“Are you sure no one’s coming home?”
Sean lifted an eyebrow at Kai from the foot of his bed. He knelt there, heels tucked under his bum, ready to spring at the first sound of life in Kai’s apartment. He wasn’t sure what made him feel more uneasy, the idea that Livvy and Fred could burst through the door at any second, or being around so much of Kai’s stuff. The sheets on the other man’s bed weren’t soft and familiar like his own - his first truly extravagant purchase after being drafted to the Rangers - and the bedroom was cluttered with Kai-things. Theology textbooks and clothes he didn’t recognise and records by bands he’d never heard of. It was weird. Sometimes he felt like Kai was the person who knew him best in the world, but he knew so little about Kai.
He chewed the inside of his cheek, wondering if showing up at Kai’s place unannounced had been one of his smarter ideas. But he hadn’t been answering his texts, and Sean had started to feel fidgety and sad. He’d picked up his keys and strapped Clover into her car seat and braved the New York traffic all because a guy hadn’t been answering his texts. He was officially desperate.
The thing was, he and Kai had been spending a lot of time together. Hockey season was winding down, and every second he wasn’t on the ice he was with Kai. And it was different than before, when every second he wasn’t on the ice he and Kai were just… doing Sean and Kai things. Now, when Sean got Kai alone, it wasn’t long before they were fused together at the lips, hands wandering. He’d tried to put small barriers between them, kitchen counters and board games and once, humiliatingly, an actual physical pillow barrier. He was usually the one who broke first.
Now, greasy take-out bag tucked in the trash and Clover put down in her travel cot in Fred’s room, Sean was considering if it would be awkward to gracefully bow out. Kai had said something about Livvy and Fred going somewhere and doing something. A concert, or a dinner, or something. He’d been chewing on the end of his pen when he explained and Clover had been tugging at Sean’s hair and he hadn’t fully taken all of it in.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m super excited at the prospect of your roommates coming home and forcibly removing my head from my body. But…” he huffed out a laugh, trying for something akin to humour, but the fear in his voice gave him away.
He made his way clumsily across the bedspread, flopping approximately 201 lbs of hockey-player bulk on top of the other man. He rested his forearm on the pillow next to Kai’s head, smiling lopsidedly, so close their noses almost touched.
“Hi.” he smirked, pressing a shy kiss to the corner of Kai’s mouth. The other man seemed to feel better about letting Sean dictate the terms - like he was anxious Sean was going to change his mind. Which was sort of good for him. He felt better about it, home field advantage and all that.