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They're both in the backyard sitting side by side on the steps to Gordon's house, hiding from the heat in the shade of the awning, exhausted from setting up a second raised dirt bed to expand the garden. Gordon's smiling, watching Sunkist chase Joshua around the backyard, late afternoon light filtering through the leaves and giving everything a gentle yellow glow.
Tommy's watching Gordon's face light up, though, how he's got a dimple when he grins and the way strands of his hair stick to the back of his neck with sweat. Gordon’s bracing his elbows on his knees, the old scars scattered across his upper arms faded in this light.
Tommy smiles, soft, and thinks he's a little bit in love with Gordon.
When he found out one afternoon at Gordon’s house that he had started to plant a few things in the long ignored plot behind his house, Tommy had jumped to help him clean it up. And, well. Seeing Gordon in a tank top working outside in the summer heat is a sight he couldn't miss out on. Tommy’s never going to get tired of that view.
Gordon turns and finds Tommy already looking at him, and his smile doesn't falter at all. He claps his hand on Tommy's shoulder, jostling him a bit. His grip is reassuring and strong, a reminder of the muscle Gordon’s built up over the years.
"You should bring Sunkist over more. She puts all the work into tiring Joshua out so I don't have too." He laughs, smiling like it's easy. And really, that's a marvel on its own. Tommy's seen how many low points Gordon hit those early months after they left Black Mesa, and though his arm has been bothering him less, the scar tissue is still an angry red against his skin.
But he's not thinking about that now, because Gordon is waiting for him to say something and all Tommy thinks to say is -
"Can I kiss you? Because, because I really want to." Tommy only feels a little nervous as he says it. If he's read the signs right, Gordon's wanted to kiss him for a while, too.
"I - uh, I mean, yes! Yeah, I want to, to kiss you too. I mean, only if you want to, I -" Tommy laughs as he leans forward to shut him up with a kiss, endeared by how Gordon his response is.
Gordon kisses him back, leaning more of his weight on the hand he left on Tommy's shoulder. Tommy lets his own hand rest easy on top of Gordon's thigh, the contact grounding while his head spins. Their legs are pressed together uncomfortably, but nowhere near painful enough for Tommy to think about moving away.
It's good, it's perfect. It feels like pieces are slotting into place as he kisses Gordon, like they've been building up to this for a while. He thinks they probably have, the mutual attraction has been there for months now. He’s seen Gordon sneaking glances at him, blushing when Tommy catches him looking.
Tommy breaks the kiss first, resting his forehead on Gordon's shoulder to hide his blush, lifting his hand to rest it on Gordon’s shoulder.
"That, uh. I liked that. Kissing you, I mean." Gordon says, arm coming to rest across Tommy's back. Tommy thinks he might die if Gordon gets any more endearing.
"Do you," Gordon starts, and Tommy might even say he sounds shy. "Would you want to stay for dinner?"
He sounds uncertain even though he's asked Tommy to stay plenty of times before. But maybe now everything's changed between them, just enough that even their usual routine makes him bashful.
Tommy doesn’t think about how his own face is beet red because it's much more important to tell Gordon, "I'd love to."
He lifts his head up to say it and Gordon's blushing just as much as him, dirt smudging his face. Tommy reaches up a hand to wipe it off but he doesn't lift his hand, gently cupping Gordon's cheek.
"I'd love to."