Work Text:
Hugh wasn’t jealous.
How could he be? He was a man who excelled in both defense and archery, he was dating Sebastian, who was the most dedicated man and prosecutor Hugh knew, and these were all things he had done for himself with little outside help.
He was perfectly fine with the fact that they were on the couch and Sebastian had his snake, Guido, out and it was crawling all over him. The fact that Hugh could very well be the one touching him right now instead of the snake was not bothering him.
At the start of the relationship, Sebastian had been both very upfront and apologetic about his apprehension about physical touch. It was understandable given the circumstances, and Hugh certainly didn’t blame him. It didn’t change the fact that Hugh would love to cuddle with him as they watched this low budget monster movie together as a couple.
But it didn’t mean that he was jealous of the snake. Absolutely not. That would be ridiculous.
Guido slithered up Sebastian’s neck, and curled to rest on Sebastian’s ear like the arm of a pair of glasses. He surveyed the area, looking in his direction, and flicking his tongue.
Reasonably speaking, Hugh knew that that wasn’t the snake taunting him. It was a snake, and it was silly to think otherwise. Snakes don’t stick their tongues out to be assholes. Guido was just smelling the air or whatever so he had a better idea of the area.
Okay so maybe Hugh was a little jealous.
They had been dating for a few months, and their relationship didn’t have too many physical elements to it. Hugh was maybe touch starved, but he loved Sebastian and wanted to make it work.
“Hey… I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but why are you okay with Guido D’Arrezo touching you?” he asked, maybe interrupting the movie a little, but it was probably fine. “I mean, he’s probably more squeezy than most humans are.”
Sebastian removed Guido from his head so he could turn to look at him. The snake didn’t seem to mind much, taking this chance to go back up his sleeve into the warmth.
“I dunno… I guess it just… is?” he shrugged, his eyes going back down to his sleeve to watch Guido slither before finding a spot and settling down. “I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe because I know Guido doesn’t really have plans to do anything to me. He just wants warmth.”
The issue of trust was something that was pretty present in their relationship. They had both had their issues, but Hugh couldn’t really compare his experience to Sebastian’s. His parents’ were more concerned about them looking bad because their son wasn’t excelling as much as high schoolers, and Sebastian was a weapon to show students that the only way to succeed was to lie and suck up, and to create a generation of prosecutors that all knew kissing his father’s ass was the only way to get anywhere.
Hugh had had a rocky relationship with his parents, and he knew that his actions reflected on what kind of people they were. He had long since cut ties of his own volition. But Sebastian had the world drop out from under him. The person he trusted most had done that to him.
The fact that Hugh and Blaise were nothing alike meant nothing, because the fact that Sebastian trusts (or trust ed in Blaise’s case) them was the issue. Hugh didn’t even know how to go about fixing something that was a problem because it was a good thing.
“That’s fair.” he’d leave it at that. He’d been in court long enough to know what should and shouldn’t be pressed.
The movie kept playing, and Hugh was doing his best not to think about it. He asked his question, and he more than likely made things worse. It’s a touchy subject, and Hugh gets it.
“Do… Would you…” Sebastian mumbled, trying to find the words he wanted. “We could cuddle. I-If you want. We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Hugh blinked. This was not the direction he thought this was going. If anything he was worried about being asked to leave . In the months they’ve been dating, Sebastian never got more physical than holding his sleeve or kissing him. There was little contact other than that.
“Uh... Yeah. If you want to.”
They then sat there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. They stole glances at each other, but the longer it went, the less they wanted to look at each other.
“So…” Sebastian broke the silence once more. “I don’t actually know how to do this, and I kinda was hoping you’d just...take the lead.”
“I could lay back, and you could lie on top of me. Or I could maybe put my arm around you while we’re still sitting up?” he suggested. Neither seemed strong Sebastian choices.
“Could… I put my arm around you?” he asked nervously.
Hugh could feel his cheeks go hot. He hadn’t been prepared for awkward forwardness like this. It wasn’t fair that he could be both so cool and so cute.
“Yeah. Go for it.” he scooted closer so he could reach easier.
Sebastian’s technique could only be described as a chameleon trying to grab a stick. There were a lot of uncertain movements, before his arm was stiffly around him.
It also didn’t last too long before the arm was pulled back.
“Sorry… I’m not really good at all this stuff yet…” Sebastian mumbled, looking back down at his other arm, where Guido was presumably still hiding.
“Hey… You tried, and that means a lot to me,” he could puff up for normalcy's sake, but Sebastian probably appreciated him being sincere. “We don’t have to rush. I don’t mind taking it slow.”
“I think slow is as fast as I can go…”
Hugh shrugged. “Well then we can take it even slower. Like I said. No rush.”
“And you’re really sure?”
“Yeah, touch isn’t the only way to show love. I know it every time I hear you say ‘I think you’ll like this song’ or when you get me new archery gloves because mine were starting to wear out,” he smiles as his eyes drift down to his own hands. “You’ve shown me parts of yourself you’ve kept hidden from the world. How can that be anything else but an ‘I love you?’”
There was silence, as Sebastian took it in.
“I… still wanna get better for you. I know I’ve been seeing my therapist, but it’s just-” he sighed as he further deflated. “I wish it could be faster.”
“Can I kiss your cheek?”
Sebastian nodded.
He gave him a quick kiss to the cheek. “It’s okay if it takes a while. I’m more than okay with waiting. I love you,”
It was not his intention to make Sebastian blush like that, but it’s always a benefit.
“I love you too.”