People think university students would be more mature as young adults, but it doesn't make much of a difference honestly. The gap between adolescence and adulthood is but a small one. Life at college was basically pretty boring to sum up. Wake up, go to school, study, do your homework, go home then repeat. That's what Aesop's life looked like everyday.
This routine didn't bother him though, the opposite would be more annoying. The young man had nothing to complain about other than his lack of sleep due to an assignment he finished late last night. He had drunk three cups of coffee in a row to stay awake but the side effects of such a bad decision made him restless the entire night, leaving the man to catch it up at the university's library alone, his earphones playing his favourite song. Or almost, there was also his best friend, another man named Naib Subedar. The latter always followed him everywhere though so other people, and Aesop as well, always counted the two together.
They'd met in elementary school and hadn't let go of each other for a second since, so much that some people thought they might be in a relationship (Naib had dated several girls over the years though, so the rumours had quickly died down).
"Aesop... Don't you think you should go back to the dormitory...?"
Naib scowled at him as he sipped his energy drink. The other student was still standing only thanks to the support of his hand, his head almost hitting the table several times. Aesop suddenly rubbed his temple as he listened to Naib's remark and put his headphones down next to his notebook.
"I've still got a few articles to go over..."
"Is that really useful? You always get a mark above average."
The grey-eyed man frowned for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.
"You're right."
Naib smiled as he helped Aesop put his things away. The two students talked about various things on the way to the dormitories, eventually settling into Aesop's room.
"Huwah, you've really been busy."
Naib approached the messy desk and quickly rummaged through the papers scattered here and there before their owner snatched them from his hands and promptly put them away.
"Perhaps you should take this as an example."
"No thanks, I don't want to look like a zombie."
Aesop rolled his eyes and slumped onto his bed once he'd finished tidying up his mess. He buried his face in his pillow and hugged his coffin plush. Naib hadn't been wrong, he deserved a break after putting so much effort into the upcoming exams.
"Wake me up at six."
"Why at this hour precisely?"
"Mercenary is doing a live show and I don't want to miss it."
Naib nearly choked on the remains of his drink.
"W-Who's that...?"
"A singer who's quite popular at the moment."
"I didn't know you were interested in stuff like that..."
"You're not wrong. I don't usually care about artists and such but... His voice simply captivated me. You could say I fell in love."
Naib jumped on his feet at these words and quickly walked to the door.
"Uh- Sorry, I just forgot I had to call my mom tonight- She will want to do a video call so I better go back to my room and clean it up or she will start nagging-!"
"Huh, okay..."
Naib bid him goodbye and immediately disappeared.
Naib's room was right next to Aesop's so he didn't have far to go. As soon as he entered his room, he let himself fall down the door, holding his head. His cheeks were bright red and his thoughts in turmoil. This was all because of Aesop, because of him and his taste in music, which must have been similar to his own, because of what he had just said, his words-
To be honest, Naib had been crushing on Aesop for a long time, but the grey-eyed man never reacted to his moves, so he thought he wasn't interested and tried to leave it at that, embarking on relationships that never lasted more than a few months. The worst thing was that his feelings for his best friend hadn't wavered one bit since then. He had resigned to keeping silent so as not to jeopardise their relationship and then end up alone for the rest of his life, but now Aesop had blown up his plans again!
How could Naib possibly forget him if the young man came out of nowhere and said he'd fallen in love with his alter ego! Well, it was more correct to say that he had been enchanted by his voice, but it was all the same.
He felt like it would be cheating if he told the other the truth to try to gain his favour, plus Aesop may be upset with him if he ever came to know the truth, because what he said was pretty embarrassing not to lie.
In any case, he really didn't lie when he said he had to clean up, though it was to prepare for streaming. In the beginning, he just did this for fun and his mom had always praised his voice so he also wanted to make her proud. As time went on, he started becoming more famous which wasn't really his goal. He liked singing though so he kept streaming but remaining anonymous was a must, he preferred living quietly.
Naib had to pay attention to every detail to preserve his privacy, the layout of the furniture, the wallpaper... some fans could be very observant. However, he was obliged to make a few concessions when it came to equipment, being a student and on top of that on a scholarship, the brunet was rather limited. But it was not Naib's habit to give up. For acoustics, the bathroom was the best place, and for the background, a black sheet over the shower curtain and some candles would do the trick.
"I think everything's in place."
On the other side of the wall, Aesop had ended up setting an alarm clock himself and was among the first to wait for the live to start. After a few more minutes of waiting, the counter on the screen changed to the background he knew so well by now. As usual, the Mercenary was wearing a hood and was standing sideways, making it impossible to see his true face with the dim lighting.
He never wasted time with introductions, sometimes there were subtitles to give a few details and even this was very brief, but Aesop appreciated him getting straight to business. As usual, his choice of songs was always well thought out. Aesop could listen to him for hours and weeks and never get tired of it. When it came to the end, he felt a little disappointed, but that was outweighed by the satisfaction of having had his fill of content to carry him through to the next exam.
"Don't you ever get tired of studying?"
Naib was stuffing his face on a bag of chips while Aesop was writing non-stop without pausing. The brunet had originally invited him over to play a video game, but Aesop had strangely turned it into a cram session. Just yesterday he looked like he was about to pass out and today he looked so refreshed he could almost run a marathon.
"That's what's of most interest to my energy."
Aesop sneezed suddenly, startling Naib.
"Are you cold? The temperature's dropped quite a bit over the last few days, it even snowed this morning. You can take a pullover from the cupboard if you like."
Naib pointed to the wooden cupboard in the corner of the room and Aesop stood up on his advice. However, the brown-haired man had forgotten about a life or death detail before telling Aesop to get it himself. He quickly got up as well but it was too late as his best friend had already opened it and fell right upon the accessories he used for streaming. It could have been a pure coincidence if there wasn't also the same green jacket he wore in every video.
Naib covered his face in despair while Aesop slowly turned to him, his cheeks red and perhaps slight anxiety in his eyes.
"S-Since when..."
"I-I will explain..."
It took some time for Naib to tell Aesop how it all started up until the recent events but he made sure to certify he never intended to deceive the other and didn't know of a way to bring up the subject either since he only became aware yesterday. Following that, he thought it was time for him to build up his courage and just admit his feelings to Aesop. The confession wasn't really romantic or anything but what mattered was his sincerity, and it was just like Naib to blurt out important things without much thought.
"So that's how it is..."
Aesop really wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in there until the end of humanity. He did think of Naib in a romantic way at times but the latter seemed so clueless and uninterested in long-term relationships that he had given up. Now with so many revelations coming all at once he didn't know what to think anymore.
That random singer he listened to everyday and his best friend were the same people, who turned out to be in love with him too, what were the probabilities!? Honestly, he could just accept his feelings and they could start dating like the world was full of rainbows and flowers- but that was too easy!
"Aesop...?"
It had been a moment since the grey-haired man was silent so Naib couldn't help but call him out.
"Sorry... I'm still trying to accept the fact that you're my idol... That's a lot of stuff, huh- Can I... Can I get your autograph?"
Naib almost wanted to cry. However, things didn't go as bad as he had imagined. Even if Aesop wasn't in love with his true self at the moment, it was better than nothing. He had seen some reaction within the grey-haired man so everything wasn't vain yet. Naib just needed to work even harder from now on.