Chapter Text
That shirt had to be here somewhere. Morgie was not the most organized person when it came to his clothes, or well, anything, but it was one of his favorite button up shirts that he was looking for, a dark green one with subtle gold geometric patterns.
He wore it all the time so if it wasn’t in the laundry, and he’d checked there twice, it shouldn’t have gone far. Morgie shrugged and gave up for the moment, reaching for another shirt, dark blue, to toss on over his grey tee and complete his look with the usual black skinny jeans and high top sneakers. He wasn’t mister fashion plate like his roommate tried to be, but casual while still being put together worked for Morgie just fine.
The sorcerer headed out to his first morning class, still frowning slightly at having to start the day off on the wrong foot with a missing shirt. He truly enjoyed school and learning magic at Merlin Academy though, so he was quickly distracted, absorbed in his Spellcasting 102 lecture.
Morgie was a rare duck in that he was a troublemaker but also a good student, so his professors and Headmaster Merlin didn’t quite know what to do with him. That was fine with Morgie; he liked keeping people on their toes.
He was the one surprised later at lunch, however, when he approached the VK gang’s usual table, only holding a singular other member thus far, and spotted his missing property. On his roommate, one James Hook.
“Dude, what the hell?” Morgie asked him as he took a chair across the table from the ‘pirate’. Hook liked to boast that he was some sort of pirate captain and that he’d lost his hand in a battle at sea, which was why he wore a golden hook.
Seemed a bit far-fetched to Morgie and some of the others, but since Morgie did believe his best bud Hades when he’d told him he was a god, perhaps that was unfair.
Apparently now Hook had a bit of kleptomania to him. Though as far as Morgie knew in the year they’d been dorming together, he’d never taken anything of his before this. Hook regarded the sorcerer with those mischievous dark brown, kohl rimmed eyes and one raised, perfectly groomed eyebrow.
“What’s that?” he responded almost with disinterest, his posh British accent heavy on even the short question. If Morgie had to describe his roommate in three words, ‘haughty’ would probably be at the top. Followed by ‘high-maintenance’ and then, whether Morgie would admit it to others or not, ‘gorgeous’. There were a lot of other things that Hook was, but those were the most glaring.
“Um, my shirt?” Morgie shot over his tray of food. The guy was wearing it like he had a right to be, buttoned up not quite all the way because he never buttoned his shirts up all the way so as to show off his multiple necklaces and probably some skin. ‘Incorrigible flirt’ would be Morgie’s fourth word for his roommate, if anybody asked, which they hadn’t.
“Oh, right,” Hook replied casually, reminded that he was wearing someone else’s clothes. “I was out of me own clean threads, so I just grabbed this. You don’t mind, right, mate?” His tone smacked of entitlement, which was his normal MO.
Morgie chewed on a carrot stick slowly as he regarded the pirate. The shirt didn’t look half bad on him, he noted almost against his will. Though the colors were not Hook’s usual choice of red, white, or silver, he was pulling the green off and the gold at least matched his hook.
“You can’t just take my stuff,” Morgie countered, annoyed but not overly mad. The sorcerer was generally easy going and it was difficult to truly anger him, lucky for Hook.
“It’s going to end up back in the same room,” Hook conceded in defense.
“Make sure that it does,” Morgie pointed a chicken tender at the other boy before beginning to eat in earnest. With as active of a dating life as Hook had, one never fully knew if his clothes might end up elsewhere. He did come back to the dorm room consistently every night, even if slightly after curfew sometimes. Not that Morgie paid that much attention, really.
A heavy but friendly clout to his upper back shifted the sorcerer’s attention to his pal Hades plopping down next to him, while his girlfriend Maleficent more demurely slid into the chair next to Hook. Uliana and the rest of the gang then descended on the table in a riot of dark colors and raucous voices, surrounding Morgie and Hook and making any further potential conversation improbable.
The sorcerer and the pirate weren’t generally chatty anyway. They got along well enough to dorm together, sure, but it wasn’t like they were besties. Morgie saved that denotation for Hades and to a lesser degree Uliana, the two that he considered the coolest of the VK’s.
The blue haired god had grown into a brother figure to Morgie over the last year, and he could talk with Hades about almost anything, which he greatly valued. While the boisterous sea witch was a little rougher around the edges and picked on Morgie at times, he was a bit like her pet and protege and Morgie was learning a lot from her.
Alone in the dorm, Hook removed the metal attachment from his abbreviated arm, laid it aside, and then deftly unbuttoned the green shirt with the fingers of one hand. It was nearly curfew and Morgie must be out running amuck with Uli still. Hook frowned slightly to himself as he moved towards the sorcerer’s bed to lay the shirt down, but then halted his steps.
He’d merely told Morgie it would end up in the same room. He wouldn’t exactly have been lying if that took the form of getting lost in his closet with the pirate’s myriad other clothing pieces, plenty of which were still clean. His lips twitched in a bratty smile.
It would be fun to see how long it might take his roommate to notice the shirt hadn’t been returned yet. Since Hook definitely knew it was one he wore all the time, he figured it shouldn’t take long. And then Morgie would get all annoyed at him again, which had been really cute earlier, Hook had to admit. He hung the shirt up in the middle of a few of his own, remembering how those hazel eyes had flared.
Then he thought of Morgie and Uli hanging out together at the moment, heaved a sigh, and continued to change into his pajamas. That sea witch thought she was hot stuff, with all her magic and dazzle, but she was so not good enough for Morgie. Not that Hook had any say in the matter, of course. His roomie could do whatever he wanted with his attention and time.
Hook didn’t linger on Morgie’s side of the room for just a moment when he came back from using the bathroom, appreciating the chaotic energy of the other boy’s space. Nope, he definitely didn’t.
He also didn’t inhale deeply of that clean, crisp scent that Morgie’s stuff smelled like, a sort of cedarwood and citrus mix with notes of mossy earth that made him feel like he was walking in a spring forest. The shirt had given off that scent when Hook had first put it on that morning and had held it for longer than he’d thought it would.
The pirate abruptly returned to his own side of the room, grabbing his phone to check his texts and DM’s. He was one of the most popular guys at this school and he had to stay on top of his social calendar like it was a part time job.
It was a tee shirt next. Morgie didn’t notice he was missing one until he ran short before laundry day, since most of them were plain, nothing special. He didn’t think much of it; he easily could have left it at the gym after showering there or something.
But the following evening while Morgie was studying, Hook sauntered into the dorm - the guy never simply walked anywhere, the showoff - and shed his dark red jacket, then his white button up, revealing a black tee. Hook never wore tees, that Morgie had noticed.
“Is that mine?!” the sorcerer asked, indignant. Then he swiftly remembered his other shirt from the week before, and added, “Where’s my green shirt, by the way?” Hook sat down on his bed, nonchalantly easing his shoes off as he barely peeked over at Morgie.
“I could have sworn I gave that back,” he mused, noncommittal. The pirate ran a hand through his hair, making Morgie’s tee stretch against his chest and lift almost enough to show a glimpse of skin at the bottom. Almost. Morgie watched Hook’s hair fall in perfect, smooth curtains on the top of his head instead.
“You didn’t,” he kept the subject at hand, his tone sharp. “And now you took another one? I’m pretty sure you have enough of your own clothes, man.”
Morgie knew the bastard did, he rarely saw him in exactly the same outfit as he’d worn before, and being around when Hook was getting ready for a party was like having to endure a model in his dressing room preparing for the catwalk, changing clothes like a fiend, not able to settle on what to wear. So he had no business borrowing Morgie’s.
“Well, you’ve got a different style than I do,” Hook countered, “Maybe I want to try to switch mine up.” Morgie half rolled his eyes.
“You could ask at least,” he told him.
“Aye, you’re right,” the pirate said, but it was cheeky. “Is it okay that I swiped this shirt?” Morgie blew an exasperated sigh out through his nose. He’d known having a roommate was probably going to be annoying, but jeez.
“I guess it has to be now, doesn’t it?” he tossed back sarcastically, to which Hook smirked. That devastating smirk that made people trip over themselves in the hallways. Morgie had gotten used to seeing it by now, but…
“Just make sure you wash it before you give it back,” the sorcerer interrupted his own derailing train of thought.
“Sure thing,” Hook said, too unseriously, leaning back on his bed. The black tee with his black slacks as he stretched out did make for a handsome visual, all dangerous and lean, Morgie noted before he made himself turn back to his book.
So it was impossible to be unaware that the guy was attractive, that wasn’t Morgie’s fault. He was such a damn heartbreaker, though. Morgie hadn’t really dated much, but he already knew the type and he saw Hook embody it every weekend; lots of parties, lots of dates, but almost never seen with the same person.
A lipstick smear or a hint of brush burn on his jaw when he came back late. Always on his phone. Spending way too much time on his appearance. That smooth talk, that strut, that smirk. Yeah.
Morgie might not mind the eye candy that his roommate was but he was glad that Hook had never tried to hit on him. It was one of his funniest memories, however, when he and Hades had been hanging out in the courtyard and Hook had decided to shoot his shot with the god.
Hades, after making a show of standing up to his full height, which was about a head taller than the pirate, took several long slow moments to look Hook up and down, during which Hook’s flirty grin had barely faltered.
Then Hades shot a fireball past Hook’s ear, singeing some strands of that precious flowy hair. Maleficent, who’d been watching her pirate friend from close by, came to his rescue, tossing green sparks at Hades and hissing at him. That was how Hades and Mali had actually met, so the whole thing had been worth it, but it certainly went to show that Hook was a hopeless player.
If Morgie was going to be with someone, he knew he wanted real and at least an attempt at lasting. He admired what Hades and Mali had, but he also didn’t need it. He was cool with waiting for the right person to come along, and if they didn’t anytime soon, that was fine. Morgie was barely eighteen, and more pragmatic than he appeared; he had plenty of time.
Kissing really was quite fantastic, especially when the person knew what they were doing. Hook sighed into Aurora’s lips as he pulled her closer after their date. He could tell she wasn’t going to invite him into her dorm, having already said a couple of times through the evening that her roommate was home. But a few goodnight kisses in the hall never hurt anyone.
Hook nipped at the princess’s earlobe playfully, knowing it would make her jump and giggle. He kissed her lips again to quiet the sudden, sharp sound and keep it from echoing against the stone walls, and she pressed back into him willingly enough. It would be easy to find a more private corner if they really wanted to, or someone’s empty room perhaps.
Hook could text Morgie quick and ask him to make himself scarce, if he wasn’t out with Uliana already. The pirate pulled back from Aurora unconsciously at the thought. He may very well have a room of his own he could use at the moment. Aurora was beautiful, and soft, and smelled light and airy and floral. Hook smiled at her.
“It’s been a lovely night, eh, lass?” he crooned. Aurora grinned coyly back, playing with the ends of Hook’s hair at the nape of his neck, her eyes shining at him.
“It has,” she agreed. Hook gave her hip one final squeeze before detaching himself the rest of the way from her embrace.
“Sweet dreams, darling,” he gently left her with, knowing he wouldn’t be answering her messages that would start coming in a couple of days.
It had been a fun date, Hook relished the attention of beautiful people and the bragging rights that came from a night with a royal were a lovely bonus. It was all purely casual, though. The pirate couldn’t imagine being attached to one person, being tied down, stuck, bored.
He entered his dorm slowly, never knowing if Morgie would be there or out with his friends; sleeping early with his head on a book so that Hook would have to tiptoe over there and turn his light out; or sometimes Hades would be there, the two playing a game of chess or Go Fish, depending on their mood.
Tonight Morgie was home, alone and awake, headphones on while he sat up in bed and practiced some small spellwork. He was so focused he barely glanced up as Hook came in, and Hook was very glad he hadn’t tried to disturb him just to bring some girl back to the room.
He never had brought any dates here; the idea felt indecent somehow, like it would be a sort of violation, which didn’t make any sense. It was his dorm as much as Morgie’s, he’d have the right. All the same, it was nice to come back here at the end of the day or evening, especially when Morgie was there, settle in, and get comfortable. Hook changed into pajamas, but kept the sleeveless undershirt on that he’d worn under his dress shirt.
Some of Aurora’s perfume had rubbed off on his jacket and outer shirt so he stuffed them in the laundry hamper, shoving them down under a couple of other articles of clothing. He didn't know if he liked having that scent here, it seemed so out of place.
Fortunately it hadn’t seemed to get on the undershirt, and Hook slipped his pj top over it, unwilling to take it off just yet. Morgie must not have quite noticed that he was missing one.
Hook got into bed and plugged in his phone, poking around on a couple of different apps, and he kept his head down but his eyes kept drifting to his roommate sitting cross legged over there on top of his comforter. Morgie was alternately nodding his head to whatever music he was listening to…Hook was more curious than he’d necessarily admit…and muttering spells softly under his breath while his hands and fingers moved in gracefully sinuous movements.
The boy was like art in motion at times like this, in his own world that no one else had access to, looking both so innocent and completely self assured at once.
His head easing onto his pillow, Hook continued watching Morgie be his magical self, making sure not to be obvious about it. He simultaneously recalled Aurora’s kisses, the teasing sweetness of them, how fun it was at the time.
Though it had been within the last thirty minutes that Hook had parted from her, that felt like it had happened a long time ago, like it belonged to a different Hook’s recent past. This one fell asleep happily watching a dirty blond sorcerer and couldn’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else.
Finally - there he was. Morgie didn’t show much, if any, reaction when Hook came in, not wanting to lose where he was in his practice, but a certain tension he hadn’t even known had been residing between his shoulder blades unknotted at the sight of the pirate.
There was always an idle curiosity on weekend nights if a particular one was eventually going to be the one that Hook didn’t come back until morning, or at least much much later than eleven. Not tonight at least. Morgie refused to peek as Hook changed into pajamas, his spellwork far more important. He needed to keep concentration for this.
How far had Hook gone with someone, exactly? He was definitely kissing people, that much was obvious, but how much more than that had he done? What did he look like when he was kissing? What kind of kisser was he? Probably super aggressive, if Morgie had to guess, gropey too.
Ugh, why was he thinking about this? He adjusted his hand motion to be smoother as he cast the next charm. He did not care how Hook kissed, who he was kissing, none of it. Morgie slid his eyes slideways for a second only to roll them at his roommate.
Hook was going to fall asleep with his plugged in phone half under his pillow again, so Morgie was going to have to slide it out from there and place it on his bedside table so it didn’t start a fire. Stupid pirate.