#wrotw this at 3 in the morning after having a dream abt it

[viscerax]

Nature Channel

Tim isn't exactly a deep sleeper by any means. Years of being awoken by nurses doing checks, nightmares, or things along those lines, sort of messed up his circadian cycle. So he's not surprised when even the faintest of murmurs wakes him up.

He hesitates to even open his eyes or get up, but as his brain continues to wake up, he realizes that hearing talking in his situation wasn't exactly ideal. There was a possibility it was just his brain playing tricks, but in case it wasn't, in case someone else really was in the room with him and Jay, he needed to check.

Tim sat up with a groan, eyes adjusting as they were bombarded with a blaring light from the TV. As his eyes adjusted, he found the source of the noise to be the shitty hotel TV. He thought Jay might have left it on before he went to sleep, but a swift glance to the bed next to his disproved that. Jay was sat nearly at the foot of the bed, eyes fixated on the TV screen like it was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen.

"Jay?" Tim called out in a groggy voice, and the other snapped his head back to look at Tim.

"Shit, sorry Tim. Did I wake you?" Jay scrambled to find the remote and turn the TV off, but Tim cleared his throat and shook his head.

"No, no its fine. I was bound to wake up soon anyways." Tim sighed and looked back over to the TV. "What are you watching?"

Jay sighed and looked back to the program on the TV. "Oh. Uhm, the nature Channel. They're doing a documentary on birds. It's kind of dumb, though. I was gonna turn it off soon and-"

Tim let out a chuckle, shaking his head as he sat up and scooted to the end of his own bed so that he was closer to Jay.

"Oh yeah. You looked real bored staring at that screen like a kid watching cartoons." Tim teased, although it didn't have the sour edge that Jay was used to when it came to Tim's mockery. Come to think of it, Tim had been a bit less antagonistic as the days went on. He supposed that was sort of necessary since they were practically living together. Still, the soft banter was something Jay was so unadjusted to ever since him and Alex stopped talking. At least when Tim was being rude, Jay knew how to deal with that. He knew how to retaliate. Now, though, Jay didn't have a clue on what he was supposed to say or do.

He didn't have to say anything, because Tim spoke up for him. "Im just messing with ya. I don't really care if you like nature documentaries. I just don't get why you feel like you need to hide it." Jay dared to glance over and found Tim staring back at him. He caught his eyes for a moment before turning his head back to the screen.

"They were talking about common bird species in Eastern America. They were talking about blue Jay's and-" Jay let out a soft chuckle, as if he were reminiscing on old times. "That's where I got my name, y'know. I just always thought Jay had such a nice ring to it."

Tim smiled, a soft smile that Jay just hated because it made him feel so vulnerable and understood and he couldn't stand it. He wished Tim would just make fun of him already.

"I think Jay fits you." Tim added, and Jay sighed, pulling his knees close to his chest and resting his chin on them. "There was a group of birds that used to nest outside my window at the hospital. You remind me of them."

Jay, curiosity piqued, looked over to Tim. "How so?"

"Annoying, mostly. Waking me up way too early than necessary." And there it was, the antagonistic remarks that Jay was used to. But they still didn't feel right. They didn't hold the same weight. "But they were alright, sometimes. They felt like my only conpanions sometimes, I didn't really get along with a lot of the other kids. Turns out I was even more crazy then the 'crazies'. But the birds didn't know that. Or they didn't care." Tim let out a chuckle, that sounded more like he was trying to clear his throat before words started bubbling in his throat.

Jay feels his lips pulling into a smile, his own face betraying his will to remain straight-faced and uncaring.

"Birds are like that. Unbothered by their surroundings. Doesn't always do them good though, if the countless times I've seen a bird slam into a window has anything to say about it." Tim remarks and Jay grimaced. He thinks about the loud thump and a bird falling limp, and he can't help but mourn the imaginary bird he just watched die in his head.

If Jay thinks about it too hard, he feels like he can pick up some implications of his and Tim's relation to eachother. But he decides he doesn't want to think about it too hard. Doesn't want to consider that Tim might be growing fond of him, and doesn't want to consider himself being the bird flying into the glass window. So, he just nods and turns his attention back to the TV.

The two of them sit, absorbing eachothers presence while their gazes are fixated on the screen, the both of them stealing glances when they think the other isn't looking. Jay makes a few comments here and there about the show, dropping a plethora of facts on Tim that he surely will not remember in a few days.

Soon enough, the program is over and the channel tells of some upcoming program about some fishermen going out and catching 'lake monsters'. Jay laughs at the absurdity and switches the TV off, crawling back to his spot on his bed. Tim falls back asleep, and Jay is left to listen to his snores until he eventually does the same.