It was just after two o'clock in the morning when Ethan pulled into the driveway of the little house that he and Benji owned. He didn't bother taking any of this things from the car to the house. That could wait until morning. Hell, he barely remembered to put the car in park before he all but yanked the key from the ignition and threw open the door, itching to be inside and in bed.

He'd only been gone for the weekend. "Retrieve and leave" missions, as agents typically called them, were simple: Get inside, get the data, and get the hell out. It was about as routine a mission as anyone who worked for the IMF could hope for, and the fact that it had gone smoothly made it all the better. Still, Ethan's muscles ached. The fatigue of the last three days quickly became exhaustion, settling deep in his bones. He strode eagerly towards the house, but faltered when his eye caught the light peeking through the curtains of living room window. Benji was most definitely in bed by now, and it wasn't at all like him to leave lights on. Ethan suppressed the panic rising in his chest, and continued to the front door.

Natural, act natural, came a voice from somewhere inside him, and he knew that it was right. He forced himself to relax before shoving the key into the lock, heart leaping into his throat when he realized that he didn't need to. He reached for his holster, drawing his gun and clicking off the safety before stepping inside, careful to lock the door behind him.

Please, please, please…

Ethan had called Benji just after landing in D.C., not even two hours ago. He'd told his boyfriend to go to sleep and not to wait up for him, and it was fine. Everything was fine. Ethan felt idiotic for believing it could be that easy, even for just this once. He moved from the front hallway into the living room without making a sound, prepared to shoot to kill if he deemed it necessary.

It wasn't until he entered the living room that he heard the sounds coming from the television, and all at once, his arms were falling to his sides as the tension leaked out of his body. He really was an idiot, as it so happened, because there was Benji: Wearing sweatpants and one of Ethan's old t-shirts, curled up on the couch, and sleeping soundly in front of what Ethan recognized as Star Trek: The Original Series. Ethan could only grin at the sight before him, suddenly overwhelmed by the love he felt for the other idiot in the room.

After switching the safety back on with a click, he discarded his gun on an end table and made his way over to the couch, carefully sitting down on the edge. The shift caused Benji to stir. A few seconds later, his eyelids fluttered and slowly opened. Ethan smiled down at him and began to stroke his hair lovingly. "Thought I told you not to wait up," he said.

Benji's face, droopy with sleep, lit up as soon as he was awake enough to recognize the man in front of him. He wiggled a little before pushing himself up to a sitting position. "Then I wouldn't get to do this," he replied, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's neck and pulling him into a lingering kiss. Ethan leaned into it, placing his hands on Benji's waist and pulling him even closer.

The kiss ended, and they pulled apart slightly. "You can't leave the door open like that," Ethan said seriously. "Anyone could just—,"

Benji rolled his eyes and captured his boyfriend's lips once more, effectively shushing him. Ethan resisted for a half a second, but quickly resigned. This, too, could wait until tomorrow. They pulled apart once more, and Ethan was the first to make another move.

"Come on," he said. "Bed." However, before Benji could move to get off the couch, he moved his hands from Benji's waist to underneath his thighs, locked his right hand over his left wrist, and stood up. He grinned when he felt Benji's legs wrap around him. Normally, Benji would have protested. This time, though, he settled instead for dropping his forehead to rest in the crook of Ethan's neck.

"Missed you," he mumbled.

Ethan gently bumped the bedroom door open with his knee, mindful of the man in his arms. "Missed you more." Benji hummed in response, fast asleep once again by the time he was set down in bed.

Ethan climbed into the other side of their bed, kissed Benji goodnight, and promptly passed out in the space next to him