Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ryzar knew Nix's sleep schedule was absolutely fucked. He knew it, the other members of Ravanis and Avallum kmew it. Hell, even the Roombies and Ryzawrs had noticed it.

Nix always claimed that he was fine just the way he was, and Ryzar guessed he was right. Besides, Nix stated before that he's had to stay up for long periods of time before when they were under the Architects supervision. As long as Nix didn't like- die or anything, it was fine, right?

Still, Ryzar couldn't help but be worried.

"Nix!! I'm home!!" he called out as he entered their shared apartment, closing the door behind him. He had gone out a bit for some late night shopping. Luckily the store nearby was open 24/7 so he was still able to get some stuff, but he was held up a bit by the traffic so had arrived later than usual. Nix was still up before Ryzar left, apparently working on something important, but he didn't expect him to still be awake. After all, it was already a couple minutes past midnight.

Ryzar put the plastic bag full of the groceries on the dining room table, waiting to hear if he'd get a response from his boyfriend. But the house was silent, save for the usual muted background noise of the ventilation. "Huh, he must've fallen asleep already..." Ryzar muttered to himself underneath his breath, before shrugging anf opening the bag.

He began to take the stuff he had bought out of the bag and into the pantry and cupboards, humming to himself a little before he suddenly felt a little tug at his pants leg. He looked down to see Chip next to him, pawing at his leg and letting out short robotic barks.

"Oh, hey Chippy!!" he grinned to the dog, picking him up into the air as he chuckled. "What are you doing up so late?" he asked him, nuzzling his nose with Chip's, "Has Nix gone to sleep yet?".

Chip barked out a response to him, his little tail wagging behind him. Ryzar let out a laugh before placing him back on the ground, and Chip ran in circles around his feet. Ryzar remembered when Nix first finished building Chip, at first the robot dog was very sleepy and lax, barely had any energy at all. But now that it had been over a year, Chip had enough energy befitting a small pup like him.

Ryzar finished putting the last of the groceries in the cupboard before deciding to go check up on his boyfriend, see if he was alright and all. He peeked into the room that Nix had deemed his 'workshop', which luckily wasn't too far from the bedroom, so Ryzar could easily drag him to bed if needed. "Niiiiix~ You awake?" Ryzar softly called out, but all he got as a response was silence.

Nix was fast asleep at his desk, head in his arms as he softly snored. Tools and devices and blueprints that Ryzar couldn't make sense of were scattered around the table, and the empty mug next to Nix still smelled of coffee. Ryzar quietly stepped into the room, and Chip not so quietly followed after him.

"All those nights of staying up finally caught up to him, huh?" Ryzar chuckled to himself. Chip let out a soft bark, pawing at Nix's leg. Yep, the cyborg was out cold, didn't even feel or hear him.

Ryzar shuffled his jacket off his shoulders before draping it over Nix and leaving a soft kiss on his forehead. Nix stirred slightly in his sleep, letting out a few sleepy, incoherent mumbles. "Take some rest, Nix. I'll come back to bring you to bed later," Ryzar told him, patting his head.

Nix relaxed then, his face returning to it's content state. Ryzar softly smiled to him, ruffling his hair before turning back towards Chip. "Come on, boy. We wouldn't want to wake him up," he said as he picked up the dog in his arms, and Chip letting out a small yip before they left the room.

Chip found himself being carried back into the kitchen, and was placed onto the kitchen counter. The dog curiously watched as Ryzar went about the kitchen, humming as he poured himself out a bowl of cereal.

He noticed Chip staring at him curiously, and let out a chuckle as he walked over to him. "What? It's just a little midnight snack," he giggled, getting a spoon out of the cupboard, "Just a lil' something before I drag Nix back to bed".

He jokingly extended the bowl out towards Chip, and the dog almost dipped his head into the milk before Ryzar quickly pulled the bowl away. "Nuh-uh! You know Nixxie told you that you can't drink anything!" he laughed, "Don't want you to get broken, you know?".

Chip let out a mad robotic bark, which Ryzar simply countered by petting him and letting out another chuckle. The peaceful moment was however interrupted by a sudden crashing noise from nearby, as well as a familiar British voice yelling out "Shit!".

"Huh? Nix?!" Ryzar gasped, before putting down his bowl and quickly running out of the room. Chip jumped down from the counter and followed after him as they made their way to Nix's workshop. Ryzar immediately pulled the door open, "Nix?? What happened??".

Nix was fully awake now, Ryzar's jacket still draped over his shoulders and practically swallowing the smaller man up. He was kneeling down and picking up his collection of spare prosthetics that had fallen onto the floor, mumbling to himself. It seemed he hadn't even noticed Ryzar and Chip at the door before he finally looked up at them, eyes wide with surprise, "Oh. Hey Ryzar, hey Chip".

"Nix?? Are you okay??" Ryzar asked him, before running towards him, Chip's head peaking out from the doorway. He kneeled down and held Nix's face in his hands, his turquoise eyes meeting Nix's heterochromatic ones, "You're not hurt, are you?".

Nix let out a small chuckle, gently prying his hands off of his face. "Babe, I'm fine. No need to worry about me," he told him, a soft smile on his face, "The arms just happened to fall out while I was getting something from the shelf is all".

Nix stood back up, the spare prosthetics tucked underneath one arm as he let out a yawn, "Jesus Christ, how long was I out for? I was supposed to get some work done for tonight".

"I don't know, you were asleep when I came home from the store," Ryzar replied, watching as Nix placed the prosthetics back onto the shelf, before a look of realisation crossed his face, "Wait- you're doing work this late at night??".

"Hm? Yeah, but it'll only take me a couple minutes for me to finish it," Nix told him. He grabbed a screwdriver from off the shelf, holding it in his hand before walking back to his desk, "You can wait for me in our room while I-".

He didn't even get to finish his sentence before he felt strong arms wrap around his waist and suddenly lift him up in the air, making him drop the screwdriver. Nix let out a yelp before turning his head around towards him, "Ryzar, what the hell are you doing?!".

"Bringin' you to bed, duh!" Ryzar replied to him before beginning to carry him out of the room, "You need to get some rest, Nix!".

The cyborg's face turned red from embarrassment. "I-I'm fine, really! I already had plenty of rest!!" he yelled back at him, trying his best to wriggle his way out of his grasp, but he really wasn't any match for the taller and stronger dinoboi.

He looked back at Chip who was trailing behind the pair. "Oh, come on, Chip! Help me out here!" he yelped to the dog. But Chip simply turned his head up, and Nix let out a sigh of defeat, "Fucking traitors, all of you".

"But you still love us~" Ryzar grinned to him. And even though the cyborg had a pout on his face, it eventually softened into a smile.

They finally made their way back to their bedroom, and Ryzar flopped down on the bed with Nix in his grasp, the mattress letting out a loud squeak underneath them. "Hey, Ryry!" Nix laughed, grinning up at the dinoboi, "I'm still wearing your jacket, you know?".

"Mm, I don't mind. I'm not letting go till you agree to rest," Ryzar replied, nuzzling his face into his hair and his hold on Nix tightening ever so slightly. Yet it didn't feel suffocating at all to Nix. It felt safe, and warm and welcoming.

Nix softly smiled, before turning to properly face Ryzar, "Well, at least let me remove my prosthetics first, big guy. It's uncomfortable laying down with them on".

"Oh- right! My bad!" Ryzar gasped, immediately letting go of him. Nix let out a soft chuckle before he sat up and removed the sweater he had on for easier access to his arm. Ryzar lifted his head up from the mattress, tail thumping against the bed slightly, "You wanna let me help you?".

Nix looked back at him, "You don't have to. I'm fine doing it myself".

"Well- but what if I wanted to, huh?" Ryzar replied, eyes glancing away bashfully for a second, "I-I'll try not to break anything! I'll be extra careful, I promise!".

Nix's eyes widened in surprise, but then a fond and soft smile appeared on his face. "I know you'd never break it, Ryry," he replied, before extending his robotic arm out towards him, "Go on, I trust you".

Ryzar gulped a bit nervously, but sat up and shuffled closer to Nix, his tail gently flopping over the cyborg's lap. Nix fondly watched as Ryzar's hands hesitated to touch the metal for a second, and he had to gently guide him on how to remove it gently and safely. The arm finally popped out of it's socket, and Ryzar glanced down nervously between it and Nix, "Did I do well?? I've never really done this before-".

"Don't worry, you did perfect, babe" Nix reassured him, patting him on the shoulder, "You wouldn't mind doing it with the leg too, right?".

"Oh- Of course not!" Ryzar replied, tail subconsciously getting off of Nix's lap and instead laying at his side. Nix propped his leg up onto Ryzar's lap and watched as Ryzar's larger and slightly scarred hands moved over the area where metal met flesh and gently removed the prosthetic.

"See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Nix smiled to him, raising a hand to pat Ryzar's fiery hair, "You did a good job, Ryry".

"Hey, I'm not a dog!" Ryzar laughed, but he still leaned into his touch nontheless, and his tail thumping against the bed certainly didn't help his claim.

He set the prosthetics aside, before hugging Nix close and pulling him down onto the bed. "Okay, it's rest time for you now," Ryzar told him, a smile on his face as he snuggled up to the cyborg. If his arms weren't already holding Nix in place, then certainly his tail that wrapped around his leg was.

"Sure. Whatever you say, big guy," Nix chuckled. He wrapped his own arm around Ryzar and buried his face into his chest, relishing in the warmth the dinoboi emitted, "Night, babe. Love you".

"Mmm. Night to you too, Nixxie," Ryzar smiled. He pushed aside Nix's bangs for a moment before pressing a kiss to his forehead, "Mahal kita".

Nix's brows furrowed in confusion for a moment as he became silent, "Umm... that's... 'I love you', right?".

"Mm-hmm! You've been learning!!" Ryzar grinned, hugging him even tighter, and Nix could even feel his tail wag a little.

"My languages are still a bit rusty, I only really know that because of you," Nix replied, letting out a small laugh. He moved away slightly only to gently kiss Ryzar's cheek, "But yeah, mahal kita to you too, babe".

Ryzar let out a small giggle, and leaned in once again to kiss Nix on the lips. He gratefully welcome it, raising his hand up to cup Ryzar's cheek. They separated for air soon after, and sharing small chuckles between eachother as they leaned their foreheads against the other's.

"Sweet dreams, Nixxie~".

"Mmm... sweet dreams, Ryry...".