Work Text:
Far away in the living room the clock fiercely strikes the twelfth hour.
The irritating hum spreads through the sleepless quiet of the night-filled apartment.
How many times has he already tried to kick that clock out of their modern home?
It ruins the whole interior and annoys them with loud notifications every single hour.
Bedtime in this apartment starts differently every time, from different hours to different routines.
They may fall asleep in each other’s arms in a couple of minutes, completely drained after a hard day.
Kseuno may stay awake all night at the computer, alone, because Sten flew off on yet another business trip to Canada and will, God willing, return in two days.
When they’re together, they can chat for hours despite the approaching morning.
But every evening of theirs will be special.
Snyder tosses yet another folder with a report aside in irritation, accompanied by the clock — which only drives him mad even more.
The work the scientist brought home just wouldn’t come together: the damn lab assistants messed up the calculations, the report was written by some rooster who didn’t even know how to spell carbaldehyde, and those damn clocks on top of it all.
Kseuno was irritated and unbelievably upset.
His damn husband was spending an extra four hours at work, and their sleeping time was shrinking rapidly.
The scientist sighs heavily and pushes the laptop screen shut with a nervous move.
Darkness fills the office and the faint hum of cars drifts in from the 18th floor.
Resigned to the failure of work, Kseuno slowly gets up, freeing his aching muscles from their stiff state.
Bones cracking, he drags himself down the hallway straight to the kitchen for yet another espresso.
Silence reigns in the house. Rooms and a couple of corridors are wrapped in darkness, only the moonlight from the huge panoramic windows gives at least some reflection.
Passing by the entrance corridor, Kseuno catches some movement in the dark — and jerks in shock.
—Holy shit! Stenli! — he yells, seeing his just-arrived husband.
—One day you’ll give me a heart attack!
—I don’t mind — Snyder smiles, clicking the lock shut — Why aren’t you asleep?
—Why are you so late? —
A question for a question, and in answer they both reach for each other’s embrace.
They won’t respond — both tired and starving for each other after this damn day which turned out not the best for either of them.
Kseuno wraps his arms tight around the other’s neck and smiles warmly somewhere against his jawline.
Waiting for Stenli to hug him back, he boldly wraps his legs around the strong body — something ordinary for them.
Carefully kicking off his sneakers at the entrance, Stenli comes inside, easily carrying his living load.
They reach the bedroom in complete silence and dive into bed just as quietly.
Kseuno nuzzles into his husband’s chest and hugs the best man in the world tightly.
Thus begins their — only their — evening.
Another meager twenty minutes pass in sleepy silence before Kseuno wakes from his tender bliss.
—Steeenn — and it begins.
—Hm?
—So what exactly happened at work?
—Had to fill in for one of the training supervisors. A lecture, had to explain to the newbies how to use a 12.7mm M500 rifle — the sniper explains quickly without opening his eyes — And after that I had to finish what I started in the morning, that’s why it took so long.
—Got it.
… Silence again. And again—
—Sten
—Hm?
—Why did you put tomatoes with the fruit?
—What?
—You unpacked the groceries.
—Accidentally.
A light kick in his thigh follows, instead of the phrase “accidentally gets punished desperately”.
—Sorry — is the conversation over? No.
—I’m on duty tomorrow — the scientist continues sadly.
—I’ll drop by at five, I don’t have much work tomorrow — he gently strokes the tangled hair in a comforting gesture — What will you be doing? Stenli decides to keep the dialogue going.
—Senku will help me with a project, it’ll speed things up and raise the success rate by 120%.
—Good. Chrome joining you?
—Not a chance.
Kseuno smirks slightly.
Poor Chrome, he doesn’t even know he’s kept out of serious projects.
And silence again. Well — a pause.
—Sten
—What?
—Do you love me?
—Of course. — to make it clear, the scientist receives a gentle kiss somewhere on the crown of his head.
—Honestly?
—Honestly.
—Then why did you put the tomatoes with the fruit?
—…. — Snyder sighs internally — By accident. I’ll move them in the morning, okay?
—Okay.
Silence. Pause.
This time the silence is brazenly interrupted by the damned clock in the living room.
—Sten
—Hm?
—Get rid of them, please.
—Alright.
… Just like that? Kseuno is confused…
Another pause.
—Sten
—Mhm?
—I’m bored.
—I thought you wanted to sleep.
—Kind of… We haven’t seen each other for too long…
—I missed you too — the sniper’s arms tighten around the scientist.
—I missed you more… — Kseuno mutters, hooking his leg over Snyder’s back and pressing closer.
And this time, the pause is not interrupted.