The Weekend Arrangement

The Nicest One in the Shop

"Jon?!"

Martin's voice drifts down from upstairs followed closely by the man himself, he's shirtless and still damp from the shower. Jon gazes at him appreciatively over his mug, liking the way Martin's good wool trousers sit low on his hips.

"Love; have you seen my nice cabled jump- oh. Right. Of course you are."

Jon doesn't even try to hide the fact that he is in fact in Martin's nice cabled jumper.

Has been in Martin's nice cabled jumper all morning; had purposely stepped over the clothing littering the floor of the bedroom to get Martin's nice cabled jumper out of the drawer; and was not in any way amenable to the idea of relinquishing Martin's nice cabled jumper.

"Jon." Sighing deeply, Martin runs a frustrated hand over his face. "Jon. I love you- but you HAVE to stop stealing my clothes."

"I like your jumpers."

"Jon- I literally have no shirts left ."

"I highly doubt that Martin. I am wearing one jumper- "

"I see a tee shirt collar under there- what's under that one jumper, Jon?"

Sheepishly Jon lifts the collar of the sweater away from where it lies on his collarbones. "It, ah- it appears to be a band shirt of some sort."

" Appears to be. A band shirt... of some sort." Martin grimaces in Jon's direction. "So, one of my band tees? So you are in my nice cabled sweater and one of my band tees. I'm lucky you're skinny, at least I still have all of my-" Jon colours softly at the kitchen table. "Jon? No . Oh, come on . Do NOT tell me that you are- Jon stand up."

Embarrassed, Jon rises from behind the kitchen table and sure enough he's in Martin's loudest plaid flannels, the drawstring cinched tight to keep them barely perched on his slim hips.

"Now- in my defence, it is very, very cold today and your clothing is the warmest in the house. And I like this jumper the best. It makes me feel-"

"It makes you feel like a thief! "

"It makes me feel safe , Martin."

Martin covers his face in exasperation." ...well you're still going to have to give it over. My train leaves in less than an hour and if I miss that one I'll have to change which train I come home on and it means I'll be stuck in Devon for far, far longer than I want to be. So off with it."

He sounds churlish and snappy, and Jon quickly crosses the kitchen to embrace him. Martin has been anxious and tense about today for the last week, and this morning it has all bubbled over in an irritable mood.

Jon tries to soothe him with a low murmur, threading his hands into Martin's hair and rubbing comforting circles into Martin's temples with his thumbs.

"Hey, hey . Look at me, Martin. Today is going to go fine, sweetheart. I didn't know you were wanting to wear this one down there- I honestly wouldn't have put it on if I did. When I did laundry yesterday I made sure to wash and fold your new jumper from Christmas. You look really fantastic in that red; I thought it might be nice and cheerful for you to wear while you visited with her."

Jon can feel Martin's hard exhale as he drops his face, nuzzling into Jon's neck.

"I'm sorry, Jon. I shouldn't have snapped like that. It's just- visiting her. I get so... She's just so..." Martin makes a sound that Jon cannot fully parse the meaning of.