Dear Roommate Please Stop Being Hot [BL]-Chapter 192: Domestic Bliss

The music burst alive on screen_bright colors, flashing lights, voices belting over the beat.

Luca leaned forward instantly, like he’d been waiting for this moment.

"Oh no," Noel muttered under his breath, though his lips were already tugging upward.

"Oh yes," Luca countered, snapping his fingers along with the rhythm. "Do you see that move? Iconic. Legendary. I should learn that."

"You’d break your neck," Noel said flatly.

"Excuse me?" Luca clutched at his chest. "I have rhythm."

Noel tilted his head just enough to glance at him. "You have enthusiasm. That’s not the same."

"Harsh critic," Luca said, narrowing his eyes. "But mark my words—next time we go out, I’m pulling this move." He half-lifted from the couch, shoulders jerking awkwardly as he mimicked the choreography.

Noel smothered a laugh behind his hand. "Please don’t."

"Oh, that was a laugh," Luca said, pointing at him in triumph. "Caught you. You like this."

"I like seeing you make a fool of yourself," Noel corrected, settling back against him. His voice softened, almost drowned out by the bass. "Not the same thing."

"Semantics," Luca said breezily, throwing an arm back around Noel’s shoulders. "You’re smiling. That’s victory enough."

Another video started, even brighter than the last.

Luca leaned down to murmur in his ear, "Tell me honestly_wouldn’t we crush this choreography as a duo?"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes. Picture it: Sun and Moon on stage, dazzling the crowd—"

"Turn the volume down," Noel interrupted, pressing the remote back into his hand.

Luca obeyed with a grin, lowering the sound but not the teasing. "Fine. But just admit it—you’d watch me."

Noel didn’t answer right away.

His gaze stayed on the screen, though his weight shifted closer, his shoulder pressed firmly to Luca’s side. At last, he said softly, "I already am."

That was enough to make Luca pause, grin faltering into something gentler.

He gave Noel’s shoulder a squeeze, no quip this time, just letting the music fill the silence between them.

By the time the third video finished, the brightness on screen felt like too much.

Noel shifted, remote in hand, and clicked the TV off.

The room fell into a hush, broken only by the faint hum of the fridge and the city noise drifting in through the balcony.

Luca stretched, arms overhead, then slumped back against the couch. "That was practically a workout. I deserve a medal."

"You deserve laundry duty," Noel said, standing and smoothing the front of his shirt.

Luca groaned, throwing his head back dramatically. "Why do you hate happiness?"

"I don’t," Noel replied, grabbing the basket by the door. "I hate dirty clothes."

"That’s cold." But Luca pushed himself up, crossing the room to steal the basket right out of Noel’s hands. "Fine. I’ll carry it. Gentleman duties."

Noel raised an eyebrow. "You’re hoping I’ll reward you with snacks."

"Caught," Luca admitted, grinning as he hooked the basket against his hip. "But I’d settle for your undying admiration."

"You won’t get that at the laundromat."

"Challenge accepted."

They stepped out together, the late afternoon air cooler now, brushing gently against their skin.

The street was alive but unhurried_kids skipping rope in a nearby courtyard, a vendor packing up fruit, the golden edge of sunset painting long shadows.

Luca bumped Noel’s shoulder lightly as they walked. "See? This isn’t so bad. Romantic stroll with laundry in tow."

"Nothing about laundry is romantic."

"Then you’re not looking at it right," Luca said, flashing a grin. "Couple’s errands. Domestic bliss. Very aesthetic."

Noel gave a small shake of his head, but the corners of his mouth betrayed him. "You talk too much."

"Correction_I make chores poetic."

When they reached the laundromat, the soft whir of machines and the faint scent of detergent greeted them.

Luca set the basket down with a triumphant sigh, as if he’d just carried it across a mountain range.

"Heroic effort," he declared.

Noel only rolled his eyes and began sorting clothes, but when Luca dropped down beside him to help, their hands brushed. Neither of them moved away.

The laundromat was half-empty, humming with the steady rhythm of machines tumbling clothes in slow circles.

A couple of older women sat by the far wall, murmuring quietly over folded towels, and a student leaned against the window scrolling on his phone.

Noel crouched by a washer, pulling clothes from the basket with neat efficiency.

Luca sat cross-legged on the floor beside him, pretending to help but more interested in flicking stray threads from Noel’s sleeve.

"Don’t mix the whites," Noel said without looking up.

"Relax," Luca replied, tugging a shirt from the pile. "I know the basics."

"You don’t," Noel countered flatly, rescuing the shirt before Luca could toss it into the wrong load.

Luca pressed a hand to his chest in mock offense. "You wound me. Zero faith in your partner’s abilities."

"Because I’ve seen your abilities," Noel said, shutting the washer door with a firm click.

"That’s harsh," Luca muttered, but the grin tugging at his lips betrayed him. He leaned back against the humming machine, watching Noel feed coins into the slot. "You’d make a terrifying boss, you know. Cold, strict, devastatingly handsome_wait, you already are."

Noel gave him a sidelong look, one coin paused between his fingers. "Flattery won’t fix your laundry skills."

"But it might earn me forgiveness," Luca teased, tilting his head with a smile that landed somewhere softer than usual.

Noel slid the last coin in, the washer starting with a low rumble.

He sat on the bench, and for a moment it seemed like that was the end of it.

But then Luca shifted, plopping down right beside him, shoulder brushing his.

They sat in the warmth of the machine’s hum, silence falling easy.

Luca leaned forward, chin in his hand, watching the clothes blur into a spinning whirl of color. "We look ridiculous, you know. Two guys on laundry duty, staring like it’s a magic show."

"Better than staring at you complain," Noel said, though his tone had softened.

Luca bumped his knee lightly against Noel’s. "You like it, admit it."

Noel didn’t answer, just leaned back against the wall, eyes half-lidded, his arm brushing Luca’s as though he’d settled into it without thinking.

Minutes stretched, slow and comfortable. The machine kept its steady rhythm.

Luca glanced sideways, taking in the calm line of Noel’s profile.

Something about it_the ordinariness, the quiet_stirred something low in his chest.

He broke it with a small, playful whisper. "Do we get extra points if we fold them perfectly too? Like, couple-of-the-year points?"

Noel’s lips twitched. "No. We just get clean clothes."

"Cold," Luca said again, but his grin softened, curling toward affection more than teasing.

Noel finally turned to look at him, gaze steady, quiet. "It’s done."

And for once, Luca didn’t argue.

He let the words settle between them, warm as the hum of the dryer, sweet as the stillness they shared in that little laundromat.

By the time the first load finished, the laundromat had thinned out, just the steady hum of dryers filling the silence.

Noel pulled the damp clothes out in neat handfuls, dropping them into a plastic basket.

Luca hovered at his side, grabbing shirts and shaking them out with exaggerated flair.

"Gentle," Noel said.

"They’re fine," Luca replied, snapping a shirt once more just to earn a look.

Noel sighed, setting the basket on a folding table. "If you stretch the seams, you’re folding all of them yourself."

Luca pressed his lips together in mock seriousness, then leaned in conspiratorially. "Plot twist_I fold everything crooked on purpose so you’ll redo it. Genius, right?"

"You think too highly of yourself."

"But you’d fix it," Luca said, grinning as he clumsily aligned a pair of jeans. "Because you can’t stand uneven edges."

Noel smoothed the jeans with precise hands, ignoring him.

Luca chuckled under his breath, but he mimicked Noel’s method after that, his folds still slightly off but not terrible.

Every time Noel adjusted one, their fingers brushed, light and unhurried.

"You’re getting better," Noel admitted eventually, voice low, almost reluctant.

"Wow." Luca placed a hand dramatically on his chest. "Is this the rarest of rare_Noel’s official praise?"

"Don’t make me take it back."

Luca laughed, softer this time, tucking a shirt neatly into the pile.

He glanced up, catching the way Noel’s gaze lingered—not on the clothes, but on him. His grin faded into something quieter. "You’re kind of stuck with me, you know."

"I know," Noel said simply, folding another shirt.

The words sat heavy and sweet between them, deeper than either tried to make them sound.

By the time the basket was full again, the laundromat had gone quiet except for the last dryer rumbling in the corner.

Luca grabbed the basket before Noel could, hoisting it with both hands. "See? I can contribute."

"You’ll drop it," Noel said playful.

"I won’t—" The basket tilted slightly, clothes threatening to spill, and Luca scrambled to steady it. "Okay, maybe."

Noel shook his head, taking one side of the basket without a word.

Together, they carried it out, the cool evening air brushing their faces as the automatic door shut behind them.

The walk back wasn’t long, but Luca slowed his steps deliberately, dragging the moment out. "Crazy how laundry day turned into... I don’t know. Kinda nice?"

"You make everything dramatic."

"Not dramatic," Luca corrected softly. "Just_worth remembering."

Noel didn’t answer, but when Luca’s shoulder brushed his, he didn’t shift away.

Back at the apartment, they set the basket down in the living room.

The cat padded over immediately, sniffing at the clean pile before curling against it like it had been washed just for him.

"Unbelievable," Noel muttered.

"See? Even he approves," Luca said, tugging a fresh shirt free and tossing it at Noel’s chest. "Reward for your service, sir."

Noel caught it, shaking his head, but there was the faintest tug of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"C’mon," Luca added, softer now. "Let’s put it away. Then maybe... no more chores tonight. Just us."

Noel looked at him a moment longer, steady, then nodded once. "Just us."