What Hath Night to do With Sleep? (a PR fic)

[1]

Pentecost walked into the lab and stilled instantly.

Doctors Gottlieb and Geiszler were asleep...or rather from the look of it passed out on the only couch in the lab, both fully clothed thankfully, and while that wasn't overly unusual for the scientists to just drop wherever they were, the two were known to work for days on end without sleep after all, what was unusual was their sleeping positions.

Geiszler was laying facedown on the couch, his glasses having fallen off his face and to the floor, one arm was above his head while the other hung off the edge of the cushions, his hand resting on the floor at an angle that spoke of a great deal of pain and stiffness when Geiszler finally woke up. A thin trickle of drool had escaped his mouth and was running down his chin to drip onto the cushion.

As for Gottlieb the man was draped over Geiszler's back like a blanket, though the way the man's arms were wrapped around Geiszler the image brought to mind an octopus. With his head tucked into the space between Geiszler's shoulders it was difficult to tell if Gottlieb was drooling like Geiszler.

The whole thing might have been humorous if Pentecost hadn't come down to the lab for...a stack of folders on a table caught the Marshall's eye, a note a top them with his name had him walking over. Thankfully it was what he'd come for.

Gathering up the folders he gave the sleeping scientists a final glance, shook his head and hurried from the lab, wondering just how the two would react when they woke to find themselves in those...odd...positions.

[2]

Chuck hadn't thought anything about returning to the room he shared with his dad well after two in the morning. He and a bunch of the Striker Eureka crew had gone out to a bar and he'd even had the decency to invite his dad but Herc had simply shook his head and said something about catching up on a book or something. Chuck hadn't honestly been paying attention. Now, stumbling a bit, he entered the room, surprised that his dad wasn't still up, the old man usually waited up until he got back whenever he went out drinking,

Looking towards his dad's bed he immediately froze, eyes widening and jaw dropping open as though it had come unhinged.

He dad was sprawled out on the bed, not an unusual sleeping position for the old man, but what was unusual that curled into his dad's side, head resting on Herc's shoulder, looking more peaceful that Chuck could ever remember seeing, was Marshall Pentecost.

The Marshall's arm was slung over Herc's torso, hand resting above Herc's heart and Herc's arm was wrapped around Pentecost's shoulders, holding him close. Neither man was wearing a shirt and Chuck thanked whatever deity was listening that the blanket was covering below their stomachs because seeing his dad sleeping with the Marshall he could handle. Seeing his dad and the Marshall sleeping together naked would have been way too much to handle.

Especially since he was more than a little bit drunk.

He quickly turned and left the room. Looked like he was bunking in the lab tonight.

[3]

Mako wasn't really paying attention to where she was going beyond knowing she was looking for the Wei brothers.

She was flipping through papers, searching for the forms that the triplets had to sign, and walked into one of the Shatterdome's common rooms. Usually people used to them hang out in if they didn't want to spend any more time than necessary in the hangers or the mess but today it seemed the room's occupants had decided to use it for a different purpose.

Stopping in the doorway a small smile graced her face as she realized she'd found the Wei brothers. Jin and Cheung were sitting side by side on one of the room's couches, slumped towards one another, heads bent in close as though they were talking to one another, and draped facedown across their laps was Hu.

Jin's hand was on the back of Hu's head, almost like the way a person would let their hand rest against a cat's head before petting it. Cheung's rested just below back of Hu's knee, curled around it what could have been considered possessiveness or possibly comfort.

She knew she should wake them, that the Marshall needed those forms as quickly as possible, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She could always find them later after all. Her smile widened a bit as she quietly slipped from the room, glancing back briefly at the tender sight the triplets made before continuing on her way.

[4]

There were nights, far too many nights, when Raleigh couldn't sleep.

When that happened he would often walk around, hoping to tire himself out so that he might get a few hours of sleep. Tonight was one of those nights and he found himself wandering around the Jaeger hanger, thinking he'd go look at Gypsy Danger again. His quick glance that afternoon hardly enough for him. He was surprised by the emptiness of the hanger but figured most everyone was busy with other things or sleeping.

He had just stepped around a crate of gear when he noticed the hanger wasn't as empty as he'd originally thought.

Sitting on the floor by the foot of Cherno Alpha was Sasha and Aleksis Kaidanovsky.

They were propped up against Cherno's foot, Aleksis' arm wrapped possessively, protectively, around Sasha, tucking her inside his side and making her look even smaller. Sasha's head was resting against Aleksis' chest while one of her hands lay on his knee. It was a rather touching thing to see, especially since the Kaidanovskys always seemed to exude an air of intimidation and confidence. Seeing them like this, open and vulnerable, reminded Raleigh that they, like all Jaeger pilots, were human.

He smiled just a little bit as he quietly walked over, slipping the blanket he'd wrapped around his shoulders before his walk, and carefully draping it over the Kaidanovskys, because honestly, it might be the Hong Kong Shatterdome but it was still chilly in the hanger bay. He had just started to straighten, to move back, when a hand suddenly snared his wrist, causing him to jerk in surprise but then immediately fall still.

Sasha blinked sleepily up at him, her blue-green eyes sharp even though clouded by a haze of sleep. She must have immediately recognized him because her grip, which had been fairly painful, loosened, though she didn't let go of him. "Raleigh," she mumbled his name, her voice heavily accented. "Ostavat'sya."

He blinked in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Ostavat'sya."

Stay.

It's the first time someone has said that to him in a long time.

He nodded and wasn't surprised when she pulled him down next to her, her arm going around his waist while humming some lullaby that he didn't recognize as he let his head rest back against Cherno's foot. He had to admit that this wasn't a bad way to spend his night.

[5]

Herc was grumbling under his breath as he entered the room he and Chuck still shared in the Shatterdome. It had been six months since Operation Pitfalll. Six months since Herc had taken over as Marshall. It was hardly an easy job and Herc now wondered how Stacker had managed it. The man had always made it look at least somewhat easy. Shaking his head as he shut the door he was surprised when Max was suddenly pressing against his leg whining softly.

Odd for the dog to not be with Chuck.

Noticing the silence of the room he found himself frowning.

Even odder for Chuck to not be up and about by now.

"Kid?"

Herc turned and immediately stilled when he saw his son and someone else on Chuck's bed.

Raleigh Becket was laying face down, his head pillowed on one arm while the other hung off the edge of the bed. Chuck was curled up in a ball next to Raleigh, head resting against the other man's ribs, his arm wrapped around Raleigh's waist, while Raleigh had one leg bent upwards, resting over Chuck's thighs.

It hardly looked like the most comfortable position, for Chuck or for Raleigh, but the two were sleeping soundly, wrapped around each other like octopi. His frown quickly became a grin and he opened the door, quietly herding Max out into the hallway. He stole another glance at the sleeping men, taking in the contented expressions they both wore, before slipping out and quietly shutting the door behind him.

He was glad the boys had finally worked things out. They both deserved some happiness.