Work Text:
Your sleeping issues were no secret to Argalia, especially when you two are sharing a bed every night. He can easily sleep after a rough and tiring day just the same as a normal and inert one while you would toss in bed even if you were to do thousands of push ups beforehand. You envied him for that, to some extent, after all, this nightly problem has been getting into your nerves at this point.
It’s safe to argue that Argalia had also grown quite concerned after seeing how many days passed and no matter how many times he’d say that it’s “maybe workplace stress” and “they’ll go away on their own” won’t cut the problem. You were stubborn, also, and shut down every attempt of his to convince you to seek a specialist thinking that maybe it’s just an “inner clock” inside you that dictates when you shall sleep and wake up. Not to mention that your sleeping patterns would always be unpredictable and leave little space for you two to enjoy each other’s presence in the daytime.
Just this evening, even though it wasn’t that late already, Argalia entered head first in your bedroom and found you intensely staring at a stack of books that wasn’t on your nightstand before.
“Planning to research something soon?” He chuckled as he walked closer to your shared bed, glancing with curiosity at the titles on the spines of the books you’ve stacked on top of each other like a thick, jenga game. Still, you haven’t really paid that much attention to understand his playful tone.
“Well… Since I don’t do a lot during nighttime, I might as well try to finish reading what I keep procrastinating in the daytime..” You explained, letting out a long sigh after finishing your words. “I’ve heard that reading before bed makes you tired. I doubt that it’ll work, but at least I won’t have so many unread books lying around, so there’s no harm in giving it a chance.”
“Since how long have you been having this problem, again?” Argalia asked you, looming a little closer to your place.
“Dunno, weeks at this point.” You explained it like it was a normal thing, but quickly the illusion that the calmness in your tone created was shattered by a more desperate tone. “I’m tired, dear, the boss from my office keeps reprimanding me for the lack of focus, but it’s so hard when I can barely keep my eyes open at times. When I’m almost finished with work, I get so sleepy and I can’t wait to go home and rest but..”
“When you get home, it worms out and you become restless.” The man simply hummed, sitting next to you and looking at the vast collection that you had piled up. You nodded, repressing your frustrations, which he tried to ignore, focusing his attention on your pile, until he noticed a thin book atop of the others.
“The Little Prince?” He asked, although his tone made it sound like an affirmation. “You still haven’t read that?” Continuing, you could distinguish a little surprise on his face. You let out a negative sound, at which Argalia turned to you with a faint grin on his face. “My sister used to read it to me when we were kids, as a bedtime story, it’s genuinely such a nostalgic book.” He noted, reaching out to pick it up. “How about I read it for you this time?”
“Like a bedtime story?” You asked, at which he nodded. “But we’re no longer kids..! And besides, you’ll only end up staying up late for a lost cause. I doubt it’ll help..”
“You never know, (Name). Like you said, it’s worth giving it a chance.” Argalia debated, but you didn’t really feel like arguing back. At least you get to stay a little more with him, given how early he goes to sleep and how fast he falls asleep, anyway. It’s better than spending the rest of the night in loneliness. It felt embarrassing to some extent: being a grown ass adult and still hearing fairytales (or at least, you think The Little Prince is a fairytale, you haven’t really gotten that invested in the book.), nonetheless you couldn’t deny that it would’ve also felt comforting to have your dearest and most beloved Argalia read you something and tuck you to bed. It felt like a guilty pleasure.
“Alright, go on, then.” You encouraged him, at which he rolled to his part of his bed and invited you to rest on his lap, at which you proceeded. You couldn’t deny it, but it felt adorable to have a blanket over you and watch Argalia looming over you with a book in his hand and a warm, gentle smile.
Without saying anything, he slightly combed his hand on top of your hair and leaned over to plant a kiss on your forehead. You got more comfortable, using his body like a pillow as you slightly glanced at the cover of the book.
“Alright!” He chimed, reaching over to dim the lights, creating a darker, but more comfortable atmosphere in your bedroom. Getting himself more comfortable, he gently skimmed through the first (and oftentimes unimportant) pages, until he reached chapter one, then he started speaking in such a soft and hushed voice, forcing his tone to reverberate though your eardrums like a sweet symphony: “Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal…”
His voice continued, and for a certain reason you could barely focus on the main story, but his words only, echoing in your head softly, imagining through closed eyes how Argalia probably looks like now, sitting and reading you from the book. It wasn’t long until you felt a visceral darkness engulf your mind and, before you knew it, you fell asleep.
It was both a relief and a tragedy for Argalia, that barely reached past page 20 and you were already unmoving and unresponsive. He gently folded the edge of the page (hoping that you won’t kill him tomorrow for the literacy vandalism he committed) and sat the book down on his nightstand, now using his hand to gently hold you in your sleep, before reaching to plant you another kiss on your forehead, thinking with pride that this strategy worked.