Chapter Text
“You need to go to sleep,” Welt whispered, running his fingers through Einstein’s oily hair, gently teasing out one of the dozens of knots while the scientist wove their fingers through his scarf. “You’ve been awake since we got to Amsterdam.” It was a nice way of saying three days.
“That’s easy for you to say,” they mumbled, pulling the scarf harshly as they failed to escape from his lap. “You don’t need to sleep, Joachim.”
“I can’t sleep, not that I don’t need it,” Welt countered, pulling them back into their lap gently. “And you both can sleep and need sleep.”
“But what about-”
“Tesla can handle it, Eins,” Welt said firmly, “And if she can’t, well then she will wake you up and ask for help. Now please, for the love of the stars, get some sleep. I’ll be right here if you need anything.”
Eins had already closed their eyes, snuggling further into him. “But you’re the Sovereign,” they weakly protested, “You have work to do too.”
“My job is watching out for humanity and that includes you, idiot,” he chuckled, pulling the blanket over their shoulder, continuing to try and undo some of the knots. “Sleep well, Lieserl…”