Work Text:
Joe and David were a year out of high school. Living together in a small apartment in Cambridge. Joe was both sad and excited to leave Frisco'. Granted Gene and Babe shared the same apartment as Gene was in the Harvard Med program. David, majoring in literature.
Babe sang to himself, tone deaf as ever as he made everyone breakfast.
"Joe's lucky he's completely deaf. Heffron over here can't sing for shit." David spoke and signed at the same time.
"Well at least his sign is better than it was in high school," Joe signed and offered David a smile before sipping his coffee.
"Yeah well I still gotta deal with his off key singing," Gene smiled and messed with his hearing aids as he sat at the table.
"Maybe I'll just eat all the pancakes myself!" Babe pouted as he brought the stack of pancakes to the table.
"We're kidding Edward," Gene kissed his cheek, "I hate to skip your pancakes but I'm going to be late to my lab."
"Leaving already? Take a pancake with you on the road." Joe snickered and sent Babe a wink.
"Shut it Lieb," Gene plucked a pancake off the top of the stack and shoved it into a zip lock bag. Then shoved it in his bag.
"By Gene i love you," Babe smirked and pulled Gene down for a kiss. Gene just nodded and jogged out. Once Babe heard the door close and he sighed.
"Guys do you think Genes acting weird? Almost distant?"
"I mean he's really busy with lining up his residency and getting into the med program is a big deal." David started rambling and signing.
"Yeah he seems to be distancing himself but I don't think he's doing it on purpose." Joe signed and shrugged before cutting another piece off his pancake.
"Best thing is just to talk to him about it when you see him today." David suggested.
"Yeah I just hope he doesn't want to break up with me. I mean like ever since he said those words and they disappeared on my skin I just fell so in love." Babe frowned.
"I've tried to break up with Web three times now and the universe won't let it happen." Joe giggled at his own comment.
"Joey!" David signed then slapped Joes arm.
"I'll just talk to him tonight when we lay down for bed." Babe frowned and dismissed himself from the table. He had to work anyways, he laid down on Genes side of the bed. He pulled Genes pillow into his chest. Babe smiled at the smell of Genes after shave and shampoo.
He needed to figure out why Gene was distancing himself.
Babe bent down and clipped the leash to a dogs collar, "Hey Lew?" Babe sighed and let the pitbull pull him over to Lew.
"What's up Heffron?" Lew sighed and flipped through the paperwork.
"I just I'm having some relationship issues." Babe bent down and pet the brown dog. Babe grabbed a treat up off the counter.
"What's going on?" Nix shut his binder and turned in the office chair to look at him.
"Well I was really excited when Gene asked me to move with him when he got into Harvard. But lately he's been really distant, not saying i love you back. I know he's busy because getting into like a med program is hard but especially at Harvard."
"Babe get to the point," Lew sighed and pet the dog as Babe taught him how to shake.
"Well I don't know if I did something wrong or if he wants to break up?" Babe frowned and let the dog tackle Babe in kisses. Babe giggled and hugged the dog.
"Is he your soulmate?" He asked, Babe nodded and sighed.
"Well maybe he is just busy with his schooling I mean it sounds like he'd be crazy busy." Lew shrugged and smiled as the dog leaned into Lee's grip as he pet the dog.
"Yeah I've been trying to just give him space to work and study." Babe frowned and let the dog basically lay on him.
"Oh yeah can you take Arlo home for the night? Our kennels are full and his owner can't pick him up till tomorrow afternoon?" Nix pointed his pen at the brown pitbull laying on Babe.
"Oh for sure, Arlo is just the sweetest!" Babe smiled and pet the dog and grabbed Arlo another treat.
Babe hummed as the elevator brought him and Arlo up to their floor. Babe was just excited to see Babe and pray that he wasn't too busy to cuddle.
They got off at their floor and walked till they got to the apartment. Babe fumbled with the keys before opening the door.
Arlo instantly started sniffing around. Babe didn't think anything to it and dropped Arlo's leash as he slid his shoes off.
Then mentally face palmed as he heard Joes grunt from down the hall. The taller man came storming out of his room. His hands flying, "Heffron why is there a dog in our apartment!? Web is allergic to dogs!" He signed.
"Oh uh, we didn't have enough room at the daycare for him?" Babe shrugged, "Arlo!"
"Well what're you gonna do about it now, Webs gonna he home any minute." Joe glanced at his watch as he signed.
"Arlo will just chill in me and Genes room," Babe frowned and picked up Arlo's leash.
"No dogs Heffron, no more dogs after this." Joe sighed and walked back to whatever he was doing.
"Come on Arlo, ignore big, mean Lieb. His bark is worse than his bite." Babe led Arlo down the hall to his and Genes room. He opened the door and Gene was working on his homework. Then Babe noticed his hearing aids sitting beside him on the desk.
He sighed and kissed Gene on the cheek to get his attention.
"Hey Babe," Gene smiled and turned around then saw the dog, "And who is this?"
"His names Arlo, hes just staying the night tonight." Babe smiled and got out Arlos stuff out of his bag.
"Can you repeat yourself Babe?" Gene frowned and put his hearing aids back in.
"Oh his names Arlo and he's just staying for the night," Babe signed as he spoke.
"He's adorable," Gene smiled and pet the dog, "Isn't Web allergic to dogs?"
"Yeah that's why Arlo is staying in here, I hope that's no issue? I can try to help with your studying if I can?" Babe frowned and walked over to the desk.
"I love you hun but I don't think you can. It's just, come here." Gene wrapped his arms around Babes waist and pulled him into his lap. He turned the chair so Babe could look at Genes text book.
"I like this unit a lot it has a lot about the science of going deaf or being hard of hearing." Gene smiled.
"That's cool," he kissed Gene gently.
"Babe I gotta get to work," Gene frowned.
"Oh okay," Babe nodded and kissed his cheek again. Babe climbed off of Genes lap and sat on the bed. Arlo jumped up on the bed and he giggled.
"Hey boy," he fluffed around Arlo. He watched Gene mutter something to himself and take his hearing aids back out. Babe frowned and went back to playing more quieter with Arlo.
The next few nights went the same. Babe would come home and Gene would either want to rest in silence or he was working.
Babe ended up watching a movie with Joe and David one night. But that was a bad idea as Joe and David were sucking each other's faces off from the other side of the couch.
Babe rolled his eyes and huffed. He got off the couch and set the popcorn on the TV stand.
He walked to his and Genes room and opened the door.
Gene was sitting on the bed with notebooks and textbooks spread around him and a half eaten sandwich on a plate.
"Genie bug?" Babe smiled as he came in.
"Hey Babe, Uhm I can move if you wanna go to bed." Gene smiled.
"No I was hoping you'd take a break. It might be better for you. I feel like you work non stop." Babe frowned and sat on the bed opposite of Gene.
"I love you but I just can't I need to get this stuff done it's important," Gene sighed and set his pen down.
"L'amour you're going to work yourself to death just take a break for the rest of the night." Babe sighed taking Genes hands.
"Edward, I really can't." Gene sighed and pulled his hands from Babes.
"It's fine, if you want to break up just say it." Babe sighed and laid down so his vision was fixated on the ceiling.
"Babe? come here what's gotten into you?" Gene sighed and reached over his textbooks.
"Don't touch me it's fine just go back to your work." Babe huffed turning his head to look at Gene.
"Let's go to bed darling," Gene sighed and closed up his books and notebooks and put them on the desk along with the sandwich.
Babe sighed and slid off his pants then crawled in bed not wanting to put in much effort.
Gene sighed and took his hearing aids out and shut the light off in their room. The Christmas lights Babe had strung up around the room lightly illuminated Babe. He had his back turned to Genes side of the bed. He frowned then climbed into bed next to him and laid there. He began to feel guilty, maybe he was spending too much time on school.
He placed a hand on Babes shoulder, Babe sighed as he knew exactly what this meant.
Babe turned over in bed to look at Gene, "What's wrong?" Gene signed.
Babe sighed, "I'm cold can you just hold me?" Babe signed.
"What?" Gene furrowed his eyebrows at Babes sign.
"I said I'm cold," Babe signed again.
"You're saying I'm dog," Gene laughed.
"Can you correct it?" Babe asked, Gene nodded and corrected Babes hand movements.
"I love you," Gene signed.
"I love you too," Babe kissed his cheek.
"We'll talk in the morning okay?" Gene asked holding Babes hands. Babe just nodded and snuggled into Gene.
The next day Babe woke up to the rich smell of french toast and leaped out of bed. He walked to the kitchen and smiled at the sight of Gene cooking up breakfast.
"Morning Gene," Babe wrapped his arms around Gene and kissed him under his ear.
"Morning Edward," he hummed as he plated the French toast, "I managed to nag Lieb and Web to go out for breakfast so we could have some time to ourselves." Gene winked. A smile grew across Babes face and he felt himself rise in blushes.