Work Text:
It was early in the morning, the sun barely risen over the roaming hills outside. The golden light shone bright through the windows of their bedroom, of their own house . Everything's soaked in a morning bath of tranquility. For the first time, Oliver was the first one awake, and James was sleeping soundfully next to him: hair sprawled around on his pillow, eyes fluttering with dreams, the rays from the sun bathed him and he looked so holy Oliver felt as though he needed to pray. Oliver continued to lie there, watching the other as his breaths shallowly raised the comforter that sprawled over him. Oliver's sweater looked warm on the other, and he felt himself smile at the thought. Suddenly, James's eyes opened and he stretched out his limbs in a way not too unlike that of a cat's. Their eyes met and James smiled gently, his eyes still full of sleep.
While his head is buried in the covers, James murmurs, "I'm surprised to see you're up before me." He laughs and Oliver swears he falls in love all over again. The sound of the laughs rings like music, calming his thrumming heart. Oliver shuffles lower and buries his face into the other's chest. James reaches his hand onto Oliver's head and begin to stroke his hair, nearly sending the both of them back to sleep, but Oliver had gotten up early for a reason.
"Do you wanna make breakfast together?" He mumbles into the fabric. James hums in response, and they both tear away from each other reluctantly and head to the kitchen. Oliver takes the box of pancake mix from atop the fridge and James gets two eggs and the milk. Together in perfect unison they stir the mix together and add the batter onto a steaming pan carefully. While the whisking and sizzling of the pan ensues, Oliver turns to the stereo housing the CD he had made for both of them and slow songs start playing from the speakers.
One song in particular begins and James bumps hips with Oliver happily and laughs. They hum together while they plate the pancakes, James having a tuned intuition on when to flip each one so that they're not burned. Oliver takes James's hands in his own, turns the stove off so nothing burns down, and pulls both of them towards the center of the kitchen. The song reverberates throughout the space filling it with talk of devotion. Oliver mouths the words as he puts his forehead to James's and sways them back and forth in place.
Our hearts
Are free
So tell me what's wrong with the feeling
I'm a flower, you're my bee
It's much older than you and me
I'm in love, I'm alive
I belong to the stars and sky
Let's forget who we are for one night
We're not animals baby
It's the people who lie to themselves
I want real love baby
Ooh, don't leave me waiting
I've got real love maybe
Wait until you taste me
I want real love baby
There's a world inside me
Got the preacher's music
Just if for a minute and gone
The lyrics repeat and the two of them stay in that place singing the words to each other. The smell of fresh pancakes fill the air and soon they have to stop due to the growling stomachs that interrupted the song. They sit side-by-side on the sofa and enjoy their breakfast as they watch the sun ascend further into the day, talking of nothing but everything at the same time. Shakespeare quotes are thrown back and forth just as they used to. It felt like a home that Oliver should have discovered sooner, but at the same time joyful he discovered it at all. There is the tranquil silence between them that settles and neither of them felt the need to fill it with words. The stereo continues to play in the other room, muffled by the distance, and in this moment Oliver swears he's never been more content. That's how it always had been with James, even when they were at Dellecher: a silent understanding that transcended words. Time has gone on, they have both grown older- not by much but still- but their affections for each other never faltered.