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“Rhett,” Link whispered.
Rhett blinked slowly, looking out into the darkness of he and Link’s shared room. He had been just on the verge of sleep when he heard his name. There were rustling noises as Link shifted in the bunk above him.
“Hey, Rhett,” Link whispered once more.
“Yeah?” Rhett responded, voice above a whisper, but still quiet.
There was a pause. “I'm sorry, did I wake you up? I just wanted to see if you were awake,” Link responded after a moment. “I can’t sleep.”
"'S okay. I wasn't all the way asleep yet."
They laid there in silence once more, the only noise in the room the ticking of a clock that was sat on Link’s desk.
“You worried about somethin’?” Rhett asked.
“Well… Yeah. I’m a little nervous about that test I took today in my calculus class.”
Rhett’s face twisted in confusion, even though Link couldn’t see it. “What? Why? You knew all of that stuff forwards and backwards, man. I’m sure you aced it.”
Link shifted again. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know. I just get in there and second guess myself. I’m not sure I did so well.”
Rhett hummed. “Come down here.”
“…What?”
“Come down here,” Rhett repeated.
After a moment, there was another rustling followed by the gentle shifting of the bed frame as Link scurried down from his bunk. Rhett shifted in his own bunk to create space, and when he saw the outline of Link standing at the edge of the bed, he patted the mattress next to him.
“What, you want me to sleep with you?” Link asked.
Rhett sighed. “Come on, man, don’t make it weird. You and I both know you get kinda touchy-feely when you get anxious. I just figured this could help. Ain’t no different from when we used to sleep next to each other on that pull-out couch at my house when we were little.”
Link hesitated. “Uh, okay. I guess.” He wavered by the bed for a moment before crawling under the covers, curling up on his side and facing Rhett. Their legs pressed against one another’s and their hands brushed where they were resting against the sheets between them. Rhett felt his breath catch in his throat.
They lay there like that for a moment, just breathing slowly, noses mere inches apart, studying what they could see of each other’s faces in the darkness.
Rhett broke their silence, whispered words floating gently between them. “For the record, you know even if you didn’t do so good on this test, you’ll be alright, right? I promise it won’t be the end of the world.”
Link nodded. “I know,” he whispered back. He ran his fingers gently over Rhett’s knuckles, and Rhett suppressed the shiver that wanted to run down his spine. “Thank you.”
Rhett extended his fingers, intertwined them with Link’s, and squeezed. “You’re welcome.”
They lingered like that, before Rhett released Link from his grip. Link rolled over to his other side, facing away from Rhett, but moved so his back was pressed against Rhett’s chest. “G’night, Rhett.”
“’Night, Link.”
Eventually Link’s breathing evened out, and Rhett relaxed, content that Link was feeling better and had been able to fall asleep. There was a stirring in the pit of his stomach as part of his brain acknowledged just how happy he was to be curled up in bed with his best friend. He pushed those thoughts away for now, allowing himself to follow through on his impulse to place a soft kiss on the back of Link’s shoulder.
He would figure that out later.
For now, he was happy to drift off to sleep himself, the scent of Link’s shampoo filling his nose.