I'm posting this a bit late since I was invited last minute to go shopping, but better late than never~
Chapter Warning: Swearing
***
Lotus jolted awake at the sound of a crash, a brief flash of forest green filling his vision before everything went dark once more. His soul was thrumming in his chest as he processed the loud noise and willed himself to calm down when nothing happened.
Propping himself up on his left elbow, he turned and let his vision adjust enough to make out the vague outline of the living room. He could hear the rain hammering rapidly on the roof and windows as another flash lit up the room, proving the storm outside was still going strong.
Lotus shifted into a sitting position, only to feel something soft slip down his right arm. Reaching for the object, he felt cotton under his fingers. At some point, he had acquired a blanket. Suppositions to its origins brought thoughts of Rurik, the memories of their fight earlier, and feelings of regret with it.
The small skeleton drew his legs close to his chest and rested his forehead against his knees, as if the action could drive away the negative emotions smoldering in his soul.
Rurik was only angry because he thought something had happened and felt helpless to do anything. The outburst earlier was likely a roundabout attempt at expressing worry for Lotus' wellbeing.
On the other hand, Lotus was upset that Rurik had rushed into a storm that had racked up a considerable death count for his sake. He knew his sour attitude was the result of pent up nerves from numerous close calls and guilt for making his partner worry, but he had been too tired to deal with it properly at the time.
Clenching the blanket draped around him in his fists, the smaller hissed, "I just keep screwing up... what the hell's wrong with me?" His only answer was a loud peal of the thunder outside that made him flinch and the hunger pangs within himself.
For now, the only problem he could resolve was the demand of his body. It was way too late for dinner and still too early for breakfast, but he could at least get some water, maybe a pudding cup, to sate himself. Throwing the blanket off his legs and suppressing a shiver as the cool night air hit him, Lotus swung his feet over the edge of the couch and onto the floor.
"Urmph!"
A loud grunt from under him had the small skeleton gasping as he jerked his feet back up onto the couch. A dark figure slowly rose from the floor in front of him. Before he could summon his magic to fend them off, a timely flash of lightning lit up the figure haphazardly covered in a blanket as they grumbled, "Dammit Lotus, a little warning before you step on me next time."
"Rurik?" Lotus breathed, his body uncoiling itself gradually from its defensive ball, "It's the middle of the night, what the hell are you doing on the floor?"
The silhouette drooped a bit and Lotus could hear the hesitance in Rurik's voice, "Well, you said you were too tired to climb the stairs, but I didn't want to leave you down here without a blanket since you said you were cold. So I went upstairs to get a blanket, but you'd already fallen asleep by the time I came back down. Because of that, I couldn't try to talk to you without waking you up again."
There was a long pause where nothing was said.
"That explains the blanket," Lotus commented, plucking at the cotton material beside him, "but that still doesn't tell me what you were doing on the floor."
The smaller watched Rurik shift, "I know you're mad at me, but it was still storming outside. I remembered you hate loud noises... and..."
"... and?" Lotus prompted.
"I didn't feel comfortable leaving you alone," his companion mumbled in a low tone. Lotus was stunned into silence, leaving room for Rurik to continue, "With how noisy the storm is, I figured you'd probably wake up in the middle of the night and want company... but you're stubborn, so you'd probably suffer in silence instead of coming upstairs. I also couldn't be sure I'd hear it if something happened down here. If someone used the noise outside to break in and they attacked you... if I slept through it, thinking it was just thunder or the wind...
"In the end, I decided I'd rather sleep on the floor next to the couch than risk waking up to your dust in the morning."
Lotus sat there, staring at Rurik's outline. His companion was right about his stubborn streak, he would refuse to seek out comfort after their fight out of shame for his behavior... and while he wouldn't have considered the idea of someone breaking in initially, the thought probably would have plagued him after sitting in the dark long enough.
Lotus already knew how Rurik was when it came to their safety, so the worry didn't surprise him when he took the evening's events into account. To go so far as to sleep on the ground, though, especially after their fight...
"I'm guessing by the silence, you're still mad," Rurik stated, bundling up his own blanket and rising to his feet, "I'll go back upstairs, maybe we can ta-"
"Rurik, shut up and get on the couch," Lotus interrupted in a weary tone, scooting away from the edge.
Lotus couldn't see his companion's expression, but he could imagine the slack-jawed shock on it as he said, "What?"
"I said get on the couch," the smaller repeated, "Even with the blanket, I'm still cold and I bet you are too. It'll be better than the floor, at least."
That managed to get the dumbfounded skeleton moving, eliciting a snort as he made his way toward the couch. A minute later, Lotus was wedged between him and the back cushions, resting his skull against Rurik's left arm with two sets of blankets covering them both.
Wrapping his right arm around the smaller and drawing them in closer, Rurik's chest rumbled softly against their back, "Better?" Lotus hummed an affirmative, unable to trust his voice not to betray him while being grateful for the darkness that hid his face, which was flushed from more than the warmth of the blankets.
As the pair settled in and everything fell quiet save for the fierce storm outside, Lotus broke the silence, "... 'm sorry."
"Huh...?" Rurik sounded like he was already half asleep.
"I'm sorry... for being pissy and yelling earlier, I mean," the smaller clarified, gripping at the sleeve of their shirt with his right hand, "I know you were only trying to look out for me, but I was grumpy from work and upset about you being out in that mess. I was mad at myself for... a lot of things, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you. So, I'm sorry."
"Well, I'm just as guilty since I yelled too," Rurik admitted. Lotus felt their chin rest lightly upon his skull, "Since we both suck at talking out our feelings, I'll forgive you if you forgive me. Deal?"
"Deal," Lotus agreed readily, grasping the hand resting against his sternum with his own and snuggling into the arm pillowed under his skull. The small skeleton's sockets fell shut, letting the sound of Rurik's steady soul beats at his back and the comforting warmth surrounding him drown out the storm and carry him off to sleep.
He would need to deal with the aftermath of the storm eventually... but for now, the world could wait.
***
I got the inspiration for this story from a Facebook post where a couple got in a fight and the girl slept on the couch, only to wake up later to find her boyfriend sleeping on the floor next to her with the excuse, "I know we're fighting, but I don't want you to sleep alone."
My immediate thought after reading that post was, "That is definitely something Rurik would do." and so the story was born.
Hope you guys enjoyed and happy flag day~
Word Count: 1,266