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The night had fallen on Heaven a couple of hours ago. However, Sir Pentious was still wide awake. It had been one month and a half since his ascension to Heaven, and he hadn’t gotten a single good night sleep since then. Along with his autism diagnosis, he had recently gotten a prescription from his psychiatrist in order to sleep better, but it wasn’t very effective yet.
Well, his insomnia problems weren’t very surprising, considering what he was currently going through. After all, he was the first redeemed sinner, and the angels still had… mixed feelings about it. Emily was trying to handle everything by herself, and he was grateful for that, but he felt like she was hiding too much from him.
And, on top of that, he still had no way to contact his friends. He missed them, he really did. It left a void inside him that grew every day. They were the first ones to actually be kind to him. Especially Charlie. She was so kind. Emily reminded him so much of her. And it felt like he was actually beginning to have a chance with Cherri Bomb! He was finally having hopes of romantic success, and it was stripped away from him. That was really frustrating. If he was honest, he really wanted to feel her touch again.
But the main reason why he was unable to sleep was actually not having his Egg Bois anymore. He had the replacements Emily gave him, and he was very grateful, but it was just not the same. Of course, it was partly because he missed them too, but there was something else. When he was in Hell, Sir Pentious slept with his Egg Bois cuddling him. The sensation of holding them, and being held by them, was comforting. It felt like their weight calmed him down. Sometimes, it was the only thing that made him sleep.
He eventually fell asleep, though.
***
Sir Pentious was awoken by a knock on his door.
“Miss Emily?” He asked.
“Good morning! I have a surprise for you!”
Still sleepy, he got ready and slithered out of the room. Outside, the sun was still rising. Emily was awaiting him in front of the door, smiling ear to ear.
“What did you want to show m…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Emily grabbed his wrist and pulled him back into his room, locking the door.
“Okay, so,” she said, “you have to promise not to tell anyone about this.”
Pentious was a bit nervous, but he knew Emily was trustworthy and had good intentions, so he agreed.
“We both know you’re really really really not supposed to leave Heaven,” she continued, “but I can’t stand seeing you so sad anymore! So, uh… what do you say about, let’s say… ten minutes with your friends?”
Sir Pentious’ eyes lit up.
“Really?” He said, starting to flap his hands. “Of courssse! I’ve missed them so much!”
“Not so loud!” Emily whispered. “Now, let’s go before I change my mind!”
Emily opened a portal, which she entered.
On the other side, Charlie was sitting on the couch, already awake. She quickly stood up when she saw the seraphim.
“Emily? Is everything okay?”
Emily, barely able to contain her excitement, hugged Charlie tight.
“Charlie! Can you please gather everyone?”
“What’s wrong ? Did something bad happen? Are we in danger?”
“No, no, don’t worry! I just have something to show you… or, should I say, someone…”
Charlie took a step back, her eyes widening. She already knew about Pentious having redeemed himself, so she immediately considered the possibility of seeing him again.
“What do you mean?” She asked.
“Just… please tell everyone to come here right now! We don’t have much time!”
As Charlie ran out of the room, Emily turned around and looked through the portal, gesturing at Sir Pentious to come with her. Feeling a mix of excitement and anxiety (another thing he had been diagnosed with), he followed her.
He nervously fidgeted with his hands while he heard footsteps.
“Charlie,” said the voice of Husk, “it’s five in the morning, you better have a good reason for waking us up, or else I’m gonna…”
Husk stopped in his tracks when they all entered the living room.
“Hello, friendsss…” Pentious said, awkwardly waving. “I have 10 minutes I can spend with you…”
Charlie immediately rushed to hug him as tight as she possibly could.
“Ouch” Pentious said.
“SIR PENTIOUS, I’VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH, YOU CAN’T IMAGINE HOW GLAD I AM TO SEE YOU AGAIN, I REALLY THOUGHT WE HAD LOST YOU FOREVEEEEER!”
Vaggi (formerly Vaggie) gently grabbed her girlfriend by the shoulder and guided her away from Pentious.
“Charlie,” she said, “we’re all incredibly relieved, but don’t you think we should let him breathe a little?”
“You’re right” she replied, taking a deep breath.
Once Charlie had calmed down, Sir Pentious addressed his friends.
“Guysss… I have something to tell you. I… I am autissstic. That means I have strong interests I focus greatly on, and I have trouble with socializing… and I have sensory issssues… and that’s also why I like to flap my hands a lot. I got my diagnosis in Heaven.”
There was a moment of silence.
“You literally died in front of us, we haven’t seen you in person in over a month, and THIS is seriously the first thing you tell us?!” Cherri Bomb laughed, her voice slightly trembling. “Come here, you idiot.”
She wrapped her arm around his neck and rubbed the top of his head with her other hand’s knuckles, then pulled him into a hug. Sir Pentious could feel his face getting hotter.
“You guys… really don’t care?” He said, taking a step back. “Like… you’re not gonna sssee me differently now?”
“To be honest,” Husk said, “I kinda thought you already knew.”
“Oh.”
Lucifer cleared his throat.
“Wait a second. I don’t mean to doubt your diagnosis, but it’s just a bit… weird that the behaviors you’re describing also somewhat apply to me, and… oh fuck. Well, that’s a question for another day. For now, welcome back, Pentious.”
As Sir Pentious was enjoying talking to all his friends again, Emily pulled Charlie aside.
“Oh, and while we’re here… Charlie, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, what’s wrong?”
“When he was staying at the hotel, did Sir Pentious have… trouble sleeping?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he insists he’s not tired, but I don’t really buy it anymore. Plus, I’ve read that autistic people tend to have sleep issues.”
Charlie thought for a second.
“It’s true that he often stayed up late to build his machines,” she chuckled, “even when we told him to tone it down. Now that I think about it, he never seemed to get a lot of sleep.”
“And, uh… do you have any ideas why he couldn’t sleep ?”
“I’m not sure. First off, he really is the anxious type, so this explains that. And also… he often complained about the blankets.”
“The blankets?”
“He found them too itchy for his liking, and he also kept saying they weren’t heavy enough. I never understood that, I kept giving him the fluffiest ones I could find, but it still didn’t do the trick for him!”
Charlie laughed.
“I really wish I could see him more. I miss him.”
“I understand. If that makes you feel better, I can assure you that he says the same about you guys. All the time.”
“Oh, really? That’s so sweet!”
After a few seconds, Charlie put her hand on Emily’s shoulder.
“Maybe you can try making him herbal tea? My girlfriend started making some for me when she found out I was currently having a slight insomnia problem.”
“Got it. Thanks, Charlie!”
As the 10 minutes were up, Emily turned back to Sir Pentious and opened the portal to Heaven.
***
The sun was setting on Heaven. Emily was still outside, waiting in line at a shop. She had a gift she wanted to give to her snake friend. She knew she could just materialize it herself with her magic, but she preferred to just buy one, because she didn’t really know about these objects before and was scared to mess it up if she tried creating it.
Eventually, it was her turn, and the cashier, who was a cat angel, looked at her nervously.
“Emily? Is… is that you?”
Emily was used to this kind of reactions when she went to town. Being a seraphim, she was pretty famous in Heaven, to say the least.
“Ah, don’t worry, you can just call me Em, Emi, E, whatever you want!”
“Uh… okay, so, what would you like to buy?”
Emily pointed towards the object she wanted to gift to Sir Pentious.
“Will this be all?” The cashier asked, wrapping it in a big gift package.
“Yes! Thank you very much, have a good day!”
The heavy package in her hands, Emily flew to Pentious’ house. She landed in front of his door and knocked on it.
“Emily?” The snake asked, opening the door.
“I have another surprise for you today!”
She entered the room and extended both her arms, handing him the package.
“Open it! It’s a gift from me!”
Sir Pentious grabbed the box, placed it on the floor and carefully unwrapped it. He opened the lid to find what looked like a blanket.
“Is that a… blanket? I… I already have one…”
“Take it out of the box!”
Emily was smiling widely. Sir Pentious grabbed the blanket and started to pull it out of the box, but it was heavier than he expected. Trying to lift it, he fell down on his back, with the blanket on him. It was really, really heavy. The sensation of it holding him down was almost comforting.
“What… is thisss?”
“It’s a weighted blanket! I’ve read about it online. It’s supposed to help autistic people sleep.”
He smiled. It felt like it was exactly the thing he didn’t know he needed all this time.
Emily helped Sir Pentious lift the blanket off him and put it onto his bed.
“Oh!” She said. “And one last thing, before I forget…”
This time, she felt confident enough to use her magic to materialize a cup of herbal tea.
“Maybe this will also help you go to sleep.”
She handed him the cup. As he took sips, he looked at her, smiling.
“Thanks for caring.”
“No problem, that’s what’s friends are for! Good night, Pen, and don’t forget to tell me tomorrow if it worked!”
As Emily left the house, Sir Pentious put the cup on his bedside table and got under his new blanket. It truly felt amazing. If he had known that things like this existed, he would’ve bought one so much earlier. Feeling safe and comforted by the weight, he slowly drifted to sleep.