Work Text:
Tom was on the living room couch late at night. He was tuning Susan as he wasn't able to sleep today.
“mmmsg…” He mumbled out as his sleep medication he took earlier just made the insomniac worse. This was going to be a long night.
He plugs Susan in the amplifier, ready to play. However, the low hum of a refrigerator opening cut through the silence.
“Bbbbrrrr…” the fridge says
Tom paused midtune, fingers still resting against the strings. The sound of someone rummaging through cupboards followed, plastic crinkling, a drawer shutting too loudly for the hour.
He didn’t even have to look to know who it was. It was (((The red one))).
“…You planning on eating the entire fucking kitchen?” Tom muttered flatly.
Tord froze halfway through pulling a packet of crackers out of the cabinet, smirking at Tom.
“I could ask why you’re playing your guitar at,” he glanced at the wall clock, “3 in the morning?”
Tom let the last string ring out with a dull strum. “I took my meds.”
“And?”
“And now I’m tired and awake at the same time.”
Tord chuckles quietly, closing the cabinet a little softer this time. He walked into the living room, snack in hand, eyeing Tom’s slouched posture and the faint tension in his shoulders.
“You look like you’re about to pass out-” he sits next to him.
“I wish.”
“You want some?” Tord hands him a biscuit.
“Not hungry.”
There was a moment of quiet. The kind that wasn’t exactly awkward… just… heavy. Tord eventually just ate the biscuit.
Tord hesitated before speaking again.
“…You wanna try sleeping for real?”
Tom gave him a look. “That’s what I’ve been attempting for the past four hours.”
“No, I mean-” Tord gestured vaguely. “Just… let me help you, yeah? Your eye bags have become blacker than your… Well, eyes.”
“Why you little-”
Tom punched Tord on his arm, but he was too sleepy and weak to deal any real pain.
Tord chuckles softly “... Hjahja?! What? I was just tryna help~”
“Okay then!” Tom said frustratingly. “Sorry for that… just- help me.
“Alright alright… just lay down here,” Tord added. “I’ll stay here till you fall asleep… or whatever.”
Tom huffed. “That’s weirdly nice of you.”
“Don’t make it weird Jehovah…”
Another pause.
Tom shifted, setting Susan carefully against the side of the couch before laying back. The cushions dipped slightly as Tord sat down on the opposite end.
The silence returned, but this time, it wasn’t as loud.
A few minutes passed.
“…Still awake?” Tord asked quietly.
“…Yeah.”
Tord sighed, then after a moment…
“... Ya wanna hug?”
Tom cracked one eye open like he was trying to decide if this was some kind of trap.
“H-huh? …That’s even weirder!”
“Just answer the question~” Tord smiled.
Tom hesitated, jaw tightening slightly before he looked away.
“…Fine.”
Tom shifted closer, awkward at first… like he wasn’t entirely sure where to put his arms.
But eventually, he wrapped them around Tord's shoulders, pulling him in just enough so he wasn’t half slumped against the couch anymore.
“…Relax,” Tord muttered. “You’re not being detained, Jehovah.”
“Shut up commie…”
But after a few seconds, Tom’s grip lightly caught on the back of Tord’s shirt. Careful and hesitant.
The tension in his shoulders slowly started to give. Their breathing synced without either of them really noticing.
Hah…
Wooh…
Hah…
Wooh…
“…You still there?” Tom mumbled after a bit, voice already heavier with sleep.
“Yeah.”
“…Okay.”
Tom’s head dipped forward against him, the last bit of resistance fading as his weight settled in fully this time.
…
“I love you…”
“... Hm?”
Tom's eyes immediately open, realizing what he had said to Tord. He lets go of his embrace, expecting Tord to do the same.
Shit…
… But he didn't. Tord kept his arms wrapped around Tom, simply just looking down with a smile.
“Didn't think you'd make the first move Jehovah~” Tord says in his usual teasing voice.
Tom’s face went hot in an instant. He feels a smile slowly forming as he tries to suppress it.
“I- I didn’t mean… t-that wasn't… I was half asleep…” He tried to shove Tord away, but it lacked any real force.
His hands just kind of… rested there, curled into the fabric of Tord’s hoodie like they forgot what they were supposed to be doing.
Tord huffed out a quiet laugh. “Sure you were~”
“I was!” Tom snapped, voice cracking at the end in a way that immediately betrayed him. “It was the meds or- or the insomnia or whatever. People say dumb shit when they’re tired all the time!”
“Mmhm.” Tord nodded mockingly.
“DIE!! UGH”
Tord’s grip didn’t loosen. If anything, it tightened- not painfully, just enough to keep Tom from pulling away again.
There was a pause.
The kind that stretched.
Tom became very aware of everything all at once… the stupidly steady rise and fall of Tord’s chest, the warmth bleeding through their clothes, the way his own heartbeat was suddenly doing double-time like it was trying to escape.
“…You can let go now,” Tom muttered, not looking at him.
“Do you want me to?”
“…Yes.”
Tord didn’t move.
Tom swallowed.
“…No..” Tom admitted, barely audible. “I'm sorry for that. It won't happen again…”
Tord’s smile softened into something smaller. Less teasing. More… caring.
“No need to apologize Jehovah… or… babe.”
Tom immediately stiffened and got flustered. His thoughts go blank as he hears that forbidden word. Babe… babe? Babe- BABE??????!!_!_!_)_)_)$$)3(3+3-3+$8
“What?~ You're getting redder, my love… my baby boy… my husband… min kjære… ”
“I’m going to fucking hit you.” Tom whispered, voice lacking any real malice as he finally wrapped his arms around Tord again.
Tord let out a soft, satisfied hum. This was exactly the outcome he’d been aiming for the whole time.
“Violence already? We just got married.”
“We are not married.”
“So when's your proposal?~”
Tom buried his face on Tord's chest, embarrassed and flustered. He lets the red hoodie cover his entire face.
Tord pulls the blue one closer, caressing his back gently. As silence starts engulfing them again, Tord breaks it violently.
“I love you too.”
Tom froze. Just… completely still. Like every single thought became as stiff as a pineapple.
“…That’s not funny,” he mumbled into the fabric of Tord’s hoodie, voice suddenly small.
Tord’s hand didn’t stop its slow path along his back.
“I’m not joking. I really do love you back.” Tord smiled, but not in the smug and teasing way earlier. It was more caring.
Tom didn’t move. Didn’t look up. If he stayed like this, maybe he could pretend he misheard. Maybe it was the same sleep deprived hallucination that made him say it first, and he'll wake up and start tuning Susan again.
But that never happened.
“…You’re just saying that because I did,” he tried.
“Isn't that the point Jehovah?”
Tom stared at him for a second longer before immediately burying his face on Tord's chest once more.
Tord’s smile grew larger. “Let's rest for now… talk about it in the morning, yeah?”
“... Okay.”
Tom’s voice came out muffled. Barely more than breath against the fabric of Tord’s hoodie. His hands were still fisted into the back of it like if he let go now, everything that just happened would suddenly become real in the worst way possible.
Or the best.
He doesn't really know yet.
Tord shifted slightly, adjusting them so Tom wasn’t half-hanging off the side of the couch anymore, one arm staying securely around his shoulders while the other pulled the blanket up over them both.
“…You’re staying?” Tom asked after a moment, words quiet and hesitant.
Tord looked down at him. “Do you want me to go?”
Tom was silent for just a second too long.
“…No.”
“Then I’m staying.”
Tom nodded faintly against his chest.
“…Okay.”
Another pause settled in. This one feels softer this time. The kind that didn’t demand to be filled with noise or sarcasm or an argument about who hated who more.
“…Tord?”
“Yeah?”
Tom hesitated. “…Don’t let the others know about... this.”
A small chuckle rumbled beneath Tord's cheek. “No promises.”
Tom groaned weakly. “…I hate you.”
“I thought you loved me?~”
“Fuck off...”