Before Saturday could come, however, Tuesday had to end. As per Ray's disastrous sleep schedule, his days didn't end until two in the morning, which Sora was due to return from work. It was habit by then, and mostly coincidental, but things had changed. Specifically, Ray's outlook had changed.

He was back on his bullshit.

He didn't like to be alone and, sitting in the empty apartment solidified this fact. Perhaps it was the paranoia, or perhaps it was the way he used to crave having someone—anyone, really—to spend a night or two at his apartment. He would have been such an incredible host, he was sure of it, to whatever boyfriend he managed to snag in San Francisco.

In the midst of shutting the living room curtains, Ray paused. Boyfriend? he thought, frowning. Until yesterday, Sora had never been categorized as anything other than a roommate and a crush. A really, really powerful crush. So crushing, in fact, that Ray's heart could hardly take it.

He yanked the curtains shut and frowned, scratching at his hair. "What am I categorized in Sora's head? Am I categorized?" Ray wondered.

All of Sora's insistence that all of "this" was new to him didn't exactly put a word to it. Dating. Having a partner. What was "this" and why wouldn't Sora just say it?

"Am I supposed to say it?" he thought aloud, pacing the floor. It was too confusing and too much effort for his poor, overworked brain. All he wanted was to hug something other than a pillow and squeeze the life out of it—

A key turned in the front door lock. Ray jumped, startled, and habit had him lurching towards his bedroom door. He paused halfway up the steps, looking like Sasquatch on the run, when Sora stepped through the door.

"Welcome home!" Ray said, straightening, voice cracking.

Sora looked up from his shoes. He had seen the living room light on from the street, but it was so different from entering the space and feeling at once at peace with the world. Commuting late at night made him more than a little anxious, despite how routine it was by now. He had spent the entire bus ride thinking about how ready he was to pass the fuck out after a nice long shower.

He felt gross from work, sticky with sweat and hands textured from the pole lubricants. He tossed his duffle into the laundry room as Ray came to stand at the foyer archway, expectant, and the action reminded Sora of a puppy. Ray's doe eyes didn't exactly help the matter.

"I... have a question. For you," Ray said.

"Okay, I have to take a shower though—" he started just before Ray blurted out, "Wouldyouwanttosharearoomtonight?"

They stared at one another, speechless, until Ray seemed to realize what, exactly, he just blurted out. Sora's heart stammered in his aching chest at the realization that Ray really just asked that. On the same exact day they talked about boundaries, no less—granted, it was two in the morning the following day, but their days ran longer than the average person because of that.

In that regard, Sora considered himself lucky that he scored a roommate with an equally fucked up sleep schedule.

"I, um—let me think about it," Sora said, and the breath Ray was holding escaped him in a winded sigh. "I'm just really gross right now. From work. So..."

"R-Right! Yeah, take a shower," Ray said in a rush, ushering Sora to the bathroom.

Sora staggered into the bathroom and turned just as Ray shut the door. He nearly slapped his hand to his face but thought better of it and instead set to work warming up the shower and brushing his teeth.

Share a room with Ray? he thought, frowning at himself in the mirror as steam gathered behind the shower door. He supposed he didn't really mind, and the look on Ray's face when he said it nearly made him laugh.

He spat out his toothpaste and rinsed his mouth clean.

Meanwhile, as Sora cleaned up, Ray went on a panicked cleaning-spree through his room. He only stopped when he heard the shower shut off, at which point he dug through his clothes for fresh lazy clothes. He defaulted to a pair of sweatpants and plain t-shirt and, almost immediately after changing, Sora emerged from the bathroom.

Sora padded barefoot across the apartment, a black towel around his waist. He caught sight of Ray peaking out of his room to see, to which Sora held a hand up like that would stop Ray from seeing. "Don't—look. I still need to put clothes on."

"Oh! Right, sorry!" Ray yelped, ducking out of view again. Sora laughed as he disappeared behind his bedroom door. Ray flattened his back against the wall next to his door and took a deep breath that was meant to calm him down, but it just made him feel winded.

Sora put his back to his door and flattened a hand over his bare stomach, clutching at the towel. Fuck, he thought, wondering how in the hell he was supposed to fall asleep when his heart was racing like this.

The living room was dark when Sora emerged, fully dressed. The streetlights that streamed through the living room curtains guided his path to the faint glow seeping through the crack in Ray's bedroom door. He nudged open the door and hesitated to go further until he saw Ray look up from his phone where he was tucked away under the covers.

Ray straightened a little and said, "How was work?"

Sora's chest felt twisted and tight and all levels of anxious. He wondered how the fuck he could make a living off of flirting and being sexy, but when it came to shit like this, he was rendered useless.

He cleared his throat as he shut the door behind him and said, "Uh, it was good. Okay, I guess."

"Two very different things," Ray chastised with a frown, and it brought a smile to Sora's lips as he came to the side of Ray's bed and lowered himself down.

"I don't know. Nothing weird happened, so that's... good," he said through a grimace as he turned the lamp off beside Ray's bed before settling in.

He felt like he wasn't allowed to move. He laid, stiff, on his back as he swallowed hard and folded his hands over his stomach. "There was a work party tonight. Not my work—like, some company downtown. They booked the whole VIP section."

"Oh," Ray said. The light from his phone disappeared, and the sudden darkness had Sora glancing over to make sure Ray was still there. He could vaguely see the shadowy shape of Ray's hair, and as his eyes adjusted to the street lamps outside, he could see Ray's eyes from the faint dot of light that reflected off of them.

"Are you okay with this? Sharing a bed?" Ray asked in a whisper.

It felt like they were at a slumber party, hiding the fact that they liked each other from all the other people in the room pretending to sleep.

"Yeah," Sora said, hushed. He turned onto his side, calmed by the darkness. Ray couldn't see his blush, or feel it with this distance between them. Sora had his own pillow, and Ray had his, so there was a comfortable gap between them that allowed them to breathe without smelling each others' breaths, or worry about just how clammy their hands were, or how fast their hearts were beating.

"Okay, good," Ray whispered, nestling into the pillow.

Sora swore Ray closed his eyes, and even if he did, Sora couldn't sleep just yet. His energy from work was still tingling under the surface, as it always did, and always would. It would always prevent him from sleeping at a normal time in the evening.

"I'm sorry about... all that fuss Leo and Huey made. About PDA," Ray said.

"You don't have to apologize for that. Why are you apologizing?"

"'Cause I don't want you to feel obligated to... show affection in public? I don't really know," Ray confessed, rubbing at the sheets between them. Sora became acutely aware of the fact that the blankets weren't covering his own shoulders, so he tugged them up, and Ray shifted a bit closer. "How do you feel about that kinda stuff?"

"I haven't really thought about it," he confessed. "You tell me what you like and I'll tell you if I think the same."

"Um... okay," Ray agreed, clearing his throat. He kept his voice low, his eyes closed, and said, "I... like holding hands."

"Okay, same."

"I like when you put your arm around me."

"Bet."

Ray snorted and opened his eyes, grinning. "What about you? Do you like to put your arm around me?"

"I mean, I wouldn't do it if I didn't like it," Sora said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, then what if I put my arm around you?"

"Mm... I dunno. I'm kinda taller than you."

"What? No you aren't," Ray laughed. "Be serious."

"Then fine, you can put your arm around my shoulders me if you can reach them," Sora said.

They laughed as Ray nudged him in the rib, and Sora wrestled his arm away.

"What about kissing in public?" Ray asked.

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"I don't know."

"Then let's not do it," Sora said, and Ray agreed. "What about on the cheek or forehead, what do you think about that?"

"I'm okay with that," Ray decided with a firm nod.

"Okay, same. Mood."

"You're ridiculous," he laughed.

Sora mocked in a valley-girl accent, "'Mood. Oh my God, same hat.'"

"Stop, oh my God," Ray cried, giggling so hard he snorted.

Sora's cheeks hurt from smiling. He brushed a hand through his damp hair and belatedly apologized for getting Ray's pillows wet because of his late-night shower. Ray brushed it off with a shake of his head and said, "It's okay. I don't mind."

They fell quiet, but Sora could still see the glint in Ray's eye that told him that Ray was still wide awake. Sora shifted a tad bit closer, putting him on the edge of his pillow. Ray was in the same boat, just across the gap between their pillows.

"What made you want to invite me over, so to speak," Sora asked, quiet. His voice didn't feel like his own when he spoke so softly.

"I've just... always wanted to know what it's like. To sleep next to someone," Ray confessed. His brow furrowed as he added, "When I got to San Fran, I was kinda hoping to have someone by now. That I could have over all the time and hang out with and snuggle and stuff. Cute relationship stuff."

By now, Sora repeated in his head, wishing he had known this long before he idiotically bought flowers for Ray. He wouldn't have known, exactly, how much Ray craved romantics if he hadn't bought Ray flowers.

"I think..." Sora started, slowly. His mind was racing over everything—from what Ray had told him before they ever started to think of each other differently, to the way he felt when Ray looked into getting a dorm room. "I think that... since I don't want to move. And you don't want to move..."

"You don't want to move?" Ray said, and Sora gave him a droll stare.

"Of course not. Not now, anyway," Sora said. "I think we could really work out. And I think we can manage being roommates and being... in a relationship."

"Sora, are you asking me out?" Ray said.

Sora was so floored he blurted out without thinking, "I—! We're already dating, aren't we?! I thought yesterday we made that pretty clear with your friends."

"I didn't know!" Ray groaned.

"We might have to work on our communication," Sora sighed, and Ray groaned again, flinging his arms over his face. Before he could get too overwhelmed, Sora went on, "What I was saying, was that since I'm not exactly in the market to get a studio anymore, I could work a bit less. And we can hang out more."

"Oh," Ray said, lowering his hands. "I—I'd like that. But I don't want you to cut your hours just for me."

"It makes sense," Sora insisted. "Right now I'm just building a savings, so I could potentially just... not work for a bit. I have enough for four month's rent and utilities now, maybe a bit more—"

"Holy cripes!" Ray cried. "That's a lot of cash!"

"Hey, I make bank with this ass, what can I say?" Sora huffed, giving his hips a little wiggle. "And besides, I still owe you a lap dance."

Ray yelped in alarm and covered his face. "Oh, God, I forgot... I don't even know if I'd like lap dances..."

Sora laughed and said, "Yeah, so I'd have time for that, but also I'd like to go on a date. I feel like we can't say we're dating unless we go on an actual date first."

"O-Okay, what were you thinking?" Ray asked, and Sora merely smiled and shook his head. He wouldn't say until the right time on the right day in the right circumstances.

Before that could happen, however, they required sleep, which they acquired nearly half an hour later, when they were able to shut up for more than five minutes, which was just long enough for Ray to fall asleep.

Sora stayed up a short while longer, listening to Ray breathe and the light traffic outside of their apartment. It was odd sleeping in a different bed, and while it was comfortable, it didn't quite feel like his place. It wasn't familiar, but he decided that would take time, and they had plenty of that together.

The sunlight fell differently in the morning as well, but Sora's alarm sounded just the same. It woke Ray first, startling him into motion before realizing that the only reason Sora's alarm sounded deafening was because it wasn't muffled through a wall this time around. He relaxed, heart still straining in his chest as he reached over to Sora's bright phone screen displaying the time and the snooze button.

Only after that task was done did Ray realize that he was leaning entirely over Sora, who was still fast asleep, hugging the pillow with both arms.

Ray stilled, eyes wide. His aching heart sped up again, warming his chest and his half-awake limbs. It was cozy, comfortable, and Sora smelled like shampoo from his late-night shower. The last time Ray got this close to Sleeping Sora, he wound up kicking the guy in the stomach.

Sora squinted open one eye, barely focusing on Ray. Ray lost his breath, completely caught. Not only was he staring at Sora again, but he was also hovering over Sora's shoulders with his hands on either side. It took a second for either of them to do anything, and Sora was the one to break the silence.

"Five more minutes..." he groaned, turning over and towards Ray with an arm extended. He clocked Ray in the shoulder, nudging him off.

Ray bounced onto the mattress, only to be ensnared by Sora's arms. Ray stilled, alarmed and wondering just how conscious Sora was. And then Sora's breathing steadied out, and Ray realized that, alas, Sora was still asleep. But he knew better now than to kick Sora in the morning, and so Ray settled in, rest assured that the alarm would be blaring soon enough. He tucked his face into Sora's chest, his forehead pressed to Sora's collarbone, and closed his eyes.

a/n: One more chapter!