Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[PROTAG] Lay on the mattress in his room, on his side facing the wall. He had tried his best to fall asleep at first, but after about an hour or two of tossing and turning he had given up and was now thinking about his life and how he felt.
...

He felt awful. [PROTAG] Had not eaten a proper meal in 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴. He was extremely thankful for the small amounts of food his co-worker had been bringing him everyday. He was pretty sure he would have passed out by now from exhaustion without it, but he'd ever tell him that.

Not like he 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 eat. Not with the extra mouths he had to feed. He felt almost like a mother caring for her children, then almost laughed at the thought. Somehow--he had forgotten, blocked it out of his memory--they had managed to get their döpplegangers out of the elevator. He felt bad for them, and after [COWORKER] had denied such activity and refused to spare a room in his luxurious house, [PROTAG] had offered his apartment to them.

I mean he had to, its not like he could leave them to fend for themselves. After what they've been through? How 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 of a person would that make him? He didn't want to think about it.

It was pretty weird living with them. With how similar they looked to [PROTAG] and [COWORKER], they acted so different. [COLLEAGUE] was so 'nice', but he was nervous and had little to zero confidence, nothing like that nepo-baby. He could feel bad for him, he let himself pity him. [ANTAG] on the other hand? Please.

[ANTAG] was rude and acted nothing like [PROTAG] from what he could tell. He was always threatening him and his colleague, yelling and almost getting violent. It got pretty close to physical fights a couple of times, but not yet. He had bad mood swings too, one moment acting tired and clingy, and the next threatening your life. Plus he would stay in 'his' room all day. It was tiring. He was so clingy. For someone who never left his colleagues side, he did sure yell at him a lot. [PROTAG] wondered if he would ever have acted like that, and how [COLLEAGUE] even tolerates it.

Speaking of sleeping, it was an awkward arrangement. [PROTAG] had a rather small apartment and only one spare room that could be turned into a small bedroom. Plus he only had one extra mattress (somehow) so the only options were both the dopples share a room and bed (which [ANTAG] quickly turned down) or someone share a room and bed with himself.

[PROTAG] didn't exactly want to share a bed with [COLLEAGUE], as nice as he was. The nervous blonde reminded him too much of that nepo-baby, now that would be an awkward thing to talk about with [COWORKER]. And so here he was, sleeping on half the bed, without a pillow, with [ANTAG] on the other half. (He had given both his pillows to the other people in his house.)

Well after reliving that, he was even more tired. He tried to look at the alarm near by, but was basically blind without his glasses on and couldn't see what it said. He froze when [PROTAG] felt movement from beside him.

Well shit.

He quickly closed his eyes in an attempt to pretend to be asleep, and lay very still. Well, clearly it had worked--he forgot his dopple was probably also pretty blind--because after some more movement and the sound of a door opening and closing, [PROTAG] was alone. He sat up in bed slowly, he hadn't realized how much he was listening to his clones breathing until it was basically silent. Although he was a quiet sleeper, there was still a small change.

He heard another sound of a door opening and closing somewhere in the distance, although this time it was much quieter and careful. He couldn't tell which room it had come from, but its not like that mattered very much. He waited a few minutes, or maybe an hour, It was hard to tell, just sitting there thinking. He had only realized how long he had been alone when he put on his glasses and looked at the clock. 4:47 𝘢𝘮

Perfect. Amazing. He has to wake up in less than two hours to go to work, what a restful night. He would be sure to go to sleep once his dopple was back.

. . .

Maybe he should go check on him, make sure [ANTAG] hadn't died. The ravenette quietly stood up from the frameless mattress on the floor, adjusting his glasses so he could properly see, and quietly walked across the room. He opened the door as quietly as he could because he knows both the dopples were light sleepers, he didn't bother closing it, he would be coming back anyways. [PROTAG] gazed around the room. It was dark, but it still had a sense of peacefulness. Small amounts of light drafted through the windows from the slightly illuminated early-dawn sky.

[PROTAG] almost forgot what he was doing because he was so caught up in the scenery. That was before he let his mind wander and he thought of [ANTAG] again. He looked around the room, searching for any sign on where he might have gone off too. Well, best to check the only closed door in sight, based off the noise heard earlier.

He walked quietly to [COLLEAGUES] room, he didn't see why he had any reason to be here but felt it was good to check. He quietly--as quietly and slowly as he could--turned the handle and opened the door a bit. He sighed quietly, glad the door hadn't creaked, and stuck his head inside to look around.

It was pretty dark. Barley any light drafting in from the window. There was a small desk shoved into a corner of the room, he had used to do work there, and a small pile of other things he had yet to sort out shoved in another. There was also a small mirror layed out so you could view it easily. Still no sign of whom he was looking for.

[PROTAGS] eyes drifted to the sheetless mattress on the floor. (he should really buy some sheets for the beds) There was [COLLEAGUE], as expected. His chest rising up and down rhythmically. He found he was a loud sleeper compared to [ANTAG], breathing loudly and occasionally snoring.

But speaking of [ANTAG]...There he was too. Sleeping peacefully right next to [COLLEAGUE], his arm wrapped around [ANTAG] in almost a protective matter, [ANTAGS] glasses on the floor next to them. His head was on his colleagues chest, and he seemed completely at peace. [PROTAG] had never seen him this calm.

Well, he had found what he was looking for. He very quietly and carefully closed the door, then sighed very loudly before mumbling to himself and walking to his room.

"I should have just made them share a room..."

Chapter Text

[ANTAG] had been lying in bed for hours. He didn't toss and turn, no he'd learnt not to. At least he had a bed. How long had it been since he's been truly comfortable? No, he was grateful for all he's been given, he really is. But its not like he'd tell the person next to him that.

...

Oh that's right. He was 'sleeping' right next to an almost identical copy of him. How did he get here? He almost couldn't remember. [ANTAG] pondered the thought for a bit. It was something to do, besides staring blankly into space. He'd turn down the offer to share a room with his colleague.𝘸𝘩𝘺? To not seem 'weak'? That was stupid. God, he felt so stupid. He would probably be asleep right now if he wasn't.

[ANTAG] missed the blondes presence. He hadn't realized how much he relied on it to keep him sane. To help him stay warm, to feel a resemblance of safety. And to sleep. Jeez, this was insane. But its not like he can just walk into his room at 4 in the morning!

...Could he? Would he mind? Would he even wake up? It was a possibility [ANTAG] was to desperate not to consider. He was cold, numb, dull, fucking 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦 without his colleague at least in the same room as him.

...

Fuck it.

He sat up in bed, well it was more of just a mattresses. He was almost jealous of the man 'sleeping' next to him, although he couldn't actually see without his glasses on, the intern appeared to be resting peacefully. How unlucky of himself.

He reached for the floor next to him, which wasn't that far because the bed had no frame, searching for his glasses. If he was really going to do this he wasn't about to risk bumping into something. Everything always seemed 10x louder at night.

After a couple seconds of patting the ground, [ANTAG] found his glasses and put them on. He took a second or two to look at the room he was in. It was dark, obviously, so he let his eyes adjust to the lighting. There was nothing much to see, the room was almost empty, besides a small clock to his right and a calendar on the wall. It was almost depressing how empty it was, but after being stuck in the same place for so long, at least it was 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

After a few seconds of just sitting there, he got up and quietly made his way to the door. When he reached it, he turned the handle before opening it, although it was much louder than he expected. He turned his head to the 'sleeping' individual to make sure he hadn't heard. When [PROTAG] showed no sign of 'waking up', [ANTAG] stepped into the open space and closed the door.

He sighed a breath of, relief? He wasn't quite sure. He took in his surroundings, it was quite beautiful. Despite being a small, empty apartment, the light that drafted in through the window still illuminated the blue-hazed room, casting a cozy glow. He inhaled slowly before making his way to [COLLEAGUES] room.

He felt so childish, like a kid going to their parents room after having a nightmare. He refrained the urge to scoff, as to keep quiet. Once [ANTAG] reached the door, he hesitated. One hand hovering above the doorknob. Was he 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 about to do this? Well, too late to go back now. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤. He sighed a breath he didn't know he was holding, and cautiously opened the door.

He made sure to open and close it much quieter this time, as to not wake the person sleeping inside. [ANTAG] paused again once inside the room, he bit his bottom lip nervously, looking for something to distract himself from the awkwardness he felt.

It was much darker in this room, A curtain over the lone window preventing any early morning light from coming in. It was also more filled from what he could see in the dim light. His eyes scanned the room, landing on the mattresses on the floor. There his colleague lay, he listened to his soft, but still somehow loud breathing. [ANTAG] cautiously made his way to the bed, crouching right beside it.

He found after a couple minutes he was just staring at the blonde, taking in his features. He was the only thing [ANTAG] could really see, and he studied his face like he'd be tested on it later. He didn't quite know why, Maybe it was his lack of sleep catching up to him.

He found himself brushing a piece of his unkempt, blonde hair out of [COLLEAGUES] face, savoring the touch. It had been a while since he touched his colleagues face. It was almost odd, the touch, it made [ANTAG] crave more. but he was startled out of his thoughts when [COLLEAGUE] began to stir.

[ANTAG] flinched, pressing his hand against his colleagues mouth as he was about to say something. He saw the blonds eyes widen, but relax almost as quickly at his sight. Something about him made his heart flutter. He didn't pay any mind to it.

"Shhhh...your gonna wake up the owner of this 'house', then he'll surely kick us out." The ravenette joked quietly.

"...couldn't sleep?" He asked softly, brushing [ANTAGS] hand off of his face. The newbie looked at the ground, almost in disappointment. He didn't know of what, himself? 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.

"...yeah..."

[COLLEAGUE] looked at [ANTAGS] face for a bit, before smiling as soft as you can when you just woke up at 4 am.

He sighed, opening his arms a little bit, "Come here."

[ANTAGS] face lit up, and he crawled onto the mattress next to [COLLEAGUE]. He sighed contently, resting his head on the blonds chest, not before taking off his glasses though.

"thank you..." He whispered, falling asleep, cozy from the warmth of his colleague.

"Anytime..." [COLLEAGUE] mumbled back, resting his hand on [ANTAGS] back, and then falling asleep as well.

How lucky of himself.

-------------------------------

[ANTAG] had woken up before [COLLEAGUE], going out into the kitchen to find [PROTAG] getting ready for work. He glanced at him, before going and getting a glass of water.

"...So how did you two sleep?"

[ANTAG] almost spit out his drink.