Work Text:
Jolene gazed upward towards the ceiling of her bedroom, her eyes following the fan blades as they spun around. She wondered how long it had been since she last checked the clock. She wondered if she even wanted to know. After some consideration, she made the decision to roll over and look again.
2:35 AM. It had only been 18 minutes. It felt like eternity.
She had tried every position she could think of, tossing and turning for hours on end, but nothing worked. No matter what she did, she just wouldn't fall asleep. She couldn't understand why. Her little brother was finally safe and sound, Grubba was being held in police custody, and the Glitz Pit was shut down for the time being for a full investigation, so she didn't even have work to worry about. Was that not enough to put her mind at ease?
No, it wasn't. Even if things seemed okay for the moment, she was haunted by the idea of what was to come. How many drained, discarded bodies would they find hidden away in the bowels of the Glitz Pit? How many of those bodies had families searching for them, like she had been searching for Mush for so long? Would there even be a Glitz Pit anymore, once the sordid goings-on behind the scenes became known to the public? And what if, by some cruel twist of fate, Grubba were to escape his rightful punishment? Sure, he couldn't hurt anyone else without the Crystal Star, but Jolene wished with all her heart to see him suffer for what he'd put her poor brother through.
All these thoughts endlessly played through her mind like a discordant orchestra, pounding against her skull and keeping her from resting for even a moment. At last she could bear no more and forced herself to get out of bed, figuring maybe a short walk or a glass of water would help to clear her head. She climbed out from under the covers, put on her slippers and carefully crept to her door. As quietly as she could, she opened the door and exited the room.
As she walked down the hallway, though, she passed by Mush's bedroom. Noticing that his door had been left wide open, Jolene decided to step inside and check on him. It was his first night home in a long time, and she was curious to see how he was settling in.
She found him sound asleep, laying face-down on top of his covers with half his body hanging off the bed. He must've passed out the second his head hit the pillow. She could hardly blame the poor thing after the day he'd had; being brought back from the dead couldn't have left him with much energy, and the stress of coming to grips with how long he was gone surely didn't help matters.
The coming days weren't going to offer any relief for him, either. On top of everything else, he still had the press to deal with, who were sure to barrage him with endless questions about his disappearance. Jolene had hoped that Mush would get to enjoy some time with his family before being thrust into the limelight, but she knew it couldn't be that way. He was going to be reminded of what Grubba did to him at every turn, and would barely have a moment to think about anything else.
It pained Jolene to think about what he would have to go through. But seeing him there, peacefully sleeping in his bed that had sat unoccupied for so long, reassured her that the worst was finally over, and it was only uphill from there on out. Listening to his soft, steady breaths, after spending so many nights not knowing whether he was breathing at all, was at last enough to drown out that parade of worries that had kept her from slumber. In that moment, she knew in her heart of hearts that whatever she and Mush had ahead of them, they'd be able to get through all of it together.
She didn't want to leave his side quite yet, though. He did look a little cold and uncomfortable, hanging off the side like that with only his nightclothes to cover him. So, being careful not to wake him, she gently rolled him all the way onto his bed, folded the blanket over him, and lightly brushed his hair off of his face. As she turned around to leave him, she heard him stirring. She looked over her shoulder one more time, watching as he drowsily pulled the blanket a little tighter around himself.
"Thanks, sis..." he mumbled, and smiled that sweet little smile of his that Jolene had missed so much.
She smiled back at him, and quietly shut his door as she left the room. Her head clear at last, she returned to her own room and had little issue finally getting to sleep.