Ezekiel Addams (Ezio) + Lee Addams (Leonardo)
PG | COMPLETE
The plan to make sure Lee went to puppy yoga and got a night to destress before the school year started had gone off without a hitch. So far. Ez glanced once again at his cellphone on the counter to make sure there wasn’t a text. Seeing nothing, he dug his hands back into the soapy water in the sink and washed another pan. He’d been having a lot of late nights lately and he knew it, so he’d made an effort to get home early and get the kids started on their nightly routine so Lee wouldn’t have to worry about it. He’d cooked a modest dinner and then done a dramatic reading of Abby’s latest Goosebumps chapter, which got him a round of giggles that kind of defeated the purpose of a bedtime story, but he didn’t exactly mind.
Eventually they calmed down. Abby fell asleep tucked against his side and Nora went off to her own room with a yawn. He extracted himself and rolled his up his sleeves to clean the kitchen, which was where he was still when he heard the car pull up outside and Lee’s key in the door.
“In the kitchen,” Ez called over his shoulder. “Come in here and tell me you had good time. And that you didn’t come home with a puppy,” he added.
Lee half expected them to all be passed out in the living room, or running around the house like maniacs, since it was just at the cusp of their bedtime. And God only knew he was terrible at getting them to bed on time. There were games, stories, the girls knew full well exactly what they could get out of Lee when Papa wasn’t around, and that was usually an extra hour.
So with the quiet, he was almost glad he didn’t have a puppy with him. “Puppy free, I promise.” He was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, though, and almost swaggering in his joggers and tank. Yoga was usually an outlet for him when it was the school year, but rarely had the time once summer hit. Not having realized he missed it. Taking care of the girls full time was definitely exercise, but not at all relaxing.
Sliding up behind Ez, he leaned in a kiss to his husband’s neck while he finished cleaning. “I made it into a Killer Praying mantis and got someone to take a pic for my Instastory. I’m feeling sexy.”
Ez flashed a grin. His gaze dropped to take in Lee’s post-workout appearance, slowing to a crawl as he picked up more details and Lee’s words caught up with him.
“Is that so?” He pulled his hands out of the water with an unapologetic flourish to grab onto Lee’s waist and then spun, pinning him against the sink. Nora was probably cheating bedtime, reading by a flashlight, and Abby might even have been faking sleep earlier in order to do the same, but here in the dimly lit kitchen, he was alone with his husband. It was rare these days. Rare at least while both of them were awake. Ez curled his sudsy fingers into Lee’s hips and smiled. “You look it too. Do I get to see this picture before the rest of the world or is it already posted?”
Six years previously and they would’ve already been going at it on the kitchen floor. It was a testament to how much things have changed that they were both tempered enough to keep hands in places that wouldn’t traumatize the girls if they walked in. As they’d learned. From experience. But now, it was blissfully silent as Lee stretched his body - ignoring the little tug of protest that came from sore muscles, in the process - and leaned into Ez’s hands.
“Already up, but if you play your cards right,” He nuzzled his lips up to Ez’s jaw, “I’ll show you first hand.” He really had no wish to jinx them, given their recent lack of bedroom activities and alone time, so Lee just gave a very quick glance over Ez’s shoulder, and tried not to sound too hopeful. “The girls asleep?”
“Mm, first hand would be much, much better,” Ez laughed, tipping his head to give Lee more exposed neck to work with, even as his own hands traveled to grab onto Lee’s ass. “The girls…,” he murmured distractedly, “…are at the very least in bed. Asleep is a different matter, as we both know.” His eyes drifted shut, relaxed and excited all at once. Lee had always been good at that. A home and adventure rolled into one. But the adventure had been getting increasingly left behind. Ez knew the role he played in that was probably a good size larger than Lee’s.
With that in mind, Ez moved his hands to Lee’s neck and pulled him into a heated kiss. A determined promise, with soap bubbles drying on his hands and dishes forgotten in the sink behind him. “I vote we risk it. Just…” He smirked and glanced around the hard kitchen floor. “Not here.”
Lee made an excited little hum, eating up all that was given with zero hesitation. Not that Lee was ever very good at hesitating, especially where Ez was concerned. It had made for a few moments in the house with “ewwwws” that left him agreeing readily.
But not without teasing. “I don’t think your back can take it, anyway.” So said the person with a twinge in his own back, that he was still ignoring. Ignoring even as he grabbed Ez’s hand and dragged him to the bedroom, keeping his giggles to a minimum even as he stopped halfway to push back into Ez’s person for another heated kiss, right before their bedroom door. The turn didn’t stop him, but the back part of his brain definitely took note and sent a little warning signal to him. Given their lack of attention in the bedroom as of late and Lee’s tendency to dive headfirst into things, he still pushed it away at the same time as he was pushing Ez into their room and towards the bed.
Ez made a dramatic gasp, one hand over his heart as Lee dragged him to the bedroom with the other. “I’m sorry. Would you like your knife back?” He couldn’t hold the fake outrage for long, of course. Not with his husband kissing and manhandling him towards the bed. He smiled into the kiss and broke off to laugh as he shot a look behind him. Moving blindly backwards was asking for trouble. Just to prove that fact, he started to trip over one of Abby’s shoes, likely abandoned in their room days ago.
“Ah, merda, watch it—“ Ez spun Lee towards the bed mid-fall. The idea was at least to make it halfway romantic. Strong hands and pinning Lee under his weight, then go from there. But it wasn’t a graceful landing by any means.
Lee went from laughing to a strangled noise that echoed throughout their bedroom. It happened so quickly, too, their bedroom door shoved closed and clothing was already being removed with kisses and laughter and a great deal of teasing.
Then pain was coursing through his entire body (his back) and Lee definitely ended up twisted in a way that was not natural before landing on the bed with his face flushed red and noise barely emerging. “Oh god-” This was definitely revenge for making a back joke to his husband, though he’s not sure if he deserved the fetal position he was currently in for that. He made another agonizing sound, hand seeking to find the muscle he pulled and… tear it out? “I’ve never killed a boner so fast in my life.”
The noise that came out of Lee was as good as someone dunking Ez in a tub of ice water. He froze, lifting up off his husband to hover over him on his hands and knees. His button down and belt had been shed between the door and the bed, and his trousers hung open beneath his white tank top. He wasn’t paying that any mind with Lee sounding so horribly injured.
“Jesus, what--are you alright?” Seeing how Lee was starting to curl in on himself, reaching for his back, Ez moved off of him completely and reached with gentle hands, not quite touching him. “Your back.” It wasn’t a question. Ez knew all too well what back pain looked like. “Ah, tesoro. What a terrible time for karma to decide to bite you on the ass…”
“Don’t be mean to me I’m-” Even with another little struggle of sound, Lee pushed some air out of his lungs and forced his body to straighten a little bit. Just to try and prove his husband wrong. “I’m fine!” Forced enthusiasm was one of his finest traits, he often did it with school, when things were just tired and he had little to no energy left as he got older.
He even managed as far as turning onto his back, and reaching for Ez again, face forcibly going passive. “I’m totally fine. See. Let’s--” Just as he was about to turn his body back to seduce Ez again, he moved just the wrong way and pain shot through his body. Dropping back onto the bed, Lee covered his face with both of his hands. “I lied. Oh, I lied. We can still do it if you do all of the work, though. I swear.”
“Dio mio. Don’t be ridiculous,” Ez rolled his eyes fondly and leaned over to kiss the top of Lee’s head. It was a disappointment, of course, but his concern overrode that. Well, mostly overrode that. He was only human, after all! “I’m going to go get the heating pad and something for your pain. Stay still,” he ordered.
Ez left the room. It took a little longer than it should have because of course the heating pad wasn’t where he’d left it. He rushed back into the room juggling the pad, a few bottles of different pain meds, and a bottle of water. “Are you still alive? Speak to me, caro.”
By the time Ez returned, Lee had managed to get himself fully onto the bed, though not onto any real side, let alone his own. He was going through breathing exercises now, dramatic as usual. Lee made a little appreciative noise with seeing everything that was in Ez’s hands, and gingerly maneuvered the heating pad to his back.
“Is this what childbirth feels like? Are you sure you want another? A baby? I don't know if I can handle this.” With Lee, teasing jokes were always a good sign, but his laugh was cut off by a hiss as he leaned forward to take the meds from his husband. “Ugh.”
“This is probably a fraction of what childbirth feels like, amore mio.” Someone who didn’t know Ez better might think the raised eyebrow and tiny smirk were judgmental, but Lee would know them for the affectionate teasing that they were. That he gingerly knelt on the bed next to his husband to help place the heating pad underneath him probably helped.
He wasn’t particularly interested in talking about future kids while feeling frustrated about their terrible bedroom luck, so he avoided it in favor of sighing and rearranging the pillows around Lee. Chances are, Ez would stay up and get some paperwork done while Lee slept a drugged sleep so he might as well make sure Lee was comfortable in the center of the bed. “I don’t suppose we can blame the puppies for all of this and not my bad handling of you? Is that terrible? That’s terrible. Nevermind.”
Huffing a laugh, he pointed at the bottles on the nightstand. “I recommend one of the anti-inflammatories.”
“Definitely the puppies.” The avoidance of the topic was not lost on him, and as Lee often did, he dropped it without making a fight. Instead choosing to regard Ez with a careful look, thinking too much about just what avoidance meant. Wondering if his husband’s mind had been changed, if their lack of intimacy was more of a sore spot than he’d originally thought.. Lee always thought too much. But rarely went out of his way to pushing Ez into talking about it, knowing they would when the time felt right.
With his body prone and having to lean onto pillows so he wouldn’t move, it was probably not right. He forced a pained smile on his face. “Is one these weed? I may have to see if your sister will take the girls for a few hours tomorrow so I can relax.”
Ez rolled his eyes in the way of a cop who was still not quite used to marijuana being legal and might not ever be. Not that was he was innocent of using it. There were a couple years just before he joined the force that it had been a favorite way to decompress, especially with Lee warm and carefree at his side.
“I’ll give her a call before I finish the dishes. In the meantime, please take something to help you sleep.” Ez carded his fingers through Lee’s hair, pushing it up off his forehead. “I’m sorry you’re in pain and this didn’t work out the way we would’ve liked. Let me know if you need anything else, okay? Don’t just grit your teeth and whine in here.”
“I never just whine,” Lee protested, but did as Ez told him to do and threw back a few of the pills with a wince. Ugh. Maybe he did whine, but he never was a big fan of medicine of the non-herbal kind, hippie as he was. It always made him feel clouded and unsure, not creative and carefree.
But he was settled in and comfortable, Ez’s hand was warm and he smiled up at his husband. Reaching out to pat him on the arm or leg or whatever he managed to reach. “Thank you for all that you do, big brave husband. You’re the best to me.”
“Yes, it took a great deal of courage to find that heating pad,” Ez laughed, shaking his head. Gentling his touch, he curved his hand down from Lee’s hair to brushing his fingertips down the side of his face. No matter the rough spot they were in intimacy-wise and how stressful work was making everything, the love in his heart was still just as big as ever. He hoped it showed in his eyes. But just in case, he leaned down to steal a tender kiss.
“I love you, nerd. I’m going to finish up the kitchen while you wait for that to kick in. When I come back, we’ll see if a back massage helps or just makes you screech.” Ez smirked and stepped away. “If you’re not drooling into your pillow by the time I get back, anyway.”