An Unlikely Pair

An Unlikely Interlude (I): An Unlikely Cleaning

Set after An Unlikely Visit but before An Unlikely Job

If you were to enter Kris's flat, your first thoughts would be, "It's quite messy, no?"

When you see a messy room or house, you usually wouldn't question it. If it appears messy, it is messy. But because of the sheer lack of space in Kris' flat and how the mess is so chaoticly organised, the usual becomes the unusual, and you start to question yourself.

Steph asked that very question when she first entered the flat.

Kris wouldn't have remembered it, as she barely remembers what occurred between the rooftop and how the two women entered the flat. It was such an exhausting night that her brain thought it best to remove the memory.

But after Steph had finished placing all the coins in the wine bottle that evening, the pair had something else to deal with.

The various amounts of rubbish in the flat.

"It's quite messy, no?" Steph stated.

Steph looked at Kris with pure, unassuming curiosity, as if the question wasn't rhetorical but worth asking regardless.

Yet, as Kris finally remembered, the difference was that Steph had looked tired and hopeless back then, with a layer of sarcasm, pain and a hint of hate for what Kris had done to delay her death.

The question now had a layer of glee and teasing, that hint of a friend coming over to your place for the first time.

Or perhaps more than a friend.

Quickly, for the first time in a long time, she felt self-conscious about her home.

"We're quite messy people, so it's perfect for us, isn't it?" Kris joked back.

Steph formed a slight smile. "You got me there. But, fun fact about me, I don't like living like a rat."

"Oh really now?

"If I'm living somewhere, I prefer to be clean with not a hint of dirt nor any foul stenches."

"For someone who's depressed, you have quite high standards."

"I think for someone who welcomed this depressed person, you're a rather bad hostess for letting me see this pitiful sight."

"And yet, you won't leave this hostess alone?"

"Of course not," Steph said, grinning. "I plan to live with this rather bratty hostess for as long as I live. If you'll continue to have me."

That sturred Kris' heart.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

~~~

If you were to enter Kris' flat and look over to your left, you would see a small kitchen. Nothing too extravagant. Just a simple stovetop, oven, and kettle with, well, barely any cooking supplies. Only a single knife, spoon and fork. Clearly, it was meant for one single person and no one else. Yet, dozens of cups and plates were in the cabinets above the stovetop, or they would be if not for how dirty they were and currently residing in the sink, praying to be washed.

If you were to enter Kris' flat and look over to your right, you would see another door entering a hallway, with the bathroom at the end of that small hallway and a completely empty room on the left-hand side. Clearly, it was meant to be used, but it was so empty that dust formed out of pity for how ignored the room must be feeling. There was also a small closet within the wall on the right-hand side. Back in the entrance, what was supposed to be the living room had turned into the bedroom where the huge mattress the two had slept on was placed. Every other belongings that Kris owned was resting in various piles across the entire living room and kitchen.