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II taps his pencil against the paper he's been scratching notes on. His bouts of insomnia have been getting worse; he's chalked it up to stress and their recent run-in with armed adversaries, but that's not all it is. He hoped that simply letting his hand go on the page would perhaps connect him to Sleep, give him a moment of peace and communion, but so far there's only been the snoring of his companions and cold, indifferent silence.
That is, until a loud gasp tears him out of his vague contemplation. By the time he turns his head the first Vessel's already shot upright. His body jerks forward, convulsing, limbs flailing out desperately to grab onto whatever ghost haunted him in his dreams.
II suspects he knows who.
He sets his notebook and pencil down to pad over to the foot of the bed, observing Vessel as he covers his face and tries to steady his breathing. III whines at his side from all the shifting but IV continues to peacefully snore on undisturbed.
"Vessel?" II keeps his voice low, placing a knee on the sheets. "Are you alright?"
Vessel’s trembling hand slides away from his face. Without the mask his expression is naked with fear, too shaken to maintain any facade of stoicism. A sheen of sweat has plastered some of his hair to his forehead. II wants nothing more than to climb onto him and fix it but he stays where he is. No pushing, no prodding. Patience is key.
Vessel nods twice. He soothes III's fidgeting with a soft brush of knuckles at his temple, beckoning II with the other hand.
II is mindful of where his knees go as he crawls over, settling between Vessel's legs. Their bodies have always slotted together easily thanks to the difference in stature between them.
"I saw something." Vessel's voice is a grim whisper, his other hand moving to run through IV's hair. "I can't remember much of it but…" He breathes out, eyes fluttering closed for a moment as II gently pushes stray locks away from his forehead. "I know it involved all of you."
His grip tightens on III and IV as he opens his eyes again. They're the bluest II has ever seen. They make him think of ice floes and first thaw, a hint of some abyssal shadow lurking deep beneath. Expressive yet impassible. They see beyond and yet right to the core of him.
"In a good way, or…" II levies a bit of humor at him, soft as goosedown.
Vessel's eyes alone tell him more than the following head shake. His hand slides away from III's head to reach out. II looks over his shoulder at the dresser drawer, where Vessel’s bone white mask lays staring up at the ceiling.
II looks back at him, nodding before carefully sliding off the bed to grab for it. By the time II returns to his spot on the bed and offers it, Vessel's hands are trembling again. He fumbles a bit while pulling the straps around and tying everything into place.
"Stay here." Vessel's voice is soft but no less an order. "Please."
II is content enough to oblige him. His thoughts won't stop bouncing around his head but maybe he'll find some sort of reprieve laying here. Pulling the covers down so he can slip under them takes a moment of careful maneuvering, but once he does he melts into Vessel's body heat.
Vessel tugs him in until his chin rests atop his head, sculpted jaws scowling out into the dark. III and IV are nudged closer and barely stir in the process. His hands return to each of them, palm splayed over their heads like he's trying to shield them from nightmares.
"D'ya reckon you'll get back to sleep?" II asks. Vessel's chin rubs against the top of his head in a resounding no. "Fair enough. Well, if you need me and all that…"
II surprises himself with a yawn as he sags into Vessel's hold. He's wound up tighter than II thought, poised as a watchdog staring out at invisible dangers. What he hears or sees, II can only guess at — which he'll do later, because right now the slow and steady beating of Vessel's heart against him is a far too effective lullaby.
(Or maybe it's Sleep's blessing running through him. Who can say?)
This old manor creaks at times from the cold. Its sounds of eternal decay are a comfort, now, familiar as the breaths filling up the room on either side of him.
Vessel remains perched over him. II hasn't seen him this protective in a while, which likely means…
"Your dream must've been pretty intense, yeah?" II yawns again, belly lazily rubbing against his. He likes feeling at the fine hairs there that the paint usually obscures.
The barest of nods is felt against his scalp. Vessel's never been the chattiest of people but the mask seems to render him selectively mute at times. They've all gotten used to it.
"Did we die in it?"
Vessel doesn't move. II can't tell if his stillness is confirmation or contemplation — sometimes it's both. But out of the periphery of his dim vision he can make out how Vessel's fingers curl tighter against III and IV's scalp, the possessive aura that emanates from him in waves.
So. That's a yes, then.
"Don't fret. You know we don't go down easily." II's eyes grow heavier by the minute. He keeps them open just long enough to make out the corner of Vessel's lip twitching in a smirk. Oh, that's a welcome sight. Just as welcome is the divine embrace of Sleep that gently whisks him away into warm, welcoming darkness.
He could swear, during his last moments of consciousness, that he hears a soft humming from somewhere above.