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The base would always be the quietest whenever Sage was around.
There were two reasons. For one, everyone respected Sage’s wish for a bit of peace and quiet. She worked the best without any distractions putting her off, always doing too much for the protocol despite everyone’s insistence for her to take a break. Although she agreed - maybe she did need a break every now and then before she burnt out from stress - she liked it better that way. No time to pause, meaning no time to think too much.
Though the main reason why, was what Reyna jokingly called, her ‘nocturnal behaviour’.
It started out as a slip up one night, the last report had took too long and she had decided to sacrifice a few hours of sleep to get the proposal finalised. Then another, when she had forgotten to prune Omen’s bushes for him whilst he had been away on mission. Despite his reassurance that it was okay for her to forget, Sage never went back on a promise. Later that night after the apology, she had tossed and turned way too many times to count. After finally giving in to the itch, she had gotten out of bed just to finish what she had promised - a greenhouse of perfectly pruned plants. So much that she probably had accidentally cut up some of Skye’s plants without knowing.
Over time however, it didn’t feel so bad to skip out on a few hours of sleep. It was barely noticeable. She could get more done, leave less work to do in the day so she could relax and.. well… do her work slower..
Everyone else says it didn’t count, but she thought it very much so counted as taking a break by slowing down a little, even if she was still technically working.
Eventually, it turned into a bad habit. Most of the time, she just lost track of time and forgot to go to bed, always recompensing on hours lost during the journey to the mission site or a quick power nap and a coffee to get her through the day.
Embarrassingly, she had once - and only once - fell asleep mid-meeting, but had vowed never to do it again.
Now she spent most days sneaking in a nap in the med bay and sleeping through flights; the others never had the heart to wake her up, even if it meant setting up camp with one less pair of helping hands.
Today was no different. Apart from how her day ended, she supposed.
Sage rubbed her temple in frustration, half asleep at the desk as her eyes glazed over the document again. The harsh, overhead lighting was starting to make her head hurt, black spots painting over her vision every now and then as her eyes threatened to droop despite her efforts. Her eyelids felt heavier, body more sluggish even whilst trying to pick up a pencil.
Skimming the words on the page again, her eyes caught sight of a phrase, one that very closely reminded her of Viper as she bit down a laugh. It wasn’t even funny, but Sage couldn’t help it as she could practically see Viper’s disapproving glance materialising in the page.
Before she could go any more insane, her attention was brought back to the clock. The melodious ticking being the only source of sound other than her own breathing, both agitating her and calming her.
She hadn’t even noticed time catching up to her so quickly. The clock hand had just struck four, and finally, she decided to call it a night. Or morning.. technically…
She gripped the edge of the armrest, intending to push herself up but remained rooted to the spot. Her body refused to move like paralysis, too exhausted to catch up to her mind as she slumped back in the seat again with a sigh. After an internal war within herself to fall into the comfort of her bed or stay sat in the cramped office, she decided to remain. She was too tired to move after all.
Later in the day, she would probably wake up with the worst neck cramps ever, but that would be a problem for the future.
Just as she closed her eyes and dozed off, footsteps echoed in the halls outside and Reyna walked in, “You’re still here?” She asked with surprise, greeted at the unexpectant sight. It was a known fact that Sage had often stayed up late, but she had never known for how long until today.
Reluctantly, Sage opened her eyes again and lifted her head off the desk to look at Reyna. Her bangs draped over her eyes like a curtain, shielding half her vision but she made no effort to fix it.
She squinted and rubbed her eyes to look again. Mostly to make sure the duellist was real and she hadn’t started imagining things.
“I lost track of time, I guess.” She sighed, dropping her head back in her arms again. It was late, almost sunrise, but she didn’t have the energy to ask why Reyna was awake too. It wasn’t like it was often. If it was, Sage would know - and most definitely nag Reyna about sleeping better.. and turning a blind eye to herself.
“Are you just going to sleep like that?” Reyna asked. There was a hint of concern in her voice, something not often heard from Reyna - who always kept her emotions to herself.
“Yes.”
“You’re going to wake up with cramps everywhere, go back to your room.”
Sage shook her head stubbornly, “No thank you, I quite like it here.”
“You won’t when you can barely move your neck without being in pain,” Reyna warned, but there was no sarcasm in her voice this time, her expression dead serious.
“Carry me.” She snarked half-heartedly. It was only supposed to be a jab, said to make Reyna give up and leave her to her back pain, but Reyna was not one to back down from a challenge.
The silence between them was long, with Sage refusing to open her eyes again assuming Reyna would just leave, but she didn’t. Reyna opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again as her face morphed into determination. Without another word, she dragged the chair away from the desk, forcing Sage to sit back up and earning a mutter of protest.
After a brief struggle, Reyna managed to pick up Sage, the healer hung over her shoulder loosely like a cloak. She flicked the light switch off, drowning the room in darkness as she walked off towards their quarters.
“You’re warm.” Sage commented sleepily, arms wrapping around the other woman’s shoulder tighter. A lazy smile played at her lip, content from the comfort of Reyna’s steady heartbeat against her ear.
“And you really need sleep.” Reyna shot back, holstering her up a little higher just as she began to slip, “Where’s your key?” She asked, reaching Sage’s room door.
“In the medbay.”
Reyna paused for a moment, giving Sage the opportunity to admit it was just a joke and brandish a key to her room. The universe was the one that played a joke instead.
“Don’t you have a spare somewhere?” Reyna asked hopefully.
“Don’t know.”
Reyna fought back a protest. “My room?”
“Yes please.”
With the agreement, she continued on down the corridor until she reached her own room. The key was conveniently placed under her mat, not exactly hidden very well but Reyna didn’t mind. She knew no one would dare to step into her room, not unless they were stupid enough to try.
They entered Reyna’s room, and Sage was gently set down on the bed. Without a word, Reyna pulled the cover over her and turned off the bedside lamp as she headed to the bathroom to change.
They had to share a bed, Reyna being too much of a gentleman to make Sage sleep on the floor yet too prideful to take the floor herself. Each of them took one side of the bed, the bed large enough to leave a good amount of space between them as Reyna resisted the urge to glance at her.
The bed dipped behind Reyna, a heavy weight settling right behind her. Reyna slowly turned around, almost shy as she came face to face with Sage. They were only inches apart, close enough to feel the warmth of Sage’s breath against her skin as she swallowed hard.
“Go to sleep.” Reyna murmured softly. Sage only hummed in response, but her gaze turned to the glow of Reyna’s chest, the dim, purple glow illuminating off her face.
“Sorry, cariño, I can’t turn that one off.” A hand went up over the soft light, covering her heart. The room went dark again, saved for the glow of her chest peeking through the crevices of her fingertips. Sage gently wrapped a hand around hers, pulling the hand away to reveal the light again.
“Don’t worry, I like it.”