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It had been a long day. To say the least. The recent peak in villain activity in Hatsville was not only keeping the criminals busy, but the heroes even more so. Which meant the White Hat Organization products were in high demand, and you’d been assisting Dr. Slug in the lab the entire day.
Speaking of said scientist, you had no idea where he was currently holding up, so you’d dismissed yourself and started trekking towards your quarters. You were the newest addition to the small organization’s workforce, a fact Slug was exploiting to the fullest. Making you fetch this and that constantly. Didn’t even say thank you, that ungrateful…! You were too tired to think about it.
All you wanted to do right now was to see your bed and fall face-first into it’s silky sheets. Your boss was way too nice, spoiling you with such luxurious bedding. And you’d only been employed here for what? Two weeks? As Slug put it, he was too generous for his own good.
Finally, the familiar sight of your bedroom’s door came into view and you smiled thankfully. Stepping in and closing it behind you, a yawn escaped your mouth.
“Hope tomorrow won’t be as busy…” You murmured to nobody in particular and began changing into your favourite sleepwear.
After brushing your teeth and preparing for bed, you flopped onto it, smiling as the smooth covers caught you. So nice… With a click, you turned off the lights and crawled underneath the sheets. You almost immediately began drifting off, not paying any attention to hearing a door open and shut. The doctor must have returned to his room as well, which was adjacent to your own...
But feeling something cold on your wrist, your eyes snapped open. Next to you stood Slug, holding some metal device, that usual, deadpan look on his bag-covered face.
“Shit… I was certain you’d be asleep by now.” He stated, barely raising his eyebrows, as if that would pardon his peculiar behaviour.
“SLUG WHAT THE HELL?!” You practically threw the covers aside and scrambled out of the bed, creating some distance between that strange device and even stranger scientist.
“Well, White Hat won’t let me experiment on the villains we arrest, and scientific progress requires guinea pigs .” Slug informed, trying to reach for your wrist again.
“That doesn’t mean you can just use me instead!” You pulled your wrist closer to yourself, keeping it out of the mad scientist’s grasp.
Backing away, you considered your two options. One, lock yourself in the bathroom. But Slug was blocking the way, and he would easily be able to get through a simple wooden door. Especially with all the destructive inventions at his disposal. Two, head for the hallway and hide somewhere else. Hallway it is.
Slug was closing in, and you darted towards the door, exiting your room. Hiding behind a hat-clad set of armor on display, you tried to catch your breath. A couple of rushed steps were heard as the doctor started looking after you, and you quietly snuck into the room across from you, hoping he hadn’t noticed.
The pastel-coloured walls and cute decor instantly gave away whom it belonged to. Clemencia’s room. Hopefully she wouldn’t mind giving you a hand in getting Slug to leave you alone...
Said girl was currently fast asleep on her bed, surrounded by all kinds of plush toys, decorative pillows and stuffed animals. Above the bed was a lace canopy, hanging down as softly as everything else in the room seemed to be. You felt kinda bad about disturbing her… She just appeared to be so peaceful right now!
But you couldn’t evade Slug all night either. Taking a couple of determined steps towards her, evading the stuffed animals and pastel clothes on the floor, you tried to keep silent. No need to attract any unwanted attention from experiment-crazy scientists...!
Gently shaking her shoulder, you pursed your lips as she didn’t stir even a little bit.
“Clemencia…? Clem?” You began, nervously looking back and forth between the door and your sleeping friend.
Hearing footsteps come closer again, you noticed your grip on her shoulder shake a little and you held your breath.
“Wake up Clem…! Please!” Shaking her a little harder, you also increased the volume of your voice, but to no avail.
Someone stopped outside the door, and you threw yourself under her bed to hide as the knob was turned. As those familiar sneakers stepped inside, you had to clamp a hand over your mouth to muffle your panicked hyperventilating.
“Just come out already. You’re making this so much harder than it needs to be! It’s not even a lethal experiment. Perhaps a little painful, but I can’t say for sure since it’s untested…!”
Slug kicked the plush toys littering the floor aside, his posture gossiping about how tired he was. Why was he being so persistent about this? All you wanted was some sleep!
You let out a small yelp as he found your ankle and pulled you out from under the bed. Caught. But not without putting up a fight. Thrashing your leg about, you managed to free yourself from the scientist’s grip and ran back out into the hallway. Think. Think. Think. Where else could you go?
The living room was a definitive no. 6.0.6’s basket was out there… And considering how evil that bear was, the fate you’d meet at Slug’s hands paled in comparison. Then, only one place left to go.
White Hat’s room.
It was a little further than your other colleagues’ quarters, and as Slug was following close behind, you basically sprinted the entire way. The scientist seemed a little more hesitant in his step as he realized where you two were heading.
“Are you really sure waking the boss is a good idea?” The doctor inquired, obviously somewhat out of breath.
Neither of you were used to this exercising, and certainly not at this late hour. Desperately, you reached for the handle on the door to White Hat’s bedroom, slamming the door shut behind you and barricading yourself against it. Finding a key conveniently situated in the keyhole, you locked the door and sighed in relief. You were finally safe and sound.
“...(Name)? Why are you here? And why are you locking the door to my room…?” You froze as your boss spoke behind you, and it was painfully obvious he was standing right behind you.
“W-White Hat!! I… Uh… Was just…!” You tried to form a coherent sentence as you turned around, face growing hotter.
Waving your hands around, trying to explain the situation, but the words just wouldn’t come out. Him taking your hands in his weren’t helping either.
“Having some trouble with the doctor? Wouldn’t be the first time someone came running in the middle of the night for that reason.” He asked calmly, an understanding smile on his features.
“Yeah… I was just wondering if you could maybe tell him to stay away?” You fiddled anxiously with your hands, hoping the eldritch wouldn’t mind.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. It is part of his job to test the inventions after all!” He placed a hand on your shoulder and offered an apologetic smile.
“But…!” You began, but the hero simply put a finger to your lips.
“I can keep him out of my quarters though. So, why don’t you sleep here?” White Hat clapped his hands together happily, seemingly excited to have you over.
You were sure you were going to faint. What was he implying?! Wasn’t this extremely inappropriate? He’s your boss! Blushing worse than ever, you decided that you’d at least get some sleep this way. Hopefully.
Unable to verbally communicate at this point, you stared at the floor and stiffly nodded in reply. At least it was better than being a guinea pig.
“Wonderful!” The eldritch exclaimed and put an arm around your shoulders, leading you over to the comfortable-looking bed with hat-print covers and headboard.
Hesitantly, you sat down on the bed, your back against him. The bed shifted as he laid down on his side of it, and he smiled at you innocently as you turned around briefly. By the time you mustered up the courage to actually lay down, he was already fast asleep. Chuckling, you were a little relieved and pulled up the covers over you and him.
Lying on your side, you turned your back to your boss and closed your eyes. Sleep. At last. You welcomed the sensation of tiredness washing over you and made yourself comfortable. Huh, these sheets were even softer than your own…
Suddenly, arms wrapped around you and the eldritch pulled you close. Just as you were about to question it, you felt his even breathing and realized he was still asleep. Holding you tightly, you felt him press his face into your neck. White Hat was much colder to the touch than you’d expected him to, but it wasn’t unpleasant. It made you feel safe.
After all... This wasn’t so bad. Hopefully Slug would give you more reasons to come back here tomorrow...