Work Text
“And I made sure all the, uh, the...”
Ink paused and stared at nothing for a moment. “... doors. I made sure the doors were all locked. And uhm-”
He was standing in front of Dream’s desk in his office, looking around at the desk and chairs blearily, mind clearly wandering. Ink tugged on his scarf, swaying slightly as he looked around with empty sockets. Dream glanced up from the report he was adding notes to, eyeing him, then carefully set the pen back in the pot and left the paper to dry to one side.
“Ink, when was the last time you slept?”
For a moment, Ink didn’t seem to hear him, staring into his paperweight.
“Ink?”
“Mmyah?” he rubbed his skull. “Slept last, uh...” a yawn, “... while ago.”
It was not even late; sunlight fell through the window with the tinge of afternoon, yet with Ink stood in the shadow of the curtain the tiredness around his sockets was emphasised. Dream set the report on top of a pile of paperwork with a long-suffering sigh, “Didn’t you agree last week that you would try to get a decent amount of sleep?”
The reply was incomprehensible, muttered into the brown scarf. Dream stood from his desk and stretched, reaching an arm around Ink’s shoulders and guiding him to the armchair. Rather than sit down, Ink clung to his sleeve, mumbling unintelligibly.
“... You’re hardly even awake. You need to rest, Ink.” Dream muttered, not expecting him to listen. Dream sat in the armchair himself and pulled the unresisting skeleton into his lap. The smaller curled up and buried his face in the fluffy hood, still clinging to Dream but already starting to fall asleep. With a quiet sigh, Dream put his arms around Ink, wings folding around them both. If he listened closely - which he was - Dream could hear Ink’s faint purring. The other’s eyesockets were closed, breathing light and sleepy. He gently rubbed the other’s skull, the purring rumbling louder, as Dream shifted and sank back into the cushions, resigning himself to several long hours in the armchair. He couldn’t bring himself to be too irritated, though, not with Ink sleepily nuzzling the fur around his collar.