#- hence little snippets have been falling out of my pockets constantly

[good--merits-accumulated]

god. this anderperry renaissance au is knocking me around some kind of way

[band-of-bros]

Just 4 short snippets based on four different types of “I love you” as described by this post

1. Baberoe

“Gene, go back to sleep,” Babe says as he comes out of the bathroom, rubbing his hands on his pants to dry them because he was too lazy to grab a hand towel out of the cabinet and running late again, as usual.

“I wanted to see you off,” Gene says into his coffee.  Babe lights up, and Gene feels a warmth from something besides the beverage.  Babe hates his morning class, but Gene told him when it first got scheduled that he’d be awake to say goodbye each morning.  He hasn’t missed a day yet.

“But you just got off your shift like, 5 hours ago, and that doesn’t count commuting time,” Babe protests, putting a bagel into the toaster and cranking the setting up high.  Gene knows that he’ll force it to pop up halfway through, because he thinks it cooks faster this way, then burn his fingers taking it out.

“Yes, and you stayed up for me, so we got equal amounts of sleep,” Gene replies.  Then, he looks at the clock.  “You’re going to be late.”

“Oh well,” Babe says cheerfully.  “If they wanted me on time, they shouldn’t have given me an early morning class.”  True to form, he forces the lever of the toaster up to get his bagel early, then messily smears cream cheese on both halves and smashes them together.  He then rushes around the counter to kiss Gene’s cheek.

“Love you, see you later!”

Babe has always handed out his love freely and generously.  He is constantly telling his friends and family that he loves them, and since the first time he told Eugene while they were dating and made clear that it was in a romantic way, not just platonic, he keeps saying it at every opportunity.  Gene loves it.  It feels natural, and always causes him to smile.

“Love you, too, Babe.”

2. Speirton

“I love you,” Ron says softly.  The words still feel odd in his mouth, although the feeling behind them has been there since the beginning.  Carwood catches his eyes in the bathroom mirror he’s standing in front of to brush his teeth and smiles.  Ron loves this smile.  It’s unbelievably soft and genuine in a way that only appears in quiet moments like this, when the stars have been hung in the sky and Ron is the only one around.  Carwood shares his smiles with everyone, so it makes Ron feel warm all over when he gets one meant just for him.

He’s so lucky to have moments like this.

They’re calm and relaxed in a way that he used to think impossible for him, but somehow, Carwood manages to make everything quiet.  It’s an unexpected effect for a person to have on him.  But, of course, falling in love was unexpected, too.

Ron never quite thought he would fall in love, and find someone to love him back.  He’s always been feared and respected, and while he never minded that, it never paved the way for close personal relationships either.  Carwood is the first person who ever bothered to look beyond his preconceived notions of Ron and decide he wanted to give his heart to what he saw, and somehow, Ron found himself giving his heart right back.

He’s not sure how it happened, but that fact doesn’t even bother him anymore.  Carwood is easy to love.  The man gives comfort and contentment wherever he goes.  If there was anyone Ron was going to fall for, it would be Carwood.

That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t still surprise him when he utters that phrase.

Sometimes it seems to leap out of his mouth unbidden, like when Carwood is wearing something particularly beautiful and the sunlight makes his golden hair look like a halo.  Then, Carwood blushes, and Ron knows that even though the phrase might still feel unfamiliar, he’s never meant anything more.

Carwood finishes brushing his teeth and slips under the covers of their bed.  He leans over and kisses Ron softly.  It’s sweet and perfect.  A balloon of happiness fills Ron’s chest, and he’s worried it’s going to grow too big and burst.

“I love you, too,” Carwood says against his lips before turning off the lamp on the bedside table and lying down.  Ron moves closer and Carwood immediately opens his arms.  They both act as space heaters while sleeping, so they’ll move to opposite sides of the bed by the middle of the night, but for now Ron is content with the feeling of love in his chest and Carwood’s arms around him.

3. Webgott

“Web?” Joe asks, glancing over at the man lying next to him.  There’s no reply save for deep breathing, but Joe hadn’t expected there to be.  The clock reads 3 am.  Web had seemed decently sleepy earlier, and that was before the sex.

That used to be all there was to them.  Webster is insanely attractive, and their arguing creates enough sexual tension that it really was no surprise the first time they hooked up.  Since then, though, something has changed.  

It started with Web staying over, looking at home sitting at Joe’s kitchen counter in the mornings, wearing Joe’s clothes when he leaves and claiming a toothbrush as his own in the bathroom.  It continued with Joe picking Webster up from class to go get something to eat and maybe catch a movie, late night drives that end with Web passed out in the passenger seat with one of his Spotify playlists hooked up in Joe’s car, biting comments that sound more flirtatious than malicious now.  They spend time just sitting together on the couch, Webster with his feet in Joe’s lap reading while the other flips through channels on the TV until they both get bored or tired and move to the bedroom.

Sometimes, Joe looks at Webster and his breath gets caught in his throat.  It’ll happen at the most random of times: while the other is falling asleep while trying to cook eggs early in the morning, laughing at something clever Joe has said, staring enraptured at a shark documentary on TV, or ranting about the finer points of a novel Joe probably had to read for school but never actually bothered to.  It’s weird, that little hiccup in his heartbeat.  He can’t remember it happening with anyone else before.

Joe doesn’t know what this feeling is, but he knows that it’s more than what this started as.

Joe doesn’t know what love is, but he thinks this might be it.

“David?”

Again, no response but breathing.  And then, because he wonders what it sounds like, he whispers

“I love you.”

Web stirs slightly, but remains firmly asleep.  Joe doesn’t know if he’s glad or disappointed.

The night has put a heavy blanket of fog over his thoughts, but he’s aware enough to know that the words seem right.  He turns towards Webster and reaches out a hand, lacing their fingers together.  Web shifts slightly again, but only to get a better grip.  Joe squeezes his fingers once, then lets sleep overcome him.

4. Winnix

One of Dick’s favorite times of day is the evening walk with Lew and Ralph.  Lew is the kind of person who forgets that he likes being outdoors until he actually is, and one of the only ways Dick can coax him out for a walk or to the park is by using the dog as persuasion.  That’s the main reason Dick agreed to get one.  It had nothing to do with the look of pure joy on Lew’s face when Dick finally told him they were going to the shelter to see who they could take home.

Lew got attached to Ralph the moment he saw the huge St. Bernard, and he would do anything for that dog.  Hence their evening walks: Ralph needs the exercise, and it’s the perfect time to unwind, breathe the fresh air, and just spend time together.  Dick loves nothing better than to give Lewis the leash and lace their fingers together, walking past their neighbors and up through the park to a hill with a good view of the sunset.  Sometimes they stop to talk to neighbors, and sometimes they just engage in small talk or comfortable silence with each other until they reach their destination.

When they arrive at their usual spot on the hill, Lew plops down with a huff, and Ralph immediately starts to lick his face.

“Okay, buddy, I love you too,” he laughs.  Dick can’t help his lips quirking up.  Lew sees this and smiles.

“I think we should get another dog, so you can get doggie kisses, too,” he says.

“I think you would just take all of those doggie kisses for yourself,” Dick laughs, sitting down next to him.

“You’re not wrong,” Lew says.  “But don’t worry, Dick.  You get all of my human kisses.”

“Well that’s a relief.”  Dick takes a moment to steal one before reaching over to run his fingers in Ralph’s fur.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to eventually getting another dog if you really wanted one,” he says after a moment.  “But I think we need to take things one step at a time.”

“What’s the next step, if it’s not getting another dog?  We should probably get married before we start prepping for kids,” Lewis laughs, massaging Ralph’s ears.

“Well, now that you mention it…”

Dick can pinpoint the exact moment Lew processes what he said and goes still.  When he turns to look at him, Dick has the ring he’s been carrying around in his pocket for the past few days in his hand.

“I love you, Lew.  By now it’s clear that we’re both in this for the long run, so why not make it official?” he asks.  “Half of our neighbors already think we’re married.  I’d like to take that next step, if you’ll have me.”

Lewis stares at his face, then at the ring, then back at his face.

“You’re proposing.  You’re actually proposing right now.”

“I am,” he says.  He’s starting to sweat, and he hopes Lew doesn’t notice.

He hopes Lew says yes.  What if it’s not the right time?  What if Lew swore off marriage forever after his divorce from Kathy?  Lewis had insisted that Dick also be named as an owner of Ralph, so he had taken that as an indication that Lew also pictured them being together until the end, but what if he was wrong?

“To me?” Lew squeaks.

“Of course.” he answers.  There’s another moment where Lew just stares at him, before a huge grin splits his face.

“Yes!” he laughs.  “Yes, yes, yes, of course!”  Then he literally tackles Dick in a hug.  Dick doesn’t mind, though.  He’s laughing, too, and feels as if he’s going to burst from the joy filling him.  Ralph starts barking, adding to the noise.

“We’re engaged,” Lewis says when he finally lifts his head out of the crook of Dick’s neck.  “We’re actually engaged.  I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my entire life.”

“Me neither,” Dick says, and he means it.

“I love you,” Lew says, and his eyes are shining.

“I love you, too,” Dick says.  When they finally get off the ground and Dick gets the ring on Lew’s finger, they both say it a few more times, until Dick feels like they’re shouting it to the whole world and everyone must know if they didn’t already.  He squeezes Lew’s hand and says it one more time, just to be sure.