Chapter Text
Mac once again had been overworking themself. They sat at the computer, which they were now freed from. It was well past midnight, and they still hadn’t stopped their crypto analysis or whatever they did. You didn’t really know, yet you didn’t really care, since it payed for your bills. You walked over to them, walking behind them and leaning over their shoulder, wrapping your arms loosely around them and letting them settle just under their chest. They looked up to face you, and once again, they weren’t wearing their glasses. When they were a computer-person-humanoid-thingy, their glasses were simply to stop their screens from burning through due to the excessive use, but now, since being realised, they need to wear them all of the time to properly see, otherwise their vision got blurry after a while, especially considering that they were looking at a screen all day for their job. You frowned at the fact. Mac seemed to notice.
”You appear to be upset. What’s bothering you, my circuit?”
They asked, their voice soft and concerned as they lifted a hand to gently touch the side of your cheek, the touch feather light. You couldn’t help but crack a smile at that. Mac still hadn’t stopped those silly little computer-themed pet names they always tried, not that you seemed to mind, you found them utterly adorable. You flicked their glasses down that were resting on top of their head, almost falling off at the angle their head was at. They blinked a few times, their eyes adjusting to the change before their vision focused on your own gaze, and they let out a small noise of displeasure. Not quite a whine or groan, but somewhere in between.
“Glasses.”
You said simply as you leaned down just a little bit to kiss Mac on their nose. They had light bags under their eyes from their lack of sleep, since they often didn’t recognise their exhaustion. You smiled and ran your hands along them, up to their shoulders, resting on them. You massaged their shoulders a bit, smiling faintly as you felt the tension leave them. Mac sighed as they put their head forward again, letting their hands fall to rest in their lap. They closed their eyes and rolled their head, their neck cracking loudly in protest of movement. They shifted in their wheelchair, sitting up, fixing their posture, and readjusting their feet on the rests under them. They looked back at the screen, about to start typing away again. That was before you moved your hands, reaching over to grab their arms and place them back into their lap. Mac looked back up at you, the dim light of the moon from outside, as well as the light from the monitor illuminating their face. They had a confused look on their face.
”It’d bed time, my darling.”
You state with fondness, yet a firmness in your voice that left no room for argument, knowing that Mac would try and get a little bit longer on whatever project their job assigned to them. You looked at the little clock in the bottom left corner of the screen, seeing it read 1:22 AM. You walked around them to turn off the monitor, watching the screen shut down and go black. Mac didn’t protest as they felt their lover grab the back of their wheelchair, they were far too tired to. You stopped when you got to the stairs.
“Do you think you can walk up, or do you need me to carry you?”
You asked them, offering them the cane that was near the banister of the staircase. You the held neck of it, offering the handle to Mac. They looked at it, the sheer exhaustion of the day finally setting into their bones.
“My systems seem to be shutting down. Could you please assist me?”
You couldn’t help but crack a smile at that, shaking your head softly. Gods, your partner was such a nerd. But nonetheless, you nodded, wriggling your right arm under Mac’s legs, your hand hooking under the one closest to the wall. They raised their arms to wrap around your neck as your other arm wrapped around their back, holding him close.
“Brace yourself.”
You warned as you lifted them up off the wheelchair, holding them close to your chest. Mac’s face flushed slightly at the action, noticing how you didn’t even break a sweat lifting them up off of their wheelchair. You started to walk up the stairs, able to see by the moonlight spilling in through the windows. You soon got to the top, kicking open the door that was just slightly ajar. You gently placed their body onto the bed before walking over to the other side, pulling the blanket back. Mac rolled over into the place before you had the chance to pick them up and move them yourself. They flash you a tired, warm smile.
”Are you going to accompany me in resting?”
They ask, their voice tired and laced with affection. They looked at you expectantly, waiting for you to come into bed and cuddle up to them so they could fall asleep in each other’s arms again, like they always end up doing. You placed a kiss to your spouse’s forehead, your expression warm and fond.
”I’ll be right back, I need to put your wheelchair away, my darling.”
You explain, earning an unhappy look from Mac, but they didn’t say anything, since they knew you’d be back soon. You pulled the blanket over them and left the room to go downstairs. Once you were on the first floor of your house, you folded up their wheelchair, carefully carrying up the stairs as to make sure it didn’t hit anything. You didn’t exactly feel like replacing their wheelchair. You place it into your little storage room by the door, leaning against the wall, ready to be set up when next needed. When you entered back into your bedroom, Mac was already out cold, a soft snore emitting from them. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself. You threw off your jacket and peeled off your jeans, swapping them in favour of a softer, fluffier, pair of pants. You decided to just sleep in your shirt, since it was simply just a back shirt. One of Mac’s. It smelt like them as well. A nice bonus. You were about to slip into bed next to them, when you heard a little squeak coming from your dresser. You debated whether just leaving it, or checking it out.
With a sigh of annoyance, you opened the drawer, and god, were you glad that you did. You saw Mac’s pet mouse, Cheese, in there, rustling around through your old bank statements, as well as exploring your.. toys. God damn it. You’d wash them in the morning, you supposed. But you were still pretty pissed with the animal, since he had chewed a hole through the bottom of your dresser drawer, hence how he got into said drawer. You grabbed him in your palm, the mouse squirming and wriggling around in your hand. You walked over to the wardrobe, opened the door and opened the mouse cage that was on the shelf that Cheese slept in. He must’ve noticed that you were so angry, since when you placed him down in the cage and started closing it up, he placed his little paws(?) on the bars, grabbing them and staring up at you. You couldn’t stay mad at Cheese, you never could. He was too damn cute. And he knew it as well.
You sigh and close the wardrobe. Finally, you step back to your bed, slipping under the covers next to Mac, being EXTREMELY careful to not wake them, determined to let them get their well deserved rest. They didn’t wake, wasn’t even phased by the moved weight in the mattress. They continued snoring. They still had their glasses on. You let a short snort of laughter into your mouth. They were so tired they passed out without even taking off their glasses. You shook your head, gently reaching over and managing to shimmy the spectacles off of them without waking them, though you had a scare when there was a brief pause in their snoring. You exhaled in relief as you finally got them off of the sleeping person. You folded the legs of them in and placed them on to of your night stand, shutting the drawer that you previously forgot to.
You then cuddled further under the duvet, turning to your side. You moved closer to your lover, wrapping your arms around them from behind. You rested your face in their back, snuggling into them. You inhaled, taking in your lover’s scent. You smiled. This was the life you wanted. The life that they wanted as well. That you both wanted.
You drifted off to sleep, your partner in your arms. You could get used to nights like this.