Naps With Copia
Nap #12: A Nap With The Captain
~ Naps With Copia series masterpost ~
This is for @primosfiore who wanted a nap with Capitano Copia from my Steampunk Universe, Clockwork Hearts 💙 You do not need to read the other stories in this verse before this one!
Cardinal Copia x Reader
Other tales from the Clockwork Hearts universe: Capitano Copia, Clockwork Friends, Building a Family and Napping in the Clouds.
Warnings: none, sfw, 1k words (thank you to @ghuleh-recs for the dividers!)
He smelled like smoke and engine oil.
You had given up trying to get him to clean a bit before bed a while ago. More often than not Copia was so exhausted after working on his airship The Impera all day that he’d barely manage to get his boots off before falling into bed. Your bed, specifically.
Today was a little different though, the sun was still shining through the windows of your cabin when there was a quick knock on your door. The knock was your only warning before Copia stumbled in looking like he’d stuck his wrench into the shining blue core of the ship. You both were still for a beat as you blinked at each other. Copia may have had the habit of barging into your cabin mostly unannounced but he was always willing to leave if you told him to.
Not that you ever did.
“What happened to you?” Copia’s only response to your question was a grunt. He continued to stand in place, his eyes looking a little unfocused as they watched you. “Copia?”
“There might have been a little…explosion.” Alarmed, you rushed up from your desk to check him over. He weakly batted at your hands when you poked and prodded at him. “Sto bene, I’m fine!”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” He sighed but stopped fighting you, his cheeks pinking up a bit when you swept your fingers across them. You gently pulled the goggles off his head, trying not to laugh when his salt and pepper hair stuck up every which way when they were gone. “You need a shower.”
Copia rolled his eyes, reaching up to take your hands in his. He brought them to his mouth and began pressing kisses into your knuckles. “What I need is some sleep.” He turned your hands over to press a kiss into each palm and then moved lower to kiss where your pulse was strong on the inside of your wrists. “Preferably with you at my side.”
“Is that an order?” You rolled your eyes at the raised eyebrow on his face and then corrected yourself. “I’m sorry, is that an order Capitano?”
“Sì! The very highest of orders.”
He dropped your hands and immediately went over to the small bed along the wall. You shyly looked away, expecting him to work on removing some of his clothes but when the bed springs creaked noisily you looked back to see him sprawled across your bed fully clothed.
“Hey! Ugh Copia, you’re getting everything dirty!” He mumbled something in Italian as you unbuttoned his vest, turning away from you so he was facing the wall. You straightened up to glare down at him, annoyed at all the grease and dirt you could already see on your clean blankets. “At least take your damned boots off.”
His only response was more grumbling so you took them off yourself, wrinkling your nose and quickly dropping them to the floor when they were off. Copia was already still, his quiet snores filling the room when you took a step back from the bed. It was rare to see him so peaceful. Ever since you had met him he always seemed to be on the move. Whether it was strolling along the deck of his ship or elbow deep in some machine or even following you around like his little clockwork rats followed him, Copia was rarely still.
It made moments like this special.
You took a few steps back from the bed, wincing when the floorboards creaked under your feet. While he napped you could work on the new engine designs. Everything needed to be reimagined and rebuilt, parts needed to be bought, parts needed to be stolen…there was so much to do. Too much to do and precious little time to do it in. But Copia needed this, he needed rest. You would never deny him that.
“Are you staring at me while I sleep?”
His voice startled you and when your eyes focused on him again he was looking over his shoulder grinning like an idiot.
“More like glaring. You’ve gotten grease over everything. Again.”
“A little grease never hurt anyone.” He rolled onto his back and held a hand out, his gloved fingers wiggling in your direction. “Come here.”
“Copia I have to finish this.”
“And you will, but right now you should rest. With me.” When you remained unmoved he stuck his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. “Per favore.”
You shouldn’t, you really shouldn’t. And not just because you did really need to finish the diagram you were working on but also because whatever was developing between you and Copia was filling your head and heart with all sorts of ideas. Ideas you weren’t sure could ever actually happen, not with so much on the line right now. But maybe that was reason enough to let whatever was going on develop.
Not knowing what tomorrow would bring was reason enough to take a chance.
“Alright, fine.”
His glove was warm under your hand when you let him tug you into bed. He scooted over just a bit more, enough to give you some more room but not enough that you had no other choice but to be pressed against him. Copia was humming a jaunty tune as you got settled, your head finally resting on his shoulder and one of your arms wrapped around his waist.
“See? Questo è buono.” He took your hand resting on his stomach in one of his and gave it a squeeze. “Good, right?”
You closed your eyes for a moment, burying your nose in his shirt and collecting yourself before you answered, “It’s very good, Copia.”
“Ah ah, it’s Capit–ai!”
He jerked away when you pinched his side, giving you the same look that used to scare you but now it just made you smile.
“My apologies.” You rubbed your hand over where you pinched him and his body soon relaxed again, his eyes once more beginning to droop. “It’s very good, Capitano.”
His lips pulled up in a soft smile but you could tell he was already falling asleep. You shifted a bit next to him to get comfortable again and it wasn’t long before you were joining him. The hum of the ship and the sounds of his breathing following you into your dreams.
~ Naps With Copia series masterpost ~
If you'd like to be added/removed from the tag list (or if I accidentally left your name off) of this fic or any of my others please leave a comment or send me a dm! Thank you 💙
My Masterlist ~ My Archive of our Own ~ My Ko-Fi Tip Jar
