𝙤 𝙣 𝙚 𝙨 𝙝 𝙤 𝙩 𝙨 ☾ 𝙝 𝙖 𝙣 𝙠 𝙘 𝙤 𝙣

nothing's gonna hurt you, baby

"I'm sorry, Sumo. I didn't mean to worry you." Connor whispers even though he knows Sumo probably doesn't understand a word he's saying except for his name.

He knows what the solicitous beast is after though, and gratefully brings his hand up to run through the thick and soft fur, rubbing over his ears, top of his head, and just a little down his scruff before he's halted from moving any further with the dog in his lap.

Connor startles when he feels Hank touch him, feeling out for him with his hand and a confused sound escaping him when he notices something is out of the ordinary. Opening his eyes, the human takes in what he's seeing laid out beside him in the bedroom, before he frowns and sits up himself. Hank puts an arm around his partner, hanging low around the small of his back and hand curling comfortably around Connor's hip.

                                                      STRESS             ⇓

           ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀T O O  H I G H
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ʟᴇᴠᴇʟ ᴏғ sᴛʀᴇss
                          △  6 4  %

"Everything okay there, honey?" Hank asks, voice deep and gravelly sounding from sleep before he presses a small, chaste kiss to Connor's temple where is LED still lies and his currently in a state of crimson red and not changing colors any time soon from the looks of it.

Hank starts to run the hand on his hip slowly up and down his side in an aiding gesture to help sooth him and further assure him that Hank's right here with him.

Connor doesn't speak for a good while, leaning into Hank's half embrace whilst his hand was still petting at Sumo now plopped happily on top of the both of them. Eventually, the crying has completely reduced itself to only quiet and wet sniffling, when Connor finally decides to turn his auditory box back on and attempts to speak.

"I'm sorry, Hank. Just... It was just a dream, I didn't mean to wake you." He sounds worn and tired as well, closing his eyes and leaning further into Hank's warm side. Sumo gets up off of both of them and pads out of the room to, by the sounds of it, get a drink of water from his bowl in the kitchen. Hank takes that time to fully pull Connor into a full embrace, maneuvering the android into his lap so his legs are draped over his, and Connor buries his face into the crook of the older man's neck, both of his hands clutching into the ratty rock band t-shirt Hank had adorned for pajamas that night.

"Don't gotta apologize to me for shit like that, Con. I thought you knew that already."

Connor only answers with another sniffle and continues to listen and feel Hank's steadfast heartbeat thrumming against his hands and ear. It's oddly comforting, as it always is, and paired with when Hank starts running a hand up and down his back, it calms him down faster than anything else has.

"It wasn't real. Everything's alright now; you're okay." Hank reassures him, knowing Connor needs to hear it, and it keep Hank awake as well. Speaking of-

"You think you can go to sleep? Or do you need ta stay up or somethin'?"

Which Connor translates as: "We can go watch TV and I'll stay up with you until I pass out on the couch and complain about my back killing me in the morning after." It's endearing, really makes Connor feel cared about and loved like he's never felt before. All he needs right now is this though, which he voices to Hank before he checks his stress levels again.

                                                      STRESS             ⇓

           ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀O P T I M A L
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ʟᴇᴠᴇʟ ᴏғ sᴛʀᴇss
                          ▽  1 3 %

"Let's go to bed then, darlin'. Gotta get up for work in-?"

"Four hours, twenty-four minutes, six seconds and counting."

Hank snorts and pushes Connor off of him, giving him a playful glare short of annoyance before laying back and making room for Connor to lay back down beside him. Connor lets out a surprised sound that is definitely not a squeak, he doesn't understand why Hank is laughing about it, but the android huffs anyways in faux annoyance which is completely diminished when Hank curls his arm around his waist and stomach before pulling his back flush against Hank's chest. Hank keeps his arm there and kisses the nape of Connor's neck, before they mumble their goodnight's again and drift back off to sleep with Sumo at their feet again.

Like this, Connor feels overwhelming safe and loved, and he manages to have a dreamless sleep for the rest of the night.

♡♡♡

a/n: is this cheesy? probably. do i care? not particularly, i just needed to write fluff, lmao. hope you liked it n feel free to leave criticism, i'd love to find ways to better improve my writing. thank you for reading <3

you can find me on twitter: uhtrashmouth