutely aware of every place he was touching me. I didn't dare to move.
"I'm going to take that as a yes." Suddenly he ripped the blankets off me, throwing them onto the floor as he stalked over to open the curtains as well. At the same time I was overly grateful that I had made a habit of sleeping in clothes, even if they were the same clothes from the night before.
"Garrett," I whined, trying to conceal my anxiety. To make things worse, every time I got nervous I threw up, and I prayed that wouldn't happen now. The air seemed exceptionally cold this morning, and before I knew it I was shivering, trying to hug myself warm again, all the while wishing that it was him I had my arms around instead.
"Who wears jeans to bed?" he teased, starting to laugh.
"I do," I replied timidly, suddenly self-conscious about how disgusting the habit was. Leaning my face against my arm, I tried to hide that I couldn't stop myself from blushing.
"Get up." As soon as he touched me I jerked back, the abrupt contact shocking.
"Garrett…Go and have breakfast." I hoped he would; he was driving me crazy. I either had to make him leave or find a way to get him in bed with me. There was no way I could stand him being around me if I wasn't allowed to touch him…But I couldn't just ask him to hug me, right? That was weird.
"You're conning me into making you food?" he chuckled.
I swallowed a guilty apology. "…Can you turn the light off please?" I asked instead. The light did sting and make my head swim, but mostly it was so it wouldn't be blatantly obvious that I couldn't stop staring at him. Quickly picking up the blankets, I cocooned myself in them; at least now I couldn't touch him. Thankfully, he did as I asked.
And then he was next to me, only inches away from where I lay. Yet that small space felt like a motherfucking crater. That boy had no idea how much I loved him. "What's wrong?" he asked softly, his hand coming to be on my shoulder, his chin resting on his fingers.
I love you. "We walked home in the snow," I said instead.
He hugged me, on top of me without any warning. "I suppose we did, but I feel fine. You're just soft."
One kiss wouldn't hurt anything, would it? Just one touch; maybe he wouldn't even know what had happened. "…You're just an asshole."
"Do I need to call Siobhan back?" Holy shit. I couldn't breathe. Not with his lips this close to mine. All it would take was one of us to move wrong – or maybe move right depending on who you asked.
And of course I couldn't stop something horrifically sappy coming out of my mouth. "I don't need her. I have you."
"Of course you do. Who needs girls, right?" he breathed.
I was sure my heart stopped. He knew. He fucking knew about me. "Right…" I whispered, desperately trying to keep my voice from shaking and fighting the urge to cry. He couldn't know, he just couldn't. I was going to be sick; Garrett might accept Siobhan and Kate, but certainly not me loving him. I couldn't tell him, or more, couldn't admit to it if – no, when he asked me. Not until I got my stupid crush on him under control.

When I first moved in with Garrett three years ago, I couldn't even look him in the eye. This total stranger, a person I'd never even met, I'd somehow fallen in love with instantly. Before we shook hands even. More so when he refused the handshake and exchanged it for a hug like we'd known each other for years. It was painful, almost, watching him continuously flirt with girls, trying to involve me in conversation over who was 'hotter'. Being a shy eighteen year old who'd never had a friend before, it made me nauseous.
Now, at twenty one, I loved him more than ever, although I tried to convince myself otherwise. To worsen things, he had plenty other people he could hang out with, yet he spent almost every weekend with me, and when he did go out, he dragged me alone too, introducing me to all of his friends who instantly disliked me. If we had lectures at our university at the same time he always sat with me a lunch, despite having a horde of other 'cool' people that would happily talk to him. Even though he was two years older than me, we started study at the same time, him studying physics while I studied medicine. Although the degree was hell, I dreaded it being over, knowing he would leave. Even the thought of it made my throat tight.

Siobhan POV

As soon as I came into the room and saw Kate grinning at me from the bed, I knew something was up. And I was ninety per cent sure that I wasn't about to get laid; there were far too many clothes for that. "What?" I asked, half curious, half annoyed.
"Tell me what happened between you and Carlisle?" she asked sweetly, her eyes amused.
I sighed. "Nothing, that's what."
"Sure," she agreed sarcastically.
I looked her up and down. "Fine. On one condition."
Kate raised an eyebrow, never breaking eye contact with me as she took off her shirt and threw it across the room. "Happy?"
"That wasn't what I was going to ask," I laughed, leaning down to kiss her. "But yes, I'm incredibly happy."
"So?" She pulled back, wearing an arrogant smirk. "Did you fuck him or did you not?"
"No, I didn't."
Apparently I couldn't keep the note of annoyance out of my tone because she asked; "But you wanted to?"
"Of course I did! He's cute- hey, shut up. Don't you laugh at me," I scolded lightly, seizing her hands as I pushed her back onto the bed.
"So he's gay then?" she asked with sudden seriousness.
"What- no. Where on earth did you get that idea?" I lied, trying not to smile. Truth be told, although he let me kiss him, as soon as I touched his belt he broke down and told me everything. Including his fatal crush on his flatmate. He'd then sworn me to secrecy, absolutely humiliated.
"It's a shame, really," she continued thoughtfully. "I think Garrett might love him."
Somehow, I managed to breath wrong and choke on my own spit. "Really? I though you and him were together for a while."
She snorted and rolled her eyes. "I screwed him for a while, if that's what you mean. But he bats for both teams."
A smile was too hard to resist, and instantly my mind was racing as I tried to think of ways to get them together. "Do you think it might turn into something?"
"Maybe, but only for a short time. Garrett will only get bored." She didn't seem to think anything of the statement but to me it stung.
"What do you mean? Surely if he likes him then…"
Kate shrugged. "He always has and always will. His relationships rely too much on sex; no sex, no deal. Carlisle's not like that. At all. And apparently straight," she winked at me.
I refused to give in and tell her. "Of course."
"Were they okay when you went and checked on them?"
"Yes. They weren't feeling very well, but they were fine." It was hard to resist telling her that they were cuddling when I came in, and how reluctant they were to stop it. By god, I prayed Garrett wouldn't hurt him.

Garrett POV

"Kate and Siobhan are coming for drinks later. You're going to have to put pants on," Carlisle teased, coming to lean on my doorframe.
"I will do no such thing." Ever since he brought it up a few weeks ago, it had become a running joke, whether I was dressed or not. Like now, as I sat trying to finish some stupid fucking paper which was doing my fucking head in, fully clothed, he still couldn't resist.
He dawdled across my room to flop onto my bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Carlisle, I'm trying to concentrate. You're not helping," I growled, frustrated. My pen ricocheted off the wall as I threw it, skittering across the floor to stop at his feet.
"Sorry," he mumbled, slowly getting to his feet and wading through the shit on my floor to get back to the door.
My throat suddenly became tight. "I didn't mean to yell at you, I just- I just- I cant fucking do it! I'm going to fucking fail because I'm fucking retarded! I-" Unable to stop it, I burst into tears, burying my face in my hands. "M-my parents are going to kill me…" I mumbled to myself. I jumped as he pressed then pen into my hand again, thinking he had run at my outburst.
His arms slid around my shoulders, his cheek resting on the top of my head. "Everything will be fine, okay?"
I leant against him but shook my head. "M-mum will be so disappointed…I'm already the screw up of the family…"
"So what? It's one paper, Garrett. You can just re-sit it. I guarantee you that your mother will still bake you cookies and do your washing when you go and stay with her. She's not going to disown you for the sake of one paper." He squeezed me a little tighter and I hugged his waist, letting myself be comforted.
"Maybe I can find an emergency tutor or something," I mumbled. "It might not be too late."
Letting go of me, he lent over my desk, examining what I'd written. "Here." What came out of his mouth next was pure genius, exactly the theory I needed to finish.
"Where'd you learn that stuff?" I asked softly, unable to resist putting my arms around him again and pulling him back, meaning he was sitting on the edge of my seat.
He sucked in and held a sharp breath and I wondered if I'd crossed some kind of line. Instead of protesting though, he just looked embarrassed and glanced down. "Sometimes…when I can't sleep I watch online lectures and sit the odd paper. You know, just for fun." His words tumbled out, almost like he didn't want them to. "Like correspondence."
"For fun, huh?" I teased, sliding him closer and resting my chin on his shoulder from behind. "When I can't sleep I go on Tumblr. Or watch porn, it depends."
"Oh my god," he giggled. "Don't say things like that while we're sitting like this. It's weird on so many levels."
"Don't tell me you don't have a list of dirty websites that you go on when I'm not supervising," I teased.
"Sure I do, but that's not the point."
"What do you watch, anyway?"
"No." He shook his head, desperately trying to close the topic. But that only encouraged my curiosity.
"I'm rather fond of two girls going at it, you know?" That was the thing furthest away from what I actually watched, but it was worth it for his reaction.
"Garrett…" he whined, bright red now. "That's too much information; I don't want to know."
"I'm sorry," I chuckled, noting that he still didn't move away. After being this close to him, I wouldn't need any porn tonight. I tried not to think about it anymore, otherwise this position was about to become both embarrassing and uncomfortable for both of us.

A while later there was an intrusive knock on the door. I glanced at the clock; six hours had passed. Me and Carlisle were still sitting as we had been, except while he tried to teach me, the only thing I was studying was him. Him helping me like this certainly wasn't doing anything to help my crush on him, and neither was the way he would shift periodically, giving me that chance to move closer until there was literally no space between us and I was unconsciously aware of every breath he took, which toward the end turned irregular and shallow and I sensed his concentration breaking as he started to squirm.
He sighed and stood quickly; freezing the moment he did so.
"You okay?" I asked, getting up and straightening my clothes.
He nodded and took a tentative step forward, inching toward the door.
"Can you let them in? I'll go and make some coffee." I slid past him in the doorway where he'd stopped again and made my way down to the kitchen, flicking the switch on the jug. They were over here enough for me not to have to ask how they wanted their drinks, so I didn't even bother waiting for them to join me in the kitchen before setting out the cups.
"Aren't you a good little maid, Garrett," Siobhan teased as they came in, immediately sitting at the table. "You would be the perfect boyfriend for him, if you weren't straight." She caught my eye and winked, gesturing to Carlisle who was completely zoned out.
I glared at Kate for telling her. "Of course I would. I'm god damn beautiful." I bowed to her and stuck her cup on the table, Kate's next to hers.
"Are you going to sit, Carlisle, or stand there the whole night?" She glanced back at him.
I tried not to get caught staring, but he seemed anxious for some reason; continuously fidgeting and shifting, absolutely unable to keep still, which was unusual for him. When I handed him his drink he looked like he might cry and I fought back an urgent need to hug him. Instead, I wrapped my arm around his waist in a somewhat more platonic manner, squeezing him against my side for a few seconds before sitting.
Nobody else seemed to notice his strange behaviour.
"That's as far as my hosting skills go. What are we going to do, exactly?" I asked, hoping Carlisle might step in.
I don't think he even heard me; he focused blankly on the wall, his face flushing slightly as he swallowed a mouthful of coffee.
Siobhan dumped a bag on the table. "Strip-tease poker. You're betting your clothes, boys."