"Time to wake up, Buddyboy."
Mike had waited as long as humanly possible before having to wake his best friend back up. The fact that Steve never even stirred throughout the night made it painfully obvious just how worn out he truly was.
Even now, it had taken two attempts to coax him awake before he saw those bright green eyes slowly open. It seemed to take Steve a few seconds to fully come to and understand where he was, and Mike enjoyed every second of it. There was something about the brief moment of raw innocence before his friend's mature personality kicked back in that reminded him of his first weeks of working together with the young man.
Standing in front of the couch, Mike waited until the drowsy eyes met his and smiled.
"You're going to spend your day off from work with us. Aren't you lucky?"
Visibly confused, Steve ran a hand across his face before slowly sitting up, fighting with the comforter along the way.
"Mike…how…What time is it? I gotta get back to Berkeley. My first lecture is at 7am."
Theatrically checking his wristwatch, the Lieutenant shrugged before pointing his chin at the kitchen.
"It's…oh…8:30am. Time to have some coffee. I need your brain to work hard today. And don't worry, I already spoke with Dean Wilson to ensure your kids get their money's worth in education while you're away on an…assignment. You know, that man thinks the world of you. It was far easier to talk him into my idea than I thought."
Shaking off the last of the sleepiness, Steve looked at him with a mixture of utter confusion and shock. Mike could hear him chuckle as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair, before meeting his eyes once again.
"How did you pull all this off over the course of the night?"
Tapping the side of his head, Mike grinned.
"It's the coffee. It goes to your head fast after five cups."