Long night

It had been a long night.

It had been a blood moon, and Tal had spent the entire night protecting his family and his sanctuary members from the horde. He was all banged up. That morning, Reck offered to keep watch so that Tal could cool down.

Tal sighed, finally letting himself relax in the warmth of the bath water. Tal was laying with his head against Doug’s chest, feeling the slow rise and fall of his breathing, his body cradled by the cowboy’s legs. Doug massaged his chest and sore joints as best as he could.

“Tal?” Doug said, voice quiet for once. Tal’s eyes were closed, but he raised his eyebrows.

“Hm?” He hummed. Doug took a deep breath, and touched Tal’s head with his nub, somewhat feeling around for where to plant a kiss. He kissed Tal’s head as he thought of what to say.

“You’re always protectin’ me. Thanks.”

Tal smiled softly. “Sugarcube, i would protect you till the ends of time.” He said. “You’re my husband, remember?”

Doug’s smile was slow and soft. Tal watched his lips. Doug almost never smiled. The look of gentle joy fit him so well. Tal reached up and touched his face delicately. The feeling of Tal’s fingers on his face made him smile even more.

“Sometimes I forget that we’re not 20 anymore.” Doug said, leaning into Tal’s touch. Those words made Tal snicker.

“You’re 70, Dougie.” Tal said. He put his other hand on his face and pulled Doug’s head to a better kissing distance. “How you gon’ forget all those years with me?”

“We acted old then, too.” Doug said, that closed mouth smile turning into a big-toothed grin. Tal smiled, and finally kissed him. He kissed him once, then twice, then three times. Neither of them wanted to pull away.

When the bathwater ran cold, they dried each other off and skipped to their bed. Or, well, Tal skipped. Doug meandered. Tal jumped into bed and wiggled around excitedly, kicking his legs and snuggling into the blanket. Doug joined him, wrapping his arm around him.

“We can only sleep for a few hours, or I’ll ruin my sleep schedule.”’ Doug muttered, beard scratching Tal’s face. Tal smiled, and turned his head so he could kiss him.

“Fine. You’ll wake us up then, big shot.” He said. Doug’s lip twitched. He rubbed Tal’s chest and stomach with that small smile.

“Mmmokay.” He mumbled again. Tal grinned, kissed him again, and closed his eyes. He interlaced Doug’s fingers with his own.

He hoped it would be a long morning, too.