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It’d been a long day. A very long day. An hour in a car, four hours in an airport, two in flight, and three hours in a car again. Ten hours of travel in total… but Todd was finally home.
Faraway Town! Just as they’d left it: a little cloudy, humid, but always smelling like fresh rain. It was a stark contrast to where they’d been the past few days, which had been sunny and hot and dry. And they recognized every turn of the roads. Othermart? Still the same. Faraway Park? Green and pretty. And the residential area still had all of its identical houses.
It felt good to stretch their legs after hours going from cramped space to cramped space. Though the sun was setting, Todd was going to make the most of what was left in the day. Rather than their feet taking them to their own house, they were headed towards a different one, though it was still close by.
There it was: pale yellow walls, light brown roof tiles, bright orange door before a blue mat… Todd smiled. They walked towards the front and knocked on the door. Upon it opening, they were treated with Kel and Hero’s mother. They weren’t the biggest fan of hers, but they would tolerate her for Hero. When the woman’s eyes met Todd’s, they stood a little taller and smiled a little wider. She gave a polite greeting and notified them that Kel was out with friends before turning to call into the house:
“Henry! Todd is here!”
She retreated into the house as eager footsteps thudded from inside. Todd’s smile grew in a more genuine way this time. Then Hero was running at them, arms open. Todd abandoned their backpack and practically threw it over their rolling luggage bag to make room for the impending hug.
CRASH!
Hero basically tackled Todd with his running start, but managed to keep them both from falling by scooping them up into the biggest hug he could muster. He spun them around and cheered as Todd giggled wildly, their arms looped tightly around his shoulders. Their hair was a mess when he set them back on the ground.
“Welcome home, Todd!” He kept his datemate firmly stuck in his enormous hug, but they didn’t mind at all. They’d missed his homey smell of pancakes and bacon, his warm chest that always thrummed with the beat of his heart, and the way he knew just how they liked to be hugged and kissed — proven by how comfortable the embrace was despite the late summer heat that waved around them. Todd giggled and nuzzled at his shirt.
“I missed you so much,” they sighed.
“Me too,” he said. “Kel was all cooped up without you.”
Todd pulled back and pouted up at Hero. “So you didn’t miss me at all?”
Hero rolled his eyes affectionately. “Not at all,” he replied sarcastically. Before Todd could react in an overly dramatic fashion, Hero dipped his head to kiss their cheek apologetically. That seemed to tame them.
“You owe me a lot of those,” they joked. Hero smiled.
“Oh, do I?”
“Yes. A million. A hundred million kisses.” They stood on their tippy toes to get a little more leveled with him. He held them a little closer, with his hand resting on the small of their back.
“I guess I better get started,” he said in that impossibly charming, flirty voice he kept up his sleeve. Todd went red as he leaned in for a good kiss. Soft and long lasting, it conveyed all of the longing and yearning that had been mutually felt in the days Todd had been gone. They swooned and melted in Hero’s embrace. Despite their wobbly legs, Hero was able to keep them held up by his loving arms around them and the promise of more kissing if they could keep themself standing.
“I missed you,” Todd repeated against his lips. Their hands traced the seams of his shirt. “I really really missed you.”
“I’m here now,” he whispered. “I’m always here.”
The kisses ended and the couple parted, dizzy with giddiness. Todd leapt up and wrapped their arms and legs around him like a koala. Hero had no choice but to catch them midair and hold them there. He huffed humoredly.
“Let’s go sleep,” Todd mumbled groggily, nuzzling and pressing quick kisses to his neck. It was Hero’s turn to blush.
“It’s not even eight o’clock yet, love.”
Oh, how their heart leapt with that petname. They went limp against him.
“Just let me be with you…” Hero sighed fondly and patted their leg.
“Always,” he promised, before carrying them inside and onto the couch for some sorely missed cuddles. In a tangle of limbs, Todd fell asleep against Hero for the first time in a week… and it was the best sleep they’d had since.
Then Kel came home asking why a backpack and rolling luggage bag were just sitting outside of their house.