Our Story of Seasons: Pete X Claire

Chapter 6: Home Dilemma

"My name is Pete."

"My name is Claire, but you already knew that."

That's a pretty name. "Nice to meet you, Claire." Pete stared at the orange gradient of the sky. The Sun was setting. "I guess, uh... we should settle in first?"

"It is getting late..." Claire checked her wristwatch. Nearly evening. She then looked at the house behind him. "Is that our home? It looks... very small."

Pete immediately understood the implication behind her words. If they were staying on the farm together, that also meant they would be living together. Ah, I didn't think about that. With all the chaos that happened moments ago, he didn't think of the living conditions.

"Let's check it out, shall we...?" Pete walked to the house, reluctance in his footsteps. I don't think there is enough furniture for us.

Is this really happening...? Claire followed behind her potential housemate. She hoped the house was spacious enough for both. What challenges would she have to face with a housemate? She always lived alone after moving out of her parents' house. Hoping for the best...

Pete opened the door, surprised to find it unlocked. He entered, with Claire coming in moments later.

"It's pretty dark in here," Claire whispered.

Pete placed his palm on the wall and traced his fingers around. "Let me see if I can find the light switch."

CLICK!

Pete and Claire looked around. Unsurprisingly, it was a small house but it had a lot of empty space on the left side of the room. In the center was a table and two chairs. To the right of them was a chest. A bookshelf, TV, and a desk sat at the top of the room. There was a toilet on the left corner of the room. Essentially...

... it was the bare minimum.

"What... is this?" Claire blinked a few times, shocked. "Is this the whole house?"

"I expected as much." Pete folded his arms and looked around. "Did you expect more from a small house?"

"For starters, there isn't any bathroom! Not even a kitchen! There are no other rooms, either!" Claire huffed and waved her arms around. "Are we supposed to live together like this?"

"Take it easy, Claire." Pete raised a hand to shush her. Her attitude gave him a slight headache. "The old man lived alone. He wouldn't see any need for those things."

"Oh, God, Pete!" Claire clasped her face and bowed her head. "Where am I going to put all my stuff? How will I take baths? How am I supposed to do my business?"

"Can you please... slow down?" Pete sighed deeply, rubbing his temples.

"Slow down?" Claire raised a brow. "You are strangely too accepting of all this."

"I'm not a fan of our living conditions and arrangement either." Pete crossed his arms. There's nothing we can do for now. "We'll have to make do with it."

I wish I had half your patience. Claire wanted to pull out her hair. She envied his calm demeanor. This house was a massive downgrade from her apartment. At least I had all the facilities back in the city! Was a free farm worth all this? Hell, she even has a surprise roommate! This is all so overwhelming...

"Look, let's take things one step at a time, okay?" Pete turned to her and waved at the empty space. "You can put all your stuff there in the meantime."

Claire took a deep breath and let it out slowly. True, there was a lot of space there. It's not like she brought a ton of stuff. I can... do that, right? Let's focus on one thing at a time...

"I'm sure we can furnish the home. Probably." Pete stroked his chin in deep thought. He couldn't imagine staying like this forever. We could renovate the house eventually.

"I want to get a kitchen and a bathroom as soon as possible!" Claire carried her suitcase to the empty corner of the room. "No, I should get my own room first! Better yet, a new house!"

"I wouldn't say that's... impossible." Pete inspected the wallpaper. A wooden style, how classic. "You'll need to save up for that."

Claire set her suitcase sideways on the floor and unzipped it. She glanced at the toilet. "Ugh, I don't think we have warm baths here, do we?" That might be such a luxury here. I wish the house had a bathroom...

"No, but..." Pete walked to the chest and checked its contents. Oh, the old man's tools. "If I remember correctly, there's a hot spring to the south of the farm. You can take baths there if you'd like."

"There's a hot spring?" Claire asked, her eyes sparkling with interest. Now that sounds much better than a warm bath! That'll solve the bath issues for now.

"I think so." Pete walked to the table in the center. It had a white cloth covering it. He knocked the wooden surface a few times. Pretty sturdy.

"I'll sort the rest of my stuff later..." Claire took out her pink pajamas to change into. She felt drained. "I'm exhausted after everything that's happened today."

"I'm with you on that one." Pete grabbed an inconspicuous book from the bookshelf. The old man's journal. So much has happened today. He simply came here to check on the old man. And somehow, I've ended up in this position.

"So... where do we sleep?" Claire looked around the room. She noticed one bed in the corner of the room. One bed. A singular bed. A lone bed.

"There's a bed over there." Pete stared at the mattress, oblivious. "The old man lived alone, after all."

"Uh..."

"Mhmm..."

A deafening silence filled the entire room.

"H-Hold on, there's only one bed?!" His mouth went agape, finally realizing the implication of his words.

"You just realized this now?!" Claire groaned and slapped her forehead. "Where has your mind been this entire time?"

"S-Sorry." Pete rubbed the side of his neck. He didn't realize how severely limited this house would be for two people when the bed is involved. Now, I'm quite concerned about renovations...

Ugh, this is the worst. Claire clawed away at her face. The first major concern of living with a housemate has arrived. I could probably bear everything else, but this...? There's no way they could share the bed! One obvious question popped into their heads. They knew they had to ask this. Otherwise, no one would get any sleep.

"Who's going to take the–..."

"I'll... sleep on the floor." Pete cut the uncomfortable atmosphere between them. "You can sleep on the bed."

"H-Huh...?" Her eyes widened in surprise. She didn't expect him to answer directly. "Are you sure...?"

"A girl needs her beauty sleep..." Pete took his backpack off. "I doubt you've ever slept on the floor?"

Claire shook her head. "I never have, but..."

"Then it's settled." He clapped his hands. "I'll sleep on the floor. You take the bed."

"But isn't the floor cold and hard?" She asked with concern, her feet tapping the floor. This doesn't look comfortable. "And what about pillows and blankets?" There was only one of each on the bed.

"Don't worry about it." Pete took off his cap and set it on the table. "I'll use my backpack as a pillow. I think it's soft enough."

"... If you say so." Claire nodded timidly. He's quite a gentleman. She preferred sleeping on the bed. But... this doesn't feel right.

"We can talk it out and make arrangements tomorrow." Pete dropped his bag to the floor. "Right now... we need some rest."