Chapter Text
Jimmy woke up slowly, shifting slightly as he opened his eyes. He didn’t remember falling asleep last night. The previous day's events must have made him more tired than he thought. He yawned and snuggled deeper into the surface he was on, not wanting to get up quite yet. There was a steady, rhythmic beat underneath him and Jimmy opened his eyes again to see that he had fallen asleep on Joel’s chest.
He noticed a gentle pressure against his back and Jimmy turned his head to see Joel’s hand, covering him and acting like a blanket. Jimmy turned back forward and looked up, seeing the underside of Joel’s chin. He appeared to still be asleep.
This was not the first time Jimmy had fallen asleep on one of his humans. He had done it a few times before with both Joel and Grian. Jimmy would never admit it but it was his favorite way to sleep. Not only did he enjoy being close to them but he felt the safest there. It was easy falling asleep when he knew nothing could happen to him.
Jimmy smiled a bit, enjoying it while Joel was still asleep. But then he began to think back to last night, to getting stuck in that glue trap. He shivered, that helpless feeling overwhelming him once more at just the memory .
Before he could think too much more about it though, Joel started to stir. A low groan escaping his lips. The hand on him curled around him a bit more, acting as a protective shield as Joel continued to wake up. Jimmy didn’t say or do anything, just let his mind focus on watching Joel wake up. It was a good distraction from the memories of the previous day.
Joel opened his eyes and they immediately glanced down at Jimmy. Jimmy blinked at him and Joel closed his eyes again with another small groan. “...Morning.” Joel said, stretching his free arm.
“Morning.” Jimmy replied back. Joel yawned, turning his head away as he did so. He blinked his eyes open again, this time keeping them open, and pulled himself up a bit so he was now sitting up. The hand around him applied just enough pressure to keep him pressed against Joel’s chest so that he didn’t slide down and fall.
“We must have fallen asleep during the movie last night.” Joel said, noticing the laptop still open at the end of the bed. Of course, the screen was black now, having lost power hours ago. “Not surprising though, considering…well.” Joel stopped himself from saying anything more. He looked down at Jimmy and maneuvered him gently so he was fully cupped in his hand and then moved said hand away from his chest to get a proper look at him. “Are you…doing okay?”
Jimmy simply shrugged. Not really feeling like getting into it very much. “Better.” Not a lie. “Just…kind of trying to ignore it.”
Joel hummed. He couldn’t blame Jimmy for that. “I’m gonna talk to my parents about it today.” Joel said once again. “It’s never going to happen again.” Joel was confident in that statement, leaving no room to argue.
Jimmy believed Joel, it was hard not to when his tone was that sure. He knew Joel would protect him, especially now that he knew about those sorts of dangers. “I know.” Jimmy said, a small smile tugging on his lips. His smile fell a moment later though. “We don’t have to worry about the dorms. I’ve never seen any sorts of traps set up in them.” Jimmy said, thinking to mention that to ease Joel’s mind a bit. It had been so long since Jimmy had to worry about traps that he had almost forgotten that they were something he had to worry about.
“That’s…good.” Joel said, though Jimmy isn’t sure why he said it like that.
“Joel?” Jimmy asked and Joel sighed.
“It’s just…you shouldn’t have had to worry about it here either.” He looked away, eyes downcast. “My place was supposed to be safe. You were supposed to be safe here.”
Jimmy felt guilt crawling through his gut despite having no reason to. “I am safe here.” Jimmy said, trying to reassure Joel. Trying to reassure himself . “I didn’t…I’m fine now, right? You got me out of that thing and now we’re here and I’m okay .” His words were for himself as much as they were for Joel.
“Still…you shouldn’t have had to go through that. I can’t even imagine …” Joel trailed off, shaking his head.
“It was the most fear and panic I’ve felt in a long time.” Jimmy revealed despite himself. Joel’s eyes snapped back to Jimmy, wide with surprise. “Since…you know.” Since meeting Joel and Grian for the first time. The words were left unsaid but both still heard it. “But even then…I knew you would get me out of there. There was no doubt in my mind about that.”
Joel swallowed and Jimmy couldn’t help but watch the small lump go down Joel’s throat. It was hard to meet Joel’s eyes right now, with him being so open and vulnerable about everything. “Well…I’m glad I could.” Joel said quietly.
Jimmy nodded and they both fell silent. Joel’s thumb came over to him and lightly nudged his side and then moved over to press gently against Jimmy’s chest. It was reminiscent of their first meeting, though a lot less overwhelming now. Since then, Joel liked to do this, in order to feel his heart beat. Joel never said anything about it, but Jimmy suspected it was to bring Joel some comfort, in knowing that Jimmy was okay. Jimmy’s long since seen the gesture as comforting himself.
After a few moments, Joel removed his thumb and broke the silence. “I say we spend the day in bed today. I can’t be bothered to get up and move around.” Joel said, his voice teetering back toward normalcy, a bit more booming, a bit more Joel. Jimmy found comfort in the fact that Joel was acting how he normally would.
“I mean, it’s your vacation.” Jimmy said with a shrug and a small smile. Joel looked down and smiled back. “You do what you want.”
“It’s our vacation Jim.” Joel said. “But yeah, I think I will.” He sunk back into bed and held Jimmy closer to him, bringing his other hand up to cup both of them around the borrower. “And I’m dragging you into it because otherwise I would be bored.”
Jimmy rolled his eyes. “Right, of course.” He chuckled and leaned into the warmth of Joel’s hands. “...Thanks.”
Joel simply smiled, a softer one this time and Jimmy knew Joel got what he meant by it. “Wanna watch some youtube videos on my phone?” Joel asked, since the laptop was a bust for now.
“Just as long as it’s Mumbo Jumbo we’re watching.” Jimmy said with a grin, as Joel turned to his side and set Jimmy down on the bed in front of him. Jimmy sat and leaned back against Joel’s chest, looking up at him as Joel reached over and grabbed his phone off the nightstand.
“Of course.” Joel said with a roll of his eyes. “But we’re definitely watching some of those miniature cooking videos after.” Those kinds of videos had started off as a way to tease Jimmy, and they still were, but it was also really cool to watch too.
“Ugh, fine.” Jimmy said, pretending to be annoyed but he enjoyed those videos too.
Joel smiled and pressed on the newest Mumbo video before holding it out in front of both him and Jimmy, settling in to watch for the next few hours at least. As the first few minutes played, Joel’s free hand came up next to Jimmy, not touching him, just being close. Jimmy was the one who moved even closer, leaning against the hand before turning his attention back to the video.
Though Jimmy still felt the unease of helplessness at the thought of what happened yesterday, it no longer threatened to overwhelm him. He was okay. He was here. And with Joel, he was safer than he had ever been.
He was going to be okay. And he knew that for certain.