ahhh i’m sorry u have covid :(( not fun…. <3
anyway i’m thinking abt thoughts on ronan noah gansey at three a.m. in monmouth…. not really trying to sleep anymore and not really up to doing anything,,, they just kinda. do their own thing but they’re not alone in it
Sometimes, when Ronan couldn't fall asleep, he'd just lie in bed with his eyes closed and pretend that he could. Usually it helped, making time go faster until morning light filtered through the blinds, or giving him enough energy to make it through another day. But some nights, like this one, all it did was make him more restless; he tossed and turned until finally he gave up, throwing the covers back and going into the main room; at least there he wouldn't be alone with his thoughts.
Gansey, holding two pieces of cardboard together at a right angle, glanced up with a faint smile, then took his glasses off and rubbed at his eyes. "Manage any sleep?" His voice was rough with disuse and quiet in the way that three AM called for, even if there was no one around to worry about waking.
Grunting in response, Ronan fit himself on the floor beside Gansey, leaning up against his bed. "What're you working on?"
"Nice." Without asking, because Ronan didn't need to ask, he put his headphones on and pulled up a playlist that he'd made for nights like this--music softer and slower than his usual, music that felt like home, music that he knew Gansey would like if Ronan's headphones shifted out of place. He didn't quite close his eyes, but his gaze was unfocused as he let his head drop back onto the mattress.
It was a little while later that he caught a glimpse of motion in the far corner of the room: Noah's door, open now. The bed shifted behind Ronan, and he slid one earpiece off. "Hey, man."
Noah echoed Ronan's words, sprawled out on Gansey's bed. It was clear that no one wanted to talk, everyone too tired or preoccupied to converse, and Ronan appreciated the fact that no one tried to push it.
He didn't startle at all when he felt Noah's hand in his hair, petting his curls and twirling them around his fingers. He did, however, open his eyes just enough to see that Noah's other hand was in Gansey's hair, a mirror image. Stretching one arm behind himself, Ronan patted around on the bed until he found Noah's leg and loosely closed a hand around his ankle.
It wasn't long before Ronan dozed off, his head dropping to Gansey's shoulder, music continuing to play through sunrise.
