Chapter Text
"Alright, time for bed. Light’s out."
The only light left in the room was from screens of cellphones and the large screen of Kenma’s gaming console. Boys barked with laughter as they ran into each other and shone bright lights into other’s eyes while they tried to find their sleeping arrangements. Yamamoto smacked a hand across the rear of Inuoka before darting off and jumping under the comforter. His choice of victim was not wise, being that Inuoka was his next door neighbor in sleeping arrangements.
Kai was already asleep between a talking Yaku and Yuuki, whispered conversations of receives and the coolest way to bring a receive back to the setter. Lev was engaging Fukunaga in some ridiculous conversation, which really meant Lev was shooting his mouth off, Fukunaga seemed to look interested or he was just sleeping with his eyes open again.
Kuroo was already situated in his bizarre sleeping style, on his stomach with two pillows pressed aggressively against his ears. Kenma was sitting on the bed next to Kuroo’s, closest to the wall chargers so he could keep his phone and handheld game console plugged in and charging through the night. A light shone bright on his face as he battled it out against a big boss.
"Kenma, your eyes will go bad," Yaku scolded.
"You sound like Kuroo," he responded mindlessly, far too into the game to really care.
"Someone has to say it since he’s already dead asleep and you usually stop playing after he tells you that."
There was a grunt and a mumble produced from the captain, barely heard from it being muffled by the futon.
"See, he agrees." Yaku crawled under the comforter, prepared to follow Kai and Yuuki into sleep.
"He didn’t agree. He was sleep talking." Kenma had beautifully defeated the boss, raising one more level up through the castle. He was sure by time summer was over, he’d be done with the game. The light dimmed as the game was saved, then went completely out when it was turned off.
Long moments passed as Kenma tried to find a comfortable way to sleep; rolling from side to back to side, sticking one foot out, then an entire leg, pulling the comforter up securely around his neck, then above his head. There was still victory pulsing through him, making him restless and ready to clear the next level.
Inuoka growled from the other side of Kuroo, two futons over (he often rolled around so much that he required two, a final decision when he continuously rolled over Kuroo and elbowed him in the ribs more times than two hands can count in one night). Kenma was still for a moment, until rolling over and sticking his other leg out from the comforter. Yamamoto yelped when he was nearly slapped in the face by Inuoka, who had slammed his hand down mere inches away. He pushed the younger boy further away, waking Inuoka as he grunted, groggy.
Kenma could almost feel sleep.
Kuroo rolled onto his side and placed one hand on Kenma’s uncovered thigh. Without a futon to muffle his mumbling, he stated quite loudly, “I think putting a tutu on a pomeranian is redundant.” Everything was still for a moment before Kuroo retracted his hand to put a pillow back over his ear.
Yamamoto and Inuoka attempted to control their laughter, resulting in waking up Lev and Yaku anyways. Lev, as quietly as he could manage, attempted to get Yamamoto and Inuoka to explain what was funny, wanting to be in on the joke as well. Yaku harshly whispered, which wasn’t even a whisper at all, that the lot of them actually go to sleep.
Kenma had always thought himself prepared for Kuroo’s nightly talks, but found that he never really was, each time being a shock. The comfort of the ritual (or more, the shock replacing the victoriousness) was enough to pass him into sleep.
When he awoke, his face was pressed up against a warm body, arms curled into himself like a content cat, completely submerged under the comforter. Groggy moments passed, never catching on anything to explain why he was sharing a bed.
"Morning Kenma," a quiet, deep voice whispered. Kuroo.
"Why-" Kenma let out a heavy sigh and wiped his face against Kuroo’s chest. He couldn’t quite think of the words he wanted to use.
"I’m borrowing your phone. Mine must have died last night." To Kenma humming in response, Kuroo hummed back. It was strange, but sometimes, when in a groggy state, the two could actually communicate in grunts and humming. They never really knew how it worked, but after investigation, they realized it was a solid means for communication in the early morning.
Kenma yawned and rubbed his face against Kuroo’s chest once more before falling back asleep. Once Kuroo was finished composing and sending the email he had been typing up when Kenma woke up, he followed Kenma back into dreams. It was still early, the team didn’t need to be up for another hour for breakfast before practice.
Yamamoto and Inuoka lay awake, not sure what they had just experienced. After being woken up by fabric rustling and mewing, they couldn’t find it in themselves to fall back asleep.
"Yamamoto?" Inuoka whispered quietly, inquiring the other boys thoughts.
"I have no idea." Yamamoto remained staring at the ceiling, as composed as he could keep himself.