Work Text:
“Damn, that one was a workout ,” you mumbled between shallow breaths. The finish screen for Toxic by Britney Spears from Just Dance 2 appeared on your television screen as you took a swig from your nearly, well, now empty coffee mug. You can practically feel the caffeine run through your veins as you crazily shake your hands to get the jitters out. Sitting down on your couch, you pick up the game controller and exit back to the home screen, not even looking at your results. You already knew you did hilariously terrible since it was a Difficulty 3 song. You bounced your leg as you clicked through the song selection, trying to find an easier song that you haven’t already played tonight. You jumped up startled when you heard an annoyed voice behind you.
“I come back from updating and this is what you are doing?” Oh, it was just your Squip. You turned around to see him standing behind the couch with his hands behind his back. You let out a breath of relief that it wasn’t some murderer and slumped back onto the couch, scrolling through the song selection again.
“Yep…” you finally say after a moment. You glance toward where the Squip was to see that he moved to stand in front of the couch next to you. He was looking at the television screen.
“It’s 1:38 am. It’s a little too late to be doing that, isn’t it?” the Squip said, turning his head to face you. You resisted looking back at him and his neutral but intimidating stare.
“It’s never too late when you’re absolutely jacked up on caffeine.” You pointed to the empty mug on the coffee table that was pushed beside the couch. Your Squip sighs.
“(Y/N), you must maintain a constant sleep schedule to be healthy. You can not stay up this late for… dancing.” You shrugged and sat the controller that was in your hand next to you on the couch.
“I’ll just sleep more tomorrow, no big deal.” You turned your body to face him and sat up straighter.
“That’s-” he turns his head back toward the television and presses his thumb and index against either side of the bridge of his nose, “That’s not how sleep works, (Y/N). You shouldn’t even be having caffeine after 3 pm, we’ve talked about this.” You rolled your eyes and turned back to the television. He was right but you really didn’t want to admit it.
“Well, you were away so I thought I could finally have a little fun. And I thought you wouldn’t be back until morning…” You crossed your arms and slouched in your seat a little. Your Squip’s body was facing you now.
“Well, it’s morning and I’m here,” he said simply. You pouted. Your Squip sighed again and sat down next to you, his body turning toward yours. “(Y/N), you are allowed to have fun while I’m here. I’m not here to make your life miserable, but you can’t play Just Dance at approximately 1:40 in the morning while drinking caffeinated coffee when I’m not around. It’s reckless and inconsiderate to your health.” Your pouty and grumpy exterior cracked a little and you chuckled. You just realized how funny the situation was. “You’re also acting like a five-year-old with you pouting like that," he added a little too slyly.
“Hey-” You exclaimed, meaning to sound angry but instead coming out with a laugh and a smile on your face, “Can’t I just do it this one night? I haven’t even played the songs I’m good at.” The Squip then gives you a look with a raised eyebrow. You groaned. “Okay, fiiiinneee. I’ll go to bed,” you said. Grabbing the game controller, you exited the game and turned off the console. “Or at least try…” You added. With the caffeine in you still going strong, you jump up from the couch and grab your empty coffee mug.
“Actually, I can help with that issue. I can cut off the caffeine and increase your melatonin to help you fall asleep.” You bounced over to the kitchen and put the mug in the sink, then gave him a confused and uneasy look.
“Uh, y-you can do that?” You say very quickly.
Your Squip tapped his temple with his index finger. “I can control any part of your brain, including what chemicals enter it, remember?” The confusion left your face but you still felt somewhat uneasy about that fact. But the caffeine made it hard to dwell on it as you went to get prepared for bed. Your Squip’s hologram form had disappeared while you brushed your teeth, combed your hair, and changed in the bathroom. You knew he was in your mind listening, seeing, and knowing everything you did but it still felt like he wasn’t there and that you were alone. This feeling was emphasized because he didn’t talk to you throughout getting ready for bed. You finished up in the bathroom and went into your bedroom, still feeling as energetic as ever.
“So, uh, are you going to make me sleepy anytime soon?” You asked aloud. When you blinked, he was suddenly in front of you, maybe a foot or two away. He had the same neutral but intimidating look on his face when he first appeared in the living room after updating. Your Squip rested his eyes on you and not even a second later you felt the overwhelming feeling of drowsiness. You stumbled back and plopped onto the end of your bed.
“Hm, perhaps I might have given you too much melatonin,” he said simply before stepping forward and holding out a hand that was previously behind his back. You looked up at him, your vision a little blurry from your eyelids drooping, but you could swear he was smirking. You huffed at him and reached your hand up to rest on his softly. You didn’t expect to feel much of anything since he was a hologram, but your breath hitched when you felt his soft, warm hand under yours. It took a moment for you to remember he had the ability to make you sense things that weren’t there. Your Squip helped you stand up slowly before guiding you to the side of the bed. He gently took his hand down and away from yours and you slipped yourselves under the covers. You turned onto your left side, facing your Squip, and tucked your hands under your cheek and jaw. Looking up at him, your vision cleared just a touch and you could definitely see a smirk across his face. Blushing lightly, you removed your right hand from under your cheek and reached up in an attempt to touch your Squip’s shoulder. He bent down onto his a knee and met the level at which your face was. With your free hand, you gently brushed your fingers along his cheek and took in the feeling of his stubble against your skin. You smiled and gazed at his face through your half-lidded eyes. His expression had returned to a neutral one but it didn’t feel as intimidating as before. You caressed his cheek and rubbed your thumb along his cheekbone, then in a feeling of loopiness, you took your index finger and booped his nose, whispering “boop” as you did so. Unexpectedly, he chuckled light-heartedly then stood back up.
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” you mumbled, feeling more sleepy than before because of the bed.
“What, boop me?” your Squip asked with an air of gentleness. You glanced up lazily to see the Squip’s face soften with your gaze. You simply nodded. Finally, as you felt a hand delicately run through your hair, your eyes couldn’t remain open any longer.