Sweet Little Birds (BxB Romance, Completed)

Chapter 6: Soda Splatter

"It's calmer at my place," Robin added, as to explain the suggestion and avoid blaming Ty's disability. "So we can focus on studying."

Ty put his hands back on the crutch handles and nodded. His face wore an expression of gratitude and relief. But his words carried no mark of such emotions.

"Do you have anything to eat at your place?" he asked with a deflecting smile. "I think I need some snacks to be able to focus."

Robin nodded, luckily he had a well-stocked snack cabinet. Des had insisted on going shopping with him, to buy all the stuff his mother never let him eat when he grew up.

"Let's go then!" Tyler decided and turned on a dime, which looked like it was a difficult maneuver on crutches. Although, Ty made it look easy, like a figure-skater twirling on the ice. A graceful dance, performed by a skilled athlete.

Once again, Robin lagged behind as they exited the library. His breath was in his throat and his heart pounded heavily. Both from exhaustion and from the thought of having Tyler enter his home. It felt weird,  intimate, and exciting.

After a trek through campus and the hallways of the residence building, Robin unlocked the door to his fortress. Except for Des, no other classmate had ever been let inside before. Not that anyone had asked to be.

"This place is huge," Ty marveled. "How did you get such a sweet room as a sophomore?"

"My mom..." Robin mumbled, not wanting to venture into details of how his mother had called, threatened, and probably also bribed the administrators, until they caved and gave him a big single room in a wing usually reserved for seniors and grad students. "She... can be very convincing."

"At Westerland, I shared a room this size with two other guys!" Tyler was too amazed to bother with Robin's explanation.

"And where... do you live now?" Robin asked, realizing he didn't actually know where Tyler resided, or most other things about him. But he wanted to find out. "On-campus too?"

Tyler's enthusiasm subsided upon the question, instead, he looked down and shook his head. "With my aunt and uncle," he mumbled. "After... what happened, it seemed better for me to stay with family. That's why I transferred here."

This seemed to be a fraught issue for Tyler — to no longer be as independent as he had once been — and Robin kicked himself for even bringing attention to it.

"It must be nice to have family close," Robin said in an attempt to soften the blow. He meant it. He'd often wished for a huge family of aunts, uncles, and cousins, instead of just his mom.

Seemingly still self-conscious, Tyler shrugged and directed his attention elsewhere. "You even have your own bathroom!" he exclaimed and opened the door to investigate. "And it has a bathtub!"

The bathroom lay on one side of the entrance and on the other side was a small kitchenette area with a hot plate, fridge, and small freezer. By the window stood a desk where most of Robin's books were stacked. Against one wall stood a dresser, upon which a TV was perched, and opposite of it stood a single bed.

A bed with SpongeBob sheets on it.

Robin's cheeks burned red upon that realization.

It appeared that Tyler had noticed the square pants-wearing cartoon character as well. "Nice sheets," he noted with a cheeky smile, as he tumbled down on the bed, which was the only place to sit except the desk chair. In a move that seemed habitual, Tyler bundled the crutches together and leaned them against the bedframe.

Having the other boy get cozy on his bed, where Robin slept in just his underwear, felt very inappropriate. It was a good thing that he already blushed, on account of the childish sheets, because the thoughts that ran through his mind weren't proper at all. Thoughts of very different things than SpongeBob.