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taken-things-ao3 · 3 years ago

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Deleted Scene - Midnight Wake-Up (pt.1)

A section in an alternate version of ch. 16, no context needed except that Cirron really values his beauty sleep. Vanni makes the mistake of interrupting it

——

Someone’s shaking him.

He curls up, reaching for the nearest pillow. Annoyed.

“Cirron?”

You’re kidding.

He doesn’t open his eyes. “No.”

“Please, just hear me out.”

“Get out. It’s the middle of the night.” He successfully grabs a pillow and stuffs it over his head. This will not be a thing, not if he has any say in the matter. He needs his rest.

“I just need you to listen.” It’s sufficiently muffled.

“I’m trying to sleep.”

“Cirron—”

“Just let me sleep!” He rears up and hurls the pillow at Leo. It’s a clean headshot, and the blonde hits the floor with a surprised yelp. “Why are you so stubborn?”

Leo yanks the pillow off his face to reveal a heavy frown. “I’m trying to apologize!”

“Can it wait four more hours? You know, when the sun is up? Mother above!” Now he’s wide awake, and upset, and he wrestles his way out of the covers. It’s still dark outside, the only light coming from the moon shining through the windows.

“I can’t sleep,” Leo huffs, yet Cirron stomps right past his sprawled form.

“Then suffer.”

“Cirron!”

He’s nearly at the door, having no idea where he’s going until his wrist is grabbed. He whirls around, already yanking at the firm hold, and finds Leo snickering. Laughing at him.

“Let me go!”

“I’m sorry for waking you up. Just go back to bed.”

No, now he has to make a point. “No.”

“Look, we can talk later when you’re not so…” Vanni snickers again, “Violent.”

“I’ll show you violent,” he hisses as he successfully rips his arm out of Leo’s grasp and shoves him aside with enough force that Leo nearly falls over again. Storming back to his messy bed.

“You weren’t this mean the last time I woke you up.”

“And I’ll be meaner if you do it again.” He flops on his bed and drags all the pillows close to himself, curling up in the crumpled blanket. Already the adrenaline is fading and the exhaustion is creeping back in.

“I was going to invite you to hang out with me and Taj.”

He pauses, with a stubborn hand clinging to pillow over his head. Leo takes it as a sign to keep talking.

“Taj can’t sleep. Neither can I. Whenever this happens… we spend the night in my library, drinking and talking.”

That does sound intriguing.

He opens up one eye to find a very honest looking Leo, with wide eyes and pursed lips.

“There’s drinks?”

“Aged for centuries.”

That sounds very intriguing.

On one hand, he needs a good night's sleep if he’s ever going to get these awful bags under his eyes to disappear. But this feels like an information gold mine: a drunk Leo and Taj.

His interest slowly but surely outweighs his exhaustion, and he pushes his way out of his bed with a sigh. “Alright. You got me.”

Leo smiles and reaches for Cirron, already beginning to winnow, but he retreats. “Let me grab a few things.”

His favorite blanket which he throws over himself, a wine glass from home, a few pillows. His sketchbook. Leo, being the smart male he is, holds back his obvious laughter as he winnows them away.

It’s not bright in the library at all. In fact, the only light is from the lit sconces on the walls near the orange couches. The rest of the library is pitch black. It feels a little ominous, until he sees the back of a couch with Taj’s dark hair falling over the arm of it.

It’s longer than he thought, halfway to the floor.

“He’s here, Taj,” Leo calls, and the other only lifts an arm and salutes.

When they come around Taj’s couch and enter the square, he cringes at the sight of Leo’s friend. To be honest, he looks worse than Cirron, in a large shirt and flannel pants that are a little too long and gripping a half-empty bottle of vodka in one hand like a lifeline. His bare feet don’t reach the other side of the couch.

#feysand #acotar #taken fic #cirron

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