I had been lying on the couch, engrossed in the glow of the TV screen, my mind dancing between the characters on the show and the thoughts that never seemed to pause. It was late, far too late for any reasonable person to be awake, but sleep had evaded me that night. The sound of the door creaking open drew my attention, and I turned my head to see John walking in, his bags slung over his shoulder.
He must have sensed my presence despite the dim lighting, because his lips curved into a tired smile. "Hey, you're still up."
I sat up, offering him a grin in return. "Yeah, just couldn't sleep."
He dropped his bags by the door and made his way over to me, collapsing onto the couch beside me. "Three weeks of overthinking will do that to ya," he said with a chuckle.
I nodded in agreement, my gaze flickering to the bags he had brought back. "How was the tour?"
"Exhausting as always," he replied, stretching his arms above his head with a satisfied groan. "But the fans were amazing, as usual."
It was a familiar routine, John coming home from his wrestling tours and sharing stories from the road. We had become close friends over the years, sharing the ups and downs of our lives. Living together had been a natural progression of our friendship, and it was a setup that suited both of us perfectly.
As John settled in beside me, I caught his gaze wandering to the oversized sweatshirt I was wearing. It was one of his favorites - soft and well-worn, and he often let me borrow it when I needed comfort. "You're wearing my sweatshirt," he observed with a playful grin.
I looked down at the garment, realizing that I had indeed taken comfort in wearing something that smelled like him. "Guilty as charged."
He chuckled softly, his eyes warm as they met mine. "You know you can keep it, right? It looks better on you anyway."
I felt a warmth spreading through me at his words, a mixture of comfort and affection. "Thanks, John."
The room fell into a comfortable silence, the soft glow of the TV casting gentle shadows across the space. I leaned back against the couch, and John did the same, our shoulders brushing as we sat side by side.
"You know," he began after a moment, his voice a little quieter, "I always feel better when I come home and see you're still awake."
I turned to look at him, my heart skipping a beat at the sincerity in his eyes. "Why's that?"
He smiled softly, his gaze never leaving mine. "Because it's like having a piece of home waiting for me."
My breath caught in my throat, the weight of his words sinking in. We had always been close, but there was something about that moment - the way he looked at me, the vulnerability in his voice - that made my heart race.
As if on cue, he reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his touch gentle and intimate. "You're my constant, YNN."
I felt a rush of emotions swirling within me, a whirlwind of feelings I had never allowed myself to acknowledge. The room felt charged with an unspoken tension, a connection that had always been there but had suddenly become impossible to ignore.
"John," I whispered, my voice barely audible, "you're my constant too."
His gaze held mine for a heartbeat, and then, in a move that felt both daring and inevitable, he leaned in and pressed his lips against mine. It was a soft, tender kiss - a declaration of emotions that had long been buried beneath the surface.
As he pulled away, his eyes held a mixture of uncertainty and hope. "I've wanted to do that for a while."
I smiled, my heart feeling lighter than it had in ages. "Me too."
With a shared grin, we settled back against the couch, his arm finding its way around my shoulders. As the TV played in the background, I realized that maybe the reason sleep had been so elusive that night was because, in that unexpected moment, John had given me a sense of belonging and a reason to stay awake.
In his arms, wearing his sweatshirt, I found the peace I had been searching for. And as I nestled against him, I knew that this was the beginning of something new and beautiful - a love that had been right in front of me all along.
