Our House

Domestic scene set the day after Brendan arrives at Steven's with toothbrush in hand.

It was past noon when Brendan finally woke. Ste had thought of waking him earlier but decided against it, partly for the fact that Brendan was a grumpy sod when he didn't get an adequate amount of sleep, and neither of them had exactly gotten an adequate amount of sleeping done last night, and partly because he looked peaceful in his sleep, an image Ste was reluctant to let fade away, even if only for a few hours.

Ste had gotten Leah and Lucas ready for school as quietly as possible, and left earlier than usual so they could take a stroll through the park on the way. Today is a good day, he thought as he watched his children on the swing set. He smiled to himself and dug his frozen hands in the pockets of the navy blue hoodie he had stolen from Brendan for the day. As he inhaled deeply, he caught a breif scent of Brendan's aftershave and his grin widened.

"Alright, Ste?" he heard Sinead ask. "Aren't you gonna be late for the school run?" She enquired.

He jumped slightly in surprise, Sinead's voice interrupting the his thoughts. "No-" he began. "Wait, what time is it?"

"About time you hurried up," Sinead laughed. "Everythin' alright?"

Ste nodded with the remains of his smile hesitating on his face for a moment. "Everythin's great." It's bloody perfect, he thought. "Right, come on!" He yelled to the kids. They protested with childish frowns before making their way to their father, putting on their backpacks, and made their way begrudgingly to the the exit.

"I'll see you later then," Sinead shouted after him, but Ste was already too deep in thought of Brendan to respond.

Brendan was still sleeping when Ste got back from the school run. He sat on the bed next to him for a few minutes, watching the slow rise and fall of his bare chest. Ste's fingers drifted towards Brendan's hair, clean and not yet product enhanced, and he smiled, feeling the soft fibre between his finger tips as he brushed his hand through the thick, black, tousled mess. Brendan didn't move, he didn't make a sound.

Ste thought he was so peaceful in that moment that he might as well have been an angel, or dead, but he soon removed the thoughts from his mind, as both were equally as ridiculous as each other. His finger tips danced lithely over the skin of his cheekbones and down to the tip of his nose, scraped against the twelve o'clock stubble of his jaw line, traced the luscious outline of his deep lips, and came to their rest above the resting beat of his heart.

Brendan groaned in his sleep, emitting a deep breath of air and rolled his shoulder. Ste took this as his queue to leave, and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. In addition to a lack of sleep, Brendan was also a grumpy sod when he neglected to eat, which wasn't exactly a regular occurrence, but was an occurrence Ste intended to avoid.

When he entered the kitchen he was surprised by the intensity of the brightness of his home, a brightness he hadn't noticed either in Summer or in Winter months and, as much as he hated to be a cliché romantic, he likened it to Brendan's presence which enhanced senses in Ste that previously had seemed indifferent to his everyday life. He smiled to himself as he filled the kettle with water and reached up to take two mugs from out of the cupboard.

As he reached up his hipbone brushed against something vaguely sharp on the counter top and he seethed as it fell to the floor. For a moment he thought he'd left a knife on the counter from when he'd made the kid's toast that morning, but when he dropped to his knees to look he laid eyes on the electric toothbrush Brendan had brought home the night before.

Brendan woke up feeling simultaneously weightless and heavy, although the latter was more on account as he was reluctant to leave the warmth of the bed, and so he anchored himself down subconsciously, and the former on account of who exactly his place of residence belonged to. Steven, he thought with a smile. His back arched as he stretched wearily and he yawned unabashedly. When he felt beside him there was no trace of Steven to be followed. He lifted himself onto his elbows and moaned. He wondered where Steven was, where his phone was and what time it was, but the latter two seemed insignificant in comparison to the former.

The muscles in his legs ached when he finally stood up from the bed. He threw on a pair of jogging bottoms and listened to the familiar sound of the creaking of the bedroom door as he left the room. Steven wasn't to be found in the living room, although the television was on. The kid's shows were still playing. Brendan picked up the remote but didn't change the channel. Jesus, he thought to himself. Quarter past twelve already?

The kitchen was baron of Steven's appearance also, although Brendan, upon sweeping his hand memorially over the counter in thought of the previous night, or the earlier morning - he wasn't exactly sure - discovered that the kettle had been recently boiled. The cupboard remained ajar, and two mugs had been placed on the counter top, although they were empty. The milk carton was sitting next to them. It was then that Brendan heard the familiar sound of running water from the hallway.

Brendan snaked his way up behind Steven who was bent over the sink. When he reached him, he rested the palms of his hands on either side of Steven's hips. Ste wasn't startled, there was something enigmatic about Brendan's touch that was recognisable upon initial impact, and he took a step back into the space between his lover's body and his own.

"Morning," Brendan breathed.

Ste smiled and chuckled lightly under his breath. "Mmmm," he hummed.

Brendan kissed the nape of Steven's neck before resting his forehead on his shoulder. "I was wondering where you'd -" he began, before catching sight of Steven in the mirror. "Is that my toothbrush?" he questioned.

Ste shrugged, continuing to brush for a few seconds longer before washing out his mouth with water from the running tap. He wiped away the excess paste with the back of his hand.

"It's our toothbrush," he retorted, snaking his way into Brendan's embrace, looking up at him with a playful, cunning smile.

"Since when?" Brendan asked.

"Since this became our flat," Ste replied, placing a chaste kiss on the tip of Brendan's nose.

Brendan looked down at him in silence, examined those perfectly rose-pure, filthy lips of his, the way they curved up at the corners and the way his eyes glinted with the indication of unabashedly whimsical thoughts conjuring up a perfect storm behind.

"Now," Ste placed his palms flat on Brendan's bare chest. "Cuppa?"

Brendan gleamed down at him, encompassed by his energetic beauty, and smiled again. "Ye'," he breathed.

Steven winked back in response, planting a light kiss on Brendan's lips before making his way to the door. Brendan wrapped his fingers softly around Steven's wrist before he could pull away. Steven looked back up at him at arm's length. What? his eyes questioned.

"I love you," Brendan exhaled.

Steven's beam glowed in the light of the room. "Good."

Ste brought their tea to the couch, handing Brendan his mug before taking his place beside him on the sofa. He reclined back onto Brendan's torso, and Brendan rested his free hand over Steven's lower abdomen.

Ste blew into his mug, holding it in both hands, and watched the steam rise before him. "I love you too, you know."

"I know," Brendan relaxed into the back of the sofa, sipped his tea, and smiled.

Thank you for reading.