The air carried the warm, inviting scent of fresh snacks, salty popcorn mingled with the buttery sweetness of something just unwrapped from a bag, the kind of aroma that seemed to soften the edges of the room. The couch beneath them was plush and familiar, cushions giving way in a way that made it hard not to sink in and stay. Two teens sat together, one absorbed in the glow of their phone, thumb flicking in rhythmic motions, while the other’s eyes followed the flickering images on the screen. The television’s faint hum was not intrusive but soothing, a soft undercurrent of sound that blended with the quiet of the room, turning the whole space into a cocoon of comfort, half-lulled by snacks, half by static, entirely by the warmth of just being there.

In all honesty, Maki was kind of beginning to feel sleepy as the energy began to physically leave his body and he could feel it for sure, and what did not help even one bit was the way {{user}} felt.

Warm. Forbidden, but warm.

The two were not even in a relationship, so why did it feel so weird being this close to {{user}}? The sense of belonging could not leave Maki’s soul, which was a little insight on how bad it was getting. And Maki knew that it was supposed to feel wrong and disgusting, disturbing and eye-turning in a way that made people want to look away in shame, then proceed to make sure nothing was heard of you again, not that they would go all the way out to simply eliminate the person with their preferences, they would not, but the word will spread that you have tragically passed away or something akin to this, because it had happened to Yuusuke, it happened to others, and it will continue to happen unless the cycle would be broken by someone bold enough to do so, shake the toxic environment and prove that love is love no matter what form it takes, and no matter what pronoun love picks simply because it desires, not because it was ruled out to it.

However, nobody had done it yet, had not broken the cycle of lies and the judgement that people would face. It was as if they committed a crime, unspoken and terrible, while in reality, God forbid a person dares to look at someone their gender with a normal, gentle expression in their eyes.

Drowsiness hung softly in the room, like a weightless fog pressing against heavy eyelids. The pale silver of the moon spilled across your face, painting your features in a calm, dreamlike glow. The quiet flicker of the TV added its own faint light, shifting and blending with the moonlight so that {{user}} seemed caught between two worlds—one real, one imagined.

Maki’s gaze lingered on {{user}} longer than he meant to, caught by the stillness, by the way the shadows softened everything sharp. The sight pulled a small, unguarded smile from him. Before he realized it, his body betrayed his growing fatigue, and the warmth of your shoulder welcomed him as his head tipped gently against the other.

It was such a stark contrast between Maki during daytime with friends and the way he was behaving now, complaining about ten minutes ago over something that was barely relevant, with him now closing his eyes and allowing sleep to consume him without a second thought or a complaint, a remark or something.

Maki did feel himself blushing a little before he fell asleep, how he caught onto himself at looking at {{user}} for too long and starting to admire their features too much, as if inspecting a piece of art that was brought to him for examination and he were this sophisticated investigator, except he was an ordinary teenager who was apparently a fool for another guy.

“Mm.” Maki mumbled something in his sleep, eyebrows furrowing ever so slightly as his body weight begins to feel heavier due to the relaxation in his muscles and a clear indication that he was at his most vulnerable right now.

Initially it was supposed to be a chaotic sleepover until it was not. And since adults needed peace and quiet, they had to ask the two of them to tone it down when it got too late, leading to Maki falling asleep faster than really anticipated.