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The rain had started just moments ago on what had been a sunny, perfect day. At first, there had only been a few drops against the apartment windows, so soft that Teddy hadn’t even looked up. By the time Agi walked over to the balcony, however, the sound had grown into a constant murmur that filled every corner of the room.
The taller man rested one hand against the doorframe and looked outside. The streets were practically empty, as though they hadn’t been filled with people walking through them only minutes ago. The gray sky had darkened the city ahead of time, and the droplets struck the balcony glass, slowly sliding over one another.
“I suppose we’ll be staying home..” Agi murmured, as though he and his partner hadn’t planned a small outing. From the couch, Teddy barely lifted his gaze.
He didn’t say anything. He simply stared at him before turning his head back toward the window.
The truth was, there weren’t many reasons to go out either. They had planned to walk somewhere to eat, perhaps stop at a café before returning home. Nothing particularly important.
Now, with the rain falling outside, neither of them seemed especially interested in leaving the apartment. Agi closed the balcony door and spent a few seconds looking over the living room; there was a cup on the coffee table. Two, actually.
But one of them had been sitting there since the morning.
There were a couple of open books on the couch, a jacket hanging over the back of a chair, and some papers Teddy had left on the table days ago. Nothing particularly serious.
Just... a little messier than what Agi was used to.
The braided man looked around a second time.
“.. We could tidy up.”
“Now?” Teddy slightly turned his head to look at him.
“Now.”
“It’s raining..”
“I know.”
“We can do it another day..”
“That’s also an option.” Knight seemed satisfied with that answer and turned his attention back to the window. Agi watched him for a moment before leaning forward and picking up the cup from the table. “I’m going to do it now.” Teddy merely let out a low groan. “You can stay there.”
“And you?”
“I’m going to tidy up.”
“That sounds exhausting..”
“Not really.” Agi carried the cups into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Knight remained on the couch, listening to the sound of water running through the sink. He didn’t seem particularly interested in helping.
Agi didn’t ask him to, either. He simply started. He put away the books they were no longer using, arranged the papers into a neat pile, and picked up the jacket from the chair. Every now and then, the rain made itself known again as it beat heavily against the windows.
“You’re making too much noise.” Teddy complained.
“Does it bother you?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll keep going.” Teddy frowned slightly at his response. He remained on the couch for a few more seconds before finally standing up. Agi watched him approach.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping you.”
“You don’t have to..” The fair-skinned man picked up the remaining books from the couch and held them against his chest.
“But if you keep cleaning by yourself, you’re going to end up rearranging the furniture.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“You were considering it.” Agi smiled when he heard that.
“Maybe.” Teddy placed the books on the shelf before going back for the papers.
They didn’t talk much.
They didn’t need to.
Agi cleaned one surface while Teddy arranged another. Every now and then, their hands crossed as they reached for the same object, and one of them would simply move aside to let the other pass.
It was peaceful inside, while the chaotic rain continued to pour outside.
When they finished with the living room, the braided man leaned against the back of the couch and looked around.
“Much better!”
“It didn’t change that much.”
“Enough.” Agi said, taking a breath as he stretched slightly. “We should check the bedrooms.”
“The bedrooms?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Because they exist too. And they need to be tidied up as well.” Knight looked at him with his characteristic relaxed, yet somehow tired gaze.
“.. No.”
“Teddy.”
“No.” He lowered his head as Agi gently ran a hand through his hair, letting out a small laugh.
“I just want to tidy up a little.”
“My room is fine.”
“Are you sure?” Agi asked, raising an eyebrow.
“.. Yeah.”
“Then let’s go check.” And with that, he started walking toward Teddy’s room. Knight tried to get up quickly, but nearly tripped on his first attempt. Once he was on his feet, he immediately grabbed Agi’s forearm, stopping him.
“Agi..” His voice came out quieter than usual.
Agi stopped and looked over his shoulder. Teddy’s grip on his forearm wasn’t tight; it was barely enough to ask him to wait.
“Yes?” Teddy lowered his gaze to the floor, and the dark-skinned man understood immediately. He didn’t need to see the room to know what was behind that resistance. He turned fully toward him.
“It’s okay.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah. If you don’t want to, we won’t go in.” Knight’s expression relaxed slightly. Agi raised a hand and gently moved a strand of hair that had fallen across his face.
“It’s really messy.”
“Then it’ll be a little less messy by the time we’re done.”
“I don’t think it’s that easy.”
“No, I didn’t say it was, but you don’t have to do it alone.” He leaned down and placed a small kiss on his forehead. It was so brief that Teddy barely had time to react. “Come on,” Agi murmured. “We’ll just start.”
The other man remained still, then, almost timidly, rested his forehead against his shoulder. Agi wrapped an arm around him and hugged him for a few seconds, slowly caressing his back.
“One thing at a time.”
“Mhm.” Agi pulled away slightly and took his hand again.
“Come.” He intertwined their fingers with his and began walking. This time, Knight followed him without trying to stop him. When they reached the door to his bedroom, Teddy took a breath.
Agi opened the door to Teddy’s bedroom and stood completely still. So did his partner.
On the chair, on the floor, at the foot of the bed.
There were clothes.
A lot of clothes.
Teddy looked around the room without much reaction, then looked at the dark-skinned man, who blinked slowly.
“Oh. How long has it been like this?”
“.. I don’t know.” He replied, looking away.
Agi looked at that mountain again, then glanced at him.
“Do you want us to tidy it up?” he asked again. He didn’t receive an answer immediately, as Teddy remained silent for a few seconds. Finally, he lowered his head slightly.
“... If you want.” He murmured.
Agi picked up a shirt from the floor and examined it briefly before leaving it on the bed. Teddy remained by the door, watching him.
“We can start by separating the clean clothes from the ones that need to be washed.” He said, picking up some more clothes.
“.. Everything needs to be washed.”
“Everything?” He raised his gaze. The other simply nodded. Agi made no comment about how long those clothes had been piling up. He didn’t ask why Teddy had let it get to that point, either. He simply picked up another piece of clothing. “Then it’ll be easy.”
“Easy?”
“Everything goes in the wash.”
Knight remained still for another moment.
Then he crouched down, picked up a pair of pants from the floor, and tossed them onto the bed. And that was how they started. It wasn’t particularly complicated, just tedious. Agi picked up the clothes from one side of the room while Teddy took care of the other.
The mountain that had seemed impossible to move began to shrink little by little. Every now and then, Teddy found something he didn’t remember leaving there; a shirt, a pair of socks, a sweatshirt. A towel that, for some reason, had ended up behind the door.
Teddy continued picking up clothes. After a few minutes, the braided man noticed that the fair-skinned man had gone still. He was holding a shirt in his hands, staring at it with an expressionless face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure?” The other nodded, slowly folded the shirt, and held it against his chest.
“I just.. thought I’d lost it.” Agi smiled and approached him without saying anything. Knight barely lifted his gaze, meeting those calm eyes that watched him with an unusual softness.
“Did you like it that much?”
“Mhm.”
“Then it’s a good thing it turned up.” He tilted his head slightly and placed a small kiss at the corner of his lips, then gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder before going back to picking up the clothes. “Keep it somewhere safe this time.”
Teddy stared at the shirt for a few more seconds.
“I’ll try.” This time, he placed it much more carefully before putting it on the pile of dirty laundry.
As the floor began to become visible, Knight seemed slightly more awake. Not exactly lively, but more present. Agi obviously noticed, but he didn’t want to say anything. After all, Teddy didn’t need to be praised for picking up his own clothes; he just needed someone to stay there while he did it.
When they finally finished, there was a huge pile on the bed. Agi took the laundry basket and placed some of the clothes inside.
“Come on.”
The other followed him to the laundry room without saying much. The first load ended up taking up almost the entire washing machine. Teddy leaned against the wall while Agi added the detergent, closed the door, and pressed the button. The washing machine began to run.
The sound of water slowly filled the small space. The man leaning against the wall watched the drum spin.
“That’s going to take a while..”
“Yeah.”
“There’s still the clothes for the second load..”
“Yeah.”
“What a long day..” He sighed. Agi gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder as he walked past.
“Let’s get something to eat while we wait.” He said, beginning to walk down the hallway that led to the kitchen.
“There are instant noodles..” He suggested as he followed him.
“That doesn’t count as food.”
“You’re being very demanding..”
“I’ll cook something.”
They returned to the kitchen while the rain continued beating against the windows, the clothes still tumbling around inside the washing machine.
For the first time in a long while, Teddy’s room had enough space to walk around without having to dodge clothes. And although he would never admit it, breathing in there felt a little easier.
“We have meat.”
“.. We could eat the noodles with the meat.”
“That’s better.”
Teddy smiled faintly. Agi took out the meat, and soon began preparing the noodles. It didn’t take them long to have something resembling dinner on the table. It wasn’t elaborate, nor particularly pretty.
But it was warm, filling, and, according to the taller man, at least somewhat nutritious. Knight was carrying his plate toward the living room when he heard the washing machine stop.
“The laundry.” He murmured. Agi barely glanced toward the hallway.
“I’ll take it out later.”
“It’s going to stay damp.”
“It’ll be fine for a few minutes.” Teddy seemed ready to argue, but eventually sat down, and the other man did the same. However, instead of staying at the table, he picked up both plates and headed toward the balcony.
“.. Where are you going?”
“Here.” He opened the glass door just enough for them to sit nearby without getting wet. Knight followed him. They settled on the floor, leaning against the couch, facing the enormous window.
The rain had grown violently heavier, the droplets sliding down the glass as the lights in the buildings began turning on one by one.
For a while, neither of them spoke. There was only the sound of their cutlery and the constant patter of the rain.
“It’s good.. Thank you for cooking. As always.”
“It’s nothing.”
Teddy gave him a small smile and they continued eating. When he finished, he left the empty container on the low table, and Agi quickly picked up both plates.
“Stay here.”
“I can help you..”
“You’ve done enough already.” He said as he walked away.
“You’re washing my clothes too..”
The dark-skinned man disappeared into the kitchen, and Knight turned his gaze back toward the rain.
A few minutes later, when Agi returned, he had a folded blanket draped over one arm.
“.. What’s that?” He asked.
“It’s cold.”
“I’m not cold.”
The taller man sat beside him and spread the blanket over both of them. Knight decided not to protest and remained quiet. But after only a few seconds, he shifted a little closer.
Agi decided not to say anything as the other man rested his head against his shoulder. The rain continued to fall, the apartment was quiet, the washing machine had started its drying cycle again somewhere else in the apartment, and the distant sound of the machine blended with the rain against the windows.
Agi slowly ran a hand through Teddy’s hair, barely stroking it. He noticed that his eyes were beginning to close.
“You can sleep if you want.” Agi murmured.
“I’m not sleepy.”
“Sure.”
Teddy let out a small complaining sound, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he curled up even closer. A few minutes later, his breathing became slow and steady, and the dark-skinned man looked down.
Teddy was completely asleep against his shoulder. He didn’t seem uncomfortable; in fact, for the first time all afternoon, he seemed completely at peace.
Agi adjusted the blanket over him and turned his gaze back toward the window.
Teddy didn’t know how much time had passed. The first thing he felt was warmth—not the heavy warmth of a closed room, but a soft one, concentrated around his shoulders. It was the blanket that covered him completely.
The second was something firm beneath his cheek, a shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes. For a few seconds, he didn’t understand where he was. He felt somewhat disoriented; he wasn’t used to taking naps.
Then he remembered the rain, the food, the blanket covering him.
Agi.
He blinked and rubbed both eyes with his hands. Agi was still sitting beside him, looking out the window. One of his hands rested on his hair, absentmindedly fixing a few strands that had become messy while he slept.
“.. What are you doing?” He asked, his voice still drowsy.
“Oh. You’re awake.” He lowered his gaze. “Your hair was in your face.” He said, continuing to fix his hair.
Teddy raised a hand and touched his hair.
“Good morning.”
Knight frowned slightly, but didn’t pull away from his touch. He looked toward the window. The sky was still gray.
“.. How long did I sleep?”
“About an hour.” The taller man sat up slightly, stretching a little.
“An hour?”
“Yeah.”
“And you didn’t wake me?”
“No.”
The other man looked at him with some frustration.
“You should have.”
“Why?”
“Because...” And he didn’t finish his sentence. Because he really didn’t have an answer, he ended up looking away. “We have things to do.” He blurted out whatever excuse came to mind.
“We’ve already done quite a lot.”
“The laundry.”
“It’s drying.”
“.. You already put it in?”
“While you were sleeping.” He tucked another strand of hair behind his ear, and the other man glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
“You didn’t have to do everything.”
“I didn’t do everything.”
Teddy simply sighed. For a few seconds, he tried to sit up completely.
He didn’t get very far.
The blanket slipped slightly, and the cold air in the room made him shiver.
Agi gently covered him again.
“I have to get up..”
“You can do it in a minute.”
“That minute already passed.”
“You’re not used to taking naps, are you?” Knight remained silent and continued staring at the rain. Then, finally, he let his head fall back onto Agi’s shoulder.
Agi’s hand gently ran through his hair again. This time, Teddy didn’t protest. Outside, the rain continued to fall. And for a few more minutes, neither of them had any reason to move.
After a while, the shorter man finally moved. Not because he wanted to, but because the sound of the machine in the laundry room reminded him that they still had clothes to take care of.
“We have to take those out.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He slowly sat up and stretched his arms, the blanket falling over his legs. Agi stood up first and offered him a hand.
“I can get up on my own.” He said, looking at his hand.
“I know.”
Even so, he took it.
They walked together to the laundry room. The dryer had finished a little while ago. The dark-skinned man opened the door, and a wave of warm air immediately came out. Teddy let the warm breeze wash over his face.
“It’s warm..”
“Mhm.” He smiled as he took out the first piece of clothing, slowly gathering them in his arms as he carried them to his partner’s bedroom. The other man did the same, and little by little, they placed all the clothes on the bed.
The mountain no longer seemed so intimidating. Now it was clean, warm, and lightly scented with detergent.
Teddy stared at it for a few seconds. Then, without warning, he dropped himself onto it. Agi barely had time to turn around.
“Teddy?”
The fair-skinned man sank into the freshly dried clothes, letting out a small sigh. The clothes still retained the warmth of the dryer; the soft fabrics surrounded his arms, back, and legs, creating a sort of makeshift nest on the bed.
Teddy shifted a little more, settling himself among the sweatshirts and shirts.
“It’s warm..”
Agi watched him silently as he closed his eyes, the warmth still slowly radiating from each piece of clothing and gathering around his body.
There was something strangely comforting about it; the clean scent of the detergent, the softness of the fabrics, and that pleasant warmth that made it feel as though he could stay there for hours.
Agi eventually let out a small laugh.
“What are you doing?” He moved a little closer, but still received no response from the other man. “Come on, get up.” He leaned over him and began moving some of the clothes away from his face. “Come on.”
“No..”
“We have to fold them.” He let out another small laugh before wrapping both arms around his waist. “Get up.”
Knight continued complaining quietly, but before he could protest any further, Agi easily lifted him out of the pile of clothes.
Teddy let out a small sound of surprise and instinctively ended up clinging to him.
For a few seconds, they remained like that, Teddy in his arms and Agi holding him against his chest. The clothes still retained their warmth, and so did the shorter man.
Agi noticed it. His body was warm from having been lying among all those freshly dried clothes. The warmth from the clothes seemed to have gotten trapped between them. It was pleasant, soft, and incredibly comforting.
“Alright, we have to fold the clothes.” He said, lowering his arms slightly to let go of the fair-skinned man and pick up a piece of clothing.
“Mhm..” He did the same, picking up a shirt and folding it.
Agi folded everything with almost absurd precision. Teddy, on the other hand, folded his clothes however he pleased.
“That’s crooked.” Agi commented.
“It’s clothing.”
“It’s still crooked.”
“No one’s going to see it.”
“You’re going to wear it.”
“Exactly.”
The other man shook his head, amused.
After a few minutes, Teddy found a sweater among the clothes. He recognized it immediately; it was one of his favorites. Gray, slightly oversized, with sleeves that had stretched a little from use.
He left it on the bed as he continued folding the other clothes. Agi picked it up and, without saying a single word, put it on.
“That’s mine..”
The braided man adjusted the sleeves.
“I know.”
Knight fell silent, watching him.
Waiting for Agi to give it back.
He didn’t.
He simply continued folding clothes with the sweater on.
And they kept folding clothes until the mountain had shrunk considerably.
The rain continued beating against the windows, the apartment was visibly tidier, and the clothes were clean.
And Agi was wearing one of Teddy’s sweaters as if it had always been his. Knight didn’t mind it that much, anyway.
In fact, after a moment, he moved a little closer and casually rested his head against Agi’s shoulder as they continued folding clothes.
Neither of them said anything.
They didn’t need to.