Byleth is busy teaching so Terry has to clean the house while she's away but he gets help from a certain someone.

Terry groaned and put his phone back on the nightstand, it buzzed in response to his action. Byleth had been so busy teaching and grading papers that she barely had time to sleep or even clean for that matter. The last straw was when the tealette had dragged herself home one night then collapsed on the couch, too tired to notice the pile of laundry Terry had folded and used it as a makeshift pillow.

"Are you ok, By?" He asked, getting a sigh from her. He carefully ruffled her dark teal locks, promising himself to get the house spotless by the time Byleth made it back from work the next day.

Cleaning was hard according to Terry. Everywhere he looked, the whole place was messy and there was a lot of work to do. He finally managed to put away the laundry, but got distracted with the living room and putting the dishes up. Terry then tried to clean the kitchen, realizing that he had to get the cleaning supplies by organizing the cabinet first. He had been so exhausted that she would eventually sit down for a break and nearly fall asleep.

So how did Byleth do it? The blonde scowled at the sponge in his hand as he furiously scrubbed at a stain, as if it should have done better at removing the accursed thing. It was light work to the tealette professor, she'd walk in and put something back where it belongs and everything would magically look good as new. If nothing else, Byleth would appreciate the job being done, if it got done that is.

Terry glanced around the house and sighed as it was too much for one person to handle. It took him a few minutes to remember where he put his phone and sent a text.

"Corrin is distracting Byleth right now," Ken explained, while taking his shoes off at the door. "You've got an extra hour and you're gonna need it, it seems. Wait? Did you just start cleaning already?"

"I've been at this all day." The other blonde winced at his words.

"Oh. Uh, it looks nice, Terry! It must've been a real mess before!" Terry just stared at him blankly, Ken sighed then shrugged. "Where do you want me to start?"

After a quick explanation, Ken was set to sorting the laundry and vacuuming, while Terry grabbed the blankets and pillow then proceeded to go make the bed all nice and neat just the way Byleth made it.

"Does Byleth do that too?" Ken called over the sound of the vacuum, turning his head to see behind him.

"Yeah, she says it keeps her neck warm. Apparently she hates being cold."

"Oh."

The men worked quietly for the next hour, Ken trailed behind Terry to pick up the smaller chores while the hat wearing blonde double-checked to make sure everything was the way the tealette would want it.

"Alright, Corrin just texted me. Byleth's on her way back, so I'm gonna go." The other blonde put his shoes back on but hesitated by the door. "Hey, um... Terry?"

Blue eyes glanced up as Terry sprayed the air with cinnamon scented Febreze, and the other man shrugged. "Just in case she doesn't actually say it, I really think Byleth's gonna appreciate this. You put in lots of work to make sure she has something nice to come home to. Besides you, I mean."

"Keep talking like that and you're gonna make me blush. Now scram before she gets here."

The door clicked shut behind him while the blonde spun around to check if anything was left out of place. One stack of plates was neatly organized but slightly tilted, the soap dispenser in the bathroom was filled all the way, the kitchen sink free of dishes and suds and there was nothing else that he had to take care of at the moment.

He looked at the clock and noticed that the house was cleaned just in time as Byleth stepped through the door with an exhausted groan.

"Today was absolute shit," she said as she took off her boots. "I had to stay for a couple more hours to grade papers, and then Corrin came and wanted to talk, which was fine except I wanted to go home early for once."

Byleth put her bag and keys on the table then made a beeline for the couch, faceplanting with another groan. Terry sighed and followed her, crouching on the floor next to the couch and leaning his head on Byleth's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, By," he said quietly. "That does sound shitty."

"Mm." The tealette turned her head to squint tiredly at his face. "The laundry's gone."

"It is," he replied as she sat up blinking around the room.

"And you vacuumed?"

"Yup."

"And..."

Trying to hide a grin, Terry watched her poke around the house, even noticing that he'd managed to fold the blankets and make the bed the right way. Finally, she dropped back onto the couch, patting the cushion until the blonde sat beside her.

"You did all of this today?"

"Uh huh."

Byleth stared at him for a moment, hugged him and murmured a thank you. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Whatever you have in mind. I wasn't brave enough to try cooking after spending a chunk of the day cleaning up."

Byleth had nearly fallen asleep over dinner, her head fell dangerously close to her food. The blonde had carried her to bed, hanging her jacket in the closet and making sure the lights were out around the house.

She tiredly pointed at the curtains, "Don't forget to close the curtains."

"I got'em, By," Terry said then closed them, blocking the moonlight that shone in her face. "There. All better?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Thanks, Terry. And thanks for cleaning the house for me."

Terry lightly patted her head as Byleth yawned, "Anytime, By."

The tealette fell asleep almost instantly, curling against her side with her face pressed to his neck as she softly snored. Maybe she had a point about all the cleaning, Terry thought tiredly, blue eyes drooping heavily. The look on Byleth's face when she had seen the bathroom was something he never wanted to forget.