Chapter Text
Love is quite a fickle emotion, sometimes coming in bursts and waves that are overwhelming. Other times, so dormant and nonexistent, it becomes questionable if one was ever in love in the first place.
6 A.M.
The digital clock blared out the numbers in a bright red, almost blinding any who were unfortunate enough to lay their eyes on it.
Sakata laid on his side, his head resting rather heavily on his, now numb, arm. He had finally managed to fall asleep around midnight, but was constantly awoken at every hour. It was ironic, considering that he was usually a rather heavy sleeper, his guttural snoring infamous for being louder than a construction site. By 5 A.M., he had decided it was probably better to just stay awake, though the situation was just as uncomfortable as being awoken at every hour interval. The bed he was sleeping on was rather small, and he only had a slimmer of space to just barely lie on, leading to his current, very painful position.
Though, truthfully speaking, that wasn't the reason for his discomfort.
The crimson-haired man softly turned his body to face the other side of the bed, being careful to make no sound. Through the small slits of the window's curtains, the soft light of the early dawn morning illuminated a small figure sleeping soundly at his side.
"Ura-san?..." Sakata whispered, almost as quiet as the constant, faint static buzzing that reverberated throughout the room. Realizing the man was still sound asleep, the pair of bright red eyes continued to trail along his softly illuminated outline. Despite only seeing his backside, Sakata felt his concentration quickly becoming absorbed onto the man. In the gentle dawn light, Urata's appearance seemed to change almost drastically. His auburn hair glowed in an almost silver under the lighting, giving the man an almost mystical presence. Urata always curled up slightly into a ball in his sleep, presenting a rather subtle, vulnerable side of him not many get to see, or even take notice of. The usually loud and sarcastic man was now making no more noise than the soft breathing of his sleep, intertwining harmoniously with the droning of the static-buzz of the room. His broad shoulders seemed so much smaller in the soft light than when they were surrounded by the bright light of day.
Under the cover of daylight, Urata usually seems so much bigger than his appearance would let him be, making it hard for a lot of people to believe that such a man only barely reaches a little over 5 feet. But, in the silence of dawn, the man's tough cover disappeared, showing how truly vulnerable and fragile the man was.
Sakata suddenly felt his face heat up slightly, coming to the realization that he's been staring so intently on the other man for so long. His heart began to beat rapidly, leaving him feeling uncomfortable and nervous.
Why am I getting so embarrassed? Sakata wondered, as he attempted to calm his sudden flustered emotions.
Then again, staring at your friend's body for almost 10 minutes straight while they're sleeping is pretty weird.
The man let out an a long, quiet sigh.
How did we even end up sleeping together? He asked himself, though clearly knowing the answer. He began to vaguely recount the events prior to the current situation as an attempt to distract himself.
The latest live event was held just the day before and everyone was invited to an after-party celebrating the tour finale. Spending a rather good time chatting and eating with old and newfound friends, the day quickly became night. It eventually came to the point where it was far too late to take a train back home, nor did Sakata even have the energy to do so. Since both Urata and Sakata lived in Tokyo, which was more than 5 hours from their current location, they both decided to book a hotel room for the night. Since neither brought much money with them to the event, they decided to share a room, seeing as they could split the cost. It was a significantly cheaper alternative than paying for separate rooms which is always a plus.
It was only when they were mistakenly given a single-bed room where issues began to arise.
Urata had quickly settled that he would sleep on the bed while Sakata would be the one on the floor. Of course, this only led to a plethora of frustrated protests from Sakata's end. The two ended up being in a heated argument for an hour or so before Urata finally gave in, being too exhausted to deal with the emotionally-fueled younger man and grudgingly settling with the decision to share the bed.
Of course that meant he would have two-thirds of the bed which left Sakata, the bigger man, with only one-third of lying space.
Since then Urata had slept quite peacefully, a stark contrast to Sakata who's body ached in more ways than he imagined possible. But, strangely enough, it wasn't even the pain that bothered and constantly woke up the younger man. Ever since he laid down on the same bed as the other man he couldn't help feeling a burning sensation throughout his body. He couldn't explain it. It just... felt strange.
Realizing that his gaze wouldn't, or rather couldn't, stray from the smaller man's body no matter how hard he tried, Sakata finally gave in and continued to stare awkwardly. He decided that it was at least better than looking at a white ceiling for the next 2 hours.
Frustrating enough though, the more he looked at the man the stronger the burning sensation deep within him grew.
A feeling that closely resembled the aching pangs of an insatiable hunger.
"Ura-san..." Sakata called out again, a little louder this time. He waited a few moments, but there was no response. Letting out a deep, but quiet, sigh he quietly moved his body just barely an inch closer to Urata, already pretty close due to the small size of the bed. His heart was thumping so loudly he swore he could hear it through his chest.
Making sure that Urata was completely asleep for the third time, he moved his shaking hand slowly towards the small back. It took all his mentality to keep himself in control.
It felt like ages before his fingers finally brushed up gently against the fabric of Urata's shirt. Sakata flinched as if it was a new sensation for him. The burning feeling in him spread throughout his body. For a moment, he felt his mind go blank, all thought and reason in him disappearing.
"Mnn.. Sakata...?"
Sakata froze. Immediately returning back to his senses, he sharply pulled his hand away, feeling a cold sweat drop down his cheek.
Urata stretched lightly as he forced himself through his drowsiness to turn to face Sakata. His eyes were half-open, visibly heavy with sleep and only half-conscious. Sakata shivered lightly at the sight. He's never seen Urata with a face like that before. It made him feel strange.
Urata, still clearly half-asleep, gave a soft chuckle, bringing his lips into a drowsy smile.
"You could just tell me if you're cold, stupid.." The auburn-haired man spoke in a soft, droning voice, lighter than his usual tone when he was fully awake. It was very easy to tell that Urata wasn't fully aware of what he was saying.
"Eh?! Ah, no, it's not-" Sakata began to reply but was quickly cut short when the smaller man nuzzled his face gently into his chest. Sakata stared in dumbfounded shock, his mind beginning to race.
He felt his face grow hot.
Really hot.
He wasn't even given a chance to come to terms with the initial, very unexpected, gesture when Urata suddenly curled up his body against his, quickly glancing up at Sakata's bewildered and flustered eyes with his own sleepy eyes before nestling back into the comfort of the younger man's chest and closing his eyes.
"There... Warmer...." Urata mumbled softly as he drifted back into a deep sleep, leaving Sakata confused and blushing furiously. Despite knowing that the older man acted with only a half-conscious awareness, Sakata couldn't help but feel his emotions jumping all over the place. He genuinely wondered how Urata could be sleeping so soundly against his chest when his heart was beating faster and louder than an alarm clock. His mind began to race.
The soft contact between my body and Ura-san's.
The faint heat emanating from both our bodies.
The smell of the floral-scented shampoo that's drifting from his hair.
The puff of warmth coming from his gentle breathing against my chest.
Ura-san. Ura-san. Ura-san. Ura-san.
Sakata's thoughts were flooded with the man snuggled close to him. It took all his willpower to calm himself, still retaining a deep blush on his cheeks. He moved his eyes towards the bland, white ceiling for a couple minutes before gradually shifting his gaze back towards the small man next to him. His crimson eyes glowed softly in the light as he stared at Urata's serene sleeping face. The shorter man had his eyelids softly shut, revealing his surprisingly long eyelashes fluttering ever so gently in the cold draft of air circulating through the room. Sakata felt himself catch his breath just looking at the man. He gave out a long, shivering sigh.
I don't understand why, but, being close to Ura-san.. feels so strange...
... But it feels nice..
"How do you expect me to sleep like this..." He muttered softly, knowing very well that he was practically talking to a wall. He brought out the utmost courage within him and shut his eyes tight as he slowly moved his arms around Urata's slim waist, bringing him into a gentle embrace.
"T-this much should be fine... right?...." Sakata whispered quietly to himself as he stared back at the sleeping man in his arms. Feeling the warm body heat wafting from Urata, Sakata began to feel his eyes become heavy, eventually drifting off into a deep, comforting sleep.
That night, I had a dream.
I was falling from the sky.
But I wasn't scared.
I knew that I wouldn't be hurt.
Gripped tightly in my right hand was
A single clover.