Chapter Text
God, this sucks..
The room around you is, almost quite literally if you squint hard enough, sparkling clean. Dishes are done, laundry is folded, and the couch is fluffed up and dusted over with a light coat of fabric cleaner. Hell, even the rugs had a good beat-down in the backyard, the residual dust still lingering in your nose. And yet…
A sigh emanates from within your chest as you glance at the clock on your nightstand, the analog “3:00 AM” glowing warmly. It lights the room with a soft yellow hue, allowing you to see your work from the past five hours faintly, and despite distracting yourself as much as possible, you can’t seem to sleep. Even counting sheep hasn’t helped, despite how Dom has passed your house six, no, seven times now.
“I guess some people have to get their nightly workout in” you mutter as you slip on your loafers, deciding some fresh air might be the key to finally getting a good night’s rest.
The night is cool and brisk, a slight breeze ruffling the leaves and other foliage outside. The dark lends itself to quiet activities, like a run around the main path of the island or stargazing. Celeste had visited the night before, but tonight it was different. The stars seemed to yearn, instead of dance. Bright twinkles in the night sky looking back at you, soft glints speaking quietly. But now is not the time to wonder.
Taking a note from Dom’s book, you begin to walk. Cold dew tickles at your ankles and bugs croon a sweet song of the night, their song guiding you towards a destination not too unfamiliar: Apollo’s house. His residence was quaint, not too different from your own. The colors weren’t bold like some of your other island residents' houses were, but that made it unique in its own way. Black and white, just like the eagle that resided within. A quick peek at the windows indicated that he was inside, but still awake. And with that knowledge, you froze.
What to do. What to say? How would any sane person explain wanting to hang out with someone at such an ungodly hour at night? You suppose people like Dom and Lolly were still awake, but that was a given. They were always late risers and late sleepers, but you? You always woke up with the morning announcements and got right to work. Crops that needed watering? You were on it. Rocks that needed moving? Gone before you could finish humming the island’s tune. And despite all of this, here you were. Spiraling out of control right before the white door that leads into your best friend’s house.
You turn around, now pacing back and forth. Was this too much? Was this an overstep of his boundaries? It hurt to think about. But the stress hurt more. Physically exhausted, but unable to sleep lead to horrible migraines, thoughts bouncing around inside of your head putting pressure on the front of your skull. And yet the insects continued to chirp and buzz. The wind still blew. Horizons yet unexplored, even on your own island, carried on just as they had been for years. This was all in your mind, so why should you even care? Why did it matter so much. It hurts to be so aware of-
A bloodcurdling scream left your mouth as movement was detected in your peripheral, flinching alongside you at the noise.
“Fuck! God, don’t sneak up on me like that,” you hissed to the tall figure looming over your side.
“Well then don’t pace outside of my house like a crazed maniac then,” Apollo grumbled, his wing ruffling up the feathers on the back of his head uncomfortably. You turn to look at him, staring sharply at his narrowed eyes. That was one way to get you to stop spiraling, but now that the adrenaline rush has worn off, annoyance sets in. The thought of said emotion being out of place flitted across your mind, but you paid it no attention. “Now that that’s outta the way, what the hell do you want anyways, pah.”
Arms crossed, you continued to stare at him for a moment before deferring your eyes. It was useless to try to lie to him anyways. He was one of the only people you knew that had a knack for sniffing out lies, apart from your mom. And usually that ability was useful, but now?
“I couldn’t sleep,” you said weakly. It hurt to not explain your situation to your best friend, but omitting some of the truth was better than telling a lie, and you were not in the best mindset to receive his sometimes unwelcome criticism. But it didn’t seem to matter that much, as one of his warm wings wrapped around the side of your body. You hadn’t even noticed him walking up to you, and the quiet gasp that left your body showed that. But Apollo didn’t mind, seemingly brushing off his annoyance for something a bit softer. A bit kinder. If that even means anything coming from a cranky man like himself.
Apollo breathed in heavily before starting again, “Isn’t it a little late for you to be running around alone? You should be home, enjoying a nice, quiet evening.” His eyes bore straight into your soul, it felt. “Let’s get you inside.”
The walk up to his front door felt like hours. Never having entered his house in this context, it felt… Wrong. Usually just a quick pop in to say hi and drop off a gift was the extent of most of your visits, and because of that you don’t quite remember what the inside of his house looks like. And this… was not what you remembered.
Instead of the bright harsh light that typically fills his room, a TV and lamp were the only sources of illumination. It brought a cold but cozy atmosphere to the room, only exemplified by the soft music playing from some unknown location. It actually felt nice, for once. Rather than an oddly unfurnished bachelor pad, it was instead a modest home.
You take a seat in the booth crammed against the corner of the room and sigh. Again, that feeling came up. Exhaustion. And yet, as you closed your eyes you couldn’t help but think about all of the potential things you could be doing instead of sitting here. Weeding the various gardens around the island, planting new flowers, exploring uncharted lands to find only the best resources for back at home.
“Pah, stop that.” Apollo grunts. He sits across from you in a stool he pulled up, warm eyes a cold contrast to his harsh words.
“Stop what?”
“Thinking. I can hear it.” He leans over a bit, body seemingly towering over your own as his gaze sharpens. “Eagles have better hearing than you lot do. Annoying, isn’t it?” He smirks before placing a mug in front of you.
“What’s this?” you ask, hesitantly grabbing it. The warmth from the mug is grounding, the smell radiating from it labels itself as chamomile. Without waiting for a response, you tip the mug back and take a sip. “When did you even have time to make this?”
Apollo smirked. “Around the time I noticed your ugly mug standin’ outside my door. Reckoned you probably needed some saving, like usual.”
With that he got up, stretching out his wings as wide as they could go. You felt a bit off seeing him do that, caught between a quiet sense of fear that he was cornering you and comfort knowing he was comfortable enough to do that infront of you. And also, a bit of awe. His wingspan was large, filling up the space in your peripheral vision easily. And though at the end of his arms were talon-like hands (or were they not hands? You couldn’t tell, and honestly were afraid to ask) his wings spread out far past them. A beautiful gradient of gray into white, preened into perfect remiges. He caught you staring, and you quickly brought the mug up to your lips to take another sip of the tea.
He huffed, double checking his feathers were aligned properly before stating, “Alright, finish that up kiddo and head off to bed. And make sure to put the damn thing in the sink”
You cringed at the nick-name, recalling when your parents would call you that many years ago. But ever since… well. You had left home to do bigger and better things, and after leaving that life, only your mother called you that. And now she only calls you that in letters, delivered to you around this time at night by probably Orville or Tom Nook. Or maybe Isabelle? But you couldn’t think about that now as Apollo fluffed up the pillows on his bed for you, his tail feathers swaying slightly as he smoothed out the bed.
“What are you doing?” You asked as you put the mug in the sink, slowly walking over to the bed in the adjacent corner to the booth.
“What does it look like? Pah, you act like you’ve never had a sleepover with a good pal.”
You look at him curiously, asking “But where will you sleep?”
Apollo seemed to stop at that, pondering. His brow furrowed as he looked around, before spotting a couch near the front door. “Over there,” he said gruffly, jutting his beak in the direction of the plush leather sofa.
“But what about your back?” you ask, genuinely concerned. After all, he was a bit older, at least in his 30’s if not 40’s. You were sure that that couldn’t be good for his back at all.
Instead of answering, he just snatched one of the pillows off of his bed and slowly walked over to it, muttering something about a blanket being hidden under one of the cushions. After finding one, he threw down both items and sat slowly with a groan, his knees letting out a quiet pop. He whipped his head towards you after situating himself, and barked out a quick “lay down, Mayor” before seemingly dozing off.
You get into his bed and quickly realize this might not have been the best idea. Because why in the world did his bed feel so comfy? Far better than yours ever could. The mattress seemed to be topped with memory foam, holding your body hostage in the best way possible. It was cold to the touch as well, but not so much that you’d shiver. And the smell? Heavenly. Like warm linens wrapped around a soft, woody fragrance. Was it sandalwood? With subtle hints of citrus and more earthy tones, mixed with a distinct masculine musk, it made your eyelids heavy. And with a small sigh, you drifted off to sleep.