The Quarantine Diary of Adam Garrett [mxm]

Day 5

It happened—Brad came in and cleaned my room.

Luckily I didn't have to do any video calls. None of my coworkers had to watch a tall, burly man in sweatpants and a tank top strip my bed, clean my window, and dust my bookshelf. I watched him in the reflection of my screen, strangely nervous the whole time. I don't know what I expected. It wasn't like he was going to open my drawers.

But in a way, someone going around your room tidying is like opening drawers. He got up close and personal with my bookshelf. I could put it out in the living room, but I prefer to have my books right near my bed. If there's anything I feel like grabbing, late at night, I can just reach for it. If I feel like a reread of Heart of Darkness or Dune or one of my favourite manga series, I can go for it. The thought of Brad over there, looking at the spines of all my favourite books... it's kind of unsettling.

When I was finished work, Brad was already halfway done making dinner. Pasta with garlic bread, and he'd made the bread himself. I didn't believe him at first. I didn't really realize people could just make bread. But apparently they can, because Brad did it. Brad—Mr. Big Manly Dude. And it was delicious! Fluffy and soft, with the perfect crust.

"I'll teach you how," he offered. "Tomorrow's the weekend, right?"

I assured him that, yes, tomorrow was the weekend. I ate my pasta and bread and we watched Penn and Teller: Fool Us. Turns out we both love magic. I suggested we learn a magic trick tomorrow, too. Brad really liked that idea.

"That's such a fucking good idea," he kept saying. "Let's learn magic! Why not? This is the perfect time."

So tomorrow we're going to make bread and learn how to make a coin disappear. We'll see how this goes.