I'm Not Tired (Please Let Me Sleep)

Chapter seventeen

The tears had dried eventually and Tommy was more than just tired at this point. Sleep sounded good but he couldn't risk it, not when he'd literally had a nightmare that, in his very humble opinion, was even worse than continuously seeing himself getting mangled and killed in the worst ways possible. He didn't want to see Wilbur's corpse again. And he didn't want to risk seeing Phil or Techno dead either.

And he really, really did not want to see Dream right now.

So sleep was not an option. Which meant only one thing.

He'd needed an energy drink. Or coffee. Something with caffeine that would keep him awake after this crying session.

They both still sat on the ground with the piglin having him practically glued to his chest, deep rumbling coming nonstop from the man. It was calming and had long since stopped the frightened chirps and peeps that left his throat involuntarily. A deep understanding had settled between the instinct-riddled part of his mind and the part that was still somewhat human, the understanding that Techno would protect him. A protector, that's what the instincts had whispered. The same thing they had screeched when Blood God saved him from Dream by pulling him into the shadow realm.

He frowned, trying to wiggle his way out of Techno's bear hug. The piglin didn't let him, rumbling stuttering into something deeper momentarily before it turned back into a purr. Tommy was still caged in by the arms, was still feeling the steady warmth that was sipping off the hybrid's chest, embracing it. When the second attempt at getting up didn't bring him anywhere either he simply huffed and slumped into the hold, forehead resting against the man's collarbone. His mind was slowly beginning to get foggy, instincts whispering and becoming louder with every second he'd spend breathing in the strangely calming scent of the piglin.

Techno's scent was interesting. A warm smell of pine wood and something copper-like with a hint of ember. And sweat. Huh.

It smelled really familiar.

Almost like Blood God.

No, scratch that, exactly like Blood God.

Whatever, this was his protector so there was nothing to dwell about.

The arms around his back loosened slightly and it probably would have been the perfect opportunity for him to get out of the hug and to the kitchen. But Tommy couldn't get up, his body refusing to work properly and the sane part of his brain too quiet to command the instincts that had been roaring up to stay calm. Even his mind seemed to agree with that, why would he need to move now? Protector was perfectly capable of doing that for him.

He was still tired and incredibly exhausted and idly Tommy noted that he probably experienced an adrenaline crash not too long ago. Sleep would be perfect right now.

Protector moved them slightly, the hands on his back leaving and instead pressing him into a sitting position. Tommy came face to face with his protector, crimson eyes looking him all over and focusing on a slightly burning spot on his right cheek. A hand came up, fingers gently tracing the area and he whined when the touch brought him a stinging pain. Protector chuffed immediately, then gently tilted his head to the side to expose his throat.

Tommy didn't like that. Had he been bad? Why did he have to expose his throat? What had he done to make protector think he didn't trust him?

A distressed warble. Sorry-submit-sorry.

It was met with the familiar chuff-chuff-chuff of his protector, the man briefly looking at his face again to meet Tommy's eyes before going back to a spot on his neck. He whined again, voluntarily exposing his neck even more to show that he was a good fledgling. While he didn't quite know what he'd done it must've been something really bad for protector to do something like this. Hopefully, he'd accept the apology.