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It was a good night. A terrible week, by any measure, but that night helped. It was rough and rushed but it was exactly what they needed to let out the week's frustration. Satisfied, Tendo tried to count the budding bite marks and bruises in the dark as he wrapped his arms around an exhausted Hercules Hansen. They didn't often spend the night together, but Herc was already snoring lightly and Tendo couldn't very well shove the larger man off him without waking him up. That would be rude.
'Why the hell not,' Tendo thought, placing a quiet kiss on Herc's hair. It was more of a reflex than anything. They were still feeling things out, not sure what they were doing, just looking for the distraction and the comfort the other provided in these trying times. The most affection they ever showed often came from Herc-- Tendo was surprised to learn how gentle he could be. The Ranger was usualyl hesitant to be quite as rough as Tendo wanted; on those rare occasions when he really put his back into it, he would still kiss Tendo softly on the back of his neck and whisper quiet reassurances. Tendo would always tease him about it after, but he really didn't mind.
He didn't mind this either. Herc was heavy but in a comfortable way. Their bodies fit together well, one rough angles and scars, and the other soft curves and tattoos. Herc's scratchy beard was pleasant against his neck and his breath was warm through Tendo's undershirt and Tendo realized this wasn't so bad. Maybe all those times he hurried away after throwing his clothes back on were a waste.
With hazy thoughts of an increasingly sappy nature, Tendo finally let himself fall asleep. He was a deep, deep sleeper (quite the contrast from Herc's army reflexes) in his own bed; in someone else's, he was still hard to rouse, but with years of runing from boyfriends and girlfriends and parents he'd developed at least the ability to throw clothes on and dive out a window. Tonight, he slept through Herc rolling mostly off him, though their legs remained tangled. He slept through Chuck banging on the door until Herc got up to shoo him and take Max in. He slept through Herc snoring, which at a point even woke both Herc and Max.
The final straw came in early morning, when Max realized it was time for his walk. The barking first roused him, though he had no idea what it was and he was perfectly content to bury his face in a pillow and ignore it. There was a quiet scratching at the door, which woke Herc, who got up to use the bathroom himself before taking Max out. While he was gone, Max turned his attention on Tendo. It was wet and slobbery and disgusting and Tendo would do anything to make it stop so, begrudgingly, he rolled out of bed and felt around in the dark for whatever he could pass for pants. Herc re-entered the room and put the leash on Max before Tendo lazily grabbed it out of his hand.
"S'fine. I'll do it." Tendo rubbed at his eyes, returning the kiss Herc pressed to his lips. "Sleep," he grumbled into the Ranger's mouth with little conviction. After another quick kiss and an appreciative grunt, Herc flopped back down into bed. Tendo made his way down the hall with an all-too energetic Max in tow.
Rubbing at his eyes and holding up the pants he'd grabbed (which he only now realized were not his own), Tendo escorted the tail-wagging slobber machine to his designated bathroom area. Their pace was slow, the technician still foggy and sluggish, but Max was happy just to be walking around. They didn't pass anyone on the way to the little park out front, and Tendo was glad for it. It was too early for conversation. It was still dark out, the sun barely peeking over the horizon; It was too early for anything. He waited patiently outside the park, cleaned up after Max and tossed the baggie, and turned back inside.
This time Tendo wasn't so lucky. Raleigh Becket was coming out of the cafeteria carrying a tray with three paper cups of coffee, and, as usual, he was in far too good a mood for this time of morning. He greeted Tendo politely with a warm smile and they made small talk as they walked together toward the pilot's quarters.
"How is Gipsy's maintenance coming?"
"Not so bad. Small setbacks as we wait for parts to come in but nothin' major."
"Great! I can't wait to get back out."
"How's Mako's training?"
"She's doin great!!! She's incredible. Oh, she's so cool. She wipes the floor with me an' Chuck."
Tendo yawned loudly and stretched his arms back, rolling his neck around to crack it. Raleigh looked at him with a worried smile and offered him one of the cups.
"You look exhausted."
"Damn straight. Loooong night." Tendo groaned and took the coffee. "You sure I can have this? You're a life-saver."
"Yeah, for sure. Mako and I can share." Raleigh grumbled something under his breath with a short laugh, something that would have sounded vaguely like 'God forbid you ever ask Chuck to share anything.' if Tendo had had the mind to listen closely. They stopped in the hall in front of the Rangers' doors. "You look like you could use it more than me anyway, loverboy."
Tendo opened his mouth to respond before his brain fully processed what Raleigh had said. "Uh," he started, looking blankly at the blonde.
Raleigh's eyebrows shot up in response. "Seriously? I dunno if you know this but you're wearing Striker Eureka sweatpants." Tendo glanced down to confirm the small bulldog logo at the hip. "And you're walking his dog at about six in the morning." Raleigh laughed, patting him on the shoulder "Dude."
Tendo rubbed his eyes and blinked and finally laughed. "Jeez. So much for being subtle." Raleigh was still laughing. "Shut up." he groaned, playfully jerking his arm away from the pilot's grip. "Thanks for the coffee. And the discretion. Please." Raleigh gave him a mock salute before turning back toward Mako's room.
Rolling his eyes, Tendo opened Herc's door and took care to deposit the coffee safely on the desk before removing Max's leash. The dog happily bounced back up on the bed where a waiting Herc scratched slowly between his ears.
Recollecting his cup of coffee, Tendo settled into a space on the bed and Herc's arms found their way around his waist as if they'd never left.