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A dull throbbing pain in his back was the first thing Christian became aware of as he woke up. The second was that his bladder was full and he really needed to piss. The third was that Steve's arms were looped tightly around him. He groaned; getting out of the tangle of Steve without waking him was gonna be hard. The last thing he wanted to do was wake Steve. Because then Steve would see he was in pain and Steve didn't need to know that.
Carefully, slowly, he extricated himself, biting down on his lower lip to stifle any noises he might make. He climbed over Steve – who snuffled and rolled into the empty space – holding on to the wall as he caught his breath. Fuck that hurt, but at least he didn’t wake Steve.
He did his business in the bathroom then made his way to the kitchen, flicking the switch to turn on the coffee maker. Pouring a glass of water, he shook out a handful of extra strength painkillers, and swallowed them down. He stretched his arms over his head, winced, then reached round to rub at a knot in his shoulder, groaning in relief as it eased. Now, if only he could do the same to the strained muscles lower down... maybe a hot shower would help?
A surprised, pained gasp escaped him before he had chance to move; Steve had stepped up behind him, arms around him tightly, pulling him back against his chest. He tensed and clenching his teeth and inhaling sharply as Steve turned him around.
“Chris?”
Christian forced himself to relax, to lean in and kiss Steve. “You startled me. I was miles away.” He stepped closer, pressing against Steve, hands tangling in his hair. “I’m likin’ the here now though. Thought you’d be asleep for a few more hours yet.”
“I smelled coffee.” Steve kissed Christian back, then reached around him for a mug.
“Addict,” Christian teased, shaking his head but stealing a sip. He leaned back against the counter, pulling Steve between his legs and wrapping his arm around his waist. “Sorry if I woke you.”
“You didn’t.” Steve rested his forehead against Christian’s, one hand around the back of his neck. “Thought you’d be on set by now.”
Christian shook his head. “Day off for good behaviour,” he lied easily – remembering how John had basically forbade him to step foot on set until he could move without wincing. He felt rather than saw Steve’s smile.
“Really?” Steve drew the word out, his tongue flickering out across Christian’s lips, parting them gently. “So how about you and me go back to bed and make the most of it...”
“Sounds good,” Christian admitted, kissing Steve back.
“But...”
Christian pulled back, his hands curling around the edge of the counter. “Jay lands at eleven. Will and Ryan at two. You made me swear to kick your butt if you didn’t go for a run today. I gotta shower and I need to read over my lines for Monday cos I ain’t gonna get any other time this weekend.”
Steve huffed and took a long drink of his coffee. “You could come for a run with me?” He offered, laughing when Christian wrinkled his nose. “Don’t shower. Wait for me to get back and we’ll shower together, then we’ll go get Jay from the airport.”
Christian grinned. “Sounds like a plan. And if you’re a good boy, I’ll have breakfast waiting for you. Get your sneakers on and go for your run.” He stole Steve’s coffee mug and playfully swatted him on the ass as he pushed him out the room.
“I love you,” Steve called back over his shoulder.
“Love you too, darlin’” Christian waited for Steve to leave, the door snicking shut behind him, then sagged back against the counter. His back was aching, the muscles all bunching up tightly to protect the injured one. That hot shower really did sound heavenly, but then again so did showering with Steve. Gina had given him a heating pad thing that she said was good for sore muscles, told him he just needed to warm it in the microwave. He grabbed it out of his bag and put it in the microwave, popped some bread in the toaster. Making himself another mug of coffee, he tucked the now warm pad under his arm, picked up his toast and walked back to the lounge. He put the toast and coffee on the table, arranged the pad under his back and lay down on the couch with his script. He groaned in relief as the heat started to penetrate his back, lips curving up in a smile as he lost himself in his script and his body relaxed.
That’s how Steve found him when he came back from his run; stretched out with a blissful look on his face, script on his lap and fast asleep. Steve smiled, leaned over and kissed him awake. Christian grinned, tugging him down onto the couch and deepening the kiss.
“Reading scripts is now code for sleeping?”
“Something like that,” Christian chuckled. “Good run? Time is it?”
“Just enough time to get you in the shower before we gotta pick Jay up.” Steve stood up, grabbed Christian’s wrist and tugged him to his feet. He frowned at Christian’s cry of pain, narrowing his eyes at the way he bent over, clutching at his shoulder. “Chris?”
“I’m fine,” Christian’s reassurance came out as more of a growl, worrying Steve even more. “Just slept funny bein’ on the couch.”
“Uh-huh.” Steve picked up the still warm heat pack. “You wanna try that again? You got a heat pack under your back, you were popping painkillers like candy earlier, you wince when you move, you didn’t wanna come for a run... wanna tell me what’s going on?”
“Why you gotta be so damn observant?” Christian scowled, sitting back down carefully. Steve sat on the table, hands resting lightly on Christian’s knees. “I strained a muscle in my back. Thursday,” he said, anticipating Steve’s next question. “Been told not to go back to set til at least Monday, til its better. Just gotta rest it and it’ll be fine.”
“Chris...” Steve sighed. “And you didn’t tell me this, why?”
Christian shrugged one shoulder and ran a hand through his hair. “Didn’t want you to worry.”
“Didn’t want me to... Fucking idiot!” Steve leaned forward and kissed Christian lightly. “OK, we’re going to have our shower – it’ll help your shoulder. Then I’ll rub some Icy Hot on it and you’ll stay here, resting, until I get back from the airport with the guys. OK”?
Christian scowled but nodded. “Yeah, OK. Steve, I...”
Steve shook his head and kissed Christian quiet before pulling him to his feet and leading him to the bathroom.
~El Fin~