chapter1: all's quiet
***
I woke up this morning, and the sun was gone...
There was nothing unusual about this dream. He'd had it before, many times. It was what they called a recurring dream--he never minded that it was the same thing, over and over, sometimes twice a week. It was a happy dream, and he could always feel himself smiling as he watched the pictures in his head.
Any minute now...yes, there he was. Lance waved to him, beckoned him towards the place where he stood, overlooking a windswept sea. They were standing on a seacliff, watching the foamy white stuff sweep over the rocks below. The wind was fierce, but the two didn't seem to care as they closed their eyes, tasting the seaspray, smelling the sea, so close as JC lay his head on Lance's shoulder...
The dream always ended there. JC awoke, still smiling, still wrapped up in his happy dream. He had almost been able to smell Lance, and he was slightly annoyed that the dream hadn't continued. But then he inhaled, and breathed in Lance as he did so, and the dream fell from his thoughts. He reached out, eyes still closed, and felt...
Nothing. Just the still-warm sheets where Lance should have been. JC's eyes flew open. His first instinct was to let out a frustrated sigh, but he thought better of it as he buried his face in Lance's pillow. There was the scent. Where was Lance?
Still sleepy, he sat up thinking that maybe Lance had just gotten up momentarily to use the bathroom. He checked, but Lance wasn't there. Now he was starting to get impatient. The only time Lance left their bedroom before he was awake was when they were working. But they were on vacation now, two glorious weeks before they had to go back, and there was nothing that could have dragged Lance from their bed, not before JC had stirred.
His head was slightly clearer as he went down the stairs, holding the railing, not trusting himself just yet to keep from falling. As sounds coming from the kitchen reached him, he let out a breath, glad he'd found Lance at last.
He stopped just in the doorway, unable to hold back a sleepy smile as he watched Lance trying (and failing) to flip pancakes. One landed on the floor just as Lance turned and caught sight of JC watching him. His face broke into a grin and he turned off the heat of the stove.
"You're not supposed to be awake yet," Lance said as he crossed the short distance between them and hugged JC around the middle, kissing the space between JC's eyes.
"You're not supposed to let me wake up alone," JC replied, bending his head to give Lance a proper kiss then letting go to sit down at the kitchen table.
Lance joined him at the table and placed his hand over JC's. "You're right. Sorry. I was just trying to make you breakfast. I've never done breakfast-in-bed for you, have I? I'm not doing a very good job of it, though..." He looked lost for a second. JC bit back a smile.
"You're hopeless, Bass. But you're lucky, because my mom taught me how to make pancakes when I was 11. Just sit down, and let me take over." He got up, but Lance did too, pushing him back into his seat.
"Nope, not today. I am making YOU breakfast, Joshua Scott, if it takes me all morning." He went back to the stove and glared at JC, who was just about to protest.
"Okay, but if it takes you all morning we might as well call it lunch..."
Lance said nothing, just turned his eyes back to the pan as another pancake fell to its death on the kitchen floor.
***
Such a perfect day...I'm glad I spent it with you.
It was the kind of day they hadn't had in a while. Usually, even when they were on vacation, Lance ended up working the entire time--whether he wanted to or not. Then, having nothing else to do except watch Lance bent over his laptop, JC would disappear into the studio for a while. He only wrote songs about twenty percent of the time. The rest he spent staring at his hands and wondering when he would get to be with Lance, instead of just in the same room.
But this was different, this was wonderful. There was nothing to stop JC and Lance from spending the entire day together without anyone else getting in the way. So they did.
The entire morning was devoted to Lance's attempt at making JC breakfast. As JC had predicted, they ended up having pancakes for lunch, but only after Lance had finally agreed to let JC "help" him. They took naps right after lunch, with both of them asleep on the couch in their living room. It was close to four in the afternoon when they finally woke up and decided to do nothing for the rest of the day.
It was the kind of day they wouldn't have in a while. But that was okay. It was worth the wait, for both of them, every time.
***
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