written for the prompt "How long has it been since you've slept?" - Sigrun/Tuuri?


"Hey, Fuzzy-head," Sigrun said, poking her head down below the tank. "How's it going?"

"Um," Tuuri said, "good, I think? I think I'm almost done, I just need to–" Her hand slipped, and a wrench hit the ground with a dull thump, only narrowly missing her head. She muttered a few words in Finnish that Sigrun suspected she would very much like to learn, except that Tuuri was definitely slurring her words.

"How long has it been since you've slept, Tuuri?" she asked, grabbing an ankle to drag Tuuri out.

Tuuri blinked bloodshot eyes, and they went slightly of focus. "Uh…"

"Definitely time for bed," Sigrun said, and hauled Tuuri to her feet, careful of her shoulder. Tuuri swayed, but that didn't stop her protesting–she was almost done, she was sure, if she worked for another half an hour more–

"Nope!" Sigrun steered her firmly back to the taped-together cabin. "Even if you do get this thing running today, it's too late to go anywhere. So take a nap, Fuzzy. And then eat something."

"But–"

"Nope!" Sigrun shook her head sharply. She could do with another nap herself, honestly; her arm throbbed, and she felt awful. "No buts! Just sleep."

It was quiet inside, and dark; colder than it should have been, since the repairs needed to focus on mobility and not insulation, but they had blankets. Tuuri stopped arguing once they were inside, and she slumped onto her bunk, rubbing at her shoulder. "I don't think I can sleep," she said, sounding miserable–not at all her usual perky self. Sigrun frowned, crossed her arms, winced, and crossed them the other way. Then she sighed, and sank onto the bunk beside Tuuri.

"Okay, Fuzzy, this calls for cuddles."

Tuuri straightened immediately. "Uh, what? Cuddles–"

"Trust me, I'm drawing on years of experience," Sigrun said brightly. "Best way to sleep when you can't is to cuddle up with someone. And everyone else is busy."

Tuuri slumped again, but this time with a yawn. "Well, okay…"

It took some doing, but they got both of them comfortably into the bunk, Sigrun as the big spoon. She thought for a minute she'd have to do something else, start telling stories, or something, but Tuuri yawned again, and after a surprisingly short time started snoring softly.

Sigrun sighed in relief, and then yawned herself (Tuuri was very warm), and took her own advice.

A couple of hours later, the tank rumbled to life.