Work Text:
Ethan sat on the couch, the tv burning his eyes. Any reasonable person would turn it off, do something else, find a different way to keep his busy mind occupied in the hours between dusk and dawn.
Sleep comes to mind.
But Ethan had no plans to leave this luminescent screen. Not until he had to. Not until he was on the brink of passing out. Only then would the tired man drag himself to his room and collapse, usually without even pulling a blanket over himself.
And it was getting harder and harder for Heisenberg to pretend he didn’t know about all of this.
The two had been involved for a few months now, but due to Heisenberg’s lack of relationship experience and all of the walls he’d put up over the years, things were moving very slowly. Karl wanted to be the affectionate boyfriend that Ethan deserved, but it was something he knew he had to cut himself some slack for and move at a pace he was comfortable with.
Regardless of physical compassion, he clearly cared deeply for Ethan, and he was starting to feel like it was time to step in.
Heisenberg kept himself busy in his workshop until around 3am, when he finally put his tools down and wandered back through the factory into the more homely part of it, where the kitchen, lounge and bedrooms were. He could see the light from the tv brightening the room ahead of him.
“Can’t sleep, huh?” Heisenberg said quietly as he walked in, leaning against the doorway as he looked at Ethan. He received a quiet “Mhm” in response, along with a small nod.
God, he looked tired.
“Whatcha watching?” He asked, seeing if he could even get any words out of the other man.
“It’s uh- Pirates of the something-” Ethan mumbled, too tired to even remember the films name.
Heisenberg nodded, taking a seat next to Ethan.
“How long have you been awake?” He asked, getting more concerned by the second.
“Uh… I think uh-” He blinked a few times, “I have no idea-” He admitted, keeping his eyes aimed at the television.
“Maybe you should get some sleep-”
“I can’t”
“Why not? You’re clearly tired-”
“I just can’t!” Ethan snapped, looking up at Heisenberg. He was angry, angrier than Karl had seen him in a while. But his anger very quickly faded, tears starting to stream down Ethan’s face.
“I’m sorry- I- I’m sorry Karl…” He said shakily, feeling his emotions and tiredness all hitting him at once as his gaze dropped, scared that Karl would be mad at him, half expecting him to just get up and storm off.
What he wasn’t expecting was to feel strong arms wrap around him and pull him in close, which was a very welcome surprise.
He couldn’t explain the wave of calm and the feeling of safety that washed over him. He practically melted into the other mans chest, too tired and devoid of energy to even hug him back.
The pair sat like this for what felt to both of them like ages, and soon Karl felt himself begin to doze off. He looked down at Ethan who had unsurprisingly fallen asleep in his arms, he felt mean waking him up but knew he couldn’t sit like this all night.
“Buttercup, I’m gonna need you to wake up-” He signed, moving Ethan just enough to wake him.
Ethan stirred enough to cuddle himself closer and mumble a quiet “Please don’t leave…”
Karl smiled, placing a soft kiss on Ethan’s head,
“Wouldn’t dream of it, we can sleep in my room.”
Ethan gave a sleepy nod before letting Karl pick him up and carry him to bed, Heisenberg knowing he was far too tired and weak to walk there on his own.
Heisenberg took his time getting his work clothes off and replacing them with a plain shirt and some sweatpants, which he had heard about from Ethan and decided he needed a pair, he still thinks they’re the best thing he’s ever bought.
He then carefully took off Ethan’s shoes and jacket before joining him in bed. He pulled the tired man up to his chest and wrapped his arms around him. Ethan was asleep in seconds. It didn’t take too long for Karl to doze off either.
It was the best sleep either of them had had in months, years for Karl.
After that night, Karls room became their room, neither willing to sleep without the other anymore.