au_muses July prompt: Write about a habit you find hard to break.
comfort || 300 words || k+
Write about a habit you find hard to break.
The front door opened. James' eyes stopped moving over the page of his book and he just stared straight ahead of himself, straining his ears to hear Greg's movements. The door slammed. A heavy thunk conjured a mental image of the other man tossing his backpack to the floor angrily. Obviously, his second shift had not been a very good one. James quickly folded down the corner of his page, tossed the book onto the bedside stand, flipped off the light and slid under the covers to curl up and pretend to be asleep.
There was some light banging around in the kitchen but James had eaten dinner out with his brother that night so Greg's search for leftovers was -- literally and figuratively -- fruitless. Apparently, he didn't feel like making anything for himself because a few minutes later James heard him undressing in the dark and felt the bed shift with his weight as he climbed in. James stayed very still and concentrated on breathing believably. He suspected Greg knew he wasn't actually asleep but they'd gotten into the habit of not "burdening" each other with work problems, since they both had more than enough of their own, and this was part of the ritual.
He felt warm breath on the back of his neck. Greg didn't actually touch him, but James could still feel his body heat radiating between them and he fought the instinct to tilt his head forward and snuggle back against the other man. They stayed like that for several long moments until Greg's lips brushed softly over the bare skin of James' shoulder before he turned away and curled up to sleep.
James let out a soft sigh. Sometimes he wished he could be more of a comfort to Greg. But old habits died hard.
Write about a habit you find hard to break.
The front door opened. James' eyes stopped moving over the page of his book and he just stared straight ahead of himself, straining his ears to hear Greg's movements. The door slammed. A heavy thunk conjured a mental image of the other man tossing his backpack to the floor angrily. Obviously, his second shift had not been a very good one. James quickly folded down the corner of his page, tossed the book onto the bedside stand, flipped off the light and slid under the covers to curl up and pretend to be asleep.
There was some light banging around in the kitchen but James had eaten dinner out with his brother that night so Greg's search for leftovers was -- literally and figuratively -- fruitless. Apparently, he didn't feel like making anything for himself because a few minutes later James heard him undressing in the dark and felt the bed shift with his weight as he climbed in. James stayed very still and concentrated on breathing believably. He suspected Greg knew he wasn't actually asleep but they'd gotten into the habit of not "burdening" each other with work problems, since they both had more than enough of their own, and this was part of the ritual.
He felt warm breath on the back of his neck. Greg didn't actually touch him, but James could still feel his body heat radiating between them and he fought the instinct to tilt his head forward and snuggle back against the other man. They stayed like that for several long moments until Greg's lips brushed softly over the bare skin of James' shoulder before he turned away and curled up to sleep.
James let out a soft sigh. Sometimes he wished he could be more of a comfort to Greg. But old habits died hard.