Work Text:
You think, since this whole thing has gotten back on track, Sollux Captor is probably the one working the hardest out of the bunch of you.
Sure, Karkat's doing the 'make more trolls' thing, and the humans are doing fuck knows what... But Sollux hasn't left the shitty excuse for a computer room in what must be three whole day's at this point. You know he's programming and coming up with what will basically be the internet structure and online heart of this new planet, but, honestly, you're not sure how any of that works, or if that sort of thing is even within his area of expertise.
Wasn't he just good at making video games and viruses? Blowing shit up?
You can't even count how many of your computers he blew up just to piss you off. Though, that feels like a lifetime ago now. It kind of was, actually.
Sollux doesn't hear you walk up, or, at least he doesn't acknowledge you like you'd expect. Maybe he does hear you and just doesn't want to give you the satisfaction or looking away from his work. The mustardblood has two screens going at the same time- you're not even a little surprised.
He's so immersed in code and text boxes that he doesn't look up. You're sure of it now, he's not realized you're there.. Doesn't even notice you standing behind him, watching him run sheet after sheet of numbers and letters, command prompts, fucking, everything that always confused and frustrated you about computer lingo.
And you'd almost call how he goes about it effortless, if you didn't spot the way he holds himself first. It's not his usual Captor-slouch that you'd seen countless times before. This is different- or at least, different from what you're used to.
He cheeks are hollowed, he looks like he hasn't slept in a week, and judging by the lack of empty plates of half eaten food, he's also not stopped for a lunch break any time soon.
Karkat's been too busy to make him, you suppose.
Aradia and Feferi, too.
Even Kanaya and Terezi have jobs to do. You, uh. You maybe had some privileges revoked, which is why you've found yourself with enough spare time to wander and pester people, but.
Has literally no one stopped to drag Captor away form his screens?
"Hey, Sol?" You ask before even thinking it's a bad idea to startle him when he's working- what's wrong with you, are you looking to get zapped today? Haven't you learnt anything?
He stops typing, frozen except for blinking dry eyes at the screen. Like he's not even consciously awake, he's just, trying to make his eyes work again.
"Mn?" He squints at you, half scowl, but exhausted enough to not have the energy to throw you out for disturbing him.
"Have you uh, considered maybe takin' a break soon?" You hate how much your voice lacks confidence, now that you've gotten your second chance and aren't so eager to test your luck.
He grimaces, looks to his screen, finds the clock, and just groans.
"Ughhhh, I should." He admits, sounding horribly bitter about it. Likely bitter that you're the one reminding him. You suppose you might be too, if your roles were reversed.
"When's the last time you slept?" Why the hell are you even asking? Because it'll look good for you to pick up the slack? Because you're genuinely worried about losing any part of your ragtag group again?
Because of all the people to come back for you, once upon a time, Sollux Captor did. He had Ara and Fef with him, but the fact that he was there just. Sticks in your mind. He cared enough to bring you back, you should care enough to keep him alive. And maybe there's a bit of influence from foggy memories of being together as a gamesprite... but those are an awkward jumble of feelings and understanding.
It occurs to you, as he stares at nothing, looking like he's deep in thought, that perhaps he doesn't even know when he slept last. He can't remember.
"C'mon. Break time." You pull on the back of his computer chair and he let's you drag him from the desk, rolling far enough away that he has the space to get up.
Except, when he does, he comes right back down, face first into your chest.
You'd squawk if you were in any less control of yourself, but all you can really do is catch him, steady Sollux against you for a moment, just enough that you can pap at his face and get him to open his eyes for you.
"Sol holy fuck," You're genuinely concerned and it feels weird. This gross, thick, sticky feeling inside you that he isn't yours to worry about, but you can't help fuss, even just a little. "You need a nap. No, actual sleep. Probably for a few days."
He growls at you, grumbles, and tries to steady himself, away from you.
He ends up clutching your arm for support anyway.
"I mean it. You're no help t'anyone if you wear yourself out." You insist, and start ushering him out the door. At least the sleeping quarters of this ridiculous excuse for a base aren't far? Just down the hall, really.
"Fuck off," He hisses, but he just sounds defeated as he let's you move him, direct him. His eyes look so dim, absolutely exhausted. "Sleep is for the weak."
You snort, rolling your eyes as you shoo him towards the horizontal sleeping platform he's claimed and refused to wash- the humans call them beds. Which is funny, because with their weird writing, even the word looks like one. A little three letter picture-
He trips over his second set of shoes and you catch him again, even though he swats at you limply as you ease him down onto the blankets.
"Sol, you fainted... straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention, you didn't have to go to such extremes." You mean for it to come out playful, teasing, but you cringe when instead it just reminds you of Cronus.
If there's one thing you're thankful for, it's that your interactions with that sack of shit have been minimal since being brought back...
"Sorry." You push a hand through your hair, fuss with your horn while you stand there, awkward and not sure if he would prefer you leave now.
Instead, he surprises you by patting the spot on the mattress next to him where he sits.
Friendly is not a word you'd ever use to describe Captor, so, the gesture is a little more than worrisome.
Regardless, you comply, and sit there, hands in your lap, trying to find something else to look at in the room, aside from his tired, annoyed looking face.
"What day is it?" He asks, voice rough with disuse.
"Uh, Wednesday I think?" His shoulder brushes against yours, then he actually leans on you. The warmth of lowbloods still surprises you, even after all this time.
"Fuck."
Sollux just sighs, closes his eyes, and scrunches up his face in discomfort.
"Didn't mean to get so caught up in that shit." He genuinely sounds sorry, which isn't a tone you've heard from him before either, but you actually kind of like it? Maybe because it's honest?
"You were workin' hard?" You offer him a little smile, and when he spots it, he wheezes out this sad little laugh.
"Yeah. I guess I was. For 4 days straight, and I'm still not done."
Your smile disappears.
Four days is a fuckin long time to just, not move aside from bathroom breaks and snack runs. That's probably contributing to the weird greasy look to his hair, to be honest. You thought it was maybe just Captor Funk or some shit. Mituna's hair always looks gross too, so you just assumed.
"You should really rest. Take a nap, at least." You remind him, and god, does this ever feel weird, /you/ of all people, looking after Sollux's health.
"Brain's too busy. Can't stop thinking."
Sweeps ago, you would have teased him for how he mangles the word 'stop', but now it's barely a thought in your mind. You're going over things that help /you/ relax, things that put /you/ to sleep, but he doesn't have fins to pet, the sound of bubbling water likely isn't relaxing to a landdweller either...
"Do you... well... I mean... I could give you a massage? Or a back rub?"
Part of you is screaming 'ew no' because you've heard Cronus use that line to be a skeevy asshole, but the other part is what's making your pusher beat feel like it's in your throat.
He thinks on it with a hum, tired and worn, and then he nods, and there's almost a shy quality to the motion.
You're both acting ridiculous. This isn't Grub's First Pale Flirt for either of you and you know it, but somehow it's just more nerve wracking than you were expecting. And, well, you just weren't expecting it!
"Okay, uh," You try and clear your throat but your voice just comes out smaller, "You wanna lay down, or?"
He shrugs, won't look you in the eye, but keeps sitting where he is. His cheeks are golden and you know yours are just as bad. It's kind of cute, that he's that nervous about this too.
Maybe he's just that tired?
No.
No, you know Sollux Captor well enough by this point. He gets cranky and grumbly, usually. Not shy and indifferent. That's straight up nervousness, because under all his sparks and witty come backs, he's a fucking nerd who never leaves his computer.
You almost wince when he peels off his tshirt though, because holy shit, you thought his /face/ looked thin? You can nearly see each rib, each knob of his spine. His shoulder blades look like they could kill someone with the right angle.
But you keep quiet.
You don't need to go ruining this with your dumb mouth. You've done that enough in your fucked up, restarted life time.
He flinches when your fingertips skim against the skin of his shoulder, and at first you're scared you've hurt him, but then he shivers and you notice the temperature difference.
He's a lowblood. A warm blood. His whole body runs a few degrees warmer than yours does, and to him, you likely feel like ice.
"Cold." He confirms, peeking over the knob of his little shoulder.
"Sorry." Your fins droop and the way he looks at you makes you think it's probably the first time he's heard the word come from you.
"Its. Not bad or anything." He tries, and you have a hard time believing him, because he just fucking flinched! You saw him! "Try again."
You do, and this time you touch him more solidly, press your fingers against his skin, smooth your palm firmly over him. It takes a couple repeats of the motion, but eventually he sort of melts into your hands and sighs this tired, comfortable little sound.
"Better." He mumbles, and you don't have to see his face to know his eyes are closed.
You work your thumbs in circles, over the back of his neck, the bumps of his spine- you're almost afraid you're pressing too hard. He looks like he's so fragile, built like a featherbeast. It's his rattle of a purr that reassures you, keeps you going, until he stops you so he can lay down on his bed. He presses his cheek into his pillows and lets his eyes slip shut.
"You're good at this." He mumbles, and your bloodpusher swells. Sollux peeks at you and catches your little smile, returns it to you, then pats the bed next to him. "Come'ere."
"What?"
You stop, hands still on his back, careful not to press to hard on his thin little ribs.
"Lay down with me." The psionic keeps one eye shut, the other barely cracked open as he pats the spot next to him again.
"Really?" you keep waiting for the other foot to drop, for him to tease you, laugh at you, send you away. It doesn't come.
"Yes, really." One more series of short pats, this time more insistent. "Spoon me, Ampora."
You snort out a little laugh, but comply.
He's so warm against your chest, and you honestly make him look even smaller when he's so close. Tiny little frail lowblood, all his sparks and sass gone as you try and keep dragging your fingers over him. You can't touch him the same way though, and eventually he gets frustrated and turns over, buries his face in your chest, just so you can pet his back again.
You create patterns of slow touches on him, pulling your fingers through his sad, gross hair in little lazy circles, then trailing the pads of your fingers back down his spine over his ribs, shoulder blades. Until you hear the soft, even breathing of sleep, tucked up against your collar bone, thin hands wrapped in your shirt.
You're honestly kind of proud of yourself for getting him to sleep, but the warm feeling in your chest isn't just because you have a lowblood cuddled up to you. No, that's adding to the beat of your pusher, though.
You feel... useful. and calm, as if you were the one getting pet to sleep.
You don't sleep, but you do keep dragging your hand back and forth over his back, dumb little smile on your face, for a good while after. It feels like only a little while, but eventually you hear footsteps and you know someone's going to come in and demand something of one of you.
Probably Sollux, before you. He's the one they need, after all. You're just the trouble maker they felt bad leaving behind.
You spot long hair and hips, and for a moment you're scared it's Aradia, and what if this is still her territory? What if she's not okay with some dangerous seadweller being all cuddled up with her scrawny nerd? She never seemed like the over protective type, but you honestly just don't want to piss her off, so you're worried...
It's not Aradia. It's Fef.
Your pusher freezes.
"Water you doin' in Sol-"
"Shhh!!" You hush her, pointing down at the still sleeping bag of bones pressed to your chest. "Quiet!"
She covers her mouth, and your not sure if it's out of shock or her actually listening to you.
The psionic stirs, but barely, nosing up under your chin as he winds an arm around your middle and squeezes gently in his sleep.
Holy fuck, Captor is a cuddler. Incredible.
Your cheeks must be absolutely violet, because the next sound out of Feferi is a muffled giggle. You pout, and she quietly claps her hands like a little seal.
"Since when?!" She whispers, and you answer by mouthing 'today?' at her. More little mock-claps.
Well. That's not the response you were expecting.
"I was checking on him." she explains, motioning out the door. "I was hoping if he wasn't at his computers he'd be in here."
"That's where I found him. Talked him into tryin' t'sleep. Offered t'help." You keep your voice low and smooth, and Sollux doesn't budge, much too tired to be woken that easily. You doreturn to the slow petting and get a little nuzzle in thanks, not that he knows he did it, but you know. You felt it.
"I'm so glad."
And you know she is. She's being honest, when she smiles at you two like that, clasps her hands together and bounces on her feet.
"He needs that. Needs you."
You're back to being utterly violet, and she giggles at you teasingly. Not at all cruel though, and you think you like this.
You like being needed.
You like that you're at least useful for something, even if it just getting the resident tech-nerd away from his computers long enough to get a bit of sleep.