muserevival | 094.1 || Lyrics

"In the blink of an eye
Just a whisper of smoke
You could lose everything
The truth is you never know
So I'll kiss you longer baby
Any chance that I get
I'll make the most of the minutes
and love with no regrets."
• Like I'm Gonna Lose You, Meghan Trainor

Working nights was never Malcolm's favorite thing. It came with the territory of working in a hospital, but he had never been a fan. He was a fan of being a trauma doctor, and he loved his job, but like any other job, there were things you liked a lot, and pieces you weren't so fond of. His dislike of working nights had only increased since getting married. Home with Levi was where he wanted to be at night. Lachlan teased him about being an old married man these days, but the truth was, Lachlan understood it. It was something that every doctor in a hospital dealt with when they had a family. The price of doing what you loved, while having people you loved, too. But ultimately, Malcolm was grateful for his husband, and for his job, and he wouldn't change either one of them.

Still, there was a feeling akin to relief when he got home after a late shift... sometimes in the wee hours of the morning, sometimes well into the morning, depending on the day. Getting into his own home, off his tired feet and close to his husband, even if he was still sleeping soundly in their bed. This particular night, Mal didn't immediately crawl into bed, instead sitting on the edge of it and watching his husband sleep. Levi sometimes teased him that he was a creep for watching him sleep at night, but Mal knew how to take a joke, and while he may have teased him about it, Levi also knew that after nearly having died right in front of him would give Mal good reason to want to know his husband was safe.

Mal never took for granted his husband's safety and health. Granted, Levi's health was nowhere near what it was before his accident. He was prepared to become a professional footballer, and that would never happen now. He was still trying to find his feet and Malcolm was proud of him for not giving up on life, but he knew how much it had hurt Levi to have his dream ripped away from him -- everything he'd worked for for so long. He was lucky to have his life, but it was nothing like the life he'd dreamed and planned for. But Mal still understood that it was a gift in itself that he came home to Levi, alive and mostly well, and a marriage filled with love, if far from perfect.

It was only after several quiet moments there by his husband's sleeping form, watching the rise and fall of his chest, tracing his fingers over the wedding band on Levi's hand, that Mal shucked himself out of his t-shirt and jeans, having changed out of his scrubs at work, and slid into bed behind the younger man, his arm wrapping gentle, but firm, around his middle. In the quiet of the room, Malcolm shifted to press his lips gently to Levi's cheek. Every kiss, every touch, every moment spent with him was something that Mal more than treasured, knowing that he could've lost him the day they "met" without ever having gotten to know the gorgeous man he'd fallen head over heels in love with. And he also knew, because of what he did for a living, that it could all be gone in the blink of an eye. Another moment with a person you loved was never a promise, only a possibility and a hope. Which was why, most nights, when he came home to Levi sleeping, he settled in just like this, holding him close, breathing his scent and truly experiencing what it was to be close to your lover. And once he was satisfied that Levi was breathing normally, warm and safe against Malcolm's body, only then would he let himself settle into the warmth himself and close his eyes.

Malcolm MacLaren, Original Character

Levi is thislovingfeeling, and is used with love