DAWN
Tightness. That was all the duck felt in his chest as he laid in his bed, overwhelmed with a deliberating sense of dread and stared at the alarm clock that partially illuminated his features from across the room. Sometimes Drake felt like this, usually he would sleep it off as a way to distract himself and ignore it, but tonight was different for some reason. It was impossible for him to get to sleep, it was already 4 in the morning and he hadn't gotten a lick of sleep yet. He knew that he normally spent his nights crime fighting all the way up until the twilight hours, which definitely had an effect on his circadian rhythm, but this was a different sort of restlessness from his usual nocturnal habits.
His mind raced with thoughts of how maybe his best friend and trusty partner was growing tired of him and his antics and was reaching a breaking point. Abandonment . The mere idea quickly clouded his mind and drowned him in a rush of fear at the imagined notion that Launchpad would ever consider it, a concept that his horrible brain was convincing him of. The thoughts continued to rush through his brain, quickly manifesting as a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Regardless of anything his brain was convincing him regarding the other duck, Drake knew that he had to go see or at the very least call Launchpad, he needed the comfort that came along with the towering pekin.
He pulled himself out of bed, standing in the middle of the room as a reminder dawned on him. Launchpad was likely fast asleep in his car or back in Duckburg, all the way across the bridge that connected the cities. Drake grimaced as he tried to swallow down some of his creeping anxiety, just enough to pick up the phone to call Launchpad, just to hear his voice at the very least.
His eyes bore into the device as it sat upon his nightstand, his anxieties continuing to grip onto his heart and blanket him in a painful, yet chilling feeling. He could feel ice running through his veins and it actually hurt, especially in his fingers. He briefly tore away focus from the phone to flex his fingers, hoping that getting some sort of blood flow would help with the sensation. It didn't.
He turned his eyes back to the phone, taking a deep yet shaky breath as he finally reached towards it. He quickly snatched it up, clutching it close to his feathered chest as his heart hammered away at a dizzying pace within its cage. He slowly punched in Launchpad's number, biting the lower portion of his bill as the dial tone droned on. The small duck curled in on himself as the sound continued to play on, amplifying the silence that filled the room. Logically, he knew and kept reminding himself that there was no way he would answer. Still, he anticipated either a response or the answering machine's cold tone after what felt like ages of the dial tone. It was growing harder and harder to remain fully present as he waited for either of these outcomes, his focus growing fuzzier and fuzzier by the second.
Then, miraculously, it came.
"Hello?"
The voice echoed through Drake's mind, briefly ceasing all thoughts that weren't directed towards or about Launchpad in that moment. He quickly cleared his throat and pulled his knees to his chest, seeking comfort and further grounding in this moment.
"H-hey LP! It's me! You know, Drake! DW! Well, of course you know but still," he chuckled awkwardly and rubbed at his wrist, further trying to keep himself here in the present moment. With Launchpad. On the phone, at 4:30 in the morning. God, he was growing more and more cognizant of just how early ( or late, given how you look at it ) it was and he was feeling more and more guilty about possibly having woken up Launchpad at this hour just because of his insecurities.
"Oh hey, DW, what's up? You don't usually call this early." He could hear the tiredness in his voice, the gruffness that accompanied sleep very much still present in the barely conscious Launchpad on the other side of the phone. He felt like such an asshole right now, he really should just apologise and hang up so he could go back to sleep.
"Oh y-you know! Just thinking about how awesome tonight was, wanting to chat, all that good st-stuff," Drake eventually responded, clearly lying as he struggled to even get the words out from the dread resting heavily upon his chest, "Sorry about waking you up, I guess it didn't cross my mind that you'd probably be asleep right now."
"Is that really all you called about, Drake?" He quickly froze in place as he heard the audible concern from the phone, plus the usage of his actual name rather than a nickname didn't really help either. Sure, Launchpad could be oblivious and wasn't always the brightest, but he had a big heart and was generally in tune with how those he cared about were feeling; he was always riddled with immediate concern when something seemed off, no matter how small.
"You got me, LP," he finally confessed with a dry laugh, "I can't sleep, I don't know for sure why but I was hoping that calling you would help. 'cause like, I know I feel safe with you in person. I dunno, I feel really silly now that I'm saying this out loud." "It's not silly, DW!" Drake was quickly reassured, a wave of comfort and relief crashing over him, "You know I care about you, I would hate for something to be bothering you and not be able to even help a little bit. It hurts to see you hurting, er- I guess it would be hear you hurting here!"
Drake smiled softly to himself as he mentally played Launchpad's words back, soaking in the genuine care that he exhibited. He knew his brain was irrational when it tried to convince him that Launchpad of all people planned on abandoning him, still the idea of it scared him he would admit, even if he knew it would logically never happen. His mind could be hellish that way, but it was nice to have genuine albeit indirect confirmation from Launchpad himself that he would never ditch Drake.
"Thanks Launchpad," he murmured, a sense of drowsiness finally starting to creep in and wash over him. He yawned as he continued to hold the phone close to his face, "I love you." The words tumbled out so easily, so genuinely. He couldn't recall if he ever told Launchpad outright that he loved him before. Regardless, the sentiment was always there but the feelings were more explicit.
He could almost hear the smile in Launchpad's voice as he replied, "I love you too, Drake."
They continued to chat idly about whatever came to either of their minds. This kept on until sleep finally overtook both of them, the comforting conversation lulling them both into a peaceful slumber where they both dreamed of being in one another's arms.