#transfjord

Midnight watch was generally something disliked by the entirety of the Mighty Nein. It meant sleeping for a couple hours at most and having to deal with waking up, staying up, then attempting to fall back asleep at three or four after waking the morning watch. It meant being exhausted and strangely hungry, and oftentimes silly if not borderline delirious from said exhaustion. 

Jester had been dozing on and off all throughout the first half of the watch, which usually wasn’t a good sign. She kept closing her eyes just to rest them, falling asleep for a few minutes, then jolting awake and reprimanding Fjord, her watch buddy of the night, for letting her sleep.

“Fjord!” She hissed, the most recent time it happened. “You can’t keep letting me do that!” Jester bumped her shoulder against Fjord’s before settling back against the tree they were sitting under.

“You can sleep,” he said. “You took this morning’s watch, and you were out scouting for a campsite for half the day. You deserve at least a decent night’s rest.”

Before she could respond, a huge yawn overcame her. “Maybe you’re right,” she managed, rubbing her eyes. When she turned, Fjord’s smile was… soft. Softer than it had any right to be. She couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Just sleep,” he urged. “I’ll wake you if I notice anything.”

It was tempting. “Wake me up even if you think you notice something, but it’s actually nothing.”

“Of course.”

“Alright.” With another yawn, Jester pulled off her boots and tucked her feet under her dress, then settled down and rested her head on Fjord’s lap.

She felt his legs stiffen up under her, but his voice was steady when he said, “G’night, Jester.”

With the pale light of the moon and Fjord’s steady warmth against her body, it was far too easy to fall asleep.

When Jester woke an undeterminable amount of time later, she felt the strange sensation that she had heard something loud; it soon became clear, however, that there had been nothing. The campground was silent, apart from the low whistle of the wind and a light humming from above her.

It took a moment for Jester to realize what had woken her from what must have been a light sleep; there was a hand on her head, gently brushing through her hair, and Fjord was talking.

His voice was more of a whisper, really, a murmur barely distinguishable from the wind. Jester kept her eyes closed and her breathing low and even, and listened.

“—and I know you don’t always believe it, but it’s true,” he was saying. “We all love you. We do. I do.” When Fjord hesitated, Jester had to remind herself to breathe. “I love you.” 

Jester shifted her shoulders and felt Fjord’s hand go still in her hair, but she only smiled to herself and pretended to sleep on.