Work Text:
It was 3 in the morning.
A deck of cards was laid out in front of Eli and Mike on the couch. The brunette sat slightly hunched over, one leg on the couch while the other dangled off, carefully watching Mike. The blonde in question was tucked into the corner of the couch, back against the armrest while sitting cross legged. He was holding onto his deck of cards with one hand while the other rubbed at his mismatched eyes.
“My love, if you’re sleepy you should really go to bed.”
Mike’s head snapped up and his eyebrows furrowed, “No! I’m fine. I’m not tired. You’re just saying that because I’m about to win-” He spared a cheeky grin.
His boyfriend had insisted on a series of activities that evening that started with cooking an early dinner together and led to a warm bubble bath, then a movie, and finally some tabletop games that ran well into the late hours in the night.
Eli of course didn't mind this at all but Mike honestly looked like he was about to pass out at any moment.
He gave a concerned smile and shrugged, looking back down at his deck of cards. “Whatever you say.”
Though he went to glance at the deck of cards in his hands, the truth was he hadn’t been paying attention to the game for a couple of rounds now. His eyes trailed back up to look at Mike who was furiously wide eyed staring holes at his deck.
His eyes were red and dark circles were forming underneath them. The blonde blinked several times, even shaking his head to snap himself back to being alert, but a tired dazed look remained on his face. He placed a card onto the pile.
It was Eli’s turn now. He nonchalantly took a quick glance at his cards and after mulling over two options, chose to go with the spade of 7. As he was about to toss the card onto the pile, he looked up and saw Mike had begun to nod off again.
Wordlessly, Eli just watched Mike. His golden lashes fluttered close and his head nodded forward. His jaw was slack and his mouth hung open just a little. Mike’s arm had slowly lowered until his cards now slid forward out of his grip, face side up and open for all to see, which Eli noted was a terrible set actually wow he knew he had to have been bluffing this entire time.
Eli knew that Mike wasn’t accustomed to staying up this late. While the man occasionally stayed up until midnight at most, he typically went to bed earlier and started his days an hour or so after the sun rose. It was the routine he stuck to all his life having been raised as a performer with frequent morning training and workouts.
Eli, on the other hand, was a night owl. He was used to operating in the night and in the early hours of the morning. Sometimes this meant that the times they could interact with each other throughout the day was weird, but Eli did try his best to match Mike's schedule when he could.
The night owl let go of his own deck of cards and gently shook Mike awake. “Mike, if you sleep out here, you'll catch cold.”
The blonde woke up with a jerk of a head and a confused dazed expression. He looked sleepily down at his deck of cards which were scattered in front of him, “Hnng..? Aw crap.. my cards. You fucking. You looked didn’t you..” His words slurred.
Eli chuckled and began to gather the cards to put them back into their box. “Yes well, you weren’t actually going to win that one anyways so I think it’s time for you to sleep.”
Mike pouted in protest, trying to take the deck of cards from him. “I don’t want to-” Except his eyes blinked one at a time and as he tried to swipe the deck, he miscalculated and swiped at the air next to Eli’s hand. He squinted at his empty palm, unamused that his body was betraying him.
Eli laughed again and put aside the box on the coffee table. He scooted closer, closing the distance between them and brought Mike in to lean on him. This, he didn’t resist, and he uncurled from his sitting position into Eli’s warmth. He wrapped his arms around him and closed his eyes.
“Is this because I’ll be going away for a few days to take care of some business?”
Mike gave a muffled incoherent response and sleepily opened a single eye. “When I.. wake-,” he’s interrupted by a large yawn, “- wake up.. you won’t.. won’t beee there....”
There was the low rumble of Eli’s chuckle. “It’ll only be for a few days, my love.”
“But-” Mike’s words cut off.
“Things will be okay. If you get lonely, I’ll just be a phone call away. Naib and the others said they’d be free to socialize or help too.”
Mike mumbled something. Eli wasn’t sure how much he understood of what he’d just said or if he was even listening anymore, but he went on.
“I’ll be sure to visit you in your dreams. Good night Mike.”
Silence. Eli thought he'd fallen asleep by now. But just as he was about to scoop the young lad up in his arms to take him to bed, he stirred in his arms.
“Mmm… heeey.. I .. I love..,” Mike’s words trailed off and his breathing finally turned into small snoring.
Eli smiled and pressed a kiss onto the top of Mike’s soft golden curls. “I love you too,” he finished.
Eli gently hoisted his lover off of the couch and carried him to the bedroom. He slowly laid him onto their bed, pulling the blanket up his chin and tucking him in. He sat by his side for a moment, softly gazing at the love of his life. Admiring his soft features.
The spray of freckles.
The way his hair curled gently around his face.
The smell of fresh strawberry shampoo that lingered when he’d kissed him earlier.
Oh, how he wished to join him. To curl up next to him and share his warmth until the sun rose, or perhaps even until the sun had risen to its peak. Mike would chide him for letting him sleep in for so long but Eli would just pull him into bed again, kissing him until the both of them were laughing and out of breath. Mike would forgive him and give him a sweet kiss of his own before going to fix brunch for the both of them. Maybe something sweet like pancakes with fruits and maple syrup, and dark coffee to wash it all down. They'd have their late meal on the couch together as they watched TV into the late afternoon.
But that was for another day.
Eli reached out to sweetly tuck a lock of hair out of Mike’s face. He stood up and stifled a large yawn, glancing over at his half packed suitcase.
The train he was supposed to catch left in about an hour and a half, and the taxi that'd take him to the station would arrive in about 50 minutes.
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. Even for him, getting no sleep the night before he had to go away on business would be exhausting. It'd be alright though. The train ride would last for a couple of hours and he'd be able to catch a little bit of sleep then.
After all, Mike wasn't the only one who didn't want to go to sleep tonight.