Work Text:
“It’s mine!” Sawamura squawked, lunging for the blanket atop the single bed in the hotel room they were destined to share on a road trip through north Japan, readying the team for the upcoming summer tournament.
‘An unfortunate mistake’, Oota-buchou had called it, but the hotel was booked and the two of them would have to make do.
Furuya wanted to make do with the bed and let Sawamura make do without, however.
“I got here first.” Furuya grabbed the other edge of the blanket and tugged at it. “I’m taller, so I get the bed.”
Sawamura scrunched his face and glared. “What does that have to do with anything? I’m older!”
“I throw harder.”
“I have more pitches!”
The two of them stood toe to toe, but Furuya won that battle when Sawamura broke away to dash toward the bathroom. “Too much tea! Too much tea!”
Fighting off a smile, Furuya crawled atop the covers, the cool spring night a welcome respite from Tokyo’s sweltering heat. May was far too early to fry in the sun.
Furuya curled up with the pillow in his arms, ignoring Sawamura’s protest when he emerged from the bathroom. There were a few tugs on the blanket in a futile effort to dislodge Furuya from his spot, as well as a few on his bare foot.
Eventually, though, even Sawamura had to give up, and he draped himself on the low couch lining the wall in the room. After several hours on a bus, it didn’t take long for both of them to succumb to the weariness from the road.
Only a bare stripe of light from the crack in the curtains illuminated the room when Furuya blinked himself awake to relieve himself. It wasn’t until he was climbing back into bed that he noticed.
Glancing over at the couch, Furuya saw Sawamura curled up with a throw blanket, and even from across the room, Furuya could see he was shivering. The northern weather was nothing to a Hokkaido resident, but people from the main island tended to underestimate nighttime temperatures.
Furuya shook his head and headed over for the couch to lift Sawamura into his arms. Aside from a small squeak of protest, he didn’t stir while Furuya tugged all the available bedding over his trembling body.
Slowly, the tension in Sawamura’s limbs eased and he found his way to a more restful sleep. Furuya grabbed a large towel from the closet and sprawled out on the couch instead. The room was a little chilly, but it only served to lull him to sleep faster.
It was a little after dawn when he was jolted from sleep by Sawamura’s loud yawn. A familiar face hovered over him with a smug smile. “Told you I’d win.”
“Did not,” Furuya protested in a sleep-logged voice before rolling over to put his back to Sawamura. “‘S early.”
With far too loud a laugh, Sawamura whipped away the towel and snapped it against Furuya’s backside. “Best time for running.”
Furuya was about to refute before he realized that Sawamura was right, so with a noiseless yawn, he scraped himself off the couch and trudged blindly toward the bathroom to get a start to his day.
As he brushed his teeth, Furuya debated telling Sawamura who really won the battle of the bed, but he decided against it. Even though they were fierce rivals after the same spot on the team, long after that they would still be something just as valuable: friends.
Besides, Furuya still knew who really won, and that was good enough for him.