Innerworks

35. To the Light

AN//: I legit just came back from one of my Marine class field trips.

Was stuck for three days on a very tiny island collecting Invertebrate specimens and getting stung by Jellyfish, eaten by mosquitos and burnt by the sun.

Was great!

----

"Thomas, time to wake up bud"

"Thomas?...hey you with us there fam?"

"Thomas!"

"Thomas!"

"Thomas!"

"Hah?! Hng... Wha?!" The Manifestor shoots up, eyes half open, with an undignified snort. Almost hitting Talyn as when he launched from their lap.

Something in his head belatedly clicking that his friends were trying to wake him up. "...m' up!....m'up!", He runs his hands across his face, pressing- near scrubbing- trying to properly wake up. "...srry...jus...yeah, m' up!"

"Here, drink some water Thomas. It's barely cold but it should help wake you up a bit more"

"Oh", he says dumbly as he's given a water bottle, " thanks Tal"

The Multicolor-haired Viewer gave an awkward him a pat on his shoulder before locking eyes with their datemate in the rear view mirror.

Joan bit their lip.

Shaking their head they addressed the Host themself through the mirror

"Hey buddy, how you feeling?"

It took a second but Thomas managed to snap to attention from where he was spacing out.

"I'm fine, honest, just really freaking sleepy though, they kept waking me-"

"Yeah... we're gonna hafta do the same tonight bud, gotta wake you up every hour to make sure that all that's upstairs is still there from your fall downstairs"

Thomas groaned, half in jest and the other in displeasure.

Joan offered him a sympathetic shrug, small smile still tugging at their lips from the morbid pun, but otherwise kept their eyes on the road. The Sun was already starting to go down, but that was fine. They'd be reaching home in twenty more minutes anyway.

----

At 10pm it was calm in the Dream Tower.

Two Figments and a Certain Sleep Aspect were still in the room together and Golden girls was still playing.

"My son married a welder. Too bad she didn't weld his zipper shut. They got ten kids they can't afford-"

Remy giggled sleepily, sound trailing off and TV blurring as his eyes started to close on him.

"Thomas! Thomas, it's been an hour, you need to be up!"

Patience and Serenity jumped.

Seeing your Host's world through his dreams was one thing, hearing it was another, especially when the "outside" was loud and worried.

"Srry, 'bout that", mumbles Sleep. He was curled up and rubbing his eyes from on his pillow in between them. " 'was fallin' asleep and he was takin' too long to wake up... 'nd i needed to...to...um-"

"To keep awake? So he could wake up easier?" Provided Serenity with a quirked brow, somewhat amused at her boss' adorably drowsy appearance.

The Aspect snapped his fingers absentmindedly nodding, " yeah, that"