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[nottheboss]

It's late at night. The corridors aren't quiet; they're full of men and women restlessly trying to sleep in their quarters. Bossie should be one of them. But instead he slips barefoot down the hallway to Carver's room, where he knocks.

"Hey, man, you up?"

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[fortitudosalutis]

Oh, Carver thinks, momentarily thrown by that. He's quiet for a long moment, just listening to Kali's purring and Bossie's breathing. They're tangled up in each other now, pressed close. All three of them.

"...maybe," he says after a while. "If I've got a day off."

He won't for a while.

[nottheboss]

Yeah that's the rub, isn't it? They don't really get days off anymore. The Devil doesn't rest, so they can't afford to either.

"I'm worried about you," he confesses quietly.

[fortitudosalutis]

"'s not your job," Carver replies gently. He bumps his head against Bossie's. "And I love you, kid. You know I've got your back, right?"

It hurts to know he's been so affected that his students have noticed.

[nottheboss]

"I know you do." He bumps Carver back, rests his forehead there against Carver's temple. "You're my family. I want to help. You don't have to shut me out just 'cause you outrank me."

[fortitudosalutis]

Carver just closes his eyes, listening to Kali purr. Sometimes, he doesn't think he'd make it without the little kitten. She needs to be fed every few hours. She wouldn't understand if he let her go hungry.

"I can't sleep, Bossie," he confesses. "I'm so tired."

[nottheboss]

"I know." He hurts for him. He's so, so scared for him. Carver can't go on like this. "You think you could try again? Get just twenty minutes--I'll wake you up before the dream starts?"

[fortitudosalutis]

No, Carver starts to say. But that's weak, isn't it? He has time to sleep. It's not like they're on a job and can't risk slowing down. There's time here. And he's scared.

He shouldn't be. It's a weakness. A sin.

He shivers. "Maybe."

[nottheboss]

"You got this," Bossie says, reaching up, stroking Carver's hair gently. "I'll wake you up before it gets bad. You just gotta get a little sleep in. Just a little."

[fortitudosalutis]

Carver presses his forehead to Bossie's, closing his eyes tight. Exhaustion drags at his soul. He's so, so tired.

"Okay," he whispers. "Take Kali?"

He can't risk having her too close. Not with the nightmares this bad. He couldn't bear hurting her by accident.

[nottheboss]

He takes the little kitten, holds her very carefully in one hand up against his chest.

He squeezes the back of Carver's neck. "Lie down. I'll wake you up, I promise." A little sip of sleep has to be better than this.

[fortitudosalutis]

Pressure helps, Carver thinks absently. Hasn't he learned that from Leah? Touch is fraught, difficult, it can cause a startle reaction.

But it helps, too. In certain circumstances.

He bumps his head against Bossie's and lies back down. Wrapping his arms around himself. He'll try to sleep. At least for a little.

[nottheboss]

"You care if I stay right here?" He'll be better able to wake Carver peacefully before the dreams start if he's nearby. But also, he thinks, maybe it might comfort Carver to feel someone he trusts nearby. It helps Bossie stay asleep even if he struggles with getting there.

[fortitudosalutis]

Oh.

He hesitates for a long moment. Then:

"I'm not allowed to have knives nearby. I might hit you, though."

[nottheboss]

"'S okay. You've hit me before." A little smile. He's hit Carver, too, waking up rough. "I'll be careful."

[fortitudosalutis]

Yeah. They all have that in common, now. Waking up rough. Better than not waking up at all, though. And those are the stakes, Carver knows. There are worse things - always.

At least they have each other.

He swallows hard, then nods and pulls his arm over his face. "Thanks, kid."

[nottheboss]

He holds Kali to his chest and gets her to sleep, too, stroking her little back. He watches Carver all the while, with all the patience he has as a sniper, making sure Carver's dreams don't encroach.

Twenty minutes passes fast but then he reaches out, touches Carver. "Hey, man, it's time. Wake up."

[fortitudosalutis]

Maybe it’s a kindness that he only drifts, doesn’t let himself fall completely to sleep. Maybe he’s too tense for it.

Either way, Carver stirs, bleary, dropping his arm. “Kali okay?” he murmurs.

[nottheboss]

"She's sleeping like an angel," he grins, tilting slightly so Carver can see her curled up under the protection of Bossie's hand.

"Maybe we just gotta be like her and the other babies. Take little cat naps." Never dream again.

[fortitudosalutis]

Hello, little one. Carver's expression softens ever so slightly and he sits up, rubbing a hand through his hair. "They got the right idea," he murmurs. "Sometimes she gets bad dreams, I think, but I can usually settle her down if I hold her."

Maybe it's his scent that calms her down, or the heat of his hands. Something.

[nottheboss]

He's seen Carver wake up a hundred times by now, but this time it's quick, and without thrashing. This time he just looks rumpled, and Bossie likes the look on him. He looks away, focuses on the kitten, to avoid smiling too softly at Carver.

"What's her bad dream, d'you think? I mean, the worst thing our little guys could even picture right now is...is not getting fed on time." And he aims to keep that as the worst thing that ever happened to them. A late feeding--not real hunger, not real loss.

[fortitudosalutis]

“I dunno,” Carver admits. “Maybe being chased by dogs, or giant mice.”

They’ve let the war dogs in to smell the kittens, always under supervision, but Kali’s too little to play. Maybe on a few week.

“She’s got a set of pipes on her,” he admits. “I like it. That weird? Means she’s getting stronger.”

[nottheboss]

"Hey who wouldn't love a kitten telling you what's what?" He gently lifts her and lays her on Carver's chest.

"It's been real nice seeing them get bigger. Knowing we did that, you know? We saved them."

[fortitudosalutis]

Like before, like so many times before, Carver feels himself softening. He cups his hands protectively over Kali, listening to her squeak and settle. Even his own exhaustion seems to fade as he holds her, stroking her back with great care.

"Yeah," Carver agrees, closing his eyes for a moment. "We didn't fuck that up."

For once, they did something good.

[nottheboss]

This they did right.

They do murder right, too, Bossie thinks, and flinches, and forces that thought down.

They have kittens who would have been put down otherwise in their hands. Loving, safe kittens.

"You're a pretty cute cat dad, Brandon," he teases, but he means it, too.

[fortitudosalutis]

He misses the flinch, eyes still closed, drifting somewhere between content and heartsick in his exhaustion. But Carver murmurs to Kali, listening to her grumble, and gives Bossie a small smile. "Yeah? I make it work?"