Work Text:
Hercules could hear the tell-tale sound of a key being turned in the lock, then the door slamming and shoes being kicked off with more force than they probably deserved.
"I call dibs on Herc!" John called out before he'd even reached the living room. A moment later, he came marching through the door, a scowl on his face as he headed for the couch.
Not sure what he was supposed to expect, Hercules opened his mouth, but John just shook his head and crawled onto the couch, squirmed his way under Herc's arms and settled curled up on his lap.
"Go on," he muttered, face tucked into the crook of Hercules' neck.
Herc blinked at him for a moment, his sewing supplies still in his hands. "Alright?" Despite the now slightly awkward angle, he managed two more stitches on his project before Alexander poked his head in from the kitchen.
"Everything okay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at them.
Hercules moved to shrug, but John just muttered from his position: "I hate people."
"I take offence to that," Herc told him drily.
"Most people," John amended. "Y'all are cool." With that, he lapsed into silence again, apparently unwilling to say anything more about the topic.
Alex looked on from the doorway for another moment before he chuckled. "That's okay, then." He retreated into the kitchen - Herc was halfway certain he and Lafayette were making out in there more than they were cooking - and left the two of them on the couch.
For a few minutes, they sat in silence, Herc threading his needle through soft fabric while John breathed against him, silent, tension slowly bleeding from his shoulders.
"You know, if you wanna talk about it..."
"No."
"Okay."
It wasn't all that unpleasant, having John draped over him like that. Maybe it was also the knowledge that it was him and not one of the other two that John had decided to come to immediately upon entering; so Herc pressed a kiss to John's unruly curls and kept on working.
Eventually, when he'd snipped off the last bit of thread and finished off the seams, John an immovable object on his lap, Hercules called out for Alex. The man bounded through the doorway from the kitchen a moment later, cheeks flushed and hair in disarray, with a slightly smug pull to his lips.
"Why do I feel like there's no dinner getting made in that kitchen," Hercules commented drily.
Alex waggled his eyebrows. "Define dinner."
"Ew, gross, guys," John complained, still not moving. "Seriously!"
"We would have heard them," Herc pointed out with a shake of his head. "He's messing with us." Careful not to dislodge John, he reached up and wound the scarf he'd been working on around Alex' neck. "There you go."
Alexander beamed at him and bent down to press a kiss to his lips. "You're awesome." Herc watched the small smile on Alex' face as he adjusted the scarf around his neck, threw one end of it over his shoulder and ran his fingers over the fabric gently. Like a scarf made from scratch was the best thing he'd gotten all year.
"Whaddaya need a scarf for, it's barely September," John piped up.
Alex swatted him with one end of the garment. "It gets cold here," he sniffed. "Shut up."
"Do you want one too?" Herc offered and that finally spurred some movement into John as he sat up slightly, even if it was just to narrow his eyes at Herc.
"Dude. I just told you I think scarves in September are ridiculous."
"I can give it a turtle pattern."
John's eyes narrowed further and he was silent for a few seconds before he huffed and dropped back against Herc's chest. "That's cheating."
Hercules shrugged, ruffled John's hair slightly. "That's fine, I meant to do Gil's next anyway-"
"No," John cut him off and Hercules grinned at Alex over his head. "I want my scarf now. No takesie-backsies."
"Thought so."
Lafayette appeared in the doorway to the kitchen then, taking the scene in with a soft smile before he walked into the living room. He was wearing a ridiculous 'kiss the cook' apron that Herc had gotten him as a gag gift years ago and not managed to get rid of since, and had skipped his contacts in favour of dark-rimmed glasses.
"Dinner will be ready in five minutes," he announced as he leaned down to press a kiss to Herc's forehead, then one to John's hair. "Bonsoir, mon cher."
John gave a pleased little hum and then turned his head up and demanded: "I want a proper kiss."
Herc laughed quietly while Alex dropped onto the couch beside him and leaned against his side, his head on Hercules' shoulder.
Not for the first time, he found himself thinking that he could get used to this.