Despite only being the late afternoon, the sun had already disappeared behind the horizon. It was that time of year again, when darkness fell sooner and sooner every day. The leaves had all fallen off the trees and were left scattered along the ground, some tumbling along in the occasional gust of autumn breeze. When a chill wind picked up, Toris shivered and wrapped his sweatshirt a little tighter around himself. He expected to see snow any day now.
Normally, he felt glad to have a job that was within walking distance of his apartment, but now he wished that he lived just far away enough to need a car. Then he would be using one right now, and would surely have the heat on full blast. That sounded so much better than having a hood that barely protected his ears from the cold.
He wouldn't deny, however, that he was thankful to not be making car payments or paying for gas. They couldn't afford that—not with Feliks out of work. He tried not to blame the Pol since it wasn't his fault—the company he had been working for had started failing—but he desperately hoped he would find something new soon.
He fumbled around in his pockets for several moments trying to dig out his keys. The task was much harder with fingers stiff from the cold. Thankfully he managed to pull them out just as he approached his door, and was able to unlock it with relative ease.
He was met with warm air upon entering the apartment, a nice contrast from the harsh temperatures of the outdoors. He shut the door as quickly as possible behind him. The place was quiet, with no immediate signs of Feliks, which worried him a bit. But he knew he worried too much, and he checked their bedroom to see if his fiancé was there. He found this to in fact be true, as the Pol was curled up beneath the blankets, taking a nap. Toris smiled; that looked like a nice place to be. He just hoped that he would wake up soon so they could chat. It had been a while since the last time they actually sat down and had a nice conversation.
His first priority was to take a shower, and a hot one at that. He wasted no time getting to the bathroom, and turning the water up as high as he could stand it. He stepped in and just let it run over him, warming every inch of his icy skin, and intended to stay there as long as he possibly could. He just hoped Feliks wasn't planning to use the shower any time soon. All of the hot water would surely be gone by the time he was completely warmed up.
Feliks…
Somehow his mind kept returning to Feliks. He couldn't help but feel that something between them wasn't right anymore, but he couldn't quite place his finger on what it was. His next priority was to figure out what that was so he could stop if from going any further.
After thoroughly draining the hot water, he dried himself off, threw on some comfortable clothing, and made his way to the bedroom. Feliks appeared to still be sleeping. He walked over to the bed and crawled in beside him, eager to forget the onset of the coldest, darkest part of the year he knew they ultimately couldn't avoid. He wrapped his arms tight around him and rested his face against his neck. Within moments, he felt him stir.
"You're nice and warm," the Pol mumbled.
"I just got out of a very-needed hot shower. The weather is changing out there."
"I bet."
The two fell into silence for a moment. With both of them there, hidden away underneath the sheets and taking in each other's warmth, they could just lay there and pretend they were somewhere less chilly. For a short time, the outside world did not exist. But alas, Feliks could not forget one thing that had been bothering him for some time, and so he decided to finally voice his concern.
"Toris, we like, never talk anymore…"
This really pulled at the Lithuanian's heartstrings. He had been thinking this all day, but somehow, hearing it come from his partner made him suddenly feel quite sad.
"I know," he admitted, and kissed Feliks once on his neck. "I need to be making more of an effort to communicate with you."
"And I need to do the same…"
"So, um… how's the job search coming?" That seemed like a good place to start a bit of conversation.
"Totally crappy. No one is hiring right now."
"That's okay. Just keep searching, something is bound to come up some time."
"Yeah, I guess." He paused, and then said, "I'm just worried what this could like, do to our relationship, you know?"
"Don't be," Toris said. He squeezed him tightly to reassure him. "You'll find something soon, and we'll be right back on the right track. And you know what? Six months from tomorrow will be our wedding day. We'll be living happily together as a married couple, and maybe we'll even be able to make a down payment on a nice house somewhere. Something small, but a place to call home. Everything will turn out just fine."
"I hope you're right," Feliks replied. He reached around for a moment and found one of his lover's hands, and then took in gently in his own. "I really love you, Toris."
"I love you too, Feliks."
