#and these last 2 epilogues have nourished me lol
Me? Back on my Zolf/Wilde/Hamid bullshit? It’s more likely than you think
Hamid groaned as he reached to shut off the alarm clock. The sun wasn’t even up yet.
“Morning,” Wilde said with a yawn. “Are you ready?”
Hamid sighed. “Yeah, I am. But right now I just want to stay here.”
Zolf responded by pressing a slow kiss to Hamid’s shoulder, his hand resting on Hamid’s waist.
“You’ve been excited about this conference for ages,” Wilde replied.
“I know, and I amexcited. But that doesn’t mean I don’t also want to stay sandwiched in between the two of you.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be right here when you get back,” Zolf murmured, his fingers playing with Hamid’s shirt as if he too was loathe to let him leave.
“And we’ll miss you the whole time,” Wilde added.
“And I’ll miss you too.”
“Hey, at least this time you’ll only be gone for a little over a month,” Zolf said. “Last time was way longer than that.”
“That was the worst,” Hamid cried, and Wilde nodded.
“And one of your next conferences is in London, so we’ll be there.”
“You won’t be able to get rid of us,” Wilde teased as he brushed a flyaway hair from Hamid’s face.
“You’ll easily be able to find Oscar in the audience; he’ll be the one snoring,” Zolf remarked dryly.
“Hey! I would never fall asleep during Hamid’s talk. Someone else’s talk… entirely possible.”
Hamid chuckled, savoring the warmth he felt with Oscar and Zolf at his side, both physically and figuratively. He had found a good mixture of work-life balance, where he could travel the world, do his research, and give his talks, while also coming home to that little pub and its proprietors, but that didn’t mean that the leaving was any easier.
“Thank you,” Hamid breathed, taking one of Wilde’s hands and one of Zolf’s into each of his own. “For letting me stay here. And for making his place feel like a home.”
“Itis home, Hamid,” Zolf said, and squeezed Hamid’s hand tight. “As long as you want it to be.”
“And home will be waiting for you, however long you’re gone,” Wilde added. He reached out his free hand to wipe away the tears that started rolling down Hamid’s cheek.
The trio sat like that for a little while longer, savoring each other’s presence, until Zolf broke contact.
“Alright, you really do have to get up and finish packing, or you’re never going to make your ship in time. I know how long it takes you to pack. Getting you or Oscar anywhere takes days.”
“We can’t all wear the same three shirts, Zolf,” Wilde replied. Despite his sass, he too relinquished his grip on Hamid’s hand and sat up, stretching and letting out another noisy yawn. “Some of us understand fashion.”
“Yeah, I understand fashion. I understand that I don’t understand it.”
Hamid laughed again as he sat up and began to drag himself out of bed. Once he was stood on the cold floor, he looked back at Wilde and Zolf. “I love you. I love you both so much.”
Zolf, still seated in bed, reached out for Hamid. He took a step closer so that Zolf could cup his cheek and kiss him, before they fell into an embrace. Meanwhile, Wilde crawled across the covers to stretch his arms around the both of them, holding them tight.
“Okay, now, really – go get packed,” Zolf snapped jokingly when they all started to weakly release their hold on each other.
“Alright, alright.”
Hamid darted around the room and the pub, gathering up his essentials and a frankly ridiculous amount of Zolf’s Cambell fanfiction for the voyage. The place had become a home to him in the months he’d spent there with Zolf and Wilde, and every time he left it felt like losing his magic all over again, as if he was separated from something so intrinsically a part of him. But this time, he would come home in a matter of weeks and see them again, ready to tell them all sorts of stories from his travels. Zolf would complain that Wilde still didn’t know how to pull a pint, and Wilde would in turn complain that Zolf still oversalted the food, and it would be like he never left.
