Work Text:
Lin Ling stretched in bed, satisfied with his sleep quality for the previous night. He turned around upon feeling something brush against his arm, only for his eyes to widen at the sight of X sleeping beside him. Visibly shrinking back to the other side of the bed with drastic speed, Lin Ling almost fell off the side, and had to grasp onto the sheets to stabilise himself.
Right. He'd almost forgotten he was sleeping in this room.
Offering to let X live at his rental was unproblematic. Lin Ling had given X the master bedroom because the guest room's bed was a little shorter in size and couldn't comfortably accommodate his limbs. But the problematic part was that Lin Ling had still, embarrassingly, not gotten used to the fact that his bed was in the other room.
He would hit up the bed that he was most used to when going to sleep, and wake up to X beside him. The first time this happened, Lin Ling had freaked out and contemplated talking to X seriously about it, only to meekly realise he himself was the one in the wrong room after thinking it over.
The second and third times were the same. But the situation became slightly different from the fourth time onwards. Lin Ling couldn't deny that his sleep quality was always somehow higher around X. That was strange, considering he wouldn't even realise X was there until he saw him there in the morning. Was it the shared body heat from laying this close to him?
Wanting to test that hypothesis, Lin Ling had very carefully scooted next to him, overtaken by a strange sense of guilty pleasure. Though he still remained in his own room most days, Lin Ling would find himself seeking for X when he was especially restless at night.
Luckily, X had a tendency to wake up later than Lin Ling did and didn't realise his atrocious behaviour yet. Lifting the blanket, Lin Ling inched carefully out of it and tip toed his way out with as little sound as he could manage. Only when he was outside did he resume his usual walking stance.
He was halfway through making a pot of coffee when X emerged from the room, his hair mussed.
"Morning," Lin Ling murmured. "I'll leave some for you if you want."
X nodded at him wordlessly. Lin Ling poured a generous amount in his usual mug and placed it on the kitchen counter.
"I'm going to the mall later."
The way X immediately looked interested made him smile each time. Though X was the type of person who appeared to be extremely conscious of time, Lin Ling recently found out that this only applied to working. X liked spending time doing either absolutely nothing lounging around or walking outside.
"What for?" He drank a sip of the coffee and grimaced, having forgotten to add sugar upon hearing Lin Ling's words.
Cute...
"One of the chairs have been rocky lately. I tried to fix it, but it only seemed to be made worse..." Lin Ling made a sheepish face. "Any purchases have to be made by my landlord, but I can recommend her which item to buy."
"..."
He didn't feel the need to ask, but did anyway. "Want to come?"
X ended up following him into the retail chain that had a mix of furniture and electronic products.
He seemed quite interested in the watches, but didnt touch them and merely gazed from a distance with his hands in his pockets. After Lin Ling sent a few photos of the chairs he recommended to his landlord, they toured around the place for a while more.
X stopped at the bed section, looking silently at the plethora of choices. Noticing this, Lin Ling slowed as well before straying back to his side.
"Is the current bed still too small?" he asked. It was true that X was the guest here, but Lin Ling wouldn't want him to have back pain just because. The bed in the master bedroom was supposed to be just right for his height, and X did say it was fine when he first moved in, but was it still an issue? Having a bed that was slightly longer than his height would probably be more comfy...
"Buying a bigger one might make it easier for you too." X pointed out.
"What do you..." Lin Ling's eyebrows drew together in confusion, before shooting up in realisation. "Wait."
He knew!? Lin Ling previously operated under the assumption that he didn't. Did he say that because he figured out Lin Ling had been crashing over a lot recently? Things were looking bad for him, especially because his excuse for knowingly sleeping next to X was a measly 'I sleep better around you'.
Why would he think that X wouldn't find out? With how cramped the bed was, there were bound to be times where he had elbowed X or something. The mental image made him cringe internally.
"Sorry." he was beyond mortified, his face heating up in stark embarrassment. "I didn't do it on purpose! I was just too tired to tell which room was mine. On... most days, at least."
It was the absolute worst time to bring this up, and he didn't know where he got the courage.
"But do you..." he looked away, biting the bullet. "Do you think it's at all possible to keep things like this?"
"Let's get the king sized bed." X nonchalantly suggested without faulting him. "There's not enough space."
The most concerning part was probably that X didn't look like he minded sleeping together in the slightest. Lin Ling wasn't about to go questioning him and risk putting him in a foul mood though.
"That might be hard," Lin Ling murmured, "Unless I pay for it myself. The landlord's not going to agree to something like that when the current bed isn't even broken."
"... We could break it if that's the requirement." X tilted his head slightly.
Why was he looking at him in that way? Lin Ling chuckled nervously. "I'm not punching through the bed frame."
"Who said anything about punching?"
What. What was he referring to then?
Lin Ling stared at him, confused but not having the heart to ask.