Shawn felt the tension seeping into his shoulders. He cracked them, raising them up to his ears and down, releasing a slow, audible breath. Even though this was a different terminal, just being at the airport brought up unpleasant memories for Shawn.
Sometime tonight, he would have to talk to Hunter, and after that last, terrible fight, he wasn't looking forward to it. Hunter knew him too well for Shawn to keep anything from him for too long, Eventually, he would guess about the divorce. Shawn could only hope that, despite their strained relationship, Hunter would understand and help him keep his secret.
More than anything, Shawn wanted to protect John, but he couldn't let Hunter know that that was the reason behind the secret. Even though his relationship with Hunter had been platonic since that awful night, the Icon knew that, in some ways, Hunter was still emotionally possessive.
The sound of John's raised voice started Shawn from his thoughts.
The Cowboy was stabbing a finger at empty baggage claim while simultaneously bending the ear of an uninterested airport offical. Shawn had traveled long enough to guess what the problem was. They were here in Denver, but their luggage obviously wasn't. Sighing, Shawn surrendered to the inevitable long wait ahead and parked himself in a chair.
John meanwhile, had raised quite a crowd. He now had three disinterested officals engaged, all the while still texting on his phone. Even when John threw a tantrum, he still multi-tasked.
Shawn watched the show for several minutes. Finally, the Cowboy dismissed his audience and joined Shawn in the lounge. He was still texting, but now at a more furious pace. Shawn had to hide his smile as he watched the grumbling, surly Cowboy vent his frustrations to everyone on his friends's list.
After a few moments, the frantic punching wound down until finally, John slammed the cover shut and settled back in his chair.
Still hiding his smile, Shawn settled in too, instinctively moving closer. He brushed John's shoulder. The cowboy instantly lifted his arm for Shawn to slide in against him. Shawn ducked his head under...then froze, glancing meaningfully at John.
For a moment,the dark eyes looked down at him wistfully, then Shawn withdrew his head. John lowered his arm and Shawn leaned back in his chair once more, his eyes growing wet. In public, they had to be careful, but Shawn wanted so much to lay his head on John's chest.
He sighed in frustration, lowering his eyes to the floor. Gently, John pressed his shoulder against Shawn's. To an observer, it would appear casual, but Shawn understood. He lifted his own arm, laying it on the rest so his shoulder pressed back on John's. It was all they could do for now.
"How long until.." Shawn's voice trailed off, thick with emotion.
"An hour." John was twisting his hat in his hand.
Shawn sighed, a trembling sob passed through his body. The pressure on his shoulder intensified and Shawn pushed back just as hard, grinding against his bicep and elbow. He didn't dare to look him in the eye. If he did..
Shawn knew he would kiss him.
"