Work Text:
Recently, Sakura has been suffering from insomnia. Every morning, he wakes up feeling drowsy and dreamy, but as soon as night falls, he becomes as alert as if he had several cups of coffee. This continuous cycle over several days has left Sakura extremely exhausted. He dozes off in class, finds it hard to concentrate, and has lost his appetite. Once, he felt so dizzy that he tripped and fell forward, crashing into Sugishita’s back. Some said that Sugishita stood straight all day after that.
By the fourth day of sleeplessness, Sakura became sluggish and his reactions were very slow. Anzai and Nirei's group tried everything to help him sleep, from counting sheep, lullabies, white noise, even meditation, but nothing worked. The suggestion of trying sleeping pills was immediately dismissed; if he experienced side effects or became dependent on them, it would be very bad.
*THUD *
A sudden loud noise startled Sakura, and Sugishita unexpectedly appeared at the classroom door. Anzai's group, usually evaded Sugishita, now rushes to grab him. They put their fingers to their lips, signaling for Sugishita to be quiet. Although he frowned in annoyance, he doesn't resist and simply pushed the clinging boys off him. As he walked back to his seat behind Sakura, whether intentionally or not, his actions seemed more careful than usual.
As soon as he sits down, Sugishita lays his face on the desk. Within seconds, soft, long breaths are heard from him, as his shoulders gently rise and fall. Just like that, Sugishita felt asleep.
These two, famously known for dislike each other, somehow chose to sit right next to each other. Normally opposites, now it was even more evident: one couldn’t sleep for days, sitting daze in the front, while the other could sleep anywhere, snoring right behind.
Their friends sighed softly as they watched. Nirei gently rubbed Sakura’s back to help him feel more comfortable, Kiryuu reminded the class to keep their voices down. If Sakura could get just a little sleep, they would feel much more relieve.
By lunchtime, Sakura was still in a đaze and groggy state. He had hoped the boring lecture during literature class would put him to sleep, but it didn’t work. Exhaust, he had no appetite, even though his stomach is growling.
A scraping noise from behind startled him slightly. Sugishita, who had been sleeping soundly for half the morning, finally woke up. He yawned, stretching his shoulders, and stands up. Usualy, this í the time he heads to the rooftop to water the seedlings the plants Umemiya had planted a few days ago.
Looking at the long hair boy who had just enjoyed a good nap, Sakura felt a bit angry. He wants to scold him and hit him to vent his frustration. But he knew Sugishita done nothing wrong, so he could only grumbles to himself, “Unfair.”
As Sugishita passed by Sakura's desk, he stopped, reached into his pocket, and took out a small pink tin box. He quietly dropped it on Sakura’s lap and quickly walked away, acting sneaky to avoid being noticed.
Sakura picked up the small tin box and study it. It was a flat, rectangular tin box and about the size of his palm, decorated with cherry blossom patterns and had a small round lid. It was a box of candies. Although he didn’t feel like eating and has some suspicious since it was from Sugishita, thinking it might be expired, his growling stomach made him reconsider. Being this tired and not eating too wouldn’t be good for his health.
Thinking for a while, Sakura decided to open the candy tin. A mild, soothing fragrance waft from it. He couldn’t tell the scent, possibly some herb, but it was very pleasant and helped lighten his head a bit. He popped a small candy into his mouth, the delicate herbal flavor spread. When he bit into it, the candy released a sweet but not overwhelming liquid. It was really easy to eat. His appetite back by little, and he ended up eating several candies in a row. Though just a few small candies, they made Sakura feel much better. After days of tension, he finally felt relax as his eyelids grew heavy.
When Sugishita returned to the classroom, lunch break had end. The bell rang as he opened the door. Once again, Anzai group's jump him and shushing him. This time, he kicks them aside without hesitation.
Turn out, their little grade captain is finally asleep.
Sakura had his arms crossed on the desk, resting his head on them, sleeping peacefully. He breathed softly, there a little pinkish at corners of his eyes, perhaps from the sleepless nights, occasionally rubbing his head on his arms to find a more comfortable position.
A classmate sitting nearby saw Sakura napping and took out his phone to snap a few pictures. The sound of the shutter was immediately followed by a hand grabbing his phone and squeezing his hand painfully.
"Silence!" Sugishita growled. He blocked the classmate’s view of Sakura, glaring threateningly. The classmate quickly nod, retrieved his phone and put it away. Sugishita sat down.
That day, excepted for Sakura, who is sleeping soundly, the entire class was immersed in a tense atmosphere, and the cause sitting right behind him. Sugishita sits straight, arms crosses on the desk, glaring around. Anyone who dared to speak immediately received his intimidating gaze. Those who made loud noises were instantly grabbed by the collar and thrown out of the classroom. Even the teacher didn’t dare raise their voice that day, fear of the same fate. Surprisingly, the math lesson that day was unusually easy to understand.
The entire class with over thirty students, all wonder in sync, that's why the guy who usually sleep through the whole class is now unusually alert, noticing even the tiniest sounds. But no one dare voice their complaints, worrying their lives will be at risk just by speaking up. Meanwhile, their little grade captain slept blissfully until the end of the day.
After school, Sakura showed no signs of waking up, he's deeply asleep. Understandably, this is his hard-earned sleep after several sleepless nights. But it was time to go home. Suou suggested Nirei to wake him up, but Nirei unwilling passed the task to Tsugeura, who then passed it to Tanakashi, who then dragged Anzai into it.
The responsibility of waking Sakura was passed around like a hot potato for half an hour. Suddenly, a tall figure shoved them aside. Sugishita looked at them with irritation. Then, he carefully lifts Sakura in his arms. As he got moved, Sakura stirred slightly, then snuggled into Sugishita's chest, continues sleeping. Sugishita watched him for a moment, ensuring he didn’t wake, then looked at Nirei and asked quietly:
"Where does he live?"
----
After that nap, Sakura could sleep normally again, and he slept very well. Tsubaki said it might be due to hormonal changes affecting his biological clock. Sakura didn’t understand, so he just nodded.
While the recent problem was resolved, something else started to bother him. His classmates kept looking at him with strange... very strange eyes. Not just him, but also Sugishita. When he asked, no one say anything. Even when he asked who brought him home, they all just smiled and avoided the question.
He didn’t know that someone had terrorized the entire class into keeping quiet about him watching over Sakura sleep and taking him home. And clueless as he was, he didn't realize that the candy that person gave him helped him sleep.
While Sakura chased his friends for answers, Sugishita laid his face on his desk, sighed, and thought,
"So dumb, always making others worry. Idiot."