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cupcakegirlaTitle: Catching Forty
Pairing: JR/Apolo
Author: Cupcakegirla
Artist: kavinskysdick
Rating: PG-13
Written for the Olympic Mini Big Bang
Summary: Unable to sleep in his dorm room in the Olympic Athletes Village in Vancouver, Apolo pays a visit to JR.
Author’s Note: I want to thank kavinskysdick for the AMAZING cover art she drew. I’m a little in love with it. If you enjoyed it PLEASE let her know. Click here, for a HQ version.
This is bad. This is very very bad. Apolo sighs staring up at the light streaking across his dorm room ceiling. It floods the room, bouncing off of stark white walls and making Apolo’s tired eyes ache. He’s exhausted. He needs to sleep.
He blinks up at the ceiling and sighs again. He turns onto his side putting his back to the window and closing his eyes. Nope. Not going to happen. Grabbing up his pillow he sticks his head under it, pressing the pillow down to block out the light, but that just leaves him feeling claustrophobic, and his face starts to sweat.
Climbing up out of bed he finds his bag of bandanas in the floor of his closet. Pulling out a dark one, either black or navy, he can’t quite tell, he climbs back into bed. Tying the fabric around his forehead, he pulls it down to cover his eyes as a makeshift blindfold. But it doesn’t work. Light leaks around the edges and he can’t fucking sleep with the room this goddamn bright. He rips the bandana off his face and tosses it to the floor. He stands again, walking to the window.
The apartment he’s sharing with Simon and Travis is high in the USA dorm building. They’re on the corner and Apolo’s room faces out into the city. It has a beautiful view but it also doesn’t have blinds or curtains and light from Vancouver fills up his room like a flood light. Turning his back to the window, Apolo looks to his alarm clock. It’s nearly 2am and he has races tomorrow and practice in the morning and he needs to sleep!
Apolo turns back to the window, leaning his forehead against the cold glass and closing his eyes. When he opens them again he’s staring down the side of the building. That’s when the idea forms. He smiles into the glass, his breath fogging it up with steam. The lower two-thirds of the building is in shadow, the dorm across the quad blocking out the light from the city. His smile widens.
Scooping up a pair of sweat pants from his dorm room floor, he pulls on a sweatshirt too, and slips his sneakers on.
He’s down on the fifth floor only a few minutes later, the elevator empty and quick to respond at this time of night. Finding the room is harder than he’d thought it would be. He can’t tell if it’s his own tiredness and need for sleep or if it’s just a bad design concept for the building. He pounds on the door, shivering in the dark winter night, the entryway in shadow facing the courtyard. There is no answer and 30 seconds later he pounds again. He hears the lock disengage, and the door opens to show Jordan’s displeased face staring out at him in the dark.
“Apolo? What the fuck man? It’s 2 in the morning!?” he asks. Apolo doesn’t answer just pushes past him into the warm dorm room. Jordan closes the door but Apolo is looking around the dark living room. The door at the end of the living area is open, the light of Jordan’s laptop filtering out. He smirks at Jordan.
“It’s not like you were sleeping,” Apolo says with a grin. Jordan blinks at him.
“That’s not the fucking point!” Jordan says scowling. Apolo rolls his eyes and heads for the other room. The layout of the dorm seems to be fairly similar to his 3 floors above. He assumes this is JR’s room and opening the door and peeking inside he finds he’s right.
“Calm down, Malone. I’m staying here tonight. See you in the morning,” he says softly, stepping into the room and closing the door in Jordan’s face. The room is blessedly dark. JR’s bed is pressed up against the outside wall, and he’s sprawled across the mattress on his stomach only half under the covers. Apolo kicks off his sneakers, and strips off his sweat shirt, walking over to the bed. He lifts up the covers and eases down onto the mattress. It’s a tight fit, but he makes it work. He nudges JR over until he’s on the left side of the small bed. Apolo stretches out beside him, pulling the blankets back up over them both. JR stirs, rolling up onto his right side, and looking back over his shoulder in sleepy confusion.
“‘polo?” he asks.
“Shh, go back to sleep,” Apolo says quietly, tucking the blanket up around JR’s body. JR blinks at him.
“Whatcha doin’ here?” he asks, yawning, and flopping his head back to rest on his pillow.
“It’s too bright in my room. I couldn’t sleep. We have races tomorrow,” Apolo explains.
“hmm… k,” JR makes a sleepy content sort of sound and drifts back to sleep. Apolo follows only a few minutes later.
Apolo stretches awake five hours later, and blinks his eyes open to see JR’s face inches from his own. He’s lying on his left side, head propped up in one palm, waiting for Apolo to wake up.
“Umm.. hi?” Apolo says softly, suddenly nervous. JR quirks an eyebrow at him.
“Get up, I need to pee,” JR says. Apolo nods, rolling over to sit up on the side of the bed. JR crawls out behind him, scratching his lower back and dashing for the closed door.
He never says anything about Apolo showing up there. Never again asks why he came. Just listens to Simon and Travis bitch about how bright their rooms were during breakfast, for the tenth time in as many days. He catches Apolo’s eye and raises an eyebrow. They both ignore Jordan’s pointed looks. They have more important things to focus on. Later that night they both medal in the 1500. Apolo takes silver, and JR bronze.
After that first night, Apolo continues to spend most of his nights at the US Speedskating “Safe House” located outside of the Olympic Village. He only sleeps in the dorms the night before a day of competition. His reasoning is that he doesn’t want to have to battle traffic to make it to the Oval. He needs to focus completely on the races so he stays in the Village on those nights. And each time he does he goes to JR and Jordan’s room. If Jordan answers the door (like the second time it happened, a Tuesday night), Apolo gets a look of exasperation, a few pointed comments, and later whispers over breakfast. If JR opens the door (the following Friday night) it’s a raised eyebrow and a nod of the head. They don’t need to talk. It’s one of the great things about JR. He’s kind of introverted. Not really big on talking about things that don’t seem to need an explanation. Besides Apolo’s not sure what exactly he would say.
“Is it ok with you if I sleep in your bed the night before I have to race?”
“I know I never asked permission, and we haven’t discussed it at all, but you’re cool with it… right?”
“So is it just me or are you sleeping really great those nights, too? Because let me tell you I sleep like a fucking baby with you on the other side of the bed. Is that weird?”
He doesn’t particularly want to examine that last one. He can’t even begin to contemplate why he sleeps so well in JR’s room, in JR’s bed. But it sort of freaks him out once he does realize it. Which is how he ends up in his own dorm room on the 8th floor staring at his too bright ceiling unable to sleep. Again. He’d ignored the shocked looks on Simon and Travis’s faces when he’d shown up there for the first time in over a week, and had just retreated into his room and closed the door. So now he stares up at the ceiling, his eyes feeling gritty and tired. It’s Tuesday night and he has the 500 m heats tomorrow. Too much press and training and prepping for his last few races have left him exhausted and he needs to sleep. Badly. It’s after midnight, he refuses to look at the alarm clock it will only make him more aggravated, and he’s contemplating taking a cab out to the safe house and risking the traffic in the morning when the knock comes on the door to the apartment. Apolo frowns, and thinks briefly that he’s imagined it. But it comes again a minute later, louder and more insistent. Apolo climbs out of bed, and heads to answer the door.
JR stands frowning in the doorway. He’s wearing his Team USA parka, a t-shirt, and gym shorts, his feet stuffed into his sneakers without socks.
“What the hell, Apolo?” he asks. Apolo blinks at him, stepping back from the door, and letting him inside. JR keeps his voice low, not wanting to wake up Travis and/or Simon.
“What are you doing here?” Apolo says, scrubbing a hand through his hair.
“Was going to ask you the same question,” JR steps past him, heading for the only open bedroom door, the one that leads to Apolo’s room. He steps inside, blinking at the brightness. “Jesus, no wonder you can’t sleep up here,” he says, turning to face Apolo. Apolo shrugs, leaning in the doorway and feeling suddenly awkward. “Are you coming to bed or not?” JR asks, crossing his arms over his chest and staring straight at Apolo.
“Didn’t want to assume I’d be welcome,” Apolo says feeling defensive. JR’s laughter takes him off guard, which is admittedly much easier to do at two in the morning when he’s tired and stressed as fuck.
“Like that stopped you the last three times. Come on, Apolo. It’s fucking freezing tonight and Jae Su was kicking our asses at practice today. I’m tired,” JR bounces on his toes looking expectant. Apolo sighs and nods in acceptance. He retrieves clean sweats from his bag, pulling them on over his boxers and slipping on his shoes. Grabbing the pillow off his bed he tosses it at JR, who rolls his eyes and snatches the blanket off Apolo’s bed too. “It’s really cold!” he says in response to Apolo’s questioning look. Apolo smiles and shakes his head in amusement.
He pulls his own parka on over his sweats and grabs his cellphone and keys from the bedside table. He follows JR out of the room, out of the dorm, back up the hallway to the elevators, and down 3 floors to JR’s room. Halfway there he takes the blanket from JR, folding it over his arm and letting JR carry the pillow.
When they get to the dorm room, JR unlocks the door and leads Apolo inside. The living area is mostly dark, the door to Jordan’s room shut, and the whole apartment quiet.
“Jordan sleeping?” Apolo asks, watching JR lock the door, and peel out of his coat.
“Probably. Or watching porn on his laptop. With Jordan you can never really tell,” JR says with a lopsided grin. Apolo muffles a bark of laughter with his hand, just in case Jordan really is sleeping and heads for JR’s room without comment. He unfolds the blanket and spreads it across the rumpled bed, doubling the thickness of the blankets. JR tosses him the pillow, and then starts flipping out lights and kicking off his shoes. Apolo tosses his own coat in the corner of JR’s room, and toes out of his sneakers. When he turns back to the bed, JR is climbing under the covers wearing just his boxers, yawning and looking so tired that Apolo feels guilty for not coming down earlier. For making JR come up to get him. He strips out of his sweatshirt and climbs in beside him.
The bed is warm, and just the right firmness, that Apolo feels his body already relaxing into sleep. He knows in his head that it’s the exact same design and mattress as his own bed upstairs, but somehow this one feels so much more comfortable. He curls on his side facing JR’s back and groans a little in relaxation. JR tenses, peeking back over his shoulder hesitantly.
“I know my ass is totally hot but you better not be doing anything too personal back there, Apolo, because you can go sleep on the living room floor. It’s plenty dark out there too,” JR says. Apolo’s laughter can’t be denied this time and his belly laugh shakes the whole bed, and fills the small bedroom. JR rolls onto his back, his shoulder pressing into Apolo’s chest at the movement. He grins up at Apolo who shakes his head at him.
“Don’t be such a shit!” Apolo says. He slides down in the bed a few more inches and presses the side of his head into his pillow. JR smirks at him. They fall silent, listening to each other breathe in the darkness. “Thanks for letting me stay,” Apolo whispers. JR shrugs.
“Sleep better with you here,” JR says. Apolo blinks at him.
“Me too. Why do you think that is?” Apolo asks. JR takes a deep breath, his eyes tracing the barely there shadows on his ceiling.
“I don’t know. Usually when we go to big competitions we’re in a hotel room with two double beds. I’m used to Jordan or Simon or somebody breathing on the other side of the room. And if we’re not at a competition I’m either in my own room in SLC or back home in Seattle. It’s different sleeping alone in your own room.” He turns his head to look at Apolo. “Why do you think?” he asks. Apolo sighs, running his left hand through his hair and making a face.
“I guess it’s nice knowing there’s another human being in the vicinity. It’s not so lonely. And,” he says pressing closer and tugging the blanket up, “It’s fucking cold in Vancouver.” He watches JR’s eyes close tightly, his face turning away as JR rolls back over onto his side. The conversation is over. Apolo watches JR’s body relax gradually into sleep, his own eyes refusing to close for quite a while longer.
JR is distracted the next day. And that makes Apolo distracted. It’s not that JR is being weird really. He’s not avoiding Apolo, or being pissy. He’s just… quiet. JR is probably the quietest of all of them, and he doesn’t have a race that day, so it shouldn’t be so noticeable. But suddenly Apolo is noticing everything there is to notice about JR, which sort of freaks him out all over again. He forces himself to put it out of his head. He does have races that afternoon.
Later that night when Apolo’s curled up in his bed at the safe house he stares up at his dark, not too bright ceiling, and wonders why he can’t sleep. It’s a disturbing phenomenon that is starting to worry him, this inability to sleep well when he’s not in JR’s dorm room at the Athlete’s Village. He finally passes out around 4, and oversleeps the next morning. He feels like he’s behind schedule all day, running from one place to another trying to catch up. He lags at practice and is late for not one but two interviews. This time it’s JR watching him in concern.
He eats dinner with the guys in the village dining hall, feeling lethargic and exhausted more mentally than physically, and follows them back to the dorms without saying much of anything. Apolo leans back in his corner of the elevator, his head resting against the metal and his eyes closed. The elevator stops on floor 3, and practically everyone gets off but Apolo makes no move to exit. Simon and Travis stand to the side, talking quietly, and Apolo waits for the doors to close and for the elevator to start moving again. But it doesn’t. Travis clears his throat, and Apolo’s eyes snap open. JR’s standing in the open doorway, his eyes focused on Apolo, his hand holding the elevator doors open. Apolo’s eyes meet his and JR raises an eyebrow in question. Apolo lets out a huff of air.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” he says, stepping toward JR, and following him out of the elevator without once looking back at their teammates.
JR turns away and heads down through the hallway to get to his dorm, the rest of their teammates long gone, and Apolo trailing after. It was early in comparison to when Apolo usually arrived. The apartment was lit up with light and noise. Jordan was stretched out on the floor of the living area, playing a game on their TV. He waved hello as they came in, but doesn’t bother even pausing the game.
“You playing, J?” he asks, sticking his tongue out and twisting the controller in his hands.
“Yeah, I’ll be back out in a minute,” JR says pulling off his jacket and tossing it on the counter by the front door. He heads to the left and through to his bedroom. And Apolo follows, stripping off his own jacket to add to the growing pile. JR’s room is messier than it was at the beginning of the week, but still fairly organized. Apolo sighs, slumping to sit on the side of the bed. He’s so tired. “Will you just lie down?” JR asks. Apolo blinks at him. JR rolls his eyes walking to the bag of clean laundry and pulling out a shirt and sweats. Apolo watches with unfocused eyes as JR changes his clothes, and then turns to face him. “Seriously, you look like you’re going to pass out. Go to bed early. I’ll be back later.” JR watches him until Apolo acquiesces to the demand. He pulls the blankets back, faintly amused to see JR is still using both sets to keep warm. Apolo lies back in the bed, curling up on the side closer to the window, where JR usually sleeps, and tugging the blankets up. JR leaves then, the door left open a crack, as he goes to join Jordan in front of the TV.
Apolo dozes, half awake and half asleep for at least half an hour. He listens to the sounds coming from the TV, video game death throes and machine gun fire punctuated with laughter, cursing, and cheers of triumph. The sound is reduced by the partially closed door and their attempt to not piss off the neighbors. Apolo passes out listening to the familiar sounds and pressing his nose into what he realizes later is JR’s pillow. JR comes to bed a while later, and eases into the outside half of the bed. Apolo shuffles over, but doesn’t wake.
The morning of the last day of competition dawns bright and cold. Apolo wakes to a warm body pressed all down his front, his arm wrapped tightly around JR’s bare waist, his hand splayed across a tattooed chest, resting directly over the younger man’s heart. All he can see is the back of JR’s head.
He blinks a few times, processing. He must tense because JR freezes against him, seemingly in response.
“Do not freak out,” JR whispers, holding perfectly still. Apolo forces his body to slowly relax against JR’s. JR slides away from Apolo, turning so he can rest on his back. His shoulder presses into Apolo’s chest, the bed too small for him not to be pressed against Apolo somewhere. His hair is rumpled and there are pillow creases on the side of his face, but his eyes are clear and fully awake. Apolo doesn’t say a word, unsure what would be appropriate in this particular circumstance. JR stares back at him, equally silent.
“JR..” Apolo starts but JR looks away, shaking his head. He sits up and turns to get out of bed, his back to Apolo.
“Don’t freak out,” he says, tugging his shorts up further onto his hips and rubbing a hand through his hair. Apolo sits up too, folding his legs up under him as he watches JR move about getting ready to start the day. He’s digging through his bag of gear in the corner when Apolo finally says something.
“I’m not freaking out. I just..” he trails off again, but this time it’s not because of JR’s interrupting him. He studies JR closely as he kneels on the floor digging through his bag. “What the hell are we doing?” Apolo asks. JR sighs.
“We’re not doing anything,” he glances up at Apolo, but quickly looks away. “We’re friends. You can’t sleep in your room, and mine made more sense than rooming with fucking Malone, for obvious reasons. We’re in a high stress environment swinging wildly from the high of competition to the boredom of waiting around until we get to skate again. There’s a lot of adrenaline, and anticipation, and,” he stops talking, grimacing like he doesn’t know how to explain. Apolo flops backward onto the pillows stretching his legs out over the edge of the bed. JR sighs, standing and moving further up the bed to sit next to him. Apolo scoots over to make room and lets JR stretch out beside him. “Why bother trying to pin this down, if nothing is going to come of it?” he asks. Apolo turns his head to look at him, but JR’s eyes are trained on the ceiling.
“You’re right,” he says, sitting up and climbing over JR. He is careful to not let any part of himself touch JR. Standing beside the bed stretching his back and then bending down to collect his clothes. “I’ll see you at practice,” he glances at the clock, “in an hour?” he asks. JR nods, pulling himself up into a sitting position again.
“Yeah. I’ll see you later,” he watches Apolo get dressed in silence, and waves goodbye as Apolo slips out the door.
That day is the last one of the competition. JR cheers on Apolo, Jordan, and Simon as they vie for spots in the 500m. Only Apolo makes it into the final and he’s promptly disqualified. The disappointment for the whole team is short lived. Only a little while later they skate in the Relay final and the whole men’s team end the night and the games with a new bright shiny bronze medal.
They’re all up late that night, doing interview after interview in the media center. JR barely sees Apolo the whole night. With Apolo winning his eighth medal they have him off doing solo interviews. They are still shuffling him from camera to camera when the rest of the team is finally shuttled back to the dorms. The sun is already up by the time JR collapses into his bed for a much deserved bout of sleep.
It is a few hours later that JR wakes because the bed dips. He blinks his eyes open, squinting in the mid-morning sun, and rolling over onto his back. Apolo sits on the side of the bed stripping off his t-shirt, tossing it down to join his shoes and uniform pants on the floor. Apolo turns, meeting his eyes. He lies down, stretching his body out the length of the bed, and rolls onto his side to face JR. JR blinks slowly, too tired to fight or to speak at all, and closes his eyes again, turning back over to face the window. Apolo only hesitates a few seconds before sliding under the covers and pressing closer, his arm curling around JR’s waist.
JR wakes up first, yet he stays right where he is. When Apolo wakes up his arm tightens around JR’s waist, pulling him closer. They both just lie there until JR can’t take it anymore. He tugs at Apolo’s arm, pulling until Apolo releases him. But JR doesn’t move away, instead he turns to face Apolo, staring at him in the midday light streaming through the window. Apolo blinks at him, unsure of what to do. JR picks up Apolo’s arm and slides it back around his own side. A smile spreads across Apolo’s mouth.
Apolo’s eyes track across JR’s face, landing on his lips, and his head inches closer without conscious thought, his tongue shooting out to lick dry lips. JR smiles back at him inhaling deeply and pushing his mouth forward to hover against Apolo’s. Apolo’s breath catches in his chest and he hesitates. He honestly can’t believe this is about to happen. Which is, of course, the exact moment that Jordan bangs on the door.
“JR!? Are you ever getting up? We got shit to do today!” he calls through the wood. Apolo freezes, pulling back and JR’s eyes close.
“Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute!” JR calls. When JR opens his eyes, Apolo has turned away. The bed shifts as Apolo sits up, his back tense. JR sighs, pushing his head back into his pillow and flinging a hand over his face.
“Don’t freak out,” he whispers. Apolo turns to look at him and lets out a short bark of laughter.
“I told you before I’m not freaking out, JR. But you were right. Why try and figure out what this is, if nothing can come of it?” he asks. He doesn’t wait for a response, just reaches for his pants, and pulls them on over his boxer briefs. “I’ll see you later,” he says, jamming his feet into his shoes, scooping up the rest of his clothes, and leaving the room.
Apolo is busy all day. He has a whole month of travel and press planned out already, and the day is spent doing interviews, hearing proposals, and talking to his agent. He barely sees the rest of the team at all. And that night, the last night before closing ceremonies, Apolo spends in his Dad’s hotel room across town. He lays awake half the night, unable to sleep, and this time he can’t blame it on light pollution. Yuki’s room comes equipped with block out curtains.
JR’s day is less hectic. There’s press, the beginning stages of packing, more press, and spending time with all the friends and family who had come up to support the team. But he’s distracted all day. Apolo has always proved to be a distraction, but this day he manages to do so while remaining virtually absent. When JR goes to bed that night, he waits and waits. But Apolo doesn’t come. JR thinks briefly about going and hunting him down, but a quick call over to the safe house proves he’s not there, and an inquiry with Travis tells JR he’s not in the dorms at all. JR tries not to worry. Apolo is a grown ass man. And he’s pretty loaded. If anyone can locate and afford a hotel room in Vancouver during the Olympics, when every room is supposedly sold out, it’s Apolo Ohno. So he stares at his ceiling, snuggled under two sets of blankets, his arms wrapped around the spare pillow and tries but fails to sleep.
The closing ceremonies are, as always pretty spectacular. Apolo poses for picture after picture, greeting old friends, and waving to the cameras. He always enjoys the closing ceremonies. He doesn’t usually go to the opening celebrations so getting to go to the closing, after all the work is done, somehow means that much more. Apolo doesn’t actively avoid his teammates. It’s more he walks in separate from them, and doesn’t try that hard to find them. This was his last competition for the season, possibly forever, and part of him doesn’t want to say goodbye to them yet. Some small voice in his head tells him that if he avoids seeing them, he can avoid leaving them.
But he does leave them. He gets on a plane, and he leaves. And for the following two months, he travels the US. He goes from school to school educating the kids on drunk driving, and healthy lifestyle choices. He does interview after interview. He shoots commercials, promotes his sponsors and his sport, and he celebrates his successes. And is grateful that his publicist and manager are so eager to keep him busy. Between all the traveling, speaking, and additional traveling he’s so exhausted that he can sleep, even without JR there pressed against his side. On the rare day he has off, he lays in bed, wide awake and wonders what the hell is wrong with him.
March flies by, and Apolo finds himself in Washington DC, with the majority of the rest of the U.S.’s Winter Olympic athletes, for press calls and a trip to the White House. And even with everything Apolo has on his plate, all the extra functions he’s got to go too while in DC, the one thing he’s looking forward to most is the possibility of maybe getting a full night’s sleep for once in almost 8 weeks.
JR looks tired when Apolo sees him for the first time, but Apolo doesn’t automatically assume he’s having the same issues. JR doesn’t act differently that he usually does. He doesn’t go out of his way to stick to Apolo’s side at the welcome dinner. He doesn’t sit by him, or even engage him in any more conversation than he does the other guys on the team. Apolo begins to suspect it’s all going on in his head, that he’s making a big deal out of nothing and he needs to just let it go. And with that decision he puts it out of his mind and tries to enjoy his evening. Apolo is wrong.
It’s late when he hears the knock on the door. He’s just getting ready to go to bed, where he knows he probably won’t sleep that great. So when he answers the door he’s tired, and a little bit depressed. And he can’t disguise the shock on his face when he sees JR standing in the doorway, face pale and shoulder’s slumped. For a minute he just stares at him.
“You going to let me in or not?” JR asks, and Apolo jumps into action again, backing up to let him in. That’s when he notices the bag hanging off JR’s shoulder.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in Baltimore tonight?” he asks.
“Yes. And if you weren’t being a prissy bitch and insisting on staying in DC, we’d be asleep already. A trip down a hallway and maybe an elevator ride is so much more practical than the trip I just made.” He drops his bag on the empty desk, kicks off his shoes and starts to undress. Apolo closes and locks the door, brain not fully understanding just what is going on in front of him.
“You’re staying with me?” he asks. JR rolls his eyes, tugging back the covers on the bed and climbing under. He buries his face between the two pillows.
“Will you just come to bed? I’m exhausted and I need sleep. We can like figure this shit out tomorrow, ok?” he mumbles. Apolo blinks in confusion and does as ordered.
He tugs off his t-shirt, and climbs into bed in just his boxers, pulling the blankets higher, and reaching over to shut out the light. Then he lays stiffly, hands crossed over his stomach, afraid to move.
“Oh, God. You’re going to be difficult about every single part of this aren’t you?” JR says sighing in exasperation. Apolo turns to look at him, and JR shakes his head in annoyance. “Why do you have to be so… you?” JR asks, moving closer to Apolo’s side. He flings an arm and a leg over Apolo’s body, resting his head on the pillow next to Apolo’s. He closes his eyes, and his breathing settles into a deep even tempo. Apolo stares at the ceiling for several minutes before taking a deep breath to ask a question. He plans to say something along the lines of “What are we doing? What is this? I’m freaking out.” Instead he bites back the words at the feel of JR’s arm tightening around his waist. JR presses closer, his breath ghosting warm and comforting on Apolo’s neck. He closes his eyes, and relaxes into the foreign mattress. “Go to sleep, Apolo,” JR mumbles, “so tired. Haven’t slept well in weeks,” he curls closer, heart rate slowing as he drifts off. Apolo drifts off with a smile on his face.
The both sleep through until morning.
Authors note: the working title of this story was “the cuddle!fic” just thought I’d let you know.
Inspiration: Simon Cho said on a live chat one night that the room he Travis and Apolo had in Vancouver was a high room on a corner. And that no matter what they did, they could not block out the light from the city shining in. Their room was always bright. And a fic idea was born, because that’s how my brain works.
Pairing: JR/Apolo
Author: Cupcakegirla
Artist: kavinskysdick
Rating: PG-13
Written for the Olympic Mini Big Bang
Summary: Unable to sleep in his dorm room in the Olympic Athletes Village in Vancouver, Apolo pays a visit to JR.
Author’s Note: I want to thank kavinskysdick for the AMAZING cover art she drew. I’m a little in love with it. If you enjoyed it PLEASE let her know. Click here, for a HQ version.
This is bad. This is very very bad. Apolo sighs staring up at the light streaking across his dorm room ceiling. It floods the room, bouncing off of stark white walls and making Apolo’s tired eyes ache. He’s exhausted. He needs to sleep.
He blinks up at the ceiling and sighs again. He turns onto his side putting his back to the window and closing his eyes. Nope. Not going to happen. Grabbing up his pillow he sticks his head under it, pressing the pillow down to block out the light, but that just leaves him feeling claustrophobic, and his face starts to sweat.
Climbing up out of bed he finds his bag of bandanas in the floor of his closet. Pulling out a dark one, either black or navy, he can’t quite tell, he climbs back into bed. Tying the fabric around his forehead, he pulls it down to cover his eyes as a makeshift blindfold. But it doesn’t work. Light leaks around the edges and he can’t fucking sleep with the room this goddamn bright. He rips the bandana off his face and tosses it to the floor. He stands again, walking to the window.
The apartment he’s sharing with Simon and Travis is high in the USA dorm building. They’re on the corner and Apolo’s room faces out into the city. It has a beautiful view but it also doesn’t have blinds or curtains and light from Vancouver fills up his room like a flood light. Turning his back to the window, Apolo looks to his alarm clock. It’s nearly 2am and he has races tomorrow and practice in the morning and he needs to sleep!
Apolo turns back to the window, leaning his forehead against the cold glass and closing his eyes. When he opens them again he’s staring down the side of the building. That’s when the idea forms. He smiles into the glass, his breath fogging it up with steam. The lower two-thirds of the building is in shadow, the dorm across the quad blocking out the light from the city. His smile widens.
Scooping up a pair of sweat pants from his dorm room floor, he pulls on a sweatshirt too, and slips his sneakers on.
He’s down on the fifth floor only a few minutes later, the elevator empty and quick to respond at this time of night. Finding the room is harder than he’d thought it would be. He can’t tell if it’s his own tiredness and need for sleep or if it’s just a bad design concept for the building. He pounds on the door, shivering in the dark winter night, the entryway in shadow facing the courtyard. There is no answer and 30 seconds later he pounds again. He hears the lock disengage, and the door opens to show Jordan’s displeased face staring out at him in the dark.
“Apolo? What the fuck man? It’s 2 in the morning!?” he asks. Apolo doesn’t answer just pushes past him into the warm dorm room. Jordan closes the door but Apolo is looking around the dark living room. The door at the end of the living area is open, the light of Jordan’s laptop filtering out. He smirks at Jordan.
“It’s not like you were sleeping,” Apolo says with a grin. Jordan blinks at him.
“That’s not the fucking point!” Jordan says scowling. Apolo rolls his eyes and heads for the other room. The layout of the dorm seems to be fairly similar to his 3 floors above. He assumes this is JR’s room and opening the door and peeking inside he finds he’s right.
“Calm down, Malone. I’m staying here tonight. See you in the morning,” he says softly, stepping into the room and closing the door in Jordan’s face. The room is blessedly dark. JR’s bed is pressed up against the outside wall, and he’s sprawled across the mattress on his stomach only half under the covers. Apolo kicks off his sneakers, and strips off his sweat shirt, walking over to the bed. He lifts up the covers and eases down onto the mattress. It’s a tight fit, but he makes it work. He nudges JR over until he’s on the left side of the small bed. Apolo stretches out beside him, pulling the blankets back up over them both. JR stirs, rolling up onto his right side, and looking back over his shoulder in sleepy confusion.
“‘polo?” he asks.
“Shh, go back to sleep,” Apolo says quietly, tucking the blanket up around JR’s body. JR blinks at him.
“Whatcha doin’ here?” he asks, yawning, and flopping his head back to rest on his pillow.
“It’s too bright in my room. I couldn’t sleep. We have races tomorrow,” Apolo explains.
“hmm… k,” JR makes a sleepy content sort of sound and drifts back to sleep. Apolo follows only a few minutes later.
Apolo stretches awake five hours later, and blinks his eyes open to see JR’s face inches from his own. He’s lying on his left side, head propped up in one palm, waiting for Apolo to wake up.
“Umm.. hi?” Apolo says softly, suddenly nervous. JR quirks an eyebrow at him.
“Get up, I need to pee,” JR says. Apolo nods, rolling over to sit up on the side of the bed. JR crawls out behind him, scratching his lower back and dashing for the closed door.
He never says anything about Apolo showing up there. Never again asks why he came. Just listens to Simon and Travis bitch about how bright their rooms were during breakfast, for the tenth time in as many days. He catches Apolo’s eye and raises an eyebrow. They both ignore Jordan’s pointed looks. They have more important things to focus on. Later that night they both medal in the 1500. Apolo takes silver, and JR bronze.
After that first night, Apolo continues to spend most of his nights at the US Speedskating “Safe House” located outside of the Olympic Village. He only sleeps in the dorms the night before a day of competition. His reasoning is that he doesn’t want to have to battle traffic to make it to the Oval. He needs to focus completely on the races so he stays in the Village on those nights. And each time he does he goes to JR and Jordan’s room. If Jordan answers the door (like the second time it happened, a Tuesday night), Apolo gets a look of exasperation, a few pointed comments, and later whispers over breakfast. If JR opens the door (the following Friday night) it’s a raised eyebrow and a nod of the head. They don’t need to talk. It’s one of the great things about JR. He’s kind of introverted. Not really big on talking about things that don’t seem to need an explanation. Besides Apolo’s not sure what exactly he would say.
“Is it ok with you if I sleep in your bed the night before I have to race?”
“I know I never asked permission, and we haven’t discussed it at all, but you’re cool with it… right?”
“So is it just me or are you sleeping really great those nights, too? Because let me tell you I sleep like a fucking baby with you on the other side of the bed. Is that weird?”
He doesn’t particularly want to examine that last one. He can’t even begin to contemplate why he sleeps so well in JR’s room, in JR’s bed. But it sort of freaks him out once he does realize it. Which is how he ends up in his own dorm room on the 8th floor staring at his too bright ceiling unable to sleep. Again. He’d ignored the shocked looks on Simon and Travis’s faces when he’d shown up there for the first time in over a week, and had just retreated into his room and closed the door. So now he stares up at the ceiling, his eyes feeling gritty and tired. It’s Tuesday night and he has the 500 m heats tomorrow. Too much press and training and prepping for his last few races have left him exhausted and he needs to sleep. Badly. It’s after midnight, he refuses to look at the alarm clock it will only make him more aggravated, and he’s contemplating taking a cab out to the safe house and risking the traffic in the morning when the knock comes on the door to the apartment. Apolo frowns, and thinks briefly that he’s imagined it. But it comes again a minute later, louder and more insistent. Apolo climbs out of bed, and heads to answer the door.
JR stands frowning in the doorway. He’s wearing his Team USA parka, a t-shirt, and gym shorts, his feet stuffed into his sneakers without socks.
“What the hell, Apolo?” he asks. Apolo blinks at him, stepping back from the door, and letting him inside. JR keeps his voice low, not wanting to wake up Travis and/or Simon.
“What are you doing here?” Apolo says, scrubbing a hand through his hair.
“Was going to ask you the same question,” JR steps past him, heading for the only open bedroom door, the one that leads to Apolo’s room. He steps inside, blinking at the brightness. “Jesus, no wonder you can’t sleep up here,” he says, turning to face Apolo. Apolo shrugs, leaning in the doorway and feeling suddenly awkward. “Are you coming to bed or not?” JR asks, crossing his arms over his chest and staring straight at Apolo.
“Didn’t want to assume I’d be welcome,” Apolo says feeling defensive. JR’s laughter takes him off guard, which is admittedly much easier to do at two in the morning when he’s tired and stressed as fuck.
“Like that stopped you the last three times. Come on, Apolo. It’s fucking freezing tonight and Jae Su was kicking our asses at practice today. I’m tired,” JR bounces on his toes looking expectant. Apolo sighs and nods in acceptance. He retrieves clean sweats from his bag, pulling them on over his boxers and slipping on his shoes. Grabbing the pillow off his bed he tosses it at JR, who rolls his eyes and snatches the blanket off Apolo’s bed too. “It’s really cold!” he says in response to Apolo’s questioning look. Apolo smiles and shakes his head in amusement.
He pulls his own parka on over his sweats and grabs his cellphone and keys from the bedside table. He follows JR out of the room, out of the dorm, back up the hallway to the elevators, and down 3 floors to JR’s room. Halfway there he takes the blanket from JR, folding it over his arm and letting JR carry the pillow.
When they get to the dorm room, JR unlocks the door and leads Apolo inside. The living area is mostly dark, the door to Jordan’s room shut, and the whole apartment quiet.
“Jordan sleeping?” Apolo asks, watching JR lock the door, and peel out of his coat.
“Probably. Or watching porn on his laptop. With Jordan you can never really tell,” JR says with a lopsided grin. Apolo muffles a bark of laughter with his hand, just in case Jordan really is sleeping and heads for JR’s room without comment. He unfolds the blanket and spreads it across the rumpled bed, doubling the thickness of the blankets. JR tosses him the pillow, and then starts flipping out lights and kicking off his shoes. Apolo tosses his own coat in the corner of JR’s room, and toes out of his sneakers. When he turns back to the bed, JR is climbing under the covers wearing just his boxers, yawning and looking so tired that Apolo feels guilty for not coming down earlier. For making JR come up to get him. He strips out of his sweatshirt and climbs in beside him.
The bed is warm, and just the right firmness, that Apolo feels his body already relaxing into sleep. He knows in his head that it’s the exact same design and mattress as his own bed upstairs, but somehow this one feels so much more comfortable. He curls on his side facing JR’s back and groans a little in relaxation. JR tenses, peeking back over his shoulder hesitantly.
“I know my ass is totally hot but you better not be doing anything too personal back there, Apolo, because you can go sleep on the living room floor. It’s plenty dark out there too,” JR says. Apolo’s laughter can’t be denied this time and his belly laugh shakes the whole bed, and fills the small bedroom. JR rolls onto his back, his shoulder pressing into Apolo’s chest at the movement. He grins up at Apolo who shakes his head at him.
“Don’t be such a shit!” Apolo says. He slides down in the bed a few more inches and presses the side of his head into his pillow. JR smirks at him. They fall silent, listening to each other breathe in the darkness. “Thanks for letting me stay,” Apolo whispers. JR shrugs.
“Sleep better with you here,” JR says. Apolo blinks at him.
“Me too. Why do you think that is?” Apolo asks. JR takes a deep breath, his eyes tracing the barely there shadows on his ceiling.
“I don’t know. Usually when we go to big competitions we’re in a hotel room with two double beds. I’m used to Jordan or Simon or somebody breathing on the other side of the room. And if we’re not at a competition I’m either in my own room in SLC or back home in Seattle. It’s different sleeping alone in your own room.” He turns his head to look at Apolo. “Why do you think?” he asks. Apolo sighs, running his left hand through his hair and making a face.
“I guess it’s nice knowing there’s another human being in the vicinity. It’s not so lonely. And,” he says pressing closer and tugging the blanket up, “It’s fucking cold in Vancouver.” He watches JR’s eyes close tightly, his face turning away as JR rolls back over onto his side. The conversation is over. Apolo watches JR’s body relax gradually into sleep, his own eyes refusing to close for quite a while longer.
JR is distracted the next day. And that makes Apolo distracted. It’s not that JR is being weird really. He’s not avoiding Apolo, or being pissy. He’s just… quiet. JR is probably the quietest of all of them, and he doesn’t have a race that day, so it shouldn’t be so noticeable. But suddenly Apolo is noticing everything there is to notice about JR, which sort of freaks him out all over again. He forces himself to put it out of his head. He does have races that afternoon.
Later that night when Apolo’s curled up in his bed at the safe house he stares up at his dark, not too bright ceiling, and wonders why he can’t sleep. It’s a disturbing phenomenon that is starting to worry him, this inability to sleep well when he’s not in JR’s dorm room at the Athlete’s Village. He finally passes out around 4, and oversleeps the next morning. He feels like he’s behind schedule all day, running from one place to another trying to catch up. He lags at practice and is late for not one but two interviews. This time it’s JR watching him in concern.
He eats dinner with the guys in the village dining hall, feeling lethargic and exhausted more mentally than physically, and follows them back to the dorms without saying much of anything. Apolo leans back in his corner of the elevator, his head resting against the metal and his eyes closed. The elevator stops on floor 3, and practically everyone gets off but Apolo makes no move to exit. Simon and Travis stand to the side, talking quietly, and Apolo waits for the doors to close and for the elevator to start moving again. But it doesn’t. Travis clears his throat, and Apolo’s eyes snap open. JR’s standing in the open doorway, his eyes focused on Apolo, his hand holding the elevator doors open. Apolo’s eyes meet his and JR raises an eyebrow in question. Apolo lets out a huff of air.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” he says, stepping toward JR, and following him out of the elevator without once looking back at their teammates.
JR turns away and heads down through the hallway to get to his dorm, the rest of their teammates long gone, and Apolo trailing after. It was early in comparison to when Apolo usually arrived. The apartment was lit up with light and noise. Jordan was stretched out on the floor of the living area, playing a game on their TV. He waved hello as they came in, but doesn’t bother even pausing the game.
“You playing, J?” he asks, sticking his tongue out and twisting the controller in his hands.
“Yeah, I’ll be back out in a minute,” JR says pulling off his jacket and tossing it on the counter by the front door. He heads to the left and through to his bedroom. And Apolo follows, stripping off his own jacket to add to the growing pile. JR’s room is messier than it was at the beginning of the week, but still fairly organized. Apolo sighs, slumping to sit on the side of the bed. He’s so tired. “Will you just lie down?” JR asks. Apolo blinks at him. JR rolls his eyes walking to the bag of clean laundry and pulling out a shirt and sweats. Apolo watches with unfocused eyes as JR changes his clothes, and then turns to face him. “Seriously, you look like you’re going to pass out. Go to bed early. I’ll be back later.” JR watches him until Apolo acquiesces to the demand. He pulls the blankets back, faintly amused to see JR is still using both sets to keep warm. Apolo lies back in the bed, curling up on the side closer to the window, where JR usually sleeps, and tugging the blankets up. JR leaves then, the door left open a crack, as he goes to join Jordan in front of the TV.
Apolo dozes, half awake and half asleep for at least half an hour. He listens to the sounds coming from the TV, video game death throes and machine gun fire punctuated with laughter, cursing, and cheers of triumph. The sound is reduced by the partially closed door and their attempt to not piss off the neighbors. Apolo passes out listening to the familiar sounds and pressing his nose into what he realizes later is JR’s pillow. JR comes to bed a while later, and eases into the outside half of the bed. Apolo shuffles over, but doesn’t wake.
The morning of the last day of competition dawns bright and cold. Apolo wakes to a warm body pressed all down his front, his arm wrapped tightly around JR’s bare waist, his hand splayed across a tattooed chest, resting directly over the younger man’s heart. All he can see is the back of JR’s head.
He blinks a few times, processing. He must tense because JR freezes against him, seemingly in response.
“Do not freak out,” JR whispers, holding perfectly still. Apolo forces his body to slowly relax against JR’s. JR slides away from Apolo, turning so he can rest on his back. His shoulder presses into Apolo’s chest, the bed too small for him not to be pressed against Apolo somewhere. His hair is rumpled and there are pillow creases on the side of his face, but his eyes are clear and fully awake. Apolo doesn’t say a word, unsure what would be appropriate in this particular circumstance. JR stares back at him, equally silent.
“JR..” Apolo starts but JR looks away, shaking his head. He sits up and turns to get out of bed, his back to Apolo.
“Don’t freak out,” he says, tugging his shorts up further onto his hips and rubbing a hand through his hair. Apolo sits up too, folding his legs up under him as he watches JR move about getting ready to start the day. He’s digging through his bag of gear in the corner when Apolo finally says something.
“I’m not freaking out. I just..” he trails off again, but this time it’s not because of JR’s interrupting him. He studies JR closely as he kneels on the floor digging through his bag. “What the hell are we doing?” Apolo asks. JR sighs.
“We’re not doing anything,” he glances up at Apolo, but quickly looks away. “We’re friends. You can’t sleep in your room, and mine made more sense than rooming with fucking Malone, for obvious reasons. We’re in a high stress environment swinging wildly from the high of competition to the boredom of waiting around until we get to skate again. There’s a lot of adrenaline, and anticipation, and,” he stops talking, grimacing like he doesn’t know how to explain. Apolo flops backward onto the pillows stretching his legs out over the edge of the bed. JR sighs, standing and moving further up the bed to sit next to him. Apolo scoots over to make room and lets JR stretch out beside him. “Why bother trying to pin this down, if nothing is going to come of it?” he asks. Apolo turns his head to look at him, but JR’s eyes are trained on the ceiling.
“You’re right,” he says, sitting up and climbing over JR. He is careful to not let any part of himself touch JR. Standing beside the bed stretching his back and then bending down to collect his clothes. “I’ll see you at practice,” he glances at the clock, “in an hour?” he asks. JR nods, pulling himself up into a sitting position again.
“Yeah. I’ll see you later,” he watches Apolo get dressed in silence, and waves goodbye as Apolo slips out the door.
That day is the last one of the competition. JR cheers on Apolo, Jordan, and Simon as they vie for spots in the 500m. Only Apolo makes it into the final and he’s promptly disqualified. The disappointment for the whole team is short lived. Only a little while later they skate in the Relay final and the whole men’s team end the night and the games with a new bright shiny bronze medal.
They’re all up late that night, doing interview after interview in the media center. JR barely sees Apolo the whole night. With Apolo winning his eighth medal they have him off doing solo interviews. They are still shuffling him from camera to camera when the rest of the team is finally shuttled back to the dorms. The sun is already up by the time JR collapses into his bed for a much deserved bout of sleep.
It is a few hours later that JR wakes because the bed dips. He blinks his eyes open, squinting in the mid-morning sun, and rolling over onto his back. Apolo sits on the side of the bed stripping off his t-shirt, tossing it down to join his shoes and uniform pants on the floor. Apolo turns, meeting his eyes. He lies down, stretching his body out the length of the bed, and rolls onto his side to face JR. JR blinks slowly, too tired to fight or to speak at all, and closes his eyes again, turning back over to face the window. Apolo only hesitates a few seconds before sliding under the covers and pressing closer, his arm curling around JR’s waist.
JR wakes up first, yet he stays right where he is. When Apolo wakes up his arm tightens around JR’s waist, pulling him closer. They both just lie there until JR can’t take it anymore. He tugs at Apolo’s arm, pulling until Apolo releases him. But JR doesn’t move away, instead he turns to face Apolo, staring at him in the midday light streaming through the window. Apolo blinks at him, unsure of what to do. JR picks up Apolo’s arm and slides it back around his own side. A smile spreads across Apolo’s mouth.
Apolo’s eyes track across JR’s face, landing on his lips, and his head inches closer without conscious thought, his tongue shooting out to lick dry lips. JR smiles back at him inhaling deeply and pushing his mouth forward to hover against Apolo’s. Apolo’s breath catches in his chest and he hesitates. He honestly can’t believe this is about to happen. Which is, of course, the exact moment that Jordan bangs on the door.
“JR!? Are you ever getting up? We got shit to do today!” he calls through the wood. Apolo freezes, pulling back and JR’s eyes close.
“Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute!” JR calls. When JR opens his eyes, Apolo has turned away. The bed shifts as Apolo sits up, his back tense. JR sighs, pushing his head back into his pillow and flinging a hand over his face.
“Don’t freak out,” he whispers. Apolo turns to look at him and lets out a short bark of laughter.
“I told you before I’m not freaking out, JR. But you were right. Why try and figure out what this is, if nothing can come of it?” he asks. He doesn’t wait for a response, just reaches for his pants, and pulls them on over his boxer briefs. “I’ll see you later,” he says, jamming his feet into his shoes, scooping up the rest of his clothes, and leaving the room.
Apolo is busy all day. He has a whole month of travel and press planned out already, and the day is spent doing interviews, hearing proposals, and talking to his agent. He barely sees the rest of the team at all. And that night, the last night before closing ceremonies, Apolo spends in his Dad’s hotel room across town. He lays awake half the night, unable to sleep, and this time he can’t blame it on light pollution. Yuki’s room comes equipped with block out curtains.
JR’s day is less hectic. There’s press, the beginning stages of packing, more press, and spending time with all the friends and family who had come up to support the team. But he’s distracted all day. Apolo has always proved to be a distraction, but this day he manages to do so while remaining virtually absent. When JR goes to bed that night, he waits and waits. But Apolo doesn’t come. JR thinks briefly about going and hunting him down, but a quick call over to the safe house proves he’s not there, and an inquiry with Travis tells JR he’s not in the dorms at all. JR tries not to worry. Apolo is a grown ass man. And he’s pretty loaded. If anyone can locate and afford a hotel room in Vancouver during the Olympics, when every room is supposedly sold out, it’s Apolo Ohno. So he stares at his ceiling, snuggled under two sets of blankets, his arms wrapped around the spare pillow and tries but fails to sleep.
The closing ceremonies are, as always pretty spectacular. Apolo poses for picture after picture, greeting old friends, and waving to the cameras. He always enjoys the closing ceremonies. He doesn’t usually go to the opening celebrations so getting to go to the closing, after all the work is done, somehow means that much more. Apolo doesn’t actively avoid his teammates. It’s more he walks in separate from them, and doesn’t try that hard to find them. This was his last competition for the season, possibly forever, and part of him doesn’t want to say goodbye to them yet. Some small voice in his head tells him that if he avoids seeing them, he can avoid leaving them.
But he does leave them. He gets on a plane, and he leaves. And for the following two months, he travels the US. He goes from school to school educating the kids on drunk driving, and healthy lifestyle choices. He does interview after interview. He shoots commercials, promotes his sponsors and his sport, and he celebrates his successes. And is grateful that his publicist and manager are so eager to keep him busy. Between all the traveling, speaking, and additional traveling he’s so exhausted that he can sleep, even without JR there pressed against his side. On the rare day he has off, he lays in bed, wide awake and wonders what the hell is wrong with him.
March flies by, and Apolo finds himself in Washington DC, with the majority of the rest of the U.S.’s Winter Olympic athletes, for press calls and a trip to the White House. And even with everything Apolo has on his plate, all the extra functions he’s got to go too while in DC, the one thing he’s looking forward to most is the possibility of maybe getting a full night’s sleep for once in almost 8 weeks.
JR looks tired when Apolo sees him for the first time, but Apolo doesn’t automatically assume he’s having the same issues. JR doesn’t act differently that he usually does. He doesn’t go out of his way to stick to Apolo’s side at the welcome dinner. He doesn’t sit by him, or even engage him in any more conversation than he does the other guys on the team. Apolo begins to suspect it’s all going on in his head, that he’s making a big deal out of nothing and he needs to just let it go. And with that decision he puts it out of his mind and tries to enjoy his evening. Apolo is wrong.
It’s late when he hears the knock on the door. He’s just getting ready to go to bed, where he knows he probably won’t sleep that great. So when he answers the door he’s tired, and a little bit depressed. And he can’t disguise the shock on his face when he sees JR standing in the doorway, face pale and shoulder’s slumped. For a minute he just stares at him.
“You going to let me in or not?” JR asks, and Apolo jumps into action again, backing up to let him in. That’s when he notices the bag hanging off JR’s shoulder.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in Baltimore tonight?” he asks.
“Yes. And if you weren’t being a prissy bitch and insisting on staying in DC, we’d be asleep already. A trip down a hallway and maybe an elevator ride is so much more practical than the trip I just made.” He drops his bag on the empty desk, kicks off his shoes and starts to undress. Apolo closes and locks the door, brain not fully understanding just what is going on in front of him.
“You’re staying with me?” he asks. JR rolls his eyes, tugging back the covers on the bed and climbing under. He buries his face between the two pillows.
“Will you just come to bed? I’m exhausted and I need sleep. We can like figure this shit out tomorrow, ok?” he mumbles. Apolo blinks in confusion and does as ordered.
He tugs off his t-shirt, and climbs into bed in just his boxers, pulling the blankets higher, and reaching over to shut out the light. Then he lays stiffly, hands crossed over his stomach, afraid to move.
“Oh, God. You’re going to be difficult about every single part of this aren’t you?” JR says sighing in exasperation. Apolo turns to look at him, and JR shakes his head in annoyance. “Why do you have to be so… you?” JR asks, moving closer to Apolo’s side. He flings an arm and a leg over Apolo’s body, resting his head on the pillow next to Apolo’s. He closes his eyes, and his breathing settles into a deep even tempo. Apolo stares at the ceiling for several minutes before taking a deep breath to ask a question. He plans to say something along the lines of “What are we doing? What is this? I’m freaking out.” Instead he bites back the words at the feel of JR’s arm tightening around his waist. JR presses closer, his breath ghosting warm and comforting on Apolo’s neck. He closes his eyes, and relaxes into the foreign mattress. “Go to sleep, Apolo,” JR mumbles, “so tired. Haven’t slept well in weeks,” he curls closer, heart rate slowing as he drifts off. Apolo drifts off with a smile on his face.
The both sleep through until morning.
Authors note: the working title of this story was “the cuddle!fic” just thought I’d let you know.
Inspiration: Simon Cho said on a live chat one night that the room he Travis and Apolo had in Vancouver was a high room on a corner. And that no matter what they did, they could not block out the light from the city shining in. Their room was always bright. And a fic idea was born, because that’s how my brain works.
