Unspoken

Adam never really understood love the way many people seemed to. He thought he'd understood, a long time ago, while living in that cozy cabin with a man who'd promised him the stars. That was a while ago. The same person still passed through his thoughts, every now and then, a ghost wandering through his mind. Before Adam knew him, he was completely sure he didn't know. Some of his friends had said it. But they were just affectionate, and they always said it with that goofy smile.

Despite being more committment-averse than anyone else Adam knew, both of his closest friends had managed to blunder their way into relationships before he did. Worth the wait, in his mind, especially since he had been lucky enough to end up with someone so similar to himself. Whether that was love, specifically...

Roy often made him wonder. If the fluttering in his stomach and the blush on his face were just affection, why did it feel so different? Being in Roy's arms was different to being hugged by his friends. His friends didn't prompt flustered sputtering when they teased him. His friends didn't catch him wholly absorbed by staring at them while they pottered about. His friends didn't put off sleeping to stay with him all night when he was sick. Not that he ever actually told them when he was sick.

So maybe it was love.

Adam may have been awkward. He may have been oblivious. But he wasn't stupid. Words to that effect had gotten caught in his throat like gears many times before. When they were just lying together, those moments were the ones that pulled the words into his mouth again. From the way Roy looked at him, it almost felt like he was struggling with the same issue. They danced around the problem in every conversation. It felt like everyone else knew whatever was going on with the two of them far better than they did.

Infuriating? Yes. Endearing? Also yes.

Some conversations felt like a race to make the other flustered first. The prize being an adorable sight to cherish (and inevitably tease the other about). Right from their first memorable talk, it was another one of their unspoken conventions.

Starting off working in the same building was helpful. And since they already lived in the same building, they never really needed 'The Talk'. Again, it went unsaid, but they knew that they were happy having their seperate rooms, and would just choose one of the rooms to stay in if they were feeling affectionate. When both of them were working, they would just make a point to end up working close to each other.

Maybe it wasn't the most conventional love. But as long as he could love Roy, Adam didn't particularly mind.

He did mind when Roy couldn't work nearby. Watching Roy work was oddly enjoyable. Roy did everything with almost mechanical efficiency, planning what he did to get things done as quickly as he could. Or maybe it was just the great love fondness he had for Roy that made watching him so nice.

It was one such night where they were working seperately that changed things. Adam had been curled up in one of the booth tables, trying to write a rota at ten to eleven in the night. Meanwhile, Roy waited on the hordes of cheerful drinkers concentrated like a swarm of bees in the bar area. Since food service was already finished, nobody bothered to come into the restaurant, leaving Adam to nibble on a bowl of cold chips as he worked. Glasses were clustered on the other side of the table, proof of Roy's almost motherly desire to keep him hydrated.

"Did you manage to get anything done yet?" The familiar voice drew closer as Roy set down another glass of lemonade. "You've been staring at that screen for a couple of hours now."

Adam snorted and took the glass, sipping in lieu of giving an actual answer. "There's always more paperwork to be done. Even when I get this done, I have several hundred forms to look over."

A fond sigh came in response as Roy sat down. "You need a hand? I can take care of some of this stuff."

"And can you also provide my signature?"

"...Legally, no." Roy chuckled, shrugging and slinging an arm around Adam to pull him in close. "I don't get half that 'manager-y' stuff you have to do. Just wanna help you out."

"I know you do. It's very sweet. And believe me, if I could outsource even a little of this work without chewing my own nails down to nothing, I would. Hard to trust anyone to do things as efficiently or accurately as I can. Most people don't have that level of experience."

Again Roy nodded, placing a small kiss on Adam's head, and stood up again. "Oh, hey, would you...stick around for a bit? I'll see you when I'm done." He winked like a movie star on his way back to the bar.

...Odd. Adam filed away the thought to focus more on his work. Once he started making good progress, it actually became quite absorbing, albeit a little repetitive. Several hours passed before he looked up, seeing Roy hovering there on the other side of his laptop.

"Hey! Didn't wanna disturb you, you seemed really into it. But, I...I wanted to ask you something."

"...Go ahead."

Roy took a deep breath to steady himself. At least he wasn't picking his fingers again. As he took longer and longer to come up with a response, Adam became nervous, biting his lip and tugging on his hair.

"...You wanna share a room?"

...

"Was that it? You had me worked up there."

"I know, I just..." Roy let off a sheepish chuckle. "It felt important."

Adam stood up and took him into a gentle kiss, arms gently sliding around him. "It's fine. We can try it." I love you.

"Phew! I mean, we usually sleep in the same place anyway, so I guess it's not much of a surprise, huh? Not like I was proposing or anything! But I like the idea of doing something more, well...like a couple, you know?"

Adam nodded again. "We'll talk it over in the morning. Too late for planning now."

They still stayed awake to talk into the early morning. Still never saying those three words, but then, they didn't need to. They didn't need words before. Why would they now?