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It was on evenings like this that Warren could feel at peace. It took very little time and effort to set up the movie, and whatever energy was spent was well worth burrowing into Nathan’s blankets and sitting back to just watch it. So it was with Nathan under his arm, both of his legs draped over Warren’s, that they set their eyes on the film.
It didn’t really matter what it was about. It never did. Of course, it was nice to hear Nathan pointing out the poor angles and terrible special effects. Always the critic, Warren would simply roll his eyes and agree from time to time.
When the movie progressed for thirty minutes, he noted that this commentary was a bit lacking this time around. It took him some time of focusing on the film before he realized the dead weight on his arm, numbing the right side of his body. When he looked down, he noticed that Nathan’s posture was heavy and that his eyes were closed. He splayed himself across Warren’s body, cheek squishing against his chest as he slowly slid down with each moment. Every now and again, his eyes would flicker open only to shut again, as if he was desperately trying to keep himself awake.
Seeing this, Warren stealthily reached for the remote, turning off the projector with ease. As the noise suddenly disappeared, along with their only light source, Nathan jerked up.
“What, what? Why’d you turn it off? You wanted to… to see this for weeks,” he asked, suppressing the grogginess in his voice.
“You looked tired,” Warren said as he settled down into the blankets and turned onto his side to face him.
Nathan continued sitting up. “Hey, come on, I can keep going. Let’s finish it.”
“You can keep going, huh?” he asked. “Tell me, then, what was the last thing you remember?”
“Uh- the guy. He was… running or something and that chick was um…”
He struggled to come up with some sort of coherent sequence of events, causing Warren to chuckle as his eyes caught the faint light of the alarm clock on the side of the bed. He reached up with his left hand, grabbing Nathan’s shoulder and slowly bringing him to lay down beside him.
The other made a face, but quickly found comfort in Warren’s body heat. He scootched forward, resting his face next to his as their legs entwined, and their chests touched. Warren’s smile grew as his arms reached out, wrapping themselves around his shoulders. Nathan allowed it, resting his head on the other's right arm as he brought his left hand to Warren’s chest and snaked the other around his waist. They laid there for a moment, slowly growing closer until he had his face buried in Warren’s neck and Warren’s chin placed on his head.
“I wasn’t able to do this before,” Nathan said slowly as his hand picked at the shirt under his fingers.
“Do what before?” Warren asked.
He had been referring to how his back was to the room instead of flat against the mattress. It made him feel open and unsafe on most nights. He considered telling Warren this, but instead said, “It was always too damn quiet.”
“Do you want me to play some music or something?”
Nathan sniggered. “Nah, this is fine. Just go to bed, you nerd.”
Warren sighed with a small chuckle. He could feel the sound vibrating through his throat, causing him to nestle deeper against him as an unspoken reminder… a quiet, “I love you.”