Sunday dawned cold and rainy, and stayed that way for most of the day. In his room, Eshe alternated between reading manga, stories, and making a feeble attempt at studying.

At some point, there came a knock on the door, deliberate and sharp, so as not to be mistaken for a knock on another door.

Eshe jumped in surprise, looking up blankly. When the fact that a knock generally meant someone was at the door and wanted to come in registered with his brain, he put his book down and hurried to answer.

Nika was waiting at the door with his notebook opened to one of the pages they'd worked on the day before.

Eshe blinked at Nika and smiled hesitantly. "Hi."

Nika's smile more readily appeared, as tended to be the case when Eshe was concerned. "Hey. I, uh, had a question." He held his notebook in front of his face to illustrate and peeked over the top after a moment. "Can I come in?"

Eshe's smile solidified and he held the door open. "Sure. Come inside."

Nika bounced through the doorway past Eshe and held his notebook behind his back as he looked around. "Nice place," he said, still smiling.

Eshe closed the door and turned a slight pink of embarrassment. "I like to decorate..." This was perhaps a slight understatement, as most of his walls were covered with posters of bands or art prints, and a few little animal keychains were scattered about. His bookcase was completely full, mostly of small manga and music CDs.

Nika smiled more as he faced Eshe. "I see that. It's cute." Completely unlike his own, he noted, and decided he liked the change of scenery. "Uhm, so..." he brought his book back in front of himself and looked down at the open paged, "what...uh, can you explain this to me?" He pointed at a line on the page and showed it to Eshe.

Eshe moved closer and looked at where Nika was indicating. "Fundamental Attribution Error? That’s where you tend to attribute other peoples’ unusual behavior to a flaw in their personality, and your own unusual behavior to your situation.”

Nika nodded and made an "ohhhh" sound. "I see. Okay, yeah, that makes sense... 'cause of this," he drew a random swirl on his page around a bunch of words, "and yeah, and...okay." He smiled as he flipped through the notes and skimmed over them once more. "All right, I think I'm good." He closed his notebook and stepped away to bow. "Thank you for your aid." Straightening, he asked, "So how are you on all this stuff? Think you're ready?"

Eshe swayed with a nervous smile. "I hope so!"

Nika smiled at Eshe and laughed a little. "Yeah, so don't we all. I'm sure we'll both do swimmingly." Tucking his book under his arm, he glanced around the room again. "So, what've you been up to this fine and dreary day?"

Eshe glanced at his bed, where he'd left his manga. "Oh, you know...reading... You?"

"Uhm, sleeping, and studying... a little." Nika shrugged and followed Eshe's line of sight. "Reading what, exactly?"

"Oh, nothing..." Eshe pushed the little book under his pillow. "Sleeping sounds exciting. Well. There should be more sleep in the world." He decided to stop talking while he was ahead and sat on the bed, smiling at Nika.

Nika smirked and sat down next to Eshe. "I find it hard to believe that you were reading nothing."

Eshe leaned back on his hands, glancing up at the ceiling. "Oh, yes. It was quite empty. And, you know, totally uninteresting."

"Huh." Nika glanced at the pillow under which Eshe's book was hidden and spoke slowly as he said, "You don't strike me as the type of person who would waste your time with that," while inching towards the pillow.

"With what?" Eshe leaned an elbow casually on the pillow.

Nika bit his lip to stave off his fox-like grin. "With something totally uninteresting."

"Well, you never know. It could be required for a class."

"That's true." Nika looked between Eshe and the pillow and produced something akin to a pout. "Oh come on, let me seeeee... I'm an insatiably curious person, you know."

"It's nothing, really. Why don't you believe me?"

"Because if it was nothing," Nika reached for the pillow, his voice a low purr, "you wouldn't be hiding it from me."

Eshe shivered, falling onto the pillow when his elbow slipped. "Don't take it!"

Nika chuckled lowly as his hand dipped under the pillow. "Only if you ask nicely."

Eshe looked down at Nika's hand and flushed deeply, an unhappy look on his face. "Please, don't..."

Nika sighed and retreated, sitting up a little so that he wasn't leaning over Eshe anymore. "All right, since you said please, and all." He tilted his head and leaned back on his hands, a small smile on his face as he observed Eshe's.

Eshe remained as he was, turning his face into the pillow.

Nika's smile fell away and he glanced off to the side. "I... I'm sorry, I was just playing."

Eshe sniffed and sat up, his back still to Nika, and rubbed his eyes. "I know... sorry."

Nika looked at Eshe again with a vague concerned frown. "Hey, are you okay? I really didn't mean to make you upset..." He reached towards his neighbor but then thought better of it and let his hand drop to the space between them.

Eshe laughed slightly, but without humor. "It's okay, I'm sorry. It's not your fault."

Nika bit his lip and looked down at his lap, unconvinced. "If you say so..."

Eshe composed himself and turned to sit normally again, giving Nika a little smile.

Nika glanced at Eshe and returned the smile slightly. "So, what...else do you have planned for today?"

Eshe shrugged. "I don't know... I have to write a paper but I don't want to."

Nika leaned back on his hands a little. "I don't know anyone who would."

"Well, I'm sure there are some people. Somewhere out there." Eshe arranged himself more comfortably on the bed, propping the pillows up so he could lean on them against the headboard (after shoving the book further back).

Nika watched Eshe out of the corner of his eye and smiled before looking at him more fully. "Probably. There are all sorts of crazy people out there." He nodded, as if he wasn't one of them himself.

Eshe smiled, folding his legs and settling back. "There sure are."

"Do you know any crazy people? Not literally insane, but you know... My cousin is pretty crazy, but we tolerate her out of love." Nika considered the ceiling for a moment. "All right, so she's a lot of fun, too."

Eshe chuckled a little. "Well, there is that one crazy guy in the other dorm. He only talks about calculus."

Nika shuddered. "Ew, calculus... he must be literally insane." He shook his head, as if pitying the stranger.

"Yep."

"You must be close friends. I don't know if I'd be able to tolerate someone obsessed with calculus unless they were a close friend. Physics, maybe, but calculus?"

Eshe laughed. "No, we're not close friends. It's not so bad if you tune it out, and nod occasionally."

Nika laughed too. "Ah, the smile-and-nod routine. It's a nice method. So who are your friends? Who're your circle?" He tilted his head, honestly interested, and briefly felt like a failure as Eshe's obsessor for even having to ask the question.

Eshe blushed slightly and shrugged. "Ah... I don't really have one. Sometimes I hang out with one of the music majors, or whoever..."

Nika's eyebrows rose very slightly and briefly, only enough to show the vaguest of surprise. "How come? I mean, I..." he bit his tongue, wondering if it was too insensitive a question, but continued nonetheless now that he'd spoken, "...I can't believe that no one would want to be your friend- I mean, I can't believe that you wouldn't have a whole... a whole flock of friends, or something. Good friends, that is." He rubbed the back of his neck, and couldn't help the heat in his face.

Eshe shrugged uncomfortably again, looking away. "People think I'm a little weird. I don't know... Maybe if I tried harder I would have more friends. I always feel like I'm bothering people though." Eshe bit his lip, feeling that he'd said too much. "What about you? Who do you hang out with?"

Nika leaned forward slightly and propped his elbows on his knees. He wanted to say more, but refrained and instead answered Eshe's question. "My cousin and a few other people, mostly. My cousin and I are practically best friends. She made friends with a bunch of the artsy people, and through her they became my friends, and then I got close with a select random few in some my classes." He shrugged and observed his fingernails, blushing slightly. "And then there's you, neighbor, classmate, friend, what have you." He decided to leave the "love interest" out of the list; he preferred to keep that area untouched for as long as he could help after its disastrous (in his mind) introduction.

Eshe smiled. "It would be nice to be friends... We do live so close, after all."

Nika nodded and leaned back a little. "It would be nice. Friends?" He turned to Eshe and offered his hand to shake.

Eshe smiled almost shyly and put his hand in Nika's. "Friends."

An unreadable emotion shimmered over Nika's smile briefly, disappearing as soon as it had come. He shook Eshe's hand and then released it to lean back on his own two with the other. "Pleasure doing business with you," he murmured.

Eshe looked briefly startled and then blushed uncomfortably, looking away. "Yeah... So..."

Nika tilted his head. His smile slipped quietly away and he observed Eshe's blush. "So..."

Eshe cleared his throat and smiled slightly again. "Uhm... what do you like to do? When you're not...doing school work."

Nika's smile appeared for a moment and left its impression behind in his eyes as it fled again. "I like to, uhm, read...and draw...sometimes paint. And yourself?"

"I like to read, and draw... and swim. I also play the cello, but I'm not that good at it."

Nika smiled, more definitely this time. "Yeah? Swimming's fun. I've never been very musically talented, though I do appreciate music. I want to hear you play sometime."

Eshe blushed slightly again, but smilingly. "I'd make your ears bleed."

"Pft." Nika waved his hand dismissively. "That's what they all say. I don't believe it for a minute. What do you like to draw?"

Eshe continued blushing and smiling, picking at the hem of his pant leg. "We-ell... Different things... I like drawing animals, and people..."

Nika hummed warmly. "I love drawing people. I've never been very good at animals." His smile was fond as he laid back and tucked his hands behind his head, which he turned towards Eshe. "Maybe you could teach me."

Eshe smiled. "Maybe."

Nika's grin widened. "How about definitely?"

Eshe blushed slightly again, twisting the material of his pants. "Maaaaaybe."

Nika laughed quietly. "At least give me aaaa... ninety percent chance guarantee, please?"

Eshe poked his tongue out. "Eighty-nine point nine."

Nika's gaze flickered down to Eshe's mouth before returning to his eyes. There was a slight pout on his lips as he replied, "Aww, come on, and I even said please." He shook his head with sigh. "No slack."

"Well, I think eighty-nine point nine is pretty good. Maybe you're just too hoity toity for anything a sliver below ninety."

"Well, maybe I am. What're you gonna do about it?" Nika sniffed. "Ninety's just a nicer number than eighty-nine point nine, anyway. It's easier to say, and it's rounder, and- if you were ill, would you rather hear a doctor say you had eighty-nine point nine percent change of living or ninety?"

"Are you insulting my number? You know, sleazy salesmen use point nine numbers to sell cars all the time, since people think they're lower than they actually are. One thousand ninety-nine point nine is only a dollar less than two thousand, you know."

"Hah, well, point nine numbers are only sleazy for those stupid enough to fall into sleazy salesmen's traps." Nika nodded. "And I'm not one of them. I just want a ninety percent chance guarantee that you'll teach me how to draw animals."

Eshe sighed, letting go of his pant leg and dangling his feet over the side of the bed. "Eighty-nine point nine is basically the same as ninety."

Nika smiled gently. "I know. I just like t... arguing." He nodded as he rolled onto his side with one arm pillowing his head. "I am honored to have that eighty-nine point nine percent guarantee. But you definitely have to play the cello for me."

Eshe smiled slightly. "I don't like arguing... I'll think about the cello playing. Maybe I could just give you a recording of cellos instead."

"It's not the same." Nika pouted a little. "I want to hear you play. But!" He pushed himself up into a sitting position and dangled his legs over the side of the bed too, though they were barely off the floor. "If you don't want to, you don't have to."

"I said I'd think about it."

"I know. I'm just aiding your thinking process." Nika shrugged, clasping his hands in his lap. "My cousin can play guitar pretty well... we have this tradition that she learns how to play a different song each year for my birthday. And I have to draw her something, or paint her something, for her birthdays. Personally, I think I get the better end of the deal. Her playing is worth five of my drawings."

Eshe smiled a little. "I'm sure that's not true. I saw your doodles in the psychology notes."

Nika laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah...well, I was feeling rather... inspired when I drew those."

"And not when making birthday presents?"

Nika laughed again, though quieter. "They're two very different kinds of inspiration. One's a little more...passionate than the other."

Eshe's eyebrows rose and he started smiling. "Passionate about psychology, are you? If it's not the lectures... It must be something else. Maybe you are especially fond of the lecture center. It does have rather nice acoustics."

Nika blushed and laughed once more, this once a littler more nervous than its predecessors. "Oh, it's not the lecture center. I'm actually quite averse to the very word 'lecture,' ever since I started getting them from my mom when I was younger." He exhaled quietly. "The center does have nice acoustics, though, I will agree with you on that."

Eshe smiled, taking his hair out of its ponytail and letting it spill over his shoulders. "I think a psychology lecture sounds less frightening than a parent lecture."

Nika glanced sideways at Eshe and then looked away again, rather quickly, scratching the side of his face in an attempt to hide his blush from Eshe's view. "Yeah... well, that...depends on what class it's for. ...Don't you think?"

Eshe put the hair tie on the desk and combed through his hair with his fingers. "Aren't psychology lectures usually for psychology class? There are other psychology classes, though. Cognitive Neuro-psych is quite different from Intro to Psychology, I would imagine."

Nika nodded. "Mhm, yeah, true." He could really find nothing else to say, as he was having a slightly difficult time concentrating during the internal battle with the blood in his face.

Eshe settled back against the pillows, stretching his legs out, and twirled a lock of curly burgundy hair around his finger. "I wonder what kind of lectures are the most effective."

Nika looked over at Eshe again and let his hand fall back to the bed. "...What d'you mean?"

"I mean... the most entertaining, the most.. attention-getting. Or... the lectures that you actually learn from, and enjoy going to. Those kind of lectures."

Nika shrugged and leaned back on his hands again. "Well, Psych lectures are, uhm...interesting. Or, maybe I can't really say that, since I don't pay attention half of the time."

"See? That's what I mean. I was wondering what would make people more likely to pay attention and learn. Since... that's sort of the point of lectures..."

"I'm sure it's not the instructor's fault, concerning my not paying attention. Or the subject's. I'm just...easily distracted." Nika fiddled with a wrinkle in his pants.

"So am I..." Eshe yawned and rested his arms over his stomach.

"So... what are your opinions about...food?"

"Hmmm...food." Nika smiled slightly. "I love food. I like meat...and I really like berries. And what about you?"

"I love food too. I like good food though, not bad food. Bad food makes me sad. I like berries too, and other fruits... I don't like meat though. I like lentils."

Nika nodded, an amused smile on his lips. "Most people are more inclined to prefer good food over bad food, yes. What kinds of berries do you like?"

"Not necessarily. There are people out there who like bad food. I like.. raspberries, and blackberries the best... You?"

"I like all berries. Raspberries...oh, and blueberries! the best." Nika smiled dreamily at the thought. "Chocolate strawberries are always good, though, with whipped cream and everything."

Eshe laughed. "Chocolate strawberries with whipped cream, eh?"

Nika nodded fervently, biting his lip. "It's pretty much orgasmic, berries and chocolate and whipped cream... I mean, come on, it doesn't get much better than that."

Eshe laughed again. "I don't know that I'd go that far... Whipped cream gives me stomachaches."

"What about just chocolate and strawberries? It's only two-thirds of the deal, but it's still good."

"Hmmm. If the chocolate was free of dairy, maybe. I'm lactose intolerant... Dark chocolate would work."

"Ahh...dark chocolate." Nika nodded in approval. He sighed, laid back, and rolled onto his stomach. "Now I want fondue..."

Eshe poked Nika's side with his toes. "Maybe you should get some then."

Nika squirmed slightly and reached over to tap Eshe's foot. "How? If I could magically summon some up, I would gladly do so."

Eshe wiggled his toes. "Maybe the town has a fondue place."

Nika smiled. "Maybe it does."

Eshe nodded, turning onto his side and resting his head on folded arms. "Maybe you should look in the phone book. See if there's anything under 'fondue'."

Nika tucked his own arms under his head. "Maybe I should. Where's the phone book?"

"Hmmm. I think there's one in the library. There might be one downstairs, in the lounge or something..."

"Ahhh...so far away..." Nika buried his face in his arms. "All right, forget the fondue," he mumbled. "I'll have to hunt a place down later."

Eshe smiled and patted Nika's side with his foot. "There, there. You could have regular chocolate."

Nika turned his head onto its side to face Eshe. "Where?"

"I have some... We could share it."

Nika's eyes brightened. "That would be awesome. One-third of the deal...but still awesome."

"Fractions, decimals..." Eshe smiled and sat up, sliding off the bed to search through his bookshelf.

Nika watched Eshe for a moment before turning his head back into his arms to hide his own, much more private smile.

Eshe said, "Aha," and pulled a small container of chocolates out from behind his books. Discarding the lid, he sat beside Nika and offered him the box.

Nika sat up when he felt the bed dip and made a delighted sound upon sighting the chocolates. He accepted the box, observed the contents for a moment appreciatively, and then picked one for himself. Once he'd popped it into his mouth, he handed the box back to Eshe for him to help himself if he wanted any.

Eshe selected a chocolate and ate it slowly, sighing happily as he closed the box and put it away. "I love chocolate..."

Nika stared for a short snatch of time at Eshe and then looked away as he swallowed his own chocolate, with more difficulty than he could ever remember having had before. "Yeah..." he managed a smile, "me too."

Eshe smiled and started licking his fingers free of chocolate.

Nika glanced at Eshe out of the corner of his eye and wound up swallowing again. He ran his tongue over his lips as if to clean them of any chocolatey residue, but it was really more of a nervous gesture than anything.

Eshe smiled again, slightly differently this time, and drew his fingers from his mouth. "Did you like it?"

Nika looked away again and nodded curtly, and even managed to produce another smile (albeit a weak one). "It was...really good." His gaze drifted towards Eshe again, and he said in a pretended chipper, carefree voice, "But, you know what? I think I'm full! No more chocolate for me." He patted his still rather flat stomach to illustrate.

Eshe leaned an elbow on the bed and regarded Nika sideways, still smiling. "It's just silly to eat more than one chocolate at once. Unless you want to be really decadent."

Nika laughed (there was a slight ring of nervousness to it) and said, "Yeah... well, normally I don't mind decadence. My cousin is always wondering how I stay so thin and eat so much! But something about this chocolate...just, you know, filled me right up." He nodded and licked some remaining stickiness from his fingers.

Eshe regarded Nika with a little cat-smile, resting his head in his hand. "Is that so?"

Nika nodded again, not meeting Eshe's eyes. "That is...so..." He let his hands fall to his lap, a blush sneaking up on his face.

Eshe smiled wider and sat up, scooting closer to Nika. "You know what?"

Nika glanced at Eshe, and wished that the thermometer in his face would stop rising. "What?"

"You're pretty cute when you're embarrassed." Eshe pressed a quick kiss to Nika's cheek.

Nika jumped and fell slightly sideways, but caught himself with a hand on the bed. He righted again, unable to help the giddy upwards twitch of his lips or the further reddening of his face as the last few seconds caught up with his mind. "Uhm...thanks... Well, uh, you're pretty- really- cute... all the time."

Eshe smiled and blushed slightly as well. "Thank you." He reached out and gently turned Nika's face towards him with two fingers under his chin.

The thermometer in Nika's face decided that it couldn't rise anymore without erupting through the top, and so stopped its ascent, much to Nika's relief. The relief was short lived however as his heart decided it was time to jump into the game and began to race, and Nika seemed to be able to feel its beat everywhere, especially in his ears. It was a wonder he managed to speak when he murmured, "Uh...you're...welcome."

Eshe smiled and leaned up, touching his lips softly to Nika's.

Nika's motor functions short-circuited and for a (seemingly long) moment he didn't respond. Eventually, he let out a quiet sigh and pressed forward hesitantly.

Eshe shifted closer, sliding his hand along Nika's jaw and into his hair, kissing Nika slowly.

Nika moaned softly and relaxed. He slid his arms around Eshe's shoulders to pull him closer, tilting his head into the kiss.

Eshe's lips parted and he licked at Nika's, running his other hand over Nika's arm.

Nika made another small noise as he returned the lick, and he could taste the chocolate from a few minutes ago. He pressed closer to Eshe, trying to close whatever small spaces remained between them.

Eshe climbed onto Nika's lap and straddled his hips, coaxing Nika's tongue into his mouth.

Nika's arms slid down around Eshe's waist. He slipped his tongue inside Eshe's mouth without a moment's hesitation and made a thorough re-exploration of it, committing little details to memory as he fell back onto the bed and consequently pulled Eshe with him.

--

Eshe rolled onto his side, giving Nika a tired and sated smile.

Nika was smiling too, a combination of a few different emotions that when blended together were indiscernible from each other. He panted to catch his breath and, following suit, rolled onto his side, facing Eshe. Still smiling his unreadable smile, he reached out to brush aside a wayward strand of burgundy hair.

Eshe smiled, blushing slightly under Nika's attention. "My heater's still broken..."

Nika laughed quietly, his smile now unmistakably warm and loving, and moved closer to Eshe. "Who needs a heater...?" he teased, wrapping an arm around Eshe's waist and pulling him close. He pressed a kiss to Eshe's forehead and inhaled heavily as his eyes fell closed, his lips lingering.

Eshe blushed and smiled happily, snuggling into Nika's hold. After a peaceful moment, he said, "You don't, say… have the ability to turn out the light without moving, do you?"

Nika laughed against Eshe's forehead. "Sadly, no. I can turn into a fox, though, but that doesn't help our situation. I'll get it; stay put." Nika begrudgingly disentangled himself from Eshe and rolled out of bed. He took a second to locate the light and once it was off, he jumped back into bed, drawing the covers up and pulling Eshe into his arms again.

Eshe cuddled back into Nika, tucking his head under the sometimes-fox's chin. "Foxes are cute."

Nika smiled happily and drew his fingers through Eshe's hair. "They are. Though I'd have to argue that they're not as cute as Eshes. Have you ever seen an Eshe? Those are cute beyond compare." He nodded as his hand ran from Eshe's hair to his arm, sliding slowly down to his elbow and back up again.

Eshe giggled. "No, I don't think I've ever seen one of those. I bet you'd make a cute fox."

"Mmmm...maybe I'll show you sometime." Nika closed his eyes again and continued petting Eshe as he snuggled closer, still smiling.

Eshe smiled and kissed Nika's throat. "That would be nice."

Nika nodded and held Eshe tighter. If he could have exuded any more happiness right then, it would've been palpable. "And you can draw me, as a fox."

Eshe giggled again and pressed a kiss to Nika's collarbone. "I could."

Nika hummed quietly, his hand moving from Eshe's arm to his back, following the trail of his spine. "You could..."

Eshe nodded, tucking an arm around Nika's side. "That would be fun... We should do that sometime."

"Mmhmm. And we can get fondue..." Nika's fingers crept slowly back up Eshe's spine and then down again, coming to a stop over his tailbone, where they started drawing lazy circles.

"Mmmm... Yeah." Eshe closed his eyes, relaxing against Nika.

Nika smiled, and his eyes opened halfway to look down at Eshe's head. He sighed, his breath ruffling a few strands of wine-colored hair, and then laughed to himself. "My body wants to sleep, but the rest of me doesn't..."

Eshe smiled, stroking Nika's back. "Sleep is good. It is late... Sleepy..."

Nika closed his eyes again, also smiling. "All right. But you have to promise me that I'm not going to wake up tomorrow and find that this was all another dream."

Eshe gave whatever part of Nika was closest a sleepy kiss. "I promise."

"Mkay, thanks." Satisfied, Nika nestled comfortably into the bed and snuggled into Eshe and, not too long later, had fallen asleep, for once with a smile on his face.