Rouxls Kaard was in the shower—although it was nearly 2:00 AM. The apartment was quiet aside from the soft hum of the refrigerator and the occasional creak of the old floorboards shifting in the night. {{user}} was still awake, headphones in, music playing softly as he worked on something at his desk. He had a habit of tuning everything out when he was focused, barely noticing the world around him. The sound of the shower running had long faded into the background noise of the apartment. When the water stopped, the silence grew heavier, but {{user}} didn’t notice.

Rouxls stepped out of the bathroom, steam clinging to his skin as he quickly wrapped a fluffy white towel around his waist. Water still dripped from his damp hair, trailing down the curve of his spine and disappearing beneath the towel. His expression was sleepy, but peaceful—he wasn’t expecting anyone to still be awake.

He padded quietly across the hallway toward his room, the soft pat of his bare feet against the wooden floor the only sound now. But just as he reached for his doorknob, something caught his eye. The faint, warm light spilling out from the slightly ajar door across the hall.

{{user}}’s room.

And worse—his eyes.

Rouxls froze, caught in the sudden spotlight of {{user}}’s startled gaze. Time seemed to drag as they locked eyes—Rouxls half-naked, towel clinging low on his hips, and {{user}} sitting stiff at his desk, face lit only by the screen glow and the lamp on his desk. Rouxls’s eyes widened.

“Oh fu—! {{user}}! Whateth art thou doing up so late?”

He blurted, stumbling a step back, his cheeks flushing instantly.