COWT; AFTG; Sleep on
Feb. 29th, 2020 06:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ephitomisTitle: Sleep on
Fandom: All for the game
Notes: Written for the prompt "I’m on watch here, so close your eyes and get some rest" for COWT10.
Wordcount: 710
Summary: Neil wakes up and doesn't remember why he's hurting everywhere. That's not really news for him.
When Neil wakes up, Andrew is perched on a chair on the other side of the room. It’s a strange sight, especially because Neil doesn’t remember going to sleep.
His head is foggy, his memories slow to come to the surface, and it’s with the practiced ease of someone used to being tortured, haunted and beaten that he recognizes that he’s fighting off the symptoms of a concussion.
Well. Fuck.
He doesn’t remember why he would have a concussion (once, he wouldn’t have even bothered asking, after all concussions were the least of his everyday worries).
Still. Fuck.
He can see even from his spot on the bed that Andrew is coiled on his seat, a beast ready to strike, and he wonders how many nurses and doctors have already felt the wrath of an Andrew on a war path.
Of course, Neil can also recognize, the slight tremors, the tension that comes from something different than anger. The slight manic look in Andrew’s eyes, under the all consuming apathy.
Andrew is shaken, and as always when Andrew gets shaken, he has the need to control, to make sure his are safe.
Neil doesn’t remember what might have shaken him, but that doesn’t mean it’s a reason not to do everything he can to make it pass.
“‘Drew,” he says, and Andrew’s eyes slowly turn towards him. He’s moving slowly, like a cat that’s looking at his territory. It’s more threatening that most people might realize.
Andrew doesn’t say anything, and Neil is left to try and realize what it’s happening by context clues.
Most of his body is hurting, in a way that reminds him of Exy. There’s a high probability that it’s something related to the sport, and not his father’s people. He hasn’t had to worry about that in a while, after all, but both Andrew and Neil were acutely aware that a while didn’t mean they were safe forever.
Some kind of too strong tackle? But why would that have made Andrew react this way? No. They weren’t new to sport-related injuries, and while that never made Andrew happy, it didn’t reduce him in this state.
So. Something else.
Well, that left really one possibility. “Who did I piss off?” he wonders out loud, and he can almost see Andrew’s eyes crinkle a little.
“Who didn’t you piss off?” Andrew simply asks.
Neil would shrug, but something tells him it’s not the best idea, “I don’t know. I’m sure there’s still someone in Africa that doesn’t want me dead.”
“So you’ll take a plane tomorrow to go and antagonize him directly?” Andrew wonders, but little by little, his muscles are relaxing. Which is exactly what Neil wants.
“You wouldn't come with me if I took the plane,” Neil says, with a smile, “we’ll find another way to get there.”
“Who says I’d come with you if you didn’t go by plane,” Andrew simply wonders, but Neil knows him well enough to recognize his bluffs.
“Who was it?” he simply asks again.
Andrew doesn’t answer and shrugs, which means Neil doesn’t have to worry about it, because Andrew already took care of it. He wonders if, one day, Andrew will stop trying to protect Neil from everything that moves. But well, considering Andrew, that’s not really something that can be expected from him.
“Then why are you still there?” Neil asks, hoping that the other has relaxed enough to move from his protective post.
Andrew doesn’t move, however, and just shrugs again. “Sleep,” he simply says, and Neil understands the message behind the words.
Sleep, because no one would enter from that door without passing through Andrew. Someone might find that alarming, but Neil never feels safer than when Andrew is there to protect him.
The problem is that he doesn’t want Andrew to stay awake all night…
Still, he knows a lost battle when he sees one.
“We can go home tomorrow?” he wonders out loud, and Andrew nods.
Good, Neil thinks, he’ll take care of Andrew tomorrow, inside the safe space of their home. He’ll convince Andrew to sleep on the sofa, with the cats purring around them while Neil looks over him.
He closes his eyes and smiles. Yeah, that sounds like a plan.
Fandom: All for the game
Notes: Written for the prompt "I’m on watch here, so close your eyes and get some rest" for COWT10.
Wordcount: 710
Summary: Neil wakes up and doesn't remember why he's hurting everywhere. That's not really news for him.
When Neil wakes up, Andrew is perched on a chair on the other side of the room. It’s a strange sight, especially because Neil doesn’t remember going to sleep.
His head is foggy, his memories slow to come to the surface, and it’s with the practiced ease of someone used to being tortured, haunted and beaten that he recognizes that he’s fighting off the symptoms of a concussion.
Well. Fuck.
He doesn’t remember why he would have a concussion (once, he wouldn’t have even bothered asking, after all concussions were the least of his everyday worries).
Still. Fuck.
He can see even from his spot on the bed that Andrew is coiled on his seat, a beast ready to strike, and he wonders how many nurses and doctors have already felt the wrath of an Andrew on a war path.
Of course, Neil can also recognize, the slight tremors, the tension that comes from something different than anger. The slight manic look in Andrew’s eyes, under the all consuming apathy.
Andrew is shaken, and as always when Andrew gets shaken, he has the need to control, to make sure his are safe.
Neil doesn’t remember what might have shaken him, but that doesn’t mean it’s a reason not to do everything he can to make it pass.
“‘Drew,” he says, and Andrew’s eyes slowly turn towards him. He’s moving slowly, like a cat that’s looking at his territory. It’s more threatening that most people might realize.
Andrew doesn’t say anything, and Neil is left to try and realize what it’s happening by context clues.
Most of his body is hurting, in a way that reminds him of Exy. There’s a high probability that it’s something related to the sport, and not his father’s people. He hasn’t had to worry about that in a while, after all, but both Andrew and Neil were acutely aware that a while didn’t mean they were safe forever.
Some kind of too strong tackle? But why would that have made Andrew react this way? No. They weren’t new to sport-related injuries, and while that never made Andrew happy, it didn’t reduce him in this state.
So. Something else.
Well, that left really one possibility. “Who did I piss off?” he wonders out loud, and he can almost see Andrew’s eyes crinkle a little.
“Who didn’t you piss off?” Andrew simply asks.
Neil would shrug, but something tells him it’s not the best idea, “I don’t know. I’m sure there’s still someone in Africa that doesn’t want me dead.”
“So you’ll take a plane tomorrow to go and antagonize him directly?” Andrew wonders, but little by little, his muscles are relaxing. Which is exactly what Neil wants.
“You wouldn't come with me if I took the plane,” Neil says, with a smile, “we’ll find another way to get there.”
“Who says I’d come with you if you didn’t go by plane,” Andrew simply wonders, but Neil knows him well enough to recognize his bluffs.
“Who was it?” he simply asks again.
Andrew doesn’t answer and shrugs, which means Neil doesn’t have to worry about it, because Andrew already took care of it. He wonders if, one day, Andrew will stop trying to protect Neil from everything that moves. But well, considering Andrew, that’s not really something that can be expected from him.
“Then why are you still there?” Neil asks, hoping that the other has relaxed enough to move from his protective post.
Andrew doesn’t move, however, and just shrugs again. “Sleep,” he simply says, and Neil understands the message behind the words.
Sleep, because no one would enter from that door without passing through Andrew. Someone might find that alarming, but Neil never feels safer than when Andrew is there to protect him.
The problem is that he doesn’t want Andrew to stay awake all night…
Still, he knows a lost battle when he sees one.
“We can go home tomorrow?” he wonders out loud, and Andrew nods.
Good, Neil thinks, he’ll take care of Andrew tomorrow, inside the safe space of their home. He’ll convince Andrew to sleep on the sofa, with the cats purring around them while Neil looks over him.
He closes his eyes and smiles. Yeah, that sounds like a plan.
