AN: This is SLASH with a large dose of slightly sickening fluffiness. If that's not your cup of tea, well, you have been warned...
P.S I own nothing to do with Whitechapel. Though if anyone fancies sending me my very own Emerson Kent I would be exceedingly grateful.
Kent watched from the doorway of their bedroom as Joe finished packing his small suitcase with the essentials he would need for his weekend conference. Kent sighed miserably; this was going to be the first time he and Joe would not be spending the night together since the start of their relationship six months ago. Joe looked round at the sound of Kent's sigh. Kent was looking at him sadly with his beautiful big Bambi eyes. "Oh Em, I'm going to miss you too" Joe said softly, clearly reading what Kent was about to say from the forlorn look on his face, "but hey, I'll be back on Sunday, I bet you'll barely notice I'm gone" he continued.
But Kent did notice. After being used to always sharing his living space with someone (his family, and then his flatmates, and now Chandler), their spacious flat seemed awfully empty with just him wandering around in it. As soon as Joe had closed the front door behind him it seemed eerily quiet and Kent put the T.V on simply to have a bit of background noise. He sat on their sofa for hours, staring at the T.V but not really watching it. Deep down, Kent knew he was simply trying to put off going to sleep because that would mean lying in their big bed all on his own without doing the sort of nightly ritual that occurred between Joe and him; consisting of them both wrapping their arms around each other and talking about the day, then sharing a kiss before Joe would pull Kent into his chest and they would go to sleep.
Eventually though, when every channel contained an all too cheery person attempting to sell a set of kitchen knives, or some jewellery, Kent decided that he did need to go to bed. He switched off the T.V, and once again the whole flat was plunged into an eerie silence.
Kent slipped under the duvet, his eyes skimming over the empty side of the bed where Joe usually slept. Kent tried desperately to get to sleep but he couldn't, his mind kept focussing on tiny details reminding him that Joe wasn't there; the absence of strong arms wrapped around him, the chill caused by sleeping alone in a bed made for two people, the silence that was normally broken by Joe's gentle snoring. In the end however, Kent simply couldn't stay awake any longer, and he slipped into a peaceful sleep.
Despite him missing Joe, the weekend passed by quickly and on Sunday, Kent decided to organise a special treat for Joe when he got home that evening.
Kent looked at his watch, and was surprised to find that he only had about fifteen minutes before Joe was due home. He was rushing around, making sure the flat was neat and tidy, and exactly how Joe liked it when the doorbell rang. Kent let out a tiny squeal of excitement; Joe was back and Kent would be able to give him his surprise treat! He sprinted towards the door and threw himself into Joe's arms. "I missed you" he mumbled into Joe's shoulder, and Joe laughed. "I missed you too Emerson, very much".
Kent had taken Joe's hand and was pulling him through the immaculate flat towards the kitchen. "Come on, I have a surprise for you in the kitch-". Kent broke off as he stopped in the doorway of the kitchen. Joe was right behind him and he heard the breath catch in his throat at the sight. The kitchen. Kent had forgotten to clean the kitchen. How could he have been so stupid? Now his lovely surprise was ruined!
Kent turned slowly to stare at Joe, who had a look of horror on his face at the state the room was in. "Joe I-I'm sorry, I-I'll clean it-I-right now-" Kent stuttered, but Joe shook his head, his expression changing to anger. "No Emerson. Just-just leave it! I'll clean it! Just-just go and-just go somewhere else so I can clean this mess!" Kent shoulder's sagged in defeat as he left the room, staring at the floor. Joe immediately got to work with a cloth and hot soapy water, scrubbing ferociously at whatever the hell was on the worktops and sweeping what looked like flour off the flour. Eventually the kitchen was back to Joe's standards of cleanliness and he began to make himself a cup of tea. He opened the fridge the get out the milk and saw Kent's surprise sitting on one of the shelves.
A cake. Covered in chocolate frosting and decorated with slices of strawberries. And stuck to the plate was a post-it note that said "Welcome home Joe, love Em xxx". Joe sighed as feelings of sadness and guilt washed over him. Kent had made him a cake. That's what the mess in the kitchen was from. Kent had put all his hard work into making Joe a lovely cake and all Joe had done was shout at him for forgetting to clean up. He felt hot tears begin to prick at his eyes and a lump starting to form in his throat as he thought about how excited Kent had been to give it to him, his cheeky smile lighting up his whole face as he had led Joe through the otherwise immaculate flat. Oh god. The flat. Joe put his head in his hands and sighed as he realised not only had Kent made him a cake, but he had also made sure that the rest of the flat was immaculately clean and tidy. Kent had tried so hard to make sure everything was perfect for when Joe got home, and had even made an extra little surprise, and Joe had just shot him down, ignoring all his efforts in favour of shouting at him for a bit of flour and chocolate frosting in the kitchen. God he felt awful. He had to find Kent.
"Emerson?" Joe called softly, walking through the flat. "Em, darling where are you?". Kent's head shot up at Joe's use of the word 'darling'. He hardly ever used little nicknames like that; it had taken at least two months of them dating before Joe had even started to shorten his name from 'Emerson' to 'Em'; so to hear him use the word 'darling' was a rare treat. "I'm in here" Kent mumbled. Joe hurried into their bedroom after hearing the timid reply and found Kent sat on the edge of their bed, head down, his dark, messy curls falling around his face. Joe sat down next to him and opened his mouth to speak, but Kent got there first. "Joe, I'm sorry, I should have cleaned it, I can't believe I forgot, I was just so excited to see you and-" Joe caught Kent's lips in a gentle kiss, silencing his rambling. "Em, don't worry about it, I've cleaned it now, it's fine. Also, I err, I found your cake". Kent looked at Joe and bit his lip. "Did you like it?" he asked nervously. "Oh Em" Joe sighed, "Of course I liked it. I love it; it was really sweet of you! I feel awful, you baked me a lovely cake and you made sure everywhere else was neat and tidy and perfect and all I did was shout at you and make you upset and I didn't even give you a chance to explain, I'm so sorry, really, I am." Joe wrapped his arms around the smaller man who quietly said "It's alright" before leaning his head onto Joe's shoulder.
They sat like that for a few minutes, cuddled around one another, simply enjoying the other's warmth and company before Joe broke the silence by clearing his throat. "How about we have a slice of that lovely cake you made?" Kent peeked up shyly at Joe through his lashes, blushing furiously. "Yes please" he said, a small smile on his face.
AN: I have no idea why Chandler would be going to a "conference" but I couldn't think of any other reason for him to be away for the weekend...