#i wrote this a bit ago :] some wholesome alex content for the dash

[ctoastwrites]

of sewn on hearts (and ones hidden inside)

-

“finally…” alex chuckled, looking down at the couch. robin, pastel, and jemma all lay on- or by, in jemma’s case -it, fast asleep. alex ran his hand through robin’s hair, causing them to shuffle for just a moment. however, they quickly settled again and sighed. alex let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and pulled his hand back. waking them up would be especially bad considering the reason they were on the couch in the first place, curled up on one end. 

alex moved to tidy up while the others slept. the living room wasn’t much of a mess but alex preferred to have everything in order regardless. he collected the four mugs on the coffee table, noting the differences in how much each one was full with a soft smile. 

all four contained (or at least, had once contained) hot chocolate. he guessed jemma’s mug was the one fully empty, as jemma had made a point of drinking it quickly (much to her own dismay as she found the hot liquid would scald her tongue). pastel’s was probably the one almost empty, considering she’d been sipping at it the whole time she was awake, and robin’s was probably the one halfway full. that left his- the one still full, and the only one he didn’t intend on washing out just yet. 

the gentle noise of the sink as it ran and the comforting scent of the soap made alex feel even more relaxed. the smile on his face didn’t fade while he cleaned as he thought about the moments prior. 

robin had come to him, having woken up in a cold sweat- a nightmare they couldn’t quite remember, nor did they want to. alex readily opened his arms and comforted them, offering them a mug of hot chocolate and a seat next to him with a blanket on the couch to talk. they accepted without hesitation and alex noticed how sleepy they must’ve still been, as they were dozing off when alex came back with their and his mugs in hand. 

despite the noise not being much at all, jemma woke up and came downstairs soon after- followed by pastel, who hadn’t been fully asleep just yet and was too curious about the soft footsteps moving around to do so.

the two were welcomed on the couch just as warmly as robin, and two more mugs of hot chocolate were prepared for them. pastel curled up on the opposite side of robin- and jemma, who didn’t want to squish between the two, leaned on the couch next to pastel. alex didn’t think jemma had expected to fall asleep there but she did and alex didn’t have any intention of waking her.

he just grabbed a couple blankets and carefully draped them over the trio, making sure they were warm and comfortable. he’d even gone and found periwinkle to double check she was alright- but she was already asleep and didn’t want to wake the rabbit just to bring her somewhere else to rest.

alex shut off the water and dried the dishes, putting them where they belonged and feeling rather proud of himself when he was done. he enjoyed cleaning- and the thought reminded him of something else he needed to do. despite the late hour, he was determined to get a little bit of work done. 

he retrieved a few pieces of clothing from on top of his dresser along with his sewing kit and brought it downstairs, settling down in the chair next to the couch once he’d put his mug back on the table next to it. 

alex inspected the clothes carefully. a cape he’d grown quite familiar with fixing, a pair of pants with more pockets than he could imagine using, and a bag with embroidered flowers that were beginning to come undone. he quickly got to work, swift and steady hands making the fabrics even steadier. 

alex was well aware the cape was beyond complete repair- and robin knew that too. however, they were too attached to let something as an entire chunk missing from a corner stop them from wearing it, or even the fact that it had formerly been a cloak with a hood.

it’s new status as a cape was alex’s doing, as fairly early on robin came to him with it in hand. the hood had gotten caught on something and robin panicked while in a stressful situation and had to cut themself free- at the cost of the hood. however, alex saw how distraught it had made them and offered to try something; something that quickly brought joy back to robin’s eyes. he took what remained of the hood’s fabric and turned it into a collar.

the collar was once again the problem, the previous stitching starting to come undone as a result of their recent adventures- most of which involved sharp objects being near their neck and face. alex realized he should probably have a talk with them once again about proper knife safety and how not to throw yourself in harm’s way.

the collar was an easy fix and simply needed to be reinforced after a quick few stitches to hold it in place properly. for a moment, alex considered finding a piece of fabric big enough to cover what was missing from the corner- but decided against it. after all, even though it was a tear in an otherwise perfect article of clothing… it held the story of a moment robin seemed to look back on fondly when asked about it. 

the cape was put aside and the pants were picked up next- and alex very quickly found out what the problem was. 

or, more specifically, problems. 

one of the pockets was missing a button, one had a hole, and both knees were showing clear wear that was just a slight brush away from becoming holes themselves. alex sighed at the clear handiwork of his more reckless friend but found himself still smiling, silently admiring how she was capable of getting out of situations as unscathed as she usually did- despite the minor casualty of the button on one of her pockets.

alex quickly sewed up the hole and used patches underneath the knees- but found himself struggling when it came to finding a button that matched the ones on jemma’s pants. he eventually settled for a brown heart-shaped button as opposed to the silver circle buttons. while the mismatched buttons would have bothered him on his own clothing, he determined that it’d be okay since jemma would like it, possibly even more than before.

the pants were set aside with the cape as soon as he was finished.

he began to notice exactly how tired he was when he stopped for a moment, hesitating before picking up the bag. the moon was still clear in the sky though, so he didn’t think he’d taken too long. he yawned and picked it up, promising himself he’d do just one flower.

the careful stitching of the pink and blue flowers on the bag made alex almost envious of the creator’s abilities- but he easily found himself falling into the rhythm of sewing once again, able to repair what had fallen out without any trouble at all. if anything, he wondered if pastel would like it more now that it had a special touch, one that made it even more unique than it had been before.

the bag was intended to hold periwinkle, but alex would be lying if he said he didn’t think it perfectly fit pastel. it was soft yet sturdy, the bag itself being a light beige- but the pink and blue flowers on it popped in a way that made them perfectly stand out; not out of place or unsightly, but in the perfect spot for them to be the best they could. handmade by a careful artist who clearly cared a lot about their work and only expected it to be used and admired daily by those who could see the beauty in something that seemed so ordinary. 

and while alex had only planned on fixing one flower, the one flower turned into two, and two into three, and then…

alex drifted off to sleep, his ongoing project falling from his hands and into his lap.

alex found himself waking up to quiet shuffling and “shhh!”s and the bag being removed from his lap and placed on the table. while still half-asleep, he was able to easily gather that it was the other three having woken up. he wasn’t sure what exactly they were doing but he assumed it was cleaning up.

he considered dragging himself out of the chair and to his bed to avoid causing the others any more trouble but the lead weight in his tired body told him otherwise. he leaned further into the chair and got comfortable- and if had saw jemma come by to put her blanket over him when she noticed, he didn’t say anything.

even while drifting back to sleep, alex found himself with a smile on his face.