somebody stop me from writing all these rysposito ficlets. i need to get back to my summer ficathon.

After a long day of hard work and draining cases, there's one thing that Javier holds sacred more than he would on any other day. And that is sleep.

He loves Kevin. He truly and dearly loves his boyfriend until the end of time. But he doesn't like him very much when he's turning and constantly shifting in bed beside him at half past ass crack in the morning.

Javier needs his beauty sleep so he can deal with Kevin's grumpiness in the morning.

Javier hears Kevin sigh deeply before turning yet again. He mumbles under his breath and Javier doesn't move, hoping that he'll stop questioning all the world's' wonders and gets back to sleep. Unfortunately, that doesn't work at all; Javier doesn't even get a moment of silence.

Kevin turns over and takes the blankets with him. Javier cracks an eye open when he feels the cold air hitting his boxer clad body. He really just isn't meant to get a good night's rest tonight.

Javier sighs and turns around to face Kevin. He rolls his eyes when he sees Kevin's back and Kevin still tugging on the blankets. Javier taps Kevin's shoulder and waits for Kevin to turn around on his side so they're looking at each other.

Kevin slowly turns to face him and even though it's dark, Javier can still see that something is clearly bothering his boyfriend. Immediately, Javier's grouchiness washes away. "Are you okay, Kevin?"

A second too late, Kevin answers, "'M fine, Javi."

"Yeah, and Castle is completely sane," Javier says sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. Kevin refuses to meet Javier's eyes and Javier knows he's trying to get away with a fib. "Tell me the truth, Kev."

"Fine," Kevin huffs. "I just don't think dinner agreed with me," he admits bringing a hand to his stomach.

Javier snorts. "I told you that the take out food you found in the back of the fridge was going to be something you'd regret."

Kevin just moans pitifully and rolls on his back.

Javier frowns with a sigh. He hates how Kevin has him wrapped around his finger. "I'll make you a deal. If I can get my share of the blankets back, then I'll rub your back until you fall asleep."

Kevin's eyes brighten at that and he says, "Deal."

Javier waits for Kevin to spread the blanket on both of them and then he turned so his back is facing Javier. Javier reaches out and softly begins to drag his fingers up and down Kevin's back. "Relax, Kev. I can feel the tension in your shoulders."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," Kevin mumbles quickly.

"You don't have to apologize, babe. I just want you to feel better," Javier kisses the top of his head while he continues to rub his back.

"Mm hmm," Kevin sounds and feels much more relaxed than before. Javier thinks he might actually fall asleep soon. Kevin always enjoys his back rubs.

Javier rubs his back for a few more minutes while he hums softly to ease Kevin to sleep. He waits for Kevin's breathing to steady out and his shoulders to sag. Just to be sure, Javier continues to rub his back for a few more minutes just to be sure Kevin's asleep.

Javier pulls his hand back and places a soft kiss on Kevin's shoulder blade. "Night, Kevin," Javier whispers though he knows Kevin won't hear it while he sleeps.

Javier lies down on his back and hopes-for both of their sakes- that Kevin finally gets to sleep. For a while, his wish actually seems to come true. But, unfortunately it doesn't last forever. Javier doesn't even think Kevin got to sleep the first time (no wonder there was a distinct lack of snoring. Soft, kinda adorable snores, but snores none the less).

"Javi…" Kevin whispered hesitantly, like he doesn't know if Javier is up or not.

"Yeah, babe?" Javier responds drowsily, not turning around yet.

"I was lying before...my stomach isn't what's bothering me," Kevin says carefully.

Javier laughs softly. "Do you really think you can lie to me without me knowing?" Another perk to knowing your partner like the back of your hand.

Kevin doesn't answer his question and insteads asks his own. "Do you remember that movie we watched the other night? The Hunchback of Notre Dame?"

Javier's eyebrows furrow as he wonders where the hell Kevin is going with this. "Yeah."

"Do you think Quasimodo's mother would have loved him even though he was different if she lived?"

Javier wants to laugh his ass off because Kevin is keeping him up all night for a fucking Disney movie? But he doesn't because he can tell Kevin is being serious. "Yeah, 'course she would have, Kev," Javier hopes that'll satisfy Kevin enough for him to sleep.

"Just because he's different...it gives Judge Frollo no right to treat him so poorly."

So apparently the conversation isn't over. "What? Who the hell is Judge Frollo?" Javier just really wants to sleep.

Kevin huffs, like Javier is the one inconveniencing him. "The man that raises Quasimodo. The one who locks him away and convinces him that's he's a monster."

"Oh," Javier mumbles.

"He didn't have the right to plant those lies in Quasimodo's head. It's only so long before you start believing them."

"It's just a movie, babe. Go to sleep," Javier says, already closing his eyes himself.

"Yeah, okay," Kevin whispers and goes silent.

But Javier knows his boyfriend well enough to know that he's still not falling to sleep. Javier starts to softly rub his back again, but Kevin shifts again and Javier bites back a groan. He doesn't want to be an ass; something is seriously bothering Kevin, but he's exhausted.

Kevin doesn't even try to be asleep for very long before he says, "I don't like the Ugly Duckling story."

Javier tries to figure out where the hell Kevin is going with this as he listens to him ramble on.

"My older brother used to read it to me a lot..." Kevin pauses for a quick moment before continuing. "He didn't have to go find a new family...sure he was different, but I think if the ducks gave him a chance they would have loved him. It's not his fault he was different than them. Some people-or ducks are just different. And they're okay with being different most of the time. It's always the people around them, the ones that they think they can trust, that make different feel wrong."

Javier turns off his back so he's now facing Kevin. He's not surprised to see that Kevin has been staring at Javier the whole duration of his possible existential crisis. "I have a feeling this isn't about little kid fairytales, Kevin."

Kevin sighs and finally gives up with all those dumb and confusing analogies. "I called my parents this morning," he admits softly.

Javier's heart starts racing immediately. Kevin's parents were bigoted assholes and Kevin was never okay after speaking to them. Javier should have been there for him.

"Fuck," Javier scoots closer to his boyfriend and now understands the pain in his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me, corazon?"

"I just wanted to see if they'd make it to the barbeque next week. Maybe we could move past all this," Kevin buries his head into Javier's shoulders and Javier wraps his arms around him. "I was wrong, Javi. I just don't understand what's so wrong with me. How could someone hate their child so much?"

It breaks Javier's heart to hear how strong Kevin is trying to be without his voice breaking. Javier doesn't want to order Kevin not to acknowledge his parents, but Kevin still thinks maybe they'll change. Javier knows they won't.

"You know, I think you're missing the main part of the story," Javier says and places a kiss to the top of Kevin's head. "If the beautiful swan never realized that the 'family' he grew up with was pretty shitty, he wouldn't have went looking for the family that had been all over looking for him. Where he truly belongs."

Kevin looks up and fists the thin fabric of Javier's t-shirt in his hands. "He didn't belong in the first family?"

"No. He belonged in his real home where he would be loved and praised for the wonderful man his is," Javier says sternly with his eyes locked on Kevin's. "You came home to me. You don't have to go back to them. Stay here with the family that can give you triple the amount of love you even imagined them giving. And that's not even in the ballpark."

Kevin smiles as a single tear leaks from the corner of his eye. Javier catches it with his thumb before he has to watch it make a watery trail down his cheek. Kevin just smiles with a faint pink tinge gracing his cheeks.

Javier nuzzles his forehead against Kevin's. "I love you so much, corazon. Never forget that."

Kevin finally seems to be growing tired; Javier can no longer see the restlessness in his eyes. "I love you more, Javi."

Javier shakes his head. "However much you love me, I love you an infinity more, mi hermoso cisne."

mi hermoso cisne= my beautiful swan

thanks for reading! leave a review maybe?