Muffled words

31

TW: derealisation

Clay's POV

We stayed hugging in that room for a while, comfortable in the warmth of one other. About 5 minutes had passed when I felt George's body start to go limp, and pulling away to check I saw that his eyes were closed, face flushed. Instead of waking him up to go upstairs I lifted him gently, easily taking him up to his bed and laying him down on it. His hands gripped the front of my shirt, and didn't release when I tried to leave him on the mattress. I smiled slightly, staring down at the sleeping brunette's calm face. Despite his steady breaths his hold on me didn't loosen, so I eventually just lay down beside him, pushing the hair away from his face. He hummed slightly, his eyebrows furrowing, and shuffled forward until his head lay under my chin. Arms wrapped round me as a leg snuck over mine, George now holding onto me almost like a koala. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I grinned, feeling like I had been sent straight to a dream.

But I hadn't.

This was real.

So I held him against me, his face nuzzled into my shirt, and his breaths slowing to be in time with mine. We didn't have a blanket, but we didn't need one. We were warm together-- happy.

____

George's POV

I woke up to light shining through gap in the curtain, my legs cold. When my eyes opened they were met with the front of Clay's shirt, a smile spreading gradually across my face. His arms were wrapped over me like a protective blanket, my leg between his. It was such an intimate position, yet I didn't feel weird. I was completely comfortable.

Home.

I felt at home. I didn't have to wait for things to get better, I didn't have to try and heal independently— there was no need for me to worry anymore. My anxiety of the love I had being revealed had vanished, the only important thing then being that we were curled up beside each other.

I lifted my head to see his face and couldn't help but smile at the way he had clearly been looking down at me before he fell asleep, neck tilted forward. His freckles danced in an irregular pattern over his nose, long eyelashes casting almost invisible shadows against his cheeks from the dim light. It was the same feeling as seeing him for the first time- warmth building in my chest and making me want to scream in the best way. I wasn't really used to so much emotion at once, unexpected tears suddenly stinging my eyes. I ignored it and let them roll down onto the pillow, still staring at Clay, but eventually lifting a hand to wipe my eyes and sniffling slightly.

"Hmm..George?"

His voice was low and slurry, me now looking up again to see half-open green eyes watching me. An arm tightened around my waist and I grinned, sniffing and shaking my head at the concern on his face. "Crap, what..are you okay??" His voice was suddenly laced with panic, a slight giggle escaping my lips at the way he pulled away to get a better look at my face. No matter my constant nods of reassurance Clay made me sit up, searching the bed and me to see if he could find anything wrong. I just watched and laughed, wiping the remaining tears from my face and saying nothing.
When he finally decided I wasn't lying he took my face in his hands, thumbs cold against my warmed cheeks. The smile faded naturally from my face, eyes focused on his. When he stuck out his lip into a sympathetic pout I let out a breathy laugh, my hands fidgeting in my lap. He, of course, noticed, and pressed our palms together before interlocking our fingers. Then he moved our hands round and down until they rested against the bed, our eye contact still held easily. We both leaned forward slightly. Our foreheads came together to touch and I let my eyes travel to Clay's lips, the room suddenly quiet other than our soft breathing. My heartbeat grew faster. Our noses brushed together.