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“You sure you’re not cold like that?”
Li Ling had returned from the living room, a light gray blanket in hand as he strode towards Xuan. His eyebrows knit together as he took note of where his boyfriend sat. directly in front of their oven, his eyes fixated on the slowly baking cookies inside.
It was the first night Ling had come home from yet another mission. He’d spent a week over in Graywater, hunting down yet another Shadow Decree asshole with Lewis and Mona. Ever the slippery little fuckers, they were. At least, that’s what Ling called him.
As he walked into the kitchen, he pulled the blanket over Xuan’s shoulders, the soft cover surrounding the other man’s form like a perfectly made cape. Something made for a prince, or a hero from a comic book.
From the way his red-haired lover looked over at him, a wide smile on his face, Ling would have almost believed that he’d fallen into some sort of fairytale. One he wished that he didn’t have to leave so often.
“I told you. I’m fine, Ling.” Xuan responded, yet didn’t make any move to bother removing the blanket from his body. Instead, he lifted up the right side of the blanket, quietly inviting his lover to curl up next to him.
Li Ling didn’t need to be told twice. He missed these moments, as few and between that they were.
Without question, he shuffled over right beside Xuan, and plopped himself down on the cool tile floors. Shuffling his body closer, Ling wrapped an arm around Xuan’s torso.
He swore that the younger man practically melted in the touch.
“I missed nights like these.” Xuan admitted in a soft murmur, his head resting upon Ling’s shoulder. “We don’t get to do things together as much, huh?” He sighed, his crimson gaze trickling back over to the oven before him. Its dim light shined back.
Gently, Ling tugged his boyfriend’s body an inch or two closer. “It sucks. Really sucks.” He responded, his voice gruff with a hint of resentment. If only missions from the Esper Union weren’t so long. Or, if they didn’t have to keep them from one another at times.
It wasn’t uncommon knowledge to know that they preferred to be partnered together during missions. Yet, there was the occasional time that they had to be separated - and some (most) days, it irritated Ling more than it had Xuan.
“Can I like… Make it up to you, or something?” Ling then asked, his eyes glancing towards the working oven momentarily, then back at Xuan. Even if the moment was cute, he still felt that he had to make up for his absence. It wasn’t fair to the other guy. “I can take you out somewhere tomorrow. When it isn’t late as hell.” He offered, a breathy chuckle leaving his lips as he recalled the late hour. It had just passed midnight, and the two of them were dead-set on spending as much time together as possible.
Ling had only arrived back a few hours ago. They didn’t want to waste a single moment.
Xuan shook his head, ruffling his hair across Ling’s arm as he did so. His own eyes looked back at Ling, a warm, content smile resting on his face. His eyes half-lidded themselves as he hummed. “Don’t worry about it.” He mused, his voice growing softer. “We don’t have to go anywhere. I love moments like this.”
His own arm wrapped itself around Ling’s torso, the warmth of his body molding into the long-haired man’s. A sound of relaxation - of content, of home - sighed through Xuan’s lips as he clung onto Ling’s body. “I love being with you. No matter what we’re doing.”
If he were water, Li Ling would have melted right there and then. He would’ve completely dissolved within Xuan’s grasp.
His words were as soft as the very baked goods being cooked right before their very eyes. As sweet as the finest chocolate that Ling could ever get his hands on.
And his smile – gods-damn, his smile. It looked peaceful. Comforted. As if Li Ling had returned from a storm untouched, and unharmed by the elements.
Tang Xuan looked nothing more but serene by the fact he was in his boyfriend’s arms. That finally, the two of them had made their house feel like home once more.
Li Ling chuckled under his breath. At how peaceful and content that Xuan was now that he had come back home to him.
He’d be lying if he said that he didn’t feel the same. To him, Xuan was a part of him that felt real. That weighed him in reality. That was his home, no matter where they were.
Tilting his head, he leaned down to press a soft kiss upon Xuan’s crown. “I love being with you, too.” He murmured, resting his head gently upon his lover’s. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Ling.” Xuan nearly whispered. He didn’t need to look down to see the blissed smile stretching across the redhead’s face. “Welcome home.”