Chapter Text
“—i’m not letting you sleep on the floor!”
the most troubling part of any sleepover at tsukasa’s house, as ridiculous as it was, would usually be convincing tsukasa to sleep as he normally would. as though taking pity on him, tsukasa’s mattress stares back at him.
“i really don’t mind,” rui gently objects and drops a pillow none too ceremoniously against the carpet, coming to a stop by the troubled host. tsukasa folds his arms and glares at the mattress as if daring it to split in two, but the sudden connection rui has forged with the fabric prevails.
“it’s my room,” tsukasa retorts.
“with your bed.”
tsukasa pauses at the response, blinking back at him, and finds himself at a loss for words.
rui’s sat on the mattress to claim his territory before tsukasa can say much else in response, which he does find wholly unfair. rolling out a spare blanket, tsukasa mumbles for the entire time that rui is going through the motions of prepping for bed, brow creased with ramblings verging on worry and exasperation.
which also isn’t entirely fair, but not to rui though. if rui thinks about it, well, it just makes sense for tsukasa to offer. he’s courteous by nature, doing things without hesitation if it meant helping another person. kicking at the floor with one of his slippers, rui pats his pillow, and then waits. he stifles a yawn, then gestures broadly at tsukasa’s bed.
..only for tsukasa to clamber right onto his mattress.
“tsukasa-kun— huh?” rui visibly falters, nearly falling over despite not being touched at all, and barely manages to catch himself on his hands. “what’s wrong?”
tsukasa thinks, privately, that rui’s question is a little stupid.
“forget the bed. we will both sleep on the mattress,” tsukasa says firmly, confident in his solution.
“ah, well, it’s just—” rui’s face had turned a shade of pink tsukasa had never seen before. his angles his body away as to not make tsukasa uncomfortable, and rubs furiously at his eyes, while tsukasa’s face morphs into a frown.
“..it makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“but, we—“
“i’m sure,” tsukasa mumbles through a yawn. “it’s getting late.”
though rui’s ears are still tipped in pink, he nods and awkwardly drops down to sit away from the edge of the mattress. satisfied by his perfect solution, tsukasa tugs at the blanket, then some more as rui is pulling down the sheets to get in. there is only one blanket, the panic sinks into rui, which complicates the matter of them sharing slightly, but it is at least large enough that they won’t have to huddle up together.
rui does not ruminate on this thought for very long for fear of his own grip on composure.
kicking his legs under the covers, tsukasa pauses, then pats the mattress beside him. “i don’t bite, rui.”
rui scoots closer, carefully bringing his own legs onto the bed in turn. tsukasa shakes his head. they’ve definitely shared rooms, but never beds, and the other times they’ve slept in similarly close proximity, emu and nene have usually been there too.
after tsukasa turns off the lights, the two of them settle in. the mattress is large enough to fit them both comfortably, but not so large that they can get much distance from one another. there is maybe an inch or two of space between them, a gentle warmth radiating from tsukasa where rui can feel him shifting as he gets comfortable atop the mattress.
the room, now is shrouded in darkness now with the lights off, but the curtain is slightly ajar, enough that he can just barely make out the details of the room, of tsukasa’s profile, just a few centimetres away from him.
“good night,” tsukasa yawns again.
ㆍ┈┈ㆍ┈┈ㆍ┈┈ㆍ┈┈ㆍ
rui is wide awake.
it’s hard not to stare, but it feels almost impossible under the cover of darkness. tsukasa pillows his cheek on the back of his hand and already has his eyes closed, the soft light dusting off of freckles across his cheeks. his lashes flutter as he begins to doze.
he finds himself unable to fall asleep, especially not when rui doesn’t have any choice but to be sharing a mattress with him.
sleepy, half-lidded eyes peek in his direction, and rui’s breath hitches. he doesn’t seem embarrassed at being stared at, nor does he seem quite as wired as he was a bit ago. he offers a half-smile, and rui returns it, albeit awkwardly as he is starkly aware of the way his heart pounds against his ribcage.
“see, this isn’t so bad,” tsukasa mumbles, voice hushed, and closes his eyes once more. “now we can both sleep equally.”
“indeed,” rui stammers. tsukasa’s looking at rui again, and his expression is fondly soft in a way that rui thinks often goes unnoticed, in the daylight. not by rui — he thinks that at this point it would be impossible for him not to notice anything about his friend, but rather by the world at tsukasa’s softer, more admirable qualities that tend to get overlooked by his more vibrant side. “you’re making a face.”
rui swallows. “i’m making a face..?”
“you look..” very much tired, tsukasa’s speech is slurred as he furrows his brow. he makes a strange face, only to then shake his head. “i can’t recreate it.”
that isn’t an answer, but it is a response he can’t form a suitable reply to, because it isn’t as though rui can be honest about why he’s making the face.
“rest, tsukasa-kun. it’s getting late.”
“okay,” tsukasa smiles, a bit lopsided. a new, sleepier side of him, rui stares with great interest. he likes the way that smile looks on him.
defeated by the lull of sleep, he hums his acceptance and curls closer into the mattress with a yawn, shifting slightly closer to rui. his heartbeat never fails to remind him of his abject nervousness, eyes trailing down to the curve of his hands, and thinks about how nice it would be to rest his own hand there, holding his hand to sleep.
he forces himself to close his eyes, but the want makes rui’s chest ache regardless. at least until tsukasa’s arm drops again, draping loosely around his shoulders.
“you’re cold.”
rui’s mouth falls open as he looks to tsukasa to try and gauge what he might be thinking, but the star’s eyes have closed long ago. he seems to be drifting off, or at the very least not thinking his actions through, and is starting to lean his cheek against his chest.
he searches for the words he can’t find to perhaps wake him up, albeit comfortable, he thinks, though perhaps he shouldn’t be. perhaps he shouldn’t be thinking that way, especially when he’s sharing a bed with the star he’s been in love with and because there’s barely an inch of space between them, but he is indeed, comfortable.
comfortable, because it is tsukasa, and tsukasa is warm, and rui is far more greedy for the feeling of tsukasa’s arm around him than he thinks he has any right to be.
unable to talk himself out of it, rui leans forward against tsukasa’s side to accommodate him, and tsukasa shifts upward to hold him closer. he is sure that tsukasa must feel his heart beating away, but neither of them address it, blanketed in the combined warmth from the sheets and their bodies touching, legs intertwining like they’ve fallen asleep to each other all their lives.
rui’s head rests above tsukasa’s head, thankful to have him move away from his heartbeat, all considered, with tsukasa pressing his face into the junction between rui’s shoulder and neck.
he smiles into tsukasa’s hair. it is well into the night, proven by the notably darkening sky, and they’re both tired, and he knows it’s because of both of these factors that he can’t find any reasons to bring himself to move.
yawning himself, rui finally closes his eyes.