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Slowly, Ulaz made his way through the base. Exhaustion was beginning to seep into his bones. He had just gotten off a fifteen hour long shift in the medical bay, working overtime due to an influx of injured Blades that had come through the base in the last dya. While he hadn’t had much choice in the matter when he was called in, Ulaz had still felt terrible about leaving Thace alone with Keith so soon after the cub’s arrival on base. Nevertheless, Thace had insisted that he could handle Keith’s incessant fussiness that had started just after they had returned.
He didn’t even realize he had arrived back at their room until he was stepping through the threshold, the door closing behind him with a barely audible hiss.
“Thace? I’m home,” Ulaz said—perhaps louder than he should have. A faint hiss came from the far side of the room, where the bed was. As his ears perked up in surprise, Ulaz’s gaze snapped in the direction the hiss had come from, and though the room was nearly pitch black, he was able to pick out the outline of Thace’s form where he lay.
“You’re going to wake him,” Thace muttered under his breath. His eyes flashed in the darkness, little more than narrowed slits as he peered at Ulaz. His irritation appeared to be more borne out of exasperation than anger, though, and he turned his attention back to the cub asleep on his chest. In spite of the noise, Keith hadn’t stirred. A soft, stuttering purr was coming from the cub’s throat as Thace began grooming his headfur with short, firm licks.
“How is he doing?” Ulaz asked, quieter this time as he approached the bedside. Despite only having Keith in their lives for a couple of days, Thace had already developed a snippy protectiveness of him that was very reminiscent of a new birthparent.
“Finally asleep,” Thace whispered. “He’s been fussy all day… and all night…” He trailed off, and Ulaz caught the flash of his fangs in the dim light as he yawned. When Thace spoke again, his voice was little more than half-awake mumble. “I haven’t gotten any sleep since you went on shift…”
Thace’s yawn seemed to be contagious—Ulaz had to fight to hold back his own yawn, and if he hadn’t remembered he was still dressed in uniform, Ulaz might have crawled into bed right then and there. Instead, he leaned over, lightly nudging his nose against Thace’s temple and earning a soft, sleeping chirp in return. In spite of his tiredness, Thace’s ears perked up as their lips brushed—if only for a brief moment—and a muted purr rumbled in Thace’s chest.
“I’ll be right back,” Ulaz softly as they parted, noses still brushing.
“Can’t guarantee I’ll be awake then,” Thace mumbled as he sunk into the blankets, drawing Keith closer as the cub gave a soft, squeaky yawn.
“Rest, my love,” Ulaz said, pressing his lips to Thace’s temple. “You deserve it…”