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Lee closed the door quietly behind him and toed his shoes off. He heaved a deep breath and wished they were not in a hotel right now. Hotels and privacy did not go together.
He’d thought they might stay at Richard’s house while they were here in London. It was where Richard crashed during the Crucible run, so Lee stayed there, too, while he was in town. Nice enough place. A little small for Lee’s taste, but Richard didn’t need a lot of space, and he’d been too damn busy the last three or four years to sprawl out in a house anyway.
But Richard hadn’t even offered this time. Maybe he didn’t want to deal with opening it up or having it cleaned again so the property agent could resume showing it for sale once they were gone. Or maybe he didn’t want to go backward. His home base was New York now, and Richard was one for moving ahead. Lee let Richard’s reasons be his own and didn’t ask.
Right now none of that mattered, anyway. House or hotel, they could still take advantage of the brief space of time between the press conference and the premiere.
He plunked down on the sofa next to Richard, who'd propped his feet, clad in those ridiculous pink socks, on the coffee table. The rest of him slumped down into the cushions. His head was tilted back, blue eyes closed. His arm slipped around Lee's shoulders right away. Lee sighed and tucked his head under that strong chin, earning himself a quick kiss just above his eyebrow.
A grin grew on Lee’s face. “So your one word was pinot noir,” he said. He’d nearly lost it when Richard gave that answer at the press conference. He knew Richard had been partly making mockery of the question itself. It was stupid.
The ‘give me one word that best describes…’ whatever, question was one interviewers thought to be incredibly telling, but it really just highlighted the range of some people’s vocabulary. Still, it was an interview staple, and wasn’t going away any time soon. So they all dutifully answered. But haha, Richard screwed the rules and answered as he pleased, then charmed away all irritation at his cheek.
He could have said ‘merlot,’ or ‘chardonnay,’ hell, even ‘pinot’ as a one word answer would have worked. Everyone would have nodded politely and moved on. Then Lee might not have been fighting a head-splitting grin when it came to his turn.
“Did you not like my answer?” Richard’s voice rumbled out from his chest, right under Lee’s ear.
“It was hilarious,” Lee said. “You do know it was supposed to be one word, right? You rebel.”
Richard snorted. “Rebel. Certainly that’s me. But it sounded better than just a long drawl of ‘wiiiinnneee.’” Lee felt him smile. “Besides, I couldn’t say the one word that made everything right.”
Lee let that sink in, his pulse thumping a little faster. “Me neither,” he said finally, his voice tight. Richard said it better than he ever could. He’d made New Zealand right for Lee, just as he made London right, would make LA and New York right in a little while. To hear that Richard felt the same, so plainly stated, made his heart turn over.
This is perfect, Lee thought. It was pleasant to just sit together and touch, even if it didn’t lead to anything. The fire that burned between them was fantastic, no question, but the embers of it were just as good. Sometimes better.
Richard’s fingers threaded through Lee’s hair, enough to separate the strands, but not enough to muss it up noticeably. Lee hummed in pleasure. His eyelids grew heavy. His limbs began to feel weighted, but oddly light at the same time. He shifted a little, bringing his leg up over Richard’s and moved even closer, so they were hip to hip. His arm draped over Richard’s chest.
"You’re gonna put me to sleep,” he muttered, eyes closing as he began to drift.
“Okay,” Richard said, low. Warm breath wisped over Lee’s forehead. “Nap might be best. Damn party’s going to rage all night long.” The steady rise and fall of Richard's chest under Lee's cheek was comforting. His deep voice more so. Lee believed he could listen to those soft tones forever.
Lee grew quiet and let the moments stretch out. Richard’s fingers still combed. Contentment wrapped Lee up in a fuzzy blanket. He was next to Richard; they were here together. For the moment, all was right with the world. Before Lee knew it, sleep carried him away.