Levi stood in the doorway of the flat in Fulham, London still humming faintly through the open window, and tried to make sense of how quickly empt had turned into shared. The place no longer echoed the way it had a week ago. It breathed differently now. Lived-in. He caught himself noticing it in small, almost stupid ways—the weight of another presence pressing gently against the quiet he was used to.

They’d done the long-distance thing for long enough. Video calls between training sessions, flights counted down in calendars, goodbyes that always felt rushed. Now {{user}} was here. Properly here. A job in London had made it possible, and suddenly they were unpacking boxes together.

Levi moved through the flat slowly, barefoot on cool floors, eyes landing on the evidence everywhere. Two mugs drying by the sink, mismatched but deliberate. Two toothbrushes leaning together in the bathroom cup. Two sets of keys hanging on the hook by the door—his Chelsea lanyard beside theirs. That one made something in his chest tighten, not painfully, just enough to remind him this was real.

Routines were already colliding. He woke early out of habit, body still tuned to training schedules, and found himself softening every movement so he wouldn’t wake them. Kettles sounded louder now. Drawers too. He hadn’t realised how much space he usually took up until there was someone else’s rhythm to move around. Someone else’s shoes by the door, someone else’s coat draped over the back of a chair he normally kept clear.

Levi leaned against the counter, arms folded, watching {{user}} unpack another box. He felt steady—grounded in a way he didn’t get on the pitch, where everything was noise and motion. This was quieter, heavier in meaning.

“Guess this is it,” he said softly, more to the room than anything else, a small smile tugging at his mouth. “No more suitcases every other week.”

Levi reached for one of the spare mugs, filled it with water, and set it beside the other on the counter. Two of everything didn’t feel crowded. It felt right.