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When they first re-completed, they found it nigh impossible to keep up their previous sleep schedules. There was far too much to do, too much to adapt to, their bodies still rife with injuries, their chests too full of emotions—any notion of continuing where their Nobodies left off was abandoned within the first week once Even went missing. Since then, they slept and woke on a whim, and it wasn't uncommon to find someone out cold in a chair or at a desk in the middle of the day. At some point the guards attempted to hobble together some form of a schedule, both for their own sake and Ienzo's, now that the scientist had dove elbow deep into Ansem's code. If they weren't able to haul him off to bed regularly, he'd likely drive himself to a third death.
It worked for a time. Not the most ideal of scenarios, but at least everyone was getting rest. Aeleus discovering Ienzo sound asleep in his bed of his own accord rather than being dragged in for the first time finally made him believe that the effort was worth it, and while Dilan wasn't even remotely as outwardly enthusiastic about it, he could still tell his friend was pleased.
Then Ansem returned, Even tailing back shortly after, and the whole thing fell apart again. The cupboards were quickly filled with coffee and little else. Ansem would gently scold those that stayed up beyond twenty-four hours and preach about the importance of a good night's sleep, and then someone, usually Aeleus or Even, would find him awake at two in the morning pouring over his long faded research. Not that they were any better. They were all hypocrites about it to some extent.
Eventually, some sense of normalcy returned to the Gardens. Night walks were still a common occurrence, but now they were more the result of a persistent nightmare or unpleasant memory keeping the occupant awake rather than a ten minute break between tasks. The scientists didn't adhere to a set schedule quite as seriously as the guards did, losing track of time or far too invested to merely stop at eleven, but they were at least trying. Waking up at approximately the same time every morning, well rested or not, was the easy part. The coffee certainly helped get things going.
One day Ansem suggested some ideas to help improve sleep. Among those tried was a tea bought from Scrooge McDuck on his last outing around the town. Dilan and Even found no use for it, Ansem worked it into his evenings immediately, and Ienzo and Aeleus were left on the fence; Ienzo enjoyed it and found that it did make him tired, but didn't necessarily help him actually get to sleep, while it knocked Aeleus out for one of the more restful nights he's had since re-completion, but the taste... It wasn't his thing. Bit of a shame, but no big deal.
Their mornings settled roughly into a routine. Aeleus would wake up first, get started on the coffee for everyone, kick Dilan out of bed if he wasn't up by five-thirty and wake up whoever asked to be the night before, if anyone, then eat and be ready to go by six as the others slowly trailed out of bed over the following hours. So he was met with quite the surprise when, upon stumbling into the already lit kitchen in a half-asleep daze, he found Ienzo already up and about.
Ienzo being up this early in itself wasn't weird. He still had trouble breaking his relentless work hours while toiling away at Roxas's heart and sometimes pulled all-nighters, but he was usually in the labs or the library, not in the kitchen already actively making something. From where Aeleus leaned against the wall he could see a few things scattered about the counter top, including a brand new box of the same tea Ansem introduced, cups, a couple containers, and a steaming kettle. He silently watched Ienzo flit about the cups, labeling them with colour-coded sticky notes, moving containers around, covering them with too-large jar lids—the matching jars sat on the counter at the other side of the sink, already labelled for some future project—and wiping off stir sticks. Ienzo took a small sip from one of the cups in front of him, and Aeleus could see his shoulders sag.
He finally spoke up when Ienzo placed it near three others already sitting beside the sink. “What are you doing?”
Ienzo didn't start, and looked up from his station rather lazily, a smile overtaking any traces of disappointment left from that sip. He was tired, but he was always tired in the mornings before he had his coffee, and there was no pot of that around yet. He nodded his greeting to Aeleus.
“Experimenting with taste. You mentioned a few nights ago that you weren't fond of the tea, though it did its job well. Unfortunately, Dewey got back to me the previous evening and confirmed that tea options are going to be scarce for some time, understandably so. This is our only choice in the ways of sleep-aiding or otherwise relaxing blends.” Turning back to the tea, he plucked the bag from the next cup to lay it with the rest of the used ones. “I figured that, given how useful it's proven to be, I could try and mask the taste into something a little more bearable for you.”
Aeleus couldn't help but smile. “You didn't have to...” He started, but let it trail off. Little favours and gifts became common between them since re-completion, once extremely rare and meaningless to their Nobodies; Books of crosswords and poetry occasionally sat on the counter with a note telling Dilan to leave them for Aeleus and not just toss them in the library; Lunch already made and packed neatly in the fridge for Ienzo when he'd finally pull himself away from his work; Small gestures of affection that were imperceptible as such to anyone that didn't know them well. Dilan's eyes nearly rolled out of his skull the first time Aeleus made a cup of coffee specifically for Ienzo to find at his bedside upon waking up, the start of a small, much appreciated addition to the morning norm. Was this him seeking to reciprocate?
Aeleus eventually approached to get a better look, and blinked upon fully seeing the scope of Ienzo's work unobstructed by the fridge. Small containers sat along the back wall, various extracts, sweeteners, dried herbs, all things that most certainly were not in the kitchen the day before. “Where did you get all of this?”
“I gathered together some savings and pulled a couple of favours. Bit of haggling as well.” Ienzo waved his hand like it wasn't all that interesting, adding a few drops of something distinctly citrus-y to a cup and stirring slowly. “If you've got a spare moment, could I borrow you for a small taste test? Not much, we can't have you falling asleep on duty.”
Ienzo took Aeleus reaching for one of the covered cups as approval, gesturing towards each group. “These three came out the best, in my opinion. The two to behind them are alright, but there's a strong aftertaste that I can't quite get rid of. Don't bother with the four near the sink, there's barely any difference—You could get a stronger flavour by simply telling yourself that there's something else added to a plain cup.”
Aeleus *almost* snorted. Ienzo caught the quirk of his lip from the corner of his eye and his smile grew wider. He noted that rather than trying the cup he was originally reaching for, Aeleus decided to go for the two mediocre options, saving the supposed best for last. By the way his face scrunched the aftertaste wasn't pleasant, as suspected, and Ienzo moved both of the cups over to join the ones at the sink once he was done, marking the labels with little 'x's to keep track. The lids were collected and brought back to sit with their matching jars, no longer needed to keep the tea warm.
He was testing out the current cup he'd been working on when Aeleus hummed beside him.
“This one...”
Ienzo looked up to find Aeleus gazing into the tea, the usual harsh creases of his expression softened by his pleasantly surprised smile. He had to put his own cup down before it slipped right out of his hands.
“It's actually quite good. I'm tempted to drink the rest right now.” Aeleus contemplated over it for another beat, then pulled the label off to hand to Ienzo. “Keep that one.”
Ienzo marked it accordingly and stuck it on the cupboard as a reminder for later. With the last of the tea sampled—Aeleus tried one near the sink out of curiosity, then promptly refused to touch the rest, much to Ienzo's amusement—he began to pack up. Aeleus helped store the other ingredients and remaining tea bags despite Ienzo's insistence that he could take care of it, using the reach as an excuse to stretch, and as soon as there was a free space, set about starting on some even-more-needed-than-before coffee while Ienzo wiped down the counter top and rolled up his sleeves to get started on washing out the cups. Dilan would be pissed if they left a mess.
“I'm glad this wasn't a wasted effort,” he said when he slotted the last cup on the drying rack and reached to wipe condensation from the jar lids, “It would've been a shame if all of those tea bags had been used for nothing.”
Aeleus didn't really hear him at that point. He leaned on the counter, palms splayed against the cold surface to keep him awake as the tea worked its magic. How Ienzo still seemed alert after likely drinking even more tea than he had, testing each of those cups himself, Aeleus would never know, though he would not be surprised if someone found the man passed out over the keyboard within the hour.
The clinking of metal on glass made him open his eyes—he closed them?—and blink blearily, glancing to find Ienzo watching him fondly and already stirring a mug of coffee. It took a moment to register that there was a mug out for him too, along with a creamer and a spoon, and when he scrubbed at his face, he could hear Ienzo laugh softly.
“Perhaps I should've conducted this experiment in the evening. I'm sorry. I'll let Dilan and Master Ansem know you need some more time to wake up.”
Aeleus opened his mouth to protest, but a yawn cut him off and by the time he could speak again, Ienzo had already disappeared from the kitchen. Defeated and too tired to really care anymore, he poured himself some coffee and made to trudge back to his quarters, when he stopped to re-read the obnoxiously bright green note Ienzo stuck on the cupboard, already having forgotten what he'd written down.
He only read the first line when he spotted the coloured heart sitting neatly in the top right corner in red ink, and an exclamation point crammed in beside it.