comfort {complete}

33

Noah and I are pretty much ready to go, but a certain flirtatious friend of mine is currently wrapping things up with a different overly-muscular blonde. I'm standing on the dock, Noah at my side, sipping one of the six Diet Cokes Lois made us bring.

"Does she have an off switch?" Noah groans, dropping his forehead gently onto my shoulder. I glance at him, biting my lip and remaining very still, like maybe if I move, it'll scare him off.

"Um, no, I don't think so," I reply, turning my attention back to Lois. She's climbing out of the water now, wringing her hair out as she walks towards us. Her eyebrows raise when she sees Noah, who is asleep, I'm pretty sure, and I just shrug—very lightly, though, because I don't want to startle him.

"What's up?" she says, drying off and slipping into her shorts and tank top. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, I think he's just tired. I can't really blame him, seeing as how someone made us stay three hours longer than we intended, just so she could flirt with a bunch of shirtless strangers."

"At least you got to see the sun set."

"Two hours ago."

"You're such a pessimist."

I scoff, even though it's true. Noah startles out of sleep at the sound, lifting his head from my shoulder and squinting wearily at Lois and me. His eyebrows furrow adorably to form his confused expression, and I step towards him, sliding an arm around his waist and pulling him close to me. He sighs and presses his cheek to the top of my head, falling quickly back to sleep.

Lois recites all the numbers she was given while I drive us home, but I'm only half-listening, letting my gaze travel several times to the mirror. Noah looks so peaceful in sleep; that's not to say he's not peaceful when he's awake—really, he seems very mellow—but it's small things now: his loosely lowered eyebrows, the plump set to his lips, the way his head is resting so gently against the window.

I guess everyone looks like that when they sleep, but it's so nice to see him like this: loose.

a/n: i have nothing to say, here's a chapter.