sometimes this was all you needed; no overbearing noise blasting from the mouths of other people lounging in the confines of your shared space, no needing to knock the volume up of your tv up a few notches or place your jbl earphones over your head to sever the ties from your world. just silence.

briefly, as you leaned closer to the flickering flame, you could feel the hot air brush across your face. even from the position of you resting against the arm of the couch.

your head raised after time ticked for another 120 seconds, eyes flickering towards the man resting against the cushions of the couch that laid across from you. his veiny and worn down hands were preoccupied with the pages of the book he was reading, not even feeling remotely bothered as the bridge of his glasses began to slide down the slope of his nose.

you tucked your sock covered feet deeper under the weighted blanket as you readjusted to a sitting position, cocking your head a bit curiously. to be honest, you were getting bored.