Work Text:
The evening was fairly, fairly hot today, as of all evenings in Hoenn had been lately, and on top of that...
Wallace was laying loosely, too loosely, on top of him. Almost entirely.
The man who would usually spoon him for these occasions, decided that this evening he wanted to switch roles and be spoiled, and so, now in dreams he was basically clinging to him; with his head on his chest, one leg twined to his from above, one arm sprawled all over him...
Steven could feel his own body a little too much in this position. He could so desperately feel how Wallace’s elbow poked at his ribcage, how his knee was so very close to his crotch, how his gorgeous teal locks tickled his left cheek, and even more so, how his own clothes started to grow sweaty on him because Lord it was hot outside like someone had let Groudon loose, and even though, as a rarity to himself...
Steven did not want to fret, to move. If only he was thinking that it was a shame that in this position he couldn’t watch Wallace sleep, as he was growing so very fond of doing that in his sleepless nights.
Sometimes, at the fore mentioned nights, or in times like this one, he wondered... how could Wallace sleep so soundly? Didn’t Wallace have anything to haunt him and keep him awake? Didn’t Wallace have some primal anxiety, something bad to recall, an overtaking fear to keep his eyes open and restless all the time?
And the most important one...
Did he have any of that? Or why in the world was he struggling so much to fall asleep despite being in the arms of the man he adored?
Steven didn’t even want to think of that, it was tiring to constantly ponder about what in the world could be wrong with him. He tried to brush off the feeling by driving his mind to think of rocks, while enjoying the pressure Wallace was working into his body, as if by sleeping on top of him he was making sure Steven remained in his own flesh.
And the rock thoughts worked for a while, until Wallace shook too abruptly in his place, like he had tripped on his dreams, and Steven couldn’t help it:
He laughed. A bit too loud, piercing through the indulgently heavy silence of the bedroom, and a bit too enough to gain a growl coming from his partner.
“Come on... it ain’t funny...” his words were dragged and his voice too bass as he was still half asleep. “I was wearing the fiercest heels for the greatest contest you’ve ever seen and then... my foot...”
“Wallace...” Steven called his name, in an amused tone, but keeping the somehow honoring way to it, like he was addressing something holy. “You need to actually relax and rest. You cannot be dreaming of how you’re working and doing contests and stress over that in your sleep.”
This was Wallace, at the end of the day, so committed to his work, to his passions and his shows, that he’d hold himself to almost impossible standards, to the point that it would even steal his sleep, leak in there and make it be all he could see and-
“You weren’t asleep, right?”
How did he know? He hadn’t even opened his eyes to have a look at him or their surroundings.
“You cannot be awake and so tense when you’re supposed to take a nap with me while we can, Steven.”
There he was, turning things around the same way he would if this was a contest everyone thought he was losing.
Steven remained silent, the ‘while we can’ part sinking so heavily inside his heart that it hurt a bit, because it was true:
Wallace and him were incredibly busy people, no matter what they tried to make some space for each other in their schedules (if Steven could say he had any planned): between league tasks, contest tours, Sootopolitan duties, Devon chores, meeting up with their own friends, traveling, spelunking and trying to keep in check with their basic needs, sometimes neither could find enough time to be with each other, no matter how much they missed each other or what they tried sorting out to fix that.
And now they had this span to simply slob around in each other’s arms, to just be in love with the other and be thankful for the other’s presence silently and calmly, Steven knew by heart that he should be enjoying this and juicing this moment to recharge his energies for the next couple weeks to come without his partner, and even though, here he was: his body trapped underneath Wallace, but his mind somewhere else, somewhere far away from this moment.
And it sucked to not enjoy it, to know that when the time came for Wallace to be gone in his own errands, he’d look back on the day, regret it and know he could’ve done more of it if only he knew when to stop his running mind and simply flow with life how it came.
Bringing him back to this reality, pulling him in to his own body again, Wallace said, lowering his tone, genuinely sounding concerned, “is anything the matter, huh?”
That was for sure the worst part of it all.
Hell if Steven knew what in the world was going on with him today. He couldn’t find an explanation for this, neither he wanted to keep stressing over this matter, over whatever the slight but weird twist he was feeling on his stomach right now could be.
So, he simply remained quiet for minutes on end, to then sigh, as if that was enough of an answer.
Yet, with Wallace, it was.
He hummed, “Steven...” and paused. “I’ll have to take the words out of you. And you very well know I excel at making you speak.”
Because only Wallace knew the right ways to get to his heart without even having the map.
“And I think first step for doing that is preparing you a good cup of coffee, you caffeine addicted cave man.”
The tenderly teasing remark made Steven chuckle wholeheartedly, his spirits lifting a bit enough to enable him to formulate, finally, something clearly:
“That would be amazing, for real, but... Right now all I need is for you to hug me. Please... let’s stay like this a little longer.”
Because all he wanted was to feel like time could stop on them and they could cease worrying about whatever thing happening outside their bed.
Wallace was quick and gentle to indulge, and here he had him, this man that was overly demanding with himself and others surrounding him... humbling to him, like Steven was so little and he was kneeling to equal his small size, getting a hand to his face, to trace the path to his scalp, and lovingly brush his hair, to clear his face and be able to plant about the softest of kisses to his forehead.
No mattered how hot the evening was, Steven clung to him, and suddenly he didn’t feel as trapped inside his clothes, suddenly he wasn’t feeling his body so uncomfortably much.
Suddenly...
All he could feel was Wallace’s gentle touch. He got lost in the feeling of his breath so close to his, on how he could even almost taste it in the tip of his tongue, of how this was so natural, so fated.
And so unavoidable.
Because soon enough, their lips sought each other, with closed eyes, since they both knew by memory how to find each other; they locked them, brushed them together, in a lazy motion, in the most subtle of ways, and by simple this was, Steven could feel his cheeks burning in red color, his mind feeling so high in blurring blank, his fingers moving excitedly...
And his heart beating magnanimously and at ease, peacefully, when their lips parted making a little snapping noise that was the most precious of melodies to Steven’s ears.
And now life felt a little less complicated, more so as Wallace looked at him at the eyes, and he did not get the urge to look away as he always had with the rest of the people, and with an adoring smile, like he was everything he ever wanted and more, Wallace said:
“I love you, Steven. You are marvelous in every single way...”
“Maybe I’d be even more if I could turn off my brain for a minute.”
Shaking his head solemnly, the same fashion he did when it came down to the solemnity of Sootopolitan ceremonies, Wallace said:
“People don’t usually stop and contemplate the world as it is. For mostly everyone I know this world and its wonders are vain and meaningless. But you are different, and I’m so in love with your mind... you don’t know how much and how bright you shine when you get so thoughtful and question everything around you...”
So many words felt like getting stuck in his throat right now, so many adoring things he wanted to say to Wallace, this heaven sent man that every day he acknowledged he was so lucky to be able to call his partner, because in a lifetime he wouldn’t meet any other quite like him, who got him so much by heart like he did.
But none of those he could speak, so Steven simply clung even further to him, letting all guards completely down to rest his safety between his loving hands, and feeling little, so little, and so much like he didn’t have to worry by that, Steven answered back.
“I love you so, Wallace.”
And oddly enough, silly enough... he could finally fall asleep after few minutes like that, happy that he could, even if it was only for the rest of the day, enjoy that Wallace was there, simply living for the sake of this moment, brushing off the past, and not giving future the room to haunt him awake anymore.