Chapter Warning: Swearing

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Rurik shot up, his soul racing and his bones rattling; an uncomfortable heat radiated from him. His eye lights darted around, taking in his silent bedroom that was now illuminated with the first rays of morning light peeking through the window.

His soul calmed and the burning sensation ebbed as seconds ticked by and nothing happened; there were no enemies, no fighting, no blood... no dusty red scarf. The memory of Lotus's pained expression; his boyfriend's last words flitted through his mind. Growling to himself, Rurik sat up and snatched his phone off the nightstand. It was 6:32 am.

He scrubbed his face with his free hand, letting out a slow exhale as he clenched his sockets. It was just a nightmare; nothing happened. There was nothing to get worked up over; it wasn't real. No one died other than the intruders earlier, it was... too quiet.

Rurik sat in bed, listening for the telltale noises of cooking... or anything at all. An eerie silence seemed to echo through the house, pressing in on him. Normally, he wouldn't be bothered, but now the lack of sound slowly but surely ate away at all rational thought, filling him with a sense of dread as his soul picked up speed once more.

Throwing off the covers, the skeleton made a beeline for the door. He slammed open the door to his room, nearly sending himself over the railing opposite his room in his haste. Looking down, his starry eye lights homed in on a small figure sitting on the couch... Lotus. His hood was pulled up over his skull, his eye light nearly invisible if not for the glow. He looked like he had been sitting curled in a ball, his scythe grasped tightly in his left hand prior to Rurik's entrance; now, his upper body was turned toward the back of the couch, staring up at his companion with a look of veiled panic.

He was startled, but very much alive; it was just a bad dream.

Rurik felt his body relax, with Lotus seemingly following suit. His companion's focus redirected to the clock on the wall, "Sorry... I lost track of time. I'll make breakfast."

He flinched at the apology as Lotus unsummoned his weapon and began to crawl off the couch. "Don't," Rurik interrupted, "This morning was pretty hectic and I'm already hungry, so I'll just find something quick to eat instead."

Lotus muttered a quiet agreement, re-tucking his knees to his chest as Rurik tromped down the stairs and into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he spotted a few chocolate pudding cups. He reached in with a pleased grin, nearly closing the fridge with his prize in hand when his eye lights fell on his boyfriend once more. The monster was still curled up on the couch, his tired gaze fixed on... the door; had he been staring at it all night?

Growling softly, Rurik reached in for a second cup, closed the fridge, and retrieved two spoons from the silverware drawer. Returning to the living room, he inspected his partner.

Lotus looked even worse up close; his eye light had returned to its normal size, but it looked hazy around the edges, outlined by the dark rings under his sockets. He was clearly fighting the need to sleep, his arms wrapped around his tucked legs in a feeble attempt to prop himself up; all the while, he watched the door intently.

"You haven't moved from this spot since I went to bed, have you?" Rurik asked, tearing open his pudding cup and digging his spoon into it. He furrowed his sockets when the smaller silently confirmed that he had, in fact, not slept. Tossing the extra unopened pudding, it bounced off Lotus's leg before settling on the couch next to him; the skeleton stared at it as the taller flopped onto the couch and thrust a spoon in front of his face, "At least eat some food; you look like shit."

The smaller skeleton took the spoon without a fight, reaching for the snack and tearing open the top. Rurik frowned as he watched his companion slowly eat in silence, their eye light darting up every so often; was Lotus acting like this because of the intruders? It made no sense; he had been in life-or-death fights before and was no stranger to fighting or injuries, having patched up many of them himself. What had him so on edge now? What was different?

"This psycho-whatsit bullshit is giving me a headache," Rurik grumbled. Finishing his pudding, he decided to ask straight out, "What's going on with you? You're acting like the door's going to jump up and bite you."

"Sorry...," Lotus apologized again, earning an unseen scowl, "It's... you said the lock was broken; I wanted to make sure the guy that ran off didn't come back. After screwing up this morning, I figured I should do something to make up for it."

"Screwing up? What the hell are you talking about?" Rurik pressed; his earlier nightmare gradually crept back to the front of his mind despite his desire to forget.

"I wasn't able to take care of the guy that came after me, and even though I tried to warn you when they jumped down, you still got hurt...," Lotus's eye light darted up to Rurik's bandaged collarbone, then shifted back down as he clutched at his pant leg; his frame trembled as he murmured, "If I was stronger... if I was a better fighter, I could have prevented it... but I didn't; I failed to pull my weight. I could've done more, but... I was-"

' I'm... sorry... I'm so... useless...'

Rurik could almost hear the Lotus from his nightmare overlap with the monster in front of him, creating a haunting duet. Suppressing another growl, he reached over and plucked his partner from their seat and pulled them into his lap.

Lotus squeaked, nearly dropping his pudding, "Ru-"

"You're not useless," Rurik cut in, holding the smaller to his chest, "I was keeping track of the kill count; I might have taken more out, but you managed to kill one and crippled another for me. My injury was because I wasn't paying enough attention to my surroundings; your warning and interference are the reason my injury isn't worse... as for that dumbass, he wouldn't dare come back after the beating we handed out."

Gauging his companion, it seemed Lotus still wasn't convinced. "They came as a group of five enemies and left as a single coward with his tail tucked between his legs; we both came out of the fight alive with only minor injuries," he reasoned, reaching up and brushing his thumb against the bandage on the smaller's right cheek, "You know why that is?"

"Because you're strong..."

"Because we're a team," Rurik corrected, "We work together and make up for what the other lacks. I may be strong, but I wouldn't have been able to fight them all by myself; you being there to provide cover fire kept the group scattered enough that they couldn't swarm me, and the warning saved me from getting pinned down and run through.

"As far as I'm concerned, you pulled your weight. Now finish your pudding so you can take a nap; you look exhausted and I don't need you making yourself sick. I have nowhere I need to be today, so I can keep an eye socket on things while you sleep. After you wake up, we can see about getting a new deadbolt and fixing the door."

"But if they do come back-"

"Then I'll be here, and we'll kick their asses all over again. Just like you warned me, I'll do the same for you," Rurik assured the skeleton in his lap.

Lotus's expression still held some uncertainty, but it made no sense; he knew Rurik could handle a fight, so why was he worried... about...

Something clicked in his mind, "... This is about them breaking into the house, isn't it?"

Bingo; Lotus looked down at his pudding cup, seeming to mull over the question before nodding his head, "I never... they got in so easily. This is our house; our safe space, and they just... came in, and tried to kill us. Yeah, we took care of it this time, but with a lock being the only thing keeping them out, what's stopping it from happening again... from ending worse next time?"

Rurik opened his mouth to refute his partner's worries, pausing when he found he really couldn't guarantee something like this would never happen again. They lived in a rough-and-tumble world, after all; there were never any guarantees, only precautions.

"Would it make you feel better if we got some additional locks for the front door as well as a new deadbolt? A chain lock or a security bolt?" he proposed instead.

The monster in his lap glanced over to the door, mumbling, "Maybe an alarm...?"

"Alright, we can shop around and see what's available, but you have to eat and get some rest before we go anywhere," the taller decided before teasingly adding, "I can't have my little flower falling over himself outside; might give people ideas."

Lotus grumbled, spooning the pudding into his mouth to cover his embarrassment as the taller monster laughed; he could be so adorable when he was grumpy. Once the snack was finished, Rurik took it and the spoon, stacking it in his own empty container. Leaning back to find a comfortable position for the both of them, his boyfriend was eventually sandwiched comfortably between him and the cushions lining the back of the couch; the smaller yawned, resting their head against his shoulder with their arms curled upon his chest.

Even with exhaustion nagging at him and Rurik's attempts to soothe his nerves, it still took Lotus nearly half an hour before he could relax and fall into an uneasy sleep. Studying his sleeping companion's face, he could already spot trouble, at least for the next few days.

Now that he thought about it, Lotus's room came before his on the landing; that needs to change. The idea of someone being able to sneak into his boyfriend's room without having to go past him first... he felt anger bubbling up at the thought. Unfortunately, all of his furniture as too big to fit in a regular room, so switching rooms wouldn't work; a bunch of locks on their bedroom door would be too cumbersome... so that leaves having them move into his room.

He contemplated the idea as he played with one of the cords of Lotus's hoodie, lazily twining it around his finger. Space wouldn't be a problem since he had a master bedroom, and his companion didn't have much in the way of possessions anyway; it was only a matter of convincing them to share a sleeping space with him. He knew he would certainly feel better if he was able to confirm they were nearby and safe at a moment's notice while also making sure his partner was actually sleeping rather than pulling sentry duty all night.

Carefully reaching for the remote, he turned on the T.V., lowering the volume and flipping through channels as he let the idea simmer. Lotus shifted at the movement, unfurling one arm to wrap around Rurik's chest; letting out a sigh of content, the monster cuddled in closer and settled back into slumber.

He pressed a light kiss against his boyfriend's skull, tightening his grip around their back and upper body before returning his attention back to the T.V. and smiling. Sharing a room with Lotus... yeah, he liked that idea.

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Word Count: 1,944