Fic: Clutchin' My Coffee, Callin' Me Sugar
Comment-fic for Monday's Semi-Weekly Man-on-Man at jim_and_bones .
Part of the Loft-Lovers!verse:
-- clutchin' my coffee, callin' me sugar
-- our lips can touch and our cheeks can brush, 'cause our lips can touch here
-- you are the one, the one that lies close to me, whispers hello, i've missed you quite terribly
He hates early shifts. Really hates ‘em, hates having to crawl out of the comfortable warmth of their bed and deal with both the idiots staffing the ER and the idiots waiting for treatment. That being said, he rolls over and stuffs his head under the pillow, trying to pretend to himself that it’s the weekend, that he doesn’t have to be at the hospital in an hour, that the alarm isn’t going to go off for the third time in about thirty seconds.
When it blares shrilly in his ear just as he’s started to drop back off to sleep, he figures the universe is laughing at him.
He flips off his reflection in the bathroom mirror before ducking into the shower.
Fifteen minutes later, he’s tugging a comb through his hair, trying to tiptoe past the bed without waking Jim, who had another gig last night and didn’t get in until well after midnight, and find the sweatshirt he’s pretty sure he left on the dresser yesterday. Shivering a little in the early morning chill of the loft, he glances longingly at the bed, then sighs and heads to the kitchen for caffeine, hoping to at least take the edge of his early shift homicidal tendencies.
The kitchen light is blindingly brilliant after the comfortable gloom on the other side of the partition blocking off their bed. Blinking stupidly in the glare, it takes him several seconds for all of the things he’s seeing to add up to one comprehensible whole.
“Hiya, Bones,” Jim chirps, eyes red-rimmed with exhaustion and voice gravelly, holding out one steaming cup of coffee while sipping from another. Leonard takes the proffered cup and inhales the rich aroma, the smell alone enough to have his thought processes moving faster.
“Jim, what-?”
Jim smiles from his perch on the counter, looking adorably sleep-rumpled in his unbuttoned plaid shirt and sleep pants, a pillow crease across one cheek. “Know how much you hate early shift. Figured I’d give you a surprise, make it a little better,” he explains, knuckling one eye and blinking blearily at Leonard. Leonard feels something twist sideways and swoop in his stomach as he quickly tallies how much (little) sleep Jim’s gotten - four hours, on top of working a shift at Scotty’s little auto shop the day before. Dropping his sweatshirt on the counter, he hooks one hand around the back of Jim’s neck and pulls him down for a kiss, tasting the staleness of morning breath and the bitterness of the coffee when Jim slides his tongue into Leonard’s mouth.
“Thank you,” he whispers against Jim’s lips, feeling the smile that spreads across Jim’s face. “This is really great.” Jim pulls back and grins brightly at him, pleased with himself.
“There’s even croissants from that little bakery down the street,” he mentions, gesturing with his elbow at the basket sitting next to the coffeemaker. Leonard raises an eyebrow and Jim flushes slightly, smile turning bashful as he looks down at his coffee. “I got ‘em on my way home last night, fresh out of the oven. I know how much you like ‘em,” he mumbles into the lip of his coffee cup, watching Leonard shyly through his eyelashes.
Leonard smiles and kisses Jim’s forehead before taking a sip of his coffee. It’s a more expensive grind, something else they didn’t have in the kitchen before last night, and he groans softly at the smooth flavor, eyes closing involuntarily in appreciation. Opening his eyes again, he sees soft blue eyes peering at him over Jim’s white coffee cup and smiles again, leaning close to nudge the cup away and give Jim another kiss.
Leonard drinks his coffee slowly, relishing the warmth as it sears down his throat, while Jim plays with his own cup, too tired to appreciate or need it without more sleep. Still, though, having him here, having this with him before work warms him more than the beverage ever could.
“You’re somethin’ else, kid,” he rumbles as his watch beeps a warning. He sets his cup in the sink and comes back to kiss Jim once more, lingering this time despite - or because of - having to leave now or be late to work.
“Love you, too, Bones,” Jim replies, even as Leonard takes his coffee cup and sets it on the counter, turning off the coffeepot so it doesn’t just sit there and burn the coffee over the next few hours.
“Go on back to bed, sugar. I’ll see you later, okay?” He gets one more brilliant smile as he tugs Jim down off the counter and nudges him toward the sleeping area, flipping the kitchen light off as he goes. He even goes so far as to tuck Jim back into the bed, brushing his fingers softly through the kid’s hair to ease the way to sleep, before gathering his stuff and leaving the apartment.
It’s chilly outside and the sunrise is just starting to lighten the sky above, but there’s almost a spring in Leonard’s step and a smile hovering around the corners of his mouth, coffee warm in his belly as he heads for the nearest subway connection. He still hates early shifts and the universe is probably still laughing at him but even so, he’s pretty damn content with the way the morning’s gone so far.
He grins again, then laughs aloud as a nurse jumps and runs into the wall, dropping her clipboard as she stares at him in shock and no small amount of terror.
Pretty damn content, indeed.
Part of the Loft-Lovers!verse:
-- clutchin' my coffee, callin' me sugar
-- our lips can touch and our cheeks can brush, 'cause our lips can touch here
-- you are the one, the one that lies close to me, whispers hello, i've missed you quite terribly
He hates early shifts. Really hates ‘em, hates having to crawl out of the comfortable warmth of their bed and deal with both the idiots staffing the ER and the idiots waiting for treatment. That being said, he rolls over and stuffs his head under the pillow, trying to pretend to himself that it’s the weekend, that he doesn’t have to be at the hospital in an hour, that the alarm isn’t going to go off for the third time in about thirty seconds.
When it blares shrilly in his ear just as he’s started to drop back off to sleep, he figures the universe is laughing at him.
He flips off his reflection in the bathroom mirror before ducking into the shower.
Fifteen minutes later, he’s tugging a comb through his hair, trying to tiptoe past the bed without waking Jim, who had another gig last night and didn’t get in until well after midnight, and find the sweatshirt he’s pretty sure he left on the dresser yesterday. Shivering a little in the early morning chill of the loft, he glances longingly at the bed, then sighs and heads to the kitchen for caffeine, hoping to at least take the edge of his early shift homicidal tendencies.
The kitchen light is blindingly brilliant after the comfortable gloom on the other side of the partition blocking off their bed. Blinking stupidly in the glare, it takes him several seconds for all of the things he’s seeing to add up to one comprehensible whole.
“Hiya, Bones,” Jim chirps, eyes red-rimmed with exhaustion and voice gravelly, holding out one steaming cup of coffee while sipping from another. Leonard takes the proffered cup and inhales the rich aroma, the smell alone enough to have his thought processes moving faster.
“Jim, what-?”
Jim smiles from his perch on the counter, looking adorably sleep-rumpled in his unbuttoned plaid shirt and sleep pants, a pillow crease across one cheek. “Know how much you hate early shift. Figured I’d give you a surprise, make it a little better,” he explains, knuckling one eye and blinking blearily at Leonard. Leonard feels something twist sideways and swoop in his stomach as he quickly tallies how much (little) sleep Jim’s gotten - four hours, on top of working a shift at Scotty’s little auto shop the day before. Dropping his sweatshirt on the counter, he hooks one hand around the back of Jim’s neck and pulls him down for a kiss, tasting the staleness of morning breath and the bitterness of the coffee when Jim slides his tongue into Leonard’s mouth.
“Thank you,” he whispers against Jim’s lips, feeling the smile that spreads across Jim’s face. “This is really great.” Jim pulls back and grins brightly at him, pleased with himself.
“There’s even croissants from that little bakery down the street,” he mentions, gesturing with his elbow at the basket sitting next to the coffeemaker. Leonard raises an eyebrow and Jim flushes slightly, smile turning bashful as he looks down at his coffee. “I got ‘em on my way home last night, fresh out of the oven. I know how much you like ‘em,” he mumbles into the lip of his coffee cup, watching Leonard shyly through his eyelashes.
Leonard smiles and kisses Jim’s forehead before taking a sip of his coffee. It’s a more expensive grind, something else they didn’t have in the kitchen before last night, and he groans softly at the smooth flavor, eyes closing involuntarily in appreciation. Opening his eyes again, he sees soft blue eyes peering at him over Jim’s white coffee cup and smiles again, leaning close to nudge the cup away and give Jim another kiss.
Leonard drinks his coffee slowly, relishing the warmth as it sears down his throat, while Jim plays with his own cup, too tired to appreciate or need it without more sleep. Still, though, having him here, having this with him before work warms him more than the beverage ever could.
“You’re somethin’ else, kid,” he rumbles as his watch beeps a warning. He sets his cup in the sink and comes back to kiss Jim once more, lingering this time despite - or because of - having to leave now or be late to work.
“Love you, too, Bones,” Jim replies, even as Leonard takes his coffee cup and sets it on the counter, turning off the coffeepot so it doesn’t just sit there and burn the coffee over the next few hours.
“Go on back to bed, sugar. I’ll see you later, okay?” He gets one more brilliant smile as he tugs Jim down off the counter and nudges him toward the sleeping area, flipping the kitchen light off as he goes. He even goes so far as to tuck Jim back into the bed, brushing his fingers softly through the kid’s hair to ease the way to sleep, before gathering his stuff and leaving the apartment.
It’s chilly outside and the sunrise is just starting to lighten the sky above, but there’s almost a spring in Leonard’s step and a smile hovering around the corners of his mouth, coffee warm in his belly as he heads for the nearest subway connection. He still hates early shifts and the universe is probably still laughing at him but even so, he’s pretty damn content with the way the morning’s gone so far.
He grins again, then laughs aloud as a nurse jumps and runs into the wall, dropping her clipboard as she stares at him in shock and no small amount of terror.
Pretty damn content, indeed.