Chapter Text
“He’s going to notice, you know.”
John’s only response was to exhale a long, even breath. Unconcerned about normal, civilian things like what his neck might feel like if he really did fall asleep on Kaidan’s shoulder while they were both sitting on these uncomfortable metal folding chairs. The exact kind one might assume was used during a town meeting and therefore the only kind Joker ever allowed to be used.
The most effective of his methods for trying to get fired from the Planning Committee position his sarcasm had acquired for him not quite a year after moving to the small town of Norman.
The most effective, but still not enough to outweigh the improved organization of all the committees or the increased tourist revenue from all the people who needed to see Norman’s now overblown holiday celebrations for themselves.
Feeling his own breathing beginning to slow, Kaidan nudged his husband half-heartedly. “You promised Joker you would take these meetings seriously.”
“I did not.” John’s voice was breathy with sleep, not far enough gone to slur together just yet. “I promised I’d attend.”
“To prove the old military stereotype that soldiers can sleep anywhere?”
Three rows ahead of them, off to one side of the room, James was nodding off himself, though he’d left Steve’s shoulder out of it.
“You’re comfortable,” was all the answer Kaidan was likely to get. Five years of marriage was more than enough to learn how quickly his word-loving husband could turn monogrammatic at the end of a long day.
And it had been a long day. The last storm that had come through had taken down a dozen of the town’s trees, including one in their own backyard. Seeing as it would cost a small fortune to get a tree service out to their neck of the proverbial woods, John had called up James and Garrus for help removing their fallen tree in exchange for helping Garrus figure out what was wrong with his generator - Tali was out of town for the weekend and who knew when the power would come back on - and James wash all the diner’s dishes by hand, since no power meant no dishwasher, industrial or otherwise.
Kaidan’s day had been far less physical, but in his opinion that almost made it worse. Hours of paperwork that multiplied like dust bunnies, no matter how many boxes he filled in. Kasumi had kept him company for most of it, the tip of her black tail swishing back and forth like an old school pendulum clock, but it had been a somewhat hollow gesture since she’d been free to nap whenever the exertion of tail swishing got to be too much.
He’d met John outside the elementary school where the meeting was being held - their generators were working just fine - and they’d taken their customary seats. Far enough back that they weren’t likely to get dragged into anything, but close enough that when - never if - the mics cut out, they’d still be able to hear what was going on.
Kaidan caught his chin dropping toward his chest and jerked it up with a quick inhale as one of John’s hands took his. Warm and pleasantly dry. “We could just go.”
“And argue with Joker about the level of hair splitting it takes to differentiate between ‘attend’ and ‘stay the whole time’?” Kaidan asked, but there was no real warning in his words. Sneaking out the back before things really got started sounded like a much better idea than two hours in these hard metal seats.
“We can make s’mores.” John’s words were clearer than Kaidan had expected, but those brilliant blue eyes were still closed. “I have to make a fire to heat soup for dinner. Might as well have a little fun.”
“By fun you mean making a mess,” Kaidan asked, his voice low as his eyelids threatened to grow heavy. “Between the marshmallows and the chocolate, you’ll have no choice but to…to…” Neighbors had ears, but in his hesitancy to say something too descriptive, Kaidan left the door open for something else.
“Not tonight.” John shifted, his cheek finding a better position against Kaidan’s shoulder. “We can have sex tomorrow morning.”
Two seats down, Mrs. Marlow stiffened.
Kaidan found himself chuckling, not even pretending to scold. “So you really just want to eat the messiest dessert we can?”
“I want to enjoy the way the firelight dances in your eyes.”
The words were slurred, and a little blunt, but Kaidan felt his chest squeeze all the same. John’s compliments were always artistic - it’s just who he was. And honestly, was it so bad to think like that? To say sappy, kinda silly things when he meant them with his whole heart?
John’s hand was slack in his, breaths ghosting underneath Kaidan’s chin, and with the gentle suddenness of peaceful surrender, Kaidan decided splitting hairs could be worth the effort. Whether they managed soup and s’mores over the firepit in the backyard or not, it was a nice image, and Kaidan held onto it as his own head dropped gently onto John’s. Both of them sound asleep before the town meeting even got started, and both woken rather rudely by a watery Diet Coke to the face when it was done.