Work Text:
Nagi's sleep schedule had never been particularly impressive.
Reo had tried to fix it. He failed btw jsyk incase youre not gonna read
He had tried making Nagi go to bed earlier. He had tried taking his phone away. He had tried setting alarms, establishing routines, bribing him with breakfast, and, once, physically standing in the doorway of their bedroom at midnight and saying, "Sei, bed..now."
Nagi had looked at him from the couch.
"Five more minutes-uuh.."
"Its 12:30."
"Exactly. Five more minutes." Boii
He didnt sleep that night jsyk
So, really, Reo wasn't surprised when Nagi was completely exhausted the following afternoon. What Reo hadn't expected was for Nagi to insist that he was "totally awake" and then proceed to sit on the living-room floor with their daughter so they could play with her collection of little toys.
Im not either
"Look, Daddy," she said excitedly, holding up a tiny figure. "She's going to the store!"
"Mhm."
"And then she sees this one..!"
"Mhm."
"And then-"
Nagi yawned.
She stopped.
"Daddy?"
"I'm listening."
"But..you yawned.."
"I can listen and yawn.."
"You can..?"
"Uh..i think."
She accepted this explanation immediately and continued.
"And then she buys a cake!!"
"Cool..."
"And then she goes home.."
"Mm.."
"And then...?"
She waited.
Nagi was sitting with his back against the couch, one hand loosely holding the little toy she'd given him. His eyes had closed, though.
"Daddy?"
Nothing.
She stared at him.
"Daddy?"
Nothing.
Her smile disappeared.
She crawled closer and poked his arm.
"Daddy..."
Still nothing.
She poked him again, harder this time.
"Daddy! Wake up!"
Nagi remained completely motionless.
Her eyes widened.
"...Daddy?"
She looked at his face.
Then his chest.
Then his face again.
"Daddy?"
Her lower lip started trembling.
"N-no, no, no..."
She scrambled to her feet and ran toward the hallway as fast as her little legs could carry her.
"Papa!"
Reo heard hurried footsteps.
Then his daughter appeared around the corner, looking absolutely horrified.
"Papa!"
Reo immediately put down what he was holding.
"What happened?"
"D-Daddy..."
She was breathing too quickly now, struggling to get the words out.
"Daddy's... D-Daddy's..."
Reo's expression changed.
"What happened to Daddy?"
"H-he... he stopped..."
"Stopped what?"
"He stopped t-talking and he... he won't..."
Her voice cracked.
"D-Daddy's dead!"
Reo froze.
"...What?"
"D-DADDY'S DEAD!"
"He is not-"
"H-he stopped talking!"
She grabbed both of his hands, tears already welling up in her eyes.
"I-I talked to him and he didn't answer me and I-I poked him and he still didn't answer and he's n-not moving and Papa, I-I think Daddy died!"
"Oh, sweetheart..-"
"Y-you have to come!"
She dragged him down the hallway with surprising strength.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming. Slow down-!"
"N-NO, PAPA, HURRY!"
Reo followed her into the living room.
Nagi was exactly where she'd left him.
Still sitting against the couch.
Still holding the tiny toy.
Still completely asleep.
Reo stopped.
There was a long silence.
Then he closed his eyes.
"Oh my god..."
His daughter immediately pointed at Nagi.
"SEE?!"
"He's sleeping."
"N-no, he's not!"
"He is."
"But he won't wake up!"
Reo crouched beside Nagi.
"Sei."
Nothing.
"Sei..."
Nagi's head shifted slightly.
His daughter gasped.
"HE MOVED!"
Reo nearly laughed.
"Yeah, because he's asleep."
"Daddy!"
She rushed over and grabbed Nagi's hand.
"Daddy, wake up!"
Nagi's eyebrows twitched.
"...Mm?"
Her entire face immediately brightened.
"HE'S ALIVE!"
Nagi opened one eye.
"...Huh?"
She threw her arms around his side.
"I THOUGHT YOU DIED!"
Nagi stared at her.
Then at Reo.
Then back at her.
"...I was sleeping."
"I KNOW THAT NOW!!"
Reo had to cover his mouth.
Nagi looked genuinely confused.
"Why would I die.?"
"Because you stopped talking!"
"I was tired..."
"You scared her half to death, Sei."
Nagi blinked slowly.
"...Sorry." you cant be serious dude
Their daughter sniffled.
"Don't do that again."
"M'kay..."
Reo shook his head, still smiling.
"Come on, my treasure. You're going to bed."
Nagi frowned.
"Don't wanna move."
"You nearly gave our daughter a heart attack."
"M'sorry..."
"And you're still half asleep."
"Mm..so what..?"
Reo carefully helped him to his feet.
Their daughter followed closely behind them, still keeping an eye on Nagi as though he might suddenly expire again.
"He's walking," she whispered.
Reo glanced at her.
"Yes."
"Okay."
"He's fine."
"Okay..."
Nagi took one step.
Then another.
He made it about halfway down the hallway.
"Sei?"
No answer.
Reo looked over.
Nagi was standing perfectly still.
His eyes were closed.
His head had drooped forward.
"...Sei?"
Nagi swayed slightly.
Their daughter gasped.
"No...!"
Reo immediately reached for him.
"Nagi-"
Nagi simply folded downward, completely asleep on his feet.
Reo caught him before he could hit the floor.
Their daughter screamed.
"DADDY DIED AGAIN!!"
"HE DID NOT DIE!"
"HE WAS WALKING AND THEN HE STOPPED!"
"Because he's asleep!"
"YOU- YOU SAID HE WAS FINE!"
"He is fine!"
"But he just fell!"
"I KNOW!"
Reo was now holding Nagi upright, staring at the completely unconscious man in disbelief.
"Sei..."
Nagi's head rested heavily against his shoulder.
"...Mhm?"
"You fell asleep standing up."
"...I did?"
"Yes, you did..."
Their daughter sniffled.
"Is he really okay?"
Reo looked at her.
"Yes. I promise."
"...Pr-promise promise?"
"Promise promise."
She looked suspiciously at Nagi.
"Then why does he keep dying?"
"He isn't dying."
"He looks dead!"
"He's just really, really sleepy."
Nagi mumbled against Reo's shoulder.
"...Five minutes..."
Reo stared at the ceiling.
"I swear to god."
Their daughter immediately pointed.
"See?! He said five minutes! He's alive!"
Reo laughed despite himself.
"Yup, he's alive."
With considerably more effort than necessary, Reo got Nagi into the bedroom.
The moment Nagi was finally lying down, he reached out.
"...Reo."
"What?"
"Come here."
"I'm right here."
"No. Here..."
He made a vague grabby motion toward the other side of the bed.
Reo sighed, already smiling.
"You want to be held?"
"Mhm.."
Their daughter giggled nervously from the doorway.
"Daddy wants Papa."
Nagi, already half-asleep, nodded.
"Mhm.."
Reo laughed quietly.
"Okay, okay. My treasure gets his cuddles."
He climbed into bed beside him.
Nagi immediately shifted closer, practically folding himself against Reo with a sleepy sigh. After a moment, though, he seemed to reconsider and tugged weakly at Reo's shirt.
"Turn around..."
"Hm?"
"I wanna cuddle you."
Reo's expression softened.
"Oh?"
"What...?"
"Nothing, nothing."
Reo settled down and turned onto his side, letting Nagi curl comfortably in front of him. Then he wrapped both arms around him, pulling him into a warm, secure embrace.
Nagi relaxed almost instantly.
"There..."
Reo adjusted the blanket over both of them.
"You comfortable, Sei?"
"Mhm."
"Good."
Nagi was quiet for a few seconds.
Then,
"Reoo..."
"What?"
"Don't go."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"M'kay..."
Reo rested his chin lightly against Nagi's hair.
"Go to sleep, my treasure."
Nagi gave a tiny, sleepy hum.
Their daughter was still standing in the doorway.
She stared at her father for several seconds.
Then she whispered, "Daddy?"
Nagi didn't answer.
Her eyes widened.
She immediately looked at Reo.
"Papa..."
Reo sighed.
"He's sleeping."
"...R-really?"
"Really."
"He's not dead?"
"Not dead."
She stared at Nagi for another few seconds.
Then she cautiously approached the bed and poked his cheek.
Nothing.
She looked horrified again.
"Papa..."
Reo immediately grabbed her hand before she could panic.
"He's breathing, sweetheart. He's okay."
She watched Nagi for a moment.
Then Nagi shifted slightly and pulled the blanket closer around himself.
Her eyes widened.
"He moved!"
Reo smiled.
"See?"
She let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Ohhh..."
Then she leaned closer.
"Daddy?"
Nagi's sleepy voice barely came through.
"...Night."
Her whole face lit up.
"Good night, Daddy!"
She turned to Reo.
"He's alive."
Reo snorted.
"Yes, sweetheart. He's alive."
"Good."
She carefully gave Nagi's hair one tiny pat.
"But he can't sleep standing up again."
Reo nodded solemnly.
"Agreed."
Nagi mumbled something from under the blanket.
Neither of them could understand it.
Their daughter narrowed her eyes.
"...What did he say?"
Reo smiled.
"Probably something about five minutes."
She gasped.
"NO MORE FIVE MINUTES!!"
Nagi didn't respond.
He was already completely asleep.
Reo laughed and pulled the blanket a little higher around him.
"Yeah, yeah. Sleep, my treasure..."
Tomorrow, Reo was fixing that sleep schedule.
Probably el am ay oh🤣