Various! Pokémon x Reader

Arlo x Reader || Day Off

Arlo laid under the blankets he had been wrestling with all night and leered at the new morning light being cast on the ceiling. Your head rested on the pillow as you cracked an eye open to see Arlo in his disheveled state. His hair was let down and spilled over his pillow, tempting you to touch it. You combed a couple of fingers through the side of his hair, and let the palm of your hand rest on his temple. He leaned into your hand, and closed his eyes.

"Couldn't sleep?" Your voice cracked softly from slumber. He grumbled under his breath, and you took it to mean you were right. You propped yourself up on your elbow and got a better look at Arlo. Under his eyes were dark and swollen from a complete lack of sleep over the past few days. You leaned down and carefully pressed a kiss to his forehead. He closed his eyes and sighed, dreading the day ahead of him.

Arlo was the kind of person who had no concept of his limits— he was always pushing himself further than he should to try and reach perfection with everything he does, regardless of how mundane or impractical the skill was to hone. He always managed to pull through, but not without consequences. Arlo was typically a sleep-deprived and frustrated mess motivated almost exclusively by stress and a fear of failure. You were used to this, and took measures to prevent your beloved from completely falling apart.

Lately, these efforts have proven to be in vain. Nothing seemed to provide relief or comfort for Arlo, and you knew he was close to breaking. There was only one option left to avoid what was sure to be a catastrophic breakdown: Arlo had to take a sick day.

There was one little hitch in this plan. Due to Arlo's potent mix of pride, stubbornness, and a need for perfection, keeping him home would be a challenge. You've enlisted help to accomplish this, and they should be calling at any min—

Arlo's phone vibrated on the nightstand, right on time. He tensed his jaw and pawed at the nightstand, accepted the call, and let the phone rest against his face. His brows knit together and formed a confused grimace. He sighed.

"Okay. Thanks." He ended the call and placed the phone face down, then closed his eyes. "Day off. Said that there's a ton of power outages or something, it'd be a waste to go out until it's fixed."

You laid on your side to face him. "Then try to get some more rest. We both know you need it." Your hand found his under the covers, and you ran your thumb over the back of his hand. His hands —and the rest of his body— were always so cold. You could feel his whole body relax.

"I hope our power doesn't go out."

You reached upward to hold his cheek. "Don't worry about it."

Arlo took a deep breath and sighed, letting his eyes flutter shut. "I guess I shouldn't." He turned his face toward you, eyes still closed. "I didn't sleep at all last night. All I could think about was what I had to do tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that."

You scooted closer to him, and cradled the back of his head in your hand. Your foreheads were nearly touching. "Then stop thinking for a bit."

His eyes barely opened before he moved closer, tucking himself in the crook of your neck and tangling his legs in yours. "I would if I could. Trust me."

Within moments his breathing shallowed, and the tenseness in his body fell away. You felt yourself falling into slumber as well, satisfied by your successful scheme.

You woke up with Arlo hours later— 11:30 A.M., to be exact.

"That's the longest I've slept in since... I'm not sure, actually."

You rubbed his back. "You needed it."

"If you say so. I just feel like I wasted half of the day."