Birds chirped in their branches – the breeze of spring blowing right through the open windows of the balcony – and the dark sky slowly woke from its night's rest. Alex sighed, sipping from his cup of coffee. ‘The perfect morning.’

  “-don't want to FUCKING hear it!” A voice shouted from his right, unimpeded by walls or doors. High-pitched yet melodic, it echoed in the small two-bedroom apartment. “I’ve had ENOUGH of your shit! We are over, you hear me?”

  ‘Orange, red, and tints of pink, the sunrise truly is beautiful…’ He sipped on his coffee again. ‘The pink is a sign of pollution from what I hear, though.’ Thin eyebrows frowned, the sound of his sipping growing louder.

  “-you don’t respect me!” The voice grew even louder, however. It became impossible to ignore it anymore. “Hah, BOUNDARIES? You wouldn’t know what that means even if it smacked you in that smug fucking FUCK face-“

  ‘Yep, that does it. Not even ADHD can save my ears this time.’ He adjusted the colr of his shirt. ‘This shit is just too much... For fucks’ sake, it’s not even seven in the morning.’ Alex saw it as it was – his perfect morning was well beyond the point of saving. He could only mourn its passing now.

  ‘That will be the third breakup this month, one for almost every week… seriously, how can you have this many messy retionships, Vic?’ He would never understand Victoria, his roommate. Her love life both sounded and looked nightmarish, what with the never ending blondes and stress.

  How she could bounce from one breakup to another in so little time was a subject worthy of study. Alex couldn’t even wrap his head around having that many retionships, to say nothing of losing them in a matter of days.

  ‘You’d have to screw it up big time to lose a girlfriend in less than a week… though, I guess that’s how things go sometimes. I shouldn’t judge.’ He shook his head, setting his cup on the counter. Either way, he should probably pay more attention to the pancakes and bacon he was making.

  ‘We all have our stuff to deal with. Passion and hate... I guess.’ He wasn’t one to think about it that much, but that had changed ever since he and Amy took some time off to rethink… stuff. Alex flipped the pancakes, sighing. ‘I shouldn’t judge her-’

  “FUCK YOU!” His ears rung from the shout, almost going deaf despite the walls separating him and the altercation. ‘But that it is annoying, it is.’ He admitted. The st thing he needed in his mornings was a lover’s spat.

  “-and don’t fucking call me again!” Having said her piece – almost thirty minutes of screaming – the woman finally exited his roommate’s bedroom. BANG! The door shook from the impact as it hit the wall at full force.

  ‘That’s making a dent.’ Alex remarked, feeling somewhat bad for the poor wall. Unfortunately, the possible dent was the least of his worries at that moment.

  Messy blonde hair and squinted, burning hazel eyes – the woman was on a warpath as she exited the apartment. Her irises immediately locked onto Alex, deciding whether he was a target of her ire too or not.

  “I’m just the roommate.” He replied in a meek and somewhat monotone voice – a performance he had perfected for situations like this – before flipping the pancakes in the air again. ‘Nifty trick that one.’ He thought absent-mindedly.

  Whatever she might have said to him died then and there. Perhaps the sight of a sleep-deprived student wearing a pastel pink apron dulled her anger – or she was impressed by the pancake flipping – but he wouldn’t know.

  “Sorry…” The woman muttered, a bit embarrassed about all the noise she had caused. She finally walked out of the apartment, too lost in her feelings to hear Alex’s reply.

  “It’s alright, I get it.” The door closed. ‘Well, guess that’s the end of it.’ Now he had to finish their breakfast, put the dirty clothes on the washer, and then finally clean the floorboards in the kitchen. ‘Better get to it-’

  “Aleeex~” A whiny voice came from the bedroom, and he could already feel his annoyance rise ever so slightly. “Comfort me! I just got dumped-“

  “With reason, most likely.” He interrupted, face falling into an even mask. “This will be the third one this month. I didn’t even get to know her name this time!”

  He put the sizzling bacon on a pte, sighing at its wafting smell. “You should maybe… I don’t know… just humor the idea that the one at fault here might be you. Of all your retionships, the one common factor is-”

  “Me?! My fault?” The voice became even whinier, and he could already tell she was ughing at the situation. “Come on… she was a prude! You have to believe me! You know me~”

  “Unfortunately.” He sighed, eyeing her as she exited the bedroom. “Look, it’s not that I’m judging you, but wouldn’t it be better to take some time before jumping to your next girlfriend? I mean, having that many rebounds can’t be healthy-”

  “Ugh, so mature-” She groaned, her body finally coming under the dim light of the early sunrise. Victoria was, needless to say, almost naked. Her dark hair was a bird’s nest, and he could see the glint of sweat on her olive skin as it slowly slid down-

  ‘Yep, too early for this.’ He averted his eyes, ignoring the heat in his cheeks.

  “So prim and proper~” She made her way into the kitchen, bare feet barely making any noise as she got to the back of the counter. “You should loosen up a bit, especially now that you are-”

  “For the tenth time, Amy and I are just taking some time to think about what we-“ He didn’t get to expin as she poked him in the back, snickering as she did. ‘Why do I even bother?’

  “Come on, pretty boy…” She got closer, voice right next to his ears, and Alex could feel her warm breath on his neck. “Loosen up a bit.” Her scent overpowered that of the bacon, sweet and smokey with an undertone of sweat, her hands inching closer to his hips. “Besides, you are wasted on that b-”

  “Vic-“ He turned off the stove, breakfast done, and turned around. She was a bit shorter than him, but not by much – they were almost face to face. “Don’t. You’ve made your opinion of her very clear. And please, learn what personal space means- and boundaries, for that matter.”

  She stood just inches away from him, cd in only thin bck lingerie and reeking of sex. A smug grin adorned her face, and she even had the gall to run her eyes up and down his body. ‘Utterly shameless.’

  “You know what, just sit down.” He sighed, stepping away. “And keep those eyes to yourself. I’m not your next rebound-”

  “Hey, you know I don’t swing that way.” She snickered still, bouncing on the ball of her feet as she went to the living room’s dining table. Alex did not give her the satisfaction of letting his eyes stray to her back.

  “Really? Could’ve fooled me.”

  “Well-” She put a hand on her chin, scrunching up her eyebrows. “When you put it that way, I guess you do have a point for being worried. If you were a woman, you’d make for the perfect wifey.”

  ‘There she goes.’

  “I mean, let your hair grow and put some makeup on, and no one would even know. Long eyeshes, thin eyebrows, small nose-“

  ‘Why do I even bother?’

  “And that apron looks good on you. You should try cospying – you’d make a killing. Damn, you even got the body for it. Skinny but with some curves, you know the type.”

  ‘Thank God she doesn’t know I used to cospy as female characters for anime conventions.’ He sighed as he set the ptes on the table, his cheeks still tinted red. ‘The pestering alone would drive me insane.’

  “And the way you frown at me… ooh, bratty. I love it~” Alex practically shoved the pancakes on her pte, hoping it would make her stop talking for just one second. It worked, apparently.

  “Alright, that does it. You are starting to sound like a creep.” He sat down on his chair, eyeing her disheveled state. ‘Well, she just got dumped. And considering her family… maybe this is how she copes.’

  “Forget that, are you doing okay?” He asked in a light tone, neither soft nor loud. Despite all her quirkiness, he worried for his roommate and, to him, it always best to ask and make sure someone was fine than hope for the best. “You know, after all that-”

  Victoria frowned for a brief moment before ughing. “Worried about me? Heh, like I said, perfect wife material. So demure and caring-“

  “Vic.”

  She smiled. “I appreciate the concern, but I’m doing fine. Thanks for asking. The retionship – if you could even call it that for how brief it was – wouldn’t go anywhere, anyway.”

  Her fork cut up the pieces of bacon as she spoke. “I wanted her to be a stay-at-home, and she had this whole w firm dream. It wasn’t ever going to work-”

  “Wait…” Alex stopped eating, slowly realizing what she meant. “Did you ask her to stop university and move in with you-”

  “What?! I mean, does she need a job when I have enough money for dozens of generations? Seems superfluous to me-”

  “It’s her dream job.” He frowned, regretting his previous concern. “And what? You ask all of that from your partner after less than a week of staying together? There are so many wrong things-”

  “Alex~ please, I already heard it from her.” She replied. “Honestly, I was just being upfront on my desires. Better to say it early than to spring that up years from now, and if it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work.”

  “What about compromising? Finding ways to make it work? Hoping your partner achieves their dreams… love shouldn’t be so-”

  A scoff, and then a ugh. “So romantic~ you really are lost on Amy. Look, I was already a bit bored of it anyway, so this is for the best. It wasn’t that serious.” A moment of silence followed, interrupted only by her sighs of contentment as she enjoyed the food.

  “Why do you even want a stay-at-home, pn on having children?” He suddenly asked.

  “Have children?” She raised an eyebrow. “If you haven’t noticed, we lesbians can’t-”

  “Can do. Adoption.“

  “No, can’t do. It’s not the same.”

  “It is the same.”

  “Not.”

  “Yes.”

  “No.”

  “Blood doesn’t make a family-”

  “Makes.”

  “Doesn’t.”

  “Does.”

  He eyed her in heavy disagreement, conveying all the emotions he could with a bnk stare. “Agree to disagree – it’s too early for this.”

  “Agree to disagree.” She ughed. “Though, if you were my wife-”

  “Don’t even-“

  “Look, you are basically my stay-at-home by this point. I pay for all the rent, and you clean the house, buy groceries, make food, wash the clothes. All you need is longer hair and-”

  Alex promptly tuned her out, his ears going deaf with the practiced ease of having lived with her for 2 months already. It was surprising how close they got in so little time. ‘And it’s true. I am her stay-at-home at this point.’

  He had been lucky to find the vacancy. ‘Lucky that Vic found me, really.’ He admitted. Victoria had been the one who had first contacted him and offered a bedroom in the apartment.

  It was a small yet luxurious two-bedroom studio right next to his university. He would never be able to afford such a pce if it wasn’t for Victoria. ‘And I don’t have to pay for anything as long as I take care of all house chores.’

  She continued bbbing on and on, but he paid it no mind. ‘She really shouldn’t have accepted a male roommate, though.’ It seemed irresponsible, to say the very least. ‘I would never let my little sister hear the end of it if she ever did the same.’

  ‘Still, I am grateful.’ He smiled ever so slightly. He and Victoria disagreed on one too many topics, and she could be insufferable at times – most of them – but she was a great friend. Besides, she did have her reasons to be so… much.

  Losing your whole family and earning a fortune of inheritance would do that to anyone. Thinking more about it, it was surprising how well-put-together Victoria was. She didn’t even need to finish her college degree – yet there she was, still going to csses.

  “What?” He refocused on the conversation, only now noticing that she was staring at him.

  “You can be an airhead at times.” She snickered. “As I was saying – my wife could be right around the corner. You never know with these things… I just gotta keep at it.”

  “I have the money and contacts, so even if I don’t find my soulmate…” She toyed with the food on her pte as she stared at Alex. “Well, I could just make myself one!”

  “Sure.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry to inform you, but you can’t program a girlfriend for yourself like in those ‘games’ you py.”

  “Sure, whatever makes you feel at ease.” She ughed, the noise both annoying and endearing to him. “Anyway, pay attention to this airhead. Like I was saying, today I won’t be able to attend movie night… sadly. So, you will have to watch your soap opera nonsense alone.”

  “Tonight was your pick-”

  “Well, you somehow always convince me to not pick any action.” She admonished. “Either way, I have a new Skyrim mod to configure, and it will probably take the whole day.”

  “Skyrim?” It was one of the few pieces of media the two didn’t share. “And the whole day? What is it, another 10 gigabytes of porn mods? The things I saw on that computer the one time you lent it-”

  “No.” She flicked his forehead as she got up from her chair. “This one focuses on immersion! A hundred percent of immersion!” Contrary to the usual grin, her smile was soft as she spoke. “So, unfortunately, you will have to watch it alone. And no smoothie today!”

  Alex scoffed, almost affronted. “That’s alright. You always force that crap down my throat-”

  “Hey, a smoothie is the least I can do for all the chores you do.”

  “You pay for all the rent and food.” A single eyebrow raised, unconvinced. “That seems like more than enough.”

  “I’m rich, so it isn’t enough. At least, I don’t feel like it is.” She flicked his forehead again for good measure, walking back to the kitchen with a sway to her hips. Alex forced his eyes to stay looking at his pte. “Before I disappear for the day, did you call that doctor I recommended?”

  “Oh- eh, yeah.” Suddenly, his voice went meek, the red tint in his cheeks returning. That, sadly, did not go unnoticed. It never did with her. “I still need to run a few tests next week, but… uh, she said it should be nothing to worry about. Something about hormones.”

  “Oh~ what is it? Having trouble performing-“

  “Finish that line and no more bacon. Or pancakes, for that matter.” He stood up, walking towards his bedroom. A steely gre was thrown her way for good measure – the cssical ‘bratty’ look she loved so much. “If you want food ter, I will leave it in the fridge.”

  “Sure, sure wifey.” She smiled at his frown. “Enjoy your day for now! Bye, bye~” And away she went to her cave.

  ‘Great when taken in small doses.’ He shook his head. ‘This was more than enough excitement for the whole day. Well, at least it’s Sunday… so no uni for me.’ He could hardly wait to watch his novel.

  Alex sagged on his bed, eyes wandering all over the room as he sighed in relief. Maybe his morning hadn’t been the best, but the rest of the day sure made up for it.

  It had been a slow and calm afternoon, and the following night was even better with the movie drama and popcorn. ‘And Vic’s still on her binge.’ Maybe that was the reason for his peace, but – for fear of jinxing his luck – he didn't dare to entertain those thoughts.

  His sister should be visiting ter that week, and Amy… well, at least she gave him signs of life, and that was more than enough for him. Ever since he’d moved, things hadn’t been the same between the two. To say that their retionship quickly deteriorated would be an understatement.

  It all came to a head a week ago when she told him that they needed some time to rethink ‘stuff,’ as she so eloquently put it. ‘You have to focus on taking care of your sick father?’ He repeated her words in his mind, trying to make sense of them.

  ‘What kind of logic is that?’ He tossed in his bedsheets, smile turning frail. ‘I’ve always told you I would help with paying for the medical bills. I promised you that when we were kids.’

  It hurt him, much more than he thought it would. Everything had been looking up when he moved to the big city, what with him being accepted into an Ivy League university. It wouldn’t take long before he could start making a lot of money.

  Then, he would pay for Amy’s father's medical bills, buy a house back in their small city, and live happily ever after. A bit too hopeful – maybe – but that’s how Alex liked to think about his future. Otherwise, why put in so much effort?

  ‘Does she think she’s dragging me down with her?’ His fingers clutched the bedsheets in frustration. It was the only reason he could think that would justify her standoffishness, and it wouldn’t be out of character. ‘Silly. Stupid. Why is she always like this?’

  He would pay for the medical bills whether she wanted or not. Until he put it in her stubborn head that they were together through thick and thin, he wouldn’t relent. ‘Take things as they come, and it will get better.’

  He forced a smile – things were great. Sure, a few hiccups here and there, but so long as he kept his positive attitude, then everything would turn up fine like always.

  University was great – he had just been accepted into a b – and there were no issues with his grades. Other than Amy being her usual silly self, the only thing he could possibly worry about were those haywire hormones-

  ‘It should be nothing... the doctor said so.’ He tried convincing himself, blushing. ‘Doesn’t matter. I just need to take it as it comes.’ Finally, he closed his amber eyes, head well beneath the sheets. ‘No use worrying about what you can’t control.’

  Sleep came to him in slow ebbs, ever so gently beckoning him into the realm of dreams. All his worries, annoyances, hopes, and stress could wait for tomorrow. Minutes passed in blissful silence before… his bed swayed. Literally.

  It shook under him as if waves had just carried it into the middle of the sea, as nonsensical as that sounded. ‘Wha-’ The mattress under him was rock solid too – he noticed – as ungiving as wood.

  ‘Did I fall off my bed or something-’ And his bedsheets were no longer warm and velvet-like. They felt rough and cold on his skin. ‘The hell?’ He frowned, pulling his head out of the bedsheets in one swift motion.

  Immediately, that proved to be a terrible idea as a bone-biting cold hit his face. Bright, blue skies greeted his eyes, and a great strip of water stretched into the distance. A river, his mind helpfully identified.

  The ‘bed’ he had been sleeping in shook yet again, revealing itself to be a big and sturdy longboat instead. Men clothed in leather armor rowed the boat forward, their faces expressionless as if carved from stone.

  People dressed in fine silk sat around on barrels – even on the wooden floor – doing nothing. In a complete contrast to the serious looking ‘mercenaries,’ expressions of loss and desotion marked the face of everyone who dressed expensively.

  “What the fuck-” A silky, feminine voice escaped his lips. Immediately, his hands rose to his throat in arm, but what he felt with his fingers only brought him more concern. A delicate, smooth neck and small, dainty fingers – his Adam’s apple was nowhere to be found. “What the fuck?!” The voice shouted again.

  sillyAnon