bakerstreet | unexpected domesticity.

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unexpected domesticity.

unexpected domesticity shipping meme.
you never thought you'd have a home, at least not one you can call completely yours, no strings attached and no one lording above you or controlling you. you may not have even known what a "home" truly is, or thought you wanted one. now, there is a touch of domesticity in your life, no matter what things are like otherwise, because you have a home, though you may not have a house proper.

most importantly, you now have someone to share this new facet of life with - a partner. similar to you or completely different, relationship unspoken or unrealized, heavily romantic or understated, they are slowly but surely becoming someone indispensable to you. you never could have seen this coming. and, of course, with domesticity comes a certain amount of intimacy, perhaps even the ultimate physical intimacy...you may be open to that already or you're working up to it when you'd hardly considered it before.

whether your situation is for the long term as it stands, could end at any moment, or a mere disguise you're using to lay low, you're getting comfortable. how does that make you feel? will you it accept a new lease on life - or will you sabotauge yourself before someone else does?

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ROLE
• Usual: This is how they always are. "Caring" is in their nature.
• Unexpected: They don't seem like the type to be a caretaker...but with you, they are.
• Terrible at It: They're trying hard, yet it seems like they fail at trying to take care of you. Depending on who you are, though, that may just make them more endearing.
• Because You Like It: They heard you like those who are sweet and kind, so they're trying to change their ways.
• Not Together: Technically, you're not together romantically, but everyone knows the truth.
• The Doted Upon: What it says on the tin!

• Feeding: Whether they cook for you or have moments where they feed you, literally, they take your nutrition seriously.
• Massage: Let them work out all those kinks.
• Clean You Up: Here, they've drawn a warm bath for you.
• Dress Your Wounds: If you're the kind of person who gets in battles, they'll see that you're all patched up.
• Singing: Or telling stories, or otherwise calming you down.
• Lap Rest: Sometimes, their lap is the best pillow.
• A Shoulder to Cry On: When you have troubles, they're always there to listen.
• The Calming Force: If you have moments of terror from past trauma, they're always willing to put themselves on the line to bring you back to reality, even if it puts them in danger.
• Soft Kisses: Their kisses feel so good, and they're never demanding.
• Head Pat: Sometimes, a simple gesture can mean the most.
• Grooming: They'll fix your hair - or at least play with it - and help you shave.
• Gifts: Homemade or expensive, they like to shower you in presents.
• Lovemaking: The obligatory smut option, where they're a generous lover.
• Protector: They look out for you, and while they don't seem that way, if you're threatened, they get like a bear protecting her cubs.
• Gentle Giant: They make you feel so small and delicate.
• Reverse: For once, you want to dote on and take care of them.
• Unwilling: It's a wonder they still try to care for you, because you're cruel to them and rebuff them at every turn, even if you really don't mean it.
• It's Okay to Cry: They never get upset because they don't want to put that on you. You want to let them know they can let it all out.
• WILDCARD

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"Wouldn't surprise me." His smirk softens into something that only Jesus and Judith ever see. "I am happy. And with you at my back, I'm as safe as anyone can be." There we're always risks in this new world and more care had to be taken now more than ever, but they made a good team and they looked out for each other.

Holding Paul'a gaze, Chuck offers enough of a smile that a dimple makes and appearance and his hands still for the briefest moment so that they're just resting, thumb brushing through the hairs at the nape of his neck. He's always careful not to catch his fingers in the long locks when he does this, but sometimes there's the temptation to run his fingers through them that he just has to fight lest he cross a line. When he realised he's been still for several minutes, he starts up again, moving his hands lower to loosen off the rest of the muscles.

"Mate, half the time I feel like I'm going crazy here and we live in a world where dead people wanna eat you and the live ones wanna beat ya fucking brains in." Sometimes Jesus really was the only thing keeping him sane. If the Hansens had never found Hilltop, Chuck's sure one of them would've killed the other.

"Don't mention it. You carry yourself differently after a hard day." It wasn't weird that he knew that, right? Chuck had been a sniper, seeing was what he did. Or at least that's what he told himself.

It's no big surprise that the smile Chuck's smirk morphs into is one of Jesus' favorite things. It makes his stomach flip, just the once, and it's due in part to him talking about actually being happy, too. While he wasn't under the impression Chuck was unhappy, there's nothing quite like hearing that he is. Warmth settles in the pit of his stomach and he has to fight off a smile that threatens to take over his whole expression.

It's the long moment Chuck holds his gaze that really gets him, though. There are a few beats where Jesus has to force himself to take measured breaths, the possibility of forgetting how to breathe entirely a very real thing. Jesus never asked for a reason to fight for survival, but these moments between them make a good case. When Chuck finally starts to move again, he lets out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, averting his attention to rein it all back in again.

"If you're going crazy, I'm in the same boat. Somehow, thinking about it that way doesn't make it sound so bad." It's meant as a joke, but falls a little short, especially given he has to lend some thought to Chuck devoting attention to how he carries himself, of all things. Now that really doesn't seem so bad, honestly. In fact, it almost feels good.

"Why don't you sit down, take a load off? You can use my lap to lay your head down, if you want. I think it's about time I repay the doting, don't you think? I'm not the only one who has had a hard day, after all."

"Can't think of anyone else I'd like to share my room in the nuthouse with." Honestly, Chuck could think of far worse fates than going insane as long as he had Jesus for company. And that in itself was a scary thought.

When Chuck had been approved to take on the title of sniper, he'd been paired with his dad for the main reason that he didn't get along with anyone else, a fact that hadn't changed over the course of his military career or after the dead had taken over. And yet here Chuck was, close and comfortable with another person without the slightest hint of strain or force. Something about Jesus just had a calming affect on the hot head.

At the offer, Chuck gives one last squeeze to Paul's shoulders before stepping around him and dropping inelegantly onto the ground, laying back with a dramatic sigh so that his head rests against Jesus' thigh. "If I never have to farm again, it'll be too fucking soon." Seriously, just because he had the upper boy strength, didn't mean digging a million holes was something his body enjoyed. "I'd rather be up on the wall all day." Even with the eye strain.

"Good thing. I'm a hard one to shake." Because even if they aren't more than friends in name, he's attached to Chuck. Maybe it's too much, maybe it isn't, but he knows Maggie was right when she said it was worth it. Even if they're caught in the same cycle, he just wants it to last and to enjoy every moment of it.

It'd be natural, the near immediate connection he felt towards Chuck. He'd envied him at first, if only for the relationship he has with his dad, tricky as it is. It wasn't the catalyst for it, though. There was a sort of pull — Jesus couldn't have left him alone if he tried.

And he's beyond grateful for what they have now. When Chuck takes him up on his offer and settles in, Jesus' hand moves to idly brush fingers against his hairline, still grinning from his theatrics. "Sounds like you had a rougher time than I did today. You're going to be sore tomorrow, I bet."

With a pause, Jesus leans back, shifts so he can slip a hand into the pocket opposite the one Chuck is effectively laying on, fishing out a pack of Starburst. He holds it in Chuck's line of sight before pressing it gently to his chest.

"Your present from today. Maybe it'll help." It's a habit Jesus isn't looking to break, bringing small things back for Chuck when he leaves Hilltop without him.

Chuck can feel himself relaxing and he sighs softly at the feel of fingers against his hair. In a world full of terror, Chuck is eternally grateful for Jesus in a way he'd never even know how to put into words. He's never asked the sniper to be anything more than he is, taking him for who he is and helping him to be better without any expectation.

"I'll be okay. At least I can be of use." A beat. "I'd rather be out there with you." If only because he was the only one he trusted to truly have Paul's back against all the threats out there. Death was inevitable and so incredibly likely nowadays and Chuck was terrified of losing the only person Chuck truly felt like he needed. And he did need Jesus.

The gift gets a bright, dimpled grin and he looks up into the blue eyes above him. "You spoil me. What would I do without you?"

"You're always 'of use', but I know what you mean." Jesus' reply is quick, paired with a very slight jump of that thigh Chuck's head is resting on to prove a point. There's a part of him that likes Chuck safe behind Hilltop's walls, though. Well, as safe as any of them can be. Still, he can't deny that he does prefer it when they're together and watching each other's backs, too.

Somehow, things just seem better when they're together, like the world is as balanced as its going to get. Chuck makes him feel grounded, like he has stronger roots.

Jesus' lips pull into another flash of a smile, too genuinely happy to keep him from ducking his head again. It's a small price to pay to see Chuck smile like that, the trinkets and treats he brings back for him. "Somehow I think you'd manage, but let's not find out, okay? Besides, I like reminding you that I'm thinking about you out there."

It's a good motivator, after all. Even if things go terribly south in ways Jesus doesn't want to even think about, he'd stay if Chuck stayed.

"Yeah, I know. But with the exception of using a gun, only thing I can really offer is a strong body for manual labour. In case you haven't noticed, ain't no on lining up to get advice or friendship from me. 'Cept you, but I already accepted that you're an odd one." And he wouldn't have him any other way.

He opens the Starburst and offers the first one -yellow- to Jesus, pressing the sweet against that smile with a smirk tugging at his own lips. "You have a lot of faith in me."

Chuck takes a candy for himself and his whole expression turns teasing. "Aw. You think about me? That's cute. Sap."

"Probably because they don't know you. If they did, you'd have to fight them off with a stick." Maybe that goes hand in hand with having faith in him, too. When he first met Chuck, he seemed like the type of guy who could take on the world, all fire and determination. That hasn't changed, not one bit.

He doesn't miss a beat when accepting the candy, letting his smile fade into something a whole lot more mellow as he chews it. It gives him a decent excuse to mull over his next response. Given they're entering a grey area, that's not such a bad thing.

"Yeah, well, it comes with the territory." A tad too accidentally dismissive, so he quickly tacks on a tease of his own, fingers straying to Chuck's hair again. "And hey, that doesn't sound like a complaint."

"Maybe I don't want them to know me." It said enough about the man that Chuck had even let Paul in, having deliberately spent most of his life keeping people at arms length with sarcasm, snark and a general douchebaggy demeanour. If you didn't let anyone in, you couldn't lose anyone.

Chuck sighs again, eyes falling shut at the soft touch to his hair. It's calming in a way he'd forgotten physical contact could be and when he was around Jesus, he tended to realise just how touch starved he actually was.

"No complaint here, mate." With his eyes still closed and his whole body turning to jelly at the soft petting, Chuck's brain to mouth filter fails him. "You make me glad the world ended."

He realises the words as soon as he says them and immediately flushes red, body tensing and eyes squeezing shut. "I mean... Um..."

Jesus thinks to counter it with something about keeping Chuck all to himself, but it dies a little death in his throat. There are lines and then there are lines and the goal isn't to make Chuck uncomfortable, not when they've got such a good thing going for them as it is.

But that doesn't seem to matter in the long run and Jesus' fingers hiccup in their movements, quick to start up again as if he never hesitated in the first place. If it was hard to remember to breathe when Chuck was just looking at him earlier, it's even harder now. It isn't often that Chuck Hansen actually blushes.

Except Jesus isn't sure if he should try for damage control or run in head first, so he opts for middle ground.

"It's okay if you mean it, you know." Clearing his throat, he can feel the heat start to rise in his cheeks. "But then, it's okay if you don't. In that way, I mean. You're important to me."

Chuck actually snorts but there's something demeaning about it and he doesn't open his eyes because he doesn't want to see Jesus' face when he says what he's about to say. Doesn't want to see the rejection because she's, he's important to Paul but that doesn't mean the older man feels the same way about him that Chuck feels about him.

"Yeah, alright, mate. I mean, you're only you and everyone loves you and I'm me and I'm pretty sure the only reason Gregory even lets me stay here is because he thinks you can control me." There. He said it.

And if he's mentally preparing himself for Jesus to be ready to finish with him, the other man doesn't need to know.

The moment Chuck snorts, Jesus realizes he made a grave misstep in trying to be cautious about this. He finds himself glad for the fact Chuck isn't looking at him, what with the frown that makes a home on his expression. For all that he tries to keep his posture steady, he does still pull his hand back.

The barb about Gregory hurts, but Jesus feels as if it's safe to assume it was meant to.

"Listen, I would follow you to the end of the world if you let me. You're that important to me. Gregory has nothing to do with that and neither does anyone else." This time he sighs and then wets his lips, giving some thought to what he wants to say next.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're it. You're the single most important person to me." Blunt honesty it is.

Chuck immediately regrets the dig about Gregory because even though he believes it, he doesn't mean it to be so crass. He and Gregory have never seen eye to eye but Chuck holds his tongue because he wants to stay at Hilltop, he wants to stay with Jesus.

But he doesn't have time to apologize because then Paul is telling him that he matters more than anyone else and the Australian can't remember the last time anyone told him that. No, he can. It was the last thing he heard his mother say as his father dragged him from the car before it turned into an inferno with the only woman he's ever loved still inside.

And the words hurt in the way it does whenever he thinks about his Mum, but they also set something alight within him and he sits up, turning to face the other man.

"You're one of the two most important things to me too." His dad was the other of course. "I just don't understand why, Paul."

Edited 2017-11-04 10:34 (UTC)

Chuck sits up and Jesus has to brace himself for whatever consequences might come from being so blatantly honest. He doesn't regret it, but this entire conversation has the potential to change something he holds close to his heart. He wants to protect what they have, protect Chuck.

But the response makes him smile, though there's no humor in it, just care.

"I can't tell you why I'm important to you, Chuck." He doesn't have to ask what the other thing is. He's spent enough time around both Chuck and Herc. Rocky as their relationship can be, he knows it runs deeper than he can claim to relate to.

"No, you fuckin' moron. I don't know why I'm important to you." Sure, Chuck was a fantastic marksman and he and Paul got along like two peas in a pod, but he was brash and hot-headed, arrogant and close off. He didn't get along with almost anyone else at the Hilltop and he clashed with most of the groups from both Alexandria and the Kingdom. There'd been more than one occasions where either Jesus or his old man had needed to run interference before Chuck got himself banished and turned into walker bait or just straight up killed.

And on top of all of that, he had no idea how to be the person he wanted to be for Paul.

Okay, now Jesus chuckles, quiet and quick. Holding his hands up, he lets his smile fade with a shake of his head. He has a good idea of the light Chuck sees himself in, it's just gauging the degree that can be tricky.

"I could write you a list, if it helps. Not sure I'll manage to get everything on it, though. The funny thing about you is I find more reasons every day." Chuck might see himself as headstrong to the degree of being troublesome, but Jesus views it more as courage and determination. It doesn't matter if he has to step in every now and then.

"And here I was thinking you were the smart one of the two of us." Chuck didn't mean to be self-deprecating and he definitely knew his worth as a protector but where he was dark, hot-tempered and pessimistic, Jesus was light, calm and ever the optimist. It was one of the many things that drew him to the man. He made Chuck feel like maybe things would be okay.

He'd only drag Jesus down and he was terrified the man would realise it and that he'd lose this. He wasn't willing to do anything to speed that process along. "In case you haven't noticed, mate, I'm kinda shit with people. I just... I really don't wanna fuck this up, yeah?"

"You ever stop to consider that's why I like you?" Given Chuck doesn't show this side of him to many people, Jesus has endless patience for it. He would spend hours a day reminding Chuck how good and important he is if he thought it would help. As it is, little reminders and spending time with him like this will have to do for now.

"But I know what you mean, yeah. I don't want to lose this either. Nothing has to change." It's said with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders and he punctuates it with another quick smile. It's meant to be reassuring, but he isn't sure it quite hits its mark. He just wants Chuck to be safe and happy, just like he said before. Pushing him into something doesn't factor into that.

"'Cause I'm an asshole who doesn't get along with anyone other than you?" Okay, Chuck knows exactly what Jesus means but it's easier to deflect than it is to acknowledge that he's opened up to the other man in a way he never has with anyone else because he feels safe enough to do so. He knows, knew from the very start somehow, that Jesus would never judge him for all the things he kept locked away.

And god, that smile. Even if it doesn't have the full affect Paul intends it to have, Chuck still loves that smile.

"Doesn't it? I'm in... I like you. A lot. How do you stuff that cat back in the bag?"

"C'mon, you know what I mean." Case in point, but Jesus' tone is light as he folds his hands in his lap. Chuck can pretend all he likes, though, because Jesus operates on the idea that what they talk about and how they are around each other when they're alone stays between them. He doesn't expect him to be readily open or up close and personal with him elsewhere.

"You don't think it's mutual? I've never connected with someone the way I have with you." With his hands clasped in his lap, he's thankful it keeps him from fidgeting.

Chuck was tense in a way he couldn't ever really remember being. Even when the world had been ending, he hadn't felt this kind of tension. He knew this conversation had to happen; they'd laid out too many truths and come too far to just let it end and that would be how everything fell apart and Chuck wasn't prepared to let this go.

He realised, after a moment, that the reason he was struggling so hard was because his usual support was on the other side of the whole thing. With a soft sigh, Chuck pitches forward until his forehead rests just above Paul's knee.

"What do we do now?"

Chuck falls forward and Jesus immediately untangles his fingers to rest a hand on his shoulder, gentle in its attempt to be steadying. Honestly, he doesn't feel like he's navigating any of this very well at all. His smile eases away and he clears his throat, the hand on Chuck's shoulder giving it a light squeeze.

"We can pursue it, or we can stay friends." It feels black and white, putting it that way. Things like this are rarely ever so uncomplicated. "I'm basically in love with you, so I'm willing to give it a shot if you are. But if you're not, I'd understand. The world isn't exactly user friendly."

"You deserve so much better than me." It's said quietly, muttered into Jesus' leg as if he hopes the other man won't hear him.

He wants to tell Paul he loves him back, but the words get stuck in the back of his throat. Without consciously allowing them to, words his father spoke to him way back when, when he first got his title, sneak into his mind. If you have the shot, you take it.

This was his shot.

"I wanna try."

There's something strangely endearing about Chuck hiding his face against his leg during all of this. It would be worrisome, maybe, if Jesus didn't know him as well as he does. But he rubs slow, soothing circles over his shoulder blades and exhales, willing some of the stress from his own bones.

"Then let's try. I'm not a saint either, Chuck. I can't promise this will be easy, but I believe it's worth it."

Feeling bold, Chuck reaches up to curl his hand in the material of Jesus' shirt at his lower back and lets out a soft sound. There's a large part of him that can't believe this is happening but then he wasn't sure exactly where else they'd have gone. He knew that they'd been closer than friends, it had been made more and more obvious as people braved his snappish attitude to ask if he'd seen the other man, even when it was obvious that his mood was feral.

"I know you're worth it."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

unexpected domesticity.

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Chuck is dumb at people and I'm all up to date with TWD

chuck is a gift

He's a precious.

he really is

Dumb but precious. I will always protect my boy

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