Roommates With Benefits [BL]

•⋅⊰∙∘☾✶☽∘∙⊱⋅•✾•⋅⊰∙∘☾✶☽∘∙⊱⋅•

I glanced down at it, the gold pendant resting against my chest and catching the warm glow from the lamp. For once, I didn’t have a sarcastic response ready. The metal was already starting to warm against my skin.

"It’s beautiful," I finally said.

Damien watched me. "You really like it?"

I nodded. "I love it."

His smile softened. "I’m glad."

I reached up to touch the pendant again, running my thumb over its smooth surface. It was such a small thing, really... a necklace, a piece of jewelry, something that could easily be put in a drawer.

But after all we’d been through, the island, my father’s surgery, the hospital, his family, the contract, and everything we were too scared to voice... it felt like more.

It felt like Damien had looked at the chaos around us and still wanted to give me something beautiful. Something free from fear, money, sacrifice, or hospitals. Just because he wanted me to have it. The kind of gift that said "I was thinking about you even when everything was falling apart," without needing a single speech attached.

I swallowed. "Thank you."

He leaned in closer. "You’re welcome."

Our lips met in a gentle kiss, nothing rushed, and when we pulled apart, I was still smiling.

Then a groundbreaking, Nobel-prize winning thought hit me.

"Wait," I said, frowning.

Damien looked at me, curious. "What?"

I hesitated, then asked, "Does this mean we’re officially... uh... boyfriends?"

He stared back, his expression shifting to amusement. "Oliver."

"What?"

"We are boyfriends." He responded, snapping his fingers in front of my face as if to catch my attention. "Keep up, Sunshine."

In a playful frustration, I grabbed the nearest pillow and smacked him lightly with it, the impact less severe than my outrage deserved.

Damien actually laughed... not his usual soft chuckle, but a full laugh that made his shoulders shake, filling the room with sound.

"Ow," he said, catching the pillow before I could hit him again.

"You deserved that."

He smirked. "You’re ridiculous."

"And you’re my boyfriend now, so you’ll just have to deal with it."

"I’ve been dealing with it for months."

He tossed the pillow onto the floor, and I crossed my arms. "No."

"No?"

"We need to do this properly."

His eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Properly?"

"Yes."

"Oliver, we’ve already—"

"Don’t."

He smiled, and I narrowed my eyes. "I’m serious."

"So am I."

I shifted until I was sitting properly in front of him, suddenly feeling far more nervous than I thought I would.

My hands fidgeted in my lap as if this was somehow a bigger deal than everything we’d already faced together. It was absurd.

I’d told this man I loved him, cried in his arms, seen him turn down his inheritance to avoid his family’s control just to be with me, and kissed him countless times.

Yet somehow, asking him to officially be my boyfriend felt terrifying. The kind of terrifying that had nothing to do with danger and everything to do with finally saying the quiet part out loud.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "Damien Lockwood."

His amusement faded as he sensed my seriousness. "Yes?"

I held his gaze. "Will you be my boyfriend?"

A brief silence followed before his mouth curved into a smile. "Of course, baby."

My face flushed instantly warm.

He continued, seemingly oblivious or perhaps completely aware of the effect he had just caused. "Took you long enough."

I grabbed the pillow again. "Oh my God, you ass!"

"What?!" He caught my wrist before I could hit him. "You asked!"

"You could have answered like a normal person."

"I did."

"You called me baby!"

"You are my boyfriend."

"That doesn’t give you the right to say it like that!"

He pulled me closer, his grip gentle but firm. "Baby."

I buried my face against his shoulder. "I hate you."

"No, you don’t." He chuckled. "You love me so much, you said it. No take backs."

Unfortunately, he was right. I lifted my head again, glancing down at the necklace. The gold pendant caught the light again, warm and solid against my skin. "I feel bad."

"For what?"

"I didn’t get you anything."

His expression softened. "You don’t need to."

"But you bought me this... it’s so beautiful."

"And?"

"That feels unfair."

"Oliver, I don’t need anything from you." I looked directly at him. Damien reached up to touch my cheek. "You already gave me everything I wanted."

My chest tightened as he leaned in closer. "You."

Well... damn. I couldn’t even hide my blush. His smile returned, and I leaned in, resting my forehead against his.

For a while, we just stayed like that. No grand declarations, no perfect speeches, no big gestures waiting on the horizon.

Just us... together. Boyfriends.

The word still felt strange, but in a good way. I smiled. "Boyfriends."

"Yes."

"That’s weird, I’ve only ever had girlfriends."

"You’ll get used to it."

"I know I will."

He kissed my forehead, and eventually, we settled back under the blankets.

Damien pulled me against his chest, as naturally as if he’d been doing it all his life. His breathing slowed down, and I felt his body relax against mine.

Within minutes, he was asleep.

I smiled to myself, thinking how typical it was. This guy could handle family drama, inheritance messes, blackmail, and my emotional breakdowns, but apparently, two rounds of sex and a pillow fight was enough to tire him out. The kind of exhaustion that only comes after you’ve finally let yourself stop carrying the entire world on your shoulders for five minutes.

I lingered awake a bit longer, my fingers finding the necklace again, rubbing the gold pendant between my fingertips and feeling the cool metal warm under my touch. I was happy.

Really happy. It felt strange, almost frightening, particularly because I had spent so long expecting happiness to come with an expiration date, like some invisible clock was ticking down to when it would inevitably be taken away.

My father was still in a coma. The Lockwoods were still a threat. Someone was still sending those photos. And somewhere in all this chaos was someone who seemed to think ruining our lives was a fun hobby.

My smile faded a bit as I glanced at the dark window. I had no idea who they were... not yet. But I would find out. And when I did, I planned to have a very calm conversation with them.

Possibly involving some illegal levels of violence.

I sighed. "Great,"

I whispered to myself. "Boyfriend acquired. Criminal mystery pending."

Damien shifted beside me, his arm tightening around my waist even in his sleep. I smiled again, thinking about whatever might come next.

I wasn’t facing it alone anymore. He was mine, and I was his. For the first time in my life, that didn’t feel scary at all. It felt like home.

So I closed my eyes, sinking into the warmth of his arms, with the gold necklace resting against my skin... carrying a promise neither of us had to vocalize.