Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It's a partly cloudy, early September afternoon. Jayce is walking through the bright halls of his new university, familiarising himself with the architecture and all the people. He is in awe. It's not at all what he thought it would be. He wonders what class is going to be like—how difficult it will be compared to high school. Will he make a lot of new friends? Will he struggle to find people that match his chaotic energy? He remembers struggling a little in the beginning of high school to form lasting friendships, and scowls to himself.

Suddenly, something on the wall catches his eye. He has been absently walking the hall of the building where his robotics class is supposed to be. On the wall a couple doors down is a large poster titled: ROBOTICS COMPETITION. Jayce stops in his tracks and stares at the smaller text. Competition ends in the final week of Fall term, is the subtitle. Jayce steps closer to the poster. His first thought is, I need to join this. This is my calling. I will meet people like me! I need to sign up for this. It may conflict with his classes, but Jayce decides he will deal with it when the time comes.

Once he's looked over the poster thoroughly, he catches someone standing next to him out of the corner of his eye. He looks over, and…

Oh.

Oh my god…

It's another man, slightly shorter than him. With pale skin and beautiful, fluffy chestnut brown hair. He's also staring at the poster. Then he takes a little notepad out of his pocket and scribbles down something. Jayce sees a little mole on his cheek. Just shy of his lip. He has the sudden urge to kiss it.

He is clearly staring way too long, because now the man is turning his head to look at him. Jayce feels time stop when he sees the man's entire face. His eyes are a bright golden hue, his brows are thick and distinct, and his cheekbones are sharp as a knife. Jayce doesn't think he's ever seen a man as beautiful as him before. And he most certainly is not gay by any means! But he cannot deny how perfect that beauty mark looks beside his right eye. He suddenly wants to kiss that too.

"You going to compete?"

"I… uh…" Jayce loses all train of thought. He can't even register what this guy is asking, because not only is he gorgeous, but he has an accent that sounds like it could be Czech. And that is even more hot. But again, not gay at all!

"You'll have the entire term to do it, and if you're a first year, it will be a walk in the park," the man continues. All his consonants glide off the tongue just right. Fuck.

"Ya. Ya," Jayce manages. "I wanna compete… and you?"

"Pfft, of course. Though I most likely won't be able to give it my 100% focus, as I have some heftier courses this year. Good luck," the man says with a smile. And as fast as he appeared, he walks away.

Jayce stares as he goes. He only notices now that the man walks with a cane. It echoes across the linoleum as he gets smaller and smaller. Jayce wonders if he will see him again.

Once he has seen where all his classes are, he decides to head to the student residence building. He's spent a long time walking around campus by this point, and he is now at his furthest class from his residence. It's about a twenty minute walk, all the way to the other side of campus, which isn't too bad. He knows he will have no problem getting his steps throughout the year. He can afford to eat what he wants at least.

Jayce reaches his residence building and takes the elevator to the 2nd floor, then walks all the way down the hall to unit 207. He takes a deep breath as he pulls his key card out of his pocket. He knows he has a roommate who is in a later year than him, and he will admit internally that he is a little nervous about what the guy will be like. He hopes the man isn't a womaniser, bringing girls over every Friday. He also doesn't want someone who's involved with the wrong crowd.

Jayce shakes his head as he swipes the card into the slot in the door handle. He's letting his anxiety get to him again. He needs to just play it cool and see how things go. Whatever the guy is like, he will figure out how to live with him for at least a year.

As he walks through the front door, he holds his breath for a moment as the door closes, then lets out a heavy sigh when he realises he's alone. His roommate must be out at the moment. Good. He has time to get settled at least. He can familiarise himself with the dorm, find his bedroom, maybe get into some slippers…

He smiles as he looks at the little kitchen in the corner. There is not a speck of food on the counter, while there are freshly washed dishes hanging on a dishrack beside the sink. His roommate is definitely cleaner than he is. He wants to make a good impression for the guy, but he knows how quickly he slips up on chores when he gets tunnel vision with whatever cool idea he's jotting down in his sketchbook.

In the dishdrainer, he sees a pot, a bowl, a ladle and a spoon. Did his roommate make soup? Enough to share? He opens the fridge to take a peek, expecting nothing, but is pleasantly surprised to find a large clear container filled with what looks like a very yummy stew. There are also a couple six-packs of Monster energy drinks, a carton of sweetmilk, and a carton of eggs. Other than that, the fridge is barren. Jayce chuckles. This guy is just as chaotic as he is. This stew is probably the last thing he cooked in months.

He decides to wait until his roommate returns to ask him for a serving. He's not quite that hungry anyway. Instead, he walks down the hall to what looks like the bedroom and stops in the doorway.

The room is no more than a square with two twin beds, a bathroom - surely small - and a few pieces of furniture that would be of use to any college student. He knows he has a roommate, but if he needed to learn that by scanning the objects over the shelfs above the bed, Jayce would think the few books there were mere decoration. Maybe his roommate is a Kindle kind of guy.

Shrugging, Jayce drops his duffle bag on the floor and begins unpacking his clothing on top of the dresser near his bed. He looks over his shoulder before taking out his lucky underwear—a pair of light blue boxers with little ducks in floaties all over them.

The door suddenly clicks, startling Jayce and making him drop the clothing piece.

Right by the door, still holding the doorknob, is that beautiful man from before. Jayce locks eyes with him midway crouching to pick up his boxers. His new roommate's golden eyes slowly scan from Jayce to the little ducks… Shit.

A smirk blooms across the man's face as soon as Jayce grabs the boxers and shoves them back into the duffle bag.

"Cute," his roommate remarks, taking a Monster energy drink from under his armpit.

"It's not mine, it's… uh, my cousin's!" Jayce tries to laugh, but the fire in his face is already reaching his throat.

"Sure," the willowy man says as he places the can on top of the dresser. "This one is mine, by the way. You must be the new roommate. Jayce, is it?"

"Ya… how… do you know my name?" Jayce asks in complete disbelief.

His roommate just snorts. "Obviously I know. I got the paperwork."

"Oh, right," Jayce mutters. His face is getting hot again. He's still thinking about those ducky undies and the fact that this hot guy saw them. And now he's saying stupid shit like this. He wants to evaporate. "And you?"

"It's Viktor."

Viktor.

What a perfect name.

"Nice to meet you, Viktor," Jayce replies after a long stretch of silence that is not at all awkward. He reaches out a hand to shake Viktor’s and the man reciprocates. Viktor’s hand is thin and slender, with knobby knuckles and absolutely perfectly healthy nails. Jayce spots several birth marks dotting the back of his one hand and Jayce, again, has the urge to kiss each one.

Why does he keep thinking about this?

"So are you majoring in mechanical then?" Viktor asks as their hands part.

"Uh, ya, what gave it away?"

"Your interest in the robotics competition of course," Viktor says with a smirk. "But obviously there are people that participate from other majors. That's a possibility."

"I've always loved taking things apart and putting them back together again," Jayce pipes up. "It's so rewarding to learn how things work."

"I feel the same," Viktor says.

They smile at each other. There is a sense of connection already. Jayce feels warm and fuzzy inside. He's so glad this is his roommate.

Jayce shakes his head as he gets back to reality. He's got a duffel bag half open and there are still clothes he needs to put away. "Well, I'd better get back to unpacking." He crouches down and takes out a pair of pants, leaving his ducky undies for later.

"I'll leave you to it then," Viktor replies and begins to walk out of the bedroom. "There's potato soup in the fridge whenever you're hungry. I just made it this afternoon. There's enough for each of us to have a few servings."

Jayce perks his head up and smiles at Viktor. "Oh, sure! Thanks."

He has the best roommate.

~

First year mechanical engineering is no cakewalk. That's for sure. But Jayce would be lying if he said it isn't the most fun he's had since summer camp where he used to build science sculptures and excitedly show them to his mom when she'd come and pick him up after work. He is learning so much from his classes this first term. He's also learning a lot from his upper classman roommate, Viktor. That is, his knowledge about engineering but also more about him as a person.

Viktor walking with a cane is no temporary disability. Jayce didnt want to pry for information, but he learned through observation of their shared bathroom as well as the man’s daily behaviours that this has been something he's grown accustomed to. He has weird bottles of medication on the counter, other meds in the butter box on the refrigerator door, and several mobility aids around their dorm that look like they’ve been used for a long time. There's a little stool in the shower, and there is a handle on the wall beside the toilet and shower door for stability. There are also some physical therapy items like a foam roller and massage ball sitting beside the couch in a box. Jayce only noticed Viktor using these a couple times since they've met in the last month, but he likely uses them when Jayce is out at his morning classes.

Viktor sleeps in until 10 or 11AM, and has all his classes in the afternoons. He barely eats anything when he gets up, usually only drinking a cup of coffee with half sweetmilk and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Jayce made sure early on to note the exact way he likes his coffee, so he's prepared for a day that Viktor is sick in bed and needs food and drinks brought to him. Jayce wants to be the best roommate Viktor could ever ask for. He wants Viktor to wish they were roommates from day one.

Since Jayce is more of a morning person, he goes for 9AM classes and spans them out across the week. Aside from Friday's when he needs to do a class at 6PM until 10PM, this frees up a few days in the week for him to work on research in the library—his favourite place on the entire campus by the way—and do workouts in the campus gym. Most days he doesn't get back to his dorm until dinner time, the same time Viktor gets back, but that means they can usually have dinner together.

On this one fateful Friday, during his evening class, he thought he was going to be there until 10PM. However, it turns out that his prof wanted to assign a new project and let the class work on it. This particular class Jayce is not too crazy about, because the prof has a monotone voice and a boring way of presenting that makes him want to pass out. Jayce used to wonder how people could sleep in class, but now, he gets it.. He has no idea how he aced the last test, how he could have possibly absorbed all the information. Whatever the case, as soon as it was clear he didn't need to stay any longer, he decides to head back to the dorm and spend the rest of his evening with Viktor. He figures it won't be a big deal anyway, since Viktor has his last class on Fridays finish at 7PM.

He is really growing fond of his roommate. Jayce wonders if Viktor feels the same. He enjoys bouncing ideas back with him and listening to him describe new concepts he uses for his second year projects. Jayce is always so inspired when he's around Viktor. He also loves his cooking—as little as he manages to cook. Since the potato soup, he had only made a shepherds pie and batch of fruit dumplings (which Jayce happily helped to prepare after Viktor showed him). Every single thing Jayce has eaten that VIktor has cooked has been delicious. Even so, if it's just a hard boiled eggs and toast sort of night while watching Family Feud, Jayce will be the happiest man alive. As long as he's with Viktor.

It only takes a moment after walking into their dorm for Jayce to realise that this night is not like other nights after he's finished class: the dimmer is on in the entrance, the kitchen has leftovers laying out on the counter—a takeout pizza that appears lukewarm, and dirty dishes are soaking in the sink.

The most stand out thing is their bedroom door being closed tight. A light can be seen under the doorframe, and there is a sheet of paper taped to the door that reads: PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB, WILL BE DONE AT 10.

Jayce frowns as he lets his backpack slide off his shoulder and hit the floor. What the fuck? That is my bedroom too! You can't just bar my entry!

He stomps toward the barricade, lifts his fist to knock hard, and stops when he hears a sound he is not expecting in the slightest.

A soft moan.

All the anger pours out of Jayce like a deflated hot air balloon. His eyes grow wide and he stands there frozen for a few moments, processing the sound. He knows immediately that the voice he just heard belongs to Viktor, but he has never heard his roommate make a sound like that before.

What the fuck?

Is he having sex?

Oh no. He brought someone over.

But that's fine! He can bring someone over!

But why didn't he warn me?

Why didn't he text me or something?

Jayce feels a tidal wave of emotions swimming around in his head. He's angry, confused, hurt, jealous. He had never thought that Viktor was the type to bring someone home. Viktor seemed like the kind of man that had no time for a relationship. He has a huge project he just told Jayce he needs to work on this weekend to hand in for Monday.

And yet, he's getting busy… in their shared college dorm bedroom.

"Which one do you sluts want me to use next? This one? Or this one? A? Or B? Type in the chat."

Hold on.

Hold. On.

Jayce presses his ear to the door.

Now that he listens closely, he doesn't hear anyone else in the room. It's just Viktor. And Viktor is talking to someone. Or a lot of someone's by the wording he just used.

Is he…

Could he be…?

A camboy?

"And the choice, with 54 perverts, is B. You guys just want me to break my pussy, don't you?"

Jayce's cock twitches in his pants.

Pussy.

Viktor has a pussy.

Oh my god.

He isn't supposed to know this. Viktor never told him he was trans. Not like whether Viktor is cis or trans would matter to Jayce, but even still, he's definitely passing. And Viktor had never made any hint that he wanted to tell Jayce something that personal yet. They've only known each other for a month.

Oh my god.

What do I do with this information?

I should leave.

I should leave and I should come back at 10PM.

Ya. I'm going to leave, and forget this whole thing happened. Viktor won't even know I came back early.

No matter what, Jayce's feet stay planted on the floor. He just cannot talk himself into moving from this spot.

So he stands there, listening to Viktor talking his chat through what can only be described as the act of shoving a very long and thick purple dildo up his pussy. Jayce stands at the door, pressing an ear to the wood as he listens to Viktor bobbing up and down on the phallic object. He listens to the man pant and moan and beg. He listens to him giving shout outs through his pleasure haze, likely to big tippers—people paying a ridiculous amount of money to be relevant for one moment as a man they stare at through a screen that they don't know gets himself off.

The thought would make Jayce feel sick if he wasn't currently fisting his cock in one hand while he bites into his other hand to muffle his own voice.

All rational thought is out the window. All Jayce can think is, oh god, Viktor, Viktor has a pussy and I had no idea, oh god, I wanna make him feel good. I wanna make him feel better than the dildo. Let me finger him. Let me fuck him with my cock. Let me eat his pussy for hours, please god, holy fuck…

When Viktor finally lets out a shrill choked cry, Jayce shivers on cue and cums in his pants. He somehow manages to catch his breath quietly in his arm, but it's only the calm before the storm.

"Well, I hope you all enjoyed soaking your panties tonight. Remember, my pair from this stream will go up for auction tomorrow at Noon. Goodnight, cuties."

Fuck, it's 10 PM.

Jayce jerks away from the door and stumbles across the foyer, quickly opening the front door before coming in again and closing it loud enough for Viktor to hear, to make like he just got home. He walks into the kitchen and opens the freezer, letting the cold air drift across his flushed face, hoping it will hide the evidence of what he has just done. He opens the fridge too for good measure, just to calm his dick down.

Less than a minute later, Viktor opens the bedroom door and steps out.

"Jayce! How was class? Was Mr. Fewlson boring again?"

Jayce looks over his shoulder at Viktor for a split second before realising he just found out his roommate is a camboy with a thirst for phallic objects and has a pussy. He cannot look him in the eye right now—it's way too soon. So he turns back towards the fridge again.

"Oh… y-ya, really boring. I got out early."

Uh oh.

I wasn't supposed to say that part.

"I… I went for a walk to get some air and… then I realised how hungry I am…" He grabs a hard boiled egg that's sitting in a little bowl on the top shelf of the fridge next to the sweetmilk.

Viktor's cane taps across the floor quietly as if he is approaching a prey animal. "Uhm… Jayce, there's pizza right on the counter. Do you not see that?"

Jayce already has the egg half in his mouth when he spins around to act like, no, he did not notice the pizza, he was just beelining it toward the fridge. He's only making himself look more incriminating now. "Mmmfh!" He exclaims through a mouthful of egg. "Sorry."

Viktor makes a bemused face and shakes his head. And to Jayce's horror, it is at this very moment, that Viktor's eyes shift down Jayce's body before locking onto the wet stain in his crotch.

And he lets out a quiet gasp before covering his mouth.

Jayce spins around to hide his shame way too late as he feels his face searing and his neck flaring up with anxiety.

Viktor knows.

He knows I was home early.

He knows that I know what he was doing.

He knows I'm too dumb to play off anything.

He knows I'm disgusting.

Jayce swallows the egg down and turns to the other side of the counter—in the direction to still face away from Viktor—to check out the pizza box. There are two cans of soda as well that he hadn't yet noticed, which would suggest that Viktor got a combo meal for two. He made sure to get Orange Crush—his favourite. He continues to try and play it off as nothing as he pops the can open to take a sip. "What kind did you get?"

"Hawaiian, you know me. I like my sweet and salty."

Sweet and salty carries a whole other meaning with the new information Jayce just learned.

He immediately chokes on the Orange Crush and spits into the sink.

Viktor just giggles, but he doesn't make any other comments. He just walks a bit closer, puts a hand on Jayce's shoulder and says, "try to relax now, okay? It's Friday night."

Friday night. Right.

Viktor’s panties from the stream will go up for auction at Noon tomorrow.

Jayce isn't sure why that is the first thought that comes to him. It's as if hearing Viktor getting off through the door awakened the pervert within him. But now, that's all he can think of.

"I'm going to take a shower, okay? Please, eat all the pizza you want." Viktor gives Jayce's shoulder one more gentle pat as he shoots him the sweetest smile before turning to walk towards the bathroom, and Jayce feels like the scum of the earth.

As much as his conscience is figuratively beating the shit out of him, Jayce decides to be a very bad roommate and walks into their shared bedroom, taking a seat at Viktor's desk.

He makes 3 attempts at Viktor’s login password for his laptop and gets it right the 3rd time: R0b0H0m0. Not that it was a challenge with the actual letters scribbled down on a post-it stuck to a little cactus planter sitting next to his computer mouse. He only needed to decipher the zeros from the o's. Jayce doesn't even need to feel guilty.

A few clicks and Jayce sees that Viktor has an account on an adult streaming site called Circ de Jerk. Jayce snorts out a laugh at the play on words. It's very clever. Then he glances at the sidebar. Viktor’s username is UrAverageTwink.

No, Jayce thinks. You're not 'my average twink'. You're perfect.

He clicks back to the window Viktor last was at to avoid suspicion before locking his computer again, then he turns on his own laptop and quickly navigates to Circ de Jerk.

Jayce cannot access Viktor’s online shop unless he signs up as a subscriber, but he also doesn't yet have an account on this site. He bites his lip as he tries to think of a username that wouldn't give himself away. He decides 'Hammertime69' will do, and plugs in all his required credentials, then subscribes to Viktor’s account. It's $20 a month—priceless considering what's being offered. As soon as that's done, Jayce clicks the bell icon to notify him of new items being available on Viktor’s store.

It is at this moment that Jayce hears the water in the shower shut off, so he makes sure to close out of the website and clear his history. Just in case Viktor ever gets suspicious. He feels a pang of guilt as soon as the thought hits him. Viktor is not the type of guy to snoop. He's the type to confront someone and talk things out.

Jayce is the worst roommate.

He walks slowly back into the kitchen, gaze drifting to the pizza box still sitting out. Viktor had since closed the lid. Jayce opens it back up, looks down at the cold slices of Hawaiian pizza and sighs to himself. He picks up 2 slices and puts them into the microwave.

What the fuck have I done?

I snooped through Viktor’s laptop.

He has no idea.

Wallowing in his guilt, he barely notices Viktor emerge from the bathroom. He opens the microwave door and winces as he burns his fingers on the molten pizza slice he reaches for. He resorts to getting a fork to fish it out and slides the two slices onto his plate.

As he takes a bite, he finally registers the tap of Viktor’s cane as he walks up behind him.

"Is the pizza good?"

"Mmm, ya. Good, thanks," Jayce replies as he chokes down the mouthful, feeling the dryness of the crust scrape his throat on the way down. It is good pizza, he's not lying, but it definitely doesn't taste as good from the microwave as it probably would fresh from the restaurant.

He still doesn't turn around and face Viktor. He instead holds the plate up under his chin in one hand while he nibbles at the hot slice of pizza in the other hand, bracing himself for hot spots. Viktor is silent behind him for a few moments before piping up with, "well then, I'm going to watch whatever's on the game channel. You in?"

Jayce hesitates. Usually he immediately says yes if it means he gets to sit next to Viktor on their couch. He doesn't really care what show Viktor tunes in to—Family Feud doesn't usually play after 10. It's normally The Price is Right.

Even still, all Jayce can think of is what he heard and what he did with that information, and how horrible he feels. So he says, much to Viktor's visible dismay, "no, I'll pass. I have to eat and get to bed. Gonna study in the library tomorrow morning."

Viktor frowns sadly at him, but doesn't argue. He sighs and shrugs. "Okay. Suit yourself."

Jayce eats the rest of his pizza standing at the kitchen counter while Viktor turns to The Price is Right, then mumbles "goodnight" as he walks past him to brush his teeth—to which Viktor mumbles, "night," back, then heads to their bedroom.

Somehow, Jayce manages to fall asleep before Viktor joins him.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Jayce gets up at 8AM and quickly packs up a tote bag for the library. He glances over at Viktor's bed as he tiptoes out. Still sound asleep. He figures Viktor won't be up for another few hours at least. It is a Saturday after all.

He grabs an apple and a slice of pizza just in case, packing them into a container and shoving that into his bag on the way out of the apartment. There's no food or drink allowed within the library of course, but it can't hurt to have it in his bag in case he gets hungry.

Jayce counts himself lucky that this is a typical activity he does on his weekends. Yes, technically he is still going to the library for research towards his classes, but there's also that other thing he needs to do today.

After a full night's sleep he feels a bit disturbed by how much of the guilt he felt around snooping through Viktor's computer has since vanished. He's resorted to making excuses for himself. His password was literally written on a post-it on his desk. I just wrote what I could see without looking through any desk drawers or cupboards. I did nothing wrong.

Jayce takes a seat in the upper floor of the library, in a quiet corner, away from the stairs and the glass railings. He knows that later on, he's going to have the tendency to glance up and around to make sure no one is looking at what he is doing. He knows the simple act of that sort of thing just looks guilty in and of itself, but Jayce is a sensitive man, and completely at the mercy of his conscience when he's doing something his gut tells him is wrong.

He gets up a few times from the table to look for some relevant books in the robotics section that he can use to research for a few classes as well as the competition he plans to participate in. He is mentally kicking himself for putting it off for a month already, but tries to blame it on how engaging his classes have been so far.

He sits back down in front of his laptop with 3 books he plans to sign out when he leaves, and glances at the clock. 10:30AM. Viktor is probably just waking up around now, Jayce thinks to himself, smiling. He sighs when he remembers how he left things the previous night. He really hopes Viktor doesn't think he was being an asshole and avoiding him. He hopes he came off as being tired and drained instead.

Either way, it's an hour and a half before the panties go up on Circ de Jerk for auction. Jayce taps his foot nervously as he flips through one of the library books. What if Viktor lists it so that the bidding window is late at night when he usually is already asleep? He would hate to make a bid and then have someone outbid him. What if he has to stay up late? What excuse will he give Viktor? His roommate would undoubtedly figure it out if he's on his laptop.

Jayce switches from tapping his foot to biting his nails as he reads over the same passage three times, realising he is thinking too hard about this panty auction and not at all about the topic in the book. He lets out a huff and glances up at the skylight, resolving to focus. He can't be worrying about something he doesn't know until it happens.

After some resolve, he manages to find some useful information and marks the pages of the books with little post-its, then opens up his laptop at roughly 11:45. He angles his laptop towards the wall so that passerby cannot see his screen, and makes sure that his VPN is signed in to prevent the school internet from finding out what he's doing.

He clicks on the bookmark he saved for Viktor's online store and sits with bated breath. How much are strangers on the internet willing to spend on used panties? Jayce isn't sure anyone would be willing to put down the money that he is willing to.

At 12 Noon on the second, Jayce hits refresh and is greeted with a single listing on Viktor's store. There's a photo showing the panties sitting on the comforter of his bed. Jayce recognises the blanket immediately and his heart starts pounding. It's just hitting him how real this all is.

The panties are deep purple, with white hearts on them, and they are laying flat on the bed. The room looks well-lit by the morning sunlight from their window, and nothing else identifiable is found within the shot. Jayce holds his breath as he clicks the image.

Stream 10/02 Panties (see additional photos)

Starting bid: $200.00

Auction ends today at 6PM. (Good luck, cuties <3)

Jayce lets out a sigh of relief. That's a short window! And completely possible for him to win, if he stays here and doesn't head back to the apartment until dinner time.

He decides to click through the additional photos in the carousel, and is not expecting the following photo to have a mosaic censoring in the crotch area to show they are in fact very dirty underwear. Jayce covers his mouth to hold back a groan he almost lets out into the deathly quiet library. He feels his face flushing instantly, and imagines he's going as red as a tomato. He sees the unmistakeably lighter colour in the pixel mosaic to indicate discharge stains on the otherwise very darkly coloured fabric and is immediately turned on, horrified, and excited all at once.

On one hand, it's good that Viktor is showing proof in the photos without showing explicit details. He imagines the fantasy of what they look like without the censoring will attract more perverts and tempt them to bid.

On the other hand, it disturbs him that Viktor is just… willing to sell these to some random stranger to use however they please. Jayce figures they will most likely be some middle aged man in an unhappy marriage, possibly with three kids. His stomach turns at the idea.

Jayce will be damned if he doesn't win this auction. He will never forgive himself if he loses.

~

Jayce eats his apple, then his slice of pizza, but he isn't able to last until 6PM, so he goes to the fast food chain a block from the library, orders a breaded chicken sandwich with fries, eats at the table by the window, then rushes back to the library again.

He sighs with relief when he sees his spot hasn't been taken, and quickly plugs his laptop cord into the wall outlet and angles it toward the wall again before opening it back up to the auction page.

5 bids

Current price: $650.00

Jayce sucks air through his nose. $650 is nothing. A time capsule of Viktor's pussy residue is worth way more than $650, at least he thinks so.

He glances up at the clock on the wall. 5:45PM. He's got 15 minutes to win the auction. He decides to wait until the last 3 minutes and just go big. Most of the bids will probably take place in the last 5 minutes anyway.

At 5:55 he refreshes the page.

10 bids

Current price: $1,200.00

Jayce's heart starts to pound. Are these people stupid? Or insane? None of them even know Viktor like he does.

He refreshes at 5:56

18 bids

Current price: $1,500.00

Jayce takes a deep breath and then clicks the [place bid] button. He types out $3000.00, and hovers his cursor over the [confirm] button. His account already has his credit card info, so it's all auto-filled. All he has to do is confirm in the last 10 seconds.

He has the countdown of the auction opened in another tab but dares not refresh the page in case it slows down his bid confirmation. As soon as the timer is 15 seconds away, he tabs back over and clicks [confirm], then checks the little box agreeing to the purchasing terms.

The waiting symbol sits in the middle of the blank screen. Jayce's heart is pounding out of his chest. A few seconds later—which feel like utter eternity—a new screen pops up.

Congratulations! You won the auction with a total of $3000.00.

Jayce lets out an exhilarated laugh through his nose. He can hardly believe it.

$3000 is a lot, sure. But he's got savings. And his credit limit is really high just in case he runs into issues with school finances anyway.

Jayce smiles as he scrolls through the page to the bottom.

Please confirm address for delivery.

Shit.

He completely forgot that they still need to be mailed to him.

He cannot put his own address. Viktor will know immediately that he is the winner of the auction. He will see that he made an account literally just to buy these panties. Then what the hell will he think of him if he already thinks he's an asshole right now?

Where the fuck do I send them? Fuck, I didn't think this through at all!

He panics quietly to himself, thinking he's screwed.

I can't send them back home! I have no idea how they will be packaged. What if Mom opens it up? Oh god, I'll jump off a fucking bridge…

Caitlyn's place is even worse. Her parents would be very suspicious of a package that I'm sending to her instead of my own dorm. They will call the police on me immediately. I'll be expelled from the university.

What do I do? What do I do?

Then it finally hits Jayce.

A P.O. box! I can rent a P.O. box! Of course!

He quickly opens a new tab and navigates to the first site he can find for P.O. boxes, quickly registers one and then navigates back to the Circ de Jerk site and plugs in the address. After he hits the final [Confirm] button, and gets the email that his order will be mailed soon, he finally lets out a sigh of relief.

At last, it's done. He can go back home to Viktor.

Back home to Viktor.

Jayce's eyes widen with horror. He hasn't spoken to Viktor all day. He hasn't even texted him.

Fuck!

He reaches for his phone for the first time since he sat in the library and taps the screen.

[Viktor] 5 unread texts

[Viktor] 1 missed call

I am the worst roommate!

[10:36AM] Viktor: I saw you packed a slice of pizza to take with you this morning. :) How long are you planning to stay at the library today?

[12:27AM] Viktor: Wow, you must be busy! :/ I was hoping you could let me know so I could plan out lunch or dinner.

[1:45PM] Viktor: I know you get hyperfocused sometimes, but I was hoping to hear from you at least by now. Are you gonna be there all day? :(

[3:57PM] Viktor: I just called you. I don't know what's going on, man. I just ate the rest of the pizza for lunch. Please call me when you see this.

[5:48PM] Viktor: I'm really worried. Is everything okay? Am I making schnitzel for dinner or will hard boiled eggs and salami do?

Jayce's heart sinks all the way into his abdomen as he reads the texts. Viktor was trying to plan out meals for them! He's been worried about him! And all Jayce has been focusing on are his used panties he put up for auction. His priorities have been ass-backwards.

As he rushes to leave the library, he nearly forgets to sign out the books he's been meticulously filling with post-its. He goes to the counter and signs out the books then tucks them all safely into his tote next to his laptop and slings it over his shoulder.

As he brisk walks across campus, he pulls open the call app and dials his voice mail.

You have 1 new message. Sent by Viktor at 3:54PM

BEEP

"Hey, just making sure your phone isn't turned off. Can you tell me what's going on? I'm trying to get a hold of you all day. Please call me back when you listen to this."

End of message

Jayce tabs over to recent calls and hovers his thumb over Viktor's number, but hesitates.

He'd rather not. Not with the adrenaline of just spending $3000 on his used panties and then immediately finding out he's got 6 messages from the guy, one of which sounding like a very worried voice message. What if he fucks up on the phone because he's crossing the road? Jayce is very bad at multitasking.

He decides to wait until he's back home.

And it ends up being his biggest regret since they've met. Jayce has no idea. He takes a deep breath when he reaches unit 207 and sticks his key into the door handle.

He opens the door and he can practically feel the chill in the air.

Viktor is standing in the kitchen with his back facing him, chopping vegetables on a cutting board. He doesn't turn his head at all upon Jayce walking in. He just keeps chopping.

"Viktor, I'm sorry, I saw all your messages, I-"

"You didn't think to call me when you saw them?" Viktor cuts in. "I told you to call me." He stops chopping and places the knife down.

"I'm sorry," Jayce shoots back, suddenly feeling a wave of nausea in his throat. Viktor sounds really, really upset. Like the kind of upset that someone gets when they've been betrayed. The pain in his voice shoots straight through his heart.

Thoughts start swimming in his head like crazy. Did he figure out that I logged in on his computer? How would he have known? Is there a camera facing his desk that I don't know about?

"I don't know what this is about but I just thought it would be best if we discuss this once I got home, that's all," he tries. His voice is as soft as a mouse.

"You don't know what this is about," Viktor scoffs and lolls his head back towards the ceiling. Jayce imagines him rolling his eyes. Then he buries his face in one hand. "I can't. I can't do this right now."

He grabs his cane and walks down the hall to their bedroom, and slams the door behind him.

Jayce stares stunned and it takes him a moment to pinch his brow in frustration. Viktor has never had to leave the room in anger before. Oh no.

They share a room. They need to talk this out tonight, or else.

He walks up to their bedroom door.

"Hey, Viktor. Come on. I know you're upset. I'm not denying that. Just please open up and let us talk. Please? I don't want us to go to bed upset. Come on."

There is silence on the other side of the door. Jayce waits about half a minute.

"Look, I'm coming in, okay? I hope you're decent."

A bitter chuckle can be heard as he opens the door. "Decent. Yes, obviously now I know I need to be decent. Especially if you are my roommate." Viktor is curled into the fetal position on his bed, again—facing away from him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

No response.

Jayce decides to approach cautiously. He walks slowly past his bed and rounds Viktor's bed, peering at his roommate's face, and his heart sinks.

Viktor's eyes look more sunken in than normal. His lids are puffy. His eyes are red. There are streaks down his cheeks. He's been crying for awhile.

Oh god.

This is the worst. Nothing can be worse than seeing Viktor in tears. He has never seen this man in tears.

And he is the reason for it.

"Viktor," Jayce croaks as he kneels down beside the bed so they are eye to eye. "Viktor, why are you crying?"

"Because, you left me in the dark all day," Viktor whispers back, squinting his eyes closed. More tears drift down his cheeks. Jayce feels like he's about to cry just watching him. "I texted you and I called you and nothing…"

"I didn't see your messages until after 6! I'm sorry! I swear my phone must have been on silent or something. It was in my bag all day. I didn't even hear it go off when you called me."

"Bullshit…" Viktor is covering his face with his elbow as he sobs softly. "You deliberately ghosted me the immediate day after you overheard me during the tail-end of my stream."

Wait.

"You're disgusted with me," Viktor adds. "You couldn't even face me so you needed a day to process it away from me. I don't know why you cannot just come out and say it."

"No! No no no, Viktor, that's not true! I would never say that because it's a lie!" Jayce puts a gentle hand on Viktor's elbow. "I could never think you're disgusting. You're an incredible person and I love being your roommate."

Viktor peeks out from behind his elbow and scans Jayce's expression, likely looking for a sign of deception. He seems to find none and pulls his arm completely away from his face before sitting up.

"So… you don't think I'm disgusting for being a camboy?" He sniffles and stares at Jayce for confirmation.

"No! I think it's badass actually!" Jayce shoots back. "That takes guts! I really admire you for it."

Viktor seems to flush at Jayce's words and looks down at his lap as he smiles. "You think so?"

"I promise," Jayce replies.

"You also heard I'm auctioning off my panties… You don't think that's disgusting?"

If Viktor had any idea how the complete opposite was true.

"No. It's definitely a bit crazy to me, I'll admit. But if people are willing to pay, and it's not illegal, then what's the harm?"

Viktor finally smiles and Jayce feels like he could kiss him. He's never looked so beautiful. A smile after crying for hours really is the cutest and most precious look on him.

"Guess how much the winning bid was on those panties. Guess," Viktor says cheekily. He already seems to be feeling a bit better.

Jayce sucks in his breath. Oh boy. Play it cool. Act aloof. "No idea."

"Three. Thousand. Dollars." The emphasis on each word in Viktor's perfect accent is marvelous.

Jayce widens his eyes and lets his jaw drop in feigned shock he prays is believable. "Holy shit…"

"I know! I'm telling you, there are weirder freaks out there than me. Who has that kind of money anyway?"

"It must have been something he couldn't live without," Jayce suggests. The raw truth.

Viktor scoffs. "You're telling me. Anyway, I'm not complaining. I could really use $3000. For my student loans and for my refill on my pain medication.

Jayce's smile fades. "Your medication is expensive?"

"Very," Viktor replies. "The student insurance plan doesn't cover it either."

"Fuckers," Jayce mutters. "Well, I'm glad this adult content stuff is something you can fall back on." He makes a mental note to put some money aside to treat Viktor on his birthday—whatever date that is.

"Ya, me too," Viktor murmurs.

"I'm really sorry again… about ghosting you like that. I truly got so distracted. I never meant to ignore my phone that long."

Viktor still frowns with suspicion. "Those must have been really engaging books…"

Jayce realises that he may need to add more context, without actually confessing about bidding on the panties. "Well, it wasn't just the books. I… needed to do something private on my laptop, and I just didn't want you to see it. That's all."

Viktor’s face softens. He almost looks a bit sad with this new information. "Oh. Well, I mean… you have a right to your privacy just as I do. We have only just known each other for a little over a month. I understand if there are things you don't want me to know about."

"Ya, likewise," Jayce echoes.

"Well, I'm really sorry too, for jumping to conclusions, and sending you so many messages," Viktor adds. "It just really didn't seem like a coincidence but it really was just that."

"You don't need to be sorry. You had every reason to think that I was ghosting you," Jayce replies, patting Viktor on the shoulder. "I'll try to make a point of having my phone set to vibrate when I'm in the library from now on."

"Thank you, Jayce," Viktor says. He smiles and its like a cupid's arrow straight to his heart again.

Jayce doesnt think about what he is doing when he leans in and pecks Viktor on his forehead before cupping his cheek as he pulls away.

Viktor stares at him, visibly star struck. He reaches out and holds Jayce’s arm. "I… wouldn't mind you doing that again sometime."