Chapter Text
Simon tossed and turned in his and Grace’s shared bed. Grace was luckily in the lab, so he wouldn’t have to see Simon’s thrashing. He was working on…something. Grace had told him about it but Simon wasn’t paying attention; he was too tired and only thinking about the soft comforts of their warm bed. Simon opened his eyes, glared at the ceiling, and let out a frustrated sigh. He had everything he needed to fall asleep: he was tired, it was dark, and he was in bed. But…he didn’t have Grace. Maybe that was the issue?
Simon grabbed Grace’s pillow and curled his body around it, closing his eyes. He breathed in and willed all his restless thoughts away, embracing the sweet release of sleep.
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That didn’t work.
Goddammit.
Simon growled and opened his eyes. He got up from the bed, leaving the pillow, and glared at the offending mattress. It looked…barren. It didn’t look comfortable at all, even though he had been sleeping on it fine before now. Simon ignored the memories of staring at the ceiling and catching wisps of restless sleep. He was so tired. He just wanted to sleep. Maybe another blanket would help. He was cold, after all.
Huffing an exhausted breath, Simon went out into the living room and to the closet where they kept all their blankets. He opened it, wincing at the loud creaking of the hinges, and glared at the options. There were bath towels, beach towels, hand towels, thick wool blankets, thin cotton blankets, quilts, comforters, a lone pillowcase-
Overwhelmed, Simon scoffed and blew a stray piece of hair out of his face. He closed his eyes and sucked in frustrated breath when it landed on his extra teeth. He opened his eyes and blinked very slowly, slightly pissed off. Grabbing all of the blankets, he trudged back to the bedroom with his haul, footsteps heavy. He dumped the blankets on his nightstand and began to unfold and lay them flat on the mattress. It was difficult to do with one hand, so eventually he gave up and threw the remaining blankets on. The ceaseless thoughts ebbed slightly upon looking at the mound but didn’t truly go away. Simon huffed and threw down a particularly offensive piece of fabric in annoyance. That felt…better. Simon stared at the heap on his nightstand before practically lunging at it and began to rearrange the blankets onto the bed.
In no time at all, Simon blinked and stepped back. He had formed all the blankets into a circle. The thickest blankets lined the bottom of the circle, while the thinner but softer ones ran around the edge. Grace’s quilt from Earth was resting beside the mess of blankets, waiting to be pulled over.
A small, tired smile spread across Simon’s face and his chest rumbled. This was new thing, this “purring” as Grace theorized it was, but Simon was too fucking tired to even begin to spiral from it happening again. Even with all the blankets in the house on it, the bed still looked empty and like it was missing something. Simon scratched his chin absentmindedly, careful to avoid the sharp teeth on his cheek. Grace. He was missing Grace. Simon’s chest ached from the purring as he stalked out of the room and toward the lab, his steps deathly quiet. He entered and stopped for only a moment to admire his angel’s work. Grace was sitting at the desk, hunched over a microscope with his back turned toward the door. There were multiple whiteboards, all covered in writing, his laptop, and various notebooks strewn around the place. Simon stepped through the mess carefully and walked up to Grace, wrapping his arm around the blond’s torso and resting his chin on his shoulder. Simon purred again, this time louder.
“S-Simon!” Grace exclaimed, startling violently. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to sleep?” Grace tried to turn toward Simon, but the one-armed man’s grip was too strong.
Simon didn’t respond for a second. He had many things he wanted to say but his mouth wouldn’t let him. He opened and closed it before simply saying “Couldn’t.” His voice was deep and gravelly with sleep (or lack thereof).
“…Can I help?” Grace, ever so ready to solve a problem, asked. He patted Simon’s arm in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.
Simon didn’t respond this time, his head was too full of words and this god awful purring was making his chest tight. He just wanted to go to sleep. Simon turned his face into Grace’s neck and breathed in his scent softly. He always smelled like cinnamon and vanilla, no matter what he did. It calmed his anxious mind somewhat.
Grace sat still, waiting for a response, before smiling and patting Simon’s head. The blond smiled as Simon unconsciously leaned into it. “Are you…purring?”
Simon’s arm squeezed Grace tighter and he buried his face deeper in embarrassment before nodding. The purrs got slightly louder.
Grace chuckled softly, absentmindedly scratching Simon’s scalp. He suddenly yawned, causing Simon to flinch. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to frighten you. I didn’t realize how tired I was until you came in…” Grace trailed off, blinking slowly.
Simon lifted his head and stared at the desk. “N-“ he cleared his throat, that wasn’t what he wanted to say-“bed?” His voice was still gravelly.
“Yeah, I can go to sle- Simon!” Grace yelped as Simon quickly spun the chair around and wrapped his arm around Grace’s middle again. Grace reared back slightly upon seeing Simon’s pupils were blown wide. “Are you okay?” Grace sounded worried.
Simon shook his head out, as if trying to get rid of a fly. “Nest.”
“N-nest? Wha-“ Grace was cut off by Simon lifting him into the air and out of the chair. Grace’s arms shot out to loop around Simon’s neck as he began to stomp to the bedroom. “Simon! Please put me down, I can walk!”
Simon growled low in his throat and Grace clamped his mouth shut. Simon barged into the bedroom and deposited Grace in the middle of the nest.
“What is this?” Grace asked, looking at Simon’s handiwork. He ran his fingers over the rim.
Simon didn’t answer, instead choosing to close the door and turned back to the bed. He stared as Grace admired the nest, waiting for his reaction. Something in him told him that if Grace didn’t accept it, he’d failed as a mate (when did he start thinking of them like that? Something for morning Simon to think about).
Grace scooted to one side of the nest and finally, finally, looked up at Simon. He was standing stock still, just…watching. It was a little unnerving, especially when his eyes glinted in the darkness. Grace patted the space next to him. “Come lay down.”
Simon let out the breath he was holding and all the tension in his body released. He smiled softly and trudged over to the nest, climbing in.
Grace laid down facing Simon. “This is really comfy.”
Simon nodded and grabbed the comforter before lying down. He pulled it over them and sighed contentedly.
“Wanna talk about it?” Grace asked tentatively. He rested his hand in between their faces.
Simon took it and squeezed. “‘N the mornin’,” he grumbled.
Grace smiled. “Okay. Goodnight.”
Simon closed his eyes.
It was the best sleep he’d ever had.