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The winter night was cold, freezing even, and the gentle snowfall coming down from the sky served as a reminder of the holidays soon to come. However, the weather didn’t bother anyone who was in the comfort of a warm building, including Silver.
Dim lighting covered the cozy interior of Ethan’s living room, the plush couch decorated with an assortment of fluffy pillows and blankets. A conglomerate of soft tunes and voices were heard playing from the television, the volume set low enough to the point that it’s barely even audible at all.
And… who needs a fireplace when you have a Typhlosion?
It’s hard not to enjoy himself in these moments, all wrapped up together. It’s not like he doesn’t want to, after all. His lover is softer than any pillow.
Lover is a word that still feels foreign to him. What is love, truly? It’s not something he’s ever been particularly familiar with. Not in childhood, not with his pokemon, and certainly not with any friends. ‘ Dwelling on things like that is not good for your mind, Silver, ’ he can recall Ethan saying one two many times to count. He tries to listen, really. Silver tries not to overwhelm his mind with the negative, anymore. Sure, it works in making him feel better, though only temporarily, until his brain gets too fired up on a late night, and the cycle continues again. It’s not easy to become as positive as Ethan when your life has been built on negativity since the very beginning, Silver tries to defend in his mind, though he knows the truth is that he thrives on the negativity. He craves it, sometimes. It became comforting over time, when nihilism had become a defense mechanism against his insecurities. If nothing matters, I should just do whatever I want.
He can’t count on both hands the amount of times he's hurt someone, whether it be physical or mental. Is remorse even a good enough apology? He never gave back the Sneasel he stole over in Cianwood. That thing is his baby, he could never let it go. But it was someone else’s baby, first. Does it even matter if Sneasel doesn’t want to go back? Does it matter if Sneasel is happier with him, even if he shouldn’t even be in Silver’s possession?
Just keep it simple.
It was a mantra that constantly bounced around in his mind, though it never did much to stop him from overthinking. He was far from the picture-perfect boyfriend. What kind of perfect boyfriend is a prickly, brooding mess? He tried not to be like that with Ethan, though. This man is his partner. His boyfriend. Treating him right is expected.
It wasn’t hard to love when all Silver wanted to do was touch him. He’d never been the touchy type before, what changed? Maybe it was Ethan’s insistent clinginess from their teenage years, maybe it was that Silver’s love for him was so overwhelming, he can’t do anything but hug and squeeze and prod. Silver thinks admitting it is the cheesiest thing in the world, but he’s really never felt anything like this before.
Silver’s tense hand gripped onto the hem of Ethan’s shirt, just trying to find something to hold onto. The texture is soft, he noted, probably something expensive. He’s never understood Ethan’s clothing choices, or how to justify any of their prices. Silver’s eyes darted down to look at Ethan’s face. Not dead asleep as he previously thought, and instead staring right up at him with tired, half-lidded eyes.
Ethan tensed, stretching his legs and arms to their absolute limit, letting a yawn slip out of his mouth as he did. After a few moments, his body abruptly relaxed again, his head falling back against the plush armrest. He sniffled, his hand coming up to rub his nose.
“Nngh… m’cold,” Ethan murmurs as a shiver wracked through his body, making his elbow twitch right into Silver’s chest, the latter’s face forming a small wince at the contact, “Gah, sorry,” Ethan grumbled out, eyes closing again. Silver debated on scolding him, but instead let his body fall limp as well, his hand coming up to lightly pinch Ethan’s cheek.
“... Go back to sleep,” Silver said simply, his eyes locked on his lover’s features.
“I wasn’t asleep.”
“Sleep, then,” Silver closed his eyes, pressing his forehead to Ethan’s shoulder. He smelt like a mixture of a pine forest and overbearing vanilla cologne.
“But I like being awake!” Ethan protested, adjusting his legs into a proper sitting position. He leaned his head down in an attempt to make eye contact with Silver, but the other had moved his face stubbornly buried in Ethan’s skin. He let a pout come over his features, but quickly calmed down as the exhaustion of the day hit him with a vengeance. Ethan slid his body back down, yanking one of the slightly-too-small fluffy blankets over the two of them, his dark-grey eyes now locked on the ceiling.
“Fine. G’night.”
Silver finally let himself and his body relax, his eyes fluttering closed. “...Goodnight.”