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Daichi is someone who values sleep.
He stays up late, sometimes, sure - he’s in college, he’s young and his friends have a tendency to try and drag him out to bars or house parties - but on a whole, he likes to be in bed at a reasonable hour. He knows that he needs his eight hours - and, preferably, a solid half an hour of cuddling with his warm-bodied boyfriend, Yuuji.
Yeah, his mornings got a lot better with the addition of Yuuji in his life. Any time he wants to, he can just roll over, slide his hands under the hem of Yuuji’s shirt and snuggle in close-
But evenings have become a little bit more of a struggle.
Because while Daichi likes to go to bed early, Yuuji does not.
His boyfriend is a night owl.
He finds it out early into their friendship, but he’s greeted with the reality of it when they start dating and they start spending more time in each other’s beds.
Yuuji sleeps better in a warm bed alongside Daichi, but his sleeping schedule is still pretty erratic. Usually he can be coaxed into bed around eleven, after a hot shower and a warm cup of tea (and a little extra exercise courtesy of Daichi, when they’re in the mood). But some nights - especially when they’re apart, at their own apartment, for a number of reasons - Yuuji’s sleeping schedule really goes to hell.
Daichi gets to experience that first-hand on a Saturday morning when he’s rudely awoken at two in the morning.
He’s in his own bed, by himself. Both he and Yuuji were doing their own things during the day, so he isn’t expecting to hear from him until Saturday afternoon, maybe.
The incessant vibration coming from his nightstand is enough to make him growl, rolling over in bed. He reaches, extending his whole body in an attempt to grab the phone and silence it -
He only succeeds, however, in knocking it down on to the floor, where it vibrates even louder .
“Oh for fuck sakes…” he mumbles. He rolls to the end of the bed where he can throw his hand down, feeling blindly for his phone. It’s too late and he’s too out of it to consider opening his eyes, so it takes him a solid forty-five seconds of feeling around before his hand connects with the cold rubber of his phone case.
Pulling it up and rolling back on to his back, Daichi is quick to press the volume button to turn the phone on silent.
He has to know what was so important though, and his eyes slowly blink open.
His vision is hazy and it’s hard to focus on the phone in front of his face. He blinks, once, then twice, while his vision starts to clear up and he focuses in on the image on his phone.
He’s getting another call.
The picture on his phone is of Yuuji, one that he took a few months back when they started sleeping together. The picture is Daichi’s favourite - Yuuji is asleep, laying on his side, one arm under his head. The other is tucked up against his body and he’s effectively curled into himself. His expression is so relaxed, hair tousled; his bare back is visible in the photo, the early morning light outlining his muscles.
Daichi stares at it for a while before realizing he should probably answer it.
He manages to accept the call, pressing his phone to his ear.
“Hello?” His own voice comes out, hoarse and heavy from sleep.
There’s some sort of noise coming from the other end of the phone.
Wind , Daichi places it after a few seconds of listening.
“Daichi? Shit, I’m sorry, I woke you up, didn’t I?” It’s Yuuji’s voice - smooth and warm, and it makes Daichi realize how cold his bed is without him in it.
“Mm, yeah. You did.” There’s no point in lying about it, anyway, and Daichi kind of expects this when they’re apart. He would have put his phone on silence if he really was concerned about it. “What’s up, Yuuji?”
His boyfriend hums on the other line. “Well, um. Remember how you told me that you wanted me to tell you when I go out when it’s late at night?”
Daichi blinks away more of his sleepy haze. “Yes.”
“Well, it’s late at night.”
“It is.”
“Two seventeen, if we’re being precise.”
“I do enjoy specificity.”
“Oh, wait-I lied, it’s now two eighteen.”
“Wow. I don’t know if I can do this anymore, Yuuji. I trusted you.”
“I know. I let you down.”
Daichi laughs, letting out a breath. “Do you want to go out for a walk?”
“Well… yeah. I can’t sleep, and I was looking at my map, and my gym got taken back, so I was gonna walk back to campus and-”
“Wait, what?” Daichi swallows as he sits up, rubbing his eyes. “Your gym? What the hell are you talking about?”
“ Pokémon Go ,” Yuuji sighs exasperatedly. “What else?”
Daichi rubs at his eyes, not really wanting to delve into this any further right now. He’s kind of happy about this, even though he would want to deny it, because Yuuji trusts him. He trusts him and is open with him, even calling him in the middle of the night to go out and play on an app. “You’d better buy me a coffee and blow me when we get back.”
He can practically hear Yuuji’s grin through the phone. “Deal.”
“Daichi, there’s a Pikachu nearby!”
Daichi looks up and Yuuji is grinning . Daichi drove over to Yuuji’s house, and they ditched his car there in favor of heading for a walk from there. To hatch eggs , Yuuji insisted, but Daichi knows that it’s more so that he can have Daichi’s full attention because he doesn’t have to drive. He likes to be able to hold his hand, kiss his nose or wrap his arms around Daichi’s waist whenever he feels like it.
Daichi doesn’t mind one bit.
Yuuji’s looking down at his phone, thumbing through the different options available to him on the game. He’s focused, and doesn’t notice that Daichi’s gaze lingers.
Undisturbed, Daichi smiles as he observes him. It’s getting colder, especially in the evenings, so they’re both wearing fall coats that are buttoned right up; Yuuji has a maroon scarf wrapped around his neck that he borrowed from Daichi last week. His ear piercings glint under the moonlight, and Daichi has to smile, because he’s wearing the black studs and hoops that Daichi got him for his birthday that spring. His cheeks and hands are pink, tinged from the cold, but he hasn’t complained so far. His hair is a bit tousled - proof that he did try to sleep before calling - and Daichi can’t resist the urge to fall in step with him and run his fingers through the short, soft brown hairs on his head. Yuuji leans into the touch unconsciously, humming his approval.
Yuuji chuckles, and the sound is so warm that a gentle heat bubbles in Daichi’s stomach. He reaches out to tangle their fingers together, pulling Yuuji closer to his side so that their shoulders touch.
“Oh my god, Daichi, it appeared!” Yuuji freezes in place, squeezing Daichi’s hand impossibly tight. “Oh my god, oh my fucking god Daichi I don’t have one yet I need it -”
“Well use a great ball,” Daichi advises. He lets go of Yuuji’s hand and slides it instead up his back, nestled between his jacket and his shirt. It’s warm there, and Daichi lets his fingers rub circles on Yuuji’s lower back, “And feed it a razz berry first, too.”
“Daichi, you really do pay attention to what I tell you!”
“How could I not? You basically yelled it at me when that Vulpix appeared last week,” Daichi laughs, resting his chin on Yuuji’s shoulder.
“Vulpix are so fucking cute! You needed to catch it.” Yuuji smirks, his body relaxed as he flings a bright pink berry at the Pikachu.
“Yeah, you’re right about that.” Daichi’s free hand wraps around Yuuji’s waist, drawing his body in close. He’s firm and warm, yet pliant under Daichi’s hands. It’s amazing, really, seeing just how much Yuuji is willing to give to him. He gives and gives and gives-
Well, Daichi is pretty sure Yuuji would give him anything at all. Not that he’d ask, but the thought alone makes his chest tighten. It’s not an uncomfortable feeling, though.
“Mhm, hurry up before it disappears.”
Yuuji inhales, holding his breath. He waits, one, two, three-
“I got it!”
He laughs - practically shrieking, forgetting that it’s three in the morning now and that the people in the houses nearby are sleeping - and he wiggles around in Daichi’s embrace. His hands come up to cup Daichi’s face, the fingers of his right hand pressing into his cheek, the other clutching his phone.
They kiss, sloppy and warm, Yuuji’s laughter making Daichi chuckle, too. He tastes like coffee, sweet and everything that Daichi has come to love, everything he’s come to rely on . Their kisses turn slow, and drawn-out, as Daichi slips his hand back into Yuuji’s.
Neither wants to break the kiss - their lips are soft and warm, breaths mingling in the cold air. Daichi finally gives, pulling his face back and pressing a soft kiss to Yuuji’s nose.
“Are you ready to go home now?”
Yuuji scans his face, his eyes impossibly soft. He bites his lip, nodding, as he squeezes Daichi’s hand. “Uh huh, now I am.”
Daichi smirks, turning to walk back to Yuuji’s place.
Yuuji pauses, and, “so, you’re going to spend the night, right?”
Daichi hums. “Is that really why you called me?”
“What? I did not!”
“Admit it Yuuji. You’re such a marshmallow.”
“I am not!”
“It’s okay, you just need to ask me.”
“I-I was really having trouble sleeping!”
“I bet you were. You know what the best cure for sleeplessness is?”
“No. What is it?”
“I haven’t looked into it or anything, but, apparently, cuddling is a really great cure.”
“Is that so?”
“Apparently, yeah. We might need to test it out, though.”
Yuuji laughs, nudging Daichi’s cheek with his nose. “Is that a yes?”
He gets a smile in response. “It’s a yes.”
It doesn’t take too much longer before they’re back, crawling into Yuuji’s bed, pulling the covers up and over them. Daichi relaxes back in bed, pulling Yuuji up to his chest. His nose brushes against the soft hairs on the back of Yuuji’s neck as he places a soft kiss there, nuzzling in.
Yuuji yawns, linking their fingers together when Daichi wraps an arm around his waist. He whispers a soft good night, lulled to sleep listening to the sound of Daichi’s heartbeat.
They might not spend every night together yet - but Daichi finds that he, too, sleeps best surrounded by that familiar scent he’s so happy to be able to call home.