Work Text:
Gordon Freeman is losing his mind. Or something.
That’s what it sort of looks like to Barney, anyway. Three of his bodies had been welcomed into Gordon’s room as was routine at this point, only to find all the couch cushions on the floor. After the usual kiss to the first body’s cheek, Gordon had disappeared into his room, leaving the couch in disarray.
Shrugging one shoulder, O’Connor goes to pick up the cushions, only for Gordon to reappear with his pillows, which are dropped on the cushion-less couch, and make a gentle shoo-ing motion until Barney leaves the cushions where they lay. A query as to what Gordon is doing has gotten a small smile, but no explanation, so now he simply watches through O’Connor, Calhoun and Jones as Gordon pushes the cushions around on the floor. They end up wedged between couch and TV, then Gordon goes back into his room. Barney shifts, Jones leaning on the wall by the door, and Calhoun and O’Connor leaning over to watch Gordon from slightly different angles.
He is… stripping the blankets off his bed now? These are brought into the living room and deposited on the couch with the pillows. Several parts of Barney suggest that maybe Gordon would like help with… whatever he’s doing, but curiosity and the fact that Gordon would ask for help if he needed it keeps the bodies from interfering.
… There is a measuring tape on the floor of Gordon’s bedroom, which is only noticed because the doctor steps over it, then pauses and grabs it before… measuring the height of his mattress? Nodding resolutely, he brings the tape measure out and set it on top of the TV. Three sets of eyes watch this, Calhoun crossing his arms with a confused pout, O’Connor absently chewing his lip, and Jones crossing one ankle over the other. What on Earth is the doc up to? Is this how the scientists felt watching their little lab rats and other animals run mazes, Barney wonders. Not understanding but hoping that if you watched long enough, it’d make sense? Is Gordon his confusing test subject?
Okay, redirecting those thoughts.
Gordon pauses in the middle of the living room then points at Jones’ shoes before signing and pointing towards the kitchenette.
‘Could you leave your shoes at the door and move over there?’
“Sure, doc,” says Barney, kicking off these bodies’ footwear and bending down to collect them with Calhoun. While Calhoun lines up the work boots by the door, Jones and O’Connor move to the kitchenette. Barney decides to rummage for snacks while Gordon rearranges the couch cushions again. Gordon hasn’t even side eyed him for not offering help, so Barney’s just going to enjoy the view - especially when the good doctor grabs the tape measure and bends over to check on something. Those pyjama pants are surprisingly flattering.
Oop, caught. Gordon rolls his eyes, obviously suppressing a laugh after spotting Barney ogling him from the kitchenette with one body while the other stands on tiptoes to get at the popcorn. Barney adores Gordon, but the five inch difference in height between any of his bodies and Gordon can have minor annoyances.
“Stop putting everything out of reach,” Barney complains through Jones (Still ogling, though.) while O’Connor manages to grab the bag. If Gordon minded being looked at like this, he’d be trying to keep Barney’s bodies grouped where they can’t see anything interesting, not spread around his Dorm where at least one can cop a good look. Which is why Calhoun is now playfully leering from by the door when Gordon glances over at him. Also, making Barney suffer when trying to reach the snacks means he’s allowed compensation in the form of admiring his handsome friend lover boyfriend(!!). Gordon laughs at him in his silent way, then leaves the measuring tape on top of the TV again before heading back into the bedroom. Back to his mysterious task.
When Gordon lets out a huff, trying to lift his mattress, the part(s) of Barney in and focused in the room startle just a little, not wanting him to hurt himself, and Calhoun and Jones scarper over to help with the task. O’Connor helpfully stays out of the way as Gordon is relieved of the mattress.
“Where do you want it?” asks Jones. Gordon walks out of his bedroom and points at the tiny living room’s floor, gesturing that he wants it laid lengthwise alongside the couch’s seat and back cushions. Barney manipulates the mattress into place, having an idea of what Gordon wants now. He’s in favor of the concept of making enough space for more than one body to cuddle Gordon, but the mattress and pillows aren’t like the beds in Barney’s barracks, they won’t hold together.
Of course, science is about testing and trial, so Barney just watches as Gordon goes to the closet and pulls out an armload of sheets. All but one are set on the couch, and Gordon shakes out this first sheet with one arm, using the other to sign.
‘Help me with this?’
Barney nods thrice over, two sets of hands helping Gordon unfold the sheet and then Gordon carefully steps over his makeshift bed-nest and kneels down to tightly tuck the sheet around the couch cushions until they’re forced into a mattress sort of shape. Then he points at the other sheets. Barney can’t help the smiles as he figures out the plan in full, shaking out another sheet and then passing Gordon a corner, Jones stepping across with another.
Between Gordon and Barney’s three bodies, they convert the mattress+wrapped pillows into a much larger bed. The last sheet is laid out but then pushed to the foot of the bed, and Gordon stretches, looking very satisfied. Then he steps over the bed and heads into his room, but this time Barney knows what he’s after. All three bodies are still wearing their work uniforms, sans boots, of course, and there’s three dedicated sets of sleep clothes meant for whatever bodies Barney brings when he sleeps over.
By the time Gordon’s back with the pyjamas, Calhoun and Jones are helping each other out of their uniform shirts. Gordon sets the clothing down on top of the empty couch and steps over to help O’Connor out of his shirt. Several floors down, and behind Gordon’s back, Barney blushes. He helps himself out of his gear all the time, but Gordon doing it flusters him so much that Calhoun and Jones freeze, eyes locked on Gordon’s face and hands as he helps untangle O’Connor from his work clothes. Luckily, when Gordon turns, Barney’s managed to rein in (Redirect, really) his reaction enough that the two bodies there are only slightly flushed, not bright red. Gordon blinks at him, folding O’Connor’s shirt over his arm unthinkingly.
‘What?’
“Nothin,” says Barney, because getting all fluttery over a simple act of affectionate familiarity is ridiculous. “Just enjoying the view.”
Gordon’s brows twitch, but he lets Barney get away with it. Instead, he just folds up the shirt as he walks to deposit on his abandoned bed frame. Barney collects himself, his three sleepy bodies getting changed into the sleepwear, despite decent odds that the pyjamas will end up in the way of potential nighttime activities. Gotta stress-test the new setup, right?
Yawning is involuntary, and a big one from Jones reminds Barney that that body pulled an unexpectedly long shift. He needs to take care of each individual body’s needs so as to not negatively affect the Whole of him, so best get Jones settled. O’Connor watches Gordon put the bed pillows in place and settle comfortably into the middle of the nest they’ve made, and Barney takes a moment to decide how to array the trio of bodies around him.
Calhoun carefully steps over Gordon, grabbing the TV remote in case it’s actually needed, and settles in on Gordon’s left, leaning against his shoulder. Gordon plants a kiss on Calhoun’s cheek, the body’s lips curling into a lazy grin, even as Jones crawls into Gordon’s lap and settles heavily against his torso. Gordon wraps his right arm around his back, settling back against his pillow, and Jones rests his chin on Gordon’s shoulder. O’Connor takes Gordon’s right side, reaching up to idly weave fingers through the scientist’s loose hair. Barney wonders idly, as Gordon leans into the touch, how long it’ll get before Gordon’s forced to cut it. The pony tail is cute.
Another yawn from Jones. His bodies’ yawning isn’t contagious to the others around them or across his network, thankfully, but it is to Gordon, and Gordon yawning is contagious to Barney, so both Calhoun and O’Connor settle with sleepy sighs. There’s nothing that puts any part of Barney to sleep faster than cuddling Gordon, and Barney feels Jones fade peacefully away from him. Its like Gordon's a drug, sometimes. O'Connor brings the bag of popcorn and sets it by Gordon's right hand, since he's trapped under Jones.
Calhoun reaches to nab the sheet at the foot of the ‘bed’ and Gordon’s blankets to cover them all, and Gordon tilts his head to rest it against O’Connor’s shoulder. His signs are slightly spaced out behind Jones’ back, but perfectly legible to Barney, who has had plenty of practice interpreting him from every angle.
‘What do you think?”
“Its real comfy,” says Barney through Calhoun, who uses the remote to see if theres anything actually worth watching. O'Connor's chewing on a piece of bagged popcorn;Barney's still deciding if he likes this flavor. “I'll help you put it back before the next dorm inspection. “
Gordon let out a dramatic sigh. ‘You’ve inspected it plenty.’
“Official one, then,” said O’Connor after swallowing. Gordon grabs a piece and bring it to his mouth, left hand idly rubbing circles on Jones’ back. The body’s eyelids flicker a little, but he doesn’t rouse, based on the fact that Barney doesn’t feel his mind rejoin. Gordon looks put out in a way that Barney knows is teasing, so he lightly knocks O’Connor’s head against the doctor’s to show affection back.
Calhoun turns off the TV. While Barney might have interest in that show about cryptids, he knows full well that Gordon can’t stand pseudoscience. Personally, Barney thinks Gordon shouldn’t discount all of it. After all, if a many-bodied security guard exists at a top secret government-funded research facility, what else might be out there? Gordon’s hands had stilled at that flawless argument, and it’s been over a month since he’d protested to any of Barney’s reading material.
Gordon lets out a deep sigh, causing Barney to glance at him and see that his eyes are fluttering closed, hands stilled on Jones’ back. O'Connor moves the bagged popcorn up behind their heads on the empty couch and leans in to snuggle against Gordon's side. Calhoun snags a piece to chew on, Barney experimenting to see if that flavor is any different with another set of tastebuds. Meh, it's no better or worse. Its alright, but uninteresting, he decides.
He absently pets Gordon's bicep, watching Gordon's face from the other side. God, he's so perfect like this, comfortable and content with Barney surrounding him. It makes Barney feel all fuzzy and warm. He can't help leaning in to kiss his shoulder, pressing his lips in a line down Gordon’s collarbone.
Gordon opens his eyes and turns his head to look at O'Connor, expression fond. Barney plants the last kiss on Gordon’s lips and sighs dreamily a dozen times over as it's returned, Gordon pressing forward as much as he can without disturbing Jones.
Yeah, life's great.