Breathing

^I thought you were tired.^
^I am.^
^You aren’t sleeping.^
^You’re keeping me awake.^

His hands were on mine. His face was staring back at me. His body was pressed up to mine.

^Stop thinking.^
^I wasn’t thinking. I was-^
^Thinking.^
^I was.^

It was my face, the same one I saw in the mirror. It was his face, the face of the one I loved.

^You need to sleep.^
^I know.^

He took a breath, and I expelled it. Breathing. Breathing like this was the best of times.

^And the worst of times?^
^Only when it makes me think.^
^You are trying to hide your thoughts from me.^
^I am.^

Lips on mine. Breath against my face.

^Talk to me.^
^You won’t like it.^

I took a breath, and he blew it across my cheek.

^We do not dissent. We love. We are always in agreement.^
^No we aren’t.^
^We are.^
^I just proved you otherwise. And bury that thought of the exception that proves the rule.^
^I-^
^We can have differing ideas, but we always tend towards one, and we agree. We always agree in the end.^

We took in air at the same time, our chests moving against each other.

^Fine.^
^You’ll tell me what you’re hiding from me?^
^If you’ll still love me.^
^You’ll have to take that chance.^

I turned, placing my head on the pillow, leaving him to chase me, to wrap a leg over mine, and to find a place to put his head, it wasn’t hard though, there was always a place to lay a weary head. Weary thoughts, however-

^Stop thinking by yourself.^
^Stop trying to boss me around.^

He scraped his fingernails over my thigh, and I smiled.

^Why are we...we?^
^You are silly.^

I took a breath, held it, then felt it stolen from my lungs as he blew it out.

^I want to know, why are we a “we”? It would be much more efficient if we were an I, if we were me, or we were you.^
^That would be boring.^
^The best of us are boring, it doesn’t stop people from trying to live up to them.^
^We aren’t them. We are a mistake, we aren’t supposed to be anything other than what we are.^

A hand went across my chest, the hand moving over my shoulder to hide beneath my pillow.

^There have been enough twins to begin to alter the next set, or to try and generate more than one set at once. We are a commodity, so much as any other suit. One being with four arms, four eyes, a unified perspective, would be a far greater asset. Imagine Taylor as twins, no one would be safe.^
^At least he wouldn’t be lonely.^
^You forget, he has Magnolia now.^
^You know damn well I haven’t forgotten. And he only has her until she forgets the safety word.^

Kisses on my mouth, a tongue creeping inside, a good feeling in my chest.

^How can you be so-^
^You are still thinking.^
^Then make me stop. Why are we a “we”?^
^Except for those times when you crawl so far inside that I become you, and the other way around?^
^The lines...are hard to keep in sight, sometimes.^

He took in a breath, and I expelled it.

^We are we...so we can breathe. Because it is better this way. I don’t think about the magics or the mechanics, I am far too busy thinking of you.^
^You...thank you.^
^You aren’t ready to sleep.^ His smile crawled onto my lips. ^But I do like where your thoughts are turning.^
^You would.^

I took in a breath, and kissed him back.