Roommates with Benefits

Elias and Marcus had been roommates for two years.

It started as a practical arrangement. They split the rent. They got along. It was convenient.

Then one night, after too much wine and a bad breakup for Elias, they ended up in bed together.

It was supposed to be a one-time thing.

It wasn’t.

Now, they had a system. Friends with benefits. No strings. No feelings. Just sex when they needed it.

Except Elias had feelings.

He had been in love with Marcus for months. He told himself it was fine. That he could handle it. That Marcus didn’t feel the same way.

He was wrong.

One night, after a particularly intense session, they were lying in Marcus’s bed. Elias was curled against Marcus’s chest, still catching his breath.

Marcus spoke quietly.

“This isn’t working anymore,” he said.

Elias’s heart clenched.

“What do you mean?”

Marcus turned to look at him.

“I can’t keep doing this,” Marcus said. “Pretending it’s just sex. Pretending I don’t feel anything.”

Elias’s breath caught.

Marcus reached out and brushed the hair out of Elias’s face.

“I’m in love with you,” he said. “I have been for a long time. And I’m tired of pretending I’m not.”

Elias stared at him.

For a moment, he couldn’t breathe.

Then he leaned in and kissed Marcus — slow and deep.

“I love you too,” he whispered against Marcus’s lips. “So much.”

Marcus closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Elias’s.

“Thank god,” he murmured. “I was terrified you didn’t feel the same way.”

Elias smiled.

“I’ve been in love with you for months,” he admitted. “I just didn’t think you’d ever want more than this.”

Marcus kissed him again.

“I want everything,” he said. “The sex. The relationship. The mornings. The fights. All of it. With you.”

Elias closed his eyes.

“Good,” he whispered. “Because I want that too.”

Marcus held him tighter.

“Good,” he murmured. “Because I’m not letting you go. Not now. Not ever.”

And for the first time in two years, their apartment felt like home.

Because it finally was.