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“Okay Jere, we’ll just finish this chapter and then we can go to sleep” Michael promised, shrugging the shoulder his boyfriend was resting his head on. Said boyfriend grumbled but nonetheless sat up again, idly scratching at his pyjama shirt. He looked at Michael expectantly, blue eyes clouded with exhaustion.
Michael adjusted his glasses and flipped through the flash cards piled up in his hands. “Okay” he mumbled, selecting one and squinting at it “Who was the first president to live in the White House?”.
Jeremy’s face scrunched up in thought “Uhhh…” he trailed off “Some fucking guy”.
Michael sighed “Jere, baby, love of my life-” he caught his boyfriend before he could flop backwards on the bed “I hate to tell you this but you cant write ‘some fucking guy’ on your history paper”.
Jeremy groaned,covering his face with his arm “Michael it’s ass o’clock in the morning can we please sleep ?”.
“As soon as we’re done” Michael promised “Actually, let’s just finish with this question instead” he amended, seeing the exhaustion lining his boyfriend's face.
“Fine” Jeremy conceded “But we do it on the bed so I can sleep right after”.
“Deal” Michael agreed, following his best friend's lead and collapsing onto the pillows of Jeremy’s bed. He could feel sleep pulling at his tired bones but he couldn't succumb just yet - he had a job to finish. Just in case, he set his glasses on the bedside table (he's not making the mistake of sleeping with them on again).
Seeing that his boyfriend was nearly asleep, Michael nudged him. “Jere” he whispered “Just answer the questions and you can sleep”.
Jeremy muttered incoherently into his pillow. Another nudge and he looked up blearily “Wha’s the question ag’n?” he mumbled. Michael laughed “Who was the first president to live in the White House?” he repeated “I’ll give you a hint, he’s mentioned in the Hamilton musical”.
Jeremy squinted at him “...George Washington?”
“After him”
“Thomas Jefferson?”
“Too far ahead”
Michael could practically see the gears turning in his boyfriend's head as Jeremy stared off into space “Oh!” he exclaimed suddenly, eyes going wide “That dude- the- John Adams!”.
“Ding ding ding!” Michael cheered “You got it. We can sleep now”.
“Nice” Jeremy droned, falling back onto his pillow. Michael left the flashcards on the bedside table, rolling over to splay one arm over Jeremy in a familiar position. His boyfriend came closer, pressing his nose to the crook of his neck and sighing softly. He was almost asleep when-
“Michael?”
“Hngh?”
“I can’t sleep.”
Michael was suddenly a lot more awake. He leaned back to make eye contact “Dude what the fuck” he deadpanned.
“I know,” Jeremy sighed.
“You’ve been begging to sleep for like, the past hour”
“I know!” his best friend whined “But now I can’t sleep!”.
Michael let out a deep sigh, letting out his irritation. It wasn't fair for him to be mad at Jeremy for something out of his control. He curled tighter around his boyfriend, absently carding a finger through auburn hair in a practised motion “Anything I can do to help?” he asked quietly.
Jeremy gave a content hum “Keep doing that” he muttered “It feels nice”.
Despite himself, Michael laughed “I know babe, that’s why I do it”. Jeremy didn’t respond, instead burying his face closer. After a few moments, his breathing evened out.
“Jeremy?” Michael whispered “Did you fall asleep?”. He was answered by soft snores. With another quiet laugh, he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, adjusting into a comfortable position as he drifted off to sleep.