"I swear, if you broke it and I have to fix it for the fourth time, I'm going to throw something. And it's going to be you out of this house." He sighed heavily and pushed off the counter, heading down the hall to see what was going on with his washing machine, praying to any god he could think of that he wouldn't have to fix it or, even worse, replace it.
Arlen silently cursed the washing machine for ruining the cute moment they were having, but reluctantly followed Carson down the hall. "I'm like 95% sure that it's fine, babe." There was no way he could've broken it again, right? He wasn't even sure how he broke it the first few times, but it couldn't have been his fault.
"That's not 100% and that's the problem, Arlen." He retorted, heading into the laundry room to figure out what the problem was. He turned off the washer and opened the top, groaning in exasperation as he rested his head on the edge of it. "For fucks sake. Why me. What did I do to deserve this." He lifted his head and reached inside, moving the main piece and listening to it clunk around. "Broken. Again. Why am I not surprised." He pulled out the hairtie keeping his bun in place, letting his hair come down so he could fix it before getting to work.
Arlen stared down at the broken washer for a moment. It was just a washing machine, it wasn't the end of the world. It wasn't even his fault that it had broken. Right? Had he messed up again? Sure he'd loaded it quickly, but he was careful too. Was it his fault? Guilt washed over him immediately. He masked it well, thankfully. "How bad is it?" He asked softly. "I-I'm really sorry. How can I help? I'll pay for anything broken, or-or I'll fix it myself this time."
"No, Arlen, it's fine. Nothing I can't do on my own." He shot his boyfriend a soft smile, coming over to kiss his cheek. "I think it's just this thing getting old and sick of being repaired rather than anything you actually did. Don't feel bad, I know how you get about stuff like this." He stroked Arlen's cheek to try and calm him down. "If you really want to, you can help me fix it. Just like you always have."
"Mm. If you say so." He weakly accepted Carson's reassurances, to this day still amazed that he could see through him so effortlessly. He gazed at his boyfriend for a moment, in awe that he'd managed to land even a date with the angel in front of him. "I'd like to help if there's anything I can do," he offered softly.
"Well first things first, do you think you could braid my hair? I'm starting to get a headache from having it up for so long." He chuckled shyly, combing his fingers through his hair. "After that we can get to work on this old thing."
Arlen nodded eagerly. "Yeahyeahyeah, of course!" He had learned how to braid hair forever ago from his mother, though it had been a while since he'd done it on human hair- it'd mostly been animal hair, horse manes, or something of the like. He (very carefully) hopped up and sat on the dryer, motioning for Carson to turn around so he could get started.
"Y'know, it really isn't fair that you get to sit on the dryer when you're three inches taller than me." Carson huffed but turned and leaned against it to let Arlen reach his hair.
"I need to reach your hair somehow, and three inches isn't enough of a height difference for me to be able to do that comfortably." He chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of Carson's head before beginning to gently braid his hair, nimble fingers making quick work of the task.
Carson scrolled through one of his many YouTube playlists, this one dedicated to fix it videos he'd found to fix the various things that broke around the house. "This is actually pretty relaxing. I keep forgetting how comfortable it is to have someone else comb through my hair."
"Well, I guess I'll have to do it more often then." He, personally, hoped that Carson would continue to grow his hair out. Not only did it look spectacular but it would also be fun to play around with, braiding it and such. "How do you have so many playlists? What are they all for?" Arlen mused, peering over his boyfriend's shoulder.
"Excuse you, they all have very specific purposes. This one happens to be for fixing whatever shit we somehow manage to break in this house. I'm trying to find the one for the washer, I know it's around here somewhere…" He chewed on his lip as he searched, a bad habit from his childhood he'd never managed to break.
Reading over a few of the other playlists within eyeshot, he chuckled. "I'm sure they do." As infatuated as he was with his boyfriend, it was no wonder that he noticed the small habit. Taking the strawberry blonde hair into a single hand and shifting it to one side (carefully, so as not to disturb the in-progress braid), Arlen reached forward with his other hand and gently tilted Carson's jaw toward him before leaning forward and kissing him softly.
Carson was a little surprised when his face was suddenly moved and kissed but he certainly didn't argue with it. He just melted into it, leaning back more into Arlen's touch.
What I wouldn't give to stay like this all the time… He couldn't help but smile as the thought drifted into his mind.
Arlen was so stupidly happy right now. "…What are the chances that the washer can wait?" He had pulled back just enough to ask the question, laughing. "You could do your laundry at my house, I've got a functioning washer. Or just wear my clothes. Or nothing. I'd be A-okay with either of those options."
"I guess it can wait. As for now, get back down here, I'm not done with you." He tugged Arlen back down to kiss him again.
Arlen chuckled and obliged, dropping the work in progress braid. It quickly unraveled, but frankly he wasn't too focused on that at the moment- he could redo it later if need be. He dropped his hands to Carson's shoulders, gently getting him to turn around completely so he could tug him a bit closer. As close as he could be, honestly.
Carson slipped his hands around Arlen's waist, squeezing his sides gently. He tilted his head slightly to deepen the kiss, feeling his heart beat quicker as he did.
Arlen fiddled with the neckline of Carson's shirt, making a small, embarrassing noise as the kiss deepened and he moved closer. He could practically feel his face light on fire. He was always a sucker for physical touch, and while he gave it out constantly and casually, he tended to get flustered when he received anything more than a quick show of affection in return.
Carson couldn't help but smile against his lips when he heard him. He always found it surprising that Arlen got so shy around a lot of physical affection, although he supposed his own usual lack of it didn't help. So whenever Carson did return his boyfriend's touch more than just in passing, he reveled in Arlen's flustered reaction to it.
Caught up in the heat of the moment, Arlen didn't retaliate as he normally would've- which probably would've been an embarrassed, light kick to the shin. He didn't know how long this would last so he elected to just enjoy it while he could. He shifted his left hand back up to Carson's hair, running his fingers through the light-colored locks. Still unsatisfied with the bit of distance left between them, he nudged Carson closer with the heel of his foot, pressing the two of them together.
Carson moved his hands so that they would smooth up and down his legs and hips rather than just sitting on his waist. He honestly found the motion soothing, plus he got a real kick of listening to Arlen get so embarrassed by it. He loved this man so much it was nearly painful to think about. This was just one of the small ways he chose to show it.
Arlen had always been more vocal in these things, and without fail it embarrassed the hell out of him every time. It didn't help that Carson was insanely attractive and knew exactly what to do to get him to make his embarrassing noises. "I love you, oh my god," he murmured breathlessly into the kiss, not wanted to back away any further than he had to and immediately connecting their lips again after he spoke.
"I know you do sunshine, I love you too." The words were nearly lost in the constant movement of their lips but he did manage to say it. There was always a limit that Carson found he had when it came to Arlen. It was a steady growth from when the contact started until he hit a point, then from that point on Carson snapped a little and just could not get enough despite his usual hesitation and wariness. And he was starting to reach that point. Especially with Arlen continuously playing with his hair the way he was.