Work Text:
They’re approaching their mid twenties, both fresh out of college, when they move into their first apartment together. Objectively, it’s not great. It’s far from what either of them are used to; it’s small and old. It had a floral wallpaper that really gave away its age, and Todd had many negative opinions about it. The first thing they did was paint it a neutral colour. “Bone”, Todd called it. It looked white to Neil.
A faded-green felt couch sat in their living room; and in front of it was a coffee table, with half moons and almost perfect circles being the only memory of its past tenants.
A half wall, that Todd had decorated with small potted plants, separated the living room from the kitchen. Right by it was the dinner table; it was small and narrow, with a folded piece of paper under one of its legs to stop it from wobbling. They had four mismatched chairs, two of which creaked when you sat on them.
And there were books everywhere; on the shelves they had built themselves, on both the coffee and kitchen table, on counters and even on the floor by the couch; because Todd couldn’t walk past a bookstore without buying one.
Everything was covered in cat hair. They had four cats that followed them around the apartment and slept on the patch of sun that came in through the window; because Neil couldn’t walk past a stray cat without taking it home.
Their bedroom was big enough for a double bed, pushed to the corner of the room, a small dresser and one bedside table - covered in books and empty tea cups because Neil always forgot to take them to the kitchen.
They slept facing each other, their legs tangled together; Todd with his back to the wall, because Neil was always the first one to wake up; he would be sitting on one of the creaking chairs, a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other, with the coffee machine running and filling the small space with its delicious smell once he joined him, usually a couple of hours later.
Their favourite place by far was the balcony. They would lean on the railing, sharing a cigarette as they looked at the people below, at their loud and lively existence, from their quiet shared space, as if they were moving slower in time. It felt like it, sometimes. Like they were the only people on earth; until the cars below or their neighbours upstairs would remind them that the world kept moving.
It wasn't great. It wasn’t the most beautiful place; but it was theirs, and it was the happiest they have ever been in a long time. It was the first time they felt comfortable calling a place “home”.