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The Captain picks up the third jumper and holds it up against himself. There’s a very real possibility that it’s exact the same shade of green as the other two jumpers he owns, but he still glances between all them for several long seconds before pulling the first one over his head after all.
He’s not even sure why he’s so bothered anyway. It’s just a walk and it’s only Humphrey.
Except there’s nothing only about Humphrey. There hasn’t been for pretty much all of the year he’s known him.
After he’d retired, he’d moved to this village only knowing Fanny. She’d let him wallow in his room for about a week and then dragged him out on a walk with another friend of hers. Humphrey had been quiet and calm, and just a little bit charming. Just what the Captain had needed, although it had taken him several months to realise. And then just what he needed turned into I think I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But there was nothing in the world that could make the Captain admit that. Better to keep things just as they are, than to risk losing Humphrey altogether to polite rejection and subsequent awkwardness.
But this doesn’t stop him panicking about everything from how his moustache looks, to whether his jumper is suitable, every time Humphrey invites him out somewhere. Even a walk feels a little bit like a date to his foolish heart.
Speaking of his not date, he’s going to be late if he doesn’t leave soon. He grabs his scarf and makes his way downstairs. He stops when he spots Fanny in the drawing room. He loves when it’s just him and Humphrey together, but he feels like he really should ask one more time.
“Are you sure you won’t join us, Fanny?”
Fanny looks up at him over the top of her reading glasses. “Far too cold for me today Cap. Have a nice time with Humphrey,” she says, kindly but firmly.
The Captain has a feeling Fanny might think there’s something there that isn’t, but he just nods, unsure as always quite how to dissuade her of that notion.
He makes his way through the garden and spots Humphrey by the gate that leads towards the walk they’re taking today. It’s stopped snowing, but there’s still a scattering of snow on the ground and dusting the trees. It makes for a very beautiful scene. He looks at Humphrey’s slightly red cheeks and twinkling eyes. He’s definitely seen better though, he thinks as he reaches Humphrey.
“Alright, Cap?” Humphrey says, nudging Cap with his shoulder in that effortlessly intimate way he has about him. “You’re wrapped up warm!”
The Captain feels himself flush at the contact, trying to absorb some of Humphrey’s warmth before there’s space between them again. He glances around at the snow and ice, and then takes in Humphrey’s clothes. “You’re not,” he says, trying and, if the laugh that Humphrey gives is anything to go by, failing to keep his voice from sounding too judgemental.
“I might have been running late,” Humphrey says, laughing and running a hand through his hair. The Captain isn’t jealous of that hand at all. Then he lowers his voice to a mutter. “And I might have misjudged the weather slightly.”
The Captain resists the urge to roll his eyes, not to save Humphrey’s embarrassment, but rather his own as he has a feeling any such gesture would simply scream fond.
Instead, without really thinking about it, he pulls his own scarf off and loops it over Humphrey’s neck. He freezes for a moment when he realises what he’s done, and he watches as Humphrey cheeks get ever so slightly pinker. Which surely must be due to the increased warmth from the Captain’s scarf? So the Captain steels himself and finishes looping the scarf around Humphrey until he’s looking much more cosy.
“Better?” the Captain asks, his fingers brushing against the cold skin of Humphrey’s neck.
Humphrey’s eyes flutter closed and if the Captain didn’t know better, he’d swear Humphrey leans into his touch for a few long seconds. Humphrey’s eyes open again. “Much better,” he whispers.
The Captain gives a shaky nod and steps back, putting some space between them before he does something (even more) stupid, like kissing him. “Good.”
An emotion flickers across Humphrey’s face, but it’s gone before the Captain can work out what it was. “Ready for that walk then?” Humphrey asks, and the Captain just nods again.
~~
Whatever weird, fraught atmosphere had descended upon them seems to clear as they get walking, and after fifteen minutes the Captain isn’t entirely sure he hadn’t just imagined it.
Humphrey is telling him a story from a meeting he’d had with one of the museum investors earlier in the week and the Captain is honestly listening, but he can’t help being just a little distracted by how lovely Humphrey looks when he’s trying to make the Captain laugh.
“So, anything nice on your Christmas letter to Santa?” Humphrey asks, once his story comes to an end.
The Captain isn’t a grinch exactly, but he would probably have forgotten all about Christmas if not for Fanny and Humphrey’s enthusiasm for it. Humphrey had gone all out decorating the museum and Fanny had been planning her Christmas lunch at least since the Captain had moved in to her spare room last April and, if Humphrey was to be believed, pretty much since the last Christmas lunch had ended. The Captain wouldn’t even have remembered it was Christmas eve today if Humphrey hadn’t called him at 6am to wish him merry Christmas eve and invited him on this walk.
“I think I’m a little old for Santa to bring me presents,” he says, avoiding the question.
Humphrey hums thoughtfully. “Never to old to want something nice, though…”
The Captain gets the distinct impression that Humphrey is saying more than his actual words, but he has no idea what. Before he can dwell on it too long, Humphrey continues. “I always wondered what those dark patches were in the trees,” he says, gesturing up towards a round mass of small branches in the bare tree above them.
“Oh?” the Captain feels mildly confused by the seemingly sudden change in subject. He looks upwards. “It’s mistletoe.”
Humphrey hums, and the Captain gets the distinct impression that Humphrey knew full well that it was mistletoe. He looks down from the green leaves and finds Humphrey standing closer to him, another unreadable expression on his face.
They stare at each other for a few long seconds.
“You’re sure there isn’t anything you want, Cap?” Humphrey’s eyes dart down to the Captain’s lips before looking into his eyes once more.
Yearning, he realises. That’s what he could see on Humphrey’s face. The Captain knows he’s not the best at this sort of thing, subtlety tends to pass him by. But there’s nothing subtle about the look that Humphrey is giving him now, and the Captain is grateful for that.
“Humphrey?” he whispers, not wanting to break the spell that seems to have settled over them.
“Cap,” Humphrey replies, with feigned nonchalance.
The Captain isn’t sure who leans in first. It’s probably Humphrey, but he likes to think he was at least a little bit brave too. But then all thoughts of bravery and who leaned in first slip from his mind as their lips brush in a chaste kiss.
“James,” Humphrey says reverently, all traces of nonchalance gone.
And then the Captain is kissing him properly, pulling him close with one hand fisted in Humphrey’s ridiculously thin jacket and the other sliding across Humphrey’s jaw and into his hair.
Humphrey moans softly into the kiss and grips the Captain’s hips tightly through his much more sensible winter coat. Despite the cold, the Captain finds himself wishing that he’d worn something thinner, just so he could feel the heat from Humphrey’s hands on his skin.
Humphrey pulls back from the kiss slightly, his eyes bright and happy. He smiles at the Captain and then slowly walks him back until the Captain’s back makes contact with the tree behind them. His breath leaves his lungs with a gentle huff but the mist hasn’t even had chance to dissipate before Humphrey’s kissing him, this kiss even hungrier than the last.
“God, Cap,” Humphrey mutters against the Captain’s lips. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.”
The Captain pulls back in surprise. “Really?”
Humphrey rolls his eyes, but it’s possibly the fondest eye roll the Captain has ever witnessed. “Cap,” he says, his voice a delicious mix of exasperated, fond and apprehensive. “James, I’ve been in love with you since… well, since the day we met, I think.”
“Oh.”
It doesn’t even begin to do justice to the thoughts and emotions swirling around his head, but fortunately Humphrey seems to get it because he waits patiently, his cheek resting on the Captain’s shoulder, and his cold nose pressed against his warm throat.
The Captain’s fingers stroke the soft hair at Humphrey’s nape and Humphrey hums happily, snuggling in closer against the Captain.
“I’m in love with you too,” he says eventually, “Just in case that wasn’t obvious.”
Humphrey lifts his head off the Captain’s shoulder so he can look at him properly. “Not obvious before, actually. But more so now,” he says, looking at the Captain with so much adoration, the Captain isn’t sure how he ever missed it before.
Humphrey leans in to kiss him again, but pulls back more quickly than the Captain would have liked. His disappointment turns to warm anticipation when Humphrey says, “Would it be terribly forward of me to invite you back to mine?”
The Captain feels arousal pool in his stomach and he shakes his head. “Just about the right amount of forward, I think.”
Humphrey grins at him and steps back, holding his hand out to the Captain. “Come on then.”
~~
The Captain has always liked Humphrey’s cottage. It’s warm, cosy and welcoming, just like the man himself. But today Humphrey could have redecorated the house entirely in lime green and the Captain wouldn’t have noticed.
Humphrey barely lets him take his shoes and coat off before he’s dragging him over to the sofa. They’ve watched films together here. Sat up all night drinking wine. Tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to get their heads around the board game that Pat’s son Daley had gifted the Captain for his birthday. But all of that pales into insignificance when compared to Humphrey pushing him back onto the sofa and crawling onto his lap.
Humphrey kisses the Captain whilst the the Captain tugs at the scarf around Humphrey’s neck. Once it’s finally loose he kisses down Humphrey’s throat.
“God, Cap.”
The Captain tries to open Humphrey’s pathetic excuse for a coat, but the zip is flimsy and the Captain’s hands are shaking. Humphrey isn’t faring much better, but fortunately between them both they manage to get the jacket off.
Humphrey’s hands settle on the bottom hem of the Captain’s jumper. “I like this jumper… it would look even better on my floor,” he winks.
The Captain groans. “That was awful, Humph. I’ve changed my mind.”
Humphrey just laughs, tugging the jumper over the Captain’s head and smiling when it messes up his hair. “Always wanted to mess your hair up,” he says, running his fingers across the now messy strands.
The Captain is having a hard time imagining anyone could feel that way about him, but he can definitely relate to the sentiment. Despite the guilt it had induced, he’s had more than a few fantasies about Humphrey over the last 8 months. Several of which seem to be coming to life right in front of him as Humphrey settles on his lap and grinds against him.
The Captain’s hands make their way underneath Humphrey’s t-shirt to settle on his hips. He lasts about five seconds before the temptation of access to more of Humphrey’s skin becomes too great to resist and he starts lifting the shirt up.
“Is this ok?” he asks, and finishes pulling the t-shirt over Humphrey’s head once he’s nodded.
The Captain is torn between exploring Humphrey’s revealed skin and kissing him again. Humphrey makes the decision for him by pulling him into a kiss, so the Captain settles for getting his hands on as much of Humphrey’s skin as he can.
Humphrey manages to unbutton the Captain’s shirt without breaking their kiss, but at the first skin on skin contact the Captain tips his head back with a gasp, overwhelmed.
Humphrey uses it as an opportunity to kiss along the Captain’s throat and then reaches down to his belt.
“Should we take this to bed?” the Captain suggests between kisses.
Humphrey nods. “Yeah, probably,” he says, but makes no move to actually leave the sofa except to slide down to the floor at the Captain’s feet so he can drag the Captain’s trousers off.
The Captain looks at Humphrey who is still kneeling in front of him and slides his hand into his hair. He’s had a few fantasies about this too.
“One day, I’m going to get you to fuck me on that sofa. But that would involve going upstairs for supplies and I honestly don’t think I can bear to be away from you that long. So, in the meantime…” Humphrey leans down and mouths at the Captain through his pants.
It seems ridiculous, but somehow the Captain hadn’t even realised he was hard. He’d been so overwhelmed by Humphrey, his arousal had sort of passed him by unnoticed. But now, with Humphrey nuzzling against him, his hot breath against him, his arousal hit him with its full force. He tightens his grip on Humphrey’s hair and presses his hips up against his mouth.
Humphrey hooks his fingers in the waistband of the Captain’s pants and drags them down. He gets to about mid thigh before losing concentration on that task and wrapping his hand around the Captain.
The Captain’s fingers tighten just shy of painfully in Humphrey’s hair. “Humph, fuck, please…!”
If Humphrey had planned to tease him before, he’d have soon given in at the sound of the Captain begging. But he’d wanted this too long to have even contemplated teasing and he leans down to take the Captain into his mouth.
The Captain swears and pushes up into Humphrey’s mouth without really meaning to, but it doesn’t seem like Humphrey minds as he moans happily around the Captain’s cock and just takes him even deeper.
The Captain is torn between watching Humphrey and looking away to try and prolong this as long as he can. He still can’t quite believe he’s got this lucky, and even though he’s fairly confident they’ll do this again, he’s desperate to make it last as long as he can, just in case.
Humphrey pulls back to catch his breath properly and the Captain strokes his fingers through Humphrey’s hair slowly, glad of the chance to try to regain some of his composure.
“You’re so good at that,” he says, letting his fingers ghost down Humphrey’s cheek and running his thumb across his lower lip. Humphrey smiles and flicks his tongue against the Captain’s thumb. So much for his composure, he thinks as arousal pools in his belly. “Fuck.”
He wants Humphrey’s mouth again, but he also wants…
“Together,” he says, leaning down to kiss Humphrey deeply. “I want to—”
Humphrey pulls back slightly. “What do you want, Cap?”
“Together,” seems to be all he can manage but fortunately Humphrey seems to be naturally au fait with sex drunk Captain, because he nods and stands up, losing his own jeans and pants before climbing onto the Captain’s lap again.
“God I wish I could ride you right now,” he says, wrapping them both in his hand and leaving the Captain moaning and panting against his neck. “I think I’d need a bit of prep before I could take this though.” Humphrey squeezes his hand gently and the Captain swears again.
Humphrey sucks a kiss onto the Captain’s jaw and then trails his lips down to bite gently at the juncture between his shoulder and neck. The Captain really wants to participate more, but all he can do is cling on to Humphrey as he drags all manner of pleasure out of him.
“I’d need your fingers for sure,” Humphrey continues. “Maybe your tongue too?”
The Captain nods, frantically. “I want that. All of it.”
“Good, me too. I want to ride you, Cap. Sit like this in your lap and feel you fill me up. Or maybe you’d—” Humphrey gasps, his hips stuttering as he voices his own fantasy. “Or maybe you’d pin me to the bed and fuck me?”
“Fuck,” the Captain reaches down to wrap his own hand around Humphrey’s and between that and Humphrey’s words it seems to be enough to push them over the edge. The Captain first, followed closely by Humphrey as they swear and press tightly to one another.
When the ringing in his ears finally stops, the Captain lifts his head up from where it had come to rest on Humphrey’s shoulder and finds Humphrey smiling softly at him.
“Was that ok?” Humphrey asks, and the Captain finds himself letting out a surprised huff of laughter and pressing his lips to Humphrey’s.
“More than ok,” he says, wrapping his arms tightly around Humphrey and feeling him relax against him. “Was it—?”
Humphrey cuts the Captain off before he can ask the same thing. “You don’t even need to ask,” he says, snuggling happily into the Captain’s chest. “Perhaps we should move to the bed now, for optimised cuddling space?”
The Captain nods. “Possibly via the shower, if that’s ok with you?” he asks, grimacing slightly at the rapidly cooling mess between their bodies.
“Mmmm, good idea. Will you stay? I know it’s still kind of early, but I’d really like you stay here tonight, wake up with you on Christmas morning. It’s fine if you don’t want to—”
The Captain tugs Humphrey back gently until he can look at him properly. “Humphrey, I would love to. I love you,” he says.
Humphrey grins at him, relaxing once again. He stands up and offers his hand to the Captain, pulling him to his feet and then kissing him slowly. “Good. And I love you too.”