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“Not this again.”
Sniper tilts his head back and sighs, leaning against the door. He exhales slowly and tucks his hands into his pockets.
“I’m just saying, mate. You need to get some rest, or take a break, or something.”
Despite the lights being dimmed, he keeps his sunglasses on. That has absolutely nothing to do with the serious conversation he and Dell are having. He’s not afraid of Dell making eye contact and calling his bluff.
“Look, Slim, I appreciate the concern, but I’m /fine./”
Sniper furrows his eyebrows, not believing that for a second. Dell is slouched in his seat, fidgeting restlessly with the loose screws and tools littering his normally organized workspace.
Dell meets his gaze defiantly, gritting his teeth against the undeniable exhaustion wracking his frame.
Sniper sighs. He knows Dell’s just too stubborn for Sniper to help him until he sucks up his pride.
He sets his jaw, forcing himself not to say anything he could regret.
“Alright, well, you know where to find me.”
Sniper turns and leaves. He can feel Dell staring at him before he closes the door behind himself.
--
He’s certain there’s something else he could’ve said. He went wrong somewhere, and he can’t get the thought /out of his damn head./
Sniper presses his face into his pillow and sighs, before curling up even smaller in his bunk. He knows he can’t sleep like this, and even if he could, he’d probably just have a nightmare.
Sniper only gets to stew for a few hours before there’s a knock at his camper door.
It’s as good a time as ever, really. He had nothing planned, except maybe a midnight spiral. Nothing he minds missing.
Now comes the hard part, which is answering the door.
Sniper groans and drags himself out of bed, nearly falling off the loft ladder before catching himself.
He stumbles over to the door, but not before tripping over an assortment of discarded objects. He really needs to tidy up one of these days.
He opens the door, belatedly realizing he’s missing his glasses and overshirt. He’s willing to admit it’s not one of his finer moments. In his defense he was in bed.
It takes him a couple attempts to process the man standing before him.
He blinks slowly, squinting through the darkness at the shorter man, before the lightbulb goes off in his brain.
“.. Mate?”
“I can’t sleep.” Dell groans, reaching out and placing a hand on Sniper’s shoulder.
For a ruthless mercenary and the smartest man Sniper knows, Dell sure is cute. Cute, and stubborn. So incredibly stubborn.
Sniper sighs and steps aside, allowing Dell to slip in the door.
Dell looks at Sniper for a moment, before staring at the booth Sniper typically eats at.
Sniper can see the gears turning in Dell’s brain, and that’s /never/ a good thing this late at night.
“So... “ Dell turns to him, having deemed the booth an unsuitable place to sleep. “How’s this gonna work?”
“There’s room for two in the loft.”
Dell snorts and laughs, staring at the sorry excuse of a bed.
“It doesn’t even look like there’s room for one in there.”
Sniper raises his eyebrows, before clicking his tongue. He gestures to the ladder, a small smile gracing his features.
“Wanna test that theory?”