Work Text:
Sven groaned, placing his head down on his desk. His forehead hit the wooden table with a light Thud. He was so overworked. As always, he had way too much paperwork for one person to handle on their own. And to make matters worse he was massively behind schedule because of-
“Sven?”
The newest Toppat recruit. Dave Panpa. Just a few days ago, Chief Stickmin had insisted that Dave be set free from Toppat containment and allowed into the clan. Something about “undoing past mistakes.” Sven didn’t really get it. It was a bit strange, but the real odd part about it was who got assigned to help him integrate into the clan.
Sven Svensson, the former third, now fifth in command. Assigned to work with the new recruit who had spent the last few months in a prison cell. It was frankly ridiculous. Dave wasn’t a bad guy or anything, but Sven was a very important man. He had much better things to do than babysit some traumatized prisoner-
Sven was shaken out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head, his cheek now squished into the desk. Dave looked down at him with a worried expression. His giant eyes shining in light of the poorly lit room. After looking into his eyes for a bit too long, Sven scrunched his face up in an annoyed expression, which made Dave smile. He had a sweet smile. At least when it was genuine. Usually when Dave smiled, it was more of a nervous reaction. But this one was nice.
Dave removed his hand from Sven’s shoulder. At the loss of contact, Sven realized just how Warm Dave’s hand was. He wondered if the rest of Dave was that warm.
“Do you need a break?”
A break? What kind of question was that? Sven huffed in annoyance before pushing himself back up into a sitting position, wincing as his spine cracked from stiffness.
“I don’t have time for a break, Dave. I’ve got work to do.”
Sven’s words came out far more agitated than he intended them to. Noticing this, he looked down and fidgeted with his hands, not wanting to look up in case his harsh tone had upset Dave. He would hate to see Dave sad.
Focusing on his own twitching fingers, Sven became lost in thought again. Why did he suddenly care about how Dave felt? He supposed it only made sense, considering they had gotten pretty close over this past few days. But Dave was a bother to him! Sure, Dave was the first person to actually listen to him when he ranted. And maybe the way Dave looked at him made Sven feel genuinely special. But he was an inconvenience! A waste of time.
Suddenly Sven felt something on his back. He stiffened in surprise. It was that same warm hand again. Except instead of shaking him to get his attention, this time Dave was gently rubbing his back. A comforting gesture. It was surprising but.. nice. As if Dave was rubbing away his self control, Sven sighed and closed his eyes. He couldn’t help it. Dave touching him felt Really good.
Sven only looked up when he heard Dave lightly giggling next to him. Dave tilted his head when Sven gave him an annoyed expression. His hand stilled, but never left Sven’s back.
“You’re falling asleep at your desk, Sven. Are you sure you don’t need a little break?”
Sven blinked, suddenly realizing just how much he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Was he really that tired? Sven shook his head. It didn’t matter. Tired or not there was work to be done. He could rest when it was complete. Sven opened his mouth to argue with Dave, but a yawn forced its way through Sven’s throat before any words could.
Sven rubbed his face. Ok maybe he was a bit tired. He checked the clock, audibly gasping when he saw that it was way past midnight. Dave, realizing Sven’s shock, smiled and resumed gently moving his hand up and down Sven’s back. Sven closed his eyes. Wow that felt good. Sven felt like he could pass out right here at his desk.
Seeing as paperwork doesn’t make the best pillow, Sven knew he had to get up before Dave ended up lulling him to sleep in his own office. With a bit of struggle, he forced his eyes back open, turning to Dave with a half-lidded expression.
“Yeah-“ Sven paused to stop a yawn. “Yeah let’s take a break”
Sven shakily began to stand up, Dave smiling and doing the same. Thank goodness Dave had gotten some rest earlier, because Sven practically collapsed into Dave’s arms the moment he stood up. Dave staggered a bit, not used to supporting that much weight, before giggling again- that damn cute laugh- and adjusting so he could better support Sven as they walked.
Dave lead Sven down the many hallways of the orbital station. Remembering exactly where Sven’s room was from all the times Sven had allowed him to nap there while he worked. After escaping the brig, Dave slept quite a lot. The soft warm bed he had access to now was a lot more comforting than the hard floor of the cell he had called home for months.
Sven couldn’t hide how tired he was. Especially not with Dave’s warm arm wrapped around him. It seemed almost impossible for someone to be so warm. It was a stark, yet incredibly comforting contrast to the cold emptiness of space that surrounded the orbital station. The pressure of Dave’s arm holding him up providing a comfort that Sven wasn’t used to, but greatly appreciated.
Sven looked up at Dave, sleepily confused when they stopped moving, before realizing they had arrived at Sven’s bedroom door. Shakily, Sven removed his keycard from his pocket and handed it to Dave, knowing full well his arms would not agree with him if attempted to open the door himself.
Dave opened the door after failing to swipe the card a few times- like a true Toppat, with Sven tightly clutched in his arms. Sven was barley supporting his own weight, surprised at Dave’s strength. Or maybe Sven was just light. Before he got a chance to think about this more, Sven felt himself be pulled into his own bed.
Even in his sleep-deprived state, Sven stiffened when he felt his face press against Dave’s chest. Dave was in bed with him, still holding him in his arms. That.. was odd. Dave didn’t seem nearly as tired. He had napped a few hours ago, so there should be no reason for him to be in bed as well. Sven thought to point it out- but quickly forgot about it when he felt Dave’s hand running up and down his back again. Good god that felt nice. When was the last time someone gave him this sort of affection? Had anyone ever? Thoughts drifted in and out of Sven’s head as sleep quickly began to overtake him.
Dave removed Sven’s blue top hat and began running his fingers through the soft blonde hair on his head. Sven sighed as he felt Dave’s fingers on his scalp, running easily through his short hair. He could barely describe the way Dave was making him feel. He was so unused to this kind of physical affection, everything felt so good.
Sven shifted a bit, snuggling into Dave’s chest subconsciously. Stirring when Dave stifled a laugh. What could he possibly be laughing about?
“Cutie” Dave giggled, squeezing Sven closer to his chest.
Cutie..
Dave thought he was cute...?
Normally such a nickname would have offended the now-fifth in command. But something about the way Dave said it made Sven’s heart swell a little bit. It was hard to focus on anyway, as he practically melted into Dave’s chest, the tight squeeze Dave had given him making Sven yearn to be closer.
For a moment, Sven hesitated. What was he doing? This wasn’t how he acted around anyone else. What about Dave was different? How come Dave was having this effect on him? Was this purely all the physical contact? No one had ever touched Sven like this... and it did feel really nice...
Sven allowed himself to focus on the warmth of Dave’s body instead of his rambling thoughts. He yawned, snuggling closer to Dave. His eyes, though now closed, stung with lack of sleep. It wasn’t long before the soothing feeling of Dave’s hands lulled him into unconsciousness.
Sven woke up to the feeling of someone playing with his hair. He lightly hummed and leaned into the touch. He wasn’t awake enough to process what was happening, but that didn’t matter. It felt really nice. Almost good enough to put Sven right back to sleep. Sven tightened his arms, realizing that they were wrapped around someone. Someone very warm.
Sven stirred a bit before forcing his eyes to open, finding his face pressed into the chest of a certain new recruit. He looked up to see Dave sleepily smiling at him, he looked like he had just woken up as well.
Sven felt like his face was on fire. This couldn’t possibly be appropriate behavior. They were so close. But it felt so nice... Sven thought maybe he should at least loosen his grip on the other a bit, embarrassed by how tight he was holding on, before realizing that Dave was holding onto him just as tightly. Perhaps he was enjoying this too.
Keeping his tight grip on Dave, Sven shifted a bit so that he could see over Dave’s shoulder to check the clock. It was already late in the afternoon. They both should have started work hours ago.
Sven was usually so fussy about being on time. But in this moment he found he didn’t seem to care. Sinking back into Dave’s embrace, he focused on the feeling of the other man’s hand sleepily playing with his hair.
It felt so good to be held like this. He felt safe and cared for in Dave’s arms. Still not fully awake, he Sven found himself slipping back into sleep. It would be irresponsible to sleep all day. But as he felt Dave’s body completely relax against his own, Sven rationalized that this was good for the both of them. Reginald was always ragging on him to get more sleep anyway. He let himself completely relax against Dave, sighing while his eyes practically forced themselves closed. The soft rise and fall of Dave’s chest lulling him back to sleep.