y/n: your name

tws: swearing, mentions of blood

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clay's pov *

stark morning light reflected off the tv screen and into my eyes, forcing me out of the deep slumber i had been caught up in. birds were chirping outside, hopping from branch to branch as they peeped in our windows and pecked at the bugs flitting through the air. i squinted and batted my lashes to adjust to the brightness, lifting my hand to shield myself with a shadow.

my hand that had been resting around y/n's waist.

my heart exploded with a bolt of nervousness and i jolted awake. she was still asleep, breathing softly, a strand of hair dangling in front of her eyes and lips parted ever so slightly. her back was pressed to me, my right arm snuggled beneath her. the blanket was thrown over us, and she bunched the end of it in her fist as she dreamt, muttering ever so quietly.

i slid my arm out from under her as carefully as i could and sat up straight, running my hands through my hair before dragging them down my cheeks. how had i managed to do that? i didn't even budge once last night. what would she say if she knew we had fallen asleep like that? did she already know?

"sleep well?" george asked as he walked in from the kitchen, balancing two cups of coffee in his hands. a smirk was teasing at the corners of his mouth.

"george, what am i doing? what did i do?" i deadpanned, head in my hands as i looked at y/n.

"cuddle with the girl you've been ogling at for the past two weeks?" he sipped his drink, eyebrows raised.

"i haven't been—" i started, and then sighed, quiet for a moment. i steepled my fingers beneath my chin. "... i really do like her."

"then tell her that dumbass!"

"and risk complicating everything? we're friends and roommates. i care about her, george. i don't want to mess everything up and ruin it all."

he looked at my sympathetically, passing me the second cup of coffee he has been holding. "wouldn't you rather try than never know?"

i stayed silent and stared into the brown swirl of creamer and caffeine.

he sighed. "think on it. she cares about you too, you know that right? you're blind if you can't see it. just tell her how you feel, clay." he patted me on the shoulder and walked upstairs, leaving me alone with y/n and my thoughts.

i peered down at her as the silence of the room stopped her from stirring. she looked so peaceful when she slept. i adjusted the blanket so that it covered her shoulders and tucked the hair that was dangling in front of her eyes behind her ear.

george was right. i should tell her how i feel, but i couldn't help but worry that she didn't feel the same way. where would we go from there then? would we live in the same house in awkward tension knowing there was an unrequited love between us? or would things stay as they were and everyday would i wish that they were different?

y/n rolled to her other side so the sunlight streaming through the window was shining on her back instead of in her eyes. she was such a sound sleeper. no wonder she hadn't woken up when my arms had wrapped around her. she was a fucking rock.

but even a rock couldn't sleep through everything.

the ring of the doorbell and a swift knock broke the peaceful serenity of the moment. cash sprinted down the steps and jumped up and down to see over the window ledge and out to the driveway, barking at the delivery truck as it sped away.

y/n groaned and pulled the blanket over her head.

i laughed and whisked it off of her, letting the cold air shake her from her sleepy state. "wakey wakey eggs and bakey! get up!" i chanted loudly, bouncing on the couch.

"asshole," she mumbled, opening one of her eyes to glare at me as she grabbed the blanket back.

i chuckled and walked over to the front door to see what had been delivered. the answer was everything. our whole porch was blocked off by boxes of furniture and decor.

"oh... uh... nose goes?" nick said as he came down the stairs, slowly bringing his finger to his nose as he waited for an answer. his hair was wet and shaggy from getting out of the shower.

"don't you think about it," y/n responded, shuffling towards the front door still wrapped in the blanket.

i caught george creeping back upstairs to his room and scolded him. "george, don't you dare!"

he groaned and came down to stand in front of the boxes with us.

y/n shut the door and blocked it off with her body. "let's have coffee first. it's too early for this."

"it's eleven o'clock—"george butted in.

"and my point still stands," she sassed, snapping her fingers and pointing to the barstools lined up against the counter, "kitchen. now."

we gladly listened to her suggestion and took a seat, drinking coffee and eating toast and eggs until we were so full that we physically couldn't use eating as a way to procrastinate anymore. then, one by one, we slid the boxes through the door and to their respective rooms to start constructing.

we put together the tv console, end tables, and dining room table and chairs before breaking apart to our own respective bedrooms to set up our desks and other furniture. we wanted to start streaming again soon but, as much as we loved it, the few days off from the online world was refreshing. it was good to be around each other in person, and even though we would be like this for a long time to come, we wanted to cherish it.

i dusted my hands on my jeans and stood back to admire my work. my bed was put together and properly made, my nightstand was in tact and donned a dim lamp, and my desk, albeit missing my pc as i still hadn't hooked it up, was built. a plush rug covered the majority of my wood floors. i wiggled my toes in the grey fluff. i still had decor to organize on the shelves, but i was satisfied with what i had done today.

boredly, i dragged my feet out of my room and knocked on y/n's door.

"ow— fuck— come in!" i heard through the muffled barrier.

i opened the door, eyebrows furrowed as i chuckled. "are you breaking stuff? what's happening?"

"i just dropped the desk leg on my foot!" she yelled, pointing to the wood board that laid sideways on the floor next to the fuzzy reindeer socks she was wearing. "this is the most stupidly complicated desk i have ever built— like, look at this!" she shoved the direction guidebook at my chest and i quirked my eyebrows as i read it. she was right, it was stupidly complicated.

"need some help?" i asked, sitting crisscrossed on the floor before she answered.

"yeah, maybe, maybe," she responded, tapping her finger to her chin. she dragged djungelskog out of the corner and plopped him on the floor in front of the construction project, leaning back into the fluffy bear like a bean bag chair.

i chuckled watching her and picked up pieces of the desks to start building.

the contemplative silence brought me to think of this morning and how we had been tangled in each other's arms. i laughed once, nervously. "i have a confession," i said, treading lightly.

"you don't know how to build furniture?" she guessed, looking at the failed attempt at putting together the desk that laid before me.

"that's one of them," i laughed, and rubbed the back of my neck with my hand. "you know i woke up... hugging you this morning? like we were full on spooning—" i saw a smirk start to form on her lips and i hurried to finish my sentence— "i don't know how we managed that but.. um.. i guess it was funny so i just wanted you to know."

she laughed once. "i already did, actually."

"oh.. you did?" i confirmed. what she said made me feel better and worse all at the same time.

she nodded her head. "yeah, uh.. i woke up in the middle of the night and tried to move over, but you tugged me closer like a vice—"

"oh god, i'm sorry. you could have woken me if you were uncomfortable—"

"it's fine clay! i wasn't uncomfortable," she said softly. she cleared her throat before continuing. "besides, you were out fucking cold. like drool pooling at the corner of you mouth—"

"oh shut up!" i laughed.

"i'm kidding, i'm kidding. but you looked comfortable, so i didn't want to wake you up."

"i was comfortable. i don't think i've ever slept that well if i'm honest," i said, meeting her eyes for a split second.

"me neither. it.. it was nice, if that's not weird to say," she agreed, and laughed nervously.

my heart was beating out of my chest. i wondered if she could hear it. i thought about what george said earlier and planned my next words carefully. "y/n, i—"

"i'm gonna go get some water—" she hastily said, rising off the floor and dusting off her pants with her palms. "do you want anything?"

"oh, um, i'm good, thanks," i replied, shoulders sagging.

she nodded her head and whisked away to the kitchen, soft socked footsteps padding down the hallway until they disappeared entirely, leaving me alone in silence.

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y/n's pov *

i hurried to the kitchen, running my hands through my hair as i swore under my breath. my chest was swelling with so many emotions. i had to get out of the room with him before i blurted something i wouldn't be able to take back. and what would that have been exactly? "i have feelings for you?"

i didn't want to ruin our friendship. the trust i had built with him meant so much to me, and i didn't want to shatter it by trying to take things farther. but the tightness in my ribs and the burning in my throat made me feel reckless. what if i had said something in there? would everything have crumbled or would it have grown stronger?

i leaned over the sink and splashed cool water on my face, wiping the droplets off with a dish towel. heart heavy, i rested my head in my hands and stared out the window at the gentle serenity of our backyard to calm down.

birds were still fluttering through air, landing on branches before diving down low to the earth to pick up bugs and seeds and whatever else had fallen to the soil. a pair of crows dove together and hopped in the grass, squawking back and forth as they fought over food. one tackled the other, and they tangled in claws and beaks and flapping wings until the fight broke apart and they returned side by side to the same branch they had been sitting at before, feather to feather, cawing affectionately.

i turned and held a glass cup under the ice dispenser on the fridge door. if i had said something to clay and admitted all the feelings that i had for him, it would not have been the end of our friendship if he did not feel the same way. we were stronger than that. we would be able to move on.

i took a sip of my drink, letting the cool water pool on my tongue before swallowing so that the coldness could draw the red heat from my cheeks. i turned to slide sock-footed back to my room.

"fuck!" i heard from down the hallway, followed by a loud clanging.

i hurried my pace and swung open the door. "clay! are you okay?"

he groaned briefly. "yeah, i'm fine. i just nicked myself," he said, cradling his wounded hand with his other.

i shuffled over to where he was standing and so i could see the cut. "you liar, that's not a nick that's a full blown gash! gah— i should have warned you not to use the box cutter while i was gone you klutz."

"it just slipped!"

"whatever. come here, i think there's a first aid kit in the bathroom." i led him to our shared jack and jill and searched through the cabinets until i found the red medical box. i popped it open and took out gauze, a sterile alcohol pad, and a roll of bandage. "your hand please," i sighed.

he placed the back of his palm into mine. "oh, i thought you were just gonna stick a bandaid on it," he laughed, seeing all that i had taken out.

i scoffed. "nope, you get a cool hand wrap since your a fucking idiot and sliced the whole palm of your hand open."

"so no hello kitty bandaid? and i had it under control—"

"oh, clearly. and no hello kitty bandaid unfortunately, sorry." i pressed the alcohol pad to his wound. "this might sting a little by the way." he didn't complain, but i could feel him tense at the pain, so i rubbed soothing circles on the back of his hand with my thumb.

"the pain! it's killing me! i'm melting!" he feigned, probably to distract himself, and i rolled my eyes.

"drama king." i placed a gauze over the wound, and splotches of red seeped into the absorbent fabric. the bleeding had stopped almost entirely, so i continued and started to wrap his hand, starting at his wrist until it winded its way across his fingertips.

"you're really good at this," he said quietly, his voice slightly hoarse.

i hummed in response. "i too am a klutz, so i've done this before. it's amazing what you can learn off of youtube really."

"you're telling me you got your phd from the internet?" he gasped in faked astonishment.

"yup. certified and everything," i smiled confidently, finishing the last wrap before gently turning his hand over to look at my work. in all fairness, it did look really good.

"oh, you were right, this is kind of cool," he said, turning his hand to examine it.

"yeah, it's badass right?" i brushed my fingers against his hand again.

"thank you for doing that y/n."

"of course, of course. you would bleed out without me," i said. i contemplated for a moment before biting the inside of my lip, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. i laughed once before continuing. i wanted to say so much more, but i didn't think confessing my feelings now would be a good time. the moment had to be right. so instead, i suggested something that i had been yearning to do every since i became friends with the three idiots of the dream team. "you know what we should do tonight?" i started, an eyebrow quirked mischievously.

"what's that?"

i grabbed his wrist and led him out to the living room where george and nick were sitting. "are you guys done with everything?" i asked them.

"yeah, we finished a little while ago," nick said, "you?"

"more or less," i chuckled, "but since we are officially moved in now, i propose we have one big night to celebrate it all."

"you wanna go out?" george asked, filling in the blanks.

"yeah! let's party!"

"but nick can't drink—"

"ah ah ah, if you guys wanted to get me a fake id or something—" he started to suggest.

"nice try, but no. you, my dear sippy cup, just get to be our designated driver this evening."

he groaned. "fine. someone has to take care of your drunk asses."

"exactly. so get dressed boys, cause we're going out!"