Spike had been staring, unmoving, at his clock all night.
At least, that’s what Sweetie Belle assumed in her morning delirium, because his eyes were bloodshot and he talked in an exhausted slur.
Over coffee, she asked Spike what kept him up. She didn’t get an answer.
She was doing laundry when she realized that nobody in her house wore clothes, so she decided to talk with Spike.
She found him in the study, staring intently at something.
Sweetie knocked on the door. “What’re you looking at?”
Spike looked up for a moment, and when he had properly identified the intruder he returned his gaze to the desk. “I’m reading something.”
Sweetie walked in through the door and peeked over Spike’s shoulder. The paper on his desk was entirely blank, with only a miniscule speck of dust near the bottom right corner existing to taint it’s purity.
Sweetie cocked an eyebrow. “Seems very interesting.”
“Ah, yes... it’s a riveting tale. This sailor, he’s fighting his brother, the king of a nation, to-”
Sweetie rested her chin on Spike’s shoulder, rubbing her cheek against his. “Get some rest, please.”
“I refuse.” Spike flipped over the paper to reveal another, slightly dirtier, blank page. “I must finish this.”
Sweetie went into town that afternoon, and while she was there she purchased some pills from a stallion of questionable financial standing. Nonetheless, she was assured that these would help her troubles. Sweetie placed them in her bags, and returned home at dusk that day.
Spike remained in the study, now nibbling on a bone whilst reading his story. Sweetie remained there for some time, watching as he scanned the page as if there was actually something on it.
Sweetie went into the kitchen and removed the pills from her bags. She crushed one and placed it in a glass of water and brought it to Spike, who waved her off after a quick thanks.
Sweetie went to bed late, for she had been absorbed in a thought for a little longer than she anticipated. When she walked into the bedroom Spike was laying perfectly still on top of the covers, staring at his clock.
Sweetie snuggled up to him, despite the cold response he gave her. As she drifted off to sleep, she muttered one last thing into Spike’s ear:
“Now you may rest...”
