[epilogue to a flower Hal/Tom]
Hal wakes first, and in his first moments of consciousness he is frozen by the contact being made, the warm weight of someone curled half on top of him. He cannot move and for a moment he cannot understand how he came to be in those circumstances, and the shadow of the previous night’s contentment is chased away by his mind’s rebellion of the idea. He feels out of place and in desperate need of a shower, but before he can move the weight curls closer and Tom makes a soft, comfortable sound.
His laugh is soft, quiet, and almost amazed. Almost disbelieving. He cranes his neck just far enough to kiss the top of Tom’s head, along one of his scars. There’s a foreign feeling there, under the growing agitation at the back of his mind, the little off things making the one, big, right one.
He waits for a few minutes, to see if Hal will wake, the novelty and the comfort of the situation bringing him patience. Everything that the morning meant, that the night had. That what had happened, and what hadn’t happened meant. It was a small success, and one that he still couldn’t believe but in the end he was still only..well, not human, but still only Hal, and he shakes Tom slightly, his voice a raised, insistent whisper. “Tom. Tom, you need to wake up.” He pauses and receives no response. “Please.”
“Mmm..” Tom responds, an arm draped over Hal’s chest, and a leg over his. For a moment Hal feels trapped and completely helpless, and his eyes are almost desperate. He tries, briefly, to slip away, with no success, and there is urgency in his voice when he speaks again.
Tom’s head jerks up, and he looks around, far too alert for half asleep and concerned. “Wha’s wrong?”
For a moment Hal almost feels bad for waking him, and seemingly worrying him, but he feels like his brain is going to short if he doesn’t remedy the two dozen little things currently niggling at him. “I love you,” Hal starts, and Tom opens his mouth to respond, but before he has a chance Hal shakes his head, just barely and continues, “And this is wonderful, really, and last night was completely amazing and I have no doubt that I will remember it for the rest of my life no matter how long that is likely to be, but-” He watches as Tom’s face progressively falls and he speaks faster to get to his point before he manages to think that he’s breaking up with him, taking a deep breath. “But I need a shower, desperately. So do you, if I’m going to be completely honest, and these sheets are going to need to be boiled, I think they’re stuck to my leg, and-“
Tom kisses him, before he manages to talk anymore, a hand on his chest, and he holds onto it just long enough to make Hal lose his train of thought. Its a moment before either of them speak, and Hal cant help thinking that Tom looks like he’s trying not to smile as he finally does, withdrawing his limbs to his own side of the bed. “Go’on then, I’ll get in afte’ ya.”
“Thank you.” Relief floods Hal as he scrambles to his feet, searching for something he can wear to the bathroom that it doesnt matter if he gets dirty. After a moment Tom calls his name, and he turns away from the clothing he was giving mournful looks.
“Hal. Love you too. Here.” He catches the familiar pair of shorts easily and gives Tom a look that he thinks he’s seen before on deer. Tom just yawns, covering his mouth before shrugging loosely. “It’ll wash.”
Hal nods, still uneasy but he puts the shorts on hurriedly and makes his way out of the room, barely aware of the look that Annie gives him, hair ruffled and shirtless, in Tom’s shorts for the few seconds that she sees him between rooms.
He takes a long, hot shower, and finds clean clothes folded and set outside the bathroom door, and he dresses, returning to Tom’s room.
“Goin’” Tom informs him as he opens the door, standing up and grabbing a towel to wrap around himself. Hal moves out of the way to let him pass, but when Tom kisses him he returns it with another nervous smile.
In the time it takes Tom to shower, Hal manages to change the sheets and get the dirty ones into the wash where they can be started easily once no one is in the shower, and turned his music on downstairs in his usual spot on the couch.
He’s concentrating when Tom flops down next to him, leaning heavily onto him and slightly damp kissing his neck. “This is alrigh’, issinit?” He asks, and Hal smiles once he’s gotten over the sudden contact again, putting an arm around him almost uneasily. The music plays on though, and he relaxes, the smile becoming more easy, and he kisses him in response.
“Perfect,” Hal says, and Tom settles in, his head on Hal’s shoulder, and a hand on his leg, falling asleep with his arm around him and the soft classical music playing.
