Lazy Morning

Lazy Morning

    He was dozing comfortably, happily, and warmly until the warmth pressed all along his front moved, pulling away and taking all that delicious heat with it. He grumbled in complaint and wrapped his arms tight around it, successfully keeping it from leaving him. At another wriggle, he pulled the warmth in even closer, or at least tried to. It was impossible with how close he already was to the other man, not that he realized it right then being more asleep than awake. For him, it was an unnatural state of being.

    His frame shook lightly as the warmth he was holding moved with a light laugh before something tried prying his fingers and arms away. He grumbled deeper than before and squeezed his arms, rubbing his face across the nice warm surface it was leaning against. That only spurred the light shaking into something a little more forceful and that had his eyes slowly blinking open, still unfocused for a little bit before they finally cleared and allowed him to see that he was not allowing his lover to get up.

    He grumbled again before deliberately rubbing the side of his face against the pale skin it had been resting on. It was retaliation for having woke him up. Shortly after, he let go and his arms rose above his head in a good, long morning stretch that woke him up further and also allowed his lover to get out of bed. He blearily blinked up at the taller man and made a short questioning sound, non-verbal before he was on his second cup of coffee for the day. It seemed like it was going to be a lazy morning as FRIDAY began reading him the weather report for the day.

    It’s going to be a bit chilly today, boss. High of forty-two. It’s fall though, so it’s kind of expected. But, bright side! It’s supposed to be sunny, no clouds!

    Listening to his girl was always amusing as she had decided that her commentary was always needed, even on the little things such as the weather. It also never failed to bring a small, indulgent smile to his lips. Her developing personality was wonderful to watch in action, especially when she was using it on people that he did not care for.

    He had no idea how long he had laid there after propping himself up on the stack of pillows at the head of the bed. FRIDAY could keep him entertained for hours if she put her processors to it, so she could have been talking about anything, though he was sure that she kept to light topics that he only needed to listen to and not participate in until after he had gotten his coffee. And was his lover not a beautiful, wonderful, amazing, genius man? He had just come back into the bedroom and was holding out a mug of his morning coffee brew that was eagerly accepted and the first sip enjoyed with an almost pornographic moan.

    It was silent for a few moments until he had finished that first mug and accepted the second from his lover. The tea that he preferred always took a little longer to brew to his specifications, for whatever reason, so he had gotten into the habit of bringing two mugs of coffee in and then taking the first mug back into the kitchen, cleaning it, and then pouring his tea into that same mug before doctoring it the way he preferred, which he did and then returned to sit on the edge of the bed, one knee drawn up and laid to the side so that he could keep one foot on the floor and still be facing the shorter man that had stayed in bed.

    “Good morning, Tony.”

    “Debatable,” he responded, looking over at the taller man with a fond expression written all over his face.

    Stephen smirked, raising his mug for a sip of his own beverage before he responded. “Oh, it’s a good morning. You know it, I know it, the people two blocks down know it.”

    Tony grinned helplessly in return. It was definitely true and he knew he would be feeling it for, at least, the rest of the day. He finally moved, folding his legs under him and scooting over so that he could lean forward, braced with one arm, and press a soft kiss against the sorcerer’s slightly chapped lips. Apparently he lost his chapstick again in some dimension.

    “Well, I guess we have to get it started,” he stated with a heavy sigh. “I have to go to a few meetings today and also swing through R&D to check on them. Tomorrow I’ll have to just hang out with them though. They’re probably feeling neglected with how little I’ve been able to just be there recently with all of the Accords stuff.”

    Stephen just smiled, sipping his tea as he listened to the inventor ramble about his schedule for the day. It was a great start to the day even if they both knew it would not last very long into it. Something was liable to pop up for either of them, sometimes literally. But the quiet moments that they could share were something to be treasured.

Head Pain

Voltron

Keith & Shiro

Keith deals with a headache

Also posted on AO3.

A bit of pressure began above his eye socket, distracting him at the worst times as he tried to get through the extra training Allura had insisted on for all of them. It resulted in a few close calls and, between her shouted criticisms and Lance’s surprised noises, the pain was stretching from where it began, coming around to his temple and spreading from there. He heaved a relieved sigh when the level finally ended and the princess decided that was enough for the day. Perhaps he would get the time to sleep his headache away.

With his bayard deactivated, he pressed down where the ache began and dragged his fingers along the path it had taken. He slipped out of the training deck unnoticed and quickly made his way to his room for a quick shower and a, hopefully, long nap. He left the lights off as he stripped and stepped under the spray. The heat helped relax his muscles and he closed his eyes to more fully appreciate the experience. Rarely did he get this close to silence on the castle. Between the paladins and the castle itself, it was almost impossible.

He dried off quickly before finally falling on his bed and curling up with his pillow while sprawled on his stomach. Hopefully, the sleep would help and the pitch black already was to a degree. His peace was not to last, however, as the other paladins came down the hallway, Lance loudly declaring that he had performed well. Pidge was just egging him on as they spouted statistics about the level and the number of enemies each of them had defeated.

At least they dispersed quickly enough and he slowly slipped closer to sleep before a knock came at his door, Shiro entering just after. His spirits dipped as another interruption kept him from trying to get rid of his headache. Even worse, he raised the lights.

“Oh,” Shiro stated as he came to a quick stop just inside the room. “I can come back later if you wanted to nap. I was just wanting to go over your performance in the training since it wasn’t up to your normal level.”

“I’ll find you later, Shiro,” he mumbled, voice coming out muffled due to the pillow he had tried to bury his face in.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Just trying to nap through a headache before it gets worse.”

“Okay. Sleep well. I’ll see you later.”

He grumbled an unintelligible response and sighed in relief when the lights went out again. Maybe he could get to sleep now. He rather doubted it would be possible, but he could hope.

Hours later, he woke, feeling much better than he had earlier even if not like he was back to one hundred percent. The nicer thing was the fact that someone, most likely Shiro, had left a few of the hydration packs next to his bed along with one of the fruits they had recently picked up from somewhere. That was much appreciated as he still did not want to leave his room and brave the rest of the castle before he felt as if he were back to normal. In fact, after he got up the motivation to down a couple of the hydration packs, he was going to go back to his nap for a little while longer.

Studying Mishaps

Voltron

Keith/Lotor

Keith and Lotor get together to do some studying. It has some unexpected, though not unwanted, results.

Also posted on AO3.

This class is going to kill me. Study session tonight?

His expression softened as he looked at the message, knowing exactly which class was meant even though they were currently in totally different ones and should probably have been paying attention to the professor instead. This class, he could afford to do so. The one they were referencing was one they both struggled with to an extent, mainly because neither had really wanted to take it or were interested in the subject matter. Core requirements, however.

I will leave the door unlocked and get dinner started. Do you have any requests?

Ha. Yeah. For my roommate to not text me in the middle of the day to tell me to avoid the room.

A slight grimace covered his face for a moment. That was rather disturbing.

-

Around three, Keith stomped up the stairs and through the door to Lotor’s studio apartment to drop his bag and slump onto the unmade pullout bed with a loud groan. The day had only gone downhill from the time he had texted to ask for some help studying. First thing in the morning, he had trouble with an assignment for that damned philosophy course. Why had he decided to take the stupid thing anyway? He could have waited until next semester and chosen a different one. But, no…. He had to want to get the credits out of the way so he could get into taking just his major specific ones quicker. Dumb decision. Then, Lance had texted to tell him that he was having his friends over since it was Friday, ones he did not get along with that well and that he avoided as much as he could. That was followed by a pop quiz. And then he had half spilled his coffee on the table, but thankfully missed his computer as he was trying to go over some notes during the short break before his last class, which had been annoying, if only because some of the presentations that were being made by other students just were not up to the standard he thought they should be.

“Shitty day?”

He replied with a heartfelt groan and just slumped further into the thin mattress he was sprawled on. Shitty was one word. Horrid was another.

Lotor laughed as he dished up the macaroni and cheese he had just finished. This was enough of a routine at this point in the semester that he could time things well, a fact that Keith clearly appreciated as he placed his plate on his chest and shoveled a bite into his mouth.

“Thanks,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food. “I gotta work on some of the readings. And some assignments for other classes. Paper due next week.” Everything was coming due since there were only a few short weeks left in the semester and he had figured that beginning to study for finals early would be easier, so he was also doing that and Lotor was one of the best study partners he could have since they could either sit there bouncing ideas off of each other or in silence as they focused on their own subjects. The latter was how they spent this particular Friday.

It was quite late when Lotor glanced over at Keith where he had been laying, reading a passage that he had pulled up on his computer. A short snort escaped him as he saw that the smaller man had fallen asleep long enough before that his laptop had dimmed and then gone to sleep. At least he had taken his shoes and jacket off earlier and their books were stacked rather neatly, so he had an easy time placing them on the floor next to the bed, out of the way of either of them getting up.

He was probably more sleep deprived than he thought as he just laid down across the rest of the bed and pulled the blanket across the top of the couch to drape over himself. Keith had the comforter and he still wanted some kind of covers. That was what he got for having been up for the past couple of days trying to get a paper to read how he wanted it.

-

Keith grumbled the next morning as sunlight fell across his face and pulled him from some of the best sleep he had had in recent memory. It took a bit for him to register that there was normally never any light in the room until he got up on weekends and then even longer for him to actually get up the gumption to open his eyes because of just how comfortably warm he was. As he tried to move, he was stopped by an unexpected weight across his ribs that had him finally snapping his eyes open to find his study partner being the one trapping him. That brought a furrow to his brow as he did not remember falling asleep curled up with him.

“Quit moving,” Lotor grumbled, tightening his hold slightly, even as he ducked his head a bit further down to get out of the light himself.

He mentally shrugged. This was not actually that surprising if he were honest with himself. There were no other places to sleep in Lotor’s apartment, bar the floor, and he had always been a cuddler when given half a chance. Plus, even he could admit that his study partner was easy on the eyes and he would not mind this in almost any context he could get it.

-

Years later, Keith grinned softly up at his lover after turning in his arms, dancing his fingers over the other’s ribs. He pressed a chaste kiss to lax lips, surprised to get a light response before he pulled away to find blue eyes taking him in.

“What has you in such a good mood?” Lotor asked, voice rough and dragging a shiver out of Keith at the sound.

“Aren’t you glad we don’t have to wait until we are both sleep deprived from studying to enjoy this?”

A chuckle sounded close to his ear from where his lover had moved closer while he spoke. “Aren’t you glad you avoided your dorm room that weekend, and so avoided getting arrested?” He paused for a short moment. “I’m still not sure how any of that happened. Did you ever learn any of the details?”

“Lance wasn’t willing to share. All I know is that he didn’t end up getting charged for whatever reason.”

more ridiculous things i’ve done for writing:

- weighted a grapefruit in my hands to see if i could justifiably describe something as “weighing as much as a grapefruit” - done jumping jacks for 5 minutes straight so the memory of how exertion feels would be fresh in my mind - googled images of butterscotch to see if “butterscotch” could be a hair colour - casually stared at people at bus stops trying to figure out how i would hypothetically recreate their image in words - written 7 different beginnings for a story to see which one i liked best - gone to venice - enthusiastically spoken dialogue aloud to myself to see how it sounds - tried to read 3 books in one day - experienced terrible things, reacting with “i can write about this” - screamed incoherently at someone for turning on the tv while i was in the room, writing - sat there perfectly still staring into space trying to imagine what getting a boner feels like - “hey re-enact this scene with me” - sat upside-down for ten minutes trying to get my brain to work - squandered schoolwork and free time alike for years - written

Trading Tops

Voltron

Keith/Lotor

Keith wearing Lotor’s sweater purposefully. Lotor accidentally putting Keith’s shirt on.

Also posted on AO3

Lotor had to say that returning home to the sight he was greeted with was actually something he had never expected to see. His lover was usually found shirtless, firmly in the portion of the population that ran on the warmer end of the spectrum. Every once in a long while he was able to convince the smaller man to cuddle with him under a blanket outside of the bedroom. For him to be curled up on the couch with a hot cup of tea that he could see the steam rising from and huddled in a piece of clothing that definitely did not fit, something had to be wrong.

A black head of hair shifted slightly, but did not raise to show the grinning face that was normally the favorite part of his day. When he had shut the door and left his things in a small pile by the door, he padded over to find that the smaller male was napping, an oddity for the usually active person he was. It was more likely to come home to him fighting imaginary opponents. In fact, that was a regular occurence and he would not have it any other way. His friends had taken one look at his lover doing that and just sighed, knowing that it was a goodly portion of why he had been attracted in the first place. On top of that, he was obviously competent as well. But, returning to the present, his brow furrowed in concern.

With a slight shake to his lover’s shoulder, he carefully kept out of easy reach to avoid the normal fist that was thrown when the smaller one was startled. The sleepy blink he got from him was adorable and he had to smile at the trust shown.

“It’s already after five?” he asked, voice still rough with sleep. Lotor felt a little bad about waking him up with how deep it had to have been for him to be the way he was.

“It is,” he agreed. “Are you feeling well?”

Keith turned, eyes blinking further open and a bit more clarity returning to them as he tried to figure out exactly what his lover was referring to. “Yeah? Not sick or anything. Why?”

“I have never seen you nap or,” he paused for a moment to run his hand over the material of what he had finally identified as one of his own sweaters. “-wear anything that traps in heat.”

He hummed lightly as he stretched and rested a covered hand on Lotor’s forearm where he was still tracing the neckline of the sweater where it rested again Keith’s neck. “My last test was stressful. Since it’s done, I wanted a nap and you weren’t here to keep me warm,” he explained with a shrug. “Second best option it was.”

He smoothed some of the stray hairs behind Keith’s ear as he smiled softly. “I had thought that something was wrong as this is nothing like my normal welcome home. Outside of the worry, however, I do enjoy this.”

Keith grinned shyly as he stood and moved toward the kitchen to look through the cabinets since it was his turn to cook dinner. His larger lover watched him, interest sparking in his gaze as he took in the sight of the smaller man in such a large piece of clothing. This particular sweater was slightly big even on Lotor, so it hung off of one shoulder, seemingly halfway down his bicep, and fell almost to his knees. He had to suppress a groan at the view. Maybe he would have to see if he could get Keith to do this more frequently.

The next morning was hectic and Lotor was scrambling to get out of the apartment in time for his first morning class. In fact, he barely even noticed that the t-shirt he grabbed was tighter than normal and was not a color he would normally wear in his rush to get out the door. Keith had been much smarter about his schedule than he had, apparently, though this was the first time that this particular thing had happened to make it difficult for him to get out of bed.

What made it obvious to him that something had changed was how many looks he was garnering from those in the classroom. When he finally looked down to see if something was on his clothing, he finally realized what was different. What he had thought was his shirt from the day before, a pale blue t-shirt, was actually one of Keith’s shirts that he lounged around the house in, a black t-shirt with the logo of one of his favorite bands. When coupled with the fact that he had taken his lover’s bike and was, because of that fact, also wearing his own boots and leather jacket when he normally wore a sweater and tennis shoes instead, his style looked to have changed overnight.

With a light chuckle, he decided that he had to share this with Keith and pulled out his phone to send a selfie. The reply he got was both a series of laughing emojis and blushing ones. The former were explained by the reactions he caught in the background of the picture, the latter by his own looks. Until he had taken the picture, he had forgotten that he had allowed Keith to braid it back out of his face as well. He now had to be thankful for that as it had kept his hair from becoming a tangled mess from his ride in.

Maybe we should do this more often. Your sweaters are comfy and I like people knowing they can’t have you.

Irresponsibility Hurts

Voltron

Keith is shot in the desert in the time he was living by himself.

Also posted on AO3.

Keith stared at the device in his hands, trying to make sense of the readings it was gathering from his surroundings. Something was really off the charts, but he had no idea what. His sensors could not pinpoint the particulars of whatever it was and his computer could not make heads nor tails of it either. It was almost time to turn in for the day and he had gotten no closer to figuring out what he was seeing, which was nothing new as it had been happening for weeks at that point. With a frown, he shut the device off and logged his coordinates in his GPS so he could return the next day and continue further. As it was, he would not be getting home until a while after dark and sleep had become a luxury by that point.

He turned and began retracing his steps, moving through the vegetation confidently as he had done so frequently for the past couple of months. This was comforting, reminding him of his first years when he still had his father and they would go on long walks around their cabin. Before he could dive down that rabbit hole, something seared along his ribs and a gunshot echoed through the dusk.

“Fuck!” he cursed, loudly enough that it carried for a fair distance. His hand clasped over his ribs, teeth bared in a snarl as he heard some scrambling and cursing. Damn amateur hunters that had no idea what they were doing and inflicted it on those around them. Of course, they would not even try to help whoever was injured. They would be brought up on charges if they did that and the police were called. This way they could not be identified. And, if a body was found, it would be quite difficult to link back to them. In a lot of ways, that ranked them lower than dirt at that point in his eyes.

It took hours to get back to his shack and, by then, he was exhausted, in pain, and fading fast. Everything hurt, any movement jarring the wound. The shakes had, thankfully, subsided pretty quickly so he had been able to drive the majority of the way, but it had taken so much longer because he could not pull his normal stunts. Plus, he had needed to take the time to tear his shirt into strips and wind them around his chest to help stop the bleeding. By then, he was shivering from the chill and stumbling due to exhaustion.

Falling down on the couch pulled painfully against the t-shirt strips and he could feel the wound reopen and warmth spreading down his side again. The fabric was soaked through and he would probably need to soak in the tub to loosen the strips enough to take off. Some parts had surely clotted better than others or were not jarred quite as bad. The question was whether he had the energy to run the bath and then take care of himself. He would have to just hope he could make it through. There was nobody he could call and it had to be done.

He groaned as he pushed himself upright and toed off his boots, using the arm of the couch to help keep himself upright. The jeans he unbuttoned and pushed down until they fell down to pool around his feet, which he stepped out of and then toed his socks off - a frustrating process that took longer than he wished. At least the cabin was small, so he grabbed a bottle of whiskey on his way to the bathroom and settled into the tub before he turned the water on. The longest part of the process was, thankfully, the filling of the tub and, soon enough, he was letting the tinted water drain. There was a small pile of fabric on the floor and he carefully dried off before sitting on the edge of the tub and finally putting a true bandage on the wound and could tell that something in there was broken to some degree. That was going to put a damper on his explorations.