Dear Roommate Please Stop Being Hot [BL]-Chapter 200: For You? Probably

As the day went on, their workspace filled with the messy kind of focus that meant something was actually working.

Camille sketched layout drafts, Wei Chen tested slogans, Liam fine-tuned the data.

Bella and Luca bounced lines back and forth until the words Upgrade Your Sip no longer felt like an idea—it felt like a brand.

By the time Georgia called it a day, the group was running on caffeine and adrenaline.

She paused at their table before heading out. "Good work today. You’re starting to sound like a team."

As she walked off, Bella looked around at the others, then at Luca. "See? We survived Day Two."

Luca leaned back, stretching, a satisfied grin spreading across his face. "Barely. But I think we’re actually starting to get this."

Bella nudged his arm. "Future legend in progress."

He smiled, glancing out the glass wall toward the skyline that shimmered faintly under the late afternoon light.

"Yeah," he said quietly, like a promise more to himself than to her. "In progress."

The office had settled into that midmorning rhythm—screens glowing, soft hum of printers, the click-click of keyboards.

Georgia had left them, and now it was just the students, the air light with that strange mix of focus and low-grade chaos.

Bella leaned over her desk, tapping her pen against her notebook. "Okay, we need a slogan that doesn’t sound like every other ’save the planet’ campaign out there."

"’Drink clean, live green,’" Camille offered, chewing the end of her pen.

"Used a thousand times," Bella said. "Good heart, though."

Liam, quiet as usual, adjusted his glasses. "What about something aspirational? Like—’It starts with one sip.’ It sounds... personal."

Wei Chen nodded slowly. "That could work. It gives people agency. Makes them feel responsible."

Luca leaned back in his chair, spinning it just enough to creak. "Hmm. Not bad. But we’re missing a spark. Needs to sound like something you’d see on a billboard and stop scrolling for."

Bella glanced at him. "Go on, genius."

He smiled faintly, thinking. "We play with pride. Not guilt. Make people want to show off doing the right thing. Something bold, something you can hashtag without cringing."

Camille raised a brow. "Like your ’Upgrade Your Sip’ thing?"

Luca shrugged, grinning. "Hey, it sticks."

Bella rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth betrayed her. "It’s so bad it’s good."

"Exactly," Luca said. "That’s marketing."

They fell into a rhythm again—voices overlapping, pens scratching, Wei Chen sketching layouts beside Camille while Bella debated taglines with Liam.

It wasn’t chaos anymore; it was flow.

The room had that pulse that came only when ideas began to breathe.

A little later, Bella sighed dramatically and flopped back in her chair. "My brain’s melting."

"Hydrate," Luca said, sliding his water bottle toward her without looking up.

She caught it, mock-suspicious. "What’s in it?"

"Success," he said, deadpan.

That earned a few laughs—even Liam cracked a smile.

Wei Chen checked his watch. "It’s almost lunch. We should stop before we burn out."

Bella groaned. "Already? I was just getting funny again."

Luca pushed his chair back, stretching his arms over his head. "Let’s go before Georgia finds us talking and decides to give us more work."

They gathered their notebooks and phones, the small chatter filling the air again.

Wei Chen slipped his hand into Camille’s; Bella slung her bag across her shoulder; Liam tucked his notes neatly into a folder.

Luca walked at the back of the group, glancing around the office one more time—that faint, flickering smile on his lips.

The place already felt a little less foreign.

The cafeteria buzzed with life—trays clattering, conversations rising and dipping like small waves.

The air smelled faintly of coffee and something buttery from the self-serve station.

Bella was first to spot the other interns. "Hey—there’s Ren!" she said, steering their group toward a corner table where Ren sat with Jace, both mid-bite.

"Marketing meets Trade," Ren teased as they joined. "How’s life in the world of catchy slogans?"

"Exhausting," Bella said, dropping into a chair. "I think my brain is allergic to buzzwords."

Camille and Wei Chen slid in beside her, while Liam quietly queued for food.

Luca arrived last, setting his tray down across from Ren.

"Where’s Noel?" he asked, casual, though his voice softened on the name.

Ren shrugged. "Still in the office, I think. Mr. Max gave him extra work this morning."

Luca’s hand stilled on his fork for half a second. "Ah." He tried to mask it with a small smile. "Classic overachiever."

Jace chuckled. "He’s like that. Won’t even breathe till he’s done."

"Good for him," Bella said lightly. "I’d be dead halfway through."

Luca smiled along, but the edges of his expression faltered.

While the others resumed chatting, he quietly pulled out his phone beneath the table, thumb hovering for a moment before typing.

**Luca:** Lunch time. Come down before everything’s gone.

He hesitated, then added another.

**Luca:** Don’t make me come drag you.

He hit send, screen lighting briefly against the warm cafeteria glow before he flipped it over.

Bella nudged him. "You look miles away, Future Legend."

Luca blinked, forcing a grin. "Just thinking..... about our campaign."

Ren laughed. "Wow, commitment. You’re even working through lunch?"

"Trying to impress Georgia," Luca said, deflecting.

"She doesn’t look easily impressed," Jace muttered.

"Exactly," Luca replied with a smirk. "Challenge accepted."

The table laughed, the sound easy and unknowing.

When Luca’s phone buzzed, he angled it away just enough to glance at the screen.

**Noel:** Five more minutes. Promise.

Luca’s lips curved, a private little smile that didn’t reach his eyes but softened them nonetheless.

He set the phone down, staring briefly at the half-empty tray in front of him.

The conversation around him blurred—Bella teasing Wei Chen about being too wholesome, Ren recounting Mr. Max’s morning lecture, Jace laughing at something dumb.

But for Luca, the noise dimmed under the quiet thought that Noel was still up there—probably hunched over some report, brow furrowed, the way he always got when he forgot the world existed.

Luca exhaled softly, murmuring to himself, "He’ll skip meals if I let him."

Bella caught it faintly, her brow furrowing. "You say something?"

He shook his head quickly. "Nah. Just talking to myself."

It was nearly ten minutes before Noel appeared.

He walked in quietly, like someone slipping into a dream halfway through.

His ID badge still hung crooked from his collar, and his sleeves were rolled just enough to reveal the faint ink smudge near his wrist.

He scanned the cafeteria, eyes finding the table without needing to look twice.

Ren spotted him first. "Hey, over here, Mr. Model Student!"

Noel gave a small, almost sheepish smile as he crossed over, tray in hand. "Sorry. Mr. Max wanted those revisions done before lunch."

Jace shook his head, half-impressed, half-tired. "Man, you’re making the rest of us look bad."

Noel’s lips quirked. "Just trying to survive."

Luca didn’t say anything right away—but his gaze had softened, just slightly.

The tightness that had been in his shoulders since they sat down eased the moment Noel joined them.

"Still warm?" Luca asked, too casual, like any friend would.

"Barely," Noel said, sliding into the empty seat across from him. "But I’ll live."

"Classic," Bella teased. "You’d work through a fire drill, wouldn’t you?"

"Depends how close the fire is."

They laughed—even Luca, though his smile lingered longer than everyone else’s.

For a while, the table filled with the easy rhythm of chatter.

Camille was talking about an ad concept gone wrong; Ren complained about a typo in his report that changed shipment to sheepmen; Bella nearly choked on her juice laughing.

Noel didn’t say much.

He was content just listening, his fingers idly tracing the rim of his cup.

But every so often, Luca’s gaze would wander—a flicker toward him, a quiet study of how Noel’s eyes moved when he smiled or the way his hair fell slightly into his face.

He caught himself once and quickly turned his attention back to Bella’s story, but the faint heat in his neck gave him away.

When the others weren’t looking, Noel’s foot brushed his under the table—accidental or maybe not. Luca didn’t move away.

The sound of a chair scraping broke the quiet spell; Mr. Max had entered the cafeteria, heading for the coffee machine.

Luca froze for a breath, instinctively leaning back. Noel only continued eating, calm, practiced.

Ren lowered his voice. "That man doesn’t rest, huh?"

Noel hummed in agreement, not looking up.

Luca nodded along, expression unreadable.

Max passed by their table, offering a polite, "Enjoy your lunch, everyone." His gaze paused on Noel for the briefest heartbeat—professional, but aware. Then he was gone.

Luca let out the breath he’d been holding, unnoticed by the others.

When their trays were mostly empty and laughter had thinned into easy conversation, Luca glanced at Noel, voice soft but measured. "You done?"

"Almost." Noel set his fork down, tone just as quiet. "You?"

"Yeah." Luca stood, gathering his tray. "Let’s go before the caffeine rush starts again."

Bella raised a brow. "Where to?"

"Back to work," Luca said easily, his grin returning. "Future legends don’t nap after lunch."

The table groaned in protest, Ren muttering something about transferring departments.

As they stood, Noel fell into step beside Luca—not too close, not too far.

Their shoulders brushed once, barely noticeable in the crowd.

Outside the cafeteria, away from curious eyes, Noel spoke first, his voice low. "Thanks for the text."

Luca smiled without looking at him. "Would’ve carried you down myself if you ignored it."

Noel’s quiet laugh broke the tension just a little. "You’d risk your cover that easily?"

Luca’s reply came soft, honest. "For you? Probably."

Noel’s eyes flicked toward him—the kind of look that said careful and don’t stop at once.

Then he pushed open the door to the hall, and they stepped back into the rhythm of walk like nothing had happened.