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Something swelled up in Lauriam’s heart as he leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, and watched Sora try to pay that month’s rent.
Sora had insisted on paying all of it with the money he had built up over working at a local store, despite Lauriam telling him that they could just split the bill. Apparently, Sora felt bad about how he had been making Lauriam “provide” for him and wanted to pay the other back.
It warmed Lauriam’s heart, in a way. Lauriam had tried to tell him that it was no problem, that he was used to “providing” for another person besides himself, and that he quite liked having another person around the house. It felt… complete, in a way. Like he had gotten something back that he had lost long ago.
His apartment had always felt lonely and sterile, no matter how many plants he packed into the windowsills or how many fairy lights or signs he had stuck onto the walls. But now that Sora was here, it felt more alive than it ever had before. Seeing an extra pair of shoes near the door whenever he got home from work at the flower shop, having two plates to fill every night at dinner, having another person tag along when Lauriam went to the market each weekend, it all felt so right .
His apartment was no longer just his, it was Sora’s too. As evidenced by the posters Sora had bought and hung up on wall’s just because he thought they “looked neat” accompanied by the steadily growing number of plushies Lauriam was finding strewn around the house. His apartment, something he had never viewed with anything more than vague contempt, was becoming more and more like a real home .
Lauriam was no idiot, he knew what all these feelings meant. He’d felt them all before with Strelitzia. He could see the signs a mile away, he was getting attached. He should’ve expected it, really. The lack of his sister was such a large void in his life that of course the second someone would show up and fill it Lauriam would get attached.
His grip on his arms tightened, nails digging into his skin.
Sora would have to leave eventually, Lauriam knew that. He would go back to his friends and his
actual
family and Lauriam would… well, he doesn’t know what he’d do after that. Would Sora let Lauriam go with him? Or would Lauriam become an afterthought when compared with the people who had been with Sora through hell and back? If that happened, well…. He doesn’t know if he’d be able to let Sora leave-
“Uh, Lauriam?” Sora’s voice broke Lauriam out of his thoughts.
“Yes, Sora?”
“I think I, uh, I think I did this right?” Sora tapped on the check. “But, uh, now what?”
Lauriam walked over to the table where Sora was sitting and looked it over. “Looks all right to me.” Lauriam said. “Now we just stick it in an envelop mail it to the landlord!” (Whoever that was. Lauriam had never even met this “landlord” character, he’s not even sure if they actually existed, but he paid the rent each month regardless because he really didn’t want to find out what happened if he neglected to pay.)
“Right!” Sora said happily, clapping his hands together. “Thanks Lauri!”
Lauriam froze.
Lauri… the only person who ever called him that was…
Shaking his head, Lauriam smiled. “It’s no problem, Sor.”
Sora smiled at him, and suddenly Lauriam felt like all was right in the world.