Thinking about paddy with a collar 🙂‍↕️ and eoin ordering him around 🙂‍↕️ he’ll get a reward for being so good 🙂‍↕️ and eoin is so proud of him 🙂‍↕️

Paddy was curled up, back pressed against the cot, his breathing shallow and frantic, as if his heart was doing leaps inside his chest. His hands were clasped over his ears, which made him curl up even more, pressing his head impossibly close to his knees. He didn’t hear the flaps of the tent rustle open, didn’t hear eoin’s footsteps approaching, didn’t feel the cold night desert air fill the tent.

Eoin carefully crouched down beside him, using the cot to steady himself. His knees and back hardly recovered after the first jump.

“Paddy,” the words came out as a whisper. When there was no reply, he added softly “It’s me. You’ll be okay paddy. I’m here.”

When he got no response, eoin reached out to run his fingers through paddy’s hair, slightly outgrown and wet at his neck from all the sweat. Eoin didn’t mind it the slightest, not when paddy lifted his head up at the touch, brows furrowed and eyes tight shut. His breathing was still shallow as he slowly worked them open, head tilting sideways to meet eoin’s eyes. Paddy’s hands fell down to his lap as he took another ragged breath.

Eoin took the lack of shielding around paddy as an opportunity to shift their position so paddy’s back was pressed against eoin’s chest. Eoin pressed his palm flat right over paddy’s heart and was almost taken aback by how paddy’s heart threatened to break his ribcage.

“Breathe with me,” he kept his calm despite the worry. “Just like that. You’re doing good, blair.”

Paddy’s chest was still rising fast, eyes still shut snd head tipped low, except now his own hands fell down was covering eoin’s instead of his own ears. The pressure over his chest seemed to anchor him enough, because after a few shuddering breaths his pulse seemed to come back to normal.

It took paddy a few moments to fully calm down, body going lax at eoin’s arms, fitting perfectly like he was born for eoin. His head tipped back to rest on his lover’s shoulder, still holding his hand where it was clasped over paddy’s chest.

“The fucking thunders,” he began, exhaustedly. “The sounds were the same as those on the day of the jump.” He didn’t have to continue further, he couldn’t, but eoin understood him nonetheless. He didn’t have to hear paddy say how finding eoin all scarred up and barely breathing in the sand is an image he will never forget.

“Oh, paddy.” Eoin shifted slightly, taking paddy’s face in his hands and lifting his head up so their eyes could meet. “I’m here, love. I’m not going anywhere.”

Despite himself and his best efforts, paddy’s eyes burned, and he blinked away some couple of tears, eyes never leaving eoin’s.

He kissed him then, slow and careful, and paddy really felt the essence of it, of eoin’s soul and the safety of the both of them. That night they slept curled together, paddy appreciating the warmth of eoin’s very much alive body.