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Clown woke up slowly. He had fallen asleep late the previous night, so he had slept hard. The first thing he noticed was that a weight was on his chest. Literally.
He glanced down and saw a head of white curly hair. He brushed some of it aside and smiled at the face that greeted him. Branzy. His beautiful partner. His amethyst.
Branzy’s face was calm. Soft in sleep. Or as soft as he can get while snoring. Which was still pretty cute, but.
Clown couldn’t ever imagine waking up like this with anyone else. Not a single other person would ever get to see him like this. Soft. And if Clown had anything to say about it, no one would be able to see Branzy like this either.
He would kill them before they even got close enough to.
Branzy shifted, grumbling a little bit in his sleep. “Nooo… don’ wanna…” A frown came upon Branzy’s lips, and he whined a little. “No, stop…”
“Branzy?” Clown asked concernedly. Was he having a nightmare? “You’re okay, it’s okay.” Clown brushed gently through Branzy’s hair.
“No, no, I don’t- stop.” Branzy whimpered, moving around more as his eyes squeezed shut. “Stop, please-”
“Branzy. Branzy, wake up. You’re safe, wake up.” Clown shook Branzy’s shoulder, sitting up and pulling the white haired man up with him.
Branzy’s eyes flew open, gasping for air as his eyes glistened with tears. He pushed at Clown, trying to get away from him. “No, no! I don’t- no please.”
“Branzy, calm down. You’re safe. It’s me. It’s Clown.” Clown held Branzy firmly, rubbing his back and gently stroking through his hair. “You’re okay, darling. You’re okay.”
Branzy blinked as tears streaked down his cheeks. “C-Clown?” He mumbled, sounding so, so scared. Clown hated it when he sounded like that.
“Yes. It’s me. It’s okay. You’re safe. You’re safe.” Clown murmured quietly to him, rubbing circles into his boyfriend’s back. “You’re okay. Whatever it was, it wasn’t real. It was just a dream, my love.”
Branzy sniffled and grabbed at Clown’s shirt. “…it was real, though. It was just…it hurt.”
“What hurt?” Clown tilted his head and cupped Branzy’s cheek, wiping his tears away. “I mean- I’m sorry, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, violet.”
“N-no. It’s fine, I- it’s probably better to talk about it, anyways.” Branzy sat up fully, wiping his tears as he leaned against the headboard. “It… it was about when… I told you about my family, right?”
“Oh.” Clown said quietly. “Yeah. You did. Branzy, you don’t have to-”
“No, let me finish.” Branzy cut him off quietly. “It was when my parents found out about my crush on a guy. They… didn’t like that, and… told me to start dating a girl. Because, as they put it, ‘you can’t have our grandkids if you date a guy’. As- as if it was their life and not mine.” He pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in them.
Clown sat next to Branzy against the headboard. “Branzy?”
“Y-yeah?” Branzy mumbled quietly, in his arms.
“I’m so glad you didn’t listen to them. And that we’re dating.” Clown leaned his head on Branzy’s shoulder. “I don’t know what I would be doing if I’d never met you.”
“Probably still convincing Minute that murder is justified.” Branzy mumbled behind a smile.
“Hey! That was one time and I was absolutely correct.” Clown muttered in defiance. “That guy absolutely deserved it.”
“Clown Pearce! You mean to tell me you’ve killed someone?” Branzy teased, resting his own head atop Clown’s.
“Oh, how dare you, Branzy.” Clown scoffed half-heartedly. “I’m not saying I killed him, I am simply saying that if he were to die it’d be deserved.”
“I bet it would be.” Branzy giggled and moved to snuggle into Clown’s neck. “You’re really good at this, baby.”
“Baby?” Clown sputtered, face turning a bit pink. “Since when did you use that name?”
“Believe me, Clowny, I’ve got more.” Branzy kissed Clown’s neck. “Pookiebear.”
“Branzy Craft.” Clown said quickly, hiding his face in Branzy’s hair. “That’s such a cringe pet name, you bitch.”
“Aw, dearest Clown, I will make it my life’s mission to embarrass you as much as possible.” Branzy kissed up Clown’s neck to his jawline. “Shmuckims.”
“What does that one even mean?” Clown grumbled. “Like, how would you spell that?”
“Painfully, probably.” Branzy shrugged as he trailed kisses up to Clown’s cheek, then forehead, down his nose, until the two were very close to each other.
Not that they weren’t before, but this position felt… more compromising. To say the least.
“Hi.” Branzy grinned, leaned his forehead against Clown’s.
“Hi, Branzy.” Clown smiled back, small, then pressed his lips against Branzy’s, smiling into the kiss.
Branzy hummed and Clown shifted them down the bed so Branzy’s back was against the mattress. One of Clown’s hands tangled in Branzy’s soft white locks, the other resting on his waist.
Clown pulled back from the kiss, smiling down at Branzy with pure adoration in his eyes. “I love you, my dear.”
Branzy giggled. “I love you too. I also love it when you call me all those fancy things. It’s so fun.”
“I’m glad you enjoy it.” Clown leaned down, closer to Branzy’s face. “I also enjoy it because you look really cute when you blush. And they make you blush.”
Branzy’s cheeks dusted even more pink. “W-well, I- it’s- Clooown…”
“It is Clown! Good job Branzy.” Clown smiled and patted Branzy’s head. Branzy stared at him and laughed.
Good. Clown loved that sound. It was probably his favorite sound, up there with a Dutch song he’d heard as a child.
“Clown! You’re so corny.” Branzy smiled up at him and looped his arms around Clown’s neck, pulling him closer.
“Oh, am I?” Clown tilted his head. “If I recall correctly, you’re the one who called me ‘pookiebear’ and ‘shmuckims’ earlier. So who’s corny now, you gremlin.”
Branzy rolled his eyes. “Come on, Clown, it’s not a competition! But if it was, I'd win. Babygirl. Pookie. Fine shyt. Lover boy. King. Babe-”
“Shut up and kiss me, you idiot.” Clown grumbled and leaned down, connecting their lips again. Branzy smiled smugly into the kiss.
“Got you to kiss me, didn’t it?” Branzy murmured against Clown’s lips. One of his hands went up to Clown’s ebony black hair while the other rested on the nape of his neck. He played idly with the red tips of Clown’s strands of hair.
“Maybe.” Clown murmured back, then pulled an inch away. “But it’s also gonna get you no more until morning because however much I love you, it’s still three in the morning and I’m tired.”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.” Branzy looked away a little. “Didn’t mean to keep you up.”
“Don’t be sorry, my love. It’s not your fault.” Clown brushed a strand of purple tipped hair out of Branzy’s face. “Let’s just rest now, okay?”
“M’kay.” Branzy mumbled, closing his eyes as Clown settled down next to him. “G’night, Clown.”
“Good night, Branzy.” Clown kissed Branzy’s forehead, then wrapped his arms around the smaller man.
The two drifted off in each other's embrace. This time, with zero nightmares to be found.
