never leave my arms

The night was late, dark and cold by the time they had put all the kids to bed, cleaned up, and got ready for bed themselves. Yeonaixho, personally, was exhausted. As soon as he could, he laid down on his and Jymaiyri's soft bed, stretched out, and closed his eyes. It was so nice to be home.

Jymaiyri was still in the living room, giving Minerva her last feeding for the night. It was only the first night they had back in their home, with all the new family members they had gained at the tournament. With all the children put to bed in every spare room they had, the house was finally quiet- especially in his and Jymaiyri's bedroom, now currently occupied by him, and the other person he loved. He could still hear Sovran milling about the room- no doubt, inspecting all their little trinkets and decorations, figuring out what kind of people they were based on what they decorated their home with. Yeonaixho couldn't say the noise bothered him- he always liked being able to hear what people were doing, and he was at ease in Sovran's presence.

Sovran stepped a little bit to the left of Yeonaixho- perhaps, he was looking at their desks. Jymaiyri had pictures of their little family next to her computer- taken when they had, in fact, been a little family. Perhaps, Sovran was looking at that.

Yeonaixho, who had previously been laying flat on his back, propped himself up on some pillows. He leaned his head back, still- too tired to fully feign propriety. "Do you like it?" He asked.

Sovran was silent for a moment, as if he hadn't realized Yeonaixho was talking to him. "Hm? What?"

"The room." Yeonaixho smiled. He opened his eyes, and lifted his gaze to an approximation of where Sovran might be. "You're looking around, aren't you?"

"Oh," Sovran chuckled. He put something down- evidently, having picked something up, and shifted his feet slightly. "I do like it, it's… it's really nice. You can really see your character in it, yours and Jymaiyri's. I like that."

Yeonaixho could not help but smile. ""If you like the room because it reminds you of us…" He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Does that mean you like us?"

Sovran fell silent for a moment. Yeonaixh imagined he was blushing, Sovran's face warming under his hands like it had in the sauna.

"I'm just teasing you." Yeonaixho said, and was happily greeted by another of Sovran's low chuckles. He moved slightly over on the bed, and patted it with his free hand. "Come, get in bed. I'm sure you're as exhausted as I am after everything."

Sovran shifted again, perhaps uncomfortably. "Oh.. I don't know- you don't need to offer your bed to me… Maiyri will be back any second now, and she'll need to rest, too-"

"Sovran." Yeonaixho insisted, but still kept a smile on his face. "This bed is, quite frankly, too big for two people. There's space for you. And where else are you going to sleep, the floor?"

Sovran fell silent, which told Yeonaixho that Sovran had actually be considering that.

"Come on." Yeonaixho patted the bed again. "I won't be able to sleep without you here."

After another pause, and Sovran conceded. Yeonaixho could hear the smile in his voice. "Well, if you insist."

Sovran took off his coat, and draped it over some chair or onto some table in the room, then his pants, then climbed into bed. He awkwardly laid next to Yeonaixho, keeping far too much of a distance between them.

"That's better." Yeonaixho sighed heavily, then sunk back into bed. He turned onto his side, to face Sovran, and found his arm, which he soon held onto. He curled his legs around Sovran's body, and rested his head on his chest.

"You're a little spoon, huh?" Sovran chuckled. He was still a little tense, but not as much as before. His voice was breathy and low. "Guess I'm not surprised."

"I like being able to hear your heart beat." Yeonaixho said back. Sure enough, he could hear the soft pounding of Sovran's heart, just as he could feel the rising and falling of his chest with his breath. Sovran was different than Jymaiyri- in how he felt, in how he breated, in how he smelled and how he loved. But it was not a bad difference. It was very, very good. Yeonaixho found himself lucky to be able to experience so many beautiful kinds of love.

Silence passed between them for a moment, til the door slowly creaked open. "It's me." Jymaiyri said- a habit she had picked up in the early days of her and Yeonaixho's relationship, to always announce her presence when entering a room. "I see you two have already gotten comfortable."

"I'm exhausted. I know you are too." Yeonaixho called from the bed, still clinging to Sovran. "Come join us. We can nap together."

"Or-" Sovran tried to shift out of Yeonaixho's embrace, but Yeonaixho held fast. "I can get up and let you have the bed, Jymaiyri. You deserve to rest with your husband."

Jymaiyri made a soft, dissaproving sound. "Nah, it'll be alright. Bed's big enough for all of us." The weight of the bed shifted again as she climbed into it, too, on the other side of Sovran. The soft clicking of Jymaiyri setting up the baby-monitor radio followed. "Minnie's finally asleep. I think all the drama and excitment wore her out. Wore me out, too, but I don't fight sleep like she does."

"Do you?" Yeonaixho countered. "I remember certain nights before Minerva when you spent nights with six cups of coffee and your laptop, and not with me, your loving husband who wanted to go to bed."

"Really?" Sovran shifted to Jymaiyri. "You pull all-nighters?"

"During my doctorate program." Jymaiyri informed him, a characteristic, pleasant dryness to her voice. "I haven't in quite a while- unless you count the first weeks with Minnie. She wasn't letting any of us sleep back then."

"You deserve to rest." Sovran said, his voice genuine and sincere. The words were directed to Jymaiyri, but he soon turned back to Yeonaixho. "You both do."

"And so do you." Jymaiyri teased him. Yeonaixho could tell by the weight shifting in the bed that Jymaiyri had laid down, and brought Sovran down to lay down with her. She reached out a hand to tap Yeonaixho's arm, reassuring him of her presence. Yeonaixho settled in.

"Are you sure you're okay with this? I really don't mind sleeping on the floor if you guys don't want-"

Jymaiyri yawned, and turned off the bedside lamp on her nightstand. "It's bedtime. Go to sleep. Goodnight, Sovran. Goodnight, Yeonai."

"Goodnight, Mari. G'night, Sov." Yeonaixho replied, his voice slurred by his sleepiness.

Sovran yawned, and finally settled in. "Goodnight."