#tomport

[othertmrkids]

alone together | tomport

timeline event: first one on one hang out. art is 29, alex is 32.

Even as he climbed the steps of the Astronomy Tower, Art was running his hands through his hair, chasing the most approachable image of himself. These days he was far more welcome in the social circles at his new job but it was still a force of habit to push to maintain the connections he’d formed so quickly. A sense of familiarity settled over him as he reached the top of the stairs, eyes falling upon the man upon whose space he’d just entered. 

Art easily stepped within the bounds of the greenhouse charm Alex kept up around his devotedly cared for garden and placed a hand on the back of the older man’s shoulder as greeting. “Hey,” he smiled, holding the touch for a few beats before he moved to shrug off the coat he’d donned for the snowy February weather carrying on just outside of the charm. 

“I’ve got good news and bad news,” Art chuckled as he draped the coat around the back of one of three chairs set up around Alex. He sat right next to the man, a subtle habit that had become less for superficial purposes as they days passed. “The bad news is that Astrid had a student sustain some pretty serious burns in her last class so she had to see that through and Carson got a phone call a little while ago from someone sounding quite angry on the line. So I don’t think he’ll be joining us any time soon.” 

Art made a soft sound of contentment as he sat down, leaning into the seat he’d occupied several times since the beginning of the school year. “The good news is, you get 50% more attention from me to compensate for our sheer lack of friends,” He teased Alex with bright eyes and a dimpled grin. “A good bargain, I’d say.”

[sadserotonin]

[✐meme] for 3 of our most neglected pairings go

Tomport

Art almost cries the first time he sees his daughter-his and Alex's daughter walk across their living room floor. And then directly afterwards, the only thing he can think of is how desperately he wishes he could tell his young and naive 28 year old self, who thought he was saying goodbye to Alex for the last time, to just hold on. Because everything would be alright, everything would be just fine. 

Claya

The first time they actually go to bed together is very reminiscent of the first time they were in a bed together. She's just as beautiful, her smile is just as wide and her skin just as soft, all if not more. Except this time, there's a 300 pound wild cat in the house to throw a tantrum in the kitchen demanding food to interrupt them instead of the end of the experiment.

Delfie

She doesn't remember who she is with him. She doesn't remember college or her mom or the trailer or her cigarettes. She just thinks about his bony chest and his lopsided smile and how he makes her feel pretty on the inside with his stuttering and cold hands.

[sadserotonin]

tomport for that ship thing

spikes the eggnog? Neither or both. It's never one or the other like neither of them are crazy drinkers and then later on they have a kid but then also sometimes they're just done with life and they both wind up spiking the thing lol

hangs the stockings? Both? They're both children at heart lol they'd both get a kick out of hanging stockings even before Emma.

leaves cookies and milk out to keep up with the santa tradition? Both would do it for Emma but lbr Art did it that one year and Alex came downstairs cause he couldn't sleep and the cookies and milk was gone in the morning and Art was like babe I'm a grown ass man, you don't have to eat the cookies and milk for me to continue believing in santa lol

"accidentally" throws away the fruitcake Alex lol Art is too polite for it but if you push Alex far enough he'll throw that shit in the fire.

goes overboard on the whipped cream? Art. Emma? Alex. Wait no Alex is the responsible parent nvm. Art hah.

is the inevitable Christmas grinch? Alex might accidentally be here and there just cause he's the more logical one in the relationship. 

wakes up first on Christmas? Their kid omf. Alex stays up most nights star gazing and Art needs to be dragged out of bed sO.

rolls their eyes as the same cheesy carol plays in the stores for the millionth time? Actually, Art. Listening to the same thing 12 times would drive him nuts.

starts playing Christmas mu`sic the day after Halloween? I feel like they both would and if not Art would. He's too excited about things that give him an excuse to be senselessly cheerful lol

decorates the Christmas tree? I've literally answered this question the same for every one of these for every ship for every person by I can't tell if that's a good thing or not. But it's a family thing for tomport+emma I think and before her Art would want Alex to help him out.

[sadserotonin]

Tomport: Please tell me what I did wrong, what I can do to fix this. / We’ll never be able to go back to how we were. / There’s no such thing as love, at least not between us.

Please tell me what I did wrong, what I can do to fix this.

"It's not you, it's..." Art chuckles dryly as he realizes what he's about to say, "it's me. I just have a hard time coming to terms with the fact that you're probably telling the truth when you tell me you aren't going anywhere this time."

We’ll never be able to go back to how we were. 

"That's the thing though!" Art jumps up, "I don't want things to be the way they were before, I want them to be different! I want them to be different from the way they turned out last time and for that to happen we have to be different! I hope we never go back to how we were, Alex."

There’s no such thing as love, at least not between us.

Art swallows, his vision instantly blurring. "Hey..." he whispers, "Hey, don't say that, that's not-it's not true. You know it's not true, I know it's not true, we-it can't be true."

[sadserotonin]

"Let's go get a slushy." / "You think you're a rebel?" / "The extreme always seems to make an impression." for Tomport

"Let’s go get a slushy." Art sighs, his shoulders dropping in resignation. “But,” he suddenly perks up again, pointing a finger at Alex, “I will catch a blast ended skrewt tomorrow. I will!”

"You think you’re a rebel?" “Hey!” Art shouts defensively, “I don’t see you giving a hyperactive 5 year old a cookie 4 minutes after her bed time!”

"The extreme always seems to make an impression." “You ran right over her mailbox, Alex!” “Hey,” Alex takes Art’s wrist and pulls him close with as devious a smile as he could muster on his lips, “Nobody messes with my man and gets away with it.”

[sadserotonin]

Tomport : "Every little boy fantasizes about his fairytale wedding." / "I can’t really imagine you yelling at anyone." Dex/Jess: "You already did me." / "I’ve done a lot more for a lot less." Oliver/Jacen: “I was just… I’m in love with you.” / "This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my entire life." Pauline/Dex: "Their breadsticks are like crack."

"Every little boy fantasizes about his fairytale wedding."

"Alexander Tomlin, is that a proposal I hear?"

"It could be. If you want it to be."

"Absolutely not, you’re going to have to be a little more romantic if you’re gonna get me to say yes."

"I can’t really imagine you yelling at anyone." 

"I can be intimidating when I want to be!"

"Of course and when exactly is the last time you gave a student detention?"

"…Not the point. Yesterday Emma asked for a cookie before bedtime and I said no so I think that counts for a hell of a lot!"

"You already did me." 

"Yes, but that’s not good enough, I want your brother now! Honestly, Jess, you should know by now not to introduce me to people that you don’t want me to fuck. Especially if they’re attractive!"

"I’ve done a lot more for a lot less."

"Um TMI Jess."

"What TMI Dex? We’ve had sex! On multiple occasions!"

 “I was just… I’m in love with you.”

"You’re in love with…you’re in love with me?" Jacen clears his throat and adjusts his face from the gawk that it’d set into, "Well it…it just so happens that I’m…in love with you too. So there. Your move, Mr. Watson."

"This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my entire life." 

The words dry Jacen’s throat and makes his jaw clench. He tips his chin downward so his forehead is touching Oliver’s and lets out a breath through his nose. “I know, Oli, I know. This is the hardest thing I’ve done too. But I’ll be home before you know it. Twenty four months…that’s not so long.” He looks up to kiss Oliver on the forehead, “I’ll be back in no time, I promise.”

"Their breadsticks are like crack."

"That better be a hypothetical statement because I swear to Merlin, pack, if you know what crack tastes like-"

"Dex, you’re doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Being my dad."

"Oops. I’m the cool uncle, right, my bad. Carry on."

"Anyway, their shrimp is pretty great too."

[sadserotonin]

"I’m pregnant and it’s yours." / "Marry me?" / "I missed you." for Jess and Dex, "This seems familiar." / "Don’t go." / "Do you love me?" for Art and Tomlin :D

"I’m pregnant and it’s yours."

"Seriously?" Dex balks. He doesn’t mean to sound as insensitive as he does, but he’s just startled, sure that they’d been as careful as they could have been on their various escapades. He’s quick to recover from his shock though as he suddenly jumps to rectify his behavior. "Alright, don’t worry, we’ll sort this out one way or the other but no matter what we decide to do about this," he reaches out to take Jess’ hand before giving it a squeeze, "I’ve got your back."

"Marry me?"

"I would, wifey, but you see…" Dex chuckles, continuing to work his magical fingers on the soles of Jess’ feet, "I’ve got this relationship that I’m in and he’s a bit of a baby so he’ll probably cry if I get married behind his back. And we all know how hard it is to get Adam to stop once he starts crying so let’s save ourselves the trouble, yeah?"

"I missed you."

"I missed you more, dammit!" Dex shouts, tightening his grip around the woman in his arms. At the same time he feels the legs around his torso tighten. They aren’t the young and wild people they once were, but they certainly hadn’t learned how to control themselves around each other either. Dex only laughs when Jess calls him a lying, claiming that he would have come to visit sooner if his statements were true. 

"This seems familiar"

Art can’t help but let out a small noise when his back hits the wooden door holding the embossed nameplate; “A. Tomlin.” He laughs almost immediately afterwards against the lips pressed to his, but Alex still pulls away briefly to mutter, “Sorry there, boyo. Got a little excited.” He slips a hand past Art’s waist to open his door and ushers them in as Art informs him that he has absolutely no reason to apologize. They tumble into the flat for the first time in years only to discover a highly alarmed ring tailed lemur frozen in place at the dead center of the wreck which may have once been Alexander Tomlin’s living room.

Both men pause their previous actions to look over the damage and letting out a breath, Art sighs, “Well, this seems familiar.” Alex opens his mouth to speak, but Art beats him to it, “No apologies. I’ll get the broom.”

"Don’t go."

There’s a long moment of silence after Alex finishes explaining the details of his mother’s condition. Their hold on one another doesn’t loosen any with the lack of verbal communication and neither seems all too visibly distressed either. However after some time, Art’s voice is hoarser than it was when he last spoke, “Don’t go.”

Alex knows that his long time friend and all too short time lover probably means the words in a long term sense in a much bigger picture, but still he settles himself more comfortably where he is, tightening his arms around the younger man, “Ok.”

"Do you love me?"

Art swallows as he hears the words, a sharp jolt striking through his chest. Of course Art loved him, he had to be a fucking fool not to know that much. The daftness of the question leaves Art in silence for many moments and he almost purposely leaves Alex hanging for a few extra seconds after he realizes he hasn’t responded yet.

"What on earth do you think, Tomlin?”

[shymatlupin-blog]

Not-So-NaNoWriMo-Anymore Excerpt#13-Kids

It's not that he hasn't thought about it before. Art is more than just a little fond of children so he's thought about it quite a few times over the course of his relationship. Except every time he thought about it, the next thought that would enter his mind was, no, not yet, it's still too early. 

Today is different. When Choi drops off four year old Raleigh to their house in the morning, thanking them again for agreeing to babysit on such short notice, the thought enters Art's mind again. This time, unlike all the previous times, the thought makes him smile, shake his head and think "What if?" He decides he'll think about this later and for now just enjoy the way a four year old's presence changed the entire aura of a household. Suddenly, the smallest things like making breakfast and watching t.v are so much brighter with all of Raleigh's innocent questions and commentaries. And while Art is the one that chases her around the house all afternoon and lays on his stomach to walk her barbies across the carpet, it's Alex that falls asleep with her against his chest while the t.v still flickers before them. It's the sweetest thing Art's seen in a long time and he considers leaving them that way. After a while(and a few photographs) he decides it'd be best for Raleigh to rest in a proper bed and he gently wakes Alex to vocalize this particular opinion to him. Alex agrees and carefully gathers the little girl into his arms to run her upstairs. 

Art finds himself still smiling when Alex returns, arms empty. The older man sits down on the couch next to him with a sigh and puts an arm around his shoulders. Art leans comfortably against him and takes a hold of the hand that's hanging over his shoulder. He's grinning quite wide and he opens his mouth to say something but Alex beats him to it. "You took pictures, didn't you?"

"Course I did! It was so sweet! The way you were both asleep after a long day's worth of play and the way you were holding her-it was all too perfect not to capture forever" Art says honestly. His grin fades into a soft smile as he Alex in the eyes and says quietly. "You're a natural, you are." 

"Ah, the experience one can gain from raising a single ring tailed lemur from youth" Alex chuckles and Art can't help but widen his smile. "Well if Reagan counts then you're already a fantastic daddy!"

"Yeah, only when the child happens to be a fairly docile animal or one of the few toddlers in the world that doesn't like to wreak havoc and color the walls when no one's looking" Alex rolls his eyes.

Normally, Art would have laughed at that, but now he looks downward, trying to find a way to word his thoughts. "Alex..." he starts with a deep breath, "what would you say to one of our own?"

"A child?" Alex blurts out. He had a feeling this was where this conversation was going when it started. He always subconsciously knew this would come up eventually. 

"I've been thinking about it for a while now but it just didn't feel like the right time before. But seeing you with Raleigh today and experiencing the way it feels to have a little one running around the house...it's been so long and so many years. I think we're more than ready-I know we're more than ready" Art looks to him hopefully. 

Alex casts his eyes downward because there's only one thought running through his mind right now. He's afraid, it's an irrational fear he's always had, and that's of turning into his own dad. He'd promised himself he'd never end up like his dad and never make any decisions that would lead him to hurt anyone the way his father had. And Alex knew, inside, that he'd never be able to do that to anyone anyway, but the fear of it had been put in him at a very young age and never really went away. He supposed it'd stopped being active after he realized he was never going to have any biological children of his own and any other form of children seemed unlikely. But now, sitting here with Art, the thoughts resurfaced, and Alex felt himself get shifty. 

"You'd make such a fantastic, father, Alex" Art says quietly, interrupting his thoughts. There's a warm smile on the younger's face and Alex can see from his eyes that he's quite serious about this. "You're kind, loving, attentive, intelligent and a great role model" Art continues, "And you look good in a suit" the younger winks. "What more can anyone ask for in a dad-in a man in general, hm?"

"You look pretty good in a suit too, you know" Alex mutters, suppressing a smile as he looks away from the floor to Art's eyes. The grin that Art's face bursts into makes something in his chest flutter the way it did when they were in their twenties. Yup, still hopelessly in love with him.

"Is that a 'yes, Art we can start looking at adoption agencies' or 'no, Art, that idea sucks like all your other ideas?" Art narrows his eyes hopefully.

"That's a, lets wait for Choi to come by and pick up Raleigh before we sit down and talk about the pros and cons of having a child at this point in time" Alex says, bringing his other arm to rest around Art's stomach. 

Art simply smiles at him tiredly and leans his ear against Alex's shoulder before nodding, "Sounds like a plan."