#this might not show up in the tags cuz of external link sigh

[haknew]

♡ 180527 ♡

[tmariea]

Goodnight, Love

Mikleo is up late practicing his artes, and Sorey wants to go to bed. Sleepy cuddles ensue.

Since there are rumors going around about tumblr being an ass about external links and tags, if you would like to read on AO3, please visit my profile for a link to the account!!

For @dejinyucu cuz she was talking about wanting cuddles over on twitter, and so here we are.

“Mikleo?”

Mikleo sighed in annoyance; he had been in the middle of casting an arte, and hadn’t intended on being interrupted.  “What is it?” he asked, turning around to face his interrupter.  There, in the doorway to the inn, stood Sorey.  His Shepherd’s cloak and over shirt were nowhere to be found, and his eyes didn’t seem too keen on staying open, although it was hard to tell in the dark.  His right forearm rested against the doorframe, and it was apparent that he was leaning on it more than not.  Mikleo tried to stay annoyed, but he was hard put when Sorey looked so sleepy.

“How long have you been out here?” Sorey continued.

Mikleo looked up at the sky, which was a full blanket of stars with a half-full moon hanging much nearer to the horizon than when he first came out for practice.  It really had been a while, then.  “Several hours, probably.”

“You should come in, then.”                  

Another sigh, this one more for himself than for Sorey.  There were so many more things he should work on.

Sorey didn’t even let him reply before he tacked on a, “please?” followed by a yawn.  The yawn, at least, was probably not intentional, but the way he brought a hand up to rub at one eye as he pouted definitely was.

It was enough to make Mikleo feel heavier on his feet, a good, solid reminder that even though he didn’t need to sleep, he often did.  And when he did, it was cuddled up to the warm, tired boy before him, who looked so inviting with his soft, sleepy eyes and mouth.  Also, he wouldn’t say it out loud, but a full day’s worth of fighting and several hours of artes practice were catching up to him.  He banished his staff with a small amount of grumbling, and then stalked toward the open door and Sorey.  “Manipulative little brat,” he said, once he got close enough for Sorey to see his halfhearted glare.  It was mostly for show.

For his part, Sorey just smiled slowly and said, “Yes.”  Then, as Mikleo walked past him, he draped himself across his shoulders and rubbed his cheek against the back of his head.  He made no moves to keep walking, even as Mikleo did, and ended up hanging from his back as dead weight.  “Carry me?”

“No.  If you want to go to bed, you can walk there.”

“Please?”

Mikleo knew that if he looked to the side, Sorey would be pouting again.  He kept his eyes fixed forward.  “Nope, you’ve used up the number of times I’m giving in to that one in one night.”

“Ah, fine,” Sorey said, and then began following along on slow, shuffling feet.

How late was it?  Sorey usually didn’t get quite this clingy until he was about ready to topple over.  Mikleo decided it might be best if he didn’t ask, and instead continued guiding them down the hallway to their room, thankfully on the first floor.  He unlocked the door and dragged his companion inside before awkwardly shuffling them around to close it again.

After the latch clicked shut, Sorey did stand a bit straighter and make his way over to sit on the bed.  There, he’d already pulled back the covers and laid out Mikleo’s sleep clothes.

“Confident, weren’t we?”

“I have to make sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard.  That’s what I’m here for.”

“I thought that’s what I was here for, to keep you from running yourself ragged with all your Shepherd’s duties.”  Mikleo remarked as he started to unbuckle his belts.  He pulled off his top and set it aside, and then took shirt Sorey held out to him with a nod of thanks.

“I’m pretty sure it’s always been a mutual task.”

“I hate to admit that you’re right.”

“But you are admitting it, anyway,” Sorey said with a self-satisfied smile, and then offered up Mikleo’s pants.

Mikleo rolled his eyes and snatched his pants away.  “Alright, I think it’s time for you to sleep before you get even more smug.”

“Fine, fine.”  But Sorey didn’t lay back immediately.  He waited until Mikleo was done changing, and then grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together.  His other hand went up to the back of Mikleo’s neck, and pulled him down into a kiss, soft and slow, before flopping back onto the bed and using the leverage of their linked hands to pull Mikleo with him.

Mikleo followed with little resistance, and lay down next to Sorey.

Sorey turned onto his side so they were face to face, and pulled the covers over the both of them.  “What were you working on so diligently tonight?”

“I was playing around with the Spectral Cloak, mostly.  I wanted to see if I could make it last longer, or cover a different area, smaller or larger.”

“That’s so cool!  You really are amazing, Mikleo.”

“I couldn’t get it to work, though.  So not really,” Mikleo said with a sigh that gently stirred Sorey’s earrings.

“That’s okay.  The fact you can cast these kinds of artes at all is amazing enough.  Do you think any of the seraphim back in Elysia could do that at our age?”

“I don’t really know.  But that’s the problem though, isn’t it?  I’m so much younger; I have so much less practice.”

“That hasn’t stopped you so far, though.  And I’ll tell you a secret.  I like our armatus the best.  It feels like home.  Feels like this.”

All the warning Mikleo got was the feeling of an arm wiggling under his side and one over his back before Sorey flipped them around so he was on his back and Mikleo lay on top of him, chest to chest.  He squeaked in surprise, and then hid his burning cheeks in the collar of Sorey’s shirt.  “You’re such a sap,” Mikleo mumbled into the cloth.  Sorey just squeezed him tighter until he was composed enough to come back out again.

Once he did, he looked up to meet Sorey’s eyes, which were just the smallest slivers of green.  He had a small smile on his face, which grew, before morphing into another yawn.  Mikleo smiled in return and moved up for another kiss.  Sorey’s lips were always just a bit chapped, but they moved gently, and with as much drowsiness as seemed to suffuse the rest of his limbs.  Mikleo could feel himself getting there, too, between Sorey’s warmth, and the weight of his arms over his back.

When they parted, Mikleo moved to kiss the tip of Sorey’s nose, and the point of his chin, which made him laugh quietly.  He unclasped Sorey’s earrings and set them on the table beside the bed.  At the same time, Sorey reached up to take off his circlet, and then set it next to his earrings on the table.  He lifted his head up slightly to kiss the spot where the jewel normally rested, before wrapping his arms around Mikleo’s back again.

Mikleo hummed happily at the gesture; it was his favorite part of their bedtime routine.  Then he wiggled further down in the bed so he could rest his head on Sorey’s chest.  He turned his head to the side, feeling and hearing the steady thrum of Sorey’s heartbeat beneath his cheek and his ear.  It had been a comforting sound ever since they were small.

Sorey’s arms squeezed him tight once more before shifting so his nails could gently drag down Mikleo’s back.  His hands snuck under Mikleo’s sleep shirt once they moved low enough, and slowly dragged up again.  Mikleo sighed in contentment, and nuzzled his cheek against Sorey’s chest before letting his eyes drop shut.  The blunt nails continued their soft strokes up and down his back, and he could feel all of the tension falling away from his limbs in their wake.  “Thank you for coming to get me,” he whispered, low enough he couldn’t be sure Sorey had heard.

Sorey hummed in acknowledgement, though, and said, “You’re welcome.  Goodnight, love.”  He sounded as if he was only barely awake at this point, further evidenced by his hands slowing and then coming to a halt with one splayed across Mikleo’s lower back and the other on his shoulder blade.

“Goodnight,” Mikleo said, and that was his last conscious thought before he drifted off with Sorey’s warmth all around him, and his heartbeat in his ear.