Chapter Text
Tyrell was bored. He sort of felt like he was in primary school again, visiting the Stockholm City Hall with his class, only this time they wouldn't go to McDonalds afterwards. He still had to feign interest though in what the tour guide was saying. Tyrell was nodding and smiling but barely listening to the nervous-looking blonde walking beside him. Terry Colby had wanted them all to personally visit the cybersecurity firm that did such a good job protecting the company against the occasional attacks, but Tyrell failed to see the point in it - they were just doing what they were paid to do.
They stopped next to a row of cubicles so that Colby could take a look at one of the terminals and pretend to understand what he was shown. Tyrell glanced at the screen as well, was that guy running Gnome? The man in question turned his attention to him so Tyrell had no other option but to introduce himself.
"Oh hi. Tyrell Wellick, Senior Vice President, Technology."
"Elliot, just a tech," he said.
It turned out that the day wasn't so insignificant after all.
---
Elliot woke up to the sound of someone quietly snoring. Right, Tyrell's here.
There was a faint light in the bedroom so Elliot assumed it was early in the morning. He rolled over slowly to face Tyrell's back. Tyrell's still here? Oh, we live together now. He's going to be here every morning. This is good, right?
They had finally settled into their new condo even if it would still take some time for each thing to find its place. The adjustment from living alone to living together had been surprisingly painless, although sharing the bed for the whole night, each night, felt strange to Elliot. Fortunately it seemed that Tyrell wasn't the spooning type.
"Tyrell," Elliot whispered.
Then he said his name again, louder this time. Tyrell began to stir, mumbling something incoherent, and turned to his other side, now facing Elliot. He was sleeping again. Elliot liked seeing him like that, he reminded him of those shards of broken glass that he and his father used to look for by the seaside, in another life. The waves had smoothed the glass until it was sharp no longer but almost soft to touch. In the grey light, Tyrell too lost all of his hard edges. He became soft - his hair without any products in it, the cashmere jumper he usually slept with - but also his eyes, his features, his voice and his words. He laid bare before Elliot.
"What are you thinking?"
So he wasn't asleep. Elliot hummed in response and moved to close the distance between them, noses all but touching.
"Wanna know what I'm thinking about?" Tyrell went on.
"Mmh?"
"You. I had a dream about you."
A pause before he continued: "It was that day again when we first met, do you remember it? Only this time..."
Elliot wasn't paying close attention to his words when Tyrell's breath was suprisingly kissable for someone who had just woken up, the warmth from his lips very welcoming. He cut off Tyrell's nonsense by bringing their lips together, tenderly at first but slowly deepening the kiss. Tyrell moved and shifted until he was on top of Elliot, placing all his weight on him. Elliot laid both hands on his face to keep him close, even closer than he had thought enjoyable, their bodies pressed together from head to toe, legs tangled. It was Tyrell who broke apart first, smiling lazily, pale eyes endlessly soft, and moved back to his side of the bed. Elliot found himself missing the close proximity but settled for only their shoulders touching.
Tyrell picked up Elliot's hand to play with it, tracing the lines on his palm and trailing the veins on his wrist. Tyrell often did that, as if fascinated with his skinny fingers and bitten nails. It had felt odd for Elliot in the beginning but now he had grown used to it and took comfort in the sensation.
"I was thinking about you too...before, when you asked me and I didn't say anything, I think."
He could feel Tyrell's eyes on him and a blush rising to his own cheeks. Fuck, why was he getting so nervous all of a sudden? For the last month or so, Krista had urged Elliot to talk more about Tyrell during their therapy sessions but Elliot was always reluctant and at a loss for words. He didn't want to share Tyrell, even with Krista when all he had to do was share his thoughts of him. Now it was difficult to talk about Tyrell with the man himself.
Elliot kept his eyes fixed on the ceiling and concentrated on the gentle sound of waves lapping the sand. His father wasn't there to help him find sea glass this time.
"What I want to say is that sometimes I run away when things get too scary - or just too difficult, I don't know - but don't let me do it, okay? I know I should stay realistic and that there's a million ways we could go wrong and that it's often not even up to us, but I don't ever want to look back at us and regret this very moment or any other moment like this."
Elliot chanced a look at Tyrell. Tyrell regarded him seriously. For a second, Elliot was sorry for ruining the relaxed mood, but then Tyrell gave his hand a small squeeze, and said:
"I'll never let you go, Elliot. I know that you think you're hard to love and I admit, you're a complex person, but loving you is the most effortless thing I've ever done. A year ago, I could never have imagined this life with you but you've... changed me, in a way, and I'm beginning to see a different future for myself. A future with you. Do you feel the same?"
Did he? A future without fear and loneliness, one filled with sunny days and starry nights, an endless dream. Maybe if he wanted it hard enough, pretended to believe in it hard enough, he could make it true.
"I do feel the same, " Elliot answered and that was the truth.