Only You (Matty Healy/George Daniel)

2: Calling Out

George ends up calling it a night after a second joint and a quite a few slices of pizza, leaving Matty on the sofa once the older man declines his offer of being set up in the spare room, saying he was going to watch some television for a bit longer before teasing George about getting old, even though it is nearing one in the morning now, which is a perfectly valid time to begin pleading tiredness in George's opinion.

George falls asleep quickly, the emotionally taxing evening coupled with the drinking at Ross' party has left him drained and exhausted, but it seems that George has only just closed his eyes when they are snapping open again, his pupils dilating as he tries to adjust his vision to the smothering darkness that surrounds him.

After checking the clock to his left, George sees that it is barely past four, leaving him confused about why the hell he is suddenly so wide awake.

George isn't like Matty who hardly seems to rest at all some days, but after five minutes of pointlessly squeezing his lids shut in the hopes of dozing back off, George gets up, deciding to go check on Matty while maybe snagging himself a glass of water to remove the cottony taste coating the inner walls of his mouth.

George glances into the guest bedroom, but the sheets are smoothed and untouched, meaning that Matty most likely chose to crash on the sofa, either that, or he went home, but George thinks that the second possibility is unlikely.

Matty doesn't like to be alone after a breakup, and George can sense that he is still here somewhere. He isn't sure how, but his home feels different when Matty's in it, and even though George can't describe the change in atmosphere with coherent sentences, he knows he likes it.

George pads into the living room quietly, trying his best not to disturb Matty with his late night wanderings, but as soon as he peeks over the back of the cushions discretely, he can tell that Matty is awake without needing to see his face.

His stiff shoulders give it away, not to mention the soft tremors that slowly snake their way down his spine, the silent clues alerting George to the fact that Matty is crying again.

George's chest clenches painfully as he observes Matty, because although he hadn't expected Matty to move on in a matter of hours, he had seemed so much better before George had parted ways with him to catch some shut-eye, but apparently that wasn't the case, leaving George feeling guilty for abandoning his best friend when he needed him most.

George forces himself to walk into the kitchen before approaching Matty, not wanting the older man to discover George spying on him.

He hums absentmindedly while filling a nearby cup from the tap, making sure to produce a decent amount of noise so Matty will be aware that he is no longer the only person up at this hour.

When George hears a soft whimper, he immediately drops what he's doing and rushes over to Matty's side, knowing that the sound is Matty's way of asking for company. He won't say it with words, but if he wanted George to leave him be, he would have remained quiet, and George has become an expert at picking up on Matty's non-verbal cues over the past few years.

George rounds the corner quickly, the glow from the television which is playing on mute in the background highlighting Matty's swollen eyes and quivering mouth. Silent tears are streaking down his cheeks once more, and George has to physically restrain himself from leaning down and wiping them away with his thumb.

Matty doesn't react to George's sudden appearance, only his tightened grip on the throw blanket which he has wrapped around himself again lets George know he is aware of what is going on.

Matty is still shivering slightly, even under the covering, and George isn't sure if the action is caused by the cold or Matty's emotions, but he assumes it is a combination of both.