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The theatre after a show had the feeling of a party that had just packed up and left its footprints everywhere.
The four of them drifted into the green room like survivors of a cheerful storm.
Luke dropped onto the sofa first with a long groan, rubbing his face with both hands. “My throat is wrecked.”
“That’s because you sang a full musical number about chimney maintenance in Genre,” Tom said, kicking his bag under the table.
“It was emotional.”
“You rhymed soot with boot three times.”
Luke shrugged. “It’s a difficult word.”
Tom sat beside him, pulling off one shoe and flexing his foot. The room smelled faintly of stage makeup and whatever cleaning spray the theatre used that always reminded AJ of lemons.
Luke leaned sideways and folded himself against Tom without asking. His head settled comfortably against Tom’s chest, one arm looping around Tom’s middle like he’s done a thousand times before.
Tom adjusted automatically, resting an arm across Luke’s shoulders.
“You’re sweaty,” Tom said.
“So are you.”
“Fair.”
Across the room, AJ and Sam had taken the other sofa.
AJ was halfway through a quiet internal breakdown of a scene.
“I’m telling you, the audience member who yelled ‘tax fraud’ saved the whole pirate bit.”
Sam laughed softly. “That suggestion was chaos.”
AJ stretched his legs out along the couch, getting comfortable, and eventually leaned sideways until his head landed on Sam’s shoulder.
Sam didn’t react like it was a big deal. He just tipped his head and kissed AJ’s bald head before continuing the conversation.
AJ paused a beat.
“…Anyway,” he said, picking up exactly where he’d left off.
For a minute the room settled into a tired, happy quiet.
Someone’s stomach growled.
Luke spoke into Tom’s shirt. “Did anyone eat before the show?”
Tom immediately pointed a finger across the room. “AJ had a granola bar.”
“That was at four.”
Sam checked his phone. “It’s almost eleven.”
AJ sat up slightly. “There’s a taco truck two blocks from the flat.”
Luke lifted his head just enough to contribute, “I would commit crimes for tacos.”
“You already committed a musical number,” Tom said.
Sam rubbed AJ’s shoulder absentmindedly. “We should probably head out before the stage manager locks us in.”
That was a real risk. The stage manager at this theatre had done it once before.
Luke made a quiet complaining sound and pressed closer for a second before sitting up.
“Fine,” he said, stretching his arms over his head. “But we’re getting tacos.”
Tom stood and grabbed his jacket. “We were getting tacos the moment you mentioned them.”
AJ slipped his hand into Sam’s as they got up from the sofa.
The four of them did the usual end-of-night shuffle. Water bottles packed. Jackets found. Someone checking under the table for a forgotten phone.
Tom flicked off the green room light.
They stepped out into the cool night air, the theatre marquee buzzing softly above the sidewalk.
Luke bumped Tom’s shoulder as they walked.
“You were good tonight,” Luke said.
Tom smiled a little. “You too.”
AJ squeezed Sam’s hand. “Tacos first. Then home.”
Sam nodded. “Correct order of operations.”
The theatre door shut behind them with a quiet click as they headed down the street together, tired, a little sweaty, still laughing about scenes that had lasted maybe ninety seconds but somehow felt like entire adventures.
And somewhere ahead, glowing like a tiny beacon of joy, was the taco truck.
Outside, the night air had that crisp, slightly electric feeling cities get late in the evening. The street wasn’t empty, but it had slowed down. Cars moved lazily. A bus sighed at a corner. Somewhere a group of people laughed too loudly outside a bar.
Luke stretched his arms over his head while they walked.
“My body thinks I ran a marathon,” he said.
“You were a puppy, a chimney sweep, and a pirate accountant,” AJ replied. “You covered a lot of professions tonight.”
“Triple threat.”
A few blocks ahead, the taco truck glowed like a tiny lighthouse of grilled onions and warm tortillas.
Sam inhaled dramatically as they got closer. “Smell that.”
“That,” AJ said reverently, “is happiness.”
Luke, however, had slowed down.
Tom noticed first.
“You alright?”
Luke rolled his ankle experimentally. “My feet are staging a protest.”
“You were the one who decided the wizard character should hop everywhere,” Sam pointed out.
“He had magical enthusiasm.”
Luke took a few more steps, then sighed. “I’m serious. My feet hurt.”
Tom glanced at him sideways.
Then grinned.
“No.”
Luke immediately perked up. “Yes.”
AJ looked between them like someone watching a tennis match.
Sam already knew what was about to happen.
Luke stopped walking and held out his arms. “Carry me.”
“You are a grown man,” Tom said.
“Correct.”
“You walked here.”
“My feet were younger then.”
AJ folded his arms, delighted. “This is compelling theatre.”
Tom stared at Luke for a moment longer, pretending to weigh the moral implications.
Then he crouched slightly.
Luke climbed onto his back with the ease of someone who had clearly done this before.
Tom straightened with a small grunt.
“Comfortable?” he asked.
Luke immediately wrapped his arms around Tom's shoulders and rested his chin on top of Tom's head like a very pleased backpack.
“Extremely.”
Sam laughed under his breath.
AJ nudged him. “Five bucks says Tom complains the whole way to the tacos.”
Tom took two steps.
“Wow,” he said. “You are heavier than your personality suggests.”
Luke patted his shoulder. “Builds character.”
They reached the taco truck amid the smell of sizzling meat and cilantro.
Orders were made with the intensity of people who had spent two hours performing and forgotten to eat properly.
Tom shifted Luke slightly while waiting in line.
“You’re still on my back.”
“I’m aware.”
“You could stand.”
“I could,” Luke agreed peacefully.
AJ leaned against the truck counter, watching the cook flip tortillas with hypnotic speed.
Sam stood close beside him, shoulder brushing AJ’s arm.
Soon enough they were holding foil-wrapped tacos, the kind that required careful eating and several napkins.
They stood on the sidewalk, leaning against a streetlight and the side of the truck, quietly demolishing them.
“Worth it,” Tom said through a mouthful.
“Absolutely,” AJ said.
Luke had finally dismounted and was sitting on the curb, happily eating his second taco.
Sam handed him a napkin before the inevitable cilantro catastrophe happened.
It happened anyway.
Eventually the food was gone, the foil thrown out, and the night had grown softer and quieter around them.
“Alright,” Sam said, stretching. “Home.”
Their shared flat was another fifteen minute walk.
The streets had thinned out even more now, the city settling into its late-night rhythm.
AJ and Sam walked side by side, hands loosely linked.
Tom and Luke lagged just behind them.
Luke bumped Tom lightly with his shoulder. “My feet feel better now.”
Tom gave him a suspicious look. “Convenient.”
Luke smiled.
A block later he held his arms out again.
Tom groaned.
“You cannot be serious.”
Luke wiggled his fingers.
AJ glanced back. “Round two?”
Sam shook his head, smiling.
Tom stared at Luke for a few seconds, clearly losing the argument in his own head.
“…Fine.”
Luke climbed on again, triumphant.
The four of them continued down the quiet street like that, laughing softly, the theatre lights long behind them now.
Ahead waited their flat, warm and slightly messy and full of blankets, where the night could finally wind down properly.
And where, if Luke had his way, the carrying might continue a little longer.
AJ and Sam drifted ahead naturally, still mid-conversation.
“I’m telling you,” AJ said, gesturing with the last of his napkin like it was a lecture pointer, “if the audience gives you ‘dentist’ and ‘haunted,’ you cannot immediately make the dentist a ghost.”
Sam chuckled. “Why not?”
“Because then there’s nowhere to go.”
“You went to ghost orthodontics.”
“That was a recovery choice.”
Sam laughed again, bumping AJ’s shoulder lightly as they walked.
Behind them, Luke had slowed a little.
Tom noticed first.
“You’re fading,” Tom said.
Luke rubbed his eyes. “Two hours of yelling ‘I AM THE PUPPY KING’ will do that.”
Tom stopped walking.
Before Luke could ask why, Tom crouched slightly and hooked his arms under Luke’s legs in one smooth motion.
Luke blinked.
“...What are you doing?”
“Carrying you.”
“You just complained about your feet the entire second half of the show.”
Tom shrugged, already adjusting his grip. “They’ve recovered emotionally.”
Luke huffed out a sleepy laugh but didn’t argue. He settled comfortably against Tom’s chest, one arm looping loosely around Tom’s shoulders.
Tom carried him easily down the sidewalk.
Luke’s head drifted onto Tom’s shoulder, the way it naturally landed there, warm and heavy with end-of-night tiredness.
For a minute they just walked like that.
Ahead, AJ was explaining something about stage beats.
“…and if you wait half a second longer before the punchline, the audience laughs harder,” he said.
Sam nodded thoughtfully. “Timing is basically wizardry.”
Behind them, Luke stirred slightly.
He tilted his head and pressed a soft kiss against Tom’s jaw.
Tom smiled without looking down.
“You’re very affectionate when you’re sleepy,” he murmured.
Luke made a small humming sound and did it again.
A quiet, absent little kiss near Tom’s jawline, like punctuation of Luke's affection.
Tom kept walking.
“Careful,” he said lightly. “You’re going to start a habit.”
Luke mumbled something unintelligible into his shoulder and kissed him again.
Up ahead, AJ glanced back briefly.
He raised an eyebrow.
Sam followed his gaze and smiled.
“Adorable,” Sam said quietly.
AJ nodded. “Very.”
They slowed slightly so the two behind them could get caught up, the four of them naturally falling back into one loose cluster on the sidewalk.
Luke rested comfortably against Tom, eyes half-closed now, still occasionally pressing sleepy little kisses against Tom’s jaw whenever the mood struck him.
Tom didn’t seem to mind.
The flat's building finally came into view at the end of the block, its windows glowing softly in the night.
AJ nudged Sam with his elbow. “Home stretch.”
Sam squeezed AJ’s hand.
Tom shifted Luke slightly in his arms.
“You still awake, bud?” he asked.
Luke lifted his head just enough to give Tom another gentle kiss near the corner of his jaw.
“Mhm,” he murmured.
Tom laughed quietly.
The four of them climbed the steps to their flat together, the night settling comfortably around them, the long improv evening finally winding down into something fairly soft.
The hallway of their building smelled faintly like old carpet and someone’s late-night microwave dinner.
AJ unlocked the flat door while Sam leaned against the wall beside him, still mid-thought.
“…I’m just saying the haunted dentist could’ve worked if you hadn’t made Tom into a sentient drill,” Sam said.
AJ pushed the door open. “The drill needed emotional depth.”
They shuffled inside, shoes already half coming off in the entryway the way they always did.
Tom stepped in last, still carrying Luke, who had gone very quiet and very soft with exhaustion. Luke’s arm was looped loosely around Tom’s shoulders, his cheek resting against Tom’s shoulder like he’d found the most convenient pillow in the world.
The moment they crossed the living room, Tom carefully dropped onto the couch with a relieved sigh.
Luke stayed exactly where he was.
Still half draped across him.
Tom leaned back into the cushions, one arm around Luke automatically, settling him comfortably.
“You could move,” Tom said quietly.
Luke answered by tilting his head and pressing another sleepy kiss against Tom’s jaw.
Tom huffed out a small laugh.
“There it is again.”
Luke hummed softly and did it once more. Not rushed. Just gentle little kisses, the kind someone gives when they’re running on affection and fumes at the same time.
Tom tilted his head slightly to make space for him, clearly not planning to stop it.
Across the room, AJ tossed his keys into the little bowl on the counter.
Sam kicked off his shoes and stretched.
AJ wandered over, resting his hands on Sam’s waist like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“You were good tonight,” AJ said.
Sam smiled. “You say that every week.”
“Because it’s true every week.”
Sam leaned down and kissed him.
Not long, not dramatic. Just warm and familiar, the kind of kiss that lived comfortably in the middle of an ordinary evening.
AJ kissed him back with a quiet smile.
Behind them, Luke was still softly kissing Tom’s jaw every few moments, like he kept remembering Tom was there and deciding that was worth another one.
Tom finally glanced down at him.
“You’re very clingy tonight.”
Luke’s response was to press another kiss just under Tom’s ear.
Tom laughed under his breath and rubbed his back.
AJ noticed from across the room and nudged Sam.
“He’s in sleepy affection mode.”
Sam looked over at the couch, watching Luke give Tom another gentle kiss while barely keeping his eyes open.
Sam smiled.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “He is.”
Tom settled deeper into the couch cushions, one hand absently stroking Luke’s back while Luke kept delivering those slow, affectionate jaw kisses like they were the last step in winding down the entire night.
Tom was still sunk into the couch, Luke draped comfortably across him like a very affectionate blanket.
Luke lifted his head just enough to press another slow kiss against Tom’s jaw.
Then another.
Tom let out a small, tired laugh. “You’re really committed to this tonight.”
Luke mumbled something that might have been “mmhm” and kissed him again, softer this time.
Across the room, AJ stretched his arms above his head with a long groan.
“Alright,” he said. “If I sit down I’m never getting up again.”
Sam nodded, already turning toward the hallway. “Bed.”
AJ glanced toward the couch.
Tom lifted a hand in a lazy wave. “Night, you two.”
Luke shifted slightly, blinking one eye open.
“Night,” he murmured, voice thick with sleep.
AJ wandered over first and squeezed Tom’s shoulder as he passed.
“Good show tonight.”
“You too.”
Sam paused by the couch and gently brushed Luke’s hair back from his forehead.
“Don’t fall asleep sitting up,” Sam said.
Luke gave a small sleepy smile. “No promises.”
AJ leaned down and pressed a quick goodnight kiss to Luke’s temple.
Sam did the same to Tom’s cheek before straightening.
“Night, guys.”
“Night,” Tom said again.
A moment later the bedroom door down the hall closed softly.
The flat went quiet.
Luke shifted again, still comfortably sprawled across Tom, and pressed another lazy kiss along Tom’s jawline.
Tom rested his head back against the couch and let him.
After a few seconds, Tom reached over to the side table and picked up a small pair of noise canceling headphones.
He tapped Luke’s shoulder lightly.
“Hey.”
Luke made a questioning noise.
Tom held the headphones up where he could see them.
“You’re gonna want these tonight.”
Luke blinked slowly, brain catching up.
From down the hall, faint through the wall, came the quiet murmur of AJ and Sam talking to each other.
Luke stared at the headphones for a second.
Then he sighed dramatically and accepted them.
“Heroes prepare,” Tom said solemnly.
Luke snorted weakly.
He shifted slightly so he could sit up just enough to slide the headphones over his ears, then immediately melted back down against Tom’s chest again like gravity had resumed full control.
Before settling, he leaned up one more time and kissed Tom’s jaw.
Tom shook his head, smiling to himself.
“You’re ridiculous.”
Luke closed his eyes, one arm still loosely around Tom, headphones on now.
“Still gonna keep kissing you,” he mumbled.
Tom rubbed his back gently, the living room quiet and warm around them while the night continued winding down inside their small, slightly chaotic, very loved flat.