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The lights in Del's safe house were dimmed in the night time, the air still with a comfortable silence. Jensen's breaths were shallow but steady as his cheek pressed against the cold surface of the dinner table. His eyes fluttered shut periodically as exhaustion urged them closed in waves, only opening again when Donnie gave his hand a weak squeeze. Jensen hummed sweetly. Pencil against paper was, thankfully, the only sound they could hear this time of night.
“Are you sure you don't want a massage, Donnie?” Jensen slurred sleepily, his thumb rubbing the back of Donnie's prosthetic palm. “It worked perfectly last time.”
“It would be nice,” Donnie admitted, “but I can't keep bothering you every time I have nightmares. That's why I'm doing this.”
“You'll end up waking me anyway.” Jensen protested, but Donnie didn't entertain him with a verbal response. Jensen peeked; Don was only smiling.
Donnie had jolted awake an hour earlier, kicking the blankets he was wrapped in off him in a hurry. Jensen, feeling the disturbance, woke and immediately moved to tend to him, but Donnie refused. He felt bad for waking him in the first place, he wouldn't make him help if he could avoid it.
Stubbornly, Jensen requested to at least stay awake with him, and Donnie approved with apprehension. Any attempt Jensen made to soothe him was rejected in a heartbeat. Don was convinced it was more trouble than it was worth.
“...What are you working on anyway?” Jensen pushed himself up from his slumped position and wiped drool from the corner of his lips. He peered over at the paper Donnie was drawing on.
“I don't have my video games here, I'd be playing those if I could help it– so I'm just drawing.” Donnie angled the sketchbook in a way that made it easier for Jensen to see. It was an assortment of sketches, some better than others. Any sketches of URSA tech or general prosthetics were detailed greatly; The attempted skyline of Southland was seemingly discarded half finished. Any billboards were left entirely blank.
Jensen hummed drearily, squeezing Donnie's hand. “I didn't take you for the artsy type.”
“Not something I usually do. It helped a lot when I was designing my original arms, though.” Donnie paused before a gentle sigh escaped his lips. “I miss my old arms.”
Donnie slid the sketchbook towards himself, immediately going back to the sketch he was working on. His brow was pulled taut, a small pout betraying him. Jensen frowned.
“At least we're together, right?” Jensen laid his head on the table again, feeling the cold sting against his face. Donnie looked down at him, his expression softening. “We've been through so much, but we're here.”
“I think that's all I could really ask for.” Donnie smirked, putting down his pencil so he could run his fingers through Jensen's hair. Jensen closed his eyes and smiled. “I could lose everything, as long as I have you.”
Jensen giggled, keeping his eyes closed. “Don't say that. I'm sure you'd hate to lose your sibling, or Monday and Lena. Briggs?” Donnie rolled his eyes.
“I guess you're right, realistically. You just make the sacrifices worth it.” Donnie pulled their hands to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to Jensen's fingers.
“Such undying loyalty.” Both Jensen and Donnie jolted up, staring at the fridge where Del stood. They were grabbing a snack from the fridge, dressed minimally to combat the heat. Donnie huffed. “You two make me sick.”
Jensen laughed softly. “And yet you were the one who helped me jailbreak him, even after I beat the shit out of that hacker.” Del's eye twitched with irritance.
“He's my fucking brother! Of course I'm gonna break him out!” The fridge door was shut in a hurry, but the oomph of a slam never came. The magnetized door didn't allow for a harsh impact. Del glared at it. “I'm not just gonna sit there and watch him get tortured for weeks.”
“Uh huh.” Jensen smiled. Donnie couldn't bite back a smile of his own, staring down at his unfinished sketches.
“Thanks, Del.” Donnie spoke up, causing Del to turn her attention to him. Their expression lightened at the sight of Donnie's face. “Seriously.”
Del stood in silence for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Then, clicking their tongue, they opened the cup of yogurt they retrieved from the fridge and mumbled “you're welcome” past the crinkling of the wrapper. They hurriedly left the kitchen and retreated to their room without another word.
“...She forgot a spoon.” Jensen commented. Donnie chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.
“Let's go back to sleep so they can come back and get one.” Jensen blinked as Donnie closed his sketchbook, placing the pencil atop the book's cover. “Knowing them, they won't wanna come back if we're still awake.”
Jensen almost protested, but when his hand was squeezed one more time, the words happily died on his tongue. He gave an affirming hum, standing with Donnie to move to their place on the couch.
As they settled together, there was no absence of small kisses and hugs, cuddling came like second nature. Affectionate words were exchanged, I love yous passed back and forth as easily as breathing. Despite Donnie's refusal, Jensen rubbed the back of his head through his hair. It lulled him to sleep as quickly as it had the first time, coaxing a chuckle from Jensen before he followed suit.
Del returned moments later, a relieved sigh passing through his lips. There was no way they'd eat their yogurt with a makeshift wrapper spoon. Their mission was completed as discreetly as possible, leaving the slumbering couple thankfully undisturbed. She really should've just asked Joanna to do it.