birdwithoutasong | College AU meme [open]

Pick one of my characters and I'll toss a college au scenario at you! I've got some rough descriptions below.

Alec: prickly as can be, likes to pick verbal fights with people stronger than him to show he's smarter, not really concerned with his own safety. Double major in mathematics and astronomy.
Annabel: cheery but socially awkward, prone to babbling. Kind of the mad scientist type. Major in biomedical engineering.
I-No: the bitchiest mean girl, she's loyal when she considers her loyalty earned but she's capricious and enjoys causing others pain. Major in business.
Ky: incredibly earnest, religious, repressed. Army ROTC participation and major in political science
Nyxnissa: practical and prone to arguing with people in a way to try to get them upset, although she doesn't really enjoy that, just can't help herself. Major in mechanical engineering.
Sol: grouchy, not very talkative, lazy but really smart. Major in physics.
Valentine: much more interested in drinking and partying than college classes, in fact pretends to be less smart than he is. Audacious and outrageous. Major in LGBT studies, as much to piss off his conservative father as anything else. Minor in business, because otherwise his father won't pay for college.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Venom chuckles at that. Oh yes, Venom did indeed laugh. "It's the truth. Most of it revolves around how many mortal women and goddesses fell for Zeus. It's amusing, really." Of course he still enjoys reading about them.

His hand squeezes Ky's gently as he offers a genuine smile.

“Whoever was making up the stories was doing a lot of thinking they were hot stuff and projecting, I guess,” Ky says. He really should be paying more attention to what’s around them, but Venom’s presence blocks all of that out to the point that he doesn’t notice they’re not alone until someone shouts something derisive about homosexuality towards them. And then he’s startled, uncertain, and very quick to drop Venom’s hand and step away.

“Maybe we should get back.”

The remark quickly extinguishes what little joy Venom has from their moment. Annoyed, he nods to Ky.

"Please."

Ky is staying near enough to Venom to continue to talk to him, but he's definitely distancing himself from how close they'd been before.

"I'm sorry," he says after a moment of them walking in silence. "I didn't mean..."

Venom's disappointed that Ky's keeping his distance now. He... kind of likes his roommate in that way, and holding his hand felt really good. But then that jerk had to say something.

"Don't apologize. That person should have minded their own business." It's obvious how bitter Venom is over this, but he won't take it out on his new friend.

"It is weird, to be holding hands, though," Ky protests. It doesn't excuse what the person had said, but it also doesn't excuse their own actions.

Maybe Venom's upset because of that, but Ky can do nothing other than to try to control himself better in the future.

"Is it?" Venom crosses his arms. "It's just... being close to another man has always felt normal to me. Natural." His demeanor softens a little.

"But If I did make you feel uncomfortable, I'm sorry."

"Sure, being close." Because it's okay to have friends, Ky knows that, even if his own life has had less of them.

"Just not...holding hands." He wouldn't hold hands with a girl he wasn't dating. And there is no dating going on here!

"Oh." The disappointment in Venom's voice... He stops walking for a bit. "Ky, there's something I should tell you." May as well come out with it, though he's looking for the best way to word it. Perhaps it's best to be simple and straightforward.

"I'm gay."

“You..?” Well, that’s completely unexpected, and Ky stops as well, so he stays even with Venom. He’s still not sure how he should respond to this, what it means. Does Venom have a someone, a boyfriend, that he’s been keeping hidden?

“I couldn’t tell.”

"I don't exactly advertise it," Venom responds coolly, though he's not sure how to continue. He wanted to be honest with his roommate, but it's not as easy as he thought. "But it's why I got upset over what that person said. It's why I liked holding your hand. And I... I like you."

“You like me and you like holding my hand because you’re gay?” Ky is shaking his head back and forth without really realizing that that’s what he’s doing. “I’m not gay,” he says, in case it needs to be said. It shouldn’t need to be, because he’s not. It’s not an option.

Venom sighs at Ky's response. He was afraid of this as it's an all too common reaction. "Perhaps I worded it poorly. Ky, I liked holding your hand because you made me feel safe back there." He resumes his walking, right past Ky.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

“Oh.” Well, making someone feel safe is absolutely a good thing. It’s something Ky thinks he still has to strive for, and a career in the military is going to help him with that.

Of course Venom would feel more vulnerable if he’s gay. “No, it’s fine.”

Venom stops when Ky continues to speak. He feels down for coming out the way he did, but he wanted to be up front with his new friend and roommate. He turns to face the blonde.

"Thank you for showing me the stars. It meant a lot to me."

Ky nods, happy to take this back to neutral ground. “We can come back at some point if you want. It’s not the best area, so you shouldn’t come on your own, but if you want I can come with.”

Not that that will change what people say, but Ky is sure he could protect Venom if it came to that.

Venom's not about to let some local loudmouth bigots ruin his love for the starry sky, so he nods. "If it's not too much trouble. I'd love the company."

"No, it's fine. It's good to get a chance to...relax." Although it's really only Ky's own fault that he doesn't have many of those.

"We should head back. It's getting late, and you know how security gets when we're late," Venom teases. Did he just smile again? Nah, maybe it's just a twitch.

Can we do this again next week?"

Ky has opinions on security, but that's fine, or rather, he wouldn't like to get Venom in trouble. As for himself, he doesn't need them watching over him.

"Yes. That would be fine."

Venom allows himself to actually smile this time. "Good." He heads for the bus stop.

"When we get back, I'll have to show you my mythology and astronomy books."

Ky nods, because at this point it seems obvious that his friendship with Venom is important to the other boy.

Even if he's not sure how friendships really work.

It's okay, Ky. Venom's not sure how friendship works either, but he's happy to have the blonde as a friend.

"Looks like the bus is on its way."

College AU meme [open]

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