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 Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 11:29 am
Casey laughed quietly, wanting to give Ariel a chance to change the subject if it was weird or too much. He was still feeling a bit panicked about work, but his heart was distracted and he could appreciate everything Ariel had done for him just a little more.
“Seeing you made my day better,” he confirmed, taking a moment to pause in eating so he could look up at Ariel with a smile.
He wanted to hug him back, but he kept his hands occupied with the food. Having company was more than he could have expected, and absolutely what he wanted now that he knew it was an option.
And he was pretty sure that he slept better with Ariel there, anyway.
“Thanks for keeping me company. I missed you all day. Just as much as Harrison!” he laughed, but his words were sincere. He really had missed him. And even if they only saw each other for a short while, that was enough.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 11:34 am
Seeing Casey made Ariel’s day better, too. His words were warm and it filled Ariel’s heart in a way that made him forget how empty it had been.
He reached for the other grilled cheese sandwich and took a bite out of it, and maybe he was hurrying to eat because–
Well, really he wanted Casey to actually get some rest. He knew he had to be up again in a few hours. Ariel wished he had enough money saved to tell Casey to just quit. Life wasn’t so perfect.
Maybe one day. For now, they would just scrape by. He’d do everything he could. There were a lot of changes, maybe, in their future. He wanted to make sure he was ready for them. He wanted to make sure Casey was, too.
“At least Morgan sent pictures of her. I wish you had longer between your shifts, maybe we could have gone to visit her. But she’ll be home soon. And you’ll be out of that place, too. I’m sorry they’re so awful about it. Should I send in some complaints to corporate? Tell me the names of the people giving you the most trouble, I’ll be so annoying.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 11:42 am
Casey smiled at first, and then laughed softly. He was certain Ariel was serious about sending complaints, but he shook his head, before leaning close enough to rest it for a moment on Ariel’s shoulder.
“That’s really sweet of you. I can’t imagine you being annoying, though. But thank you. I appreciate the thought. I’ll be okay. And yeah, Harrison will be home soon. I’m glad she’s having fun with Morgan. Hopefully she’ll want to come home after having a taste of freedom!”
He laughed again, but there was some worry in his words. What if Harrison didn’t want to come back home? What if Ariel got tired of him?
No, he knew he had to stop thinking that way. Ariel hadn’t gotten tired of him yet. He was even there to make sure he had company even if it was only for a few hours.
He took a few more bites of his sandwich, and made sure to eat some of the fries that were still warm.
“I can probably bring a hot dog for lunch later. Breakfast. Dinner. Whatever time I’ll get,” he sighed, and once he was done chewing and swallowing his most recent bite, he shifted a bit so he could lay dramatically across Ariel’s lap.
“I hope you’re comfortable, because I am,” he said, trying to sound serious but he couldn’t stop the grin from forming as he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He still felt gross from crying, and would probably need medicine for a headache, but he didn’t want to be away from Ariel more than he had to be.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 12:04 pm
Ariel looked down at Casey and smiled. Genuinely. He wiped his hand off on his knee so he could brush through Casey’s hair without worrying about grease. “I am, but don’t tease like that. I could go to sleep just like this but you’ll sleep better in your bed.”
He really could have stayed just like that. He didn’t need much to be happy. Right now, just Casey.
Ariel continued to smooth his hair, trying to give him some comfort. He said nothing of the tears; he didn’t pretend like they weren’t there but he didn’t want Casey to feel self conscious. The smile was sweet, though. “If you want to stay here, I suppose we can. I don’t want to keep you up, I know your next shift will only be harder if I do. But I’ll come by again. I mean, as long as I’m not annoying you.”
He knew Casey would insist that he wasn’t, but Ariel couldn’t help but say it, anyway.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 12:19 pm
Casey was quiet for a few moments, taking the time to really appreciate the fingers brushing through his hair. He felt content. Happy. Even though he had a horrible few days ahead of him.
Finally, Casey pushed himself up and grabbed the bag of food that Ariel had brought with him. He practically rolled off the couch but thankfully used the coffee table to right himself and stand.
His destination was the refrigerator, and he hoped Ariel didn’t get too restless in the time it took for him to toss it in (there wasn’t much taking up room, anyway) and made his way back to the couch. He grabbed his phone to stick in his pocket, but turned to Ariel soon after.
“Come on,” he quietly beckoned, reaching to take hold of both of Ariel’s hands, wanting to help him up. “You need to rest too. Stay with me? Come by again, please? When you’re with me, I feel like everything will be okay.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 12:29 pm
“Of course,” Ariel said, and moved to his feet quickly. He hadn’t actually considered that he would sleep anywhere but next to Casey, but maybe that was a bit presumptuous of him. It would have been embarrassing if he’d tried to get in bed and Casey had to ask him to go to the couch.
“I told you, your apartment is warmer than mine. Not temperature, just–how it feels. It’s a little bit of Harrison. But mostly you. I didn’t bring pajamas or anything, should I change? –I can wash the bedding while you’re at work. If that’s not weird.”
He didn’t want to go back to his apartment, even if it was less than a minute away. He didn’t want to spend any of that time away from Casey. Every minute he kept Casey up was a minute he wasn’t sleeping. There was only so much he could do right now, but–
Well, he hoped Casey’s lease was up soon. He’d help him move into Ariel’s apartment, and they’d save a few hundred dollars right off the bat. And they’d save more money on food. And–well, Ariel wasn’t making a lot of money, but he could cover the bills by himself for at least long enough for Casey to get a new job. He just had to wait a few more months, and–
Oh, this was too much. He was already trying to go too hard into this. He didn’t want to scare Casey away–especially because he still had unresolved issues to work out. If Casey lived with him, he’d just be in more danger, and–
There was a constant electric hum in the back of his mind as his thoughts reeled; he just had to look at Casey’s little smile to bring himself back to the present and calm himself down.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 12:55 pm
“Oh, that’s too much. I don’t think it’s weird, but you shouldn’t worry yourself with stuff like that,” Casey insisted but there was a faint pink coloring his cheeks. He didn’t want Ariel to feel like he had to do chores for him, but it was also sweet that he would think of something like that.
“You could probably fit into some of mine if you’d like. Or you can sleep in nothing, I don’t mind,” he laughed cheerily, but then realized what he said was probably inappropriate and laughed a little more awkwardly than before.
But he meant it! If Ariel didn’t want to get dressed, Casey certainly wouldn’t complain.
He led the way to his room, although it was too quiet without Harrison. Being with Ariel helped, of course. He let go of his hands only long enough so he could open a drawer and pull out some baggy lounge pants and an oversized teeshirt. He pulled out some for himself as well, and once he’d offered them to Ariel, Casey quickly pulled off the shirt he was wearing so he could change for the few hours he’d be able to nap.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 1:04 pm
Ariel knew his face was a bit pink at the offer to sleep in nothing. He wouldn’t! Not because he didn’t trust Casey, just because he was too shy. There had been no time to protest, or even laugh, or agree. As soon as he saw the flash of Casey’s bare skin, he panicked and turned his back to him. Rapidly, he undressed and threw on the pajamas, but he didn’t turn around. He’d offered a word of thanks when he was dressed, and quickly set about folding his clothes as a convenient excuse to give Casey some privacy.
“Oh, these are comfortable.” He ran his hands down the shirt twice and then stuck his hands in the pockets of the pants to see how deep they were. “I should forget to bring my pajamas over more often, I like these.”
Or he could just ask if Casey could keep a pair of his but–no, that was too much. What was he even doing. He felt insane. The switch that flipped after they’d first gone to the park had apparently opened up the floodgates to…
Well, whatever this was.
He knew what it was.
Ariel cleared his throat and shook his head. He’d think about it later, not right now. Casey could practically smell when he was overthinking or worrying, and now was not the time to give him something to fret about when he was already under so much stress.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 1:21 pm
“You should absolutely forget your pajamas more often,” Casey teased, but there was nothing mean about it. He was clearly in a good mood now that he’d had a chance to get some of the things that caused him stress off his chest and calm down. All with Ariel’s help, of course.
“It looks pretty good on you. I mean, I might just like seeing you in my clothes.”
Okay, he knew he probably went too far with that one the moment he said it. So he laughed awkwardly because… obviously it was just a joke… and then moved over to his bed to climb in and pull back the covers.
He dramatically flopped onto the pillows and pushed the covers back some more for Ariel to join him.
Casey had thought about holding open his arms to Ariel, but he’d seen how he quickly turned away when he was getting dressed. Not because he was trying to peek or anything!! He just… happened to see out of the corner of his eye and when he turned around after!
“Hurry, it’s cold,” he shivered, but he was maybe being a little dramatic about it. His phone had been placed on the table next to the bed and he had double checked that there was an alarm with enough time for him to get up and dressed and face washed and ready to run down to the bus.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 1:34 pm
“Oh, right,” Ariel said. He wasn’t cold, but he did feel drained. Work was exhausting. He knew it had been worse for Casey. He held his phone up and double checked that he had his alarm set, and then crawled into bed next to him. He kept his phone close, in his hand, which seemed like something of a habit.
When he got into the bed, it felt cold.
The blankets would warm up quickly, but for now they had all the chill of an empty room.
“Oh, that’s horrible. Your bed was so comfortable the last time I was here. No, that’s too cold.”
It was an excuse. At least, partly. He scooted towards the middle of the bed until he was pressed against Casey.
“Stay close to me so you don’t get sick. Harrison’s not here to keep you warm, and work will be horrible if you catch a cold.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 6:29 pm
“Oh, that’s a good point,” Casey agreed, because he wanted the excuse, too. He could feel his heart pounding away in his chest, and he hoped that Ariel couldn’t feel it too when he inched closer as well. He pressed his forehead against Ariel’s shoulder, and, after taking a few moments to decide if he wanted to or if it would make things weird, he slid his arm over Ariel’s waist.
Just because it was more comfortable like that! And he was trying to stay warm and keep Ariel warm! That was all!
“You’re definitely as warm as Harrison. Thank you. My hero,” he hummed, eyes already closed as the weight of the day settled heavily on him. And now he felt warm and comfortable and safe, so it was easy to let himself relax.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 6:43 pm
Ariel wasn’t looking at Casey but he thought he could hear the smile in his face. For a few seconds more he was a bit tense, but it must have been because of the cold. Had he locked the door? Yes. Of course.
Ariel relaxed as Casey’s warmth began to spread through him. He liked this contact. He was warming up, too. Maybe not because of Casey’s body warmth, but definitely because of Casey.
“Go to sleep,” he said. He didn’t have to adjust, he was comfortable right where he was. Ariel closed his eyes. He could definitely sleep like this. “I’ll see you when we wake up. Have good dreams.”
And, if not, Ariel would at least be here to keep him company through the bad ones.
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