Day 14: Cooking/Sharing Food
Warnings: none
Rating: T
Pairing: Boyd x Tim
Boyd is categorically unable to sleep past sunrise.
It’s a habit he had before Kuwait, but it got drilled into him well and good in the army. Sunlight bleeding through his eyelids is enough to get him rolling out of bed, joints creaking, ready to start the day.
Tim is the same way. He will beat Boyd to it, most days, his insomnia driving him from their bed before the sun even begins to turn the sky pink. Most of the time, Boyd will find him downstairs, perched on the counter in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in one hand and his phone in the other, the glow from the screen illuminating his face.
The routine they fall into is a comfort to the both of them. Or, Boyd likes to think it is. They don’t talk about it. Boyd doesn’t need to ask why Tim is up, and Tim hasn’t ever felt the need to fill a silence with small talk. But Boyd will putter around the kitchen, moving around Tim, as he gathers what he needs to make breakfast.
Tim won’t stick around for french toast or omelets – Boyd learned that early on. Anything that requires a plate, that ties him down to one spot, he balks at. He’ll sit with them if they all manage to be together in the house for a meal, but Boyd noticed quickly how his shoulders would hunch if they put a plate in front of him, how he would go quiet, answering questions with monosyllabic, flat responses if he answered at all.
(He’s apologized for it, more than once, though he mostly cut it out after Raylan sighed and said, “Tim, stop saying you’re sorry for shit that ain’t wrong.”)
It took a little trial and error, but Boyd’s figured out what doesn’t trigger that withdrawn, shrinking response.
“Morning,” Boyd says when he comes into the kitchen, and Tim glances up from his phone, offering Boyd a soft little smile. He lets Boyd kiss his cheek, and lets Boyd tilt his chin up for another kiss, too, brushed gently across his mouth.
“Morning,” Tim murmurs, and then nudges Boyd toward the stove with one bare foot, his smile going a little cheeky.
“So demanding.” Boyd squeezes his thigh before turning away to turn the stove on to heat. “Do you have anything in particular you’d like this morning?”
“We still have that salsa Raylan picked up in Louisville?” When Boyd hums in affirmation, Tim nods at the fridge. “Then, if you’re taking requests, breakfast burritos?”
Boyd tugs the refrigerator door open and scans the contents with a critical eye. “Well, I suppose I can make that happen for you,” he says, and gets a quiet thanks, Boyd in return.
Tim’s request is an easy one, and cooking is relatively mindless. After a few minutes, Boyd hears Tim slide off the counter (hears him, he knows, only because Tim wanted to be heard), and then there’s a cup of coffee set down next to him, close enough to know that it’s his but out of the way of where he’s cutting up an onion and a bell pepper. Tim kisses the back of his neck, and, despite himself, Boyd feels a little shiver run down his spine. Tim isn’t casual with affection – not often enough for any of them to have gotten used to it, at least.
Tim lingers, and Boyd can feel the way the lips pressed to the back of his neck curve into a smile. “Maybe later,” he murmurs, one hand coming up to rest lightly on Boyd’s hip. “Feed me first.”
“Demanding,” Boyd repeats, but his voice is dripping with so much damn affection that the word just comes out fond. “I do hope you’re aware that the boys are going to have our asses for not including them in this.”
Tim laughs under his breath, squeezing Boyd’s hip before he slinks away, levering himself back up onto the counter – a little closer to Boyd and the stove, this time. “Not my fault they’d rather stay in bed until someone drags them out,” he says, before taking a sip of his coffee. Then, with a little bit of a softer voice, he adds, “We’ll set some aside for them, yeah?”
He almost sounds reluctant, but Boyd knows the hesitancy in his voice isn’t from any sort of true selfishness – Tim’s not used to having attachments, other people in his life he feels the need to look after. It’s a new feeling. It’s a vulnerable feeling.
“We can do that, baby.”
It’s impossible to miss the way Tim twitches, his bare toes curling, his knuckles whitening around the mug in his hands. It’s muted surprise, carefully controlled, and Boyd knows he only sees as much as he does because Tim is home, safe, with just about as few guards up as he ever has – which is the only reason Boyd used the endearment in the first place. It’s not for anyone else but them.
“Never thought I’d like that,” Tim says after a noticeable pause, and Boyd suspects it goes a little past never thought I’d like it, maybe more towards never thought I’d have it. “Like it from you, though.”
Boyd thinks he can be forgiven for the way he pushes the pan back, barely remembering to flick off the burner before turning to Tim, stepping neatly between his knees and reaching up to cup his face with both hands. “Baby,” he murmurs, but Tim is the one who drags him in, abandoning his coffee so he can fist both hands Boyd’s shirt and kiss him, hard, licking into his mouth like he’ll be able to taste the word there.
Two hours later, Raylan stumbles into the kitchen to find the two of them sitting on the floor – both of them missing their shirts and sporting not a small number of love bites over the necks and shoulders – eating cold breakfast burritos.
He opens his mouth, pauses, and then shakes his head. “Did one of you make coffee before all this–” He waves his hand vaguely. “Devolved?”
“Raylan,” Boyd says, his voice gently chastising. “Whatever aspersions you might cast on my character, I do happen to understand that coffee always comes before sex.”
“Menaces,” Raylan grumbles under his breath.
He still ducks down to kiss both of them on the tops of their heads before pouring himself a cup of coffee.
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Ranking my Breakfast Carbs that I take to Work:
Aldi Chocolate Brioche 9/10 - Portable, not too messy, can be eaten even when I’m moving around, tastes amazing, doesn’t go bad too fast cause I cant eat a loaf super fast. Wish there was more chocolate
Kroger Chocolate Brioche 7/10 - wayyyy too messy, but the chocolate to bread ratio is great. Too messy to eat in the work pantry comfortably, but it tastes so good you cant care (until you look at your face covered in chocolate and it hits maybe we need something cleaner)
Sweet Red Bean Paste Bun from an Asian Grocer in my Area 8/10 - VERY TASTY I LOVE RED BEAN PASTE!!! I had to cut them in half cause I cant eat that big a bun (I got bad GERD man) and they went a little stale. It’s my fault but that’s ok. I ate them anyway and they were still tasty. Not gonna come back to this one soon since the nearest Asian grocer is 1 hour away from me and it has to be an occasion that I go and spend a bunch of money. And I will spend WAYYY too much money
Off Brand Uncrustables from Target 6/10 - Tasty!! Better then a regular Uncrustable Love me a good peanut butter and jelly!! Great for when you have the energy of a Halloween Zombie, but only 4 in a pack so it’s not really worth it. Not worth the longer drive to Target but if I’m there I get them. Less sugar too, which is good for me (diabetic who probably should have sugar free jelly)
Peanut Butter and Jelly made by ME 10/10- perfect no notes, I do a great job
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