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There was no clock in his office, at this point it should be called Elias’ bedroom. He’s slept in here much more than his own bed. Elias had papers scattered about with back-to-back papers of notes and research on his table, but no pen or pencil in his hands. Even with the lack of windows, just by the lack of footsteps the scientist can tell that it was way past his bed time. Dare he say the sun was probably coming out outside of the laboratory. His chapped lips and empty stomach told him enough, It was time to sleep and continue next time he wakes. Maybe a midnight snack if he’d just get up.
It was this song and dance he’d done with himself before, so excited over a discovery he buries himself in it. He’d done this so much even coffee or energy drinks the scientist had grown numb to the boosters and going off of pure adrenaline. Going in and out of sleep till his body forces him to get his proper hours.
But he wasn’t one to suddenly pause his experiments. No, Elias was still halfway done with these notes, he’ll finish his thoughts and then rest his eyes. But just where was that pen he was using? He couldn’t find it with the mounds of rodents, long gone asleep with only one of two awake with him, and they were empty handed. A sigh came out of him, pulling out a spare pen thinking, Lost another one. That’s okay, it’s just a pen. Without a second thought within his drowsiness the scientist wrote away.
It was almost a complete silence, safe for the buzzing lights and the idle noise of swirling liquid from the testing chamber behind him. With the silence carried peace, and with peace carried his heavy eyelids. His handwriting became weaker and more sloppy, his half lidded eyes struggling to stay up as his brain began to lag. The pen in his hand slipped once again for the third time this night as his slowly descending head went from being propped up by his hand, to laying on his arm, to his head down on the table. The rare rodents awake scurrying to catch their prize of being on Elias’ head or shoulders to sleep on.
Caelen was having the worst night of his life.
The german shepherd had to stop Liron from stealing from this locked away lab that was for sure they weren't meant to get into, but of course their prisoner thinks rules were meant to be broken and was caught in the act by yours truly guessing the passcode to the room. Caelen had to pry Liron away from the door because if not one more wrong password and the whole building would go into a frenzy.
“Fine, fine! I won’t touch it, just let go!” Liron wined up at him, kicking his slippers as he restrained him with his arms. Caelen bared his teeth in frustration trying not to let him slip from his grasp.
“You’re just going to try again! Don’t cause more trouble than you already have, Lockheart!” He reset his grip, throwing Liron up slightly and then tightening. Resetting the prisoner’s progress of escaping and Caelen’s chances of letting go.
Ashkariel was no help to him either. The fallen angel, seeing the dog’s predicament, laughed in his face and even suggested letting the prisoner go. His wings flicked as he laughed, grinning all too humored by both of their predicaments. One wanting to cause trouble, and one trying to stop it. Both are having a hard time. “Let him try one last time.” Egging him on while Liron tries to slip out of his jacket to escape. He doesn’t even know where Shiki was, but his best guess was that he was sleeping in his room.
Honestly, With a human whining in his ear, an ex-angel laughing instead of helping, and a shikigami nowhere to be seen, Caelen was beginning to question even more why he agreed to help these men.
Liron ended his pursuit, getting hungry from all of the thrashing, and Ashkariel decided to tend to his loyal followers. That left Caelen to wander back to his room, following his faint scent through the sanitized halls. His tail followed behind him as his footsteps treaded like it didn’t belong, unused to the clean tiles and constant blue light. His nose was thankful the hall was empty, remembering the constant scents when first being brought to this lab. It was just for a status update of their mission, and to also to sign them into their system.
He got brought out of his thoughts seeing one door slightly open. A teal light coming out of the room into the bright lights of the hall. If he remembered correctly, and from the smell, Caelen could tell this was Elias’ lab. Peeking in his guess had been correct. Their little scientist was on a desk with scattered papers and with a half empty cage of rodents. The other half around and on Elias.
“That’s gotta be bad for his back…” His ears tilted away whispering to himself, thinking about the times he’s fallen asleep in that exact same position. Thankfully he was woken up and told to go home before the police department closed, but it seems like the scientists here couldn’t care less about any back or neck pain.
He walked over to the sleeping scientist, a few of the pets getting off and running into the cage or just inches away. His steps echo in the office as Caelen puts a hand on Elias’ shoulder. The scientist made no move to wake up, a light snore from his nose with the sleeves of his lab coat like a poorly done pillow case for his arms. It hid most of his face, which was on his side, a cheek pressing into his arm. His goggles still on his head tangled in his hair like it lived there.
“Eli,” Caelen whispered his name with a gentle shake to the other’s shoulder. He saw those eyebag-heavy eyes furrow, stirring just slightly only to get more comfortable in his seat. The German shepherd could only chuckle, a small smirk on his face admiring how the neon teal light seemed to make Elias look so peaceful. Even with how peaceful he seemed, Caelen wasn’t going to give up. Not just yet.
“Eli, sleep in your bed. It’s more comfortable than a desk.” He leaned down and shook him once again. Once again the scientist stirred, a gentle grumble from his throat as he blinked his eyes open.
“ ‘m fine let me sleep…” Elias swung his arm to push Caelen away, his limbs heavy from sleep and fatigue. The officer simply grabbed his wrist and gently put it down, the scientist making another noise of dislike. He tried again to swat away Caelen like a fly. “Let me sleep..!”
A sigh was heard from the taller, Elias was close to believing he was safe from the officer. That was until he was picked up and forced to stand.
“What are you doing?” Elias turned to Caelen, who held him from under his arms and was turning the scientist to face him. If Caelen wasn’t so determined he would let out a little snort due to Elias’ arms being out like a cat being picked up. The displeased face on the other helped with the vision.
“Bringing you to bed.” He said simply, a little too soft with care for a group that is built on distrust. Elias hummed for him to elaborate, but wrapped his hands around his neck as the dog picked up his legs, and like it was an everyday thing Elias wrapped his legs around to secure his ride. Caelen’s hands held him up securely.
If Elias was being honest, in his half awake state he couldn’t care less how this looks. And honestly if Caelen was so kind to give him a ride to his bed, who was he to decline? A yawn escaped his lips as he rested his head once again, making sure his legs weren't in the way of Caelen’s wagging tail. “Do you even know where my room is?”
“…ah.” Not even a single word from his mouth and yet it gave him all the answers he needed as Caelen slowed his walking. Elias peeked his eye open to see how far they’d gone, then closed it again. He’d worked in this giant laboratory longer than them, and taken the path to his bedroom enough times to guide.
“Mm… make a left, ‘n then a right, up some stairs ‘n then the door with my name on it.” The Scientist yawned, tensing his muscles then relaxing them, letting Caelen take the wheel. Being close to his face he could hear the quiet breaths he took and when he turned his head. Although Elias did want to sleep seeing how much effort and energy the officer was using to simply place him into a bed, he was flattered.
Caelen tried to keep his mind on task: Get Elias to bed. However, he realized his mistake of carrying Elias like this. The pros: He doesn’t see how red his face is. The cons: The scientist is right against his neck and cuddling up to him like a teddy bear. Is that really a con? Caelen tried to huff his thoughts away as he took the stairs and tried to calm down his tail.
They eventually made it to his door, which was locked—Elias had to free his ID from the tangled mess of his lanyard and tie—and entering it was surprisingly to Caelen much more clean compared to his laboratory. An opened closet, the blanket folded nicely, and a desk with a few books on the desk.
“Do you even use your bed?” Caelen juggled pulling the sheets aside and carrying Elias. One hand supporting him and the other grabbing the edge of the blanket and tossing it. The bed was cold, same with the colors. It seemed like it was the Lab’s default room for the scientist and Elias took no mind to customize his space. It truly was just his clothes and past research inside of this bedroom, there was no attempt to even make it homey to the normal eye.
However, to Elias, this was home. So as their officer set him down on the sheets, asking him to take off his lab coat, seeing the confusion in his eyes made him lazily giggle. The cold fluorescent lights and the bright liquids of pink, green, and blue were so familiar it turned to something warm to look at.
“Do you have Pyjamas?" Caelen’s question made him blink almost awake but not quite. The idea of sleep is far too close for it to go away.
“Are you gonna help me change?” He sat leaning back on the bed, arms propping him up as he joked. The sight of Caelen’s ears twitching with a shocked expression was all worth it in his drowsy mind. Before he could respond, he waved his comment off, “You don’t need to do all of that, just, come here.”
Elias could have cooed and embarrassed Caelen with how he tilted his head. He really was a doggy. He thought to himself as the other walked back towards him and crouched. With a long smile the scientist wrapped his arms around him once more, keeping a light grip on him as he dragged them down together.
It wasn’t comfortable, especially with Caelen still having his vest and suit on. But it satisfied something in Elias, feeling the way his breath silently stopped in surprise, the way his ears twitched, feeling Elias’ hair tickle it, and the scientist’s favorite thing: the view of a happy wagging tail as he began to comb through his hair.
“Good boy..” He sighed, closing his eyes as the weight became comforting. It felt like the man above was afraid to move, as stiff as a board compared to Elias who was constantly shifting little by little. “Now, nap time~”
Quiet rustle of sheets and an awkward but successful attempt at getting their shoes off, Caelen and Elias laid down in the bed. The goggles were still on his head, which the officer helped gently pull out and put aside. The quick gesture allowed Elias to bury his face into Caelen. A quiet, triumphant smile on the sleepy scientist as he heard the hits of a tail on the mattress.
Their legs entangled, Elias’ doing, and keeping each other close. The dog had nowhere to go or escape to. Not that he wished to escape, his heart was beating faster and faster every minute with his cheeks getting hotter by the second.
“...Goodnight, Elias.” Caelen held the scientist gently, as if he was just created with a hand behind his head and wrapping around his torso. The latter merely hummed in response, barely a coherent answer but to Caelen it was enough. He fulfilled his task of getting Elias to sleep. And along the way realized something new about himself. He will have to look into his newfound crush once he wakes.