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The first words Serj says when he sees him are, “You’re early.” It’s said matter-of-factually, and it is a fact. There’s no malice, nor any warmth, in the statement. He just stands in the doorway, staring down the man before him.
And Daron stares back, eyes wide and hair wet. He doesn’t know if Serj is mad at him. He never knows. There’s few things in life that are truly impossible; so when Daron says it’s impossible to tell how Serj is feeling, he really means it. He’s seen what he gets like when he’s angry. It shouldn’t matter to him what other people feel and do – and it usually doesn’t – except when it comes to Serj. So he treads carefully. He doesn’t move a muscle, except for the quick and involuntary pulsing of his heart.
It’s raining. It would be easy to say it’s pouring, but that implies it’s falling down from the sky. No, the rain is blowing sideways. Daron feels it pelting his skin and body as if it were hail, even from under the roof of the porch. He wants to be inside. It’s a natural desire everyone is born with; to be sheltered from the elements.
After a short eternity, Serj steps backwards, pulling the door open. Daron moves forward in a desperate rush to get out of the rain.
Serj walks away as Daron warms up. His beanie and jacket are soaked the whole way through. He pulls them off and hangs them up on the coat rack. Daron hears the clicking of a door echo through the house, assuming that the other had gone to finish getting ready. He pulls his shoes off, propping them up against the wall to dry as well. As he stands up, he notices Serj standing behind him, a blue towel in hand.
“Here,” he says.
Daron grabs the towel. It’s warm, like it was just pulled out of the dryer, and he lets out a sigh as the warmth seeps into his hands. He dries off his hair and face, before wrapping it around his shoulders.
He tilts his head down. “Thanks.”
Serj smiles and ruffles his hair, before disappearing somewhere into the house again. As Daron goes to sit on the couch, he realizes another natural desire.
The desire to be cared for.