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It’s been a long shift, and all Tommy wants to do is go home and see his fiancé. Or, almost fiancé, if the ring hiding in his sock drawer has anything to say about it.
He wasn’t even supposed to work today. He and Evan had plans to spend the entire day in bed, with cheap takeout food and crappy movies. But Donato called him and cashed in a favour, so Tommy ended working a 24 instead.
Tommy’s exhausted, and he can feel it in every part of his body. His bones are weary, muscles sore, and he's convinced even his soul was tired. All he can think about is seeing Evan, in their bed, wearing Tommy’s hoodie, waiting up for him. He caj already imagine throwing himself into Evan’s arms, head resting against Evan's stomach, arms circling his waist.
He knows that Evan had been reading up about home renovations recently, the two of them throwing around the idea of buying a fixer upper to turn into their dream home. Currently, they were switching back and forth between Tommy’s ‘too small’ house and Evan’s ‘no room to grow’ loft, and they were both getting sick of it. He also knows that based on the amount of article links he had received, and the shared google doc labeled ‘Buckley-Kinard Dream Home Plans’ that Evan had spent most of the time Tommy was on shift doing research, and Tommy hopes he’ll be able to convince Evan to talk about it. He desperatley wants to fall asleep to Evan’s voice, feeling the vibrations in Evan’s chest as he spoke, his fingers playing with Tommy’s hair and gently scratching his scalp.
The only thing keeping him awake on the drive home is the thought that if he dies because fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his car, he would lose out on forever with Evan, and he will do anything he needs to in order to protect their happiness.
He parks his car in the loft’s parking garage, moving slowly as he opens the door to get out, grab his duffle, and shut the door again. He’s grateful Evan didn’t spring for the extra parking spot like he had planned to, because visitors parking is a much shorter distance to the door.
After what feels like an eternity, he’s unlocking the door and stepping into the loft, his bag falling to the floor with a thud. Toeing off his shoes, he drops his keys and wallet on the little table by the door, then takes a quick peek to see if Evan is in the living room. He’s not, because of course he’s not; why would he be in the living room when he doesn’t have a couch? Evan’s tried to explain his so called ‘couch theory’ to Tommy many times, but Tommy always ends up getting distracted by how beautiful Evan is when he’s really passionate about something, even if it doesn’t make sense.
There’s a small glow coming from the loft, and Tommy heads up, excited to collapse in Evan’s arms. Evan’s sitting up against the headboard, computer on his lap and phone in hand. Tommy would’ve assumed Evan was awake except for the way his head is lolled down, tilting to the right, in a way that makes Tommy’s neck ache in sympathy. He sits on the edge of the bed, gently running his hand through Evan’s curls. Slowly lifting his head, Evan blinks drowsily, and Tommy knows he interrupted a dream. He kisses Evan’s forehead, then leaves his boyfriend to return to the world of the living. He steals some sweatpants from Evan, then makes his way to the bathroom.
He’s quick in the shower, doing a perfunctory wash of his hair and body to get rid of any lingering smells he had acquired throughout the day. He brushes his teeth, puts the sweatpants on, and is out of the bathroom within 10 minutes. He’d pat himself on the back for a job well done, but he’s more focused on Evan.
“Baby, why didn’t you go back to sleep?” Tommy whispers, climbing into bed beside Evan.
“Promised I’d wait for you,” Evan responds, words slurring slightly, “but I fell asleep. But I’m awake now.”
“Alright, sweetheart, let's go back to sleep, yeah?”
Evan nods, letting Tommy maneuver him so they’re both laying on their sides, facing each other. Evan shifts forward, pressing a kiss to Tommy’s nose.
“Was aiming for your lips.” Evan grumbles in response to Tommy’s low chuckle.
Tommy gently angles Evan’s head, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. He tries to pull back, but Evan kisses him again, and again, and again.
“You miss me, or something?” Tommy asks him in between kisses.
“One more for good luck.” Evan mumbles, kissing him once more before pulling back.
They’re both quiet for a bit, just enjoying each other’s presence. Tommy is slowly slipping into sleep when Evan speaks up.
“How was your–” He’s interrupted by a large yawn. “How was your shift, babe?”
“Rough. But we can talk about it in the morning. Go back to sleep, Evan.”
“Anything I can do now?” Evan asks.
Tommy’s heart warms, because Evan’s good like that. He’s so good to Tommy, always making sure Tommy is cared for, putting him first, making him feel loved. Normally, he would just pull Evan into his arms, cuddle with him and trace patterns on his skin, but he can’t do that tonight. He doesn’t have it in him. Not after the shift he had, the insanity and tragedy finally hitting him now that he’s still, adrenaline slowly wearing off.
“Can you–” he cuts himself off, embarrassed for a moment, but Evan is looking at him like he is the greatest thing in the universe, and Tommy knows he can be brave and asks for what he wants when Evan looks at him like that.
"Can you just hold me?” He whispers,
And all at once he’s being manhandled, turned to the other side and pulled into Evan’s chest. Strong arms wrap around him and legs tangle with his as Evan nuzzles his face into the space between Tommy’s neck and the pillow.
“Wanna talk about it?” Despite the sleepiness saturating his voice, Tommy can hear the sincerity and the concern, and he melts further back into his boyfriend.
“Not now, baby. Go back to sleep. I promise we’ll talk in the morning.”
“Are you sure?”
Tommy grins.
“Did you know that there are bees in every continent except Antarctica?”
“Tommy, what–”
“Pluto was named by an 11 year old girl interested in Roman mythology.”
“Babe–”
“Dr. Suess bet the founder of his publishing company $50 that he could write a book with 50 words, and that’s how ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ came to be.”
They’re both laughing at this point, despite their tiredness. It starts out soft, but it quickly turns into the hysterical laughter that comes with sleep deprivation. Evan’s clinging onto Tommy for dear life as the two of them shake with laughter, tears running down their cheeks.
Once they finally calm down and resettle, Evan asks again.
“Babe, what was that?”
“You wouldn’t go back to sleep. And whenever I can’t sleep you talk to me about whatever sparks your interest until I pass out. I thought I could do the same for you, but evidently that’s your specialty, not mine.”
“Alright, so what’s your next move in this ‘lulling me to sleep’ plan?”
Tommy kicks his legs a bit, fussing with the blanket until he can grab it. He pulls it up to their shoulders, and then pushes himself into Evan’s chest as close as he can, guiding Evan's arms around his waist until Evan is holding him tightly.
“Just gonna lay here with you.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
A couple minutes later, Evan’s breathing slows and evens out, and Tommy falls asleep to the sound of Evan snoring in his ear.