When Harm returned from his friend date with Ben, he wasn't sure whether Trick would have beat him home or not. He'd met Ben in the museum lobby not long after sundown, as planned. Ben chastised him for riding his bike at night and said he would've sent a car for him if he'd known, which Harm laughed off. They'd seen everything by ten and Ben had walked Harm to where his bike was chained up in the rack outside, seeing him off with another mini lecture about safety.
It had been a good night. Ben had been on his best behaviour and Harm had been fascinated by how very normal - and nerdy - he was. Like, Ben really got off on historical stuff. He'd exclaimed over nearly every detail of the Incan empire, drawing Harm's attention to the significant artefacts unearthed in archeological digs and the conclusions drawn because of them. They'd had numerous 'Oh, imagine if...' and 'I wonder what it would've been like to... ' type conversations as they'd wound their way around the Peruvian exhibit, laughing and imagining ancient life for peoples long dead.
There'd only been a few heated looks thrown Harm's way, generally whenever they finished one of their long fantasy conversations or when they incidentally touched - both of them had fallen victim to the urge to grab the other and drag him over to see what he was seeing on more than one occasion. It'd only got really awkward once, when Harm realised they were holding hands at the conclusion of a rapid-fire conversation and he'd pulled away, his fair skin coloured with a blush that Ben's gaze had lingered hotly on. It'd stopped when Harm awkwardly mentioned a photograph Trick could've taken and would've loved to see, causing Ben to conveniently move onto the next display and not engage with him for a while.
Once he let himself into his apartment, Harm was pleased to find Trick wasn't back from work yet. He didn't finish until ten and then he had to drive here, so it was a toss up who'd get there first. Harm was pleased it was him. It gave him a chance to undress out of his nice jeans, dress shirt and blazer. Trick hadn't seen him since six o'clock that morning when he'd left for work in his scrubs, he didn't want his boyfriend to know that he'd felt intimidated enough to dress up for his museum visit. That made it seem like a real date, rather than just a couple of friends hanging out. He'd mainly done it because it was the museum at night and that had felt like a reason to dress a bit fancy.
Almost the instant his boxer brief-clad ass had fallen onto the couch and he'd switched the TV on, Harm heard Trick's keys jingle as he approached the door. It was a sound he'd learnt to listen for, his heart always racing with excitement because it meant Trick was about to arrive. They hadn't spent any nights apart since they'd become official and Harm wasn't keen to start now. It wasn't even that they had to get used to each other before Europe; he was just already used to Trick sleeping beside him (and, sure, soooooo much awesome sex but mostly the cuddling) and would miss him terribly if he was gone.
Harm sprang up off the couch and raced to the door, yanking it open before Trick had a chance to put his key in the lock. He only wore his underwear and a big grin on his face, backlit by the single standing lamp in the lounge room. "Welcome home!" he crowed, stepping back just enough that Trick could enter but he'd have to kiss him hello on the way past. Harm didn't care if any of his neighbours saw him in his undies. "It wasn't locked, I left it open for you!"
