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Hey, Scott…
Her voice was in his head now, low and breathy, an almost sultry whisper. He didn’t even remember anything she had said except his name. Had she called about a gig? No… that was what she had called about last time. He had only heard her voice a few times since then but none recently. It still made him feel sick.
It was almost midnight and he should be asleep, but his head ached and his heart raced. He laid in bed but even with his eyes squeezed tight enough closed that no frustrating tears could drip out and the sheets pulled up over his head, he was far too tense to sleep. He was cold, too, even though he was usually used to the winter draft that came through around the poorly insulated windows and door.
Scott was alone in the house, apart from the phantom of Envy Adams whispering ice into his ear.
Scott… Scott… Scott…
He curled tighter into himself and his trembling fingers clenched tightly onto the cheap scratchy futon cover. He bit his bottom lip to stop it from quivering and sniffled once… if he started crying now, that would just be another thing distracting him from sleeping and the longer he went without sleeping the worse he felt.
It got so much colder so suddenly that Scott couldn’t help but open his watering eyes out of pure shock and as an explanatory punctuation for the temperature drop, the door slammed loudly against the wall and Scott heard the drunkenly playful slur of his roommate’s voice.
“D'ya miss me, guy?” Wallace called, but Scott didn’t answer. He knew that he was supposed to vehemently deny the teasing and yet he couldn’t bring himself to… all his words were caught up in a painful knot in his chest. And besides... Wallace wasn't wrong. The door swung closed and Scott flinched at its second slam. “Scott…?” Wallace asked the darkness, confusion only slightly tainting the joviality of his just-too-loud voice, “Come on, guy, I know you aren’t-“ Wallace yawned and giggled to himself as he continued, “I know you aren’t asleep~” he was getting closer and closer to the futon… Scott could hear the words getting louder and he could feel every clumsy step Wallace took toward him. He felt the futon shift as Wallace’s weight fell onto it. He felt the draft as Wallace pulled back the blankets hiding Scott from the world. He felt Wallace’s hot, heavy breath against his cheek as Wallace leaned in to observe him.
“Scotty…” Wallace tried to whisper, but it was a much more pathetic attempt than what he could do sober, “Are we playing hide and seek, buddy…?” Wallace laughed gently to himself, “Found you…” Scott only opened his sore eyes to look up at Wallace, whose expression shifted from fondness to concern when their gazes met. “‘D something happen, little guy…?” Scott only turned his face into the pillow at the attention and gave a tiny whine. Wallace’s hand instinctively came up to stroke the back of Scott’s head.
“N…” Scott vocalised weakly, and if Wallace heard it through the muffling of the pillow he didn’t understand. Scott couldn’t blame that.
“D’ you wanna talk about it in the morning…? Might be easier, I dunno…” Wallace mumbled, clearly exhausted, “‘M gonna get your pacifier and we can cuddle, okay…? Unless you wanna talk about it tonight…” After a few unresponsive seconds, Wallace gave Scott two definitive pats on the shoulder before taking his hand away and then standing up on his wobbling legs. Shyly, Scott peeked out from his pillowy hiding place and watched Wallace do exactly what he said he would.
First, Wallace stumbled into the kitchen and looked in all the cabinets and all the drawers. He mumbled to himself, absentmindedly asking “where did I put it” and “what did I do with it”. When none of the cabinets or drawers had what he was looking for, he peeked in the sink and then placed his hands on his hips. After thinking to himself for a second, Wallace stumbled out of the kitchen and toward the bookshelf by the door where he found what he was looking for after only a few seconds.
“Aha!” Wallace exclaimed, and then spun dramatically back around to face Scott in the bed. He made no acknowledgment of how he had to brace himself so he didn’t fall over. “Look what I have for you, Scotty~” Wallace cooed as he took a few steps forward and then lowered himself to his knees and crawled the rest of the way to the futon. He held up the piece of pale blue plastic for Scott to view before crossing the final few inches toward his place on the bed. “Open wide~” Wallace said with a yawn and Scott shifted just slightly further from the pillow before following the instructions he had been given.
Wallace popped the pacifier into Scott’s mouth with a breathy chuckle before collapsing into the futon and giving a long, tired sigh. “Night, bud…” he mumbled as his eyes fluttered closed.
Only after a patient few minutes of listening to Wallace’s deep breathing and watching his chest rise and fall beneath his thick sweater did Scott gain the courage to change positions.
Wallace smelled like alcohol and was still wearing his jeans, but he was so warm and Scott knew he was safe cuddled into his chest. Wallace didn’t quite wake up at the shift, but his body knew to wrap its arms around Scott’s back. It knew to press a gentle kiss into the top of Scott’s head.
Finally, Scott drifted to sleep.