I don't own anything. Also, I'm American, just so you know. Thanks to texasisastatebtw on Tumblr for having a look at this for me before I posted it.
Five Minutes
Doug had still been sound asleep when Ste had gotten up to shower. They had work that morning, and if he'd been in a more sensible mood, Ste would have woken him, but it was their first morning together, so he let him sleep. By the time he'd finished in the shower, though, Doug was sitting up on Ste's bed, looking groggy and disoriented.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Ste greeted from the doorway, toweling off his hair.
Doug rubbed his eyes sleepily, and Ste's heart gave a little leap of endearment. Doug in the morning was something he could definitely get used to seeing. His hair stuck up in all sorts of odd angles, and he sported just the right amount of morning stubble on his chin. Doug was usually so clean and put-together that seeing him this way felt intimate and unbelievably sexy. And that fact that he was dressed in nothing but a pair of Ste's trackies didn't hurt matters any. Ste grinned, tossing his towel aside as he strode across the room to Doug's side. Doug reached for Ste's hand, strumming their fingers together lazily.
"Fancy some breakfast?" Ste asked.
"Mmhmm," Doug murmured, gripping Ste's hand and tugging him down onto the bed.
Ste laughed as he toppled onto Doug, planting his hands on either side of Doug's head as he welcomed the languid good morning kiss that followed.
"You want to have a shower while I make us breakfast?" Ste offered, flattening down Doug's fringe.
"Not just yet," Doug replied, his hands traveling down Ste's back until his fingertips dipped just below the hem of his trousers. "I want to enjoy our first morning together properly."
"We do have a deli to open," Ste pointed out.
Doug groaned, burying his face in Ste's shoulder. "Isn't one of the perks of being self-employed making your own hours?"
"Tell that to all the angry customers we'll have if we open late."
"They'll get over it. Your cooking's not that great."
"Ta, Doug."
"No offense, but anyone can slap some lunch meat onto a slice of bread."
Ste couldn't help but snicker at that. "Slap some lunch meat? Is that like an American euphemism or summat?"
Doug cocked his head to the side. "Are you laughing at the way I talk?"
"Of course not. No, I love it when you speak all American to me. It's actually a bit of a turn-on."
"Oh really?" Doug grinned, stretching his neck to bring his mouth close to Ste's ear. "Candied apples," he whispered huskily, his breath warm against Ste's neck.
"Mm. Again."
"Super Bowl Sunday," Doug murmured.
"Now say something dirty," Ste whispered cheekily.
"Fanny pack."
Ste cackled. "What even is that?"
"Those were literally the three most American things I could think of."
"Right. Well, I suppose I love you anyway," Ste replied, dipping down for another kiss. "But we do need to get to work, Doug."
"Five more minutes," Doug insisted, rolling them over so they lay on their sides, face to face.
"Fine." Ste draped an arm over Doug's waist, letting his eyelids fall shut. "But we have to open the shop in an hour, alright?" he insisted half-heartedly.
Doug's hand made it's way to Ste's forearm, gripping it firmly as if to insure that he wouldn't get up and leave at any point. Ste smiled at the notion.
"I'm not going anywhere, you know."
"Good."
Ste opened his eyes, and was surprised to see that Doug's were open as well. Ste didn't think he could ever get over what a striking blue they were. But even more remarkable than their color was how frighteningly expressive they were. And right now, they were staring intently at Ste, as if trying to solve some great mystery.
"What?" Ste asked nervously.
Doug shook his head against Ste's pillow. "Nothing."
"You don't have to hide things from me, Doug. I know it's not nothing."
Doug sighed. "I just…" He licked his lips. "I don't understand what someone like you could see in someone like me."
"Not this again."
Ste was baffled by the way Doug spoke about him sometimes. Like he was some sort of higher being that no person could deserve. "I don't want to hear any more of this 'someone like you, someone like me' business, alright? You and me, we're equals, right?"
"Sorry," Doug mumbled, loosening his grip on Ste's arm. "I'm just happy. Sometimes when I get too happy, I don't want to trust that it's real."
"I don't understand." Ste didn't think he'd ever felt anything more real. How could Doug still not believe it?
Doug reached up and stroked Ste's hair softly. "When I woke up this morning and you weren't here next to me, for a moment I thought I'd dreamt the whole thing up."
"You're in my bed, Doug."
"I just need this, you know?" Doug said, pushing back Ste's fringe. "Just to feel you beside me."
"Right. Well." Ste reached up to touch Doug's arm, stroking his elbow with the pad of his thumb. "Stay over again tonight, and I promise I'll be right here when you wake up."
"Deal."
Ste liked the idea of waking up again to Doug's light snoring. He thought back to when he'd woken a few hours earlier, seeing Doug cuddling his pillow and smiling so contentedly that Ste couldn't bear to wake him, even when he himself could not get back to sleep. And suddenly the idea of not waking up next to Doug pained him. He wanted Doug to be the first thing he saw every morning and the last person he saw every night. He wanted to walk with Doug to the deli every morning and have no reason to say goodbye when they closed up shop every evening. There was a time when the thought of spending so much with Doug intimidated him, but now the two men spent practically every waking minute together and it still didn't feel like enough.
"How would you feel about moving in?"
The question slipped out before Ste had even finished working it out in his head. The idea, now that he thought about it, seemed like the natural next step in the relationship, but he felt exposed, suddenly having it out in the open, awaiting some sort of response.
Doug licked his lips, and Ste was sure for a moment that he was going to say no. "Your new landlord would be thrilled," was what he said instead, and that was somehow worse. It was as if Doug was avoiding the question, which meant that, once again, Ste was taking things too fast.
"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I'm not trying to pressure you or anything."
"I know that."
"Hypothetically though," Ste went on. "If we were to find a new place. Somewhere where Brendan didn't have any hold over us…"
"This sounds like something you should be discussing with Amy," Doug cut him off.
"I know. But just hypothetically."
"Hypothetically?" Doug leaned forward, cupping Ste's chin as he gave him a long kiss on the lips. "I'd go anywhere you go."
Ste sighed and closed his eyes, tipping his head forward to rest his forehead against Doug's. He pulled Doug's hand away from his chin and slung it over his shoulder so they could embrace properly, and for a while, they just lay like that in silence, arms wrapped around one another and foreheads pressed together. In their own world.
"We should get up," Doug whispered, not budging. "Not long before we need to get the deli opened."
"Five more minutes," Ste replied, pulling him in closer.
The deli could wait.