AN- This is a follow up to my other fic "The Last Two Rats", viewable here: s/8947707/1/The-Last-Two-Rats . It is not necessary to have read it before this, but it will help make sense of what is going on and the lifestyle that James and Tiago now lead (yes Tiago, if you want to know why, go check out the other story and see) ((shameless plug I know)). This was initially going to be a oneshot, but I went and got wordy, as I tend to do, so I decided to split it up to make for easier reading. Hold out until the last chapter and I promise you will be rewarded. There will be a follow up showcasing a "bad day" which may come sooner rather than later, depending on how much longer I can manage to put off adding chapters to one of my other fics.
Beta-ed by me, meaning I read through it several times to weed out mistakes and I'm sorry if any slip through. R, R, Enjoy! I do love comments.
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James woke up to a soft kiss on the gnarled scar on his chest and he couldn't help but smile, 'Today is a Good Day.' He didn't have much time to revel because the kiss was soon replaced by a playful shove and a lilting voice, "Tag!"
James woke up to a soft kiss on the gnarled scar on his chest and he couldn't help but smile, 'Today is a Good Day.' He didn't have much time to revel because the kiss was soon replaced by a playful shove and a lilting voice, "Tag!"
The bed rocked with the sheer speed of Tiago jumping off and shooting to the bathroom. It somehow still amazed James how playful the man could be when he was in a good mood. A point that he often wondered why it still amazed him. The man was all about showmanship and games, even back when they were playing on opposite sides of the field.
James knew he didn't have long before Tiago relinquished the W.C. to him and the game would continue, so he quickly retrieved his little calendar book from a drawer in his nightstand. To date, this was one of the last few real secrets he kept from his partner. He opened the little book and marked a dash on the date. He smiled again. It had been four days since his last 'X'. Tiago was doing better and better. James quickly stowed the little book away and went back to his original position on the bed, Lord only knew when Tiago would reemerge.
The little calendar he kept could have easily been followed on his laptop, but James knew better. Tiago promised that he would never snoop in his files, but all the same, with his 'bad days' getting fewer and far between, the last thing James wanted was for Tiago to find out that James had been keeping track. The ramifications might be small, but then again, they might be explosive. Even in the best-case scenario, Tiago would stumble across it in his files, not say anything about it, and try to affect his own moods. He would concentrate and it would only end up doing more damage. No, it was better that he just went day to day, it was less stress on his part, and allowed him to "recover" at his own pace.
Tiago burst out of the bathroom looking quite dashing in his running clothes, but then again, he looked dashing in just about anything. "Not even ready? Tsk, tsk, you are going to lose."
"You think so?" James rested on his elbow and cocked an eyebrow.
Tiago's only response was a saucy bite of his lower lip before he dashed out of the room and down the stairs.
'Yes' James thought as he quickly threw on a pair of shorts and his running shoes, 'this is going to be a very good day.'
James jogged down the stairs and out the door of the rather large island house left by Tiago's grandmother. He took a beat to breathe in the sea air before he set his sights on Tiago, running down the beach. James started to run and tried to stay out of his line of sight as best as he could. Tiago was purposely going slow, waiting for James to emerge from the house. After all, what good would winning be if there wasn't at least a little challenge to it?
Just as James was closing in, he was spotted by his blond lover, and Tiago's speed increased drastically, as was his usual way. James, in response, picked up his pace as well, trying to pass him and be the first back to the house. This was their morning routine, a race around the island with the loser stuck with the dishes that followed breakfast(made by the winner)…as well as some other arrangements that depended on how the rest of the day played out.
James found that it was best for them to stick to a schedule whenever they were at home on the island. When they travelled and worked, things where always spontaneous and 'up in the air.' On the island, James made sure that they followed an unspoken structure. It had been something that just sort of happened and they stuck with it. Although Tiago would never admit it out loud, he loved the randomness and carefree travel, but he craved the order James gave him at home.
Tiago was running up a little embankment he liked to use as a shortcut, and James followed closely, taking longer and longer strides. Truth be told, he liked it when his Spaniard made breakfast. James had spent most of his adult life in MI6, constantly on missions or training for some such thing. As it stood, most days when he was lucky enough to wake up in his own flat, he would just go down the street to a café for breakfast and morning tea. His skill at cooking breakfast stopped shortly after bangers and fried eggs, burnt fried eggs. Tiago, on the other hand, had the culinary talents of an amateur gourmet. It was almost worth the piles of dishes James had to do following the breakfasts Tiago made. But, no matter how much James enjoyed Tiago's cooking, he still hated to lose and always put in an honest effort, even if nine times out of ten, he relinquished the victory at the last minute in favor of an exotic and spicy morning meal. Sometimes, James could swear Tiago knew and would purposely let him win to deprive him of a good breakfast. Sometimes James would best Tiago honestly and that would put him in a petulant mood all the way up until lunch, but it was just their game.
They were at a point in the race that could have been called the last stretch, where the beach narrowed considerably before widening to the house pathway. It was the point at which, no matter how many times they ran the island, they would always be starting to tire and breathing would become more laboured. James could see that Tiago was already starting to take harder breaths and took advantage. He swung around the inside of the, now narrow, bit of sand and tackled him right into the surf.
"Sorry," James said as they both sat up in the water, "you looked like you needed a dip."
"You….bastard…." Tiago smiled as he pushed clumps of his soaking blond locks out of his face. "I hit my lip, you ass!"
"Aww, shall I kiss it better?" James leaned in, but at the last moment Tiago pushed his head, face first, into the water and made a break for the beach.
"Dirty pull…" was all he could splutter out as he began to wade his way out of the water.
"I learned from the best…" Tiago yelled over his shoulder as he jogged towards the imaginary finish line, "And I don't mean the Chinese!"
James started to run again, but this time at a light jog, the race was lost and he knew it. 'Ah well, dish duty again.'
