Intertwined Souls (Matty Healy/George Daniel)

11: "You've Spoiled Me"

George is pulled out of his slumber by an uncomfortable tingling sensation shooting up his arm which is quickly morphing from a slight annoyance into pain, but when he tries to adjust the numb limb, he finds that it's pinned by a warm weight, which of course has him instantly panicking.

This isn't one of those instances where George can't remember where he is, because he knows he spent the night at Matty's place after his fight with Kyle, but when he drifted off last night, he'd been alone, he's sure of it, but now that's apparently not the case.

George wracks his brain frantically, playing over the events of the evening to make sure he hadn't glossed over something that might have ended with Matty sleeping with him, but he comes up blank.

They hadn't even spoken much after they'd entered Matty's flat, he'd simply given George some clothes to change into before showing him the guest bedroom and saying he was going to take a shower, telling George to make himself at home, which George had immediately done by curling up under the shocking bright yellow duvet and falling asleep almost instantly.

Maybe this is simply a dream, and George's mind is torturing him with scenarios that would be pleasant under other circumstances, but when George's arm continues to prickle uncomfortably and the person lying on it doesn't move, George is forced to accept that this is all very real.

George keeps his eyes closed for as long as he can as if that will make the presence beside him disappear, but when he feels something cold pressing against his bare arm, his curiosity gets the best of him, and what he sees when he finally cracks open his lids has him laughing throatily when he spies Allen curled up next to him, his nose tucked into George's elbow which explains the slight chill spreading across his skin.

George's heart slows back down to its normal rate once he realizes that his companion isn't Matty, although his stomach also twists slightly with something that might be disappointment, but George ignores it, because as much as he adores Matty, he's relieved that nothing happened between them, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if it had.

"What're you doing in here boy?" George mumbles hoarsely, slowly inching his trapped forearm out from under the dog that weighs more than George would have expected.

Allen doesn't respond of course, but he does raise his head briefly, his ears perking up at the sound of George's voice before he seems to lose interest in George entirely, focusing his attention instead on snuggling closer to George which has George grinning as he pets Allen's fur gently.

George hums under his breath when Allen stops fidgeting, trying to enjoy the peaceful morning for as long as he can until he's forced to sort through what had happened last night, but he's only successful for a few minutes before his head starts spinning in chaotic circles.

It's hard not to think about the mess he's landed himself in when he's sleeping in a strange bed with an animal that's showing him more affection than Kyle has in months, and George is aware that pretending his relationship isn't in shambles won't help anything.

Kyle - fuck, even thinking his name has George groaning internally. George can't help but wonder what he's doing right now, if he's headed off to work like nothing has changed, or maybe he broke down as well the second George left. Did he miss George's presence in their bed, or did he invite someone else over to fill the space? George has no idea which area of the spectrum Kyle is in right now, and that's the hardest part of all of this: the indecision, the insecurities, the constant doubt that nags at his brain even when George isn't consciously aware of it.

George gets one of his numerous questions answered when he rolls over and reaches for his phone which he'd left on the nightstand. It's almost dead since George's charger is still at home, and when George sees a text notification from Kyle, he sort of wishes that the battery had given out so he wouldn't have to face whatever Kyle's chosen to say to him.