#yeppieeee

Still limp on her chair, staring at the ceiling, her mind wandered. She hadn't slept in… two? three days? She could feel the consequences of craning her neck and forcing her posture straight all day with little to no breaks. She groaned and stretched her arms, maybe it wouldn't hurt to take a walk out in the Wilderness, where the sky was dark and quiet, the peace only disturbed by nature itself and whatever X and Medpoc were doing.

She jolted when a knock and a voice suddenly disrupted her musings, “Vertin, are you in there? You didn't come down to eat for dinner, is everything alright?” Oh, it was just Druvis, as a former aristocrat she had quite impeccable manners and skills whose grace matched that of a cat’s. Vertin wondered how she always managed to look and act so graceful even in times of crisis, she supposes that was just how she was taught.

Realizing she had yet to verbally reply to Druvis’ question, Vertin hastily mumbled out an answer that she hoped was loud and coherent enough to understand through the door, “Yes.” that sounded a bit flat for her, maybe she should add more, “I-I just lost track of time, I’m sorry.” that's better.

A few moments of silence pass by, “... May I come in?” After giving the affirmative, Vertin heard the click of the door before it gently swung open, revealing the former aristocrat in her nightgown. The moment she laid eyes on Vertin's tired form she frowned, “You haven't been taking proper care of yourself again, have you?” Her silence and guilty look only confirmed what was already known.

Sighing softly like a disappointed mother, she beckoned her to the living room, turning only a few lights on just enough to see everything clearly but not enough to further burn her already burning eyes, she led her to the couch, “Sit.” So Vertin sat as the brunette went to the kitchen counter and prepared some tea, it smelled quite nice, relaxing and calming, was that chamomile? She didn't realize she was dozing off until the former aristocrat sat down beside her, “drink this, it'll help you sleep better.”

Holding the warm cup in her hands she takes the time to appreciate the gentle heat and the pleasant smell it gives her before taking a sip, hm, it tasted a bit off, the thought was temporarily pushed aside as her tea companion asked, “How are you feeling?” she thought for a bit before responding, “Better, actually, more relaxed.”

Druvis hummed at that, hand under her chin in a thoughtful pose, mumbling something that Vertin could only hear in bits and pieces, “Med-… do… -onders.” she perked up a little at that.

“Hm? What was that?” She asked.

“Nothing, nothing.” Her suspicious friend immediately deflected.

If it weren't for the sleep deprivation she may have prodded a bit more, but as it turns out the lack of sleep made her more unwilling to do much of anything, so instead she just opted for eyeing the former aristocrat skeptically while she took a few more sips of her tea, it still tasted off, why was it that she was getting more tired as the seconds passed by?

She let out a yawn.

“Tired?” Her friend asked.

She nodded, letting out another yawn, “Yes, I think it's time I return to-” Druvis stood to help her up, “-my office to finish the papers.” And immediately pulled her back down, “No, lay down. Now.” And now they were in this situation:

With Vertin's head laying onto Druvis’ lap while she kept a firm but gentle grip on her head to keep her in place and prevent her from escaping, “You have to sleep Vertin, you're only 16.” Her friend said while petting her head, hm, that feels nice.

“... I have work to do?..” She earned an unimpressed stare at that, “You've passed a paper 5 months late once, I'm sure the Foundation would be able to handle a day late paper.” Then, her tone softened,

“You should sleep Vertin, I will be here when you wake up.”

“... Okay.”

It took only a matter of minutes for Vertin to finally sleep, eyes fluttering close to the sound of birds and crickets outside chirping, to the comforting touch of a trusted friend. For the first time in a while, Vertin managed to get a good night's rest.

.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜

Hi I've come back from the dead :DD, I have an incredibly spontaneous motivation okay- so obviously I got into Reverse 1999 recently, and now that I've read most of the fics in ao3 that suits my taste in this fandom, kinda disappointed that there's so few fics about Vertin and Druvis, they give me so much mother-daughter/older sister-younger sister vibes y'all why are people sleeping on that😭😭.