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It’s the third night in a row that George can’t. fucking. sleep. Frowning in frustration, he turns over onto his other side—likely for the umpteenth time in the past few hours. He hasn't been counting.
When lying on his right side doesn’t magically make him go the fuck to sleep, he groans. Fuck it, he decides, tossing his sheets aside. Even this deep into the night, he’s sure Dream is still up, but he doesn’t want to chill or talk about their work—he wants to sleep. Having heard exactly zero sounds through the bedroom wall he shares with Sapnap, he pads over into his friend's hallway. Sapnap had half-jokingly told him to come cuddle earlier today, when he had mentioned George’s deepening eyebags.
He had, of course, brushed off the invitation at the time. However, he has reconsidered it! It had sounded like a standing invitation.
Quietly pushing open the door to Sapnap’s dark bedroom, George peers inside. Milo’s little head pops up, big eyes reflecting the dim light from the hallway nightlights. He’s curled up into the crevice between Sapnap’s spread legs. Snoring very softly, his friend doesn’t otherwise stir at George’s intrusion.
Wringing his hands together, George walks to the bedside. As he approaches, Naomi makes a little noise from where she’s lying on Sapnap’s chest. He pets her a couple times, steeling up his nerves. When she starts to purr at the attention, George knows that it’s time.
Carefully prying the fluffy sheets from the bed, George crawls in and under them. He shuffles around until he can lay his head on one of Sapnap’s extra pillows. There are four of them on the bed, which had always seemed excessive to him, even when they had obsessively watched Death Note together in the first few months of his arrival. Those days feel like a lifetime ago now—or perhaps it had only been yesterday. Hard to tell, three-days deep into his current bout of insomnia. Tonight, George is grateful for the extra pillows as he squirms to make himself comfortable.
He’s finally settling in when Naomi makes a little noise and unfurls herself to stretch out. Sapnap groans as she walks across his chest and climbs up onto George's.
Disturbed by Naomi’s movements, his friend grunts and tries to turn onto his side—unsuccessfully, as Milo is still laying between his legs, over the sheets. “Milo,” Sapnap’s voice is rumbly with sleep. “Come here, kitty.”
George tries very hard to stay very, very still, even as Naomi leans over his face to sniff curiously at him. When his friend shifts to reach for Milo, he startles, brushing his shoulder into George’s.
Even in the darkness of the room, George can see Sapnap’s slight smile. Or perhaps he just knows it’s there when he hears him chuckle.
Busted.
Found out, George pulls his arms out of the sheets to better pet Naomi. She happily settles onto his chest. Sapnap gathers Milo—who lets out a pathetic little meow—and deposits him near the pillows so he can bring the excitable cat into his arms as he lays back down. Milo allows it for once, letting Sapnap cuddle him. He’s surprisingly cuddly for how strung up he is.
George breathes slowly and deeply into the quiet room; Naomi’s purring soothes his frazzled nerves.
Only a few minutes later, done with being aggressively cuddled, Milo suddenly escapes Sapnap’s arms—jumping away to loaf on the end of the bed. In the darkness of the room, Sapnap groans in disappointment, but quickly starts giggling again.
“Come here to get some cuddles, kitten?” He asks, his voice teasing.
Tired, George lets out a little grunt in response. He doesn’t move when Sapnap scoots forward to wrap his arms around him and pull him in closer. Usually, he’d put up more of a fight, but he’s already peacefully drifting off to sleep.
Next thing he knows, he wakes to the early morning light. Rested.