George ends up calling it a night after a second joint and a quite a few slices of pizza, leaving Matty on the sofa once the older man declines his offer of being set up in the spare room, saying he was going to watch some television for a bit longer before teasing George about getting old, even though it is nearing one in the morning now, which is a perfectly valid time to begin pleading tiredness in George's opinion.
George falls asleep quickly, the emotionally taxing evening coupled with the drinking at Ross' party has left him drained and exhausted, but it seems that George has only just closed his eyes when they are snapping open again, his pupils dilating as he tries to adjust his vision to the smothering darkness that surrounds him.
After checking the clock to his left, George sees that it is barely past four, leaving him confused about why the hell he is suddenly so wide awake.
George isn't like Matty who hardly seems to rest at all some days, but after five minutes of pointlessly squeezing his lids shut in the hopes of dozing back off, George gets up, deciding to go check on Matty while maybe snagging himself a glass of water to remove the cottony taste coating the inner walls of his mouth.
George glances into the guest bedroom, but the sheets are smoothed and untouched, meaning that Matty most likely chose to crash on the sofa, either that, or he went home, but George thinks that the second possibility is unlikely.
Matty doesn't like to be alone after a breakup, and George can sense that he is still here somewhere. He isn't sure how, but his home feels different when Matty's in it, and even though George can't describe the change in atmosphere with coherent sentences, he knows he likes it.
George pads into the living room quietly, trying his best not to disturb Matty with his late night wanderings, but as soon as he peeks over the back of the cushions discretely, he can tell that Matty is awake without needing to see his face.
His stiff shoulders give it away, not to mention the soft tremors that slowly snake their way down his spine, the silent clues alerting George to the fact that Matty is crying again.
George's chest clenches painfully as he observes Matty, because although he hadn't expected Matty to move on in a matter of hours, he had seemed so much better before George had parted ways with him to catch some shut-eye, but apparently that wasn't the case, leaving George feeling guilty for abandoning his best friend when he needed him most.
George forces himself to walk into the kitchen before approaching Matty, not wanting the older man to discover George spying on him.
He hums absentmindedly while filling a nearby cup from the tap, making sure to produce a decent amount of noise so Matty will be aware that he is no longer the only person up at this hour.
When George hears a soft whimper, he immediately drops what he's doing and rushes over to Matty's side, knowing that the sound is Matty's way of asking for company. He won't say it with words, but if he wanted George to leave him be, he would have remained quiet, and George has become an expert at picking up on Matty's non-verbal cues over the past few years.
George rounds the corner quickly, the glow from the television which is playing on mute in the background highlighting Matty's swollen eyes and quivering mouth. Silent tears are streaking down his cheeks once more, and George has to physically restrain himself from leaning down and wiping them away with his thumb.
Matty doesn't react to George's sudden appearance, only his tightened grip on the throw blanket which he has wrapped around himself again lets George know he is aware of what is going on.
Matty is still shivering slightly, even under the covering, and George isn't sure if the action is caused by the cold or Matty's emotions, but he assumes it is a combination of both.
"Come here mate," George commands, not giving Matty a chance to protest before he picks him up, his weight barely registering as George hooks his arms under his knees, lifting him from the sofa easily. "You're staying with me for the rest of the night," George informs him, listening to see if Matty is going to try and argue, but he doesn't say a word. Instead, he curls up in George's hold, burrowing into his chest as a deep sigh falls from his parted lips.
Sharing a bed is an old habit of theirs that George knows will cheer Matty up instantly. He likes the company even if the need for using one mattress has been eliminated now that they have separate flats.
Sometimes George misses the days when he would crawl under the sheets with Matty every night, and he has a feeling that Matty does too since he typically ends up there whenever he stays over at George's place.
"Did I wake you?" Matty asks when they reach the doorway to George's room, his voice emitting hoarse and weak as he turns his head slightly, his curls dragging over George's bare arm in the process.
"No, just couldn't sleep," George shrugs, gently setting Matty on the edge of the bed before moving over to the other side, not mentioning that his worry for Matty might have something to do with his current restlessness.
"Well that's a first." Matty makes an effort to inject a teasing lilt to his tone, but his sentence is broken up by a soft sniffle that he tries his best to hide.
"Fuck off," George smiles despite himself, too tired to argue against Matty's mood swings which aren't an unusual occurrence.
"Why'd you bring me in here if you're only going to bully me? Should have stayed on the sofa after all," Matty giggles in an effort to show George he's fine even though it's blatantly obvious that he's not.
Matty always tries to act strong when around others, and although George knows that he can wear Matty down if he puts some effort into it, he's tired, and Matty will benefit from some shut-eye more than he would if they stayed up talking about his feelings.
"Get under the blankets you idiot, your feet are like ice cubes," George hisses when Matty shifts closer to him, shoving the smaller man aside so he can tug the duvet free before settling back down, his arm automatically lifting up to give Matty space to nestle against his side.
"Not my fault your house is freezing," Matty mumbles in reply, his words muffled by the pillow his face is half-buried in, but George still understands him. He also doesn't miss the way Matty's breathing is starting to hiccup, which is a warning sign of more sobs on the way.
"It's gonna be okay Matty," George whispers, tightening his hold on the older man as Matty nods slowly, trying to regain control of himself before he breaks down again, his hair brushing against George's cheek with the movement.
"You're right...'m just - it hurts you know?" Matty chokes out, one of his hands curling around George's larger one as he speaks, inspiring George to lace his fingers with Matty's, his thumb stroking up and down over his knuckles until the tension radiating from his frame begins to lessen bit by bit.
"I've got you," George replies with, not knowing what else to say besides to remind Matty that he isn't alone in this.
He rests his chin on Matty's head as he brackets him with his body, knowing that Matty likes the comfort of feeling another person's touch when he is this distraught.
George continues to whisper about anything that pops into his head as Matty begins to cry softly, but he quickly tires himself out, his legs entangling with George's as he pulls their conjoined hands up to his chest before huddling in around them, his heart beating steadily against George's palm as Matty finally quiets down, his soft exhalations the only sound filling the otherwise silent room.
George doesn't dare try and extricate himself from his position pressed against Matty's spine. He's too terrified that he'll wake him again if he does, and Matty doesn't get nearly enough rest as it is.
Even though it isn't the most convenient sleeping arrangement given the fact that Matty is basically locking him into place with his limbs, George is enjoying the slight heat emanating from Matty's small frame, and if George is being completely honest with himself, he doesn't really want to move, even if he had a guarantee that Matty wouldn't be disturbed by it.
George isn't sure why he is comfortable being so physical with Matty, but it has never bothered him.
It isn't something he does with anyone else, minus his past girlfriends, and he is well aware that most mates wouldn't be doing this - sleeping in the same bed while basically spooning that is, but he and Matty have always been exceptionally close, and despite the teasing remarks they sometimes receive from Ross and Adam, he doesn't really mind.
In fact, George is glad that he gets to be this person for Matty, because he needs someone to keep him together when his world falls down around him, even if he won't admit it in so many words.
George knows that he would do anything for the older man, hell - he would take a bullet for him, so holding him when he's distraught is almost instinctual by this point, no matter how odd it might seem from an outsider's perspective.
And even though George doesn't consider himself a truly physical person, he finds that he craves those things from Matty; the random bouts of time when they join hands for no reason, the urge to push his hair back from his face when it begins to get in his eyes, the drawn out hugs, choosing to sleep in the same bed with him even though there are two perfectly good mattresses in the room.
These little occurrences make George feel special - important even, and since Matty's approval means the world to him, George treasures each of those moments, hoarding them close to his chest during the hours when Matty isn't around, although most of this process happens unknowingly.
By this point, George's brain is clouding over with the need for sleep, and he is much too out of it to decipher where his brain is going with this train of thought, so with the aroma of Matty's shampoo filling his senses, George allows his eyes to slip closed, nuzzling gently against Matty's neck as he finally manages to fall back into a peaceful sleep with his best friend firmly pressing against his side.
I apologize to any re-readers well actually to all of my followers who are going to get a lot of notifications for this story but basically I'm going to be reposting it in a more reader-friendly fashion.
I can barely read over some of the longer chapters to edit them so I have no idea how you guys did haha not to mention it makes Wattpad glitch for me whenever I open them so I'm going to cut them down into smaller chunks.
And to any new readers hello! I hope you enjoy this story!
Love you all xxx
- starr