It was not only the tickling sensation of the hands which left his face flushed and himself laughing, but the snow chilled fingers made it worse than it should have been. He struggled against the snow covered ground, his own cold fingers trying to find Fabio's to make them stop their tickling torture and spare him his ticklish embarrassment. Getting a good shove on his roommate's shoulders he tried to use the moment to return the tickling torture to paler sides before he tried to escape.
The laugh made his sides hurt, and scrambling to recapture his roommate he missed and found himself in the snow like an ostrich. Fabio climbed to his feet, fling hand fulls of snow at Kavi as he traveled in pursuit. He was not sure what came over him, simply that he wanted Kavi in his arms. Flushed and winded he tackled his roommate yet again, holding the thin frame inside the snow. He didn't understand why every time he looked into the sage green eyes it felt like a blow to the chest. He made the mistake of locking onto Kavi's gaze, still reeling with the mirth of the moment. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward to press his lips against Kavi's but his nerves prevented him from closing the distance. Instead he twisted his head nuzzling along the side of Kavi's cheek, burrowing against the warmth.
He was still breathing heavy when both he and Fabio were on the ground, having expected for his roommate to return to tickling him he was surprised when instead he found a cold a face rubbing against his own before it seemed Fabio cuddled closer and he could not help but wrap his arms around the snow covered back for a moment while they laid in the snow. He was not sure how long their laid there, but he could feel more snowflakes falling from the sky fall upon his foggy glasses and on his roommate's back. Pulling his arms back from around the other he said that they ought to head back to the dorms before they froze.
The warm arms kept him from remembering that the hug belonged to some one else. He shook a few of the new flakes from his beanie and on to the other. He intertwined his fingers with Kavi's pulling him to his feet and into his arms. He had stopped thinking a long time ago and let his fingers slip around the gentle curves of his roommate's chin, pressing his lips into the others. Taking a few steps back he smiled, never letting go of the hand he led them back to their dorm.
He was struck dumbfounded when his lips were no longer cold from the chill of the night, but warm as they another pair of lips pressed against his own. He wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to feel, but before a decision could be reached his roommate pulled back away with a grin and it left him feeling even more confused in his drunken haze. His brow wrinkled itself as they passed through the white landscape to their dorm, and it seemed as though it took hardly any time before they were already thawing out in the heated lobby while they waited for the elevator. In their waiting he glanced down to where their hands were intertwined together, and while it didn't feel right for some odd reason he couldn't remember, it didn't seem to matter as the metal doors opened and both he and Fabio stepped into the lift only to quickly be hoisted off up several floors to their level.
It wasn't until they had to open the door that he turned and looked at Kavi again. "Dude imagine every night of your life like tonight, if you can imagine it with Geraldine then stay with her but if you can't find some one more worthy of you dude. It may be the hippiest thing I will ever say to you, but man some times you need to take life by the horns." He looked down at his hand realizing that he did not forget his left overs and paved the way into the lamp lit room for the both of them. Once inside his mind went in many places at once. The first was turning on the small heater and then stripping out of his snow covered clothing. From the corners of his eyes he watched the ghost of his roommate before pulling his blanket up and over his head burrowing in the warmth of the comforters.
When he woke the next morning with his head pounding, stomach churning, and a warm body at his side. Neither of the first two things on that list baffled him, but the other did, and it took him a moment to realize who it was. The first thing he managed to see was a head full of curly locks and while he thought he may have known who it was he was unable to find out as a pang of nausea caught him unaware and he had to climb over whoever it was in his bed to rush off to the bathroom at the end of the hall.
The loud pounding woke him up, and immediately he wanted to hide as the door slam felt like a brick against his head. In a daze he looked around and rolled out the blankets that did not belong to him. The fall to the floor was rough, but even worse was the tumbled percussion to the bathroom where the sounds of other classmen could be heard. Searching among the open stalls he found Kavi, oddly green and spewing up something that did not look like his normal flavor. He wobbled inside the small space wincing at the smell as he knelt down and gently rubbed Kavi between his shoulder blades. He took the glasses off the bridge of his nose before they fell into the bodily mixture. Only common sense kept him from apologizing like an idiot for the night of drinks, and even more so for what ever made his roommate sick. "Dude do you need a nurse?... or water?" he offered instead.
He breathed out a negative as he felt his glasses leave, and while everything was already blurry from the vomit induced tears in his eyes, he could see nothing clearly without his glasses. The most recent round of losing last night's dinner ended, and Kavi wiped his mouth and his eyes as he shook his head before it rested against the cool wall of the stall. "I think that we drank too much last night," he took a deep breath as he felt his stomach settle into a temporary dull, "and the food tasted weird, I think it had meat in it." He could feel his stomach begin to revolt again, and leaning over the toilet he started heaving again.
It seemed like a while before his roommate stopped throwing up his contaminated dinner. He tried to remember what his own food tasted like but outside the flavor of good he could say nothing. With one arm under the frail body he helped Kavi back to the dorm room and into his bed. His body ached from the effort but since his roommate was worse off then he, he felt the odd need to care for him. Searching his spinning mind he found the only thing he could think to make his roommate feel better was hot tea. Fabio set off in search of the herbs among the common room. It was after a small quest that he returned to find Kavi not in his bed, but by his computer trash can dry heaving, moaning and grunting as nothing came to pass from his lips. Fabio set his own beverage down on his desk before folding himself down onto the floor and pulling Kavi away from the trash can. He blew on the edge of the cup before offering it to Kavi. "... hay... drink this please."
He let the trashcan down back to the side of his computer as he looked back to Fabio, a mug filled with something he did not know steamed and already began to make him feel a little better. He offered a sniffle of his nose as he took the cup, looking into the light green hue of the tea before peering over the cup with glasses less eyes, "I hate you." Sipping at the cup he found out that it was green tea, and instead of drinking a lot he only started with a sip. "We should have stayed in and studied last night, we shouldn't have drank anything." He took a deep sniff of the aromatic brew as he continued to grumble under his breath while he leaned back to rest against the post of his bed while waiting to determine whether or not his stomach was willing to settle with the tea.
He didn't recall whose idea it was, and reached up to take his own cup as his roommate crawled over to his bed. He coughed a little laugh into the green water that reminded his bones to ache. "Should have, would have, could have..." He mumbled before taking a sip. Slowly he picked up the cup abandoned by Kavi and handed him to him. Closing his eyes he got the strangest urge. He hummed the opening rift to a song that sounded some what familiar before speaking. "And I hate you too dude, now drink the rest of your tea so I can hate you less."
he could only barely hear the soft humming over the silence of their room, and while he couldn't place it, the song struck a chord in him, but he ignored it in favor of taking another sip of the tea. "Yeah, well it was your idea," he paused for a moment, "...maybe, I don't remember." Setting the cup aside on the edge of his desk, he folded his arms over his stomach and slumped back against his bed. Thus far there was no comparison from how he felt then to how he felt when he first awoke, but already he felt like taking a nap. "Fabio," he stared up at the ceiling without his glasses, only seeing a plane of white and the barest edges where the ceiling met the walls, "was there someone in my bed before you came to the bathroom? I don't remember who it was, but when we came back there was no one here."
There was a long slip as he recalled in a haze the nights events. His face grew red, as his mind recalled falling in the snow, singing together and at some point waking up in Kavi's bed to the loud crashes in the room. He looked up at his roommate scratching his wild locks. Fabio swallowed hard before answering., "Yeah dude, I slept with you." Through the green reflection in his cup he could see his roommate pivot with a confusion etched into his features. "Yeah I woke up in your bed." He caught a glimpse of the head turning towards the ceiling while his own gaze studied the floor boards.
His hands rubbed at his face, only further blurring his vision of the ceiling. He only really remembered his and Fabio's talk about Géraldine, and despite his wanting to remember more he was left clueless. He really didn't think they slept together, and at the same time he hoped they hadn't... Kavi glanced back to the side where he could see Fabio looking at the floor. He seemed to remember something about thrashing about in the snow. Possibly holding hands? He really did not remember, and the more he thoughts about it the more he could not remember, and so he decided against thinking about it just then. Rolling over in his bed, he tugged his blanket on top before reaching under his bed to produce a book. "I might nap, but I am not tired enough and need something to distract me, would you like me to read?"
He watched Kavi roll in his bed and recover himself with blankets. It concerned him more how grumpy the man was and how he just emptied an entire nights worth of dinner into the toilet. Pushing himself up from the floor he grabbed his own blanket and the thick volume from the desk. Climbing on to the mattress, Fabio curled up in the small space with his head on Kavi's stomach. He smiled. "You know we will have to find something else to read over winter break since we are at the last two chapters." He handed his roommate the book. "but nothing from my house." He added.
"Why not? You told me that you had books everywhere, certainly some of them will be suitable to read." He accepted the book from his roommate and waited for him to get situated as he wished before searching through the pages where they last left off and found out that they were indeed nearing the end of the book. "We can always find one though, maybe the book you got me for my birthday."
Chuckling, he pulled his blanket over his shoulders. "We can, I just didn't think you were a fan of strapping young men that carried helpless women into the bed." He said "we would have to do some digging if you wanted a good one before my moms romance fetish." As Kavi opened the book to find the page he thought about the book he bought him for his birthday. Silently he said nothing lest he anger the sobering Kavi more since it would only bring up memories of their first encounter. He grinned as he closed his eyes listening to the sound of the novel being read.
"Hey, I got a couple of book references when you and Géraldine were sharing romance novel quotes," he said between sentences before taking up reading again. Kavi was only able to read one chapter aloud before he was tired enough to fall asleep, and didn't hardly feel up to getting up to put the book away and so fell asleep with the book resting on his chest while is head nodded off to the side and fell asleep.
The poor guy, still reeling from the night of drinks. Fabio rose from his perch smiling at his roommate that slept. Silently he took the book from its spot on the mans chest. He set the book on the desk before tucking Kavi in and wandering over to his own desk. Blocking out the light breathing with his head phones he found where he left off with his studies and began the reviews with a renewed vigor to pass his classes.
When he awoke again the study light at his roommate's desk was on while the other sat hunched studying and working on his school assignments, and he had to check his watch for the time to see how long he'd really been sleeping. It proved that he'd apparently been worn out enough to sleep rather than nap. Luckily, the mixture of sleep and the soothing tea Fabio had given him was enough to feel much better than he had, and sitting up from bed reached around the bed in search of his glasses.
The soft padding of footsteps broke through the music and Fabio turned stretching as he saw his roommate was finally awake. He was nearly at the end of his review packet and it seemed his roommate had slept through most of Saturday. His bones popped as he un curled himself from his little perch. Spinning in his chair he turned towards Kavi with a watchful eye. This time he tried dto hide his growing pile of vending machine treats, this time it was accompanied by an empty bag of cookies. "Dude... your finally awake!" He said with his own slight yawn. "I thought I'd have to find your true love to wake you up, anyways wanna order pizza?"
He offered a groan and a shake of his head to dismiss the idea. "No thank you, I have not regained my appetite back yet," with his glasses equipped he was able to see everything he could not really see before, and he took notice of the small pile of wrappers behind the other. Though he said nothing as he slumped into his computer chair, looking into the cup of green tea still sitting on his desk, now cold and unwanted. Still, he tried a sip to see if maybe it was still good, and it proved to be worse than when he first drank it. Sliding the cup away he pulled up his computer for any of his studying material, and while it loaded he spoke again, "How long are hangovers and stomach bugs supposed to last?"
Fabios shoulders rose and fell in the infamous shrug. "It really depends on the person and the amount you drink and what is causing your stomach virus." He answered to the best of his knowledge. "If its something like food poisoning I expect umm maybe 2 or 3 days if its the stomach flu then man you are screwed... Though as for the hangover you need more liquids thats all." He pulled his chair over to Kavi's desk amused at his face from the cold tea. "Fresh is always better." Shaking his head he took the cup, along with his own. "I still have a ramen cups if you can stomach that because not eating anything I feel like will make it worse."
Folding his arms on the desk, he let his head rest against his arms while the other took away his cup of old tea. "I found that out the hard way," he mumbled as his glasses slid up his forehead as his head sunk against his arms. "I never want to eat meat again, intentionally or by accident," he groaned softly before sitting up and rubbing at his face before spinning to face his roommate. "I'd rather wait and see how I feel now that I have had my nap, but thank you for the tea, and offer of pizza, and even your last ramen bowl."
Fabio paused turned, walked back to Kavi and leaned making his face perpendectular to Kavi's. "You did what now?" His head fell against the wood desk. "Dude, shut the front door, I can not believe what my ears are hearing." Putting the cup back on the table he let the back of his hand reach out and touch Kavi's head. "Do you hear that angelic chorus? I only wish I was sober last night to get pictures." He breathed out a contented sigh. "Oh this, this will happen again. The window has been opened my friend." Happily he raised himself up and took up the cup again this time he was able to make it past the other into the lobby where he both refreshed the cups of tea and found himself two more sugary confections to sedate his oral fixation. He returned back to the room and after handing Kavi his new tea, sank into the chair with a grin.
He didn't hardly have a chance to say anything in response to his roommate's excitement of his accidental meat eating, and while he wanted to assure him that he was not going to eat it again he was sure he would have all sorts of hot dogs, hamburgers, and any other type of meat the other liked thrust into his face to eat. Though, he supposed that wouldn't have been too much different from the situation before last night. It seemed like no time at all had passed when Fabio returned with two steaming cups of tea again, and accepting his cup with a thank you he sniffed the vapors while slumping in his chair again. "You do realize it was an accident I ate your sandwich, right? I have no intention of eating meat again."
"Kavi, one day you will try my meat and like it." He said turning as he raised a brow cupping his own cup of tea. "And it comes with a special sauce that will make Catholics want to eat it beyond Fridays." He said with a smirk. Closing his eyes he dreamed of homemade sausages in pesto sauce until his stomach yearned for the food as badly as his mouth. With out opening his eyes he found his honeybun and opened it. "Besides I think I can out wit you again and make you try it. Who knows you may like it. After all, I have come to have an acquired taste for the soybean because of you."
"You're welcome," he said indignantly as the computer gave a ding of sorts, and looking at the screen he could see his notes and things for classes ready and waiting for him to study. "Next you will like edamame, chickpeas, hummus," he could hear his own stomach growl, and taking the mug of tea took a drink to try and fill himself up for the moment being. "Kudos to you if you are going to try and get me to eat meat, but just know I will be on a better watch out for the devilish stuff."
Before putting his head phones back on he listened to Kavi, and soon found himself pulling his chair back into the others space. His head fell in the nook Kavi's shoulder as his hand snaked its way under the shirt and onto the mans stomach. Snuggling close to the mans ear he whispered melodically into the lobe. "When your tummy is rumbling you should eat." Pressing closer he started to rub the flesh in a clockwise circle.
Lightly he batted his hands at the other, swatting the hand from underneath his shirt while giving the man a push away to leave both him and his tummy troubles alone. "I'll eat at some point, I just want to get some things done before I try." Taking a hold of the arm of the chair, he gave the other a shove towards his own computer station, giving a bit of a spin for show. "I might go for a short walk for some fresh air and something like crackers to keep my stomach settled. You are always welcome to come with."
Fabio laughed as he bumped into his own desk once more. "Dude you sound like a super model. Just eat normal food, it will push the bad toxins out." He mocked. He perked up at the idea of a walk before turning back to his study work. He had already covered and recovered a lot of his work and his groove was already messed up by the waking distraction. "That sounds nice. I think I will, and this time we shall go to a meat free place since you can not handle the goodness."
"If by goodness you mean awfulness," he countered along with a sigh. Looking at the screen of his computer he could see a message from Géraldine popping up on screen. His attention for his roommate and their trip for crackers was quickly waning as he scooted in his chair. The first thing he spotted was questions about winter break and he was left thinking about the best way to answer the question. instead, he could think of nothing just then, and leaving the computer he rose from his chair to search for shoes and a coat. "Let's go get some food before it gets too late."
He leaped out of his desk like an attentive dog and scrambled to find his pants and outer wear. "Yush, I have been starving" He quickly found his clothes. Soon he was ready to go. Walking in his dance like movements he followed behind his sick roommate into the elevator and out into the world. Moving around the grump he paused seeing Kavi in a worse state of his usual grumps. "Dude, whats up grumpygills? Are you still suffering from the hang over too?" He shivered in the snow shaking the newly fallen flakes that tangled in his locks.
When questioned he had to say that he did feel a little bit like he was still a tad bothered by all they had to drink last night, but shaking his head he let his too long hair swish around his head. "No, it's nothing really important right now," he was caught with a snowflake hitting his glasses, and wiping it off of the glasses he stared down at the snow covered ground and the dancing feet of his roommate. "Géraldine was just curious about Christmas plans and all."
"Oh..." Fabio dug his hands into his pocket and fell into step beside Kavi. He wondered what Kavi decided to do knowing his offer was still on the table. "Well then do you mind if we take a detour? I can show you what my offer is? I mean if you haven't decided and all." Taking one step forward he twisted and walked backwards giving Kavi a look."What do you say? " He wondered what his mother would say. His grin grew and his eyes widened begging almost.
Looking up from the ground, Kavi found himself looking at a puppy dogging Fabio and his own free will began to crumble, and giving a nod he allowed for the other to lead the way for their detour. "I had kind of already thought I was going to spend the break with you, I just hadn't told my family yet." nervously he swallowed as his eyes drifted again, "or Géraldine. I was going to wait to hear if it were okay with your aunt or whoever was providing you with the job. I did not want to intrude on you and your mom if it was not okay. It was why I didn't buy a plane ticket yet."
It was both a relief and and a reminder that he had to call his aunt. Shaking his head, he reached out and pat Kavi on the head. It seemed hard on his roommate choosing between the life of love, family and freedom. “There is not much to intrude upon to be honest. We have food. We share gifts that is about the jest of Christmas for us.” His shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. “We put presents on the book tree and drink coco by the fire. Eventually my family comes over or we go over though some years my mom goes by herself to Italy to see her grands and stuff. “ He stopped “But lets see about making you a mail room clerk.” Walking he led them though the white streets to his apartment that he shared with his mother.
He was so bummed out that he did not even bother trying to swat the hand away from where it patted his head as though he were a dog or a person that needed consoling. He did feel that way, but he said nothing to knowledge it and instead followed Fabio dutifully. While at first they seemed to travel silently even he did not appreciate the silence while his roommate somewhere he did not know. "You know," Kavi commented as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, "It is interesting to hear about other people's traditions whether for Christmas or any other holiday. When I was little I always assumed that everyone celebrated the same way, but as I got older and met Géraldine I realized that everyone has their own way of celebrating."
Fabio laughed as they entered the lobby and found the elevator that would take them upstairs. “Essentially everyone does spend it the same. You find things or reasons for the ones you care about the most, you try to make others happy by surprising them with unexpected things. I dunno...” Once Kavi was inside the elevator he pushed the button to the 9th floor. “It just seems like the holidays have the same spirit all around give and love so people while it may appear different, celebrate that.” With a crank of the antiquated gears they were taken to Fabios apartment. The smells of fresh bread and the sounds of pots clanging could be heard, and he grinned. It seemed he caught his mother in the middle of dinner and by habit she always made too much. He put his index finger to his mouth signaling to Kavi for complete silence while he maneuvered the key quietly. Sneaking inside he found the short brown haired woman in the kitchen washing dishes. He hugged her, startling his poor mother and after fondly exclaiming she smacked him on the back of his head and started to berate him. “And this... “ He said dodging the last blow. “Is Kavi my roommate.” He gestured to the man in the shadow of the apartment hallway.
Silently, he'd watched his roommate weave in and out throughout the mountains upon piles of books while he stood out in the hallway. At first he was intrigued that there were so many books filling the apartment, let alone that there were many he had not heard of before. Some books looked great and pristine, others weathered a books tended to become, and he more he looked the more titles he had never heard of before. Kavi's search for books he knew of was interrupted when he heard a surprised sound of who he could only guess was Fabio's mother, and as he peered over the piles of books he could see her yelling and lecturing at Fabio from anything from sneaking in without calling all the way to asking why he didn't come visit more often. He found himself surprised when Fabio gestured to him where he stood outside, and taking that as his entrance Kavi left the dimly lit hallway in favor of taking the same path through the books to the kitchen. The first thing he noticed was how bright and cheery the kitchen seemed, and he could all but see that it was the epicenter of the apartment and that many great meals were no doubt shared there. The second thing the man noticed was the fact that it smelled delicious, much better than his kitchen ever did at home. Stretching out a hand he took hers into his own to give her a firm handshake as greeting. "It is nice to meet you Mrs. Rizzo. Your apartment is very lovely, and your kitchen smells wonderful."
The short woman's limbs curled around her waist and she inspected Fabio's roommate with a keen eye. The small rosy lips curled into a smile and like mother like son, she abrasively entered Kavi's personal space for a tight embrace. “You know my sons a real jerk, he doesn't call, doesn't write, doesn't tell me there are two college students at that university studying themselves to the bone.” She grinned releasing Kavi. “Its nice to meet you. I hear so little about you.” With that she gave one last playful punch to her son. “You are welcome to tell me more over dinner, the more the merrier.” She said turning back to her stove. “It will be ready in 20 sweetie, go wash up and set the table please.... and no complaining you brought the guest you are stuck with the dishes.” She said as if she had the mysterious matron power of having eyes in the back of her head. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes Fabio tugged at Kavi's jacket gesturing to a coat rack hidden among the bookshelves. “Come on you can help.”
The woman reminded him a lot of his own mother, the fussiness and sterness that all mothers had, as well as a still underlying tone of love for her son. It was obvious that she was the boss of the kitchen, and so when she sent both him and Fabio off he was obliged to follow his roommate to hang up his coat and help with setting the table. As they left the kitchen, with the smell of seafood wafting after them, Kavi offered Fabio a nudge of his ebow. "Your mother is really nice, why don't you call her more often? Or even visit, I didn't realize she lived quite as close as she did."