Work Text:
Mind sat at his desk, staring at an empty document on his monitor. His cheek against his palm, a frown on his face.
Something was wrong with him. He couldn't think. If he did, he forgot what he was thinking about a second later. He had to get this email out. But how does one go about that when they can't think of anything?
A knock on the door. Three, to be precise. At least it could still count.
...Christ, that was a painfully low bar.
["Come in."]
And who was to come in but Heart.
It wasn't like they were on bad terms. It was Concord, after all. But Mind was particularly ticked at Heart because he drank Mind's apple juice. And yeah, it was a little petty, considering Heart literally couldn't have known it was Mind's, but... he really wanted that apple juice.
Mind sighed, looking back to its computer. ["What do you want?"] it inquired, already sounding fed up.
Heart approached him, his hands in front of him until he reached Mind's desk. ("I don't... want anything, exactly,") he started hesitantly, twiddling his thumbs.
Mind gave him a glance, but then glued himself right back to the empty document. ["Why are you here, then?"]
Heart sighed, crossing his arms. ("Well... I was wondering how you were doing.")
Mind actually looked up at that. ["...How I'm doing?"] It repeated, surprised.
("I mean... yeah. You felt a little... off today, so...")
Heart trailed off, scratching the back of his neck. They were fresh out of Cacophony, so he wasn't used to actually... caring about Mind yet.
Mind just stared at him for a moment. Heart? Asking how he was doing? That was unheard of.
["I'm doing fine,"] Mind responded, though there was a hint of hesitance there. He knew he wasn't doing fine. But he didn't dare let Heart know.
...Heart very much knew.
("You don't seem that fine,") Heart responded, tilting his head. ("I can tell. You don't... feel fine. You feel tired.")
Ah. Right. Heart, the emotional side, the empath he was, could tell how he was feeling. Splendid.
["Alright, I may be feeling a bit tired. So what?"]
Mind went back to its computer again, but why, it didn't know. Maybe it was just to avoid that look on Heart's face when he realized he had pinned Mind to a T.
Heart did, indeed, have that look on his face. The subtle raise of his eyebrows beneath the blindfold, the very slight smirk on his lips.
But it softened soon after, into a gentle smile. ("So, I think you should rest,") he said, reaching out to rest a warm hand on Mind's cold shoulder. Literal and figurative.
["I can't,"] Mind answered swiftly, shrugging off Heart's hand. ["I need to write this email for Whole's job. He could get fired."]
("But you can't write if you're tired,") Heart countered, ("and you seem very tired. And between you and me, I haven't heard any typing on that keyboard anyway.")
Heart grinned, a shit-eating grin, trying to get Mind to lighten up and take a break. Mind just rolled his eyes, letting out a quiet noise that was akin to a growl.
["I haven't been typing because... I'm thinking."]
That was a lie. It was plain as day.
Heart knew that and scoffed, raising an eyebrow. ("Oh, yeah? What are you thinking about, then?")
Fuck.
["I-I..."]
["...It's none of your concern."]
Heart sighed, dropping his grin and shaking his head. ("Look, Mind,") he urged, (I know you don't take me for it, but I'm being serious. You need a break.")
He paused, before gasping, an idea forming. That was a rare occurrance.
("I know just how to get you to stop,") he said, before promptly grabbing Mind's hand and yanking it out of its seat. Mind yelped, losing its balance.
["Wh- Heart, what are you doing?!"] Mind growled, trying to yank his arm away from Heart. But Heart was, unfortunately, stronger than him. Mind had to watch in near horror as Heart dragged him off to... his bed?
("I'm getting you to relax,") Heart explained simply, sitting himself down on Mind's bed. He tugged Mind down - more like yanked - until Mind fell against Heart. Heart wrapped his arms tight around him, holding him close.
...This wasn't a very comfortable position. Not with more than half of its body off of the bed and its back bending in a way that it probably shouldn't.
["...If you're trying to relax me, this is doing the opposite."] Mind mumbled. His voice was muffled against Heart's hoodie.
Heart finally noticed Mind's discomfort, physically, at least. ("Oh.") He giggled. ("Whoops.")
Heart backed up until he was sitting up against the headboard, pulling Mind along with him. Not before long, Mind was set comfortably against Heart's body, head now properly pillowed on his chest.
("Better?") Heart asked, a small smile on his face. Not a grin, not a smirk, but a smile.
["...I suppose."] Mind replied.
...Wait. What was he doing? What just happened? He couldn't be doing this, he had things to do. Important things to do.
["Heart, I don't have time to indulge in your silly little attempts at 'affection,'"] Mind protested when he finally snapped out of it, trying to push Heart back, to get off of him and get back to his work.
("Shhh,") Heart hushed as he held Mind tighter, ("Relax. You're taking a break wether you like it or not.")
["No, I'm not,] Mind grunted, squirming in Heart's grip - until he felt a hand in his hair, stroking it. Mind found himself melting nearly immediately to the sensation.
...Fucking hell. What was wrong with him? Melting like a fucking cat getting pet? Maybe there really was something wrong with him after all.
But this time, he couldn't find it in him to try and leave.
["...This is stupid,"] it grumbled under its breath, but it sounded a little less angry than it could have been.
("I know,") Heart replied simply, his smile widening. ("But it's working, isn't it?")
Mind growled. It really was working. And fuck, he hated it.
["I hate you."]
Heart chuckled.
("Whatever you say, mate.")
Mind scowled. But, ultimately didn't do anything about it. Especially not when Heart was scratching at his scalp like that.
Mind let its eyes flutter shut, shifting a bit. It rested its hand on Heart's chest - it did not mean anything. He was just getting comfortable. That's all.
He listened to the sound of Heart's... well, heart. The steady thump under his cheek was... soothing.
He couldn't be soothed right now. He was supposed to be working. Even if he just sat there, he couldn't be slacking off like this. This was wrong.
...But Harmonia, it felt so right. To be held like this. To relax. To feel like it had the right to relax. The more it thought about it, the more right it felt.
Maybe, logically, of course, it would benefit him to take a small break. You can't do much with a computer running at 1%. Even though he was not a computer [not entirely, anyway], he believed the analogy applied.
And... Heart was really comfortable to lay on. But that was neither here nor there.
So, he let himself relax. He sank into Heart's embrace, turning his head slightly to hide in Heart's chest.
["This means nothing."]
("I know.")
Both of them were lying in their own regards.
Heart scratched at Mind's head again, right behind his ear. Mind let out a low whine, or a hum. Heart smiled at that. He made sure to give that spot some extra attention.
Minutes passed by. A lot of minutes. Maybe even a few hours. Neither of them truly knew. The rest of their day consisted of nothing but lazing together, falling asleep and waking up only to fall back to sleep, and a lot of cuddles. So many cuddles.
There was pure silence throughout the entire afternoon. Other than the few instances of Mind insisting he needs to get up, only for Heart to shush him and hold him tighter.
Mind didn't mind it as much as he could have.
[heh. mind.]