Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

Smile Even Though You're Sad

Day 4 – Watching The Other Sleep

"Well honey, here comes a lullaby; your very own lullaby."

XxX

So it went like this: like they usually did, the Invisible Network took advantage of the weekly "movie night" to sabotage Macbeth's lifestyle in any way they could, before returning in time for the film's final plot twist and being appropriately confused by it. That was the way it worked. The rest of the night usually followed a vague routine, too; some kids would have pillows and beanbags, others would bring blankets, most would bring the smuggled food they kept beneath their beds, at least three would fall asleep before the movie finished while a good handful would sit on Facebook the entire time, but the point was everyone made the most of it – taking one day out of the week just to forget about life for a few hours.

It was "nice", Zero supposed, if you wanted to think about it in a gross kind of way. Someone with a more romanticised kind of mind might call it that - like Vin, the sop. She, however, was more or less indifferent about the whole thing. After all she was one of the Facebook kids, not particularly interested in anything on the TV unless it was Die Hard or The Lord of the Rings, and that always pissed Vin off to no end.

'Just watch the movie - you might like it!' he'd say, and she would stare him down with a death glare until he relented with an irritated huff and sprawled out across one of the couches to sulk. And when it came to sprawling, he was a pro. Generally Zero prided herself on her ability to hang her limbs from every possible surface like a cat, but Vin was on a whole different level. People already sitting on the couch? No problem, he'd flop length-ways across their legs and kick his feet up onto the armrest, regardless of whether it bothered anyone or not. Or, if he didn't really feel like sprawling on anyone, he'd lie along the back of the couch with one foot hanging down the side. And that was only the start of it all.

Today however, he'd chosen to sit in the middle of one of the three-seater couches, legs thrown over the top of Newton's and back leaning against Zero's shoulder. Well, in truth he'd sunk so low into his slouch over time that his head was now pretty much resting on her hip, but she didn't give enough of a shit to say anything about it. In fact, she didn't really notice until about half an hour later, when gravity finally resulted in his head dropping onto her lap.

She lowered her phone slightly, initially thinking what the hell, before she realised he had well and truly fallen asleep, and as such couldn't really be told off for doing it. In a moment of brief experimentation, she waved her hand over his face, but he didn't so much as flinch.

Dead to the world. Wow.

She thought about it for a moment. She could totally be an asshole and shove him off, because she had a tough, badass reputation to uphold and couldn't be seen canoodling, damn it. But then again, he was kinda heavy, asleep, and well . . . he was Vin.

So yeah, she let him stay there. And if anyone gave her any funny looks, she sent them a glare strong enough to set fire to a small navy.

Now, however, she found she couldn't go back to perusing the internet. She tried, sure, but for some reason she kept getting distracted, gaze flickering every now and again to Vin's sleeping face. It was kinda weird.

It actually took her quite a while to realise that her empty hand had drifted down to rest on his chest at some point, and she outwardly frowned when she noticed. That definitely wasn't something she would actively do, and she was surprised that her subconscious had let it happen. So she should really pull her hand away before he woke up.

She should.

It was the smart thing to do.

. . .

So why wasn't she doing it?

Well . . . she supposed she didn't have to, did she? It wasn't like Vin would care – he was about as touch-starved as a person could get. He wouldn't think twice about it. Everyone else, however . . .

Her gaze drifted over to the other side of the room, where Burt was sitting with Van latched onto him rather like an octopus. If he could get away with PDA, then she supposed it really put the whole thing into perspective, didn't it?

Screw everyone else. She could do whatever she wanted, damn it. And if that meant leaving her hand where it was . . . then that was fine. She'd do that.

With a quiet sigh she turned off her phone and looked down at Vin. His face was softly illuminated by the bluish light coming from the TV, throwing all the hollows and curves into sharper prominence. He seemed so peaceful like this; there were no creases between his eyes from worry, no lines around his mouth from laughing – everything was so beautifully smooth, save for the faint shadow on his jawline. Damn it, it was really unfair how pretty he was, especially when he wasn't trying.

Slightly hesitant, she lifted her hand and very lightly brushed her fingertips along the edge of his face, careful enough so that he didn't stir. An odd kind of feeling settled in her gut – that "warm and fuzzy" thing people would talk about that she'd always scoff at. And yet, despite her previous opinions, she didn't reject it. It was probably because she was tired, anyway. Obviously. Why else would she feel like this?

So, while it still went against all of her common sense, she carefully rested her hand against his collarbone, which was exposed from the neckline of his flannel shirt. The warmth beneath her fingers felt comforting – the kind of comfort she had come to expect from Vin over the years. It was the comfort of familiarity, the comfort of affection, the comfort of – to a degree – attraction.

(Keep in mind that he was very pretty.)

This was okay, she decided. She could very faintly feel the distant thrum of his pulse at his throat, and that constant beat helped steady her thoughts. Eventually her eyes slipped closed. She breathed in.

In this short moment of vulnerability, she could imagine that she could always do this – reach out and touch, feel that sense of mineminemine, and actually believe it. That one day, that comfort would never leave her.

She breathed out. 

XxX

Chapter title: "Death of a Bachelor", Panic! at the Disco

Quote: "Lullaby", Nickelback