Will looked at the bed that he was supposed to be sleeping in. He was home, in the Sanctuary in Old City. It had been one hell of a year, or week, as it had only been that long here. It had been so much longer for him. The bed was completely made and the sheets had been washed. The Big Guy had seen to that while he was still in the hospital in France. He and Magnus had been released, but it was slow going for the both of them. They'd finally made it back to Old City and spent the day catching up. It was night, and Will looked at the bed that he was supposed to be sleeping in.
For almost an entire year he had slept on a tiny little cot in the corner of the lab that Ravi had set the up for them. It had once been a bunker, when Magnus had first been introduced to the room, and to him it was still just as much of a prison as it had been for her. She'd told him about it one night, when he was lying down trying to sleep and the light she was using to work was bothering his eyes. He wasn't about to tell her to turn it off though.
The first night they had been there, after exhaustion had left him barely standing, Will had stared longingly at the tiny cot with the red blanket. Magnus had all but ordered him to sleep. She had stayed up for another twenty-four hours dome-time in the blazing sunlight before crashing herself. Her head had been pillowed on her arms, her butt on the stool and her face plastered to the counter top. Will had eventually roused her enough so that she moved to the cot. He'd tucked her in and went back to work, figuring out what the hell was going on. That routine had continued for almost a month, dome-time of course, until he'd fallen asleep and woken to the warmest feeling against him. He remembered it like yesterday.
His eyes blinked slowly, clearing the sleep from his drooping lids. He was on his side and pressed against a very cold cement wall. Sliding forward a little he ran into a warm body. It was then that his eyes snapped open. He saw brown, lots of brown. It was her hair. It took him a moment to figure it out, but he was certain that it was Helen Magnus' hair in his face. He clenched his hand tightly and realized that it was pressed against her belly.
The woman moaned and shifted her weight so that her butt brushed against him. She sighed in sleep and Will lifted his head stunned. This was so not how he expected to wake up, but it had been the best night's sleep that he'd had since arriving in their little hell-hole of a dome. He remained as still as possible for as long as possible, but eventually he had to pee. He was holding the urge tightly, really not wanting to wake her up. He rubbed the fist next to his cheek over his eyes removing the green sleep from the corners. He must have been laying there close to two hours completely awake, and he really needed to relieve himself.
He slipped his hand that was against her stomach to the dip in her waist and squeezed lightly. There was no option at this point. She needed to move and he needed to take a piss. "Magnus." He squeezed her side again, a little harder that time. She brushed her cheek into the pillow and continued on in her slumber. That was just not going to slide for him. He moved his hand over her bare arm and rubbed it back and forth gently. "Magnus, I need to get up."
"Mmmhmm."
She hummed it quietly and he continued his movement on her arm. "Magnus, I really need to get up now." He clenched his teeth and waited for her. This time she rolled onto her back which gave him just enough room to climb over her and stand. Will raced away from her once again slumbering form.
That had been the first time. It hadn't happened again right away, but it had begun to occur more often. Days and weeks passed, dome-time of course, before he finally realized that he would go to sleep alone almost every night and wake up with a very sleepy Helen Magnus in his arms. They never discussed it, never had a talk about what was happening. Both just accepted it for what it was: comfort and complete, utter exhaustion. It soon came to the point where he would wait for her to come to bed and sleep in his arms before he himself would fall away into a dream world. It became a habit, something that he needed in order to rest and it was something that he longed and waited for each night.
Will looked at the bed that he was supposed to be sleeping in. His bed: queen size, with fluffy comforters and multiple pillows. Such luxury from what he had come from. Sighing heavily he pulled back the blankets and pushed the edges of the pillows until they were plump and ready for him. He stood against the mattress that was at his knees, feeling the wood of the frame and the soft fabric against his skin. It wasn't short like the cot, tiny like the cot, or even had rough and scratchy blankets like the cot. This was pure extravagance. Once again, Will looked at the bed that he was supposed to be sleeping in.
He slipped under the covers and pulled them up to his chin. He tried his right side, then his left side and eventually ended up on his back staring at the ceiling. He wasn't about to fall asleep anytime soon, no matter how tired he was. He could see the moon passing by the window, the increments slow and tedious as the hours slowly ticked by. He heard the door snick open after he looked at the clock for the millionth time that night. She was dressed in cotton pajama bottoms and a tight camisole. Not what he was used to seeing her sleep in. She shut the door as quietly as possible and walked over to him, her feet obviously bare from the silence.
Their eyes locked and she watched him watching her. A silent understanding passed between them. Magnus slipped between the covers and the mattress and sidled on over to him. She rested her head on his chest and wrapped her legs and arm over his body. She sighed first and Will held his breath only a moment longer. He pressed his face into her dark locks and breathed in her sweet scent. Quickly, both bodies and minds slipped away into a quiet and peaceful dreamland.