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Sam watched as the circuits flared along Tron's back, trailing after Sam's roaming finger. Tron shifted, burying his face deeper into the pillow beneath him. Sam should be just as tired. Rebuilding the Grid, bringing order back to Tron City, was becoming a monumental feat. Today it felt like an impossible one. It was that fear that made him too wired to rest. There was only so much Sam could do from the outside. If he wanted to save the Grid, he needed to become a part of it.... for a while anyway.
He would have to return home soon. Quorra waited for him on the other side and Alan would worry if he didn't check in. Sam didn't want Alan to have to repeat what he went through with his dad. But with each return trip, he found himself more and more reluctant to go... to leave the city in the chaos he had left it, and to leave Tron.
Coming back to the Grid that first time, finding Tron alive and himself again... Sam could hardly believe it. Tron had been a little worse for wear (understatement of the year). What Clu had inflicted upon him was beyond imagining. He had no physical scars, just the memories of what he had done as Clu's personal attack dog.
Caring for Tron, falling for him, had been so easy. It could have been because his face was so familiar to Sam or because he had been raised on tales about Tron’s heroic deeds, but Sam thinks it’s simply because he's Tron. Tron’s good heart and strong will had allowed him to endure, to come back from his dark imprisonment and continue fighting for the user. And he had... he'd fought for Sam. There were programs that still remained loyal to Clu and blamed Sam for his downfall, Tron had pretty much appointed himself as Sam's bodyguard (against Sam's protests that he could take care of himself. Considering how many times Tron had saved his life now, it was probably a good thing he hadn't listened). In return Sam tried to help repair the damage done to Tron's programming, to rid him of the last remnants of Rinzler.
And somewhere along the way, this happened. Sam leaned down, pressing a kiss to Tron's shoulder. It couldn't be explained. It just was. Though it probably shouldn't. It definitely wasn't going to end well. Sam couldn't stay on the Grid for the rest of his life and Tron would never leave. Not when it still needed him.
Tron shifted again, this time rolling onto his side facing Sam. He lifted a hand to Sam's neck, gently caressing it. “Stop thinking so much. Try to rest.”
Sam smiled and laid down, curling his body into Tron's. Tron stroked his hair and Sam finally began to relax. His worries belonged to tomorrow and for now he'd let them stay there. Today he had Tron.