Only You (Matty Healy/George Daniel)

16: Flames

George groans under his breath when his eyes open without his consent, because it's early - too early in George's opinion. His alarm isn't going off, and judging by the dark skies he can see through the curtains that he neglected to close all of the way last night, it can't even be five in the morning yet, but for some reason, George is wide awake.

George is tempted to bury his face back in his pillow in the hopes of getting a few more hours of rest, but he forces himself to keep his lids open. George isn't a light sleeper - that's Matty's forte, but he typically jolts out of slumber when something is wrong with his best friend, so he has to check up on him before allowing himself to doze back off.

George doesn't understand how his body somehow knows that it has to wake up when Matty needs him, but it's been happening for so long that George has stopped questioning it by this point. He supposes that he might subconsciously hear Matty crying, although Matty typically keeps his sobs relatively quiet unless he's alone, but even when Matty isn't visibly upset, George has somehow trained himself to recognize when he's got to be there for him.

Something shifts in the bed next to George, and it's only then that he remembers that he and Matty fell asleep together, and that he's also naked. Matty's bare back presses closer to George for a brief moment, and although Matty isn't sniffling softly like George half expects him to be - hell, he might not even be awake, George wraps his arms around him, pulling the smaller man into a protective embrace.

"You alright?" George asks in a sleep clogged voice, trying to ignore the way his skin is tingling now that he's touching Matty again, each small point of contact sending miniature shock waves down his spine that have him much more coherent than he was a moment ago.

"Yeah - just having a think," Matty responds softly, his tone clear and not at all muddled by the remnants of slumber, which George takes to mean that he's been up for some time. "I can go back to my bed if I'm bothering you."

"No," George barks out, the one word emitting much harsher than he had intended it to, "uh - I mean, you don't have to. I'm sort of comfortable..." George trails off with a nervous chuckle, idly tracing patterns over Matty's stomach, the muscles in his abdomen jumping under the pads of his fingers in a way that fascinates him. "What's on your mind?" George queries when Matty doesn't say anything else, although he can tell by Matty's body language that he isn't distressed or hiding his emotions away like he occasionally tries to do.

"A lot of things," Matty muses while shifting himself around so he can meet George's eye, "a bit about you actually," Matty admits sheepishly, his gaze darting away just before George's lips split into a wide grin.

"Yeah?" George presses, something warm and potent swelling in his stomach when he imagines himself on Matty's mind which is usually filled with a myriad of other people and events. It's not that George thinks that Matty never dwells on him, but it's the first time that he's heard him say it aloud. "All good right?" George teases, enjoying the light blush that dusts Matty's cheeks which he is currently trying to bury under the blanket.

"Of course you twat, it's not like I secretly hate your guts - 'm not that good of an actor," Matty jokes fondly, but there is a frantic undertone to his sentence, like he's trying to cover something up maybe? George isn't sure, but Matty's smiling at him again, so he doesn't pursue it.

"How long have you been up?" George changes the subject after a few moments, not all that worried about Matty's bad sleeping habits for once, mostly because they'll be stuck on the bus all day and Matty can doze off later if he wishes.

"Not sure really," Matty shrugs, his hands moving under the covers until they latch onto George's hips, inspiring George to inch backward slightly so Matty doesn't notice the fact that his cock is a bit heavy and swollen like it usually is in the mornings. "Maybe half an hour."