Pairing: Justin and Chris
Words: depth; drizzle; dirty denim; mosaic


There's rain drizzling down the bus window.  JC's asleep in the
back, which he often is on long drives on dreary days.  He and
Justin save their creativity mostly for the night.

The rain on the window makes a mosaic out of the grey-brown
landscape beyond and Chris just watches it.

Justin wakes up.  Some lurch of the tires or flash of light somehow
penetrated into the depth of his sleep.  And now he's awake.  But
now.  It's like... he's dreaming that he's awake.  That's what it
is.  Everything dark, drifting, lonely and safe, all at the same
time.  Justin gets to his feet and wanders slowly from window to
window.  He wonders which one is like the looking glass, and will
let him step through.

"Hey," Chris says quietly, seeing Justin's reflection in the
window.  "What's up?"

Justin doesn't answer right away.  In a dream, he wouldn't have to
answer at all.  Unless he wanted to.  And he wants to.  He thinks
through the meticulous formation of sounds.  "Nothin'."

Chris nods and lets it go.  If Justin wants to be incoherent, he
can be.  Justin frequently is before he's eaten.  Chris is feeling
kind of melancholy today and there's no reason for both of them to
suffer.

Justin steps against Chris and hugs him.  He finds that he's
dragged a blanket along, and now they're both wrapped up in it. 
Justin makes a soft sound and snuggles.

Chris smiles a little and shifts so Justin can sit next to him and
cuddle like that.  "Hey."

"Warm."

"Mm-hmm."  Chris feels a little less sad with Justin tucked in
close.  He hums.

Justin snuggles and watches the semi-rain.  "Wet out."

"Yep."

"Looks cold."

"You warm?"

"Can't tell," Justin says and sighs heavily.  "I'm asleep, you
know."

"Are you?"  Chris noses Justin's hair.

"I feel like it."

"That's okay then."  Justin is a warm bundle pressed against his
side.  Chris likes it.

"Really?"

"Yep.  Sleep on me all you like."

"Sleep with you," Justin says, eyes falling shut.  "Love to sleep
with you."

"You are," Chris says, because Justin is, and because Justin's
already mostly asleep.

"You ever think about how your brain feels?"

"Like whether it's comfy in my head, or whether it has feelings of
its own?"

"Uh huh."

Chris laughs softly.  He doesn't think Justin's even halfway aware
of what he's saying.  "Not really."

"Sometimes my brain feels stiff and dirty and numb," Justin says. 
"Like... like dirty denim."

"Maybe you need to put it through a wash cycle," Chris suggests.

"Yeah."

"Sleep, J.  I'll make sure your laundry's safe."

"Maybe fabric soft'ner," Justin murmurs.

"Mm-hmm."

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"C'n I use yours?  You always smell so nice."

"Yep.  You can use anything of mine you want."

Justin smiles.  "Ditto."

Chris shifts position to get more comfortable, because it's clear
they're going to be there for a long time.  When he's all moved,
Justin's head is resting against his chest.  Chris strokes Justin's
hair.  "Go to sleep."

"'kay."  Justin loosely fists a fold of Chris's shirt, breathes
deeply of Downy and Chris, and goes to sleep.

Chris keeps watching the rain as he runs his hand over Justin's
head.  It's still dreary, but he can't help smiling, because it's
warm inside.