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There was a hum to their house. A type of life and love many only wished for. The space was lit up with a glow from a mix of candles and fairy lights, and there, on the couch, were two people absolutely enthralled with each other.
Nolan stroked his fingers through Olen's hair, trying to give some form of peace to his partner. They had stayed for as long as it took for Olen's tears to subside, for the scars the boos ripped in the thin fabric of his self esteem fixed themselves up. They didn't have energy to do anything more than exist together.
Tear tracks were dry on Olen's face, his eyes wide and unseeing, the slow drift of Nolan’s fingers grounding him. Fixing him up. He felt like falling asleep right there in Nolan's arms, but his legs were sore and his muscles tight.
Something about physical pain bought the tears back, welling in his eyes uncontrollably. That feeling of never being good enough was back. Olen felt like he was teetering on a cliff edge. He wanted to fall on to the rocks of uncomfortable truth below.
'No, no, no' Nolan said, pulling his fiancé closer, nudging his head so they were face to face. 'You don't need to cry.'
'But, i did so bad.' Olen replied, his words swirling together.
'No, you did amazingly, you did all you could. You worked so hard, it's not your fault it didn't fall in your favor.'
'We lost though. No matter how hard i worked we still lost. Nothing can change that.'
'I know, i know' Nolan whispered, patting Olen's hair and wiping away his tears. 'Sometimes, that's just how it goes.'
The genuine care, the real love in Nolan's words made the flood of his soul rise, his eyes drowning in water.
Nolan's fingers stroked through the baby hairs of Olen's head.
'Its ok to cry, I'll always be here for you.'
So Olen did. He borrowed his head in Nolan's chest, and let the tears flow like a tsunami. Nolan didn't move, didn't whinge about how his shirt was soaked through. He would always be here. They'd take turns be the others anchor in the stormy sea that was this world.
They sat there together, and as minutes ticked into hours, Olen let out a little mumble, a mix of words struggling to get out. It made Nolan smile a sweet, loving smile. The type only lovers and demonic tabloid photos ever got. Nolan loved these moments more than cars or the sunrise. It was these kind of moments that mattered, that made life worth living.
'Hey sleepyhead' Nolan said, admiring a waking Olen in his arms.
Olen mumbled something only partially coherent. It made Nolan melt like butter on a black iron skillet in warm sun. Olen reached out, hitting against the tough muscle of Nolan's stomach, teasing. His eyes opened slowly, a smile to rival the glory of the sun gracing his lips.
Their eyes met each other, chocolate brown on chocolate brown, connecting like a bridge across a river. They sat there, wrapped up in each other, even with their arms not intertwined.
Olen lent up. His fingers grazed along Nolan's cheekbones, brushing the pad of his thumb along his lips.
His hand went down again.
'I think, I think my bones are a bit sore'
Nolan laughed.
'Well, I think I've got the best thing for you. A bath.'
~~~~
Olen admired Nolan from his pedestal atop the toilet. Steam rose like dancing nymphs from the bath, yet in Olen's eyes, they could not rival the beauty of his fiancé. Nolan was kneeling, testing the water with his fingers. It was safe to say they were pretty burnt.
'O, I can feel your eyes on me.'
Olen rolled his eyes. 'Is that such a bad thing?'
Nolan turned, resting his elbow on his knee. 'No, absolutely not.' He reached up, pushing off Olen's thigh, replacing his elbow with the warm palm of his hand. 'Quite the opposite.'
There was only a hair width between them, breath brushing against breath. It was a form of torture the two could die and live in all at once. Their lips intertwined like vines of a abandoned villa.
'I love you' Olen whispered into the space between their lips.
'I love you more' Nolan replied, his thumbs brushing the small space between Olen's ear and his neck.
Olen shook his head, eyebrows waggling. 'Mhm not possible'
'ermm' Nolan raised his eyebrow and the two dissolved into giggles.
'Well,' Nolan said, faking professionalism. 'I know something that is actually impossible.'
'What's that?'
'You have a good bath with clothes on.'
'Well, are you going to do something about it.'
Clothes came off slowly, their lips always together. Nolan lent Olen down into the water, the latter hissing through his teeth as the heat of the water.
'Have a great bath, baby.'
'No, you're coming in with me.' With that, Olen pulled his fiancé in, splashing him into the water with more force than a slapshot, sending water flying to the moon and back.
'I think I deserve a kiss for that.' Nolan said, giving Olen his equivalent of puppy eyes.
Olen hummed. 'I guess you deserve a little more than that.'