Days Go By | lavashipping

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"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Deciding it was too early to answer, Cole shuffled off into the kitchen — to find a steaming cup already waiting for him. There went his way to buy himself some time — but he also got the sudden urge to tell Kai he loves them and give them a kiss.

That urge disappeared as soon as Kai raised his eyebrows once he returned and, still smiling like he knew something Cole didn't, poked further, "I heard some strange noises coming out of the bedroom. Something between a Sam Raimi scream and cartoon characters sprinting from danger?" Kai shifted on the couch, making more space but Cole knew better to stay standing where he was. Clenching the mug for no reason at all.

"It was nothing."

"Uh-huh."

"Why are you here? I thought you were working today."

"There was some mess with the shifts, turns out I'm free. Back to the original subject, what happened? I never heard you make those noises in a bedroom."

Wrong time to drink, wrong windpipe. How was he always so nonchalant about this?

"It's nothing. Can we let it be?"

"I'm just concerned. You really looked like you'd seen death back there." Eyes sparkling halfway between teasing and genuine concern. Cole knew this was a lost fight even before Kai continued talking. "Hey, it's just between us two, this is a safe space."

"Ugh, maybe... there was an, um, invader in our bed..." Those darned raised eyebrows. "Maybe it had eight legs," he mumbled into the coffee.

"You're afraid of spiders? Why don't you just say so?"

"I'm not afraid of spiders, I'm an adult man!" Couldn't even convince himself. "But this one's big and ugly and it crawled on me when I was asleep which is assault!"

"Sleeping until this late is assault, babe." Kai got up and walked past him. "I'll take care of the evil creature."

"Don't kill him!"

There was some rustling, thuds as the window opened and closed. Then Kai ventured back out of the bedroom.

"Don't think that saved his life but there's no blood on my hands." Coming over, Kai slipped into Cole's personal space to kiss him. "There. Am I a good knight in shining armour?"

"The best," Cole replied, kissing him back. "But uh, let's just not talk about this ever again maybe?"

Kai batted his eyelashes in a way that completely undermined his response. But it worked on Cole's groggy brain. "Of course. Mouth shut."