"Shit!"

     Was the word that made Ashkii jerk awake. His eyes flew open just in time to see Giovanni scramble out of bed and head to the closet. The older man pulled out an already packed travel bag and took out a small backpack that he started to shove just about anything insight into.

     "Giovanni...?" Ashkii called out, a little confused and concerned with how frantic the older man was being. "What's wrong?"

     Giovanni paused, looking over at Ashkii as if he had seen a ghost. He had been so out of it that he had almost forgotten that Ashkii was in the room with him.

     "My ex..." Giovanni trailed, staring down at the backpack he had started packing. "He's in town early."

     Ashkii got up too, noting the seriousness of the situation. He got dressed before offering to help Giovanni with packing so that the man could get dressed as well. Ashkii hadn't expected to be hosting him so soon, but he'd make it work somehow. He zipped up the bag and made sure Giovanni's wallet and keys were in the back pouch before setting the bag on top of the travel box and rolling it out into the living room. Giovanni was in the kitchen, switching off lights and making sure nothing was on.

     "Let's go," he said when he spotted Ashkii heading for the door before stopping suddenly. "Wait, I forgot a towel."

     "I have towels at my place you can borrow," Ashkii said in response, and Giovanni sighed and nodded his head before opening the front door. The both of them walked out, and Giovanni locked the door as Ashkii made his way down the stairs and into the corridor. Giovanni joined Ashkii downstairs soon after, and the older man led them through the back door to the parking spot with his car.

     "Fuck, where are my keys?" Giovanni said, checking his pockets as he continued swearing other his breath.

     "I put a bunch of your keys in here," Ashkii said, unzipping the backpack pouch and handing Giovanni the keys and the phone he'd helped the older man pack up. It was still a bit cold outside even though it was technically spring season now. The mornings still had a lot of fog in the air, and the occasional breeze was chilly.

"Thank you," Giovanni said, sighing in relief before going through the keys in the bunch. He found the one for his car, opening it before climbing in. "Could you help me toss that in the back seat?" he asked, referring to the backpack and the luggage he'd packed. Ashkii nodded, doing as he was told.

      "I didn't think we were taking your car too," Ashkii brought up, closing the back door before looking through the wound-down driver's window at Giovanni, who was going through his phone. He seemed to be texting someone. Probably his friends and regulars letting them know he wouldn't be opening until further notice.

     "Yeah," Giovanni said, acknowledging what Ashkii said. They had agreed before that the younger man would take his luggage one of these days and Giovanni would simply follow him in his car. "There's just some stuff in my car I should have taken out and packed up but can't do now, so I'll just have to drive the darn thing with everything in it," Giovanni sighed, putting his phone away before starting the car engine. Ashkii let his eyes drift to the pigeonhole, and sure enough, it looked like documents would burst through it at any moment. They were probably what Giovanni had been referring to.

     "Okay, I just don't want to leave you," Ashkii said in a low tone.

      Giovanni smiled a little, starting at the younger man, who had a concerned look on his face. He realized he must have freaked him out with how panicked he'd been acting—fuck; he was probably still tense as shit now. "I'll be driving right behind you. Don't worry about me. Just get in your car, and I'll meet you up in front," Giovanni said, and Ashkii seemed to hesitate a bit before nodding and walking away. Giovanni drove upfront soon after, and he saw Ashkii in the front seat of his truck. He waved at the younger man, who waved back before starting his car and pulling into the road. Giovanni followed behind him. The drive was painfully quiet, since most people were not awake at seven, and it was still a little dark. They got to Ashkii's street in about fifteen to twenty minutes. Ashkii parked right in front of the house that held his basement apartment before winding his window down as Giovanni drove close.

     "Park at my regular spot in the compound. I can leave my truck out here," the younger man insisted, and Giovanni simply nodded, parking his small car closer to the building where he was used to seeing Ashkii's car.

     When the two were out of their cars, they walked down the basement stairs together, stopping at Ashkii's door before the younger man took his keys out of his pocket and opened the door. Giovanni was holding on to his travel bag, while Ashkii had the older man's backpack draped over his shoulder.

     When the door clicked open, Ashkii went in first, kicking off his shoes, and Giovanni followed, doing the same before closing the door behind him. The basement apartment was relatively warm. Giovanni looked around as Ashkii turned on the light and dropped his backpack on the living room couch. Giovanni smiled when their eyes met for a brief moment before Ashkii looked away, muttering something inaudible as he took off his jacket.

     "I'm really sorry about this..." Giovanni said, after a while of the both of them being silent. "About this, I can't doubt it's a bit sudden," the man said, strengthening his grip on the handle of the travel bag. He hadn't left his position at the door since he wasn't sure of what to do or where to begin. He would have headed to Ashkii's room, but he wasn't even sure that was where he was supposed to sleep. They had only started discussing him staying over a while ago, and the both of them hadn't planned for it to be this sudden and so poorly thought out.

     Ashkii looked over at the bartender, opening his mouth a bit before closing it again and sighing. "It's not your fault," he said, "but you might have to wait in the living room for a while. I haven't cleared out space in the drawers or wardrobe, and I was going to change the sheets..." he trailed, getting a bit quiet. He seemed flustered—understandable, but Giovanni couldn't understand why he also seemed a little embarrassed about his apartment. Sure, there were some dishes on the counter, and some stray books here and there, but it wasn't messy. Giovanni hadn't been planning to come into a five-star hotel, so he didn't quite understand why the younger man kept apologizing every time he picked something up.

     "You know, I can help you," Giovanni said, walking into the living room as he dragged the travel bag behind him. He stopped in front of Ashkii, smiling a little. "I'm also grateful that you're letting me stay. Don't worry about how everything looks. You've been to my apartment in a way worse state before."

     "I—" Ashkii started but stopped when he noticed the small smile on Giovanni's face. He closed his mouth, looking away as his face burned. Gosh, the older man had the prettiest lips in the world. He couldn't even focus enough to give him an answer. "It's just, I don't want you to be uncomfortable here," Ashkii finally got out when he found the courage to look back at the lean man.

     The older man shrugged, letting go of his luggage handle. "I'm not uncomfortable. I'm not very particular about these things," he said in a calm voice as his eyes scanned the room. "How about I help out in the kitchen, and you can get the room set?" he offered, and Ashkii seemed to think about it for a while before nodding.

     "I'll take your bag," the younger man said, reaching out for the baggage's handle before wheeling it away. When he got to the bedroom door, he heard the kitchen tap running. Giovanni was already handling the dishes.

Ashkii wasn't too sure what to do with Giovanni's stuff. He simply cleaned his room and cleared half his closet for Giovanni to use. He sat on the edge of his bed when he was done, staring at the cream-painted walls.

     This place is small. He realized on a whim, gauging how there was little to no distance between the bed and the door, the desk and drawer at the corner took up most of the space, and the fact that the only window in the basement bedroom was small and high up made it feel more like a box. Ashkii bit his bottom lip, suddenly feeling self-conscious. His bed was also smaller than Giovanni's and he was working on the assumption that the older man would be sharing the space with him. He wasn't sure what Giovanni thought about that. They cuddled a lot, but it was another thing to share a bed and space day in, and day out. The thought of Giovanni sharing his bedroom with him, though practically uncomfortable, made his heart rate skyrocket and his brain flood over with adrenaline. He was going to see and touch Giovanni every day. It felt almost surreal.

     Ashkii sat with his thoughts for a little, letting them settle in before getting off the bed and heading out of the bedroom. Fuck it, he would just wing it. It wasn't like he had a choice.

     When he got to the part of the living room where you got a clear look at the kitchenette, Ashkii noticed that Giovanni had cleaned up the dishes and wiped down the counters. The older man was currently leaning on the fridge and looking through his phone.

     "Hey," Ashkii said, making Giovanni look up.

     "I put your stuff away, but..." he started, but stopped.

     "But?" Giovanni asked, looking expectantly.

     "It's a tight fit—"

      "Oh, like your dick?"

     The joke caught Ashkii off guard, and he blinked rapidly as Giovanni chuckled from the kitchenette.

     "I'm sorry," the older man said, walking over to him. "I couldn't help it," he asked, touching Ashkii's shoulders with his slender fingers as he stared down at him. "You were saying?"

     Ashkii let out something between a heave and a whine, and that seemed to amuse Giovanni even more. "I shouldn't tease you," Giovanni managed between his chuckles. "It's funny but you look stressed."

     "I—I don't remember what I was saying," Ashkii admitted, making Giovanni laugh. It was a cute laugh—at least Ashkii thought so—giggly and bright.

     "You were saying the room was a tight fit," Giovanni offered after a while, reaching out to brush strands of hair out of Ashkii's face. "I'm going to guess you wanted to ask me if that was okay. It is. Don't worry about it."

     "We're going to share the bed."

     "I said, don't worry about it. Unless, of course, you don't want to share a bed with me. Then, I can sleep on the couch," Giovanni offered, and Ashkii's eyes went wide before he shook his head.

     "That's not what I meant at all," the younger man said. "I was just worried it might bother you."

     Giovanni seemed to think about it for a while before asking, "You're worried that what would bother me?"

     Ashkii wasn't even sure. He couldn't really explain it. Maybe he thought his very presence would be annoying to the bartender. When Ashkii didn't say anything for a good minute, Giovanni sighed, reaching out to touch Ashkii's face. He rubbed his cheeks with the base of his palm as he smiled down at him—a soft smile—reassuring, yet tired.

     "You're wonderful," Giovanni whispered. "I appreciate what you're doing for me, so don't worry about it."

     "Oh, okay," were the only words Ashkii could manage. They made Giovanni's smile widen. A sigh left the bartender's lips before he leaned down to catch Ashkii's lips. They kissed tenderly, and Ashkii restrained himself from being greedy. Instead, he let himself enjoy the soft touch of Giovanni's lips and the tiniest hint of tongue. He moaned, feeling warmth rush to his cheeks when he noticed that was enough to get him going.

     Fuck. Why tonight? He asked himself, wondering why he could even think about sex when Giovanni was so stressed just an hour ago. He should have been comforting Giovanni—taking charge like Giovanni seemed to like. But here he was having to be babied about his over-worrying and quivering over a kiss.

     He was a mess.

     And fucking undependable.

     "Fuck, I'm sorry," he mumbled when Giovanni pulled away, probably noticing the situation. "I didn't mean to. It just happened. I know it's not the time—fuck."

     Giovanni seemed a little confused. "Ashkii, it's a boner. Those tend to happen."

     There was silence for a bit until Giovanni mumbled.

     "Are you panicking?"

     "No—yes," Ashkii said back-to-back. "I want to help, not do... this." he trailed, looking down at himself and then about his place that was moderately better looking up still had a stray item here and there.

     "You're helping."

     "Not very much."

     "You're helping a lot. I have a place to stay, and that's all I need," Giovanni said, reaching out to touch Ashkii's face again. He would have hated having to talk someone through like this—he would still hate it, but he guessed he had special patience for Ashkii. Heck, he felt like he was making a million exceptions for the younger man, but he was Ashkii. What he lacked in age, maturity, and every other picky preference Giovanni had picked up along the way, he made up by being himself.

     "Let's go to bed," Giovanni said after a moment of silence. "I'm tired," he announced, taking his hand away and Ashkii just nodded. The two went to the bedroom, changing into nightclothes and crawling under the covers. For a while they stayed apart, avoiding touching in any way, but then Giovanni rolled over, reaching to touch the younger man's chest. Ashkii almost swallowed his lung at the action but managed to stay quiet, watching as Giovanni snuggled up to him.

     "Good night," the older man said, smiling that sweet smile that got Ashkii's face flaming and his chest aching.