I will see you tonight, but I will be very late.
I sent the text at nine seventeen. Four hours and twenty-eight minutes later, I longed for a warm bed, a soft pillow, and a good set of curtains that block light and sound from the room. Another seventy-two minutes later, I would have settled for a cot in a large cupboard.
Three forty-one in the morning. Finally, I climbed the steps to my lover's flat. My key clicked softly in the lock, and I already knew. There, in the usual chair by the window, he shook himself awake as I closed the door. I set my umbrella aside.
"Come to bed. You look like hell."
I appreciate the honesty. I expect most people would not, but I hardly count myself among the ranks of the normal.
He took me by the hand and guided me to the bedroom. I might have protested that I was not yet so tired as to need assistance, but instead I chose to savor the attention he showered upon me. He undressed me and pushed me gently into bed. My expression immobile, I watched as he put my clothing away, just as I like. He switched off the light, and he climbed in beside me.
"Three hundred and fourteen days," I murmured, becoming drowsy now that I was settled comfortable in a familiar bed. I had never stayed with anyone even one tenth as long. "You are unique."
"I'm ordinary," he objected, a claim which in no way stopped him from massaging my shoulders, neck, and temples.
"An ordinary person tells me that I am an ass. Ordinary people complain that I am cold and distant."
Lips pressed to mine, soft and warm. "Mycroft," he murmured, "shut up and go to sleep."
Wrapping an arm around his waist, I nestled against him. He felt solid and strong, with a comfortable body heat. His respiration was slow and steady. Nearly asleep. Well, then, I would not argue.
"Mycroft?"
"Mmh?" Like his, my voice was thick with sleep. He didn't answer for a while, and I began to wonder if he had nodded off.
"Nuh. Good night."
He had wanted to say something else, I was quite sure, but weariness defeated conversation. Soon, his snores lulled me to sleep as well.