Lucien smiled happily as he stirred the batter for the breakfast pancakes he was making for himself and Lyman. He was up at 4 am this morning, filled with excitement. It was his first day of classes! He had his first class 6 hours from now, but he couldn't help but wake up early. He'd barely gotten any sleep, but his excitement kept him awake, like a kid who couldn't the night before an exciting day! He didn't know what time Lyman had his classes, but he figured he'd make him breakfast anyway. His heart throbbed lightly at the thought of his roommate. Lucien hadn't had any feelings for him as far as he knew, but he couldn't help but admit the Lycan was dreamy. His sour attitude was tolerable at least, and he did enjoy their exchanges. He was glad his first roommate was someone as attractive as the Lycanroc, especially when he walked around in his boxers like it was nothing.

Nopenopenope stop. It is not the time to get excited. I need to finish breakfast.

The Lucario blushed lightly and shook himself out of his thoughts. He had to tell himself that he would only ever be his friend, and nothing more would come of this. He kept stirring the pancakes, silencing his conflicting feelings. He'd only known the guy for a week or so, and only had his looks to go off of.

He eventually started focusing on his current task, and started warming up a pan. After a bit breakfast was done. He had made 3 pancakes for himself, and 5 for Lyman. It was almost 6 am, the Lycanroc was going to be up any minute. He plated his pancakes, putting Lyman's in a container to keep them warm, then started eating his happily.

By the time he was finished it was almost seven. Lucien was a painfully slow eater. He had finished up, and put Lyman's pancakes in the fridge. If he knew anything about the Lycanroc it was that he ate whatever was made for him, even if it was warmed up in the microwave. He smiled as he cleaned the plate and pan off, then wrote a note for Lyman.

Lyman,

I was so excited today, I made us pancakes for breakfast. They're in the fridge, you know what to do.

-Lucien

He excitedly went upstairs, showered, and got dressed. He grabbed his backpack that he'd prepared last night, and hurriedly walked downstairs. He noticed his housemate hadn't left his room yet.

I hope he at least wakes up on time. It'd be a shame if he was late on his first day.

He checked his phone, which read 8:57. He couldn't ignore the worrisome feeling, and knocked on the Lycanroc's door.

"Hey Lyman! It's almost 9, I'm not sure if you have classes early today, but I figured I'd at least make sure you were up on time!"

He heard shuffling from behind the door, then a loud 'SHIT' then a thud. Lucien giggled as he assumed he was right, and jumped when the Lycan's door flung open, in nothing but his usual morning wear, and a frantic look on his face. The Lucario blushed at the sight once more, but giggled at the panicked look on his roommate's face.

"My first class is at 10! Thanks for waking me up Lucario, I have to get ready!"

Lucien smiled as his roommate rushed to the bathroom, and called to him before he left.

"Alright! I'm gonna get going!"

His roommate had already started the shower, but responded anyway.

"Uh huh! I'll see you later!"

Lucien happily made his way to the front door, and left for his first class.

...

It was about 2 pm, and Lucien was sitting on a bench near the food court on campus. He was eating a sandwich he'd bought, and swinging his legs while humming. His first few classes were a breeze. He met some of his teachers, got to take a look at his class, and enjoyed a brief introduction. He'd even had one class with Lyman and Lucy, which was a pleasant surprise! He gulped down the rest of his sandwich and pulled out his phone. He'd gotten Lyman and Lucy's numbers after leaving the class they shared and noticed he'd gotten a text from Lucy.

LovelyLucy303: Hey Lucien! Wanted to say thanks again for dinner the other day! You really have a talent for cooking. Cyrus and I would love to come over again some time!

Me: I was happy to have you guys Lucy! I'll be sure to cook something extra special next time! Just let me know!

LovelyLucy303: I'd love to cook with you if you don't mind! I'm always looking to learn new things, and I'd be happy to show you some things I know too!

Lucien giggled at how sweet she was, and was in the midst of telling her how he'd be happy to cook with her, when he was covered by a shadow. He noticed this instantly, and looked up to see a familiar Torracat, standing over him with an innocent smile.

"Hey Lucien. Funny meeting you here."

Lucien looked up at him with a half suspicious look.

"Yeah. I just finished my classes for the day, and was about to head home."

He got up, and started making his way home, with the Torracat following behind him.

"Aw don't be like that, I know a defense mechanism when I hear one. I'm sorry I was so flirty before. I couldn't help it, especially with someone as cute as you. It won't happen again, I just wanna be friends."

The Lucario stopped and looked him up and down, and realizing there wasn't a hint of mischief in his eyes or posture.

"Reeeeally?"

The Torracat nodded.

"Really."

Lucien gave him a half smile.

"Alright then. How about we go visit the store? I need to pick up more things for dinner. After that I really do need to go home."

Monty smiled and followed him.

After searching the shopping district supermarket for about 30 minutes, Lucien came to the conclusion that what he needed wasn't there.

Huh. I guess this place doesn't have everything.

He walked out with Monty in tow, and gave him an apologetic look.

"Sorry. I'm going to the supermarket in the city. You can come if you want, if you don't want to I understand."

Monty shrugged.

"I'll go, it's not like I have anything to do today."

Lucien gestured for him to follow.

...

A bit later, Lucien had found what he needed. Some gourmet premium shrimp, for a shrimp and pasta dinner. He'd been craving making it since he randomly thought about it a few days ago, and finally decided to make it.

"Here it is."

He held the package up to Monty with a huge smile, who gave him smirk back.

"Nice, is there anything else you want?"

He shook his head 'no' and put the bag in his basket.

"Let's get going! We can still make it home before it gets dark!"

As they started making their way to the check out lanes, Monty put a paw on his shoulder, and pointed to a Togepi standing alone in the canned food aisle. She had a painfully scared face, as she looked around in confusion, tears in her eyes.

"I think that little girl is alone."

He started walking toward her with a helpful smile on his face, and knelt down to greet her. Lucien watched as Monty comforted her, and calmed her down.

"Now that you're calm, what's wrong?"

She sniffled a bit and looked up at him.

"I lost my mommy. Can you help me find her?"

Monty smiled at her cutely, and hoisted her up on his shoulder, making her giggle.

"Of course! Let's go to the nice lady in customer service and we can help find mommy. What's your name?"

She giggled and pulled one of his whiskers.

"My name is Melissa!"

Monty pat her head softly.

"Well Melissa. You can call me Monty. Let's go find mommy, okay?"

Lucien followed Monty and Melissa to the customer service counter, and explained the situation to the Indeedee behind the counter, who made a call on the loudspeaker for Melissa's mom to come get her. After a bit of waiting, a Togekiss in hysterics flew over saying she was the mother, and clung to her child. After a bit of thank yous to Monty and Lucien, she took her child with her, who waved goodbye with a smile. Afterward Lucien paid for what he had, and they left the store. They walked back to the train station, with Lucien clinging to his bag and Monty holding his hands behind his head while walking nonchalantly. Lucien cleared his throat.

"That was really sweet, what you did. I think I misjudged you before. I'm sorry."

Monty chuckled.

"Nah it was nothing. I did come on strong, so it was fine for you to think that way."

He looked up at the sky as he spoke.

"I always felt the need to help someone who can't help themselves, especially kids. I was an only child growing up, and my parents were never around, so I always had to do things on my own. So when I get older, I wanna start a family, have a nice guy by my side. I've already looked into having kids, and as tough as it may be, I'll be willing to put in the work to give my children the nice fulfilling life they deserve."

He grinned at Lucien, who met it with a nice smile.

"Sorry, I kinda got ahead of myself."

Lucien waved off his apology.

"It's fine it's fine. That's a wonderful dream. I'm sure you'd make a great father."

They continued until they made it to the housing district, and Lucien said goodbye as they separated to head home.

"I'd love to hang out again sometime! This was really nice!"

Monty wave coolly as Lucien started walking.

"Yup. Any time. I'll see you around Lucien."

He made his way home, humming to himself up until he got home, and unlocked the door. He noticed Lyman sitting at the table reading over some papers and eating some pineapple chunks, and waved to him as he entered.

"Hey dork, how were classes?"

Lucien smiled and put his grocery bags on the table.

"They were great! I think I'm gonna like them! Afterwards I went to the supermarket with Monty, who isn't as bad as I thought!"

He started taking the things he bought out of the bags while explaining their little adventure, and the Lycanroc gave him a smirk when he finished.

"Already going on a first date? Boy you move quick!"

He chuckled as the Lucario turned red, and frowned at him.

"It wasn't a date! We just hung out while I went shopping! Now shut it or I'm gonna eat all this shrimp and pasta myself!"

At that, the Lycan closed his mouth immediately, and Lucien looked at him in shock.

"Well this is new, normally it takes a lot more to get you to shut up. You must really love shrimp."

Lyman nodded several times quickly.

"Shrimp is my overrall favorite food. My mom used to make it for me once a week as a treat, and I haven't had it since I moved here to go to school."

Lucien giggled because the Lycanroc couldn't contain his excitement, and laughed when he noticed his tail was wagging against his chair.

"Well, why don't I teach you how to make it? That way you'll always be able even if your roommate can't cook."

Lyman grew bright, and his tail thumped against the chair even louder.

"Really? But I already told you that I can't cook to save my life! Can I really help?"

Lucien nodded, a light blush on his face.

"Of course! I gotta admit this is a little out of character for you, are you alright?"

Lyman got up and stood next to Lucien while holding the bag of shrimp.

"Just fine, I just really like shrimp. Let's get cooking! I don't expect to do much, since you'll probably just stick me at the table, but I don't care as long as I learn what to do."

Lucien huffed, and started directing the Lycanroc as to what to do first. He made Lyman peel the shrimp as he started prepping the ingredients. He was surprised at how intently the Lycanroc listened and did exactly what he told him without hesitation. He wasn't perfect, and there were some mistakes, but he didn't hold them against him. After a while, the food was done, and Lucien giggled at how Lyman grinned while eating. Lucien ate along with him.

"You weren't as bad as you said, you were actually great help!"

Lyman stuffed his mouth and his tail wagged even more. He swallowed and replied.

"Really? But I messed up so many times?"

Lucien swallowed some more food, and wiped his face.

"Yeah, but no one's perfect. I think if you cooked a little more you'd be great at it! How about I teach you how to cook? It'd be nice to have some help, and company in the kitchen is always nice."

Lyman finished his meal and gave the Lucario a grateful look.

"Sure! I'll try my best!"

And with that, for the first time Lyman gave Lucien a genuine smile, making the Lucario's heart throb as he blushed and smiled back. They finished their meal with the Lycanroc offering to do the dishes this time, and Lucien turning in early. As he laid in bed, he turned to his side, frustrated with himself. He didn't think his roommate could be so adorable with his excitement, but was glad they were getting along better. He remembered when they'd first met, and he thought the Lycan hated him, and he didn't like him much either. He just couldn't bring himself to stoop to petty levels, and still cooked for him and helped around the house.

Lucien felt his chest, his heart throbbing again thinking about cute the Lycanroc could be when he was comfortable, and his genuine smile making him feel a light warmth in his chest. He didn't want to admit to himself that he had a small amount of hope in his heart, that something more would come out of their blossoming friendship.

So, I decided to change things up a bit, in that I actually planned this story out, unlike before(the first 3 chapters T.T), when it was probably really obvious. It's still in the works, but I actually have an idea of where this is going, and I can't wait for it the things I planned to come into play. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you next time!