Hey! I had some time to spare so I decided to write a short oneshot. I hope you enjoy :)

P.S - The Chipmunks and Chipettes belong to Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and Janice Karman.

Exhaustion is a damning thing, especially when you're trying to stay awake. He could easily cut his losses and give in to the sleep that was coming over him, but he vainly refused, and continued to stare at the television. Nothing was being processed - it was just a series of colour and movement to the sleepy chipmunk. It was reruns - 'Kitchen Nightmares' if Theodore recalled correctly. Some temperamental chef comes over all the way from England to tell restaurant owners what they're doing wrong. Usually a lot of yelling and curse words involved. If anything, it's taught Theodore what he shouldn't do when he opens his own establishment. As he yawned, the noise from the television got vaguely quieter.

The moon filtered in through the cracks in the blinds, casting its silvery glow over the duvet, mingling with the ever-changing colours of the television screen. Too lazy to move, the chipmunk stretched his arm out for the remote lying by his side and slid his thumb over the buttons with near invisible labels. He found the volume button and was about to turn it up - purely to keep him awake - until he heard a key twisting in the lock down the hall. There was the jangling of keys, and the door clicked shut again. Turning the volume down a couple of notches, Theodore sat up - he hadn't even realised he was gradually sliding further into the sheets - and listened out for the soft padding of footsteps.

Well, not soft. More like tired thuds against the hardwood floor.

The bedroom door opened and in walked his counterpart, exhaling loudly.

"You didn't have to stay up."

"I wanted to."

The blonde sighed, and rested her handbag on the bed, then proceeded to tug off her jacket.

"My feet are killing me," she mumbled, the exhaustion obvious in her voice. Theodore didn't need to ask - she had a rough day at work again. For the past few months, Eleanor had been working late shifts at the diner in a bid to secure more wages. All it resulted in so far was a hard time from her boss, and being run off her feet having worked since nine in the morning.

"But you're home now," he said, trying to soothe the chipette, and welcome her back to the safe comfort of their apartment. Eleanor smiled softly for a moment, then frowned.

"Yeah, until tomorrow." She tucked loose strands of hair behind her ears and headed for the dresser. She couldn't wait to take off her uniform; her nose could only withstand the smell of grease for so long. Kicking off her shoes, she glanced at the television, laughing to herself. "Kitchen nightmares again?"

"Mm," the chipmunk hummed, his eyes adjusting to the action on the screen. "The owner isn't very nice in this episode."

"So not like your boss then?" Eleanor knew that Theodore's boss was a lot kinder than her own. He worked afternoons and evenings in the kitchen of a small restaurant in the middle of town, and she swears the manager would let her counterpart away with murder if he could. She was merely teasing him - Theodore had a good relationship with his boss, and that meant they had one less thing to worry about. If anything, she was slightly envious. He had decent hours, and didn't have to endure customers chancing their luck by coming onto him and paying cheap compliments. But if she started working the same hours, then the pair would never have enough money to sustain themselves. It was a hard enough task to keep paying the rent each month.

Once the chipette changed into a pair of pyjamas - she didn't mind changing in front of Theodore; they had nothing to hide - she went for her handbag.

"I did get something good from tonight's shift," she said, reaching in and digging around its contents. Curious, the chipmunk watched, still trying to evade the allure of sleep. Although he had woken up slightly since Eleanor came home. Smiling, she produced a small jar of tips and shook it for emphasis. "I made fourteen dollars tonight!"

"That's great!" Theodore smiled, loving the way his counterpart lit up when she'd mention the tips. Eleanor was originally intending to apply for the chef position, but upon realising that waitresses receive tips, she went for that instead. Tips were a great help to their finances. It was a welcomed addition to the restaurant fund they had been building for the last couple of years.

To open their own restaurant is their ultimate dream. For many nights, the pair had been dreaming about the day they'd finally open the doors to their own place. No bosses - they would be in charge. In the spare time they have, they'd talk about what kind of interior the restaurant will have, and what to put on the menu. When Theodore and Eleanor left high school, they had been given access to the contents of their savings accounts, and immediately decided to put it towards the restaurant. It was a costly task, and both knew that they'd have to work hard to reach the goal amount of money, but they couldn't wait for the day when it would all be worth it.

"Getting closer with each day, huh?" Eleanor emptied the jar and added the money to a bigger jar - one that has a large label with 'Restaurant' scribbled on it, and a chef's hat drawn on, courtesy of Theodore. She stared at the jar for a moment, not really able to see how much exactly was in it, but still pleased with the progress they were making.

The chipmunk noted the chipette's posture, and steadily drooping eyelids.

"Why don't you come to bed?" He patted the space next to him, his own eyelids ready to fall shut. Eleanor looked at him with an amused look, raising an eyebrow. Before she could say anything, he interjected. "You'd say the same to me."

It was true. The pair looked out for each other, especially when either could break with exhaustion at any moment. The stress of their jobs alongside the pressure of making ends meet as young adults was enough to drive any person over the edge, but they were in it together. If one could lavish the other with love and attention, they would.

Crawling into bed, the chipette instantly felt better. The soft sheets were wrapped around her, and her pillow was propped up just the way she liked it. Best of all, the warm presence beside her was perfect for cuddling into. And she did just that.

"How was your day?" She mumbled into his shoulder, her voice sounding a lot sleepier than it did a few moments ago. Theodore shifted slightly to try make them a little more comfortable. He slid an arm under Eleanor's body, and turned onto his side a little so that he could face her.

"It was okay I guess," he mused, recalling the day's events. "Alvin called earlier. He wants us to get together to sing a few songs."

"A concert?"

"I guess."

"Sounds good." The chipette yawned, and wrapped her arms tightly around Theodore. There was a silence between the two, allowing the endless cursing of the chefs on TV to fill the air. Eleanor exhaled through her nose, laughing. "Will you promise me something?"

"What?"

"Promise me that our restaurant will never end up on that," she replied, gesturing towards the television on which the programme was showing. Theodore couldn't help but laugh, as he grabbed for the remote again, this time switching it off.

"I promise," he said quietly, leaning in closer before pressing his lips against Eleanor's in a short, sweet kiss. And after that, it didn't take long for the two to drift off into a peaceful, much needed sleep.

I'm really enjoying writing Theonor just now. These two definitely need more love I think, and well, this was just supposed to be pure fluff. Also, the programme mentioned was Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this :)

Peace, love, and COOKIES! ~ MissSteph22 x :)