Work Text:
“I’m home!” Bernard called as he closed and locked the door behind him. It had been a long shift with call after call, and way too much blood for his liking.
Kicking off his shoes and hanging his keys on the hook, Bernard made himself leave the thoughts and stress of work at the door. He was home now. He could cuddle with his boyfriend, and everything would be fine.
Bernard paused at that thought. He’d called out for said boyfriend and hadn’t gotten any response, which was fairly unusual.
“Tim!” he tried again, but still, nothing.
“Tim?” Bernard called again, setting his bag on the table they had by the door specifically for it and walking down the hallway in search of Tim.
They habitually stalked each other on Tim’s hacked and souped-up version of Life360 because they both had dangerous jobs, and it legitimately helped soothe anxiety, especially after bad calls, just to be able to open an app and reassure yourself that your partner was safe at home or otherwise living their life.
All that to say, unless Tim had forgotten his phone and hadn’t actually come home yet, or had left in the 30 minutes since Bernard had checked at the end of his shift, then Tim was home and just not responding for some reason.
“Tim?” Bernard opened their bedroom door with a softer call, expecting to perhaps find his boyfriend sleeping. Instead, what he found was Tim on the floor, lying on his back and scooted up against the bedframe with his legs bent up along it so that his calves rested on top of the mattress, looking as if he were sitting.
Bernard knew his adorable little genius could be a bit weird at times, but the sight still left him perplexed. “Umm, Tim?” he asked hesitantly. Tim finally acknowledged him with an absent hum. “You okay there?” Bernard unsuccessfully tried, only receiving another hum.
With a sigh, Bernard gently closed the door behind him and walked over until he was standing over Tim’s face, directly in his eye line if the man chose to look up. Knowing that Tim knew Bernard was there, and would open his eyes when he was ready, Bernard waited patiently and was eventually rewarded with the sight of Tim’s stormy blue eyes.
Bernard smiled gently, masking his confusion and concern. “Hey there.”
“Hi,” Tim responded softly with that cute little smile that he only gave Bernard.
“Are you okay?” Bernard asked, trying not to get distracted by the gorgeous man staring up at him.
Tim hummed again, “‘M thinking.”
Bernard's gaze flicked over Tim’s position, and his smile grew with fondness at the strange antics of his boyfriend. “And lying on the floor helps with that?” He questioned, bemused.
“Mhm. Floor’s good.”
Bernard nodded sagely, “ Mmm, yes, blood flow or something.”
Tim quirked that little smile at him, full of love and humor. “Exactly.”
Bernard had to suppress a laugh. He had just gotten off work, he was tired, and well, if his genius boyfriend said the floor was a good place to rest, then it must be true.
He’d left his shoes at the door but still had to shrug off his jacket before he could lie down next to Tim. Bernard copied Tim’s position and scooted until their arms were just touching, grabbing Tim’s hand and interlacing their fingers in the process.
Tim looked over once Bernard settled, a question clear in his expression.
Bernard just shrugged, “Floor’s good.”
Tim let out a surprised laugh, squeezing Bernard’s hand and shifting his head to rest against Bernard’s shoulder. “Never change, Bear, never change.”
“You neither,” he ordered, twisting his head to kiss Tim’s temple as they settled into a comfortable silence.
Now that he was lying down, the day caught up to Bernard, and he felt himself slipping towards sleep, but he couldn’t until he made sure Tim was okay. “What were you thinkin’ ‘bout?” He mumbled.
Tim squeezed his hand again. “Just work, nothing crazy.”
“Nothing bad?” Bernard questioned back.
“Nothing bad, Bear, promise.”
“Mmm, okay, that’s good.”
Bernard snuggled up a little closer, and they lapsed back into silence for long enough that Tim thought Bernard had fallen asleep. He was close to joining him himself, but then came a sleepy mumble as Bernard shifted closer still. “Love you, Tim.”
Tim chuckled softly. “Love you too, Bear.”
Bernard hummed happily in response before drifting off to sleep with Tim not far behind him.
Eventually, Tim stirred, which woke the man next to him from his half-nap. “Hmm, what?” Bernard mumbled, “wuz goin’ on?”
Tim crawled over to kneel by the top of Bernard’s head, then leaned over and grinned happily at him. “I’m hungry,” he bent down and kissed Bernard on the forehead.
“Let’s make dinner,” Tim declared before standing up and padding out of the room.
Bernard took a moment to close his eyes and take a deep breath before sighing heavily, trying to wake up a little more, and hauled himself to his feet before following Tim to the kitchen.
Tim had already washed his hands and was inspecting the contents of the fridge when Bernard walked in. Seeing the little crease between Tim’s brows that he got whenever he was planning reminded Bernard just how in love he was. Tim was absolutely adorable. Even better, he was smart, sarcastic, and capable. And, best of all, he was Bernard’s, just like Bernard was Tim’s.
Tim glanced up, unaware of Bernard’s internal crisis of feeling hopelessly in love, and flashed a quick smile at him before glancing one last time into the fridge and closing its door.
“I’m thinking stir fry,” he said, “The carrots are probably gonna go bad soon, and we still have almost half a head of cabbage left.”
Bernard wanted to say, “Of course.” “Whatever you say.” “Anything you want.” He wanted to declare his overpowering love for the man who stood in front of him. He wanted to grab he little ring hidden inside his sock drawer and present it to Tim immediately. Instead of any of that, he settled for a gentle smile and a “sounds perfect” as he walked over to the sink to wash his hands.
Tim’s family liked to liken Tim’s eating habits to those of a little bird. Just pecking at little things here and there. If left to his own devices, Tim would inevitably forget to eat until his hands were shaking and his head pounding. And then, instead of realizing he had gone too long without eating, he’d wonder what was going on before shrugging it off and going back to work.
Bernard learned early in their relationship that the best way to get Tim to eat consistently was to eat with him or to bring him little snacks that he could eat while working. Put a plate of apple slices next to his laptop, and Tim would eat them without really registering that they’d ever existed. It was as endearing as it was frustrating.
Tim had told Bernard once that he hated cooking for himself because the task felt so meaningless and menial. Everyone in his family thought that he wouldn’t be able to cook to save his life, but Bernard had been let in on his little secret. Give Tim someone to cook with or even to cook for, and he became as dedicated to the task as he was to solving any case.
Tim lit up when he had someone to cook with. You just had to make sure he didn’t forget to set the timers.
Trying to shift his thoughts away from musings about the love of his life and instead to the task at hand, Bernard headed to the drawers to get a vegetable peeler, knife, and cutting board while Tim grabbed the carrots and cabbage from the fridge.
“What else do we want in the stir fry?” Tim asked as he scrutinized the pantry. Bernard walked up behind him and ached to wrap his arms around Tim’s waist, only refraining lest he have to wash his hands again so soon. Instead, he moved to Tim’s side and settled for resting his head on Tim’s shoulder as he hummed and examined the contents of the shelves.
“Rice, definitely. Do we have any other vegetables or any chicken thawed?”
Tim leaned his head against Bernard’s. “I think we have a little broccoli left? And I don’t think there’s any chicken, but I’m pretty sure the teriyaki tofu we wanted to try is still good?”
Bernard perked up at that. “Oh yeah!” he exclaimed. “I totally forgot about that!”
Tim grinned at him, knocking their shoulders together before reaching forward to grab the bag of rice. “I’ll get the rice started. Could you grab the tofu and broccoli?”
This time, Bernard couldn’t resist the urge and gave Tim a quick peck on the cheek as he walked away. “Of course, love.”
Tim played music quietly from his phone as they worked together to prep everything. Then Bernard took over sauteing the vegetables while Tim made a quick sauce with minced garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, chicken broth, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. After a moment of hesitation, he added red pepper flakes (his family’s influence) and set it down next to the stove so Bernard could add it when it was time. Then he gathered up the cutting board and utensils and rinsed them before putting them in the dishwasher to run later. Their little rice cooker hadn’t failed them yet, but Tim stopped to check on it anyway before hearing the sizzling of his sauce being added. He grinned as the scent bloomed in the air.
“Mmmm,” he hummed happily, “That smells amazing. Whoever made that must be a culinary genius or something.”
Bernard snorted a surprised laugh before shooting Tim a quick look to confirm the presence of his shit-eating grin. “Yeah, or something,” he said dryly, giving Tim an air kiss as the other gasped in joking offense.
“Why, I never.” He declared.
“Yeah,” Bernard laughed. “You never.” Deeming the stir fry ready, he cut the heat and spun around to grin back at Tim, who was dramatically pouting.
Bernard’s grin grew as he walked over to Tim and gently grabbed his chin, using it to tilt Tim’s face up to look at him. Tim dialled up the puppy dog eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching with a suppressed laugh.
“You’re so mean to me.” He complained. Bernard chuckled softly and slid his hand around to stroke through the hair at the nape of Tim’s neck.
“Yeah?” he asked gently, as Tim’s eyes fluttered a little, and Bernard watched as he struggled to maintain his grumpy front.
“Yeah,” he mumbled as he pulled Bernard into a hug and buried his face against his chest. Voice now muffled, he declared, “You gotta make it up to me. You gotta give me a kiss.”
Bernard laughed and squeezed Tim tight before pulling away just enough to get Tim to look up at him. He gave Tim a gentle smile as he brushed his hair away from his face. “I think that can be arranged,” he said softly.
Tim grinned, all pretense of being upset gone, as he excitedly bounced a little on the balls of his feet at the promise of a kiss. Bernard quietly laughed and leaned down to kiss the corner of Tim’s grin. He pulled back, just to see Tim’s adorable pout at the fake out, before leaning in for real.
Tim hummed happily into the kiss, letting his thumbs tuck into the belt loops along the back of Bernard’s pants, tugging the man a little closer. Bernard brought his hands back up to Tim’s hair, running his fingers through it and applying careful pressure in the places he knew Tim enjoyed. He let them stay like that for a minute longer before giving one last apologetic kiss as he pulled away and softly reminded that, “Dinner’s ready. Let’s eat while it’s hot, then we can watch a show or something.”
Tim grumbled a little at being denied his boyfriend, but ultimately followed and regained his eagerness when he remembered what they would be eating. They dished themselves up and moved to sit next to each other at the island. Tim tried the rice and vegetables first, enjoying the way the long strips of cabbage were almost like noodles, before deciding to brave the tofu.
Bernard was easily eating his food, keeping a subtle eye on Tim so he could see his reaction to the tofu. He was rewarded with an adorable scrunch of Tim’s face as he tried the tofu.
“It’s squidgy. Why is it squidgy?” He complained, clearly trying to decide whether he wanted to spit it out or not.
Bernard laughed at Tim’s reaction to the texture. “Imagine it’s like scrambled eggs, not like meat,” he advised Tim, who had swallowed what was in his mouth and shot him a dubious look that said, “ I’m only doing this because I trust you ,” and hesitantly took another bite. His face flashed through a series of expressions before settling on confusion.
He looked over at Bernard. “Why did that help so much?” he asked, bewildered. Bernard laughed a little and leaned over to give Tim a quick kiss.
“Because I’m magic,” he said smugly, grinning when Tim just rolled his eyes.
“I still don’t know if I would want this again, but I can finish this for sure.”
Bernard flashed him a reassuring smile. “That’s perfectly okay. I’m proud of you for trying it.”
Tim blushed a little at the praise, which Bernard graciously didn’t comment on.
They settled into comfortable conversation, catching up on each other’s days and listening to tomorrow’s agendas. Eventually, they finished eating, and Tim offered to do the dishes, insisting that Bernard change into something more comfortable and pick out a show for them to watch.
After Bernard had changed into sweats and a hoodie, he took a moment to admire Tim as he loaded the dishwasher, singing quietly to himself as he did. This was the man he was going to spend the rest of his life with. They both already knew that, but Bernard was excited for the quickly approaching day when he planned to declare it and give Tim a ring to show the rest of the world.
Tim was Bernard’s and Bernard was Tim’s, and he wouldn’t want it any other way.