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“CLARK!”
I sigh, pressing my hand to my forehead. I can’t help the laugh that slips out of me at their antics. David and Clark, Clark and David, an inseparable pair.
“DAVID, GIVE IT BACK!”
Oh, it’s definitely that katana. Clark got it in Japan, and I haven’t seen him without it since, unless we’re making videos. There was once he took it on his run, strapped to his waist for ‘practice’. He’s become inseparable from the blade, and it drives David up the wall.
This is the third fight in the last… I check the time… two hours. Honestly, I’m tempted to take it myself and hold it for ransom, just to get them to be quiet. I mean, the plan is in motion… Last night, David plucked it straight out of Clark’s arms in the middle of the night and hid it with the brooms in the kitchen. I’ve never seen Clark so livid–playfully… of course…–and it’s safe to say he won the next few sparring sessions.
“CLAR-fuck-”
A crash comes from the other room, and I reluctantly look away from my spreadsheets to poke my head out of the little room. Clark is pinned to the wooden board with one of David’s knives, I assume a dull one. Thankfully, the taller man is wearing half a set of armour, which he must have been in the middle of dressing into.
David mumbles something under his breath, putting his hands on his hips and sighing, “Clark, I have not touched your katana in the last thirty minutes. Last time I saw it, you were practising outside. I haven’t even seen it since!”
Clark bats the knife away. It caught the edge of one of the fabric layers, in a way I’m sure physics would be able to explain someday. “Well, where has it gone then? It’s not in my room, or your bed, or with Megan, or on the rack, and it’s certainly not with the brooms. Or hidden along the pipeline, or wrapped in a mat, or stuck down behind Fred, or in Flynn’s bed, so where is my katana?”
David holds his hands up. All of the places that Clark just listed are technically places he’s hidden it before, but wrapped in a mat is a new one… At least, as far as I know.
“I swear on-on my… on my scythe that I haven’t seen it.”
Clark falters, loosening his grip on the throwing knife. “On your scythe? Okay, fine.”
David would do anything for that scythe. Reverse-grip scythe? Maybe.
“Do you need help looking?” I ask, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. Both men turn to me, as if forgetting I was there.
“Please,” Clark says, sending a glower at the braided gremlin opposite him. But there’s a trace of his lip tinged with mirth, because none of us can stay mad at each other for very long. Especially when Clark knows that the root of David hiding his katana is because he misses him.
David chucks Clark under the chin and smiles. “Okay. I’ll go check outside.” He pads away towards the doors, pulling on his shoes and waving absentmindedly behind him with a soft, “See ya.”
“I’ll scavenge up the computers. You didn’t bring it anywhere else, no?” I ask, reaching up to tuck Clark’s hair behind his ear. It always falls out, and he’s always brushing it back.
He shrugs. “I take it everywhere with me. Not the grocery store, though.”
I laugh softly, rolling my eyes in affection. “Wonder why. C’mon, we’ll find it. It’s alright.”
Clark nudges my hand with a smile before turning towards the rack of swords again. I smile at his back before turning towards the desks again.
I sit in my chair, reaching under the desk to make sure that the katana is still securely held in place at the edge of the trim. It’s there. All good.
I go towards the door, looking out for David. I walk around the edge of the building, finding him hanging over the edge of a dumpster. I snort and grab his shirt, tugging on it gently. “David, the plan’s–”
“Eep!” He nearly topples into the trash, and I jump and pull him back down. “Eek!” He falls back towards me, making me yelp. We stumble onto the concrete, falling in a heap of limbs and clothing. “Ee-mf!”
When I sit up, I get a mouthful of a raven-haired braid, and the source of said braid topples over my lap.
I pull his braid out of my mouth, looking down on him. “Are you alright?”
He sits up, his forehead pressed against the cold, shaded stone. He looks up at me. “Think so. All thoughts successfully unscrambled eggs. You?”
I brush at his forehead. “All good. You do need to wash your hair, though.”
He grumbles and crouches next to me, combing my hair clear of rocks. “Shut uuuuup.”
I grin, and he pulls me up from the ground. His chest meets mine, and he gazes down at me. I know there’s a bit of blush on my cheeks, not only from the fall. I swallow, reaching up to tuck a loose strand behind his ear. “Your… hair is falling out.”
His thumb faintly traces over my knuckles in a ghost of a movement so light it could be a cloud. “Guess you’ll have to braid it again.”
My eyes dip down to his hair, then to his pink li- to his EYES and back to his hair. I nod. “Yeah, I-I will. But, um, the plan’s going well.”
David smiles. “Technically, I haven’t seen it in thirty minutes…”
I roll my eyes affectionately and bat at his chest. I take a step out of his space, feeling a cold tinge brush over my skin and fingertips despite the warm air. He follows me at a slower pace.
I poke my head inside the building. “Clarko! No sign of it.”
Clark looks out from the corner, Flynn’s bed–with the cat perched atop it almost scandalously–held above his head. Flynn jumps at the sound of the door, making Clark lose his grip on the bed. In a few seconds, Flynn is elegantly loafing on top of the brunette’s face, tail tucked around his legs.
“Mmf! Megmmf! Davimf!!”
David and I laugh for a few minutes before going to help him. He pouts at us, crossing his arms and pushing his bottom lip out. Flynn stretches into his lap before reclaiming his title as Clark Squisher.
“I can’t find it.” Clark mumbles. “I’ve checked every single part of the studio that I can think of, and well, it’s not here.” He glances between us, a part of him angry but also worried.
I rest a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe… take a break? Give your mind a rest?”
He sighs, looking at us gratefully. “Okay, fine. But I’m choosing the anime.”
We beam, both leaning in to kiss him on his cheeks. His face goes a delightful shade of red at that.
~
Clark leaves during the credits of the second episode to go to the bathroom, leaving David, Flynn, and me to smoosh together in the space he left in the middle. The couch is nice and warm, and he really is just a little heater.
He returns with a smile on his face, but his hands are crumpled slightly, as if he fell onto concrete. I shrug, blaming it on the lighting and let him nestle back in the middle.
“Miss me?” He mumbles, tucking David under his arm and letting me snuggle up on his lap.
“Obviously, dumbo.” David reaches over to grab a blanket from the top of the bed, dragging it over us so we’re basically in the middle of the sun.
Clark absentmindedly plays with my hair as the next episode starts, leading Flynn to paw at the end of David’s messy braid. I smile at that, glancing up to see Clark transfixed on the screen while David and I kind of just gaze at him. It’s a weird thing, okay? Don’t judge me.
Eventually, we’re forced to face reality. Or… ignore it. I’m somewhat struggling to keep my eyes open, not because the anime is boring, but because Clark’s fingertips gently massaging my scalp is just really… soothing.
“Are you seriously falling asleep on me right now?”
I press my cheek against his thigh. “Why is my pillow talking?”
A snort answers my question, but the hand in my hair doesn’t stop. David is also asleep against Clark, along with Flynn, so all I hear is a slight mumble about not being a pillow before sleep pulls at me.
~
“Are you two sure you’re getting enough sleep at night?”
I wake to Clark’s voice and a deep, groaned, probably grumpy answer from the raven-haired gremlin currently squinting against non-existent light.
Clark smiles, helping me up. I stretch, pulling my buns out and shaking my head. I stand, cracking my neck slightly and daring to turn on the light. David practically burns to dust like a vampire.
“Oh my God, Megan, why would you do this to meeeeee.”
I laugh softly, tucking him into bed and moving down to the floor. “Yeah, yeah, see you tomorrow. Call it a day.”
David mumbles something about lazy days and then goes muffled, as if beneath a pillow.
Clark and I move outside to our cars, where the Texas sun is low in the sky. “How long did you let us sleep?”
Clark grins. “Hour… or two… you both nearly fell asleep when we were editing.”
I pat him on the back, leaning against his arm. “Fine, fine. Thanks.”
He reaches up to boop my nose. We separate, and I see Clark haul something over his back. He glances back at me, and smiles. He's got that stupid katana at his waist!
“I'll always find it, Megan!”
I scoff and roll my eyes. I'll get that thing one day.
There are plenty of days to come.