Chapter Text
When Oliver stepped off the plane, he was greeted by the people he loved the most. His eyes found Elio first. He was standing back, looking shy, but Ollie ran to greet him without reservation. He barely had time to brace himself before the little boy crashed into him and squeezed him tightly.
He reached down and patted his back affectionately, but then took Ollie’s hand and tugged him gently to release himself. He kept hold of the small hand as he crossed the few steps over to where Elio was standing, looking emotional. He bent his neck, leaning down close to Elio, until he could feel the warmth of his body. There was a feeling almost like the humming of electricity between them when they stood this close. But they didn't kiss in public. Elio would, he knew, but for reasons he didn't fully understand, he never did.
"I missed you," he said to Elio, his voice heavy.
Elio's face brightened, and he leaned in even closer to Oliver. How close could they stand without touching? For a moment, they were the only two people in the airport. But then Ollie was tugging on his hand. "Let's go," he whined, and both Oliver and Elio looked at him disapprovingly. Whining was a pet peeve they shared. Ollie was too excited for hurt feelings, though, and soon they all made their way to the car.
Oliver drove them home. As his hand rested on the shifter, Elio reached over and ran a finger across the back of his hand, simply unable to resist touching him. Oliver took Elio’s hand and held it, gently rubbing his thumb across the sensitive skin of Elio's hand. They were aware of Ollie's eyes on them, but this didn't bother them. They were often affectionate toward one another in front of him. Oliver looked into the rear-view mirror, briefly making eye contact with the little boy.
"Did you miss me?" he asked lightly.
"Yeah, but me and Elio had fun," he responded.
"Elio and I," Oliver corrected, looking back at the road.
"Yeah. That's what I said. We had fun," he said.
"What did you do that was so fun?" Oliver asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sly smile appear on Elio's face, and he felt his curiosity solidify. He had only been asking to be polite before, but now he genuinely wanted to know.
"We made a fort and it covered the entire living room!" Ollie explained excitedly, waving his arms around to demonstrate the enormity of it. "And guess what?!" he added.
So of course Oliver had to reply, "What?"
Ollie lowered his voice as if sharing a secret, "We SLEPT in it!!"
"You did?" Oliver said.
"Yeah, and we ATE in it, too!" Ollie exclaimed.
"That sounds really fun," Oliver said. Then, casting side eye Elio's way he added, "It sounds really messy, too."
"Yeah! It was so super duper messy! We used ALL the dishes in the entire HOUSE and then we had to use paper plates!" Ollie giggled when he said this. He was low-key bragging now. "And I got to stay up as late as I wanted to even on school nights."
Elio suddenly fell into a suspicious coughing fit and changed the subject.
Oliver didn't want to admit how relieved he was a half hour later when he entered the house to find it more or less as he left it.
They had a quiet night of pizza and Netflix, but the night felt much too long to Oliver and Elio as they kept stealing glances at one another. They both loved Ollie, but they had missed each other. They rarely spent a night apart, much less six. Eventually the movie ended, and it was Elio who first declared it bedtime for Ollie.
Ollie began to whine, but was quickly silenced when they both looked at him sternly. This seemed to remind Oliver of something.
"Elio, did Ollie behave himself while I was gone?" he asked. He had had a long talk with Ollie before he left, because Ollie didn’t always like to listen to his brother.
Before Elio could answer, Ollie blurted out, "Yup!"
"I was asking Elio," Oliver said, but he said it mildly.
Elio smiled, "Yup." This made Ollie laugh, and Oliver rolled his eyes playfully.
"He listened to you and didn't give you any trouble?" Oliver asked.
Ollie started to answer, but covered his mouth to stop himself just in time.
Elio answered, "We were too busy messing up the house and ignoring bedtimes for him to misbehave much." Ollie giggled again.
Satisfied, Oliver concurred with Elio... it was bedtime. "I'll be in to tuck you in in a minute," he called as Ollie hugged Elio goodnight.
A few minutes later he sat on the edge of Ollie's bed. "I missed you. Sleep tight," he said.
"Will you tell me a story?" Ollie asked.
Oliver thought about Elio who would already be in bed waiting for him, so the question should have been easy to answer.
"Pleeeeeeeeease?" Ollie begged.
Oliver sighed, but told the fastest, most abridged, least relaxing version of Goldilocks ever told. Ollie took pity on him and let it pass.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity to both of them, Oliver made it into their room to find Elio already in bed. He slid off his clothes and folded them over a chair, then stepped over Elio's clothes that were puddled on the floor. There were more important things on his mind, and he slipped into bed next to Elio who immediately rolled into him. I missed you, Oliver thought as he caressed Elio in the places he knew Elio loved most. I love you, he thought as he felt Elio's body respond to him. He often told Elio how much he loved him, but tonight he didn't say these words aloud. Tonight he would show him instead.