It's All Falling Down

The London morning was cold and dreary. Snow danced down to the ground as families and friends gathered around the hearth to celebrate various festivities. However, one young man stood apart from the rest. His black clothed body was leaning against a towering wooden building. Cool, grey eyes followed the tiny pieces of frozen water as they fell. His breath fogged in front of his mouth with each exhale. He did not react to anything around him until another man’s voice carried over the snowy morning.

    “William!” The other called running up to the black haired man. The newcomer stopped panting for breath as he grinned up at his companion. His brown eyes were alight with joy.

    “Hello, Kalvin,” William said with a small smile. “Ready to go?” He asked, holding out a gloved hand. Kalvin nodded, brown, wispy hair following his movements. Two gloved hands joined, the couple walking down the small clay-brick road.

    “So, what did you want to talk about?” Kalvin asked. “You texted on such short notice.”

    William let out a small hum, gently swinging their joint hands, “my parents are coming to town.”

    Kalvin shot his companion a sharp look. “They are?” At William’s nod, he said, “are you okay?”

    The dark-haired man gave Kalvin a small, sad smile. “I will be. I just wanted to spend some time with you before they come into town. You know how they are - I won’t be able to see you until they leave.”

    The smaller man rolled his eyes with a muttered, “but of course,” before focusing on the road in front of them. “So, do you have a plan for today or are we just going to walk around?”

    William laughed, gazing at Kalvin with adoration. “Of course I do! C’mon, my good sir!” The two happily ran off, their wet, snow-soaked feet taking them deeper and deeper into the city.

    Not much later, Kalvin and William were together in the latter’s flat. They had been cleaning the small, cozy apartment, when Kalvin spoke up.

    “Wow, Will, do you ever even clean? I swear, every time I come here it’s just more and more dusty.” He spoke in a playful tone, wiggling his eyebrows at his boyfriend, waving the duster at him like a mother would to a naughty child.

    “Like your flat is much better.” William spoke defensively from where he was sweeping the kitchen.

    “Hey, now, at least my place doesn’t have an army of dust bunnies.”

    William gave Kalvin a flat look. “Says the man who, last week, called me in the middle of the night because he had a cockroach problem.”

    “And that wasn’t my fault!” He retorted, annoyance rising. “You’re the one who can’t even cook eggs. Eggs, William, they’re the easiest thing in the books!”

    “What do eggs have to do with cleaning?” William snapped, setting his broom against the brick and mortar wall that surrounded his open kitchen.

    Kalvin scoffed. “You have to clean up after you cook, obviously.” He stared William dead in the eyes, one eyebrow raised on his freckled face.

    “Obviously,” William said sarcastically.

    “I don’t know what’s been up with you lately, Will, but this is the third time this week alone that you’ve snapped for no reason. What is going on?”

    “Maybe the fact that my parents, who, if you haven’t noticed, kind of hate me, are coming to stay for a weekend.” William grouched, crossing his arms over his chest and staring angrily at the wall. It was covered in pictures - small snapshots that he had gathered from his life. Many of them were of his two siblings, George and Elizabeth, and others were of Kalvin. His eyes softened at the sight of them. With a small sigh, he turned to Kalvin. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, uncrossing his arms and taking a small step toward his partner. “I guess their visit is stressing me out more than it should.”