[Fic] and oh, how i long for sleep (The Attic - A. M. Burrage)
- Fandom: The Attic - A. M. Burrage
- Pairing: Stanley Forbes/Derek Wilson
- Tags: Post-Canon
- Word-Count: 413
- Status: Status
- First Published: 2024-01-22
- Disclaimer: I do not own The Attic - A. M. Burrage and make no profit from this—it is solely a hobby for fun, with no financial compensation.
Notes:
Written for 3 Sentence Ficathon 2024.
Prompt: Any, any, accidentally falling asleep on each other.
Work Text:
It should then not be a surprise, that after the day's disturbance---for, indeed, what else could a discovery of a skeleton in the garden and ghosts in the attic be termed---both Forbes and Derek found themselves huddling in one of the sitting rooms downstairs, curling before a warm fire and staying closer together than was both wise or necessary, some remnant of aching coldness still burrowed deep within them; for indeed they'd witnessed something they'd never wished, and now they were each trapped in the longitude of something simpler, something less divine and more mortal besides.
Derek would be leaving the manor shortly; he was still white-faced and unnaturally still even in the evening dark, Forbes could not help but notice, and when Derek looked at his sister and her husband and did tellingly not say a word, Forbes found himself scooting yet closer to the young man, offering silent comfort and watching closely for signs of distress; Derek sniffled quietly at one point and Forbes' heart very nearly stopped in his chest, a great sense of alluding loss clouding him, for he was unable to cease imagining how things might have gone wrong, how indeed it could have been Derek that was reduced to naught but bones.
In the dark, under the light of the fires and not much else, Forbes did close his eyes and lean against the backrest of the soft sofa, achingly aware of the body not far from him, and upon Derek's repeating sniffle for the second time in a very short occasion, he held out his hand in an offer of silence support, unable to make himself say the words out loud, for he was still musing on his own experiences and was unable to name much of any of them; Derek grabbed his hand, and Forbes had barely managed to squeeze the cold limb before Derek shoved himself close, so close that Forbes could smell the distinctive tang of the day's travel on the boy, and he found no interest in pushing the boy away---rather, Forbes stayed put, offering his company in lieu of any words of comfort, and when Derek's head rested upon his shoulder he still did move; indeed, he did not move for so long, silent in the quieter room, that he was unable to battle the call of sleep---nor, by the quiet puffs of breath on his skin, was Derek---and so lost---rather comfortably, all things told.