TNT Short Fics

I just like hanging out with you (2/3)

Somewhere between time zones and touchdowns, it sinks in. This thing between them isn't going anywhere—it's only getting stronger. They've always been good at making serious things feel easy. Maybe it's a survival skill, or maybe it's just them. Somewhere over the Pacific, with her hair tucked under his chin and his hand warm against her side, they drift into one of those half-dream conversations that feel silly in the moment—until they're not. Until suddenly they're planning the rest of their lives, disguised as an end-of-the-world survival strategy.

"I feel like since we decided we're in this for life, it's time we came up with our plan," comes Travis's sleepy voice in the dark. They'd crawled into bed the moment the captain said it was safe to. His head cold and jetlag, and her exhaustion from tour—it's all catching up to them.

"Our plan? What plan?" she mumbles half-asleep.

"The plan for what we do if there's a zombie apocalypse."

That gets her to open her eyes. She looks over, but his eyes are closed, one hand tucked up under his cheek like he's about to drift off, the other is slowly rubbing up and down her side. He's content. She's learned this about him over the past seven months—when he's most at peace, he's pliant but always reaching for her, like he can't help but touch her at all times.

Maybe she should leave it at that and let them both sleep. But the thing is, their sleepy ramblings just happen to be one of her favorite things. They've always been big talkers. But something about being half-asleep lets their guard drop even further, and it's led to some of their most honest, intimate conversations. And that is saying something—because they've never been shy about being open with each other.

"Ah, I see. Do you already have one for yourself?"

He squints and opens one eye, "I probably should have, huh?"

She giggles quietly, "Maybe. I don't."

"It didn't even cross my mind before. But I dunno, Tay... I feel like there's more to lose now, so you know?"

She smiles and tucks her nose into the warm curve of his neck. "I do." And as silly as this conversation is, she does. Not the zombies—that's probably the cold medicine and jet lag talking. It's more that they've got a reason to plan for the future. That night in the garden in Singapore—the promises they made. It's made them realize they've got someone else to think about, care about, if something were to go wrong. Out there, the world is always loud, watching, speculating, wanting something from them. But in here, above the clouds, no one can touch them. Maybe that's why these ridiculous plans feel so good. They're just for them. No cameras. No crowds. Just the two of them, joking and laughing about the end of the world, and it's exactly what they need.

She thought she had felt this way before. But now she knows what it truly means. How solid it feels in her gut with Travis. This is it. They're true partners in all this.

"So what do we do?" she asks.

"Hmmm... we can both run, so I say that's number one," he answers. "The hand-eye coordination is 50-50 in this relationship, so I'm not so sure about weapons. Maybe no baseball bat with nails for you."

"Hey!" she exclaims.

"Tay," he deadpans with a pointed look.

She swats his arm as she says, "Shut up. You don't got to point it out like that."

"Baby, I love you, but we gotta be real here."

"Real for the very made-up zombie apocalypse."

"You say that now."