Flinthamilton post-reunion. Maybe focusing on james and how *exhausted* and beaten down he is and thomas comforting him

squid-inspiration:

i combined these two bc i’d planned some wood-chopping for the first prompt bef the second hit my inbox, and who am i to question this divine coincidence?

this is 3 down, ~11 more to go! (you guys sent in a lot of prompts wow)

if anyone wants some musical accompaniment, riches and wonders by eliza rickman and jherek bischoff goes nicely w this.

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When
Thomas had started heating the water he had still been able to hear
the regular thwack of the axe outside. Now, with the boiling
water poured into cups, he noticed that the sound had ceased.

He
found James standing motionless over the carcass of the sassafras
tree he had been disassembling. He could smell its rich, sweet scent
from the fresh wounds the axe had hewn.

“Tea
is ready, love.”

James’
fingers twitched in acknowledgement but he didn’t turn. His head was
bowed and Thomas noticed how loose his grip around the axe handle
was. He swiftly placed one of the cups on the porch and hurried to
take the axe from his husband’s hand before it could fall and injure
him.

When
Thomas peered into James’ face his suspicions were confirmed—he
looked tired and drawn, and very far away.

“Hold
this.” Thomas pressed the cup into James’ palm and curled his
fingers around it. “Do that for me, love? Watch it a moment for
me.”

He
fetched a blanket from inside and bundled James into it on the porch,
sitting him down with the cup of tea while Thomas picked up the axe.
The straight grain of the logs split easily and he finished the
waiting stack within less than a quarter of an hour. He wasn’t sure
what James had planned for it, given that it burnt fast but not as
hot as other woods, and he simply finished what work had been begun.
Maybe James would later decide to break it further into kindling.

James
didn’t speak and seemded half-asleep in his warm cocoon of blankets,
only one hand visible where it held the cup.

Thomas
kept his eyes on the task at hand, but snuck the odd glance at James.

It
wasn’t the first time this had happened. James didn’t go anywhere,
not the way Thomas occasionally would, when he felt removed from his
body and far outside everything. From what he had gleaned, in these
moments James simply… realised. Realised how long those ten years
had been,  realised all the hardship he had gone through, and how
tired he was. He had never allowed himself rest or respite,
not even with Miranda—he had always been about to go off on the
next haul, hunt down the next merchant ship, plan the next attack on
the British. Occasionally, James had told him, he remembered, and his
body remembered, and it was as if the tiredness of a decade came
crashing down on him all at once.

Sometimes
he’d simply fall into wordless musing in the middle of whatever it
was he had been doing, sometimes he’d curl up for an hour of
dreamless sleep.

The
wood was done with at last, and Thomas moved to sit beside James. As
he went he grabbed an apple from the crate he had used to harvest
them earlier in the day.

“Have
a bite,” he said and leant heavily against James’ shoulder as he
held the apple out to him. He took a bite of his own, after, and the
sweetness of the sassafrass and the crisp tartness of the apple
mingled pleasantly as he stared up into the blue autumn sky. There
were sassafrass leaves littered about, deep red: oval, two-lobed and
three-lobed, fantastical shapes against the rich earth.

They
chewed in companionable silence and Thomas sighed when James extended
a blanket-draped arm to pull him into its warmth.

“Feeling
better?”

“Much,”
James said and pressed an apple-sticky kiss to Thomas’ temple. He
took the fruit from Thomas’ hand and took another bite. Thomas helped
himself to a swig of tea. It was only lukewarm anymore, but the
afternoon was mild yet. “I could make apple cake tonight.”

“Mh.”
Thomas contorted a little to press his cheek into James’ should. “I’d
love that.”

“And
then we’ll go to bed early.”

Thomas
grinned. “Oh?”

“You’ve
spared me quite a bit of work, I think that deserves a reward.”

“Such
as a nap.”

“Of
course.” James nodded, very sensibly. “Among other things.”

“Of
course,” Thomas agreed and looked forward to an evening spent
exchanging languorous sugar-and-apple-flavoured kisses and letting
their bodies chase exertion and rest as they pleased.

There
was no hurry.