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Elliott found out very quickly in their relationship that Crypto did not like surprises. Well, maybe that wasn't fair-or accurate. Small gifts or acts of affection were fine, Crypto just didn't like it when Elliott showed up to his room unannounced or wanted to hang out then and there. He seemed to...like having notice.
So maybe that's why Elliott thought it was a brilliant idea to bring this particular thing up now than later. He'd sent the text an hour ago, but within that time his confidence frayed and splintered, until he was left checking his phone and a gnawing deep inside wore at him. Why did he think this was a good idea? Crypto probably thought he was being needy or forward or-
His phone buzzed, and Elliott jumped. No, not jumped, because that meant he was nervous and he was not nervous. So he didn't jump, and he did not immediately dive for the coffee table and open the text message.
8:20 You want to spend the night?
Elliott stared at the words, and imagining them being spoken was no help. Crypto's monotone often switched between soft and tired and hard and stern, sometimes even during the same breath that it was difficult to figure out just what he meant. Like right now.
About the only thing Elliott understood was that Crypto parroted back the text sent to him in the first place.
8:25 Yeah I want to spend the night. With you, if that wasn't obvious. But not in a sex way, just like a sleepover way. Not that I don't want to have sex with you, just not right now but maybe later? You know what, forget I said all that, are you alright with it? Spending the night I mean.
There was no reply for so long, Elliott wondered if he did in fact screw up. Then his phone buzzed again.
8:45 I don't know whether you were trying to hint at something, or you really did forget that the backspace button exists for a reason.
Elliott's cheeks reddened. 8:48 Which one makes me sound better?
8:49 Neither. I will think about it though.
8:50 The sex thing?
8:51 ...idiot
-
The answer came in the morning, when Elliott was half-awake and lying in bed. His hand slapped the nightstand a few times in reaching his phone. He wiped away the drool on the corner of his mouth, sleepy eyes trained on the screen.
8:05 Yes, you can spend the night this evening in my room.
Elliott blinked a few times, before he grinned. 8:07 Should I bring eggs?
8:09 XP You are not nearly as humorous as you think.
8:11 I'm funny and you know it. ;)
In the end, Elliott decided against the eggs. He was getting to spend the night in Crypto's room, which was a huge step now that he thought about it. All the time they spent together was usually in Elliott's dorm and watching some movie or another. Point was, the most Elliott knew about Crypto's taste in interior decorating was the space he had on the dropship.
The man was secretive, and despite how curious Elliott was about him still, he kept it to questions which ranged from 'what's your favourite food' to 'what are you always doing on your computer?' Those questions never got answered.
Elliott shifted the strap of his bag over his shoulder, making for Crypto's room. He paused once outside the door, but straightened up as he knocked. When the door opened, Elliott made sure a confident grin was in place. "Hey, cutie."
Crypto rolled his eyes, but his lips turned up slightly when Elliott kissed his cheek. It was always nice getting the other man to smile or chuckle, it meant that he liked him. Right?
"So," Elliott hurried to say, just to clear his head, "you up for watching something first?"
"That was the idea, yes." Crypto replied. When he stepped aside, Elliott got his first real look at the dorm.
The room was very clean, with nothing out of place and Elliott wondered if it was because Crypto kept it tidy or didn't have much to begin with. Elliott blinked when he noticed he was being watched just as carefully.
"It's very nice." Elliott smiled widely, and winked at the other man. "And I don't just mean the room."
Crypto let out a quiet huff. "You are aware there is no need to continue flattering me, correct?"
Elliott shrugged, his smile sweetening. "Do I need a reason to say you look great?"
The other man's eyes widened just a bit, and the barest tint of red colored his cheeks before turning away. Elliott's grin returned, and he trailed after Crypto to the couch. Dropping his bag, Elliott noticed it looked...out of place, patches of yellow and orange and brown, clashing against the pale colors of the room. Just like he looked out of place.
Elliott shook his head sharply. "You want some coffee? I make a great cup of coffee. I'm gonna go make some." He got up from his seat, and hurried over to the cupboard by the sink in the connected kitchenette. Elliott paused and stared at the steel cupboards, and shot a quick glance over his shoulder.
Crypto was staring back at him, head tilted slightly to the side. His expression was one of faint amusement. "Cupboard to your left, bottom shelf."
"I could have figured it out," Elliott said, before his voice lowered, "but thanks, babe." Briskly, he fetched the cannister and used the familiarity of this action at least to stamp down the nerves. He was here, he could do this. It was just a night, maybe the first of many-if he didn't screw this up.
Elliott couldn't be sure of what they'd be doing, but knew what they wouldn't, at least. Even if they just laid next to each other, he'd be happy with that. To know they were getting closer and more comfortable. 'Or Crypto's just going to get me to sleep on the couch-which would be fine too.'
Just staying the night is enough, because there's more trust in that gesture with how private a person he is.
"I think we're both going to be up all night now." Elliot said, bringing two steaming cups of coffee back to the couch.
Crypto stared down at the liquid. "Would you be disappointed with that?"
Elliott blinked. "No? I get to spend more time with you. I mean, you get to spend more time with me."
"Just what we need."
Elliott huffed, and took a swig of his coffee. "It's not like I'm asking you to move in. Which I'm not-we're not even close to that."
"Agreed. This," Crypto gestured between them, "is...difficult enough to navigate."
There were a million ways to interpret that, and not all of them were good. So Elliott tried to focus on the positive ones. "Because I'm so com-com-complex? Yeah, but you're just like your rubix cube." He winked at him. "I'll figure you out though."
"You're welcome to try." Crypto's voice dropped low, to a smooth, deep purr which had Elliott's insides twisting.
He was usually the one who flirted, but when the other man flirted back, well, Elliott would be lying if he didn't find it hot. "You think you got more layers than me? I'm like an onion." Crypto raised one brow, and Elliott wanted to smack himself. "No, not an onion! I'm-ah-ah-you're never going to let me forget that, are you?"
Crypto gave him a small smirk, and that was answer enough. Elliott slumped back, and downed the rest of his coffee.
-
If having coffee so late didn't keep him up, the fact the movie chosen was horror made Elliott never want to sleep again. Did Crypto need to pick the creepiest one he could find? 'Okay, he's never picking our movies again either.' he thought.
Though as Elliott was almost buried into the other man's side, a different reason for the movie became apparent. Elliott flushed, before he squared his shoulders. "Well, I could really use some rest now, that movie was so boring I nearly fell alseep."
"You were tired?" And damn it, there was a smirk forming on Crypto's lips. "How strange, it seemed more like you were trying to hide instead."
"O-of course I wasn't scared! If you were though, that's totally fine. No j-ju-judgement here." Elliott replied. He forced himself to yawn, stretching his arms over his head. "See? Just tired."
"Very well. You can change in the restroom and I'll find you an extra blanket." Crypto said.
Elliott kept his expression sleepy, but his stomach twisted. So he was right about the couch then. "Sounds good." he swiped his bag off the floor on his way to the bathroom and dug out his night clothes; white tank top, yellow and brown cotton pants. He stared at his reflection, and if it weren't for how empty the room was, he could almost think he was in his own dorm. Well, he guessed it made sense the structure of the dorms was the same.
Breathing in deeply, Elliott shouldered his bag. 'Okay, Witt, it's just one night.' He stepped back into the living room, but stopped short at the sight of the couch. It was bare, even in the darkened room it was obvious. Where was the blanket? Elliott knocked on the bedroom door, and there was shuffling on the other side before it opened. Elliott tried not to stare, but seeing Crypto in a baggy sweatshirt and drawstring pants was the most casual he'd ever seen him. When Crypto furrowed his brow, Elliott averted his gaze and jerked his thumb at the couch. "Where's the blanket?"
Crypto blinked, seeming surprised, and stepped aside to show a wool blanket laid out on one side of the bed. "There. Did you think I would make you sleep on the sofa?"
Elliott rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, didn't want to make an as-asum-think I'd get to sleep in your room."
For a moment, Crypto's expression shifted into something uncertain, before it smoothed back out. "Did you want to sleep out there?" he questioned, tone neutral.
Elliott stiffened. "What? No, no, this is fine." he still kept his gaze on anything but the man as he stepped inside and hurried to the other end of the bed. He dropped his bag next to his feet, before he sat on the edge. The bedroom was just as bare as the rest of the dorm, which was surprising as he expected him to keep all his tech stuff in here. Where did Crypto keep his computer if not in here? It was then Elliott noticed something-or lack of something really. "You don't wear socks to bed? Aren't your feet gonna get cold?"
Crypto's brows rose, and he let out a quiet snort. "You're wearing a tank top, will you not get cold?"
Elliott chuckled and and slipped under the wool blanket, feeling the actual bedsheet underneath him as well. "I'm good, great." he wondered, just a for a moment, if his smile looked as fake as it felt. His nerves were sending goosebumps along his skin, and it didn't settle anything as he laid down on his side. "You?"
Crypto crawled under the sheet after turning off the light, and stared up at the ceiling. "Yes, I'm fine."
Elliott nodded, before he realized the other man couldn't see it. The room was competely dark, and his vision adjusted only to see the outline of his form. And that he was tense. Elliott sighed quietly, and let himself drift off.
Only, he wished that's what happened. Elliott didn't want to admit it, but he was nervous, more than he thought he'd be. Elliot would say he and Crypto were fairly alright with being around each other, so why was this so different? 'Is it because this is a big step? Did we both screw up?' Was it really too soon? Why hadn't Elliott thought about it more than just impulsively sending that damn text? If this whole thing blew up in their faces, it was his own fault for bringing it up. 'Maybe I should have just slept on the couch.'
"What's wrong?"
Elliott's eyes opened in surprise, and caught the other man's head tilting to meet his gaze. Crap, he'd said that out loud, didn't he? "Wrong? Nothing's wrong. Why would you think something's wrong?"
"You just said you wanted to sleep on the couch."
Elliott wondered if his flush was visible in the darkness. "I did?" he chuckled, smiling with a touch of bashfulness. "Maybe you're the one who's tired."
"Elliott." Crypto said, low and soft, stretching out the name in a way which had Elliott talking before he could stop himself.
"I'm tense, you're tense, just got me thinking if this was a mistake, that I screwed up asking if you wanted to do this. I-I get that we haven't been together for very long, but I just really like you and I thought since you might like me too we could try going further-n-not that I want us to go that far, but-ah-er-" Elliott managed to cut his rambling short, and rubbed a hand over his hair down to cover his eyes as he laid on his back. "Okay, I give up. You were always right, I'm an idiot."
As the ensuing silence lasted a bit too long, Elliott expected an agreement or at least something. What he didn't expect was the fingers slipping over his hand, and sliding it away from his eyes to show Crypto had leaned in over him. The hard edges of his features seemed to soften, and they stared at each other.
Elliott swallowed, letting out a shaky chuckle. "I really want to kiss you right now, but I think that might make this even more a--awk-ak-weird."
"Perhaps, but it might help ease the tension."
Or make it worse, but Elliott tried not to think about that. Instead, he metaphorically grasped at the fact they both wanted this with both hands, and raised his actual hands to cup Crypto's face. His skin was warm and the metal cool, and Elliott rubbed his thumb on the point where they both met. Crypto slowly closed his eyes, and leaned into the touch.
Elliott breathed softly, and closed the distance between them. Crypto shifted his hands to grip Elliott's shoulders, cybernetics brushing against the bare skin, and Elliott shivered. Crypto smirked against his lips, and raised one hand to comb his fingers through Elliott's curls all the way down his scalp to hold the nape of his neck.
Elliott lowered his hands, careful and tentative as he watched Crypto's expression before resting his hands on the man's waist, and he in turn lowered to rest flat against him. Elliott broke the kiss, and rested their foreheads together. "So," his voice came out breathy and soft, "that was good, like, really good. I-I think I'm getting used to this. Us, just...being together like this."
Crypto let out a quiet snort, and planted another kiss on his lips, before slipping back onto the bed, one arm still hung over Elliott's shoulder, who in turn winked at him, and turned onto his other side and pulled the arm to rest over his stomach on top of the blanket. Crypto tensed behind him, but said nothing as his arm tightened and rested his head on Elliott's shoulder. Elliott more felt the sigh against his back than heard it, and echoed the sound while letting his eyes drift closed once more.
-
When morning came, Elliott's sleep-addled brain registered two things. One, the sunlight which peeped through the blinds on the window were unfortunately placed, shining onto his eyelids and turned his gaze away. Second, he realized Crypto was still holding him. No, that wasn't quite right. When they fell asleep, Crypto's hand was on top of the blanket-now, the flat of his palm rested against Elliott's shirt, the weight of the arm on his waist, and the form settled against his back.
Elliott slowly grinned, something bashful and excited beginning to simmer under the surface. Crypto hadn't opted to crawl back under his own bed sheet, but took the time during the night to settle under Elliott's. Well, this blanket was also Crypto's, but that was beside the point.
Now, maybe, the other steps in this relationship would be just a little less daunting.