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Moonlight trickles into the darkness of the room, and it covers the room in a soft glow where Jayce had made his home.
He lays underneath the two blankets that are piled on top of him, and he is mostly left bare, only wearing a pair of boxers along with an old and worn sports bra, and the lack of clothes allows his skin to rub against the soft, plush texture of the blankets. His cheek is pressing up against the coolness of one of the pillows that are piled up along the headboard of the bed.
He feels at ease.
Though, as comfortable as Jayce is, he hasn’t been able to sleep for some reason, even if his body is crying out and begging for sleep, limbs heavy and movements sluggish in response.
And he does feel comfortable. That’s an indisputable fact. When the room is the ideal temperature — not too hot where the blankets stick to his skin uncomfortably and not too chilly that he needs the warmth of another body next to his in order to sleep — it is difficult to not be.
The blanket's texture is perfect against his skin, and the scent that’s settled and made it’s home on it, his sheets, his bed, and hell, his whole room, is a familiar one. It has him nuzzling against his pillow in order to take it in.
Well, really, it’s a mix of different scents.
Some of it is from Viktor, from late nights working in the lab. It’s not uncommon for them to stay up too late, fueled by only the coffee that’s stacked neatly into cabinets, and the walk back to Viktor’s place is rather cumbersome on some days, the solution obviously being for them to settle into Jayce’s bed instead, curled up against one another for warmth as they both sleep.
A small hint of the scent is Herald’s. Theirs is more distinct: the distant smell of oil that follows them around wherever they go thanks to the mechanics of their suit. They’ll occasionally, and very rarely compared to the others, lay on Jayce’s bed with a wordless ask for more. Jayce will never be able to scrub out the smell — not that he wants to.
The last bit of it is—
The sound of the door slowly creaking open is what breaks Jayce’s trail of thought and the silence of the room; the sound is quiet, yet it echoes rather loudly through the mostly-empty room.
Jayce’s body unconsciously tenses up. He doesn’t know who has walked in since he’s not currently facing the doorway, instead facing towards the wall like how he usually does, and he strains his ears in an attempt to pick up any specific identifiers.
A pause is all Jayce gets, and then the door is being shut, foot-steps following suit.
By the sound of the heavy boots softly hitting the floor in a rather poor attempt to stay quiet, it’s Giopara, and as soon as the realization kicks in, Jayce’s body is relaxing into the bedsheets once more.
Jayce follows the other man's movements by sound alone; he doesn’t say anything as they move closer to the bed, when he hears the unzipping of pants and the muffled thuds of clothes hitting the floor, or even when the bed dips down behind him as Giopara settles down onto it.
He evens out his breathing as much as he can, and in contrast to the steady rise and fall of Jayce's chest, Giopara's breathing is a tad louder.
There's a moment of hesitation from Giopara, and Jayce can feel how stiff they are even with the space between the two of them. It's like Giopara is trying to keep a safe distance all the while wanting to be close, but Jayce knows that they'll eventually cave in.
And, like Jayce expected, they do.
They slot themselves behind him, pulling up the blanket for a second to slide under, and then instantly, the warmth radiating from their body is mixing with Jayce’s own, causing Jayce to sweat a little.
Giopara tends to run a bit hotter than Talis does, and with the extra blanket on top of them, it only adds to the heat.
Even then, it doesn't bother Jayce. All he does is press back into them slightly, and as far as Jayce can tell, they're mostly undressed, covered only by a pair of boxers so that their bare chest is pressed against Jayce’s back.
A quiet sigh comes from behind him, and it sounds bone deep and exhausted.
These are the times where Jayce doesn’t know exactly what to do, because frankly, all of… this, the affection, being open with it and allowing that vulnerability, is new between them.
Physical touch is not unusual to Jayce Talis. It’s something that he’s used to and has grown up with, partially thanks to his mother.
There would be times where his mother and him would simply hold onto each other in the hours of the day or night. She would stroke fingers through the long strands of hair, Jayce’s head on her lap as she told him stories or tried to calm him down, and Jayce doesn’t know what he would do if he wasn’t able to do that — to touch the ones he loves.
It doesn’t have to be anything big per se, but often a hand on the shoulder, a brush of hands, or simply a quick hug was good enough for him.
But Giopara is… a bit harder for Talis to read.
Which is perfectly fine, but it just means that Jayce has to be more careful with what he does.
Now, Giopara doesn’t deny that they need that physical contact, no, not like Herald does on some days (Jayce has never personally seen them ask for it, nor does he expect to see them do that anytime soon), but for Giopara to actually go out of his way and ask for it or initiate it first? That’s a whole other problem on its own.
There were a few times in the past where they had been laying down, a soft, shared memory between the two of them, but there was a wrong moment, a wrong word being said, a careless wording that Talis let slip without thinking it through properly, and then Giopara would get up and need space.
It hurt the first few times, of course it would, but Jayce would like to say that he at least knows how to navigate it by now.
Somewhat.
A hand wraps around his abdomen, and Jayce tries his best not to jolt. They’re careful in their touch, but the hand feels different from how it normally does as it splays out, a bit rougher than usual, more fabric-like, similar to bandages.
Giopara strokes a mindless pattern across Jayce’s skin.
Jayce fights back the urge to look down, how he wants to question, because that wasn't there earlier, but at the same time, he doesn’t want to scare Giopara off, push that delicate line that they have set for the time being, or—
“I know you’re awake,” Giopara says, breaking the silence.
Jayce’s breath stutters in surprise, but then the tension that he didn’t even realize that he had leaves his body. His hand moves to hover over their hand that’s on his stomach before it gently cups over it. He keeps his touch featherlight, unsure of the extent of damage that's been done. “Am I that obvious?”
“Mhmmm,” Giopara hums, and Jayce hears the tired smile on their face. “You tensed up several times, so there’s that, and plus, you’re a mouth breather. Tend to snore, too, and you’re loud when you do that, did you know that? Also—”
“I get it, you ass,” Jayce says, cutting them off, but it’s said lightheartedly.
So Giopara is at least in the right headspace to still tease. Which is both fortunate and telling on its own since if they weren't, Jayce would be understandably worried. There’s never a time where they don’t take the chance to tease in some way shape or form.
Luckily, the only time he’s ever seen them like that was after one particularly heated exchange with Herald, and they had both been mostly quiet for a few days after that.
Rain starts to thud against the window, the sound muted as Jayce twists his body in Giopara’s embrace, tilting his head to peer at them over his shoulder. Although he can’t see much from this perspective, he does notice how they tense in the corner of his vision.
Jayce turns his head back to its previous position, and his thumb smooths over the bandages on their hand, mapping out exactly where it is with his touch alone.
The bandage is secured tightly around his palm, and there’s another separate bandage wrapped around their thumb and pointer finger. There’s no sound of protest as Jayce traces over them.
“Curious?” is all Giopara offers.
Talis works his lip between his teeth. “Yes,” he responds, because of course he is. Why wouldn’t he be? “Do you want to…” talk about it? is what Jayce wants to say, but the words are lost to him.
A moment of silence.
“No, not right now, really. I don’t know,” Giopara says after a longer pause, and there’s a hint of frustration in their tone. Jayce knows that the frustration isn't directed towards him, and he waits patiently, keeping his gaze turned towards the wall as to give some semblance of privacy. Another sigh comes from Giopara, and he continues, “but… just. not right now.”
Giopara's fingers twitch against Talis’ stomach, and their body is still as stiff as a board behind Jayce. They’re showing no signs of relaxing anytime soon, either, and Jayce’s brows knit together in thought.
“Would you prefer that I…” Jayce trails off, feeling tongue tied as he tries to find the proper words.
Giopara’s fingers pause in their movements. “Hm?” they hum, and their head bumps lightly against Jayce’s shoulder — like a cat, Jayce’s brain supplies.
Jayce blinks the thought away and tilts his head in thought, his head pressing more firmly against the pillows, and he swallows thickly before he settles on, “Do you, mm… want me to hold you?”
He doesn’t expect them to be forward and ask for it, even when they’re like this. What he can do is offer it, though, with a metaphorical tree-branch that’s extended out for them to grab onto if wanted, and then Jayce tacks on, “Only if you want, of course. I’m comfortable right now, too.”
Giopara tenses up behind him, and there’s that thought that passes where Talis thinks that maybe that wasn’t the right move, too much too fast, and maybe they'll even sleep on the couch again.
But they are both exhausted, and Jayce can only hope that the tiredness will play into the situation and allow the protective barriers that Giopara has put up to weaken enough for Jayce to wriggle his way in.
“If you could?” is what Giopara says finally, and Jayce bites back the relieved sigh.
It’s not a please, but it’s definitely the closest that they’ll get to one. No, those are saved for more intense moments between them, specifically when he's kissing Giopara a bit harder than usual, when their voice is slurred, and—
Jayce mentally shakes his head, quickly dispelling the thoughts.
Not going down that train of thought. Definitely not the right time.
“Here, let me…” Jayce trails off, and he sits up, pushing the covers back enough to get out from underneath them. The cool air of the room hits his bare skin, causing a small shiver to wrack his body, and he gets up off the bed in order to move to the other side.
Giopara shifts to where Talis was occupying prior, and Talis sits down behind them, lifting up the blankets and quickly getting settled once more.
A hand is wormed underneath Giopara's torso and wrapped around their stomach as the other hand lays on their chest and gently runs across the small patch of hair there. At the same time, Jayce is prodding at Giopara’s thighs and slotting one leg between them, the other one coming to curl on top.
Talis’ and Giopara’s bare skin gently rubs up against one another as Talis’ slightly taller frame slots and curls seamlessly around Giopara’s.
“This okay?” Talis asks, because he wants to be certain. While there was no obvious disapproval while they were situating, verbal or physical, he wants to check and make sure that it’s not too much at once.
Jayce gets his answer with how Giopara practically melts against him, a content sigh pushing past their lips. “‘s fine,” they say, the tiredness seeping into their voice, more noticeable now than it was before.
“Good,” Jayce says, and the hand on Giopara’s chest moves to brush over the swell of it. Jayce is reverent in his touch, lightly tracing over old scars, and Giopara hums out a small, quiet sound.
They wrap their legs more tightly and securely around Jayce's, as if to lock him there and prevent him from leaving — as if Jayce ever would.
Jayce treks his hand upwards from their chest (not before giving himself a rather indulgent squeeze that has Giopara melting further), carefully swiping across the soft stretch of Giopara’s throat before it runs through their hair.
“Keep- doing that,” Giopara mumbles, and Jayce could never say no.
Jayce’s palm gently sweeps across the soft, tousled mess of Giopara’s hair; he can still feel bits of the gel that they insist on using in their hair, as his fingertips lightly scratch at their scalp. A small, pleased rumble comes from Giopara, and Jayce can’t help the smile that teases the edge of his lips.
An intake of breath from Giopara, and then a pause.
“Not a word of this to anyone,” they murmur. His words are slightly slurred, like he’s about to be pulled under and into the comforting depths of unconsciousness at any second, and even though it’s said softly, Jayce knows that the sentiment is serious.
He shifts the hand that's tucked underneath Giopara’s side to graze over his stomach, fingers tracing over that line of hair over their naval before Jayce wraps his arm around them more firmly to urge them closer.
Giopara complies, pushing themselves closer.
“I didn’t plan on it," Jayce promises.
The room falls into silence except for their shared breathing and the sound of the rain hitting the window after that. Time feels like it has stopped while Jayce keeps up the comforting ministrations, the exhaustion coming back ten-fold, and the clock that hangs on the wall serving only as a reminder that it is doing the exact opposite.
However, Jayce is unable to tell how much time has passed since he last spoke because he doesn’t have his glasses on, but the one obvious thing is that Giopara hasn’t moved much aside from the occasional shift.
“Jayce?” Talis asks quietly, keeping his voice down to a soft murmur.
Silence is all he gets in response.
Jayce pushes his face against the back of Giopara’s neck gently, careful as to not jostle them, and when there is no response outside of their continued, soft breathing, he presses a kiss against their skin before allowing himself to relax.
And, when sleep eventually beckons Jayce under, he does not resist the pull.