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Couch 1- The Decay of Angels
Sigma never trusted any of these people. Bram was certainly one of the more tolerable people she had to work with semi-frequently but she and him rarely ever interacted and the rest were either insufferable or just downright cruel. Fukuchi was the main one but she was never a fan of Nikolai or Fyodor either. But, it was late and she was ever so tired from the days worth of work so she had settled onto the couch in the dingy apartment that she had been given upon joining this organisation and decided that she could sleep for just a bit before she would have to return to her work later that night, it would just be something quick.
It was a crusty old thing that always made her skin crawl just thinking about it but it was able to keep her up and off the ground which was just a bit better for her spine. It still made her wake up from a longer sleep with a deep ache in her bones and muscles, but still, she was able to rest against the armrest, curling up into as small a ball as her body allowed and sleep for just a few minutes.
This was, unsurprisingly, a bad idea.
She should have known this after her experience being trafficked. That falling asleep around someone was the worst thing a person could do. There was no telling what they might try and do to you, especially if you were considered goods; a commodity to be used as the buyer desired.
She woke to Nikolai’s voice. More specifically his laughter.
“Sigma!” It was not particularly strange to wake to someone else’s voice, she had for the most part gotten used to it but it was still unsettling to know that someone was around while she was so vulnerable. It was terrifying to her for some strange reason, perhaps it was at least a bit of that lack of trust that made her want to tear out her own skin at the mere thought of it. Perhaps if she hadn’t been trafficked it would have been better. “You should be awake y’know.”
“I am,” she mumbles, sitting up more on the couch and blinking away the sleep.
“You’re so lazy, Sigma. Sleeping all the time. Fedya won’t like that.” He giggles as if Sigma’s own fear were funny and not entirely justified.
“Of course, I’ll get right to work.” She stands, brushing her coat off of any dirt and grime that it surely received from the couch.
“Perhaps you should get some rest, the casino is ready for you and we don’t want our manager to drop dead. Do we?” Sigma felt the shiver roll down her spine, feeling the eyes of the man on her. She always hated Fyodor the worst, right beside Fukuchi in her mind. She swallows nervously. He always knew the ways to play with her mind.
“Right,” she mumbles as Fyodor approaches her from behind. She’s far too afraid to face him because that was almost worse than having her back to him. His hand rests on her shoulder and she feels her whole body tense.
It's only a bit comforting to know she would be out of that apartment soon enough.
Couch 2- The Sky Casino
In her time at her beloved Sky Casino Sigma got the absolute minimal amount of sleep required by the human body to function. She was simply too busy to consider doing anything else. Plus, it’s not that her patrons would know any better as she covered the bags under her eyes with enough makeup that she only ever got compliments on her work rather than any concern. She was here to ensure her guests were enjoying themselves and would be willing to return. It was a bit agonizing, the time and effort she put into the place she loved only to see none of it repaid in full as several of her patrons had practically spit in her face at all the hard work she had done. But this was the only home she had known, so she was willing to grin and bear it for the sake of the only people she cared about.
She technically had a managers room, one of the fancier places to stay that housed an entire king sized bed all for her to enjoy as well as so many accommodations it was practically a house all to herself. Sigma hated sleeping there. It felt lonely, and cold and so very lonely to sleep in alone so the time she spent there was minimal and short lived. Besides, Sigma was always so busy. She stayed in her office instead and went without sleep until her body would collapse at which point some of the staff there would notice and drag her off to, at the very least, the couch in her room to get a decent sleep for a few minutes.
They always worried about her and she always had to assure them that she was fine, a clear lie but none of them ever asked further than that. She wasn’t that important to them, her staff deserved to have better treatment after all. They worked much harder than she ever did and even with all she did it never felt like enough. Like they could drop her at a moment's notice even if that wasn’t possible.
She was just so tired. She wanted to drop dead on the spot, to sleep forever and no longer have to worry about anything.
Today was one of those days where she was simply too tired to stand for so long so she had kicked off her heels upon entering her room, letting them sit at the edge of the couch as she rubbed away the little aches and pains present, placing a record on and swaying to the classical music that began to echo in her room, the strings and piano that set her mind free from all her troubles for just a moment. These moments were a sort of guilty pleasure for her, spending even a moment alone for herself meant that her casino was without her and a disaster could strike at any moment where she would be needed and here she would be swaying like an idiot to Tchaikovsky.
But, her mind was far too gone at this point to care much. Before long she was leaning her head back on the couch, resting her eyes for just a moment as the music continued.
She wakes with the sound of her room door opening and a gentle knock. “Miss Sigma?” One of her guards says, taking a step in carefully and quietly. He was a respectful young man, one of the employees she enjoyed the company of decently. She jolts up, standing and walking a few paces away from the couch to prove she was awake and ready for anything. “It’s alright, if you need more time to sleep we are not in a hurry but there is a bit of an issue in the lobby.” He explains, waving his hands as if to brush it off as nothing. But if there was an issue, however small, she needed to attend to it. That was her role in the grand scheme of things, to attend to whatever anyone else needed of her.
“No, no. If I am needed I shall be down promptly. Just let me get dressed.” She hurriedly rushes over to her closet, ignoring the current state she was in (she is faintly embarrassed that someone, even someone she knew, saw her in such casual clothes even if just for a second), picking out one of her better outfits and hiding behind the room divider so she could get dressed as the man explains the situation.
“There is a man on floor three, table fifteen that has been gambling for a while with no results, he has a daughter who has medical bills to be paid. I believe this is somewhere you should step in. As well as that, we have some visitors who have requested your presence in your office. They have given you fifteen minutes before they come searching for you.” She nods even though he cannot see, pulling on her coat and brushing back her hair.
“Then,” she steps out from the divider, freshly dressed with all new makeup caking her face. The bags under her eyes had been getting worse recently and they were getting harder to cover even with her skilled hand. “I suppose I should get to work.”
That day was one of the worst in her life, even thus far with everything she had been through. And through all of it she had only been running on three hours of sleep in the past month. The next time she passes out it was while falling to her death.
Couch 3- The Armed Detective Agency
In the short time that Sigma had joined the ADA she had learned a few new things that she never considered before. One, they valued human life more than Sigma herself could ever understand (she had nearly failed the entrance exam because of this). Two, they valued their members' well-being (both mental and physical). And three, that Kunikida was the one to uphold these ideas the most, and he was a bit aggressive in how he would uphold them sometimes.
She had been tired, she had been tired for a long, long, time now. But, perhaps going without so much sleep for so long was finally beginning to weigh on her after all these years. She was walking around the office, eyes half closed and desperately trying to chase away sleep the whole day. If she fell asleep here it would look unproductive and lazy so she practically clung to the coffee maker in their little kitchen and was on her feet most of the day to try and avoid drooping onto her desk and simply sleeping there. That didn’t stop all the yawns from escaping her or her work from being a bit more half-assed, and it wasn’t long before someone took notice.
“A bit tired today, Sigma-chan?” Dazai said, leaning over to poke fun at her as she typed away at the report she needed to finish. She hated this, she was just so tired but there were still a good few minutes before she could go back to her dorm, lock the door and get her thirty minutes of sleep in.
“Sigma?” Dazai’s teasing brought forth Kunikida which only made her overly tired brain panic even more. “When did you last sleep?” He questions, glaring at her over his glasses. She was too tired to fight, and it really wasn’t that bad, she just had a hard time falling asleep last night was all. She had truly tried but her damn insomnia made it all the worse and kept her staring at her ceiling before Sigma had simply decided she would get up and ready for the day. She tenses.
“Five days ago, roughly.” The blond growls and Dazai looks over at her, a bit concerned. Sigma is ready for the rant that is about to come but it still makes her flinch as Kunikida begins to yell.
“Absolutely unacceptable!” He begins, quieting down after noticing her flinch which helped her overly tired ears just a bit. “You must have at the very least seven hours of sleep every night! Why did you even consider coming in to work today?”
“It’s alright, really, I’ve forgone sleep for longer.” She ignores the stuttering from Kunikida as he is baffled trying to consider that. “And there's only a few more minutes left in the day before I can go home. I promise I’ll sleep tonight.”
“Not a chance, there is exactly two hours left before the agency is closed for the day and I cannot allow you to stay awake another moment; take one of the couches or go home!”
“No really I’m–”
“I could practice a new healing style on you, I promise it’ll get you tired enough to sleep.” Yosano promises, sounding more like a threat as she enters the room, grinning all the while.
“Sleep is one of the most important things Sigma-san!” Kenji echoes, looking up from his own paperwork with a much more concerned expression.
“Yeah, that’s not really healthy, Sigma-san.” Junichirou this time.
Before she knew it she was suddenly being hounded on all sides.
“Really Sigma-chan!” Dazai starts, and she really doesn’t need this kind of talk from him of all people when he always got the best kind of sleep and never struggled the way she did. “We could sleep together if that’ll help–” Kunikida tosses a book at his head and he goes into a fit of complaining while the other yells at him for being crude to which Dazai points out he hadn’t meant it like that and if Kunikida took it like that it was more a bad sign on his part than anything.
“Okay! Okay, if it’ll get you off my back I’ll take a short nap.” She groans, already getting up and abandoning her work to walk over to one of the couches. “Only thirty minutes though.”
It's mainly to prove a point that she truly didn’t need to be worried over but her body betrays her as the second her head is laid to rest on the arm of the couch she is already drifting off watching as Kunikida lectures Dazai and the world continues on without her, as if she was not needed to work this entire time. She falls asleep to the sound of the Agency and, for once, the noise does not wake her even more nor does the fact there is someone watching her at all times, rather she feels safe here with them all watching over her as she drifts off.
She woke slowly, something she was not used to, and she was warm. As if a great big blanket was draped over her and it kept her warm and safe and she snuggled just a bit further into it taking a deep breath of some familiar cologne she had smelt before but couldn’t quite place where at the moment as her tired and overworked brain took in the world around her. It was nice here, cozy and felt like home even if that was something she never knew. She wanted to stay here forever and her still half asleep mind could almost think of a reason why. When she finally found the strength to crack open her eyes it was not in fact a blanket she was under but the overcoat of her coworker.
The one also sitting in front of her. Dazai Osamu. The man who has his back resting against the couch she sleeps on as he hums a tune she doesn’t quite know. It sounds lovely.
She slowly sits up, the coat falling down her shoulders and landing in her lap, it was shockingly soft and she already missed it.
“Rest well?” He asks, not needing to turn around to know she was up. Sigma feels her gaze drift over to the windows, watching as the sun sets just outside, distantly she realizes it must be quite late. The Agency is quiet, something she was almost unused to after so short of time spent with them. She tries to rub the fuzzy sleep from her face but it only seems to spread, like sticky molasses and makes her even drowsier.
“How long…?” She mumbles, belatedly realizing that she was now staring at Dazai at the way the sun shining seemed to make his hair glow like a halo and he was absolutely stunning like this.
“About three hours, a bit more than the thirty minutes you promised.” He sticks his tongue out at her playfully and it makes her smile softly, eyes still half lidded. “You still look tired,” he mumbles, reaching up to tuck some stray hair behind her ear. She leans into the touch a bit more.
“I feel tired.” Sigma yawns uncontrollably, but she doesn’t repress it as she normally would. It's safe here to be tired and Dazai would not judge.
“Let's get our little princess to bed then, yeah?” He stands, holding out a hand. Sigma just lifts his coat around herself a bit tighter and takes it with a sluggish hand, allowing herself to be pulled up and into the man's arms, only a bit surprised at being lifted off the ground. He holds her so gently, carrying her with an arm supporting her legs and the other holding her back so that her head rests against his shoulder. She quickly places her arms around his neck to further support herself. His coat still draped over her as she dozed off a bit to the rhythmic swaying of his steps.
“You should eat more, I’m not the strongest man and even I can carry you!” She whines, knowing all too well how poorly she took care of herself. But, right now, she wanted to focus on resting. And its not like Dazai was the pinnacle of health himself.
“Why did you stay?” Sigma mumbles into his shoulder. His hand tightens and his thumb rubs little circles into her ribs.
“Ugh! Kunikida insisted I finish your work for you and so I had to stay back to get all of it done. Really Sigma-chan, you’re so rude for making me do all that.” There are many things Sigma prided herself on and one was her ability to tell lies. She knew Dazai was lying but didn’t bother to ask for the truth, hoping that he was simply joking or something of the sort.
(He would never admit he had stayed simply because he was worried about her, he had wanted to make sure she would be alright while she rested. That he had adjusted how she slept so that she had a pillow under her head and made sure the Agency would be relatively quiet for the rest of the day. That he had joked around with Kunikida when the man inevitably noticed he was staying later than he normally would. That he had draped his coat over her because it was rather cold that day and he noticed the way she had shivered in her sleep. He didn’t mention how he had tucked her hair back and held her hand when he noticed the tears from her nightmares.)
“Thank you.” She says not knowing any of this, burying back into his neck and fading back into a daydream like state.
He is careful to not wake her the rest of their short trip, poor girl was going to drop dead one of these days if this kept up. He would convince the president to give her as many days off as she needed and possibly to let her take a bed in the infirmary if she ever needed it. He opens the door to her dorm slowly and takes her shoes off along with her coat before tucking her into her bed with plenty of blankets to keep her warm in the slowly chilling autumn air. And, no one but him needed to know he left his coat there with her as well. It's not his fault she had a death grip on it.
(If she didn’t come into work the next day and came in fairly late the day after that no one made a fuss about it. She didn’t need to explain that she had slept for nearly a full fifteen hours as most of them understood something of the situation. And, whenever she found herself drifting off at work she had simply found herself at that same couch and stealing Dazai’s coat from him.
Not that the man would ever complain about it.)