[Fic] A Good Night's Sleep
Title: A Good Night's Sleep
Author: Shytan
Rating: PG
Characters: Lord Beckett, Lt Groves, Lt Greitzer, Governor Swann, Mercer
Summary: Lieutenant Groves attempts to sleep, but the others are making it quite difficult.
Warnings: Tiny bit of fluff?
Silence. Sweet, blissful, peaceful silence. If only he had some. Lieutenant Groves sat up, abandoning his latest attempt at falling asleep in favour of viewing the room and its other occupants, hoping that his tired but frustrated glares would quiet them down. Considering the other four were already asleep, he had little hope of accomplishing his mission. Theodore sighed and wondered for the fifth time that evening why he had opted to share the inn room with the higher ranking officials. Considering the loud snoring he had heard from the next room where a substantial quantity of lower ranking crew members were resting for the night, perhaps he had selected the most peaceful room. If the room could be described as peaceful, which Theodore decided it most certainly could not.
It was only for two nights, the Lieutenant reminded himself. Two nights, and one of them had already begun. Then they would be back on the Endeavour, where he would finally have some peace and quiet. But until then, he had to make do with the cramped little inn room and its rather peculiar occupants. The room was remarkably tiny, only designed to hold a single bed, yet somehow the inn owners had managed to fit in an extra double bed when they had convinced the Endeavour's weary crew that they could accomodate them.
It was a given that Lord Beckett would be staying in the small room, away from the rest of the noisily snoring crew. It was no surprise that Mercer was also allocated the room, and out of politeness, Governor Swann was invited to share the room also. Despite there being only three actual bed spaces, Lord Beckett had taken one look at the severe lack of bed, chair and floor room next door and promptly invited his two favourite Lieutenants to share his room for the two nights, and both were relieved and grateful. Upon entering the room, Governor Swann had promptly claimed the single bed for himself as he was fairly unfamiliar with the other four occupants of the room. Lord Beckett had quietly claimed the double bed by perching on the edge of it almost immediately and kicking off his boots. It was late at night when they had arrived, so the entire crew were exhausted, their Lord included.
Theodore had incorrectly assumed that he, Greitzer and perhaps Mercer would be sharing the floor. While Mercer had dutifully positioned himself on the floor with his back against the wall facing the door, Beckett had glanced at both his Lieutenants before beckoning Groves over and offering him the other half of the double bed. So while Greitzer was settling himself on the floor with one of the spare pillows, Theodore was snuggling under the warm covers of the bed, thinking to himself that he had it good and that the night could not get any better. He was right. It didn't get better.
After the lights were out, everything had been blissfully silent apart from the occasional sigh and rustling of sheets. After ten minutes of relative peace, Theodore was getting ready to nod off when he heard Beckett shifting beside him. Not bothering to open his eyes, things were quiet for a moment before the Lord shifted again. He couldn't help opening them when Beckett shifted a third time, and watched with mild frustration as he tossed and turned restlessly for a good ten minutes or so. Beckett was clearly awake, as he opened his eyes slightly a few times, not enough to see anything in the darkness though. Resting his head back on the pillow, Theodore had decided to wait until the Lord had settled down and fallen asleep before making any serious attempt to do so himself.
Theodore was now kicking himself, figuratively. Aside from Beckett's quiet restlessness, things had been relatively peaceful. But now that was not so. Greitzer had fallen asleep promptly, and was currently snoring. The sound was not loud, but it was definitely annoying, far moreso than Beckett's tossing and turning. Even the occasional kick Beckett delivered was less annoying that the dreadful sound the other Lieutenant was omitting. And Greitzer was not he only noisy one. Laying on his back on the single bed, Governor Swann was muttering to himself.
"Oh, I say... and they said what about the marmalade? I heard it was... no no, I'm sure it wasn't. Oh really? It was? Well I do say..."
And then there was Mercer. Mercer was thankfully silent, but Theodore wasn't sure which was worse, the snoring and muttering of the others, or Mercer's strange, sightless stare. Theodore had to admit that he wasn't really surprised Mercer slept with one eye open, but it still gave him the chills. Turning away from the clerk, Theodore pulled the covers higher up and lay back down. Perhaps the others would quiet down so he could get some sleep soon. One could only hope. Theodore sighed as Beckett made a whining noise, then lightly kicked the Lieutenant's stomach. It was going to be a long night. He would never get a good night's sleep at this rate.
Theodore watched the man beside him shift restlessly in his sleep for a few moments, before the Lord rolled over and nuzzled his head against Theodore's chest. Theodore moved his hand up to Beckett's shoulder, planning to gently push him away, but decided against it when he realised the man was remaining blissfully still. Five minutes dragged on by, and Beckett was remaining reasonably still and silent. Governor Swann appeared to have fallen into a deeper sleep as his muttering died down until it ceased altogether, and even Greitzer's snoring seemed to be slowing a bit. Perhaps Theodore would get a chance to sleep after all. A sudden loud, gutteral snort from Greitzer was not promising, and when Governor Swann started to snore lightly as well, Theodore thought he might cry.
A soft slurping sound made Theodore open his eyes once more, and he looked down to see that Beckett was sucking his fingers. Rather than be annoyed by the noise, Theodore found it strangely calming. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the sound, attempting to ignore the snoring from across the room. The world around him seemed to just slip away, until all he could hear was the slow, rythymic suckling sound before even that faded away as Theodore drifted off to sleep.
Despite being the last to fall asleep, Theodore was one of the first to wake the next morning. Mercer was of course awake, sitting cross-legged with his back against the wall, a slight grin on his face as looked at the pair on the double bed. Theodore blinked, then looked down at Beckett, who was still snuggled against him. Something soft was resting against his face, and Theodore suddenly realised that they were fingers. Beckett's fingers. The ones the Lord had been sucking on during the night. Theodore cringed as he removed the slightly wet hand from his face. As if the situation wasn't bad enough, his mind decided that now was the perfect time to remember that this was only the first of two nights. Theodore grimaced. It was unlikely he would get a good night's sleep the next night either.
Author: Shytan
Rating: PG
Characters: Lord Beckett, Lt Groves, Lt Greitzer, Governor Swann, Mercer
Summary: Lieutenant Groves attempts to sleep, but the others are making it quite difficult.
Warnings: Tiny bit of fluff?
Silence. Sweet, blissful, peaceful silence. If only he had some. Lieutenant Groves sat up, abandoning his latest attempt at falling asleep in favour of viewing the room and its other occupants, hoping that his tired but frustrated glares would quiet them down. Considering the other four were already asleep, he had little hope of accomplishing his mission. Theodore sighed and wondered for the fifth time that evening why he had opted to share the inn room with the higher ranking officials. Considering the loud snoring he had heard from the next room where a substantial quantity of lower ranking crew members were resting for the night, perhaps he had selected the most peaceful room. If the room could be described as peaceful, which Theodore decided it most certainly could not.
It was only for two nights, the Lieutenant reminded himself. Two nights, and one of them had already begun. Then they would be back on the Endeavour, where he would finally have some peace and quiet. But until then, he had to make do with the cramped little inn room and its rather peculiar occupants. The room was remarkably tiny, only designed to hold a single bed, yet somehow the inn owners had managed to fit in an extra double bed when they had convinced the Endeavour's weary crew that they could accomodate them.
It was a given that Lord Beckett would be staying in the small room, away from the rest of the noisily snoring crew. It was no surprise that Mercer was also allocated the room, and out of politeness, Governor Swann was invited to share the room also. Despite there being only three actual bed spaces, Lord Beckett had taken one look at the severe lack of bed, chair and floor room next door and promptly invited his two favourite Lieutenants to share his room for the two nights, and both were relieved and grateful. Upon entering the room, Governor Swann had promptly claimed the single bed for himself as he was fairly unfamiliar with the other four occupants of the room. Lord Beckett had quietly claimed the double bed by perching on the edge of it almost immediately and kicking off his boots. It was late at night when they had arrived, so the entire crew were exhausted, their Lord included.
Theodore had incorrectly assumed that he, Greitzer and perhaps Mercer would be sharing the floor. While Mercer had dutifully positioned himself on the floor with his back against the wall facing the door, Beckett had glanced at both his Lieutenants before beckoning Groves over and offering him the other half of the double bed. So while Greitzer was settling himself on the floor with one of the spare pillows, Theodore was snuggling under the warm covers of the bed, thinking to himself that he had it good and that the night could not get any better. He was right. It didn't get better.
After the lights were out, everything had been blissfully silent apart from the occasional sigh and rustling of sheets. After ten minutes of relative peace, Theodore was getting ready to nod off when he heard Beckett shifting beside him. Not bothering to open his eyes, things were quiet for a moment before the Lord shifted again. He couldn't help opening them when Beckett shifted a third time, and watched with mild frustration as he tossed and turned restlessly for a good ten minutes or so. Beckett was clearly awake, as he opened his eyes slightly a few times, not enough to see anything in the darkness though. Resting his head back on the pillow, Theodore had decided to wait until the Lord had settled down and fallen asleep before making any serious attempt to do so himself.
Theodore was now kicking himself, figuratively. Aside from Beckett's quiet restlessness, things had been relatively peaceful. But now that was not so. Greitzer had fallen asleep promptly, and was currently snoring. The sound was not loud, but it was definitely annoying, far moreso than Beckett's tossing and turning. Even the occasional kick Beckett delivered was less annoying that the dreadful sound the other Lieutenant was omitting. And Greitzer was not he only noisy one. Laying on his back on the single bed, Governor Swann was muttering to himself.
"Oh, I say... and they said what about the marmalade? I heard it was... no no, I'm sure it wasn't. Oh really? It was? Well I do say..."
And then there was Mercer. Mercer was thankfully silent, but Theodore wasn't sure which was worse, the snoring and muttering of the others, or Mercer's strange, sightless stare. Theodore had to admit that he wasn't really surprised Mercer slept with one eye open, but it still gave him the chills. Turning away from the clerk, Theodore pulled the covers higher up and lay back down. Perhaps the others would quiet down so he could get some sleep soon. One could only hope. Theodore sighed as Beckett made a whining noise, then lightly kicked the Lieutenant's stomach. It was going to be a long night. He would never get a good night's sleep at this rate.
Theodore watched the man beside him shift restlessly in his sleep for a few moments, before the Lord rolled over and nuzzled his head against Theodore's chest. Theodore moved his hand up to Beckett's shoulder, planning to gently push him away, but decided against it when he realised the man was remaining blissfully still. Five minutes dragged on by, and Beckett was remaining reasonably still and silent. Governor Swann appeared to have fallen into a deeper sleep as his muttering died down until it ceased altogether, and even Greitzer's snoring seemed to be slowing a bit. Perhaps Theodore would get a chance to sleep after all. A sudden loud, gutteral snort from Greitzer was not promising, and when Governor Swann started to snore lightly as well, Theodore thought he might cry.
A soft slurping sound made Theodore open his eyes once more, and he looked down to see that Beckett was sucking his fingers. Rather than be annoyed by the noise, Theodore found it strangely calming. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the sound, attempting to ignore the snoring from across the room. The world around him seemed to just slip away, until all he could hear was the slow, rythymic suckling sound before even that faded away as Theodore drifted off to sleep.
Despite being the last to fall asleep, Theodore was one of the first to wake the next morning. Mercer was of course awake, sitting cross-legged with his back against the wall, a slight grin on his face as looked at the pair on the double bed. Theodore blinked, then looked down at Beckett, who was still snuggled against him. Something soft was resting against his face, and Theodore suddenly realised that they were fingers. Beckett's fingers. The ones the Lord had been sucking on during the night. Theodore cringed as he removed the slightly wet hand from his face. As if the situation wasn't bad enough, his mind decided that now was the perfect time to remember that this was only the first of two nights. Theodore grimaced. It was unlikely he would get a good night's sleep the next night either.