stagger

A lonely day in many respects. Ciro's been opening the store the past few days, which means he has to wake up around the time we usually go to sleep, and tries to fall asleep at the time we usually have dinner. During the few hours I see him, I have to be very careful not to do anything that could worsen his insomnia - in the past two days, he's managed maybe six hours of sleep (as opposed to lying in bed in the dark). Despite his exhaustion, he is still charming, witty, and ridiculously smooth - all of which would probably make me hate him if I didn't adore him instead.

It makes me a little wistful; when I first met Ciro, he hadn't worked out any of the tricks he now uses to help himself sleep, and would remain awake for days on end. Once, he showed up at Chad's pale as a vampire and near the point of hallucination. Looking back, I can't imagine how he convinced me it was safe to let him drive home - although I assume it had something to do with the fact that there was no way he'd fall asleep at the wheel. And that I've always trusted him to know his limits. I sometimes wonder whether things between us would have taken a different (much swifter) course if Ciro hadn't been so exhausted during those early months. (But then we might not have met James. Only of course we would have. Destiny's destiny.)

[I don't know whether it's too much exposure to fanfic and alternate histories, or whether I played too many graphic adventures as a kid (save early and often; save in multiple clearly-labeled slots) - I always play the "what if things had happened this way instead?" game, which gets mistaken for regret or obsession by people who don't realize the game includes scenarios like "what if I'd owned a nightclub, and Ciro could fly, and Chad was a supercomputer?"]

...And with that, I suddenly discover that Ciro is inappropriately awake, and miserable about it, and I must go fulfill my role as comfortador.