Work Text:
You sighed as you turned over in bed yet again. As exhausted as you were, you just couldn’t get yourself comfortable enough to actually fall asleep. It was the room, you supposed. It was too open, completely unlike the basement that you’d been used to sleeping in for the last few months. Ariel had only started allowing you to sleep upstairs with him very recently, and you weren’t quite used to it.
As ridiculous as it was, you felt as if you required Ariel’s presence to feel safe. When he was around, you always felt as if you were completely enveloped by him, that nothing else would be able to get you. Why that was, you didn’t know, but it was your reality now, and you’d long given up hope of escaping.
You pushed the blankets off of yourself, shivering as the cold night air reached your bare legs. Getting up from the bed, you walked over to the staircase and slowly descended them, trying to be as quiet as you possibly could.
Ariel was sitting on the sofa, completely engrossed in whatever he was doing, and he didn’t seem to notice you. The light of his laptop lit his face, and you could see the reflection of the screen in his eyes. You fidgeted with your hands for a few moments, wondering whether it was worth it to interrupt him, before deciding to speak up.
“Ariel?” you said softly, and at the sound of your voice Ariel immediately looked up. You saw his eyes trail up and down your body, lingering on your bare thighs visible from underneath his t-shirt. For just a split second, he was distracted — you could see that look in his eye that he always had just before he took you — but his attention quickly returned to his laptop.
“I thought you went to bed.” Ariel sounded detached, not exactly what you were used to when he was talking to you.
“I did,” you told him, crossing your arms over your chest in an attempt to keep yourself warm. “I was just wondering when you were coming up.”
“I’m not. I have a lot of work to do.” You watched Ariel’s hands as they typed away at the keyboard at a speed you could never hope to reach, and wondered what it was that he was doing. Honestly, it was probably best if you didn’t know. “Go back to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“It’s not healthy to stay up all night. You need to sleep.” He had always looked tired in all of the time you had known him, with dark circles beneath his eyes that were actually quite attractive on him, but right now he looked like he could drop at any moment.
Ariel’s gaze returned to you, and he looked almost amused at the fact that you were telling him what he should be doing. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
Obviously, the healthy sleeping schedule argument wasn’t going to work on him, so you would have to try something else. “Do you think you could come and lay with me, at least until I fall asleep? I… I find it easier to sleep when you’re there with me.”
It was true, but a big part of you wished that it wasn’t. Ariel’s eyes lit up as he processed what you had said, and the slightly amused expression he’d had morphed into a full smirk. “Is that so, kitten?” he drawled, his nimble fingers finally pausing on the keys. You could see that he was waiting for your confirmation, and wouldn’t move until he had it.
“Yes, Ariel,” you reiterated, feeling a little nervous. At your words, Ariel closed his laptop, before standing up from the sofa and walking over to you.
“I suppose I can take a quick break.” Ariel brushed your hair away from your forehead, leaning down to press a lingering kiss to it. “Anything for my princess.”
“Thank you, Ariel,” you replied, your cheeks growing a little warm from how he spoke to you.
“Good girl,” Ariel said, seemingly pleased, and he intertwined his fingers with yours as he lead you back upstairs to his bedroom.
You felt a flood of warmth and safety wash over you as he laid you down on the bed, wrapping his arms around you once he had settled down beside you. By your own volition, you rested your head on Ariel’s chest, comforted by the sound of his steady heartbeat.
Ariel held you tightly to him with one arm, stroking your hair gently and watching you as you slowly drifted off to sleep. He smiled to himself, knowing that you needed him made him feel happier than he probably ever had in his life.
Before he knew it, Ariel began to fall asleep himself, the long nights spent at his computer finally beginning to take their toll on him. He allowed his heavy eyelids to flutter closed, enjoying the feeling of your body so close to his, and the sense of security that your presence brought him.