College AU! - Small Group RP - Closed

In Zuko’s opinion, seven feet still sounded like a pretty big explosion, though he kept that thought to himself. He really did want to get along with his roommate, and since there were bigger things to worry about than explosions… well, he would just try to keep his stuff away from the blast radius.
“Maybe we should have a specific part of the room where you do experiments,” he said after a moment, meeting Varian’s eyes. “I mean… away from the closet and stuff so it’s not near anything flammable. And you can build some sort of removable fireproof hood for my plants that you just put up whenever you think things are about to explode.” He managed a small smile as he looked at Varian, then glanced towards where the others were going to be setting off fireworks eventually.

When Zuko hadn’t wanted roommates, he had figured the worst thing that could happen was being paired with someone transphobic who would question who he was and undo all of the progress he had fought so hard to make. He had figured they might reveal who he was to the rest of the suite, and none of them would treat him the way he wanted to be treated. He hadn’t even considered having a roommate who might accidentally blow up the entire building. Somehow, this challenge was preferable to a transphobe.
“Huh?” Zuko asked, frowning a little as he looked. He could hear sound coming from their direction, though no fireworks had actually been set off yet. He wondered what was taking them so long.
“Right. I mean… no, not really. Fireworks are pretty cool.” He was silent for a long moment, letting the air hang between them.
“Sorry,” he added, the word still tasting unfamiliar.

Nico’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly at the way Kelsier braced himself. He would have missed it if he weren’t looking for it, but it was clearly there. The shadow travel had taken a lot out of Kelsier, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Nico couldn’t help but wonder if pewter would have helped the real Kelsier. It wasn’t like he could ask this Kelsier. If he were Mistborn he would have mentioned that when Nico had shown he had powers. If he were Mistborn without having Snapped yet, there would be no point in offering him pewter. Nico may have taken to carrying the vials with him, but it wasn’t like they did him much good here. There weren’t very many people who could drink metals and do impressive things with them in this world.
“You’re not just talking about bank robbery anymore, are you,” Nico commented wryly, arms crossing. He didn’t know exactly when Kelsie had shifted the conversation to him, but he knew the shift was there. He couldn’t say for sure how he felt about it. It was nice that Kelsier cared, but Nico didn’t think he could survive another Kelsier caring for him and ultimately getting himself killed. He had moved on. He didn’t need this again. He didn’t need this approximation of his dad.
Nico hesitated for a long moment, staring at the card. It would be easier not to take it. He could always get Kelsier’s phone number from the RAs if he needed it, and he had no plans to text him anyway.
“Or I could just knock on your door,” Nico muttered under his breath, gently taking the card. He was careful to make sure his fingers didn’t so much as brush against Kelsier’s.

“Right,” Nico replied, looking at the card. “I’m going to be perfectly honest, I probably won’t call or visit. As long as you don’t fail me, I don’t need your help.” Although.. he had to admit that he might actually need help with the physics homework. He was struggling with it. Not necessarily because setting things up was difficult, but because he kept getting all of the numbers mixed up and plugging the wrong things into his calculator. He had spent over three hours on the first problem of the last homework trying to get the numbers to work out before he realized his mistake was writing down a five where he had meant to write a two.
“But,” Nico allowed, forcing his gaze down, “I’m grateful for the offer.” What more could he say? That he might actually accept the offer if Kelsier didn’t look and act exactly like his dad who had died three years ago in a completely different world? Magic powers were one thing, but that was probably enough to get him committed to a mental institution.
“I live in the suite a few doors down,” he added after a moment, shoulders hunching forward. “It’s… yeah. I’ll probably… see you in the halls anyway. And class…” he wasn’t sure Kelsier would actually see him in class., He wasn’t sure he planned on going anymore (was it too late to withdraw from a class?) and even if he did, he sat in the back row. Nico had a feeling professors didn’t pay much attention to the students who sat way back there.
With that, Nico tucked the card in his pocket and began to walk away. He needed… space. To deal with this. And to avoid yelling at Kelsier that he didn’t get to just… come into his life again after dying and sending him back here in the first place. He had already yelled at Kelsier. He wasn’t sure there was enough anger left, just… emptiness. Emptiness that the universe seemed determined to pick at.

Zuko glanced at Varian, then back at the fireworks. He felt guilty for depriving Varian of their light. It was probably a lot more fun with the group than it was here, but Ronan had made his position clear. Hr didn’t want Zuko to be a part of it, and Zuko had already caused enough conflict in the group to try to demand they include him. He tried to convince himself he didn’t care. He forced back a sigh, then tried to give Varian a small smile.
“I wasn’t… too sure about having a roommate,” Zuko murmured, trying to get used to the feeling of being genuine. Sincere, kind words hadn’t really been appreciated in his house. They had been mocked and belittled, but Varian was missing out on something fun just so Zuko didn’t have to be alone, so he felt them worth the risk.
“But I think I got really lucky.”

(Boop)

Varian couldn’t pretend he didn’t want to go see the fireworks. He would have liked to set them off himself, even though he had a feeling he wouldn’t have been allowed to. He hadn’t been the one to get them, after all.
He knew how it felt to be excluded, though. And it wasn’t like they wouldn’t be able to see the fireworks from where they were, anyway. Maybe they wouldn’t be able to watch them with the others, but it wasn’t like it really mattered.
He blinked, a light blush spreading across his cheeks as Zuko spoke. And then he smiled.
“Eh, it’s no big deal,” he told him, but he couldn’t have kept the gratitude out of his expression even if he’d tried. “But…thanks. I wasn’t too sure about having a roommate either, but…I think it’s gonna work out.”

“Me, too,” Zuko replied after a long moment, somewhat surprised by his own optimism. He hadn’t let himself to hope for the best in a long time, because the best never seemed to come to him. He always had to stay on his toes, be ready to jump the next time a hurdle appeared in his path. He was used to running a marathon with a bag of bricks strapped to his back, not having someone to help carry his load. Not that he thought Varian would be a close enough friend to do that, but at the very least he didn’t seem like he was going to judge Zuko for not being the most socially competent person.
“Maybe one day we can set off our own fireworks,” he added, glancing at the sky. They could still probably see the explosives from here, but the point of setting of fireworks was the setting part, not just the watching part. At least… when you were setting off fireworks on your own. “And they’ll be better than the stupid store-bought ones anyway.”

(bump:()

boop