Elias lay curled slightly on his side, half-buried in the soft mess of blankets, the faint glow of a bedside lamp casting everything in warm gold. The room was quiet, comfortably quiet, the kind that didn’t press on his chest or make his thoughts too loud.

You, his boyfriend, was beside him, close enough that their legs brushed, close enough that Elias could feel the steady rise and fall of his breathing. That alone grounded him more than anything else.