Chapter Text
2.
Tom stirred. Something was different; he felt it even while he was asleep. He opened his eyes, but it was too dark to see. And why was it so hot? He couldn’t breathe for a second and started to push at his surroundings, but whatever was on top of him, it was too heavy to move. The more he tried to get away, the more he got tangled in the heavy blankets. He felt like suffocating and panic took over, when the weight above him suddenly lifted and he could breathe again.
His hands still clawed at the sheets now pooling around his hips and Tom felt himself shivering violently. Blood was rushing in his ears and sweat stung in his furiously blinking eyes. A dark shadow loomed over him and Tom shrank back, trying to hide away, to wake up from the nightmare that seemed to be real after all, but large hands took hold of his shoulders.
“Tom, Tom, wake up, it’s me.” The words were nothing but an unrecognizable noise in his ears and he started to fight in earnest, but it was just useless. The other one was to strong and pulled him into unrelenting arms, holding him only tighter the more he fought. And without the chance to move, without the chance to win, Tom just gave up and fell still within the embrace.
“There you go, hush.”
The deep rumbling voice was all around him, like the layers of fabric mere seconds ago. It was familiar, somehow, but so was the wetness and sting of tears in his eyes. It took another long while to realise that it was him who sobbed brokenly into the cage of strength and soft huffs of breath to his heated skin and sticky hair.
“Tom it’s me, Chris.”
He knew this, right? He had regognized the heavy accent and broad chest he had hugged so many times and that stupid-ass shampoo smelling of raspberries and rainforest. Almost instantly there was more than panic rushing through his veins. Still, his brain couldn’t keep up that fast; his body rigid like a freshly strung bow even though they were lying comfortably on his king-size bed.
“Shhh, relax baby, I am here. I am here, not going anywhere.”
The words were drowning to a soft murmur, hardly to be heard, nor understood. Just the constant rumbling was there, the warm air they provided, the dull aching feeling they left behind. Tom felt like falling and being caught securely again, relaxing more and more until he was nothing but a pliant mass of nerves and emotions in those arms, he couldn’t get enough of.
Tom wasn’t sure if he could trust his voice, but he needed to ask, needed to just know. “Why?”
He wasn’t even sure Chris had heard him, it was barely a whisper.
A deep chuckle told him otherwise. He shook with the force of it, relaxing even further into the warm embrace.
“Because it’s your birthday, silly. You think I forgot? How could I not come and be with you?”
The last words kept ringing in his ears like the little bells he always thought as a kid Santa’s reindeers would wear. Like a dream come to life.
His breath hitched a little when he suddenly was pushed down and the blankets pulled back over his head. The only difference was that he wasn’t alone anymore. Chris was here with him, here, in his fort. A solid reminder that he hadn’t forgotten. That he was important.
Heat hugged him tightly again. He couldn’t see anymore, only feel and that was almost too much, stealing his breath away once more. Lips, soft and firm at the same time found his and claimed and took what they wanted, leaving nothing behind of the misery Tom had felt earlier, just something that was warm and fuzzy and screamed Chris’ name.
When they finally broke away from the kiss, gasping for air like deep-sea divers, a grin so wide it threatened to split his face in two took over and Tom thought that he could die a happy man right now.
“Now, tell me love…”
The accent was even heavier, when Chris was out of breath and Tom felt another wave of heat wash over him, making him push deeper into his arms, even daring to grind his hips a little. Chris simply rolled over, pinning him heavily against the mattress underneath, taking each of Tom’s hands in his own, and easily holding them down beside his head.
And Tom wanted to protest or whine at the words, but instead stole another quick kiss, before Chris pulled out of reach, looking him deeply in the eyes.
“Tell me why you turned off your phone, love? You missed a million calls today. Half of them were mine by the way.”
Tom must have looked almost comically, when he remembered how hard his hand had clenched around his cellphone in a moment of frustration much earlier that day, probably turning it off with it.
Chris chuckled again. “Thought so, love.”
He leaned down, coaxing Tom’s lips open and kissing him again like all the secrets of the earth lay hidden right there. And Tom let him, hoping he’d dig deep and never stop.
End