The Sleep of a Lizard

SCP-682 didn't have any idea where he came from. Space, human experimentation, from deep in the sea—at this point, he'd lived for so long that he'd already forgotten his origins, unable to really remember if there was a time when he'd been an infant to begin with.

The earliest memory he could recall, albeit with some difficulty, was an experimental procedure to test his threshold of 'withstanding pressure'. The reality of the matter was a lot more grim; being put into a machine meant to crush your bones over and over again certainly was that. And no, he isn't dead. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here thinking about that day.

Also, that had been one such incident that had really pushed him to the edge, and he'd tried to escape. May not have succeeded in escaping, but he got to at least take out fifty people and more. Payback, bitches.

Nevertheless, there was one other thing that he can remember, and one that he's lived through from the start until the very end: he has never slept. Period.

It sounded like the craziest thing to say. After all, every organism needed sleep to function. It was during that time that the body would grow, or carry out some important metabolic function. Research is ongoing in regards to what goes on to the brain when an organism shuts is eyes and goes to sleep; some theorize that the brain uses that moment to flush itself of excessive information, oft in the form of dreams. There were also those who theorized that sleep was some kind of defense mechanism, useful at a time when being awake would prove to be far more hazardous.

However (and he would remind them as many times as necessary), these were all basic luxuries that Six-eight-two never got to experience during his time in the containment facilities. After all, having more than three quarters of your body melted away and being submerged in highly corrosive action did not make for a very comfortable bed.

Now that he was free from the facilities, he was more than pumped to experience every point of normalcy that he never got to before. He was going to make the most out of everything. And that included sleeping.

It would seem odd to some that he would want to sleep, even if he actually didn't need to. Thanks to his advanced systems, he could practically stay awake forever without having to deal with menial things like stress and hormones, which could affect humans in a severe manner—at some point, death would be the biggest concern. Not for him, though. He was good.

But seriously, after the first sleep he's had in years, he'd practically become addicted to it. Nothing was going to take that away from him.

The surface of a small pond rippled as a massive beast surfaced, the outgrowth of hair from its body wet and saggy. With little difficulty, he begins to shake his body like a dog, sending water flying everywhere.

"Aaah… That was a good dip," he said to himself, enjoying how cold his body felt. With a solid jerk of his head to the side, a satisfying crack resounded, making him sigh. "Mmm… Alright. Time to get moving."

It was closing in on the evening, scarlet dyeing the sky. While SCP-682 didn't exactly need sleep, he'd practically conditioned himself to sleep when the sun sets, and wake up when the sun rises. It was a small thing, a simple way of living, that he found to be a lot more enjoyable than he'd first thought.

Plus, it gave him way more time to sleep, and he rather liked that.

"But, before I do that, I need to find someplace to sleep for the night."

While SCP-682 was more than strong enough to protect his own territory, if he ever sought to establish one, he preferred the nomadic lifestyle; not having a set place to stay allowed him the opportunity to simply travel around the forest and take in the sights. Hasn't gotten old, and maybe it would someday, but he'll definitely ask in the awe for as long as he still could.

Seriously though, for as far as he's gone, it feels like he hasn't seen the entire place. Wherever he was, he had zero idea, and it was nothing but trees and trees as far as he has seen, but there was the occasional caves, a waterfall he came upon one time, and even a couple hills. There certainly was some diversity here.

A mighty yawn cut his thoughts short. He quickly realized that it was he himself who yawned, and the drowsiness began to hit him. "Alright, time to get moving, then."

This feeling of sleepiness was one he'd coded into his system just to better 'naturalize' himself. It was annoying at times, he would certainly attest to that, but it worked as a pretty decent motivation to go find a place to sleep for the night. Plus, the sleepier he got, the better the sleep, so he wasn't going to complain too much about it.

Nevertheless, for the time being, he just needed to find a comfortable place to sleep at. Anyplace could realistically work—hell, if he so wanted to, he could just bury himself in the ground and sleep there—but there was something rather satisfying about putting in the effort to find a good place. All simple things, but again, delightful.

Let's see… There were a bunch of choices. Maybe up on a tree branch. The breeze was always nice way up high. Next to a waterfall or river, if he could find one, was also nice because the sounds always worked to lull him to sleep. A cave would also be useful, though he was hoping for someplace else.

"Well, I suppose I'll just look around for the time being. I'll decide on something once I feel satisfied with it."

With that thought in mind, Six-eight-two continued his trip through the forest, going in just a random direction while he adopted some feelers to scan his area. His eyes kept watch of his surroundings, critters keeping distance while a few scampered into the open to catch bugs or scavenge for twigs and stones. He could even spot an owl, judging by the way his eyes seemed to glow in the dark.

If the forest was quiet during the day, it would come to life in the day, reminding him that he wasn't alone out here. Fortunately, none of the animals here were looking to pick a fight with him, which was good. He only had beef with humans, and he rather liked every creature here.

Except that one sneaky rat who often slept in his vicinity just so that the predators would stay away with him. Cheeky little thing. He'll allow it, only because it wasn't doing anything to outright bother him.

As the beast continues to look for a spot to sleep at, he makes a curious finding; a large round rock, almost three times his size, the top surface of which was covered with moss. It was situated in the centre of some clearing surrounded by trees with vines and wild shrubbery dotted with red berries.

"Ooh. Okay, this looks rather picturesque," he looked around, nodding with satisfaction. "I've never exactly tried a 'moss bed', so to speak, so I may as well. If not comfortable, then at least a novel experience."

The rock was high, which made going up a little hard. Six-eight-two modified the muscles in its legs, hypertrophy and hyperplasia activating simultaneously. Without a pause, he bent his legs and crouched low before leaping upwards, completing the full height and landing on the rock with ease, claws stabilizing his position.

And then, lightly tapping his claws against the stone, producing light clicking sounds he set his stomach down. The stone was cold to the touch, making him sigh in contentment. SCP-682 proceeded to curl into a suitable position, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

…And he waited some more.

"…Okay. When is—"

And like a switch flicked, the lizard fell asleep immediately, snoring. The animals in his vicinity, be it some form of comedy or measly semblance of intelligence, rolled their eyes at the sight before leaving the area.

Another day ends in the forest.

The Sleep of a Dragon

Back in the Dimensionless Gap, Ophis had never slept. Able to operate at a full level without the need for sleep or food, she would typically just… exist. Always fighting with Great Red. Always figuring out ways to get him out of there so that she could claim the place for herself.

Nowadays, however, new challenges were always popping up now that she's acclimatized to her brand new life with humans, forcing her to figure out the most effective means of facing them head on and adapting. And right now, she had a fresh dilemma to deal with.

"What… would be the best way to sleep?"

It was crazy how humans could have so many sleeping postures; face-down, sideways, sometimes even standing up when the situation called for it. It must be some kind of evolutional advantage for whenever the situation calls for it.

And now that she's begun to adapt to her human life, she recognized the need to figure out ways to better 'blend in', so to speak. That involved learning the etiquettes and behaviours of humans for everything, so that would have to include sleeping.

Generally speaking, she was fine with whatever position. But just as she had figured out that a hot shower followed by a cold one was much better than just one, or that vegetables were a necessity for good growth (despite all her attempts to avoid them as much as possible), she was certain there was a secret to good sleep. Because humans were so fixated on finding 'life hacks' for just about everything, so that should apply for sleep as well.

"Let's see… Of all the things I've read, there are many qualities to a sleep being good. Restful and restorative, as doctors will generally say, but I need a more objective view on things."

Was she overthinking things? Oh, definitely. But Ophis found this sort of thing fun too. She'd always been too focused on Great Red this, Dimensionless Gap that. These things were a lot more menial, but they were at least achievable.

Walking over to her desk, Ophis retrieved a magenta notebook, gifted to her by Au—Mom (goodness, that was still difficult for her) only a few days ago. She typically used it to write down her thoughts, the events of the day, and even ideas she procured from watching TV or checking out the Internet. It was a gift from Mom, and she was going to use it to the fullest.

Flipping it to the latest entry, she skimmed through the page. Her handwriting was… understandably lacking, although she'd taken to practising it in her spare time. Even Mom helped her out to even out her characters from time to time.

"To improve the quality of the sleep, focus on the things you can change," she read out loud. "Consider external factors like light, temperature and noise. Hygiene and comfort also matter."

Hmm, interesting. These were all things hardwired into the brains of every living entity, but a lot more went behind the scenes than she could ever imagine. Guess that's what happens when you've got one of, if not the single most complicated organ inside of you.

The girl looked around her room. Calling it clean was a disservice. The floors were actively shining from how much Mom cleans it, because she was a stickler for cleanliness. The curtains were dusted, all her books organized on her desk, the bedsheets and pillows changed, the air fresh… Yeah. Clean as heck.

As for comfortable, she was pleased to say that that category could be safely checked off. Her onesie might be embarrassing to wear out in public, but it was so soft on the skin. And her pillow and bedsheets were heavenly as ever, so nothing to change there.

Light… Okay, this one was easy. According to most guides, sleeping in the dark was the easiest go-to for a good sleep. Probably because the presence of light could be associated with daylight, which would then serve to wake the person up instead.

"Temperature should be fine. Mom doesn't mind if I use the air conditioning, although I'm relatively fine if I don't use it."

And so far, she hadn't found much trouble sleeping whether it got hot or cold. As for baths, though, she found cold ones to be a little difficult to handle, but she supposed that she would have to learn how to handle that. No idea if the heater would suddenly fail someday. But if that ever happens, she was going to cry.

The last bit wasn't something to worry about. While the Hyoudou household was generally loud, night time was as peaceful as a library. Even Issei abided this rule. While everyone had worried that Lucy would be like those other house dogs and bark in the night, she thankfully never did that—probably because she was incredibly intelligent and knew not to do anything to disrupt their bedtime. Such a good girl.

Well, she thought to herself, everything was pretty much perfect. Which was practically all the time because the people in this house were always very respectful of the unspoken rules and the like.

Hmm. Now that she thought about it, she recalled something about people sleeping naked. Why they do so, she wasn't sure, though it probably had something to do with the primal instincts of man or some other thing. Humans don't always make sense.

Putting that thought aside, Ophis finally turned off the lights before snuggling into bed. The wonderful blend of cold air and warm blanket was never going to lose its novelty for her, although now a new question came to mind: What was the best sleeping position?

Personally, she loved the cocoon, which was literally wrapping herself up with her blanket. Humans documented several other positions, although for the purpose of explaining away personalities or health benefits of each one. She was more focused on the comfortable part, though, and she thought her own personal style was already good enough.

Once she got into position, the little girl stilled her breath and focused solely on the sound of her heart. This kind of complete darkness reminds her of the Dimensionless Gap, where no other life resided. It was lonely, she admits, though it was also comforting in some way. She had a fondness for solitude.

Though in this household, there would be little chance for that, and that was okay. She'd much prefer this than what she'd sought before.

Sighing, Ophis recalls a memory—of a time when she would sit upon a patch of barren soil, staring up into the endless void, wondering if Great Red would ever show and if they would ever trade blows when that moment comes.

Her dreams no longer involve him. Instead, all that she sees are her days spent here with her human family, and that makes her smile in her sleep.

The Sleep of a Dog

Gorou was against getting a doghouse outside. Partially because there wouldn't have been enough space to set one up, and because he thought it would be too easy for any other animal to go in and bother Lucy. Plus, the cold nights could be uncomfortable, and the family were nothing if not incredibly particular about one another's comforts.

As such, they made the unanimous decision to let her sleep in the living room, on account of her making sure not to mess anything up.

Now, to call a dog a smart animal was fair. To compare it to others, however, would prompt a debate on which animal would prove to be far more intelligent; Corvids, parrots, primates like gorillas and chimps. The list went on.

To call Lucy smart, however, was spot-on. And that wasn't to boost her ego. Simply put, it was to make aware of the fact that she wasn't just a normal dog; she was an alien, so her level of intelligence was certainly a little more difficult to accurately interpret.

After all, what else could one call such a dog when she could use the toilet like the humans, turn on the light switches and the television, help carry a pot of tea for breakfast, and even play a game of crosswords with Gorou (they have a score of four-to-three at the moment, something that the man was incredibly determined to beat him at soon enough)?

There were other things she could do, though those often required her to make use of her not-exactly-normal heritage. Sprouting a tentacle from her head to turn a doorknob or catch a falling item. She'd always kept it within the household, heeding the Hyoudou's reminder not to let that happen in public.

Yawning loudly, feeling every muscle in her body reverberate from the action, she climbed the couch and settled her head down. Something was missing, and she went to retrieve a small pillow from another seat before laying her head down on that. Ah, much better.

A good thing about her was the fact that she, like that grumpy lizard that visited their house once, could alter her body in a lot of ways. Not exactly in a phenomenal way as SCP-682 could—hers was limited to splitting her head and producing a lot of teeth and tentacles, weirdly enough—but she could certainly change her body proportions and properties a little. Stuff like preventing herself from shedding hair or sweating, which would ensure the couch would be spotless when she wakes up in the morning. Miki had been utterly glad for that.

Without much trouble, she falls asleep, and waits for the sun to rise.

The Sleep of a Couple

"Miki—"

"Oh god, you are so clingy."

Yes. Yes he was, and he liked to think that was okay with her, considering the fact that they were married. And if people were going to make fun of them for that, well, then he had nothing to say. Guess they'd never experienced the joy of love for themselves.

With his wife's back to him, he had one arm wrapped around her stomach, the other beneath his head. Her soft hands grasped his, one even brushing across his fingers, and all that it reminds him is how lucky of a man he is to have such a wonderful wife in his life. Oh hey, that rhymed.

"I'm thinking we should go out tomorrow and busy Ophis some more clothes. She doesn't exactly have much pyjamas, too."

"And a bit more underwear."

"That too," he hummed, nodding. "And maybe get some more dogfood. I know Lucy doesn't really need to eat a lot, but it'd be nice to treat her like a normal dog and give her normal things."

"Certainly, though I do admit the addition of all these strange things in our house has been really fun so far."

"…You think so, huh?"

Empathy slipped into his being as he regarded his wife's dulled sense of exhaustion, his hold over her tightening ever so slightly as a show of support. "I know. It's been really crazy after everything that we've gone through, but… I don't think it's that bad. Lucy's a good dog, and Ophis is a sweet child."

"You're wrong on those fronts; Lucy is the best dog ever, and Ophis is the sweetest daughter I could have ever asked for," Gorou rolled his eyes at that, thoroughly amused. "I'm just still trying to come to terms with the fact that they're not normal, per se."

"I thought you were fine with them."

"I wouldn't say I am completely, but I don't want them to feel uncomfortable. I just need time to fully get over my concerns. Everything will be fine."

"They will be. They're good."

To an extent, Gorou understood where his wife was coming from. They'd both lived in a world where the craziest thing was winning the lottery. Everything else had been completely normal, though he would go on to say that having Issei had been the biggest thing to have shaken his life.

And then Ophis comes into their lives, and they learn that the world is a lot larger than they'd initially thought.

He wasn't sure what to feel about that. The fact that monsters had come close to attacking him and his family left him feeling tense, but Ophis and Lucy (and even Mister Lizard, as much as he would try to deny it) had protected them. That meant a lot to him. It meant that, in a world filled with all of these scary, powerful things, some of them were actually good.

Yet again, he felt lucky to have found himself loving such a person, who by all accounts was a dragon centuries older than both him and his wife combined, yet looking like a child whom their son had befriended in the park. Certainly some clashing elements there, but oh well.

"Don't worry," he muttered. "We'll get used to all of this with time."

"You mean I will. You're already chill with it all!"

"Guilty," he snickered, earning him grumbling. "I try not to let too many things bother me too much. And besides, it's not like they do anything bad, so I've more or less gotten used to them already."

"Lucky you…"

"Tell me. What do you like about Ophis and Lucy?"

"Why are you asking me that now?"

"It might help, you know? A part of you is afraid of them, but if you remind yourself of the things you love about them, that little voice that keeps telling you to be afraid eventually goes away. It works all the time."

"What are… Oh my god, it's like that one time, right?"

"Mmhm."

Miki groaned, but there was no hiding the slight embarrassment in her voice. "God, that was so sudden. We'd only just had a really big argument, and you're suddenly texting me so many things that you like about me… I-I thought you were doing it to scare me."

"No. It was just that, rather than take my anger out on you and risk ruining things forever because of something temporary, I'd rather remind myself of all the reasons why loving you was worth it—ow!" He cried out. "Did you just pinch me?"

"Stop being so cheesy!"

"It's called being honest!"

Even as adults, the fact that they could fool around sillily like this makes him feel like a teenager all over again. It wasn't a particularly bad thing, though; it's just a fact of life that there was nothing in life that could truly take away the most important things from a person, love being one of them.

"Gorou, you're thinking something extremely cheesy again. Stop it."

"Nope," he popped the 'p'. "Rather, why don't you humour me and tell me what you love about those two. It'll help, trust me."

Miki didn't answer for a long time, only the sound of her gentle breathing reaching his ears in the darkness of the room. Eventually, however, as her hands clasped his gently once more, she spoke.

And she spoke for hours on end, regaling moments throughout the days when she would take their adoptive daughter on walks through the park, or when she would cook in the kitchen with their pet dog excitedly accompanying him. She spoke and spoke until the both of them fell asleep in one another's company, happy to be alive.

The Sleep of another Dragon

[…Hm. So this is my newest partner.]

The dragon regarded his sleeping host, noting his youthful features and lack of care. Literally, he had at one point kicked his blanket aside, his arms spread open. One wouldn't be mistaken to assume he snored, though thankfully he wasn't.

He hummed, not sure what to feel about the child. As far as he could tell, the boy was nothing remotely unique, save for the fact that he'd apparently drawn Ophis and some other monsters to his side. That alone spoke of some kind of charisma that is inherently his own, for he hadn't awakened the Boosted Gear yet.

It likely had to do with his incredibly friendly disposition. Certainly not uncommon of a human child, though for it to extend to such powerful beings warranted some amount of curiosity.

[Does make you wonder if he'll end up catching the attention of more beings out there,] he hummed, grinning. [Then again, I wouldn't say that's a bad thing.]

That is, if the people attracted to him all had good intentions. Otherwise, he and his family would be in severe danger.

Not like they hadn't already. He'd sensed the stray devils approaching their home the nights before. Were he awakened, he might have been able to do something. But the Hyoudou boy was too young, so he would be helpless in a fight. Instead, it had been the Ouroboros Dragon herself who had dealt with the issue, alongside those two abnormalities.

Curious. Very curious. How someone like Issei Hyoudou, who by all accounts was a very normal human boy, managed to befriend so many creatures such as they… it was impressive.

Ddraig wanted to say that he knew the extent of how many would end up showing themselves in Issei's life—but he didn't. They had been completely unknown variables, pulled from every corner of the universe with no solid predictability. There was a likely chance that even more would end up coming here.

The dragon in the Boosted Gear chuckled. [An interesting brat this one is. I'm definitely sticking around to see how things go from here on out.]

And if push comes to shove, he'd definitely awaken to protect his host. The boy was innocent, and though they hadn't interacted just yet, he'd admit to some fondness for the boy. He deserved a better life.

With that thought in mind, Ddraig went back to sleep, the gentle green light previously emanating from the back of Issei's left hand dying, until darkness was all that consumed him. Issei continued to dream of counting sheep.

Author's Notes:

Holy dang, I haven't written chapters for this story for so long. Can't help but feel like the quality of writing for this one fell a little. Welp, definitely gotta' put some work into this one.

At the moment, I'm working on three fanfiction stories and one original. Certainly seems a little heavy, though with my irregular updating schedule and my tendency to write whatever whenever I so please, I don't think there's any need to worry about stress and whatnot. It's just assignments that end up making me relatively busy, though I'm good regardless.