Work Text:
“You’re still up?”
Tech snaps his head up from his datapad to the direction of the voice quicker than a blink. He isn't frightened, no, but he does startle slightly hearing her voice. Groggy and hoarse from sleep, the sweet kindness he is always able to feel just from the way she speaks is gone entirely. Instead, she sounds bothered. Frustrated.
Most certainly looks like it as well. Her hands lie on her hips and bags weigh heavy under her eyes, frowning in disappointment that Tech is up at this hour, in this awful position that will just destroy his back (her words, of course).
He’s hunched over a chair somewhere in the living room of her apartment, knees curled up to his chest. Tech can tell rather easily that she's just woken up and heard his clicking fingers working diligently on another project instead of sleeping soundly beside her, and got up to drag him back to bed begrudgingly. And she is not pleased.
“I am still up,” He confirms rather matter-of-fact.
She tuts and shakes her head, walking up closer to place her hands on his shoulders. Softly, her thumbs graze the part of his neck exposed by his blacks, and he looks up at her with his strained eyes. Only then does the exhaustion start to creep in. Not enough, however. The back of his head still itches to finish the project just waiting for him in his hands. Her hand comes to his chin, holding it softly between her fingers and lifting it up so his eyes don't drift away again.
“You have to go to sleep eventually, y’know," She practically whispers.
Tech looks indifferent to the statement, even as he nods in agreement.
“I try every night to fall asleep when you do, but I never can,” He says. There’s a hint of disappointment in his tone, but not clear enough for her to pick it out. She leans in closer, not enough to kiss, but if she were to dip down another few inches, their foreheads would meet. “My mind is still awake.”
She clicks her tongue. Wordlessly, he adjusts so her knees rest on the seat and cage his body in, and her hands drift up to his face, holding his face with delicate, but firm hands. He feels his face warm even as she frowns.
“That brilliant, brilliant mind,” She scolds.
Without his own volition, he feels a chuckle rupture at the back of his throat, and she can't help but grin.
"Just won't let you get a peaceful night's sleep, will it?"
Tech looks at her, eyes still deadpan, while he shakes his head with little energy. She laughs. Suddenly, her hands drift lower and take him by the wrists, letting his datapad drop onto the chair as she pulls him to stand. And with the little energy he has, he looks down at her and squints his eyes when she tugs him in the direction of the kitchen.
“What are you doing?" He asks.
"I’m gonna make us hot chocolate,” She says with a smile.
He snaps his chin to the side, surprised at the sudden change of heart. She only grins giddily and gestures for him to follow her. His eyebrows knit together the longer he stares at her, still not budging.
"Why?" He asks. It's such a blunt tone of voice if she didn't know him so well she would have thought he was being oblivious, rude even.
“It always used to help me fall asleep when I was young,” she explains. "We'll have some and then go back to bed, together." With that, her chin dips down and she raises an eyebrow, eyes deadset on his. "OK?"
He can't help but soften with her insistence and pretty smile.
"Okay, cyare," he says. She smiles victoriously and adjusts to interlock their fingers, pulling him away from the chair fully and to the kitchen not far away. Without even a quick adjustment or fumble, she effortlessly searches through the small storage cupboards, her hand still holding his firmly even as she kneels down, hand rifling through the mugs.
She places two on the counter, grinning at him with the excitement of a child on Life Day. The sight of her smile alone sends a wave of warmth through his body, and he suddenly can no longer think about what he might've been doing previously. He watches her work silently and enthralled, boiling water on the stove and stirring the hot cocoa mix until it turns a sweet, warm brown color, just a few shades darker than his eyes.
Suddenly she looks up at him with a very important question on her tongue,
"You want whipped cream?"
He gawks, incredulous that she'd ask such a question.
"Of course," He responds.
She flashes him an open-mouthed grin and proceeds without further questions, taking a pinch of cinnamon and sprinkling it on the light dollop of whipped cream she adds to each. When she hands it to him, he quickly slips his gloves off and wraps his bare hands around the warm mug, sighing softly at the touch. She laughs softly.
"Feels nice, right?" She says, leaning her hip on the kitchen counter.
He nods and takes in a deep whiff of the steam. The smell of warm, sweet chocolate wafts up to his nose and he can't resist taking a sip before it's even had a chance to cool down. The rich, creamy chocolate coats his tongue, and he can feel the tension in his body start to dissipate; his goggles fog up as he brings the mug closer to his face.
She giggles and leans in, taking the cloth from her pajama sleeve to wipe away the fog so he can see better. Once she does, she sees that his eyes are glued onto hers. She flusters slightly.
"Why do you look at me like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like I'm your whole world."
He flushes when she points it out, but doesn't hesitate with his next words.
"Cyare, you are my whole world."
She presses her forehead against his chest to muffle the giddy squeak that comes out of her unintentionally. The mug of hot chocolate she holds in her left arm is no longer paid attention to; instead, she wraps her arms around his middle. With his free hand, he hesitantly moves it to hold her waist, still quite careful with his movements. He doesn't want one of them to spill their drink.
"You're such a damn charmer, Tech," she mumbles into the fabric of his blacks.
He looks down at her, slowly taking a sip of his hot chocolate and sighing blissfully before he talks.
"I am simply stating a fact."
With a snarky roll of her eyes, she pulls away but not too far, placing the mug on the counter behind him and wrapping her arms around her neck.
"Sure you are," she says sarcastically.
He blinks dumbly.
"I am never wrong."
She hums an unbelieved 'mhm' before leaning in and giving him a quick peck. He stands there, almost hilariously dumbfounded, his mouth slightly ajar. When she grabs the mug to take another sip of her hot chocolate, he takes the space to breathe; his lashes flutter lightly against the top of his cheeks, eyes slowly falling close for longer and longer each time he blinks.
"Feels nice, right?" Her voice interjects in the silence.
Tech nods and grins softly. She places down the mug again, letting her hands interlock at the back of his neck, pressing her body against his. Without much thinking, his other hand joins the one holding her waist, goggles still slightly fogged up from the steam. She dips her chin down, eyes wide and caring.
"Will you come to bed with me now?" She asks.
The grin he wears is sweeter than the cinnamon.
"Certainly," He answers. Something else creeps upon his face as he looks at her, something more mischievous, perhaps even suggestive curls over his lips. "Though I am unsure if we are both ready to sleep yet."
She gawks, stammering through her next few words, but she's barely able to push something understandable out through it.
"...Oh," She whispers. He chuckles; her face suddenly turns stern. She raises an eyebrow and her lips purse questionably.
"Seriously?" She says.
Without even giving her the time to think about it, Tech nods with a smirk and kisses her softly on the nose, taking her by the wrists and pulling her toward the bedroom. The squeal she lets out is quickly swallowed by his mouth before she can let out any words of disapproval; not that she was actually complaining.
She reveled in his company.