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Jojo opened his mouth to whisper it, but his lips were too dry, so he had to wet them and try again. He opened his mouth and nothing came out, so he had to pause and clear his throat. Caesar's eyes closed and Jojo considered just saying nothing. He had been saying nothing for weeks.
"Caesar. Caesar." He nudged the man awake and Caesar looked at him with confusion, moaning sleepily.
"What is it?" Caesar pulled Jojo closer, his arms tight behind Jojo's back.
"No, no, Caesar, pay attention. Don't sleep yet."
"Alright, alright," Caesar said, sitting up and breathing deeply. "What's up?"
Jojo sat up next to him, looking at his hands in his lap. "Do you think..." He fell silent.
"No. I don't think." Caesar rolled his eyes. "What?"
Setting his jaw, he continued. "Do you think you could maybe... sometimes, I mean really when we're in private, could you... call me, like, not a man? With maybe neutral stuff or even sometimes girly stuff?"
Caesar was still for a moment, then he put his hand around Jojo's back. "Yeah, I can. Are you...?"
"I'm not sure. I just... I don't think I'm exactly a dude, you know?" Jojo leaned into Caesar's chest.
"Of course I can do that. You've done the same for me, so..." He buried his nose in Jojo's hair.
They sat in the dark, still, for a while.
"Is it because you dressed up as a girl that one time?"
Jojo smacked Caesar's arm away. "Hey, I don't ask you if you played dress up with your dad's clothes, do I?"
Caesar laughed, falling back against the pillows. "I'm joking! And for your information, yes I did."
Jojo curled up against Caesar. "Thanks. Good to know."
Caesar curled his hand in Jojo's hair. "Good night, princess."
After considering for a while, Jojo took it as a compliment and fell asleep easily.