Mael huffed as he cleared the fourth flight of stairs. He couldn’t for the life of him understand why anyone in their right mind would want to live up here. “Whoever invented stairs ought to be sued,” he murmured. He took a moment to glare at the doorway leading to the access stairs. He had another flight to climb in order to make it onto the roof. “Whose idea was it to move into an apartment with stairs,” he grumbled. “It sure wasn’t me. I can tell you that.” Mael stomped up the remainder of the stairs. He really had no reason to complain. He lived on the first floor. He wasn’t even supposed to go to the third or fourth floor on account of it being under renovation. The landlord would have a fit if she knew he was up here. She’d probably have a heart attack if she’d known he was on the roof. It was forbidden! Mael didn’t know the meaning of the word. He was a wizard and no locked door was going to keep him out.
Mael stomped up the remainder of the stairs. He pushed the door open with his hip and crossed the roof. “Adrian,” he called to the Irishman who was sitting on the ledge. “I’ve brought tea,” he chirped excitedly. He hurried over, the cups of tea floating behind him. Coming to a stop, he eased his way onto the ledge.
“Careful, the ledge is a little slippery,” Adrian told him.
“I’ve got it,” Mael informed him, seconds before his hand slipped across the smooth surface. A gasp escaped him, but a firm hand against his chest kept him in place.
“How is it that you’re this clumsy,” Adrian asked, keeping him steady as Mael got himself situated. “I literally just warned you.”
Mael flashed him a smile. “Well, you see, you wouldn’t love me if I weren’t this clumsy.”
Adrian’s green gaze focused on him, and he gently ran one hand through Mael’s platinum blond hair. “I’d love you regardless, mate.”
The young Potions Master smiled with delight. “Good.” He grabbed the tea out of the air and handed it to the Irishman. “I didn’t hear you come in,” he said. “Are you just getting home?” Mael kicked his legs back and forth, testing the warmth of the tea.
“Mmm. It was a busy night. I couldn’t get away.” Adrian looked into his tea with tired eyes. “St. Mungos has an influx of sickness. It’s a wonder half the staff haven’t picked it up.” He drank the tea slowly. “Did you wait up?”
“Just until a little after midnight.” Mael scooted a little more to the left and leaned against Adrian’s shoulder. “I left dinner on the table if you’re hungry.” He stared out across the city, watching the sun rise above the horizon. “If you get sick I’ll brew you something special.”
Adrian felt bad that Mael had waited up so late. He’d even gone so far as to cook dinner. It was a kind gesture. “I’m sorry. I should have called through the floo to let you know I was going to be late.” He stifled a yawn. “ Thanks for cooking. It was delicious. I’ll try not to get sick.” He’d already eaten the food that had been waiting when he walked in. It had been a nice touch to end a long evening. “I didn’t wake you up did I,” he asked. He’d tried to be quiet when he’d come into the house. “How’d you even know I was up here?”
Mael shook his head lightly. “Don’t apologize. You’re the one running on fumes. I got plenty of sleep.” His lips curled into a smile. He stopped kicking his legs and lifted his head a touch. “No. I got up to use the bathroom. Your room door was open.” He finished the rest of his tea and set the cup off to the side. “You always come up here to watch the sunrise.”
Adrian laughed at Mael’s reasoning for knowing he was home. “That’s because if it’s closed you never come in.” He had lost count of the amount of times Mael had climbed into his bed in the middle of the night. It was usually if the platinum blond male had worked a late shift. Adrian figured it was a comfort thing for him at this point. His roommate seemed to lack personal boundaries, but Adrian never minded.
It was true. Mael had spent many nights curled up next to his roommate. Most nights it was because he just couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to be alone. Other nights he just liked to be close to Adrian. He only ever entered Adrian’s room when the door was open. There were very rare nights when it was closed. Those were the nights when Adrian was sick, in an ill mood, or wasn’t home.
“If you hurry up and finish training your subordinate, you won’t have to work such long nights and we can finally open that shop,” Mael murmured. The plan was for him and Adrian to open their own shop. Mael was saving for the down payment. Adrian had to train his underling before he resigned as a Healer in the Potions and Plant Poisoning department. He could have left a year ago, but he wanted to make sure he didn’t leave his former place of employment in a bad position. Typical Hufflepuff behavior, or so Mael was told. He didn’t attend Hogwarts.
“You’re so impatient and bossy,” Adrian groaned, giving Mael a light push. He didn’t dare add any force for fear the other wizard would plummet to the earth below. He tried to stifle another yarn, but it broke through. He was bone tired. “We’ll open up B&G’s Potions and Herbs one day.” He finished his tea. “Mmm, this was good. I needed it. Thank’s Mael.”
Mael gave a snort of amusement. “We are not calling it B&G anything. That’s boring. I want something like…um, Exploding Herbs by B&G.” He sat up straight. “We can talk about it later though. You look tired. How about you go get some sleep? I’ll make breakfast when you wake up.”
Adrian rolled his eyes. “You just like blowing shit up.” He ran his hand through Mael’s hair again. “You’re right, I need sleep. Goodnight, Mate.” He turned around and landed back on the flat surface of the room. “Make sure you redo the locks on the door so Mrs. Clayton doesn’t lose her mind.” He paused in the doorway. “Pancakes?”
Mael followed Adrian back onto the roof. He picked up the cups. “I won’t forget.” He took one last look at the sunrise. “Yeah, you can have pancakes.” He hurried after Adrian, but stopped to lock the door. The dark haired male was already heading down the stairs. “Or we can go grab some fancy food at that new place down the street,” Mael asked with a hint of hopefulness.
“Yeah, we’ll call it a date.” He gave a small wave and disappeared down the stairs.
Mael watched him go, his blue-grey eyes bright. He finished locking the door back and descended the remainder of the stairs. He locked the access door and then headed down to the apartment. He headed straight for the kitchen to wash the cups. Once everything was nice and clean, Mael started back for his room but stopped at Adrian’s door. It was cracked. A smile curled his lips. He really did have the best roommate.
"Goodnight, Adrian," he whispered, and gently shut the other's door.