Sergey

The living room. Sergey sits on the floor, leaning his back against the massive sofa. His legs are stretched out, his laptop balanced on his lap. He's wearing simple gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt that clings to his shoulders. He looks relaxed but focused.

Heian is lying on the sofa, directly behind his head. He's reading a book, one leg dangling over the edge of the sofa, almost next to Sergey's ear. Heian is wearing loose loungewear—wide linen trousers and a thin long-sleeved T-shirt. He looks cozy and detached.

The room is quiet. The only sounds are the clicking of keys and the rustling of pages.

Sergey types out the last sentence, saves the file, and slams the laptop shut. The sound is jarring in the silence.

He doesn't turn around right away. First, he rubs the bridge of his nose, exhaling tiredly. Then he feels movement above him.

"Are you finished?" Heian's voice is calm, not a question. Simply a statement.

Sergei tilts his head back to look at his husband upside down.

"Have you been following my progress?" Sergei grins, but there's no mockery in his eyes, more of a tired irony.

"I've heard you sigh three times in the last ten minutes. That usually means the contract is either ready, or you want to burn it all down," Heian said, still reading his book, lightly wiggling his toes, brushing against Sergei's shoulder.

Sergei grabs his foot with his hand. Not roughly, just holding it. The skin is warm.

"The contract is ready. And I don't want to burn anything. I want dinner. Or wine. Or for you to get out of there and join me properly, not like a ghost."

Heian finally puts the book away. He looks down at Sergey, his gaze calm.

"I'm keeping you company. You said yourself that you needed to concentrate. I didn't disturb you."

"You weren't bothering me," Sergei agrees, lightly squeezing Heian's ankle. "But you were distracting me with your existence."

"Is that a compliment or a complaint?" Heian raises an eyebrow slightly.

"Statement of fact," Sergei lets go of his leg and slaps his palm on the empty space on the carpet next to him. "Come down. There's room for two here. Or are you too important for the floor?"