Work Text:
It’s been a long day. Too long.
Xyx genuinely loves his job. It’s fun, to work out how to spin situations into his favor, to figure out how to give his clients the best shot of winning their cases. But he was working on a civil case for a high-profile celebrity this time, and it was just so tedious. It was practically just a publicity stunt, no real stakes involved. An easy paycheck, but it meant that he was putting in his usual workload for a case that wouldn’t amount to anything. Annoying.
So he was lounging in bed, trying to relax a bit before sleeping. Cat was curled next to him, snoozing, and he smiled when they twitched in their sleep. Too cute.
Speaking of cute, you were still in the living room, and with the bedroom door open, he could see you getting up and moving around. You were antsy tonight. Not anxious, as far as he could tell. Just a lot of energy pent up. Maybe tomorrow he could steal you away to the beach for a little bit. A bit of scuba diving, or maybe surfing. He’d been teaching you how to surf lately during your days off, and you were picking it up fast.
Xyx glances at the clock; 9:30. Usually you’d be wrapping up for the night, but he watched down the hall to see you glance at your phone, then walk out of sight, probably towards the couch.
“Coming to bed any time soon?” he calls out, dropping his gaze back to the book open in his lap. It was a new one, something you’d bought him as a gift.
“Not yet. My brother just sent me a video to check out. I’ll be in in a minute.”
“Another 3-hour essay on a game?”
“No, a tiktok this time. Shouldn’t take long.”
Xyx froze and glanced up from the book, staring into the hallway. After a pause, he called out again, “Hey, how much wine is left in that bottle from dinner?”
“Um,” Your voice was thoughtful, but he swore he could hear your tone drifting just a bit. “I think there’s a little left. Why, do you want a glass?”
“No, I’m fine. Just thinking that I might pick up another bottle tomorrow.” It isn’t a lie.But he remembers there being a decent amount left in that bottle after dinner. Meaning you had probably had two glasses, maybe even three. Perfect.
He set it aside on the bookstand, then shifted in bed to where he was sitting up just a little straighter, back leaning against the headboard. Like this, he could see down the hallway and had a great view of the living room. He still couldn’t see you, but it wouldn’t take long.
Xyx didn’t really like Tiktok, and he heard you grumbling about getting distracted to easily on it. You had a tendency of just watching a quick video, and then three hours later setting your phone down, complaining that you hated that you had let it distract you for so long. But he had found, over the last few months of living together, that occasionally, the stars aligned, and he witnessed something magical.
A few glasses of wine, the earworms from the videos, and just a little bit of antsy energy meant he was in for the perfect cure for a shitty day.
Five minutes later, he heard you chuckling from the couch, and a little humming.
Ten minutes, and he could see you’re shadow drifting across the living room.
It only took fifteen minutes for it to start. New record, and definitely meant three glasses of wine.
At first, he hears you humming quietly, then actually singing along, and he knows that you’ve forgotten he’s even here anymore. Then he starts catching flashes of you as you get excited and dance along to whatever is playing through your earbuds. He’s almost positive that your not dancing along to whatever’s playing on the screen. Hell, he sees you set the phone down, disappear, can feel your steps through the floor, then sees you rushing back after a few seconds when the track starts repeating. He watches as sometimes you just sway along, other times jumping around like your in the middle of a concert. Other times, you actually seem to catch the beat and start stepping competently. He’s been in his share of clubs, and your moves would fit right in among the other blissfully tipsy people letting the music carry them.
When he first caught you doing this, he had been gone for a few days on a business trip. He had called out, letting you know he was home, only to hear movement from the living room but no answer. He’d set his stuff down and wandered over, your name on his lips when he made it to the doorway of the living room, and his voice died. Because you were dancing with headphones in, cheeks flushed and breathing hard; you had obviously been at this for a while.
Xyx just stood in the doorway, watching, a smile that was so soft on his face that he almost felt a little disgruntled about it. But he couldn’t help himself. You were just so cute.
You’d noticed him then, after about 5 minutes, and he was pretty sure he had never seen you so flustered. You had pulled your headphones out, not quite meeting his eye.
“Welcome home. You should have stopped me.”
“What? And interrupt the best welcome home gift I could have gotten? I don’t think so, love.”
He walks towards you and scoops you into his arms, pressing a kiss to your lips and flashing you a dazzling smile that visibly makes you go a little weak in his arms.
He didn’t catch you dancing for a while, or really even singing, so he figured that it must have actually been something rather embarrassing for you. But then there were nights like this, where you had a couple of drinks, got distracted and excited, and it was like the whole world fell away as you listened to clips of songs and danced and sang along.
Xyx didn’t try to tease you about it. How could he? You seemed so relaxed and happy, your laugh filling the home you had built together, filling his heart. You felt comfortable, safe in this place, your home, around him.
So he just watched, catching little glimpses of this private happiness of yours.