Chapter Text
Orrin made a sad little sigh as he dropped his phone beside him on the couch. Slumping against the backrest, his gaze wandered out of the window. He really shouldn’t pout about the others cancelling their DnD night. The outside looked like the end of the world, with water coming down in a thick curtain and only lightning brightening the grey darkness.
Well, everyone except for Murtagh had cancelled. But perhaps Murtagh had simply silently agreed with the others citing the bad weather and public transport bowing to the elements. Maybe it wasn’t worth a simple message to him. Orrin sunk a little deeper into the couch. As if it hadn’t been uncomfortable enough to find out that Nasuada and him had been an item once. It didn’t reduce Orrin’s chances to zero, but it made it far more likely that Murtagh had no interest in men. And even if... Orrin was aware that in comparison to Nasuada he might count as soft. With a heart for compromising instead of slamming his fist on the table. Which meant that he likely wasn’t Murtagh’s type. No matter how much Thorn seemed inclined to shove them together (sometimes literally). Hints and opportunities which Murtagh neither picked up, nor acted on. And he couldn’t be that oblivious, couldn’t he?
Now that his evening plans were scrapped – and his mood having taken a further nose dive thanks to his pondering - Orrin mulled on what he could do. Five was definitely too early to go to bed – even if the weather made it tempting – and looking at his desk didn’t entice him to do any work either.
Grading. Sometimes he thought that he really should have gathered his things and ran away, instead of taking the ‘offer’ to teach at the university. While he loved teaching, research and writing, he absolutely didn’t like grading. Not because of the students’ works, but simply because he feared being unfair.
He groaned. No. Definitely no work this evening. Maybe an early dinner and a light-hearted movie was in order.
Just as he had managed to peel himself from the couch, his phone buzzed on the seat. Expecting perhaps another apology from Alin in the group chat, he unlocked it with a sigh. Only to almost drop it, with how his heart suddenly sped up at seeing a single message from Murtagh. His excitement quickly turned into confusion though, and then into mild horror. He looked outside where the weather was still having its apocalypse party, then back down at the message.
《 Five minutes. Bringing food. 》
A comparatively short message for Murtagh, who normally added at least one emoji as a tone indicator, because he was so used to it from messaging his dad. But Orrin couldn’t blame him for not wanting to type out a novel while outside. There was no chance he would have stayed dry in this weather.
Very carefully pushing aside thoughts about a wet Murtagh, Orrin started getting his flat in order – even if there was nothing to tidy up – then dug out a towel in preparation. And clothes. Murtagh would likely need dry clothes. Orrin felt very much like a stupid teenager when he almost giggled at the thought of Murtagh in his clothes. Still, he dug out his second-favourite pair of sweatpants and one of his favourite hoodies, dropping them on top of the towel, followed by socks.
He eyed his preparation, pondering on exchanging the hoodie for a thicker one, when the doorbell of his flat rang.
Orrin skipped over to the door – he could freely admit that – almost stumbling over a carpet edge in the hallway.
Ripping the door open, he was surprised to see Murtagh already dripping on his doormat, while Orrin’s finger was still hovering over the button to open the main entrance.
Murtagh shrugged and grinned awkwardly. “The odd guy from the ground floor saw me walk up. Must have recognized me, or perhaps he simply had pity on me.”
“Likely pity, with how you look. What’s up with the plastic bags?” Orrin nodded at Murtagh’s left hand and lower arm which was stuck in what looked large distended trash bags, then took a step back to gesture him inside.
“Ah, that’s pizza. I went to that place which has the gluten free one, for you. And the guy there got very worried that one bag might not be enough in this weather. I didn’t even have to pay for all that plastic.” He blinked at Orrin who made another sharp gesture to finally get him into his flat, then very carefully stepped onto the doormat on the inside. “I don’t want to drip everywhere.”
“Should have considered that before you went out in this weather.”
He reached out to free Murtagh from the plastic bags, then carried the pizzas into the kitchen, returning with the towel and clothes. Murtagh was currently trying to peel himself out of his jacket without flinging water against the walls.
“It wasn’t that bad when I left home. And I also still had an umbrella then. May it rest in peace… pieces.”
“I hope it served its short time well. I’ll include it in my prayers.”
“You only believe in the god of death.”
“How fitting then.” He grinned, then pushed the clothes at Murtagh and nodded towards the bathroom. “Just hang your jacket in the shower and toss the rest on the radiator. With the ventilation on, your stuff should be dry in a few hours.”
The other blinked down at the stack for a moment, then ducked his head. “Thank you.” Cheeks red, likely due to the warmth returning to his body, he shuffled into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Orrin stared at the white surface for a few seconds, then hurried back into the kitchen, focusing on putting the pizzas onto plates. The plastic bags had worked surprisingly well on keeping them warm, although Orrin would have also happily eaten it cold or reheated in the microwave. Gluten free pizza dough rarely ever got the same crunch as regular anyway, and if it did, it often was actually much too hard. His stomach growled. Hopefully, Murtagh would hurry.
As if he had heard his thoughts, just then the younger stepped into the kitchen and Orrin almost flinched. Leave it to Murtagh to move silently as a cat. And to look ridiculously stunning in Orrin’s simple cozy clothes.
“You could make a career as a model.”
“Funny.” Murtagh rolled his eyes and sat at the small kitchen table, rubbing his feet together which were now stuck in rainbow-colored fuzzy socks.
“Wasn’t a joke at all.” The words escaped Orrin before he could think them over and he swiftly turned back to the kitchen, rifling through one of the cabinets. “Do you want tea? I imagine that might be nicer than something cold.”
“Yes, please. Whatever you have. Except peppermint. That always reminds me of my dad’s worst migraine phases.”
Orrin hummed, then decided on the dragon fruit and ginger one. Ginger was always nice for warming up and it didn’t taste as offensive in this mix. Deciding that he might as well join Murtagh in this, he dropped bags into two mugs. One of the mugs proudly declared ‘coffee’ in large letters, with the molecule of what likely was supposed to be caffeine next to it, but actually was that of Guanine, which had highly amused Orrin back when he had discovered it in a random clutter shop. The other had an image of a rather adorable dog in a raincoat.
He hummed to himself as the water boiled, the kettle too loud to allow Murtagh to hear him. After pouring the water, he sat down the mugs on the table and dropped into the chair opposite from Murtagh, pushing the mug with the raincoat dog towards him.
Murtagh squinted at the image, then up at Orrin. “Enjoying yourself?”
“Let me have a little bit of giggling. I’m worried enough already that you might have caught yourself a cold out there. Didn’t you see the messages from the others? I figured that you’d agree with them. Or take a hint from the weather.”
Murtagh’s expression softened, but he made a dismissive gesture. “As I said; I had already left when it got worse, because I wanted to get pizza first. I didn’t even read that everyone was cancelling, until I left the pizza place.”
He made very innocent wide eyes and Orrin decided not to poke him with the fact that the timeline didn’t add up to him, since he knew where Murtagh lived. And that the restaurant wasn’t that far from him. The others would already have cancelled before he even would have had to leave and the storm would already have been bad. Not to mention that Murtagh suspiciously had only brought two pizzas, which also had exactly their favourite toppings.
They both picked up their forks and knifes in almost sync, both not wanting to let the pizza get cold. As much as Orrin loved their friends, it was nice to eat without unnecessary comments on his and Murtagh’s ‘posh manners’. They both simply agreed on not getting their fingers unnecessary greasy. The only difference was that Murtagh simply had taken over the habit from his fathers, while Orrin had developed it himself. His own father had the odd habit to fold his pizza in half before eating it.
His line of thoughts suddenly made him still, a piece of salmon covered pizza hovering halfway to his mouth.
“Do your fathers know where you are?”
Murtagh made a startled grunt with a piece of pizza still in his mouth, patted the pockets of his borrowed pants, then scrambled to the bathroom to dig through his jacket pockets. Once he found his phone, he made a triumphant noise, quickly strangled off by a grimace as he looked at the screen.
“I should have perhaps told them that I left. Ah, the curse of still living with your parents when being an adult.”
“I take it they aren’t exactly happy about your disappearance during this storm.”
“’Very concerned’, are the words that my dad chose. My father might spontaneously train the cat to track me down.” He rubbed his face, then quickly typed out a message. “There. Now they can sleep in peace. And maybe be cranky about it later.”
“You’re lucky. My father would likely have had already called the police at this point.”
“As if we’re little kids.”
Orrin shrugged. “They just worry.”
Murtagh grunted, then returned his attention back to his pizza.
After they had finished their dinner, they migrated to the couch, opting to watch a movie while slowly munching away on the snacks that Orrin had bought for the DnD night. After the movie, they turned to the late-night program of some obscure station, which apparently only sent repeats of old detective shows. They kept sniggering at the bad effects and dozed off repeatedly. Orrin suggested going to sleep at one point, but then the antagonist appeared on screen, looking more like a disguised clown than anything and they slumped against each other, laughing tears. He fully forgot about sleep as he watched Murtagh almost drop off the couch with laughter.
Still, they must have fallen asleep sometime shortly after.
Because when Orrin blinked his eyes open again, the storm outside had settled into a much quieter rain, not being thrown against the windows by the wind anymore. It was still dark though and looking at the red numbers on the satellite receiver told Orrin that it was barely three in the morning. Next to the couch, his reading lamp shed a dim orange glow and long soft shadows over everything. The tv must have turned itself off at some point and the blanket that he always had laying on the couch, kept Orrin from the flat’s cool air.
Actually, he was feeling much warmer than the thin blanket would have warranted.
Blinking a few times more to regain some resemblance of clear thought, he noted that his back rested against something that almost radiated warmth. Something... someone, whose breath was brushing against Orrin’s neck.
Blood shot into his cheeks and he almost giggled out loud in some odd mixture of surprise and mild panic. Especially when he felt the light weight of Murtagh’s hand on his side. It was as if a constant flow of tingling warmth was spreading through Orrin from that single spot of contact. They must have moved around in their sleep a bit to have reached this position.
He should have woken the other immediately perhaps. Should have pulled out the couch. Should have gotten Murtagh a proper pillow and blanket. Should have retreated to his bedroom and quietly cried about what could have (never) been. Instead, he did something he so rarely ever allowed himself – at least if it was on other people’s cost.
He indulged himself.
For just a moment, he closed his eyes and imagined that this was his life. That it always had been like this. Just another evening.
Perhaps he really shouldn’t have done that; sometimes he forgot that his emotions liked to run away with him and he felt tears prick at his eyes now. And his nose was starting to run a bit. He really couldn’t have anything.
As quiet as possible, he sniffed. And then a bit louder, because the first one didn’t do much.
Behind him, Murtagh stirred. Tensed. Then he sat up with a jolt and Orrin quickly followed along, even if he felt more like crawling into the couch to disappear. Sitting on his knees, Murtagh stared at him with wide eyes; an expression normally reserved for when he saw a spider and was sure that no one was watching him.
“Uhm...” Orrin awkwardly tugged on the edge of the blanket tangled between them. “Sorry for that.”
“Sorry for what? As far as I know it was me who... uh...”
Murtagh’s eyes wandered away and his mouth kept moving as if he was still talking, but he didn’t make a sound. Orrin worried for a moment that he was having a stroke. When he shifted a bit, the reading light revealed the red on his cheeks though. And Orrin dared to allow himself the smallest spark of hope, before he quickly snuffed it out again. Too much dreaming would have him cry again in the end.
He tried to untangle himself from the blanket, to stand.
“You know how to pull out the couch? I'll go and get you a proper blanket and pillow. Can’t have you ruin your neck and wake up with-”
Murtagh lunged at him and Orrin already had an apology on his tongue – thinking that he had made him fall over by tugging on the blanket too harshly – but he didn’t get to say any of it. Because he was rather busy looking stupidly up at the other who was leaning over him.
“Stop me. Please. Before I do something awkward and can never look you in the eyes again.”
Orrin blinked, a little confused. “You could never embarrass yourself that badly. Not to me.”
“Good.”
With that, Murtagh leaned forward and kissed him.
It was only a short brush of their lips, although the word ‘only’ or anything else diminishing didn’t fit it at all, to Orrin. In his mind, he envisioned the cheesy image of his heart dissolving into butterflies, while he slid a hand to the back of Murtagh’s neck, fearing that he might change his mind and run.
He didn’t. Murtagh moved back just so that their breath still tickled their lips, the expression on his face one of quiet wonder and faint worry.
“This isn’t a dream, right?”
“No, it’s not.” Orrin smiled, thinking that he might melt, as Murtagh kept staring down at him, still so close.
“I... I didn’t push you into anything, didn’t I? I admit that it was a little spontaneous and to be fair, I wasn’t so sure if I even was awake.”
His voice got a slightly nervous tone and Orrin carefully tugged him down to lie next to him. He too was still grappling with what had just happened, silly as that might be. But he wouldn’t put his own head before Murtagh’s.
“Would have been a nice dream though, right?”
His voice cracked a little on the last word and Murtagh slowly raised his hand, carefully resting it on Orrin’s side again.
“Yes. It’s far nicer that it’s real though.”
“Agreed.”
In the back of his mind, some nagging voice told him that they really should go to bed and sleep properly. But Orrin decided to ignore it for now. It was Friday anyway; they wouldn’t have to get up early. And this right here, was so much more important.
“I should have just asked you out on that date, last week.”
“Last week?” Orrin raised an eyebrow, digging through his brain if he had missed something.
“Mhm. The movie our whole group ended up seeing together? I invited only you at first.” Murtagh looked down into the dark space between them. “I just worded the message really awkwardly and after you answered and asked about the others, I didn’t know how to save it without making a complete idiot out of myself.” He pulled a face. “And maybe this today – yesterday – was me seizing the opportunity to finally spend some time with you alone. It really is ridiculously difficult to catch you alone.”
“Sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize for it. I could have simply been less awkward about it.” He sighed, then looked up again.
Something about his expression stole Orrin’s breath for a second.
“Never stop being you. And you’ll have all the time and chances now.” Orrin grinned, bumping their noses together. “Or you leave it to me.”
“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you. I can already see us going through all the odd rocks museums.”
“That was one time and it were crystals.” Orrin gave a faux dramatic huff, then chuckled. “But I am curious what ideas you have.”
“I’ll let that be a surprise.”
“Alright.”
He shifted forward, trying to catch another kiss, but Murtagh turned his head with a chuckle, making him chase after him and leaving pecks all over his face in the process. It went until Murtagh had catch them both before they could tumble off the sofa and hit themselves on the couch table.
He snorted, giving Orrin an awkward pat on the back, then twisted his neck a bit to catch a glimpse of the time displayed on the satellite receiver.
“Oh. I thought it was almost morning, but it’s only past three.”
“Sorry, should have said that. I got a little distracted.” Orrin manoeuvred himself off of the couch, then held out his hand to pull Murtagh up. “Would you be okay with sleeping together in my bed? It would spare us wrestling the couch...”
“No need to ask. Of course I don’t mind.”