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Leonard wakes with a start, heart hammering.
As the bed underneath him shakes, his first panicked thought is for his mother and he starts to get up, planning to run upstairs to her room, only to realize that he's not in his bed or even his house. The events of the previous night come back in a rush: dinner with Jim, holding hands as they walked through the neighborhood, dancing and kissing in the crowded club before rushing back to Jim's apartment where they had the best sex of Leonard's life.
Twice.
Unfortunately, it appears it's also going to be the last sex of his life. As the bed continues trembling he turns around to see Jim roll onto his back but otherwise he appears to still be sleeping soundly. If he weren't consumed with blind terror, Leonard would take a minute to appreciate the pretty picture Jim makes as he lies there naked with the sheet draped over his hips, all smooth, pale skin over hard muscle. There are few dark spots where he'd marked Jim with sucking kisses or driven him into fits of giggles by scraping his stubbled cheek along his ribs and Leonard can see glimpses of them every time the lights flicker.
Lights?
Apparently, the massive geological forces that are causing the bed to shudder are wreaking havoc with the wiring. That, combined with glimpses of the brick wall behind the bed remind him just how old and dangerous the building is as he imagines that wall crumbling on top of them.
"JIM!"
Without a second thought, he throws himself on top of the other man, wrapping one arm over Jim's head and hunching his shoulders to try and protect Jim's vulnerable head and chest from falling masonry.
Jim finally wakes with a start, limbs flailing, as he pushes against his chest, obviously just as disoriented as Leonard was when he first woke just seconds ago. Jim quickly stops fighting him and stares up, confusion evident on his face.
Raising his hand, Leonard starts to sign, hoping the flashing light will give enough illumination that Jim can understand him. Though how Jim could not have figured out what was happening already is beyond him.
[[E-A-R-T-H-]]
He stops, panicked brain desperately trying to remember what comes next.
Q! What's the sign for Q?!
Jim seems to have figured out what Leonard was trying to say because his eyes get even wider and Leonard begins to pull away, planning to run over to the doorway to the bathroom. Hopefully it will give them some kind of protection until the shaking finally stops. Before he can get up, he feels the bed jolt as Jim gives a shout and brings his hands up to his face.
Leonard's already racing heart beats even faster, worried that Jim has been hurt somehow. But when he looks into his face, he's shocked into stillness when he see that Jim's hands are covering his obviously-smiling mouth and his eyes are crinkled at the corners, practically dancing with mirth.
The beautiful bastard is laughing at him.
At first he thinks it's a hysterical (no pun intended) reaction to the threat of imminent death-by-collapsing-building. But the way Jim's body jerks arrhythmically under him makes Leonard realize that the bed isn't lurching or jumping the way he'd expected.
In his surprise at Jim's reaction, his mind stops racing long enough to take in a few more pieces of information he'd overlooked in his initial panic. For example, the bed isn't shaking so much as...vibrating. As if sensing his thoughts, the buzzing stops just as the lights flicker off only to turn on again a second later – at the exact time the bed begins vibrating again.
Mortification begins to set in as he looks at the nightstand to see the glass of water there is perfectly still. Next to it, the digital clock is blinking the time.
5:15
The lights go on and the bed buzzes.
5:15
The lights go off and the bed stops.
5:16
The lights go on...
"Oh, my god," Leonard groans and falls to the side, flat on his back with his hands covering his face. He can feel his cheeks get hot and his ears warm as the blush of humiliation quickly spreads all the way to his toes. Suddenly, he's reminded of his nakedness and sits up to grab the sheet just as he feels Jim roll over and fumble with something on the nightstand. He hears the click of the alarm being turned off; the lights stay on and the bed stills at last.
Lying back down, Leonard yanks the sheet up, stretching it tight over his body and past the top of his head while his brain is stuck on repeat.
Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck...
He can feel Jim gently trying to pry the sheet out of his hands, but Leonard's got a death grip on it, desperate to avoid facing Jim after he's made such a fool out of himself. After a few moments, Jim stops pulling at the sheet and Leonard thinks he's going to let him hide and regain at least the semblance of composure.
That hope is quickly dashed when the mattress jostles and cool hair hits Leonard's feet as Jim untucks the sheet from the foot of the bed and crawls under it. He takes a few moments to settle himself between Leonard's legs before resting his head on Leonard's chest. Jim is still chuckling silently, making his stomach twitch against Leonard's groin, but any arousal he would expect to feel with Jim's naked body pressed so intimately against his is overwhelmed by embarrassment.
Leonard brings his sheet-filled hands down to cover his eyes and feels more than hears Jim giggle. He doesn't know how long they lay there; eventually Jim stops laughing but makes no move to pull the sheet away. Finally, he feels Jim shift and place a gentle kiss on his sternum, just over his heart, and Leonard sighs, lifting his hands over his head enough to peer down at him. The blue-tinged light that filters through the sheet allows him to see Jim's smile before he gives his chest another chaste kiss. Jim pulls away enough to give his hands some room.
[[Sorry. Forgot to turn off the alarm.]]
Flushing with renewed embarrassment, Leonard just shrugs and shakes his head, reluctant to let go of the sheet for reasons he can't explain.
[[You tried to protect me, didn't you?]]
While it seems impossible, Leonard feels his skin get even warmer and imagines he's roughly the shade of a boiled lobster right now. Tightening his grip on the useless sheet, he just gives another shrug and avoids Jim's eyes. Again, Jim seems to understand and lays back down, folding his hands across Leonard's chest and propping his chin atop them.
Several minutes pass as Leonard looks anywhere but directly at Jim and the other man just waits patiently. Heaving another sigh, Leonard finally looks down and meets Jim's gaze. As they watch one another, Leonard finally starts to feel himself relax, his grip on the sheet easing. Suddenly, Jim grins and bats his eyelashes, mouthing, "My hero."
Whether it was Jim's intent or not, what's left of Leonard's embarrassment mutates into annoyance and he scowls, which only makes Jim's smile widen. Still refusing to let go of the sheet, Leonard carefully mouths, "You suck."
Instantly, Jim's smile becomes a leer and Leonard feels his body react to the implications of that look. Eyes locked with one another's, Jim starts kissing his way down Leonard's body, leaving one hand at the base of his throat so he can feel Leonard's incipient moans. Tossing the sheet aside, Leonard folds one hand over Jim's and gently threads his fingers through Jim's hair with the other.
Soon the bed begins shaking for an entirely different reason.
END