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“If you’re going to let me lead, you need to keep your hand on my shoulder.” Sam chastises.
“Right, right.” JB mumbles in response, moving the hand that had started slipping down to his boyfriend’s waist back up to his shoulder.
At dinner JB had stated he wanted to do something romantic for Sam, but had drawn a blank on what to actually do. Sam half heartedly suggested they dance, and so after eating they moved the couch and coffee table to the edge of the room, giving them space.
JB knows how to dance, being a Time Agent requires training in all sorts of odd things, but he had let Sam lead. Partially because his boyfriend can see the steps in his head, and he’s gotten rusty. And partially because he thought it would be fun to try the role he hadn’t done before.
Their movements are fluid and graceful, and it surprises JB how easy it is, how quickly they fell into the rhythm of the dance together. How natural it feels, their fingers intertwined, his other hand on his boyfriend's shoulder, Sam’s palm pressed lightly on his back.
“You know,” Sam says, his words only loud enough to be heard over the music. “Even before you became a criminal by rescuing me, some would have already considered you one.”
JB stumbles the next few steps, caught off guard by the statement that had come out of nowhere.
“And why would that be?” He asks, after steadying himself.
“Because,” His boyfriend starts, leaning close to him and lowering his voice, before smiling widely. “You stole my heart.”
“Is that so?” JB asks with a laugh, shaking his head at him. “Well, you stole mine, so it’s only fair.”
“I do suppose I took yours first.” Sam muses.
“How do you know that?” He asks, knowing full well he’s had some sort of feelings for him as long as they’ve known each other.
“Because you could not have been more obvious back in the day.” The former Projectionist teases, smirking.
“Well when did you catch feelings for me?” JB asks, pivoting the conversation as they both turn, falling back smoothly into the dance.
“I’m not certain exactly when they started, but I figured them out a little bit after you got promoted and I became your head Projectionist.” Sam says with a sigh. “But alas, it was around that time when you stopped being so obvious with your crush.”
“So if I hadn’t put it in the box then, we could have ended up together much sooner.” JB mumbles.
“Box?” His boyfriend asks, raising his eyebrows, an amused light in his eyes. “What box?”
“Don’t worry about it.” He replies, shaking his head slightly.
“But no, I don’t think we would’ve gotten together.” Sam says. “And even if we would have, I’m glad we didn’t.”
“Why’s that?” JB asks.
“Well for one thing, I would’ve been a horrible boyfriend.” Sam laughs.
“We’ve talked about this, you’re a great boyfriend.” He argues, giving his love’s hand a small squeeze.
“ Maybe I am now, but I’ve done a lot of growing in the past year.” His boyfriend explains. “And the whole situation with me leaving the Time Agency, and all that, would have been even more messy, and it would’ve hurt you even more… I’m not sure we could have come back from that if we were in a relationship at the time.”
“I suppose that’s true.” JB relents. “I honestly hadn’t thought about it with that context.”
“I’ve thought about it all too much.” Sam mumbles.
The conversation dies for a moment, the music that had become background noises fills the silence, and they continue dancing, almost without thinking about it.
“Sam.” JB starts.
His boyfriend doesn’t look back up at him, and JB isn’t sure if it’s purposeful, or if he’s just lost in thought.
“Hey, what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” He asks, moving his hand from Sam’s shoulder up to his neck, tilting the man’s head so he’ll look at him.
“They aren’t the only things we’ve stolen, are they?” Sam asks, his green eyes looking far off. “This whole relationship is stolen.”
“Now what’s that supposed to mean?” JB asks, absentmindedly rubbing the former Projectionist’s cheek with his thumb.
“I’m supposed to be dead. You’re supposed to be a Time Agent, not a time criminal. We’re supposed to be enemies.” Sam says, his voice low. “This relationship was never supposed to happen. We were always supposed to be a near miss.”
“I know.” JB replies, leaning closer to him. “Which is why I want to make the most of this chance that we’ve got.”
His boyfriend closes the gap fully, meeting his lips, and soon the dance is forgotten.
JB doesn’t like the thought that their story was meant to end in tragedy. He would rather think that they were always going to end up together, that it was what is supposed to happen. But Sam’s right. All the odds had been stacked up against their relationship. Even time itself had seemed to be pitched against them.
But against it all, against the pain, and hurt, and history, and everyone and everything that tried to keep them apart, they still did it. They’re together. They’re in love. And they’re happy.