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His little brother hasn’t been sleeping again.
Marvin, perched on the top of a bookshelf in the living room while in his cat form, watched Chase exit out of the kitchen with a cup of piping hot tea clutched tightly in his hands at three in the morning. He sat down on the couch and did nothing else but stare at the blank wall nearby with an empty gaze.
The cat studied Chase’s aged features, skin pale from the lack of sunlight, eyes red rimmed from crying and accented by the thick black bags underneath them, a seemingly permanent furrow on his forehead, the unkempt beard he had no energy to groom unless he was going to record a video for the channel, the hair that was growing longer with each passing day since he had no energy to go to the nearby barbers for a trim, and most importantly, the lack of light and emotion in his blue eyes making it look empty and dead . It all added up to aging the man decades beyond his true age which further increased the worry of the other egos as they watch Chase become more and more of a shadow of his old self.
When was the last time they had seen Chase smile and laugh so carefreely and sincerely rather than plastering a fake one on his face every day just to avoid worrying them? Marvin searched his mind for that memory and then remembered that the last time he had seen Chase laugh and smile from the bottom of his heart was when Stacy allowed the kids to visit him and she even mustered up enough strength to look him in the eyes for a few seconds without fear and hatred burning in her eyes.
That… had been a month ago?
‘You’re going to burn yourself out again, Chase…’ Marvin thought, his fluffy ears drooping down dejectedly.
He kept his bright blue cat eyes trained on Chase’s back intently. There was a few minutes of tense silence before Chase signed and placed the untouched cooling cup of tea on the table in front of him and twisted his neck just enough so that his eyes would meet Marvin’s unblinking ones.
“I can feel you nagging.” Chase scowled but there was no heat behind it. “Stop it.”
Marvin blinked and tilted his head to the side before murring and jumping down his throne, landing gracefully on the floor with barely a sound. He approached Chase and entwined his feline body around the man’s legs with small mews before jumping up on Chase’s lap and perching his forelegs against the man’s chest. He rubbed the top of his head under the bottom of Chase’s chin, purring up a storm that relaxed some of the tension from Chase’s body.
Chase gave out another sigh but this time it was tinged with fondness. He reached up to scratch the cat behind his ears just like the way he liked it. The man chuckled when Marvin practically turned into goo in his lap.
Marvin gave him a scolding yowl and then bapped his nose, Chase nearly turning cross-eyed as he stared at the paw that was still tapping his nose. The cat gave another attention catching growl and Chase gave him a wry smile.
“I know, I know…” Chase murmured, sliding the paw away from his face before pressing a kiss on the top of the feline’s marked forehead, quirking up the corners of his lips at the tiny mew his action warranted. “But someone has to hold the fort while you guys are trying to find a way to get rid of the glitch bitch and wake Jack up at the same time.”
Marvin gave him a tiny kitty kiss on the bottom of his chin before jumping off his lap and to the empty side of the couch. The cat started glowing so brightly Chase covered his eyes with his arms. When he removed them after a few seconds, he saw Marvin remove his cat mask and place it on the table beside the cup of tea and looked up to reveal his scarred face and his intense sapphire colored eyes.
“You haven’t been sleeping again.” Marvin narrowed his eyes accusingly especially when Chase avoided his gaze. “Has He been plaguing your dreams again?”
The magician clenched his hands which gave off a subtle green glow in response to his protective anger at the prospect that the glitch was tormenting Chase again . While the demon’s practically obsessive attention over Chase was a blessing since it turned his attentions away from them, allowing the other Septics to search for a solution to his existence, it horrified them seeing the results of the demon’s torment on their brother who always seemed to think that just because he didn’t have any notable powers like the others, he would be the perfect irreplaceable bait.
It didn’t help that the demon became increasingly eager in its attempts to capture him as Chase’s influence over the channel and his popularity with the community increased.
“No! No,” Chase grabbed his hands frantically. He didn’t want the magician to go on a hunting spree for Anti tonight or rather today. While Marvin was strong, he and Anti didn’t know the meaning of self-control and often ends up injuring each other gravely. Good riddance to Anti getting hurt but he didn’t like seeing his older brother in pain. “It’s just the regular stress and depression insomnia and nightmares. Sure he might play as a character in some of them but it’s not really Him .”
Nonetheless, the scowl remained in Marvin’s lips. The magician glared over the shoulder of his little brother, eyes giving off an eerie glow due to his anger before he forced himself to calm down since Chase was looking at him with concern and weariness in his face.
He suddenly pulled Chase into a big hug, burying his nose into Chase’s growing hair. He felt the younger ego clutch at him, slightly shaking as he finally allowed himself to break down. Marvin rocked the two of them as he allowed Chase to shatter in his arms.
The magician ran his fingers through Chase’s long hair, rubbing here and there to release some of the tension in the father’s head before dropping it to the back of his neck in a comforting grip. Chase laid his cheek against Marvin’s shoulder and relaxed.
The two of them spent some reasonable time in companionable silence before Marvin broke it with an idea that had been lurking in his mind.
“Chase… You still can’t sleep right?” Marvin whispered, he didn’t want to disturb the peace that they were in. Chase answered in a positive hum but said nothing else. “Would you mind if you let me hypnotize you into sleeping without any bad dreams?”
The question made the form in his arms go rigid. The concept of letting anyone into their heads was a rather sore subject for any of the Septics. It meant giving away control and the possibility of being manipulated. Anti being able to take anybody’s form and even act rather exactly like them did terrible things to their trust issues until the Septics finally had a few interventions to clear the air between them.
Their bonds with each other has grown tighter over the months since their creation especially when they all had to face the concept of Anti once or twice. Recently, the one hit the worst with these issues was Chase with how he was currently maintaining the battlefield with Anti.
That’s why Marvin didn’t push him. It was just a suggestion. In fact, he even doubted that the other would take it—
“I trust you.” Chase quietly murmured before pushing away from the hug and looking him in the eyes. Those earnest baby blues melting away some of the ice in Marvin’s heart. “I know you won’t hurt me so… Go ahead. Maybe I’ll get some nice rest this time, huh?”
Marvin placed both hands on Chase’s shoulders and gazed deep into his eyes, checking if there’s any doubt or reluctance to do this. But all he saw was the desperation to rest, the deep-seated weariness from life, and the absolute trust in him that warmed Marvin’s heart.
He knew that he wasn’t the most positive like Jackie or innocent like Jamie. His morality was a bit dubious and inches more on the gray-side of morality. To see the complete trust his younger brother held in him when even sometimes he could see the doubt in Jackie or Henrik’s eyes…
“Alright… Time to relax ,” Marvin whispered, allowing his words to carry itself into Chase’s ears, his influence slithering into his mind and easing away the tension and unease in his heart.
Chase sighed, melting into his arms. His eyes drooped down and they gazed almost emptily into Marvin’s eyes. Marvin brushed Chase’s cheek and wrapped his arms around the younger ego’s waist.
“ You’re safe, Chase. ” Marvin murmured, allowing his magic to exert more influence over Chase’s trusting mind and untangling the ‘knots’ that was making it hard for the other to sleep. “ We’re all safe. You can rest now .”
At the word rest, Chase’s eyes slipped close and he slumped against Marvin, completely dead to the world. Marvin caught his weight and then carefully maneuvered Chase into his arms in a bridal carry. He stood up and then started walking them up over to Chase’s room so that he can tuck the other in.
He walked upstairs and into the room at the end of the second floor. He hip bumped the door open and sighed in fond exasperation at the slightly messy state of his younger brother’s room.
He could see some papers with doodles and notes on possible future video scripts and the some community interaction ideas such as reddit, memes, and even green screen edits. At the desk, he saw their pictures and Chase’s kids’ hand-drawn pictures being proudly displayed on the wall while his laptop remained in sleeping mode. There was also an open can of Coca-cola near the computer which made Marvin’s lips quirk up in amusement as he remembered the constant jokes of Coke sponsoring the channel that Chase kept on beating to the ground.
Marvin carried Chase into the only bed in the room and used his magic to flip the covers back. He carefully placed the sleeping man on top of the bed and was about to straighten up when he realized that Chase’s hands were tightly clutching the front of his shirt. When he attempted to pry it away, his movements stopped when Chase let out a tiny whimper. The magician looked down at the youtuber with a wry smile.
“Well… I guess I’m sleeping in the bed with you.” Marvin sighed, but his heart fluttered at the show of trust.
He slipped into the bed with Chase and pulled up the covers over their bodies. He pressed his forehead on the crown of Chase’s head and then closed his eyes. He allowed the weariness in his body and Chase’s heartbeat to slowly lull him into a dreamless sleep.