a/n: Two tired BLADEs wake up.

All the good things belong to Monolithsoft.

Hope woke with a start. She was surprised that she was in her own bed and not on a mission. Clearly this must be a dream. Even in her sleep, she knew that the current mission was slated to run until the end of the week. The room in her dream was dark, or more correctly, gently dim, and the bed was definitely her bed, not a dusty mat in an away tent. Her dream room was her own room and the bed was her own bed, all of it signalling a regrettable lack of imagination. Maybe the incremental exhaustion that came with long missions had left her yearning for homey comfort. If that were the case, she should be tucked in, instead of lying on top of her covers.

Did this make it a bad dream? She felt safe enough, but the stuffed animal she was cuddling was breathing quietly. It was also warm and solid and pleasantly companionable. Very alive, and that should be horrifying. Instead, she felt very comfy.

Hope almost fell back asleep. It would only have taken a moment to drift away from this dream and settle into deepest sleep. Alas, her mind was busy puzzling things out, checking to see how the dream differed from memories and trying to decide if the new addition of a snuggle partner was welcome. To her surprise she realized she'd already made that decision; she only had to decide on the degree.

Before she reached a conclusion, she woke up for real.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she murmured, peeling herself away from Quincy. He didn't respond, still dead to the world. She flicked a strand of hair out of her face. Even in the dim light, he looked so much better. She had been ignoring how his face had been lined and tight, not just earlier today, this morning, but also during the mission. He was fast asleep but his quirky smile had almost returned. She didn't need to touch him to check that he was warm. The shiver as she slid off the bed told her enough. The air in her room had refreshed in the past few hours and was perfectly temperate, but it wasn't as cozy as snuggled up to Quincy.

Hope smoothed her hair again, and straightened her sleeve cuffs. Soldiers in the field did this all the time. Battle boos, that sort of thing, making the terrifying nights feel a little safer by keeping close to each other. This wasn't that much different. Necessity and all that, she told herself.

Her stomach rumbled. Even without her lights gently indicating the time, she knew it was well past dinner. She stoop up carefully, trying not to jiggle the mattress. She just needed to slip on her shoes and then she could leave Quincy alone for a little bit.

"You going?" Behind her, a quiet voice escaped the nest of pillows.

"I was going to get something to eat. Go back to sleep." Hope half turned to assure him that she'd be back and he'd be perfectly safe.

Quincy sat up with some effort. The dim light didn't hide how his shoulders dipped and the muscles of his arms looked healthy and his bare chest ... Hope turned away and concentrated on getting her shoes on as fast as possible.

He was talking but Hope was too focused on her boots. After a moment, she straightened up and said, "I'm so sorry, what was that?"

"I said, I could probably go back to my real bunk. We were going to do that, right?" He paused and stretched. Hope chose that moment to duck down and adjust her sock to perfection. "I think we were. It's a little hazy."

"Absolutely not," Hope said. "You need a full rest before we even think of letting you move. No more taking chances, young man." There, that's better, she thought. She had managed to be teasing and light, and Quincy had responded by sliding back down under the covers.

Hope couldn't resist the urge to tuck the blanket around him a little higher. Also firmly. "I won't be gone long. I'll be back to check on you in less than an hour. Maybe half an hour."

"Okay. Then what?"

"I'll think of something. Don't worry." Hope smiled brightly as her mind raced through her options. Find a cot at the Mediator's station? Snooze in the lounge? Elma or Irina or even Lin would be fine with her crashing at their rooms. Good heavens, Irina had a friend with an entire mansion to herself, although Hope wasn't quite comfortable around the other woman. She had a wealth of options. All Hope had to do was ask.

But first she was going to find some dinner.

a/n: Short because Tears of the Kingdom. From the drafts: "brain . exe is struggling with increased cpu usage because (shirt)==no"

Next up: Dinner. Honestly.