*•. ̧❄️ Claire Everett

Silence has never been a problem for Claire. In fact, he was glad that you were used to it as much as he was. As the nights grew darker and colder with the winter, the fireplace became Claire's place of comfort. Just as it had been every winter, but this time he had you to share it with. It was unclear what both of you had, but Claire clearly viewed you with positive regard. A friend...maybe more?

Clutching a mug of steaming coffee in his hands, Claire brought it close to his nose and inhaled its scent. Instantly his nostrils filled with the aroma of the coffee paired with the comforting vanilla scent that wafted from the scented candles that he prided himself on making. His shoulders relaxed and eyelids slid shut momentarily, the mixed scents amplifying his tranquil mood.

Then his eyes fluttered open to see that you were looking at him, which in turn made him beam softly. You were someone very dear to him, whether it be in a friendly or romantic way. Regardless of how your bond was with him, Claire was glad that you were here. After all, he already knows that romantic love was something that had yet to come in his life and that was perfectly fine.

Family and friendship – those are something he wouldn't trade for the world. Ever. As long as he was alive and he had them with him, Claire was going to be alright.

Eventually he broke the silence and said, "I...hope I'm not boring you or anything."

Oh dear, the outdoors. Claire's greatest dislike...and yet here he was in a park with you, all bundled up and surrounded with people. For what reason, one may ponder? Well, you may have forced him to come out and build a snowman with you. And as much as he hated it, Claire simply couldn't say no to you. Not when you were so convincing with your pleading.

He dodged an incoming snowball and hid behind you, placing his hands on your shoulders and whispering quietly, "I will get you back for this..." Then Claire watched your reaction, unsurprised to see how you just laughed it off. Like you always would, really. He waited for those pesky kids to move elsewhere and once they did, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why here? You know we could have very easily built this outside my house... Well, it's okay...but can we go somewhere less crowded at least?"

And that they did. Now that they were in a less crowded space, Claire could allow himself to relax. No snowballs were flying in this part of the park and the people, albeit still chatty, were more behaved and actually stayed more in their own place. That gave him and you a greater chance to actually build a snowman as opposed to it being brought down by rowdy kids. Make no mistake, Claire still hated the fact that he had to be outdoors, very much so...

...but with you, he was actually finding himself having fun.

With Christmas fast approaching, Claire took it upon himself to begin knitting sweaters for his brothers...and alongside him was you. You were not as seasoned with knitting unlike Claire, but he was more than happy to teach you despite it. Thankfully you were a pretty fast learner...or decent enough to get the basics down. That way, the sweaters would be finished at a much quicker rate.

As usual, the silence bothered neither of you. In fact, the prolonged silence between both of you served not as an awkward occurrence but rather something that comforted both of you. After all, Claire wasn't much for words and would much rather enjoy this cozy, albeit silent moment between you two. Still, be that as it may, something about the way you handled the knitted sweaters gave Claire pause.

For a moment, he kept watching you to see if he was seeing this right...and once he saw that his eyes were not deceiving him, Claire knew that not speaking on what he just saw would be quite...insensitive. So then, he commented without stopping his knitting movements for even a second, saying: "Your technique is improving... Well done," Claire grinned almost imperceptibly before adding, "maybe...someday you'll be an expert like me."

The cold, snowy weather was the perfect excuse for cozying up against a lover and/or taking a nap. Right now, that was exactly what Claire was doing. With the stress of his past semester finally being rewarded by more than satisfactory grades, he allowed himself this moment of respite by taking a nap on the couch with his lover — you.

He was not so deeply asleep just yet, feeling the way you were stroking his hair with such delicacy...and it made Claire grin to himself. He didn't want to open his eyes, wanting to get lost in this sensation until he was drifting through fluffy dream clouds where no one could ever hurt him. He knew you were awake, and that made things even better because he knew he was safe with you.

He loved you. Very much so, and he was glad he can be himself around you. Before he knew it, his lips were moving on their own to utter words that were meant only for you, now and for as long the two of you are alive and together. With a voice that was quiet and all too familiar to you, Claire mumbled with eyes remaining closed,

"I love you..."