#lukaxel

His body’s moving, just not quitethe way he’d like it to, too sluggish and out of it to properly use.

And what is this terrible thing,dragging him down?

Most times, he’d be willing to chalkit up to more writer’s block, the last bits of it clinging on desperately likecobwebs and trying to slow him down, and try to work through it, but what itreally is, really honestly is, is his own body trying to sabotage him. It needssleep more than it seems to realize he needs to write. The dark lighting,soothing and cool and too inviting just beyond the edges of the dyingcandlelight, does not help, and the ticking of the clock that’s bled intogeneral background noise is too rhythmic for this late.

The other bad thing about beingso out of it has far too much to do with his dulled awareness of just abouteverything, including the person behind him, until he’s jolted out of his innergrousings by a hand on his shoulder and a growl from both behind and above him.

(It may not even be a growl somuch as a twisted, hissed, exhausted and exasperated sigh, but all the same, hefreezes up, because it’s what he’s good at and his brain isn’t that fogged upyet.

Oops.)

“What the heck are you doingup?”

And Lukas does have a genuinereason, and it’s a good excuse.

At least, it’s a good excuse tohim.

When he is very, very sleepdeprived, and still somehow capable of realizing how very, very screwed he isas his brain wakes up just enough to realize it’s not going to be any good toanybody else.

“I got an idea for how toshift into this chapter before I could fall asleep, and it just wouldn’t leaveme alone, so…” It gets him a blink, to be fair, which means it’s enoughthat Axel hasn’t just outright tackled or throttled him yet, and Lukas rubs atone of his eyes as he gives a tired smile, sinking into what he can of what’sbecome an increasingly uncomfortable wooden chair. “Ready to kill me yet?”

“Thinking about it.”There’s a tired sigh that’s joined by an equally weary smile as Lukas somehowfinds himself in a hug. “C'mere.”

To be fair, there’s not muchactual movement on Lukas’s part. He’s barely had enough time to blearily blinkbefore he’s scooped up, arms wrapping around him as his quill and journal fallwith a thump onto the now empty chair.

Twisting only somehow gets himcurled up even closer and tighter, fingers digging into Axel’s hoodie as hiseyes shut and dammit his body is working against him again, why does Axel haveto be so warm and sturdy there’s something unfair about all of this.

Even Lukas’s attempted grumbleabout it comes across as a tired, slurred little hum.

Some nights he just can’t win.

This, as is becoming abundantlyclear in the best and worst of ways, is one of those nights.

“At this rate, your bigbrain is gonna kill you before I can.” Lukas smiles again at that, evenas Axel continues to carry him.

It’s not to say it’s thatcomfortable a fit, given how sleepy and tired both of them seem to be, nevermind half asleep and unfortunately moving, but curled up and with his footsticking out at an odd angle or not, it’s still somehow cozy.

(Lukas may or may not just benuzzling him at this point, he doesn’t know, but he’s pretty sure he didn’tstart until Axel got them up the stairs. Added movement while doing somethinglike that probably would’ve gotten them both killed, or at least snapped theirnecks and left them there until Ivor found them and killed them himself. Pointbeing, though, that the nuzzling helps and seems pretty nice, even if he reallyis only half awake and with delayed, sleepy responses.)

“I didn’t know I was thatsmart.”

The door to Axel’s room creaksopen, Lukas only knowing it’s his by the odd, lingering combined scent of gunpowderand chocolate. It’s too dark to tell much else and he’s too tired to try, andAxel leaving the lights off both hurts and helps.

“Of course you are.”There’s a snort as Lukas’s hair is ruffled before he’s dropped unceremoniouslyonto the bed, Axel already moving over to wherever he left his nightshirt (ontop of the dresser instead of under it this time, which is progress).“You’ve got to be pretty clever to be able to get away with making doughon stories everybody already knows.”

Lukas manages to crawl under thecovers, half shrugging as he rests his head on one of the pillows, the desireto actually sleep tugging hard at him again.

“If I didn’t do it, somebodyelse would.” He smiles as he watches Axel. “I don’t know, isn’t itbetter if I let people know what actually happened instead of just doingnothing while greedy people make stuff up and spread lies? I mean, it’s notlike I’m writing stuff that never happened.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Axelpauses, halfway out of the hoodie, before he yanks the rest of it off, givingLukas a flat look as he does. “You’re seriously still worried about that,aren’t you?”

Lukas is just sleepy enough thathe knows the tone, suspicious and tired, isn’t good, he just also doesn’t knowwhy it’s there.

“What?” Lukas blinks upat Axel, squinting a bit as Axel tosses off his shirt and replaces it with theequally familiar but more well-worn and faded nightshirt.

“Being some kind of liarlike Soren.”

“He was my idol!” He’sthought about this enough that he knows he has fair reason to be worried, butit’s not the strongest part of his defense and the way it comes across as asmall, mumbled half-whine doesn’t help either.

“That does it.” Lukasends up getting a face full of Axel’s hoodie as it’s tossed at him, and somehowthe idea of throwing it back turns into balling it up and just sort of clingingto it because it’s soft and nice to cling to. “Stop thinking before yougive yourself a heart attack.”

“That’s a little hard.”

“You’re nothing likehim.” The mattress dips as Axel sits down beside him, and by the time he’slying down a moment later, Lukas has already found a comfortable way to clingto him and the hoodie. “I thought you’d have figured that out bynow.”

“I already got the cowardpart down.”

Lukas thinks he means it as ajoke, and when he says it, it’s light enough, but the words themselves aren’tlight enough to work that way and his hair ends up ruffled again as Axel sighsand pulls him closer.

“A smart coward would know when to shut up and go to sleep.”

Still, there’s a smile on hislips as he shuts his eyes, turning enough to rest his head against Axel’schest.

“Never.”