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Arthur awoke to a chill nipping at his face. The sounds of the city amplified even more than usual, indicating an open window somewhere. With a mumble, Arthur reached out and felt for Curt’s body only to find nothing. All he could feel was the cold, wrinkling sheets. He kept feeling around only to get nothing. Cracking one eye open and blinking away his blurred vision, he could definitely confirm to himself that his partner was indeed not there. It wasn’t until another wind chill ran through the bedroom that Arthur forced himself to sit up and scan the room. He looked to the closet on his left, straight ahead where a dresser sat in front of one closed window, then finally to his right.
Through the dark, he spotted Curt’s figure bathed in the city lights, leaning out of the window to occasionally blow a puff of cigarette smoke. His dyed blond hair hung over his shoulders, seemingly unaffected by the occasional breeze. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just an open robe that hung from his slender body. Arthur had a habit of “nagging” Curt about hypothermia, it seemed his body temperature was naturally ten degrees warmer than the average person. He’d usually just grow annoyed anyways if Arthur brought up how freezing it is for Curt to not notice. Though, his partner would usually appease him by closing his jacket or adding some layers.
Arthur remained silent, but still Curt was brought out of his trancelike state to notice his staring. He tilted his head after a final puff and put out the cigarette on the outside of the window.
“Hey,” he said, shutting the window, “sorry if I woke you up, couldn’t sleep. I usually just step outside, but it’s too cold even for me.” They only had been living together for a few months, and Curt never mentioned to Arthur the way he’d get up in the middle of the night. Every once in a while, Arthur would briefly wake up and assume he was in the bathroom and would be back. He never really chalked it up to what he assumed was some form of insomnia.
“S’alright.” Arthur rubbed the crust out from the corner of his eye, blinking rapidly. “Feeling okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just couldn’t fall back asleep.”
“Bad dream?”
Curt snorted. “Sorta, yeah. That and just general late night thoughts.”
“Those are never a good sign,” said Arthur, shaking his head with a good-natured smile. Approaching his partner, Arthur wrapped his arms around his waist, chin gently resting on the top of his head.
“Do you seriously need to rub in how much taller you are?” Curt laughs, hands over Arthur’s.
“Can’t help that,” Arthur mumbled. “Want to talk about that dream at all?” Curt didn’t answer, and Arthur felt the way his muscles stiffened under him. “How about I make some tea then?”
“I don’t want to keep you up, man.”
Arthur shrugged. “Don’t mind. It’s a holiday, I don’t have anywhere to be.” Curt relented, letting Arthur’s arms drop from his body. Arthur told him he’ll be in the kitchen in a moment, searching for his own robe.
The squeal of the kettle pricked Arthur’s ears through the thick veil of drowsiness. Shuffling to the stove, he retrieved two cups and tea bags, carefully pouring in each and letting them steep. With great ease, Arthur carried the cups over to where his partner sat on the couch.
The T.V. was on but muted and the only lights was from the kitchen and the decorated Christmas tree behind Curt. Arthur had never been one to make a huge deal out of the holiday, and really he hadn’t expected Curt to either. Overall, he wasn’t, but he did pressure Arthur into decorating a fake tree he got. He didn’t mind though, Curt seemed to get a lot of joy in stringing the lights and passing Arthur ornaments to reach higher spots.
Arthur also took note of the couple of gifts next to the ones he laid out. He figured Curt must have put them there while he was asleep.
“Thanks,” Curt said, sitting up to carefully take the hot cup. Arthur sat next to him, glancing at the T.V. only to grow disinterested in the old film silently playing.
“Afraid I’d open the gifts before today?” Arthur asked.
“Yeah, I know your type.” Curt didn’t even blow on the drink, drinking from it right away. “Nah, I just hadn’t wrapped them yet. Figured I couldn’t sleep anyways, so seemed like the best time. By the way, how the hell did you wrap yours so nice? Like a fucking department store worker.”
“Maybe it’s ‘cause that’s who wrapped them,” Arthur chuckled, whose expression faltered soon after. “How long have you been up?” Curt shrugged.
“Just a little.”
“Sure you’re feeling alright?”
“Don’t worry, babe. Swear I am.” Arthur didn’t press, knowing he wouldn’t get another answer unless Curt wanted to talk about it. Instead, Arthur twisted his head to look at the tree, which Curt took notice to.
“Turned out good, right?” Arthur nodded, admiring the twinkling of red, green and blue lights that were carefully wrapped around the tree, the small array of round, dangling ornaments and tinsel that hung from the branches like icicles.
“Yeah, barely notice the plastic branches.” If Curt wasn’t holding a hot drink, he would’ve shoved Arthur in that moment.
“This is economical, shit’ll never get bad.” There was a quiet but still audible slurp following after that Arthur mimicked. “Seriously, you know, thanks for agreeing to get one. I’m not one of those people obsessed with the holidays, but it feels nice to do something.” Arthur understood, he was touched that Curt wanted to experience such a sense of normality with him.
“I get that,” Arthur said with a smile. “Gave me a break from staring at my own writing, you know?” Curt nodded and relaxed against Arthur, sipping his drink.
“You work too much, man. You know you don’t have to right?” he pointed out. Despite not having the same success as before, Curt still did pretty well with royalties and gigs. He was at the point of getting to pick and choose gigs to an extent, which was nice. They weren’t rich by any means, but they were comfortable. Nevertheless, Arthur told Curt he liked what he did and wanted to do what he was doing. “Just saying, you should go easier on yourself. It’s gonna hit you like a fucking train by the time you’re 30.”
Arthur pressed a light kiss to Curt’s temple. “I know, I’ll try to.” He took his own sip, recoiling at how hot the drink still was. “What are we watching? Or I suppose, watching the lip-sync to?” Curt mumbled an apology and reached for the remote to turn the volume up a smidge.
“I think “It’s a Wonderful Life”or something. I never really watched it.”
“I haven’t either, but last I said that with an ex he made it seem like I had missed something important,” Arthur laughed.
The two moved closer together, finishing their drinks as they watched. Arthur occasionally drifting from the T.V. to the outside. Reflected in the nocturnal city lights, he saw the flakes of snow falling and falling.
“Curt?” Arthur asked. “When you said earlier about usually going out, is this a common thing?” Curt was quiet and Arthur half expected to be shot down. Again, he wouldn’t really push as he came to expect that.
“Yeah, guess I never really got used to sleeping an entire night.” Arthur placed his cup down and squeezed Curt’s arm.
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you gonna do, right?” Silently acknowledging with a bitter half-smile, Arthur turned back to the window to see the morning sun peak over the buildings.
The snow died down, pink and orange decorating the spotty sky as dawn arrived. While there was a drowsiness suddenly overtaking Arthur, it was soon replaced with startle as a hand grabbed at his thigh.
“Can I help you?” He asked in mock offense, unable to hide a grin. A shiver brought on by a chill colder than any winter breeze passed through as Curt’s thin, calloused fingers pressed to the back of his neck.
“What can I say? The movie really got me going.” The faint taste of Curt’s drink now in his mouth, his tongue pushed through Curt’s lips and fingers raking through his hair. Arthur moaned softly into the kiss, wishing to mend their bodies together is a possessive, desperate bind. When they broke away, Arthur felt as though he had gotten a full night sleep, a new energy within. A took a deep breath in through his nose and held it, deciding to wait for Curt to make a move.
Without another moment, the other man had pounced on him, crawling into his lap. Arms around his neck pulling Arthur into another kiss. A gasp and moan shared between their connected lips as Curt rolled his hips against Arthur’s.
Arthur pulled back. “Should we move?”
Curt shook his head. “Nah, wanna give you your gift where the tree’s at,” he said, hand on the back of Arthur’s head.
“How festive,” said Arthur through a laugh.
The sun warming his back, Curt pressing into his front, Arthur was enveloped in a heavenly feeling of pure ecstasy. He never thought he’d be sharing such a quiet moment with another man, let alone someone like Curt. Wrapping his arms around his lower back, Arthur brought him closer, lifting the hem of his shirt so he could feel the warm body underneath. Curt allowed this, focused on pushing against him. Arthur wanted more and more, he was certain he loved this man. He needed him and he hoped Curt thought the same.
In the aftermath, a now half-naked Curt rested soundly on Arthur’s chest as he reclined on the couch. Listening to the soft snoring of his partner, Arthur combed through the bleached blond hair, feeling his own exhaustion take over. His eyes shifted from Curt to the T.V. one more time, catching a final glimpse at the film before his eyelids grew too heavy to stay up. The sound of his partner softly mumbling into his chest lulling him to sleep. Arthur could get used to holidays like these if it meant Curt would be there with him.