y/n: your name

tws: swearing

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y/n's pov *

we got home just as mosquitoes started to flit through the evening air and the afternoon sun had finally dipped below the horizon. we played rock paper scissors on who had to get what out of the car, which had seemed to become our standard way of deciding things. nick and i were the losers and had to unload the heavy furniture boxes while george and clay got away with only picking up the grocery bags. after a few pesky bug bites and lifting furniture till our arms were limp, we collapsed on the couch in a heap.

"guys, this was a great day and i'm glad we went out and got everything, but i'm calling it. we are doing nothing for the rest of the night." i curled up on a cushion and threw a blanket over my legs, getting comfortable.

everyone groaned with a sigh of agreeance. clay took a seat next to me and george sat to his left while nick flopped down on the end seat with cash, who had come to greet us as we entered our living room.

"movie? show?" george suggested, turning on the tv.

"sure. your pick gogy," i replied casually, stretching my arms.

"okay!" he started paging through the options that netflix offered, biting the edge of his fingernail as he thought through the decision.

clay tugged at the blanket i had wrapped around myself and i fought him off with my legs. "get your own blanket you fiend," i scolded.

"there's only one blanket jackass and our house is freezing! share," he shot back, smiling mischievously as he took it clean off me and laid it over himself.

"you dick!" i laughed and tackled him.

he screamed and held me by my wrists, suspending me above him as i reached for the blanket. our limbs tangled and our laughs meshed as we wrestled, until george fired a pillow at us to break up our fight.

"i demand peace in this house!" he yelled at us.

"please!" nick added.

clay threw the pillow back at george. "i want peace too but someone is attacking me!" he laughed, staring up at me with sparkling green eyes.

i giggled. "trust that i do too, but some asshole took my blanket and i won't stand for it!"

clay let one of my wrists go and tickled my side, which launched me backwards in a fit of laughter. he scooted closer so the blanket could cover both our legs.

"compromise! please!" he pleaded, bunching the corner of the fuzzy fabric in his fist as he prepared to fend me off again.

"this is compromise?! you're still hogging the fucking blanket!" i laughed. i scooted closer so that i was actually covered by its warmth, which i instantly regretted. i could feel clay's jeans lightly press against my leg and the baggy cotton sweatshirt that pooled off his figure brush my arm. i could feel the rhythm of his breathing and could smell the faint scent of his cologne.

so much for stamping out my feelings.

his muscles briefly tensed at my closeness and then relaxed entirely. he peered down at me with a shy grin, doe-eyed. the creases at the edges of his mouth from laughing faded into a softness, and he shifted a little in his seat. "do... do you mind if i—" he started to say, but george cut him off.

"are you done fighting?"

clay blinked rapidly like he had just been shaken from a daydream and turned to look at him. "oh, yeah, yeah." he cleared his throat. "we came to a truce."

"yeah, a truce." i repeated, tearing my eyes away from him and trying to focus on something other than the comfort i found being close to him.

the tv started playing a show that i didn't know the name of, and just when i went to ask george, he had dozed off entirely, remote still in hand. i laughed under my breath and leaned back into the plush cushions of the couch with a sigh.

the sounds from the speaker began to slowly fade to a low hum, a sweet background noise that lulled me to rest. my eyelids grew heavy and i rested my head against the couch armrest as the warmth of the blanket and clay's presence wrapped me in a sweet dream that lasted through the night.

or at least halfway through the night.

i woke up to a dark room only faintly illuminated by the "are you still watching?" netflix screen that idled on the tv. nick was slouched deep into the couch, phone slipping out of his hand, and george was sprawled out on two cushions, mouth slightly gaped open. both of them were out cold.

clay, on the other hand, was on his side, an arm loosely draped around my waist and his head resting behind my shoulder. oh my god. we had actually fallen asleep like this. i couldn't believe i was only waking up now. tense, i gently lifted his hand up so i could carefully slip away and leave him to sleep the rest of the night in peace. he stirred, shifting his shoulders, and pulled me in tighter, adjusting so that his forehead nuzzled against the middle of my shoulders. his hair tickled the back of my neck.

you had to be kidding me.

"seriously?" i whispered at him even though he couldn't hear me, chuckling lightly. i had to laugh at this predicament, but what would he think if we woke up like this? would we find ourselves still tangled in each other's arms even after the hours of the night had long passed? or would we drift apart?

i hesitantly reached down and pulled the blanket over him. i wasn't going to wake him up. not at this hour anyway. we would break away eventually, or he would wake up and move over. why didn't i have the guts to do that? why didn't i mind the closeness?

i shut my eyes to hush my thoughts. it didn't mean anything. tomorrow we would laugh it off and move on like it had never happened.

it stung to think about that.

i rested my flushed cheek into the crook of my elbow and shifted to get more comfortable. like a mold to my body, clay turned to hug me to his chest.

tomorrow this would all be over. we'd joke about it and then forget, or he'd never know about it at all. but right now, it felt like warmth and safety and home.

i drifted off into a deep sleep.