Thanks to Vermilian Angel for the beta and everything.
Warnings are, uhm, none. Have fun!
SLEEPLESS
by wuemsel
"You know, Kid," Heyes said from where he was stretched out on the hotel bed, "Brannen wouldn't notice if we left the stupid thing unguarded once. Would he?" The book he'd been pretending to read lay flat on his chest, and he looked at Kid, who was sitting in the chair by the window.
Kid was cleaning his gun, and had been for quite some time, lost in thoughts. He didn't look at Heyes, but pursed his lips. "I dunno, Heyes. He stopped by a time or two, when it was my turn, just to check. You know he's real fond of it. Why?"
"Oh, nothing," Heyes said and picked up the book again. "Nothing." He stared at the page for a moment, then in a casual tone said, "Just thought it wouldn't be a problem to ditch a night. It's a stupid job anyway."
"Yeah," Kid said, focused on his gun, "but it pays."
"Yes, course. I was just thinking, if you wanted to not go tonight, I'd understand. If you were too tired, say. Or, you know... it looked like rain all day."
Kid looked up.
"What? It was just a thought," Heyes said quickly. "You look tired, y'know? I figured maybe you'd rather stay in tonight."
"Oh, you wanna go?" Kid asked with a confused smile.
"No," Heyes smiled. "Didn't I mention the rain?"
"It doesn't rain."
"Not now."
"There's trees. I'll be all right."
Heyes sighed. "I know you'll be all right," he said impatiently. "I just thought since you seem tired, you'd be happy to know I'd understand it if you ditched the stupid job tonight, that's all."
"That's very thoughtful of you."
"I'm always thoughtful."
"Uh huh," Kid said. "What's the real reason?"
"For what?"
"You wanting me to stay." Kid frowned. "You're not planning to do something to Brannon's statue, are you?"
"Piss on it maybe," Heyes muttered.
Kid smirked. "Already did that."
With a chuckle, Heyes resumed reading his book. "Just trying to look out for you 's all. But it's you gonna be out in the rain."
Kid glanced out of the window, but didn't say anything.
After a brief moment of silence, Heyes sighed impatiently.
Looking up, Kid waited for what'd come next. He had no idea what had Heyes so riled up, he'd been fine just a few days ago, when they had joked over dinner/breakfast about Brannon's paranoia over the ugly statue near his house. The man had hired them both to help with the security in his saloon in town and to also watch his statue at night.
After a particularly long quarrel over who should be the one doomed to spend his nights sitting under a tree in the dark, guarding a naked marble angel, and after Kid had threatened to attack Heyes with his coin, they'd decided on a two-day rota.
So far, things had been going well. The sheriff in town didn't know them, Brannon paid them good money, the hotel was nice, the food was good, the saloon job was easy to manage. Heyes had even made friends with a traveling bookseller, who'd broken his foot and was resting up at the hotel, and who let Heyes borrow books for free to keep him occupied during guard hours.
Kid had tried getting into some novel by some British woman Heyes had brought for him, but given up after the first chapter. He preferred carving little naked angels to keep him occupied, then placing them around the big marble one like a tiny army. If Brannon had noticed, he hadn't commented on it. Every now and then, when it was Kid's turn again, he'd find some angel or other suddenly dressed in bandana cloth or wearing a tiny paper hat.
Due to their different sleeping schedules they hadn't seen much of each other over the past weeks, but Kid had noticed Heyes' mood declining swiftly, to the point that whenever Kid saw him he seemed as grumpy as an irked mountain lion and about as much fun to be around.
Of course, Heyes got bored quickly, Kid knew that. While he didn't mind some rest every now and then, some work that didn't involve cows or horses or unfinished houses and bleeding hands and an aching back, Heyes preferred short-term employment. Kid had often wondered what Heyes would do if they weren't on the run. Stay a drifter? Or maybe he'd become a traveling salesman like the young bookseller. In fact, when the fellow had asked them if they wanted to take over his business for a month or so, until his foot was better, Kid had already prepared to fight - even cattle herding would be more exciting than dragging that goddamn wagon from town to town with Heyes reading through the stock on the passenger side - but fortunately the other two jobs combined paid so much more than selling books that even Heyes had to reject the salesman's offer. If regretfully.
But that couldn't be what had him so grumpy. Usually, Heyes was pretty good at coping with disappointment, and though his grumpiness was quite a show when it occured, it didn't very often. Besides, Kid thought, it wasn't that Heyes seemed in a bad mood so much as edgy. He was always jumpy - both of them were - but not to this extent, and it didn't seem like he was extra nervous in this town, just... As if he didn't have all his senses about him. As if he was constantly tense or strained. The way he only was when he was completly exhausted.
"Maybe we should ride on soon," Heyes said, trying hard to look lost in thought.
Kid watched him, not saying anything.
"Shouldn't we?" Heyes asked, turning his head to cast Kid an innocent, inquiring gaze. "Don't you think?"
Kid shrugged. "I dunno. We haven't been here that long, the pay's good, the work's easy-"
"Boring, more like" Heyes said gloomily. "Every time I look at that goddamn statue... Aren't you bored?" he asked, exasperated.
Kid chewed his lower lip, thinking, then shook his head. "Uhm mm."
"Carving the Nude Leagion of Heaven is your idea of fulfillment?"
Kid thought again, then gave an unimpressed half-shrug. "The work's easy, and the pay's good."
"Well, I can feel myself losing my mind - don't say it - and if you care the slightest bit about that, we need to talk to Brannen soon."
Kid snorted softly and resumed wiping the gun butt. "Heyes. We've been mining for weeks, and then that damned job at the harbour you found that almost got me killed, and," he quickly continued, when he saw Heyes trying to cut him off, "don't forget the carnival and the railroad job. What's wrong with an easy job for a change?"
"Nothing, just-"
"I mean, I know you. You're as lazy as the next man."
"Well, I wouldn't-"
"And if I may help your memory, it was you who wanted to look for an easy job."
"I kn-"
"'As long as I'll live, so help me God, I'll never carry another piece of train track,'" Kid quoted with his best smart ass expression, "'and if I can help it, our next jobs will be done sitting around and doing nothing.' Your words." He tilted his head.
"You take notes?" Heyes asked wryly.
"Why, I listen when you talk, of course," Kid said in mock hurt.
"Course."
Kid watched him for a moment, then put his cleaning gear down. "Okay, what's really wrong with you?"
"Nothing!" Heyes exclaimed in exasperation. "I'm bored."
"Nah, it's not that," Kid said. "Something's got you all riled up."
"Yes," Heyes said, "this job. I've been trying to tell you for fifteen minutes now. It's driving me insane."
Kid wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "Neh. Not that, either."
"What d'you mean, 'either'? It's the same damned thing! I hate this town, I hate the job, I hate Brannen's statue, and I wanna ride on; was that clear now?"
"Yeah, but I wanna know why."
Heyes drew in a deep breath. "Kid, I swear-"
"I mean, I like the town, the job and the statue, don't I get to say anthing?"
"No."
Suppressing a giddy giggle, Kid did his best to look stern and indignant, but before he could see if he managed to sound it, too, Heyes sat up on the bed, drawing his knees under him in one swift motion and leaned forward, hands lifted in a pleading gesture.
"Please, I'm begging you, can we please, PLEASE just ride on in the goddamn morning? Please?"
Slightly backing away in his chair, Kid let go of a baffled laugh. "Wha-"
"Pleeeeaaaase. I'll cook for a week. Two weeks! Three!" Heyes nodded encourangingly with a somewhat hysterical grin.
Kid arched his brows. "You weren't kidding about going nuts, where you?"
Heyes shook his head, the grin and expectant gaze never leaving his face.
"I didn't think it was this bad."
"It is, it is," Heyes said, nodding curtly.
"Yeah," Kid snorfled, an insecure sound somewhere between a helpless and a worried laugh. "Okay, so, uh, d'we need to ride on... right this moment, or-"
"No," Heyes shook his head. He'd lowered his upper body, still kneeling on the edge of the bed, and dragged his legs out from under him to sit down. "We'll stay for the night and collect the rest of our money in the morning. No need running like we're being chased, right? It'll be dark in an hour, anyway."
"Yeah," Kid said with a slow nod, stretching the word. Maybe Heyes really HAD gone crazy. Kid's grandmother had always predicted it would happen eventually. "So... since we stay here 'n all..." He watched Heyes stiffle a yawn, then blink at him with a happy smile. "We still, uh, go on watch, right? We should find Brannen, too, let him-"
"No."
"No?" Kid asked.
Heyes shook his head, suddenly all desperate again. "I can't do this one more night, Kid, I need to sleep." He didn't catch Kid's surprised gaze and rambled on, "If you go out carving hedonist angels tonight, at least knock me unconscious or something." Still not seeing Kid's expression, he ran a hand over his face, then sat with his shoulders slumped, looking like a kicked puppy.
Kid frowned. So his first assumption had been right, Heyes was exhausted. Deeply. Apparently enough to make him beg, which was something Kid hadn't seen him do since that one time about twelve years earlier, when Heyes had been convinced Kid would be dead within a week if he didn't take that owl-piss tasting medicine twice a day.
Now that Heyes sat in a weary heap on the bed, like an old stuffed animal, looking about as tired as he could, too, it made Kid wonder how he could have missed it before. He was even a little pale, if not strinkingly so, and as Kid watched, the shadows under his eyes seemed to deepen by the second.
As his concern was quickly replaced by righteous anger at being forced to feel guilty over something that couldn't possibly be his fault, Kid scowled. "Why haven't you been sleeping? For how long?"
Heyes gave a listless shrug.
"Heyes," Kid said, annoyed.
"I dunno, what does it matter?" Heyes whined. "Can't we please just..." At a sudden widening of Kid's eyes, he cut himself off. "What?" he asked suspiciously.
"I don't..." Kid muttered, his whole face brightening with a huge, gleeful grin. "Well, I'll be." He snorted a giggle, then bit his lip when an actual one threatened to burst out.
"What's so funny?" Heyes snapped.
Kid's lips twitched, and he grinned again. "You can't sleep without me!"
Heyes scooted back until the wall stopped him. "Don't be ridiculous," he said, not looking at Kid.
Kid just continued beaming.
"That's the stupidest thing you've ever said," Heyes exclaimed and laughed sharply. "Hah! Ridiculous," he repeated, shaking his head. "Completely ridiculous. Stop looking at me like that."
Kid didn't. "How long have you not been sleeping?" he asked smugly.
"I HAVE been sleeping! There's nothing wrong with my sleep! I sleep fine! Like a plum in a glass of whiskey. I'm fine," he said sternly, when Kid's smirk only grew more insulting at his assertion.
"Okay. So you won't mind me going on statue watch tonight, then, will you?"
Heyes froze with his mouth open, then closed it firmly and crossed his arms over his chest.
Kid moved his head slightly, waiting. When the stubborn silence continued, he offered, "I could stay here with you, till you've fallen asl-"
"I do NOT need you around to fall asleep!" Heyes exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, then arched his brows. "Would you?"
Kid's expression, though still on the smirky side, softened, and he nodded.
Heyes wrinkled his nose in a dissatisfied frown. His crossing his arms in front of him had turned into hugging himself at some point, and he tightened his hold now, shoulders hunched up.
"Or," Kid said, taking pity on him, "we could go have dinner, tell Brannen we're quitting and call it a night."
Heyes sniffed affirmatively, but didn't say anthing. He looked so miserable Kid would have felt sorry for him, if he wasn't so helplessly amused by it all.
"C'mon, Heyes," he said, smiling despite his words, "you're not waiting for me to pretend I'd rather have a good night's sleep today, when it's just because you can't sleep alone." He giggled.
"A real friend would," Heyes grumbled. "And I sleep alone just fine, thank you. I've slept alone a whole bunch of times."
"Oh yeah?" Kid grinned. "When?"
"When..." Heyes started, but clamped his mouth shut, when he noticed he was about to continue with 'you weren't there'. "Lotsa times," he said instead.
Kid gave an infuriatingly slow nod. "Hm mm."
Heyes rolled his eyes. Damned Kid. It was all his fault, anyway. If he weren't so tired, he'd have come up with some story or other to convince Kid of the benefits of riding on, but because he hadn't had a proper sleep in about two weeks, his usually brilliant and genius and fail safe mind wasn't working right. Could he help it if he'd grown accustomed to Kid's sleeping noises? After all, he'd practically raised that ungrateful bastard. The least he could do was to stick around and snore for him; was that too much to ask? People grew used to sleeping to the sound of the ocean, too, didn't they?
It suddenly hit him that if Kid ever left, he'd be doomed.
"Heyes?" Kid's voice tore Heyes out of his musing.
"Huh?" Heyes blinked, then put on a stern look when he focused on Kid's bemused gaze. "Yeah. I want no more talk of this lunatic idea. I sleep fine on my own."
Kid uttered a noise somewhere between a snort and a grunt.
Heyes glared at him, but chose not to comment.
"Well," Kid eventually said with a gracious expression, "I guess I could do with a real bed tonight instead of sitting out in them bushes. If it makes you feel better," he added, obviously not having found it in himself to refrain.
"Go sleep in the damned river, see if I care," Heyes grumbled and made a show out of checking the books on the nightstand. In the end, he appeared to have settled for the one on top, but shoved it off the pile when trying to grab it. Turning his head, he looked after it with dull defeat, as if it was mocking him by popping open upon hitting the floor.
For an instant, Kid thought Heyes had just resigned to reading that way, when he didn't look up again.
He sighed. It wasn't as much fun when he felt sorry for the poor bastard.
"Okay." He stood and walked over to his side of the bed, where he sat down.
Heyes seemed to've only noticed Kid had moved at all, when the mattress moved. "Huh?" he asked tiredly and turned his head, blinking at Kid. "You leavin'?"
"Nah," Kid said softly and took of his boots. "All this laughing at you's kinda tiring. Think I'll take advantage of having a real bed one more night, before we ride on tomorrow." In socks, he stood again and unbuckled his belt.
Heyes frowned sleepily. "Before dinner?"
As difficult as it was, Kid managed to shrug and say, "Too tired to eat."
Heyes stared at him as if he'd been talking in another language.
Kid sighed again, through a half smile, though. "Just go to sleep. I'll be right here."
"I donneed you to schleep," Heyes protested in a drowsy mumble, his eyes falling shut, as if his body couldn't be bothered to argue with Kid.
"Sure," Kid said, patting Heyes shoulder, as he sat down on the bed again and stretched out, then reached for his blanket.
"I don'," Heyes muttered.
"Shuddup and go to sleep," Kid said.
Heyes snuffled his nose, then suddenly dragged his eyes open again to look at the ceiling. "I should finish that book..." he muttered absently, his head lolling to the side where the nightstand stood.
"You could try," Kid said, not moving from where he'd curled up on his side, his back to Heyes, eyes closed. Despite the sacrifice of missing dinner, he didn't mind going to sleep at any time of the day. And after all, the bed WAS better than the ground outside.
Kid yawned.
He didn't see the surprised look Heyes cast his back at that, nor the almost giddly smile settling on Heyes' face, before he closed his own eyes again and let go of a content sigh.
A minute after Kid had started snoring, Heyes was blissfully asleep.
THE END