Comfortable Warmth

The rest of the journey to the country house, or rather, their trip back home was a peaceful one. Not a single human in sight during the night. Whether they were asleep or fighting off a budding zombie infection was unbeknownst to them. No human being truly knew when the infection occurred or where it precisely originated, since those who were infected never lived to tell the tale. All they knew was that tomorrow morning was the dawn of a new morning and world.

Oliver's eyes fluttered to the front windshield, relishing in the sight of their home. A dull blue two-story house surrounded by a multitude of crops, ranging from corn to squashes to a large plot of wheat, everything was split by the dirt pathways that all led to either the stone wall surrounding the land or the country house. He vaguely remembered that years ago, he asked the farmworkers to just make the most of the land, looking at it for a second lifetime, they truly did what he asked for. Each crop was healthy, though unripe. But, would soon be ready for picking within either weeks or months, which would be enough to last a base for a while.

The car gradually came to a stop as it approached the stone wall of the territory. He was a bit confused as to why they stopped here until Oliver realized that they needed to open the gate to allow the car to enter the area. Just when he was about to open the passenger door and leave, a little tug caught his attention.

He realized that his hand was still snug within Aiden's hand. He was so comfortable that he forgot he was holding Aiden's hand! They held hands for three hours! Using his free hand to embarrassedly scratch his cheek, Oliver chose not to shake the hand off. It was nice anyway. A little longer wouldn't hurt. Time was by their side, so there was no reason to not enjoy the moment.

Aiden also didn't seem to have any intention to let go of his hand, thus, they just sat in the car, enjoying the quiet and tactic warmth. Though, it might have been a bit too warm. Within mere minutes, Oliver's eyelashes began to flutter frequently and his head began to bob despite the car's current stillness.

He felt sleepiness try to overtake him and he tried to fight back from the urge. The two of them finally came home together and he was going to sleep instead of celebrating with a little party?! A night before the apocalypse celebration! When he was about to shake himself out of his drowsiness he felt a hand cover his eyes. The rough fingers laid gently on top of his eyelids as if afraid to break his fragile self, all while attempting to reassure him that he could sleep. Oliver lightly scoffed at Aiden's actions, yet still succumbed to the comfort that the other brought to him.

Oliver squeezed out a slight mumble, "Shouldn't you be sleepier than me...?"

Aiden smiled wryly at Oliver's comment and simply waited until he heard rhythmic and soft breathing from the other.

How could he ever be sleepy at this time? He already got all the rest he needed when he had Oliver in his embrace a few hours ago. Aiden slightly coughed when thinking back to his actions, he was too overly excited and relieved to reunite with Oliver again.

When he first returned to three years before the apocalypse and woke up in his original home, he felt like he was abandoned.

He died so he could meet Oliver again. And yet, there was no trace of him when he woke up. Although unreasonable, Aiden truly thought he was in the afterlife and Oliver had gotten sick of waiting for him, so he left him. With that line of logic, Aiden simply changed into casual clothing and wandered around the city in search of his Oliver. However, the word "wandered" was a nice word. He was more like a soulless being shambling around with no clear purpose.

He just needed and wanted to find Oliver.

The thought of him traveling back to time had passed by his mind multiple times, but Aiden could not properly reason out as to how he had returned. It made more sense to him that he was dead and in the afterlife.

Aiden felt himself losing hope. Maybe he was in hell, being punished for his inability to keep his loved one safe. That thought lodged itself into the depths of his mind. His feet still refused to stop and give up, to accept this possible reality.

Within a few hours of both walking and riding buses, he finally reached a familiar area. In front of him was a bumpy and untended to the road due to lack of travelers and an obnoxious billboard advertising beef jerky on the side. Aiden immediately recognized the place where he first met Oliver.

He felt himself hurry near the billboard and sat down on the floor, his eyes intensely staring at only one direction. If he truly returned to the day before the apocalypse, Oliver should come rushing down with a car and pick him up!

This little hope, he could only grasp on tight. He could only hope that he actually was once again alive and not living through a lonely afterlife. He could only wait and wait for Oliver.

He waited for a couple of hours in the hot sun and burning wind, causing him to be sweaty and matted in the dirt. Aiden thought of how Oliver would definitely be happy seeing him like this, a bit miserable looking, but still handsome.

Oliver always saw him as the only handsome man in the human population. Always verbally appreciating his face value through compliments, though Aiden could tell he was only joking around and did not see him for just his looks. They were both each other confidants, consultants, and friends. Well, Aiden was hoping and working towards becoming more than friends.

He clearly felt the ambiguity between them, which was often brushed off by Oliver as simply "a close bond of friendship" or "awkwardness" between them. Aiden felt that if he pushed a bit more with no one coming between them, the two would become a couple. Unfortunately, the luxury of pursuit was unavailable as Aiden let "that" group of vermins who claimed to be his lovers exist within the base.

But, in the future, if this current timeline is real, he would use his all to pursue him.

Aiden saw a familiar car approach him. His breathing gets rough and his gaze becomes more intense.

Now, he had all the time he needed and wanted.

"Hey! You! Want to hitch a ride with me?!" A melodic male voice rung out loudly towards him.

All that waiting was nothing compared to that familiar sentence accompanied by that face that he longed to see for a year.

Oliver had not left him, nor has either of them waited in vain. They returned three years into the past to be reunited again on this day.

Thinking back to that moment, Aiden felt his eyes burn again but refused to let a single drop fall. He was happy, so why shed a tear? If he still had energy, he should bring Oliver back into their home.

Aiden started to get out of the car and attempted to hold Oliver carefully in his embrace, he somehow managed to get Oliver onto his back and marched towards the gate.

After opening it, he locked the car to come back for it tomorrow morning and headed inside the house. The keys were under the mat as Oliver had previously shown him in their past life and headed to their room.

He first carefully laid Oliver down onto the bed, before snuggling right next to him. They shared a room under Aiden's old excuse of "saving space," even if there were other available and unused rooms. And now, he was glad that Oliver had so easily agreed to share both a room and a bed after that one excuse.

Aiden looked at Oliver's sleeping face, tracing every inch with his gaze and let out a slightly satisfied smile. He grasped the other's hand and interlocked their fingers together. He drifted off to sleep, not realizing that Oliver had cracked open his eyes, just a bit, and saw him smile foolishly in his view.

He snuggled closer to Aiden, his leg wrapped around the other's leg and he placed his head towards his chest, listening to the soothing heartbeat. The warmth spread throughout his body, mainly concentrating on his cheeks as he felt embarrassed at his actions, but refused to retract them. He soon nodded off within minutes.

Like that, they fell asleep in each other's comforting warmth.