a/n:

Quick drabble collection of stories I wrote last year but thought I'd publish now. Most of them were requests (currently not accepting any, if for some reason someone is interested).

Summary: Alex, Worick and a sleepless night.

It was five in the morning and they were both awake.

Her eyes widened when she saw him enter the parlour room, where the majority of their business was organized. He was awake much earlier than she was accustomed to; after all, having to wake him up for breakfast was quite routine for her.

The sun wasn't even out yet and he was awake.

He glanced at her figure, sitting upright on the worn-out couch she called bed for so long now.

She spoke first, "Worick?"

He smiled. "Mornin'."

"Ah, yes, good morning," she fumbled. She watched as he strode across the room, stopping at the desk, and noticed he wasn't wearing an eyepatch. She'd seen him without it numerous times before, usually when he was sleeping, but something about the scar always unnerved her.

After a moment's silence, she took a breath and started, "Did you have another n—"

"Would you like some coffee?" he interrupted.

She blinked, mumbling, "Huh? Oh, yes."

He nodded and looked around the room a bit before snorting, "We probably shouldn't leave the coffee machine downstairs. Be back in a bit."

He simply descended without another word and she was left alone, left to how things usually were. Her, awake late at night (early in the morning, technically), with nothing but her mind to keep her company.

The things that haunted her, the things that reminded her; and more importantly, the things that taunted her.

She closed her eyes.

She was tired, she couldn't sleep, and she didn't want to rely on medication.

The smell of coffee brought her back to her senses. Worick stood in front of her, two mugs in hand. He gently passed one off to her with a smile and she murmured a quiet, "Thanks."

"Hey, no need to worry about waking Nic up or anything," he commented wryly, taking a seat next to her on the sofa.

And despite that, he still spoke in a hushed tone.

"He won't be up for an hour or two, anyway," he continued.

The edges of her lips quirked up as she replied, "I know."

And, well, she liked that she knew.

For a while, they drank their coffees in silence.

It was bitter and not how she usually made it, but the warmth was comforting.

"Was there something you needed to do?" Alex finally opted to ask. "Client work this morning?"

"Not always work." He shook his head. "I just wanted to see Al-chan in the morning."

She narrowed her eyes in response. "You're not really that enthusiastic when I have to wake you up, normally."

He flashed her a lopsided grin. "I really wanted to sleep with Al-chan in the morning today."

"No way," she immediately shot him down.

"Well, why not? Y'know, we wouldn't really be bothering Nic. Not unless the walls started shaking. Actually, I can't guarantee they won't." He chuckled.

Frowning deeply, she lightly kicked the side of his leg. "Idiot."

"Ah—I'd rather Nic weren't right in the next room. But I could ask him to join us, if you'd be into that." And despite the severe look that Alex directed at him, he continued on, "It's not really his thing, but he listens to me, sometimes. Well, you've seen how he works."

Finally fed up, she set her coffee mug down and reached forward to pinch his cheek.

"You really need to learn when to stop talking," she grumbled as he laughed.

"S'pose I do," he agreed lightly, rising to his feet once more. He walked towards the staircase that led outside, asking, "Would you like to join me?"

"No."

"To watch the sunrise, I mean," he elaborated, leaving his cup of coffee on the table. He glanced over his shoulder and added, "I'll just be down there if you wanna."

With that, he headed down the stairway and out of sight. It wasn't long until she quickly followed after him. She didn't really have to think about it; after all, she didn't want to be alone with just her thoughts again, and despite everything, the town was incredibly beautiful during dusk and dawn. And, well, Worick was good company, too.

At the bottom of the steps, she quietly sat down next to him and gazed towards the changing sky.

"Perfect timing, isn't it?" he remarked.

"It is," she breathed.

The darkness was starting to fade, slowly being overtaken by light oranges and reds as the sun rose.

"Still having trouble sleeping?" he asked suddenly.

"Huh?" She turned to face him, but he was still focused on the world above.

"Insomnia, is it? Not getting better?" he repeated.

She hesitated. "It has. A bit. Just, some nights are worse than others. Like tonight."

"It's hard, because there's nothing I can do and I just start thinking—wanting to remember things," she whispered. "I can't remember anything."

After a moment, she heard a soft, "Huh, must be nice."

"What?" She stared.

"Oh, sorry; nothing. Just thinking aloud," he quickly corrected himself, then continued speaking before she could say anything more, "Y'know—whenever you can't sleep, you can always just wake me up or something and we can talk. Or watch the sunrise. Or sleep. Just do whatever it is you'd want to do."

"But not alone," she finished and she found herself smiling.

"Yeah." He grinned.

There was a pause.

"I don't think I've said this yet, but your smile's beautiful, Al-chan."

She chuckled and redirected her attention away from him in order to conceal the embarrassment that was beginning to seep into her cheeks. The sky was now painted bright orange and the sun illuminated the streets around them. "No, the sunrise is beautiful."

"It is," he concurred, "but that doesn't mean your smile isn't beautiful too, Al-chan."

When she turned to face Worick once more, she was surprised by how intently he was watching her.

"I really love your smile, Alex," he stated.

She blinked, mumbling, "Thank you."

"Thank you, Worick," she repeated, louder.

In the distance, she heard the phone ringing.