#from-a-distant-end

He sighed as he placed the basket down, recalling his partner’s instructions. 

Place the clothes in, turn on the water, add the detergent and fabric softener and the machine will take care of the rest for you.

Shion had been in a rush to get to work, his mind clearly elsewhere as he explained, having stated the night before that it was an important meeting he needed to attend. Nezumi had spent the night calming him, surprised to see him so nervous. After doing what he had been for so long, what kind of meeting would have him wound so tightly? Shion was intelligent, kind, forgiving, sometimes forgetful, but nervous? That was not an emotion he would have associated with him.

Nezumi’s task had seemed simple enough until he realized there were plenty of knobs and buttons to press, different kinds of loads, different temperatures of water, as well as the need to separate everything into colors, darks, and whites. He was surprised Shion hadn’t given him an entire list to explain how to use the washer, much less how much detergent and fabric softener he was to add.

He decided colors were the easiest to start with, knowing they would not need the same bleach that the whites did and that they would not be anywhere near as heavy as the darks upon becoming wet. He had separated them, placed them in the washing machine, decided cold would be the best option -hadn’t Shion said something about it being more environmentally friendly?- and was left with the final task of putting the detergent within the detergent drawer.

Except- Shion didn’t use liquid detergent. He was fond of powder. Nezumi sighed as he scooped it out of the airtight container his partner had placed it into, unsure how much to use. Surely filling the detergent drawer would be enough. What was the worst that could happen? There would be too much soap on their clothes? The washing machine would take care of that with the water. The worst-case scenario would include them having to wash the soap off themselves. Not the best way to spend their time together, yet not a disaster either.

With that taken care of, he closed the door and allowed the machine to do its work.

Nezumi now understood why they needed a separate room for laundry.

He stood at the entrance, amazed and impressed by the sheer amount of bubbles the machine had made, creating a sea right on the floor of their apartment. The foaming mass had leaked out through the door, the aforementioned piece of machinery simply continuing on as if it had done nothing wrong, proud of the work it had accomplished so far.

Bested by a machine…surely that was a new experience.

He quickly made his way across the room and turned off the washing machine, grey eyes scanning the area in search of a solution to the problem. The issue here was not his pride, although that was something that had taken a small hit. He would recover from that. The issue was that he had promised Shion he would take care of this chore. It would be one less thing on the young man’s mind, one less thing he’d have to take care of. If he came home to this… it only added two more things to do.

He did not want the dark circles under Shion’s eyes to grow darker.

Nor did he want to see the disappoint that would shine in his eyes, no matter how hard he would try to hide it.

Nezumi understood.

He was exhausted.

His job was difficult.

Knowing the kind of person he was, he overworked himself without asking for anything in return.

He was still the same naive boy he had left behind.

But he had changed as well…

Nezumi had started to make his way back across the room when he heard the front door open, his name called softly by a voice he’d recognize in his sleep- in depths even deeper than that-

Shit.

“Nezumi?”

The apartment was silent and the longer he went without a response, the more his worry grew. Nezumi hadn’t left…not again. He promised not to. Yet, despite all the words, fears, and assurances that had been shared regarding that subject, Shion was aware of Nezumi’s tendency to wander, his need to grow, to travel, to learn as much as he could.

He would not be surprised if he had left again.

He just sincerely hoped that he hadn’t.

“Nezumi?” He tried again, knees nearly giving out in relief when he received an answer.

“I’m in here, Shion.”

He followed the sound of his partner’s voice, eyes widening when he spotted the traveler amidst a large number of bubbles. His words seemed to disappear. All he could manage once more was a quiet: “Nezumi?” Disbelief colored his tone.

“Shion-” He hesitated. “I’m so sorry. I’ll-” His apology was interrupted by a soft laugh, the ivory haired young man having to lean against the doorframe to support himself. “Hey! Why are you laughing?”

“I- Made the same mistake when I washed laundry for the first time. I should have warned you. I never expected to see you surrounded by bubbles. It’s-”

Nezumi shook his head and moved to close the distance between them, quietly tilting his chin up to meet their lips, stealing all of Shion’s breath.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve heard your laugh since I’ve returned, your majesty…”

Shion broke into a small smile, moving to embrace his partner, aware of the bubbles that had been stirred beneath them. “I missed you, Nezumi.”

“I know, Shion. You told me that when I returned.”

“I miss you all the time.”

“Work is only a few hours. It has to be shorter than the hours that you’ve gone without me. The days. The months. The years.”

“It’s still hard.” He sighed, pulling away to catch his gaze, waiting.

A few moments passed before he conceded. “I missed you too.”

With that, Shion released him, smile returning. “We’ll have plenty of time together as we clean up this mess. I’ll show you how much detergent to put in.” He picked up a mass of bubbles and threw it in Nezumi’s direction, a bit of it landing on his shoulder. “But- let’s have some fun first-”