The Pack and Sidemen Oneshots

Mitchlan- It's What Brothers Do

Mitch's P.O.V.

I was surprised to find that I was awake at 3am, normally I was able to sleep through the night with no trouble, but I quickly realised exactly what had awoken me. Curled up on the other side of the bed, sniffling lowly, Lachlan was half hanging off it and was swinging his arm miserably.

My heart had started pounded the second I realised he had been crying but I didn't want to startle him and make him fall off the bed, yes he really was lying that close to edge, so I pretended to stir so he knew I was waking. He had fallen asleep in my bed the night before because he wanted some comfort, he had had a bad day, but he must have woken up some time after I fell asleep and not gone back to sleep given the bags under his eyes.

"Lachy?" I whispered, alerting him that I was awake. At first he didn't acknowledge that but when he sniffled again and rolled over, showing me red rimmed eyes in the dark, my heart sank. "Oh Lachy..."

I whispered, shuffling closer so I could wrap my arms around him and pull him close. I expected a fight, for him to pull away and pretend that nothing was wrong like he normally did when something like that happened by to my surprise and also to my concern, he just laid his head in my chest and closed his eyes.

There were still tears crawling down his cheeks and falling from his eyes but within in a few minutes his eyes were flickering closed. He just wanted comfort, validation and someone to be there in his lowest moment, in the dead of night when he couldn't keep everything inside anymore.

"Shhhhh" I whispered, humming. I used my thumb to brush a tear away. "Just sleep. Shhhhh"

He was asleep within a couple of minutes.

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"It's not morning yet." I mumbled into the darkness as Lachlan pawed at my shirt. He was awake again only a few hours after he had last been awake, crying, and I was worried that it was happening all over again.

"I know." He whispered, his voice hitching. "But I can't sleep."

I opened my eyes to see a pair of blue eyes, the same as my own eyes, staring up at me in the darkness. They were still rimmed red from his tears a few hours before but there were no new tears, a good sign, at least until I saw the way he was looking at me.

It was clear that he was both upset and scared, body sleepless and full of movement.

"Could you try to sleep?" I asked, a little annoyed because I was so tired, but I didn't let that show. He shook his head sadly. "Alright." I sat up a little, bringing Lachlan with me. "Movie then?" A nod. "No more sleep tonight then."

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I wasn't quite right with no more sleep that night, but there still wasn't any for me. Lachlan tried to pretend that he was watching the movie, curled up beside me on the couch, but I could tell that he wasn't watching it by the way his eyes would slide sideways, glazing over as his head nodded.

He still hadn't told me exactly what was up, why he was so upset and sleepless, but I could wait until he was ready, probably later in the morning when he was more awake. His head nodded and his chin fell onto his chest, sleep taking over for a few seconds and I made my move to lower his head onto my lap. It wasn't completely comfortable but he was with me, and that was enough to get him to sleep. His eyes slipped closed and his breathing slowed, my eyes watching as he fell asleep for the third time that night.

For a few hours I sat on the couch with Lachlan's head in my lap, only partly paying attention to the movie played while I watched my brother. I hated seeing him fall apart and it happened so often, Lachlan came to me crying or angry after something happened and although I did the same with him, that I was getting very worried.

"God Lachy." I whispered. "What's going on."

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Lachlan got a decent period of sleep this time, stirring sometime during the early morning as the sun was streaming in through the curtains. Already I was exhausted but I tried not to let it show because from his trembling lip and shaking body I knew it was going to be a bad day for him.

"Here." I whispered. "Let's share the blanket."

He didn't make any move to take the blanket so I did it for him. It was alright, he could have a bad day and this just so happened to be one of them. He closed his eyes and sighed lowly, his hand curled up in front of his face.

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"Can I borrow your sweater?" Lachlan whispered. He stood in the doorway of my bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair flat against his forehead. I nodded, rummaging in my draw to hand him my oversized hoodie that he loved so much. He took it, smiling a little. "Thanks."

He came back a few minutes later, dressed in my soft oversized hoodie and large sweatpants, clearly ready for a day of nothing, no work or recording. Although both of us had things to do and it was expected that I had to stream later in the evening, Lachlan was expected to have a video up that day, but we could always tweet out that neither of us were well or up to it later.

I ran my hand gently through Lachlan's hair, soft and falling over his forehead.

"Your hair is really soft after you wash it." I whispered, playing with it absentmindedly. That earned the flicker of a smile but not much else, and I decided it was the time to work out what was wrong. "Hey, what's up Lachy? You can tell me what's wrong."

He physically paused for a second, opening and closing his mouth for a few seconds while he tried to find something to say.

"I don't- I-" He stuttered, taking in a breath to gather himself. "I just... I feel like I'm being a burden on you and I'm not doing enough for my audience. I feel like shit." He said quietly, shamefully.

"No, no, no Lachlan, you shouldn't be ashamed of this! The last thing you are is a burden, hell, without you I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now and there's no way in hell I'm blaming you here." I ranted. "And you do far too much for your fans, honestly. Don't feel like you don't do enough and you need to take breaks sometimes to help your mental health. Never feel like you aren't enough."

He didn't look like he believed me so I kept going, telling him that he was enough.

"I swear Lachy, I'll always be here for you. It's what brothers do and remember that you're always enough." I whispered, comforting. "Always."