#snotweek2017

Hal rarely went to bed at a reasonable time.  One in the morning may not be listed as “reasonable” for most people, but following continuous all-nighters or staying awake until the sun came up the following day, he personally listed this as “reasonable.”  He had been unsuccessful in finding any leads or new information regarding their, his and Dave's, new goal.  

Their.

It was still all new to him.  Hal was so used to working alone, being isolated, but now, things were so different.  He had someone-- a friend, a partner, hell, a lover-- even after all this time, the thought still makes him blush a deep red.  It was an adjustment, one he didn't think he would have made so easily, but that was just it.  Dave being around felt so natural, like they've known each other their whole lives.  The engineer buried the side of his face into his pillow; he really needed sleep, he can think sappy thoughts later.

A few hours of rest passed before Hal heard the click of the apartment's front door.  Currently, they were in hideout number five-- a dingy studio apartment in the Midwest.  It was better than basement apartment on the west coast with no AC, or the shack in Alaska with no heat, but it was still colder than Hal would have liked, even under four blankets and the sparingly functional space heater.  Peaking his head out from under the covers, he reached for his glasses he set on top of his laptop in an attempt to identify the dark figure in the entry way.  Hal already knew the answer, he just wanted to see him.

“Just me,” Dave's gruff voice came through behind the thick scarf that Hal forced him to put on before leaving, “Go back to sleep, doc.”

Reluctantly, Hal's arm retreated back into the warmth of bed, his head falling back onto the pillow.  He turned on his side as Dave flicked on the too bright bathroom light and didn't bother closing the door.  A few moments passed, the apartment became dark again, and the side of the bed dipped under Dave's knees.  Hal relaxed, a sleepy sigh left his lips.  He had been waiting for this; after working all hours of the day, with little to no breaks or time to eat, this was all he wanted.  The soldier slid under the mismatched, multiple blankets, one arm under his own pillow while the other reached over to pull Hal closer, his bare legs entangled with Hal's and--

“Jesus Christ, Dave!”

Hal shot his legs out from under the covers before bringing them back up to his chest.

“What?”

“Your feet are freezing! God, do you even wear socks?”

“To bed?”

“In general?”

“They're not that cold,” Dave argued, trying to pull the other back towards him.

“No, oh my god, don't touch me if you're going to touch me with those things you call feet,” Hal huffed, swatting his hand away.

“Oh?” Dave raised an eyebrow, “You think that's bad?”

“Dave, I swear to god--”

Hal felt the sheets lift up behind him, followed by an eerie silence.

“David, I'm warning you--”

The soldier made no other comment, no noise, not even a smug chuckle.

“David--!”

The engineer nearly jumped out of skin when Dave's hands made contact with his bare skin.  A minimum amount of his strength kept Hal pinned down to bed as his near frozen feeling hands clamped onto the younger man's chest.  With little to no luck, Hal couldn't even wiggle himself out of the other's grip.

“Seriously?!”

“Bet you'd prefer my feet now, huh?”

Hal's free arm reached for his pillow, reeling it back to smack Dave weakly in the face with it, “You're such an asshole!”

With a full belly laugh, Dave maneuvered Hal flat on his back on the mattress, still keeping him pinned down for the most part.  One flash of that rarely seen smile, or rarely seen to anyone but him, and Hal felt dumbfounded, at least for a moment.  The soldier noticed, thinning his smile down to a sly smirk, before dipping down to meet the younger man's lips.  Another smack in the face with the pillow stopped him short.

“Jerk,” Hal huffed, a grin marked on his face still.

“Nerd,” Dave's muffled voice came behind the pillow.

Hal kept the pillow in place, blocking the marginal space between his and Dave's face, for a few moments before finally moving it again.  The same smirk was plastered all over the older man's face; Hal found it too contagious sometimes. His arms now freed from Dave's weight on top of him, he pulled him into a lazy hug.  

“Finally warmed up to me?”