Starlight and Stories

“Ouch.” Mosaic hissed as something twinged in his back, forcing him to put down the book he was holding and stretch before going back to his task. After adding it to the stack he was building, Mosaic looked around and quickly spotted the next book he needed for this project. 

“Mosaic, my love, what are you doing?” 

Mosaic was jolted out of his hyperfocus as he heard the voice of his partner behind him. He turned around, meeting Drukyul’s silver eyes. “Druk, hi, I…”

Mosaic blinked, coming back to himself. He looked around his bedroom; He was standing in the middle of a whirlwind of books. All sizes, all thicknesses, books of every kind. He’d somehow pulled at least two hundred of them off of his shelves and scattered them all over his bedroom without realizing. He glanced back towards the stacks he’d been making. Were they… Walls? 

All of a sudden his manic energy abandoned him, fading away all at once. An intense wave of fatigue hit him so hard he stumbled. Mosaic’s head spun, and what he did next was less of a sit and more of a controlled fall. 

Druk was immediately at his side, pulling him into their lap. Their hands flitted over his body, searching for anything resembling a wound. “Mosaic, my Starlight, are you hurt?” 

“Sorry Druk, I didn’t mean to… I wasn’t thinking…” 

“Do not apologize to me, my love, when you’re the one in pain. May I pick you up?” Mosaic nodded, barely able to lift his head enough to look Drukyul in the eye. They picked him up, carefully cradling him against their chest as they carried him over to the bed. They set him down, then fluffed up a blanket and delicately moved him to be laying on top of it. “Is that better, my dear?” 

“Yes, thank you…” 

Druk sat beside him, stroking his fur gently. “What were you even doing that was so important that you felt you needed to push yourself so far?” 

“I… I'm not sure.” Mosaic admitted, looking back over to the mess he’d made, and tilted his head slightly. “I think… I was trying to make a nest?” He gestured at the two long piles that he’d made. “I thought earlier that those stacks look a bit like walls.” 

Drukyul tilted their head as they looked over to where Mosaic was pointing. “So you aren’t going to sleep on the books, but use them to enclose the space? And make it feel safe, like you’re building a burrow?” 

“That’s the only thing that makes sense to me.” Mosaic was quiet for a moment, and then asked, “How did you even get in here? Ari is at work right now.” 

“You weren’t responding to any of my messages, and I was getting worried. So I went to the cafe and asked Ari to lend me his keys so I could come over and check in on you.” The hand petting Mosaic slowed slightly. “My starlight, I would like to finish the strenuous part of building your burrow. Would you be okay with that?”  

“You don’t have to, I -'' Mosaic swallowed his instinctual refusal. It was a bad habit he was still trying to crush as he slowly got used to how selfless Druk was when it came to him. “I mean, yes please. I think… Could you finish up the book stacking?” His body had stopped shaking from the overexertion, but he didn’t want to push himself to that point again. “I want to build the nest itself though…”

“Of course.” Druk nodded. “Stay here and rest, my sweet starlight. Let me take care of the hard part.” Druk got off of the bed, bending down to kiss Mosaic gently on the top of his head. They took off their long ruffled overcoat, laying it over Mosaic like a blanket, then went to work. 

Druk continued forming the walls; they kept the fort bun sized, with the stacks only coming up to about their waist. Once they neared the top, they grabbed one of Mosaic’s lighter blankets, laying it over the top and placing more hardbacks on top in order to hold the makeshift roof in place. They took a step back, taking a long look of their handiwork before turning back to Mosaic. “Does this look alright, love?” 

“It looks great, Druk.” Mosaic sat up slowly, testing the capability of his body. Druk came over and held out their arms in a silent offer of help. Mosaic crawled into their arms, and was carried over to the fort. Then Druk went back to bring over an armful of blankets and pillows. 

Mosaic, possessed again by whatever instinct was demanding him to make this nest, began dragging the blankets into the book fort. It was arduous work; he had to stop a few times to catch his breath. But he dragged and wriggled and spun around until he felt it was finally - 

Not good enough.

Mosaic stuck his head out of the fort and looked around his room. Druk watched, opening their mouth then seeming to decide against it. Then he saw it, the perfect addition. He pointed at it silently, getting a gentle chuckle from Druk in response as they got up to fulfill his unspoken request. 

They came back quickly, overcoat in tow, and added it to the mass of fabrics. Now, with his partner’s scent steeping inside the fort, the nest was finally complete, and Mosaic felt himself return to normal. 

Mosaic looked back over at Druk, a little sheepish from his earlier behaviour. “Do… Do you have to be somewhere soon, or do you have time to cuddle with me?” 

“I always have time for you, my starlight.” Druk shifted into their bun form and cuddled in, curling around Mosaic and sandwiching the bun between their body and their jacket. “How’s that?” 

“It’s perfect,” Mosaic murmured, the exhaustion that had been held back by his hyperfixation finally winning. He fell asleep to the soothing feeling of Druk stroking his fur.