DYK

So, several reasons for this:

1) I’ve recently made a geeky, red-haired male character by the name of “Raleigh” (pronounced “rally” compared to “RAW-lay”)

2) There’s a “Did you know” on tumblr stating that men are hard-wired to fall asleep after sex.

And so my TG!Raleigh wanted to come out and play.

BTW, New!Ral is actually /older/ than TG!Ral.  But we’re going to ignore that :3

NOW ONTO THE STUFFS!!!

Raleigh had a tendency to get extra sleepy after sex.  Granted, there was a lot of physical exertion involved and that one time they tried out that position that one time had him feeling so completely drained afterwards he near enough passed out onto the sofa for about a week – but Raleigh always ended up nuzzling into the nearest part of Elliot he could reach and snoozing away the time most couples would spend cuddling.  It never ruined the moment – at least Raleigh thought it didn’t.  He’d wake up snuggled against Elliot, feeling the youngster running his fingers through soft red locks made even curlier by the sweat that had formed during their activities.  Elliot always had a happy yet lazy smile on his face which led Raleigh to believe he didn’t mind the lack of after-sex-cuddles that some partners preferred.

With the thought nagging at him for a while now, Raleigh couldn’t hold it in much longer.  They’d been together for some time now.  Raleigh was now one of Elliot’s main emergency contacts and Raleigh had even signed some document at reception stating that as a guardian adult, Elliot was allowed to stay with him on weekends and holidays or any other out-of-school times.  It certainly meant that the school didn’t fret that Elliot wasn’t in his dorm but on the official documents Raleigh was classed as a ‘parental figure’ since they couldn’t actually openly admit their relationship.  To them though, what they had needed no labelling.  They got to be together and that was all that mattered.  Still, Raleigh couldn’t help but worry about his boyfriend and how he was coping with being in a relationship so different to what he was used to.

Laying on his front on his sofa one Sunday afternoon, Raleigh watched as he brushed his fingers through the fibres of the rug his mother had brought him from Italy.  It was rare she ever brought him extravagant gifts which meant sooner or later she was going to want him to at least acknowledge the part of the family that pretty much wanted nothing to do with him all for the sake of his father.  There was a huge age difference between his parents – even bigger than what he had with Elliot – and that didn’t stop their love.  Little managed to get in the way from what he could tell.  But Elliot wasn’t his mother (thankfully; that would be pretty weird otherwise) and Raleigh was worried he wasn’t being /enough/ for him.

With a sigh, Raleigh rolled over onto his back and pushed himself up far enough that he could place his chin on the back of the sofa and look over towards the kitchen where Elliot was.  He was making a packed lunch to take on some trip or other tomorrow and Raleigh couldn’t help but find it utterly adorable.  He would have said something, were it not for the thoughts tugging in his head.  “Hey, Eli?” he began, sliding his arms around the back of the sofa and watching as the lad in question turned to look at him.  “Do you ever…you know…get annoyed?” Raleigh asked, not sure where to actually begin.

“Annoyed at what, exactly?” he asked, leaving his half prepared sandwiches to turn and focus entirely on Raleigh, a slight hint of confusion slipping over his feature.  “There are a few things that annoy me.”

“About me,” Raleigh responded simply, waving a hand when Elliot frowned.  “I don’t mean ‘Do I annoy you’ which will eventually lead to ‘Are you going to leave me’ although I wonder…” he trailed off, glancing down at the floor spanning out between them.  God, he hoped it didn’t start looking like an ocean in his mind.  “I mean about me falling asleep.”

“On the sofa?” Elliot asked, still unsure just what the heck Raleigh was going on about.  “You’ve been doing that long before I met you that I doubt you’ll ever kick the habit,” he replied with a small smile, despite how his eyebrows still had that little crease in the middle giving away his confusion.  “I think it’s cute and at least you’re getting some sleep.  You work too hard sometimes and I worry you don’t eat enough when you have a deadline.”

Raleigh chuckled, pressing his lips into the backs of his hands.  Elliot was just too sweet for his own good.  “After sex.”

And there was that blush, rising like an opening poppy in the sunlight, gracing Elliot’s cheeks in a way that sent tingles racing through Raleigh’s body.  Mention sex casually and sometimes Elliot could turn into such the blushing bride.  “Well…you do…uhm…put a lot of effort in…” Elliot mumbled, glancing down at his shoes while shuffling his feet.

“But does it annoy you?  I know some people like cuddling up together after sex and for some people it’s a must-have otherwise the relationship is just doomed.  I try to and I want to but once I’m just wrapped up with you all I want to do is fall asleep like that.”  He ruffled the hair at the back of his neck.  “I like falling asleep with you,” he admitted.

Seeming to have grappled with his internal embarrassment demons, Elliot picked his head up and headed over to where Raleigh was, reaching out to slide his hands over Raleigh’s shoulders and squeezing them in a comforting way.  “That…Is not one of the things about you that annoy me,” he said honestly.  A bright smile lit up his face and he leaned in to press his lips softly against Raleigh’s.  “To be honest with you, I’ve fallen asleep a few times myself only I’ve woken up before you; unless, you know, we were going to sleep anyway.”

Grinning into the kiss, Raleigh leaned in for another once Elliot was done talking, sliding his hands around his waist and pulling him closer until all that was in their way was the back of the sofa.  One hand fell lower than the other, smoothing over Elliot’s rear and giving it a generous squeeze.  “I’m glad,” he said, grinning now like a fool only for it to slip away when his mind registered everything his young lover had said.  “Wait – so what does annoy you then?”