Chapter Text
Sonya was tired. No. She was exhausted. She was done looking for fish in the sea. There were no fish. Maybe piranhas or those poisonous blowfish. But definitely no fish worth catching.
She barged into her dorm, throwing the door shut with more force than necessary before flopping face-first onto her twin bed.
"Again?" Lookmhee's amused voice drifted from across the room. She was lounging on her own bed, phone in one hand, a half-eaten bag of chips in the other.
"Whatever happened to normal, polite conversation?" Sonya groaned, her voice muffled by the pillow. "You know, the kind that doesn’t involve foot fetishes on a first date?"
Lookmhee snorted. "At least he was sharing his interests."
"He showed me photos of his toenails," Sonya deadpanned, rolling onto her back. "They were yellow and disturbingly thick."
Lookmhee gagged before dissolving into laughter. "Ew! I thought Dud Derek was just boring. Didn't take him for gross too."
"Oh, I wasn't with Derek." Sonya waved a hand weakly. "I couldn't sit through another two-hour monologue about the 'minutiae of bedrocks'. I went out with Luke."
Lookmhee's laughter cut off as she sat up. "Leering Luke?"
Sonya groaned.
Lookmhee enjoyed coming up with nicknames for the people Sonya went out with. There was Dud Derek, the geologist with a superiority complex. Sad Sadie, still hopelessly in love with her ex. Two-timing Tom, who, if karma worked, should now have an ex-wife. And Leering Luke—who, in Sonya’s defense, hadn’t seemed so leery at first. Lookmhee, however, had sworn she’d caught him ogling her more than once and was very huffy about it.
She had, unfortunately, been proven right when Luke had spent their entire date slipping in innuendos wherever he could and shamelessly checking out the waitresses. Maybe she should upgrade his nickname to Lecherous Luke.
“My love life is in shambles.” Sonya declared. "People are either too weird, too boring, too married, or too non-monogamous." She shot Lookmhee a pointed glance at the last one.
"Hey, don't look at me," Lookmhee said, raising her hands in mock defense. "I'm very upfront about it."
Sonya sighed, turning to lie on her back. “I just– Is something wrong with me? Why do I only seem to pick the worst kind of people?”
Lookmhee sobered, setting her phone down. "There’s nothing wrong with you.”
“Then why can’t I find someone?”
“Dating is just hard.” She shrugged.
“You date.” Sonya accused. “You go out with people all the time. Nice, good-looking people.”
“I don’t date.” Lookmhee corrected. “I have hookups.”
“Potato, po-tah-to.” Sonya grumbled. "I just want someone to cuddle with. Is that too much to ask?"
Lookmhee grinned. "I'm a great cuddler."
Sonya shot her a look. " Yeah , I'm sure half the student body would agree."
“They wouldn’t know.” Lookmhee said, scooting herself into Sonya’s bed. “I reserve my cuddles only for the lucky few.”
Sonya huffed but didn’t protest when Lookmhee slipped under the covers and pulled her against her chest. It was warm. Comforting.
"Weren’t you supposed to be with Lola tonight?" Sonya asked, tilting her head up.
Lookmhee hummed, fingers tracing absentminded patterns on Sonya’s arm. "Cancelled."
"Why?"
Lookmhee shrugged. "Didn’t feel like it."
Sonya sighed, letting herself relax against her friend. "You know, if you weren't such a menace in the dating scene, I'd probably date you."
Lookmhee chuckled, resting her chin atop Sonya’s head. "Well, lucky for you, I am a menace. Otherwise, you'd have fallen for me already."
Sonya rolled her eyes but didn't move. Maybe she was doomed to terrible dates forever. But at least she still had Lookmhee.
-
Lookmhee woke up feeling disoriented. She felt a body lying beside her and frowned. She didn’t make a habit of staying over after a hookup.
Then, Sonya’s familiar perfume drifted into her nose, soft and sweet like jasmine and something uniquely her , and it all came back.
The scent was grounding. Lookmhee let herself sink into the comfort of it, allowing a few more stolen minutes wrapped in Sonya’s orbit.
Beside her, Sonya groaned and tugged her closer, burying her face against Lookmhee’s neck.
Then the alarm blared.
Sonya barely stirred.
Lookmhee reached up, brushing gentle fingers through Sonya’s hair, massaging the base of her neck until she felt her soften again, melting toward the touch.
“Sonya,” she murmured. “You’re gonna be late for class.”
“No, it’s too early,” Sonya whined, voice muffled against her skin.
Lookmhee chuckled. “C’mon, sleepyhead. Professor Vasquez has a zero-tolerance policy for lateness.”
“Five more minutes,” Sonya mumbled, burrowing deeper into her.
Sonya had always struggled with morning classes—a fact Lookmhee knew all too well. Sharing a room meant being jolted awake at least twice a week by the chorus of alarms Sonya insisted on setting but never actually responded to.
It used to annoy her—those first few weeks were rough—but over time, she’d grown used to it. Now, she even found it a little endearing. Especially the way Sonya would finally stir, hair disheveled, eyes barely open, and a faint pout on her lips as if offended by the concept of mornings altogether.
Being an early riser herself, Lookmhee would often be waiting with a mocha from Sonya’s favorite coffee shop which never failed at twisting those pouty lips into a glittering smile.
This morning, though, she chose a different approach.
Lookmhee's hand slid down to Sonya’s exposed waist. “Don’t make me do this.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Sonya didn’t even attempt to move away, confident that Lookmhee would not follow through on her threat. But, as the second alarm rang, Lookmhee pressed her fingers into her sides.
“S-stop!” Sonya shrieked, trying to squirm away from Lookmhee’s grasp.
“Seriously, I’m gonna p-pee!” she gasped between laughter.
Lookmhee laughed, letting her hands fall away in surrender.
She was pulling away as she noticed the mischievous glint in Sonya’s eyes and, a second later, Sonya’s fingers were trying to dig into her sides. But, Lookmhee was quicker. She grabbed Sonya by the wrists, pinning her down on the bed. Straddling her hips to keep her in place.
“Well, now you’ve done it,” Lookmhee said, mock-serious.
“Wait, please. I’m sorry.” She said, but the twinkle in her eyes showed she was anything but.
“I’m afraid you must be punished,” Lookmhee raised her free hand in an exaggerated threat.
They stared at each other for a few charged beats, before she launched into another playful attack.
Sonya thrashed beneath her, laughing uncontrollably. “Enough—p-please!”
It wasn’t long before Lookmhee relented, easing her grip. The laughter faded, but the closeness remained. Their faces were just inches apart, breath mingling in the quiet. Lookmhee’s eyes flicked downward, catching the movement as Sonya pressed her tongue to her bottom lip.
A bolt of heat shot through her.
Her eyes snapped back up. Panic—or something like it—flickered in her chest. She pulled away suddenly, retreating to the edge of the narrow bed.
“I’m gonna hit the shower,” she said, clearing her throat. “Then maybe grab some breakfast if you want anything…”
Sonya blinked up at her, still a little dazed. “I’m good. I’m late for class anyway.”
Lookmhee just nodded, grabbed her things, and slipped into the bathroom.
She closed the door with a little more force than usual as her mind struggled to catch up to her movements.
What was that?
She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Cheeks flushed. Pupils blown. Her heart still racing.
She ran a hand through her hair, scowling at herself.
She clearly needed to get laid ASAP if some playful tickling had gotten her this worked up.
She shook her head at herself, pushing the thought away and hoping a cold shower would help bring her back to her senses.