“Oh,” Ren said, when Martyn padded out of the bedroom and draped himself unceremoniously over Ren’s back. “I thought you were sleeping.”
“Can’t,” said Martyn, face pressed into Ren’s neck. “Miss you.”
Ren made a not-very-valiant effort to disguise the shudder that ran through him. He wasn’t reticent about how he liked when Martyn was shy and needy like this, but he still worried sometimes that he would frighten Martyn with how much he liked it. “D’you want me to come lie down with you? Hold you, for a bit?”
Ren closed his book and stood, turning. “C’mere,” he said, then bent and scooped up Martyn in his arms, Martyn’s legs around his waist. Martyn rested his head against Ren’s shoulder while Ren carried him into their bedroom and deposited him on the rumpled sheets, head on the pillows. “You’re cute,” Ren told him, mostly because it was true, and partially to make Martyn flush.
They ended up with Martyn curled on his side, Ren behind him, holding him. One of Ren’s legs slung over Martyn’s thigh. Martyn’s cheek resting on his bicep. His hair in Ren’s face. The warmth of his body, his scent, the way his shoulders loosened when he exhaled. “Feels good.”
Ren snaked an arm over Martyn’s side so he could grab his wrists and hold them together. “You want it like this? Me pinning you down?”
Martyn might have been facing away from him, but Ren could see how his ears turned red. “Yeah,” he said, so quietly Ren could barely hear him.
“Hey,” Ren said. “It’s no trouble.” He squeezed Martyn’s wrists. “You just close your eyes and try to get some sleep. I’ll stay here.”
“Mhmm,” said Martyn. Then, barely audible: “Love you.”
Ren buried his face in Martyn’s hair. He might not feel like sleeping, but Martyn’s careful vulnerabilities would always make him feel like crying. “I love you too,” he murmured. Rubbed his thumb against the underside of Martyn’s wrist, across his pulse. “Always.”
(Technically a coda to this fic, but no context is necessary.)