Title: Who Needs Sleep?

Rating: G

Genre: Romance

Pairing: Griffycest (Tom and Terry).

Warnings: Incest, although it's more or less implied.

Summary: The boys are returning home from their trip to s the anime / Japan. Also known as reasons why my Social Inequality Lectures need to become more interesting.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Kthxbye.

Note: Arguments have ensued about Terry's hair colour. I call him a red head. His hair is orange in the anime. Orange hair in real life is often what we call a redhead. Terry's hair could be 'redhead', orange, brown...

beta'd (for once), by ten.

"You shouldn't try to do so much," Terry admonishes as the older Griffy brother carts their luggage from the plane to the car waiting for them. The redhead smoothly covers this exchange from his teammates, waving serenely good-bye as they all go off towards their own homes.

"I'm fine," Tom replies, just before almost tripping over his own feet; not exactly the grace that the brothers are known for. In regaining his balance he winds up squishing his bag against the side of the car. For the first time since they landed, he is glad the flight's arrival time in America had been the unholy time of three in the morning. After all, it means that there are no fangirls to have witnessed his little accident.

Terry is instantly behind him, one hand on his brother's back to support him, the other stealthily retrieving his own bag before it can meet with a similar fate, "I was trying to warn you. We had a busy day yesterday, and I know you haven't slept yet."

"I said I'm fine. I'll sleep when we get home." He looks to the car trunk to avoid the skeptical look he's receiving from his brother, "Everybody trips sometimes." The green-haired boy shoves his bag into the back after giving up with fumbling with the handle for the trunk, which simply did not want to open for him.

His younger brother easily opens the trunk and fluidly puts his own belongings there, "Tom, it's a two and a half hour drive. You need sleep now."

"Why are we still talking about this?" He sinks into the backseat, and his slim brother slides in next to him. Tom will sleep when they get home... or at least he'll go into his room, lock the door and be very, very quiet until Terry falls asleep, not unlike what he did on the plane.

The two are silent as the car pulls away from the airport. The orange-haired sibling had slept a few hours during the flight, so although he is a little tired, he can last adequately until they arrive home. He certainly isn't sleepy enough to not realize how strangely his brother is behaving. As best as he'd been able to piece together, Tom hadn't slept a wink on the flight, but just being tired shouldn't be affecting his brother this much.

Meanwhile, Tom would best describe his current state of mind as shell-shocked. He knows Terry as well as one person can know another, at least, that's what he had thought before their match against the Japanese. During that one-set, he'd seen a side of his brother he'd never seen before, a side he'd never even imagined the younger boy to possess. The redhead had changed in that moment of resistance. No, it had to have been a full-blown revolution, since Terry hadn't been quite the same since. It was a minute change, only someone who know the boy as well as his brother could notice the true extent of the change. Terry is stronger, more confident, more independent.

Well, that in itself could be considered a good thing. A good thing for Terry, that is. Not so much so for Tom. During the match, he'd drawn strength from his brother. However, it was not a permanent change. Tom finds himself no different now than before; he's not stronger, nor any more confident, and if anything he is more dependant, not less, depending on his brother's new-found strength. The older brother should not be leaning on the younger.

That isn't what irks Tom the most though. The worst part is Terry's new independence from him. The redhead no longer needs his older brother. These kinds of thoughts make a veritable recipe for insomnia.

Yanking Tom out of his rather grim thoughts is a soft hand on his own. The effeminate redhead uses this touch as leverage to lean over his brother, almost in his lap, so he can look him in the eye, his own gray eyes dim with worry, "Tom? Are you all right? I've been talking to you. What's wrong?"

Tom averts his eyes. He doesn't need his brother's concern right now. Being dependent is so easy, and addicting, almost like a drug. It's fair when two people rely on each other equally, but he won't let himself be some burden, something weaker to be taken care of like a pet.

Terry continues to scrutinize his brother. He knows him as well as one person can know another, just as he is known to Tom. He knows him well, but at the moment, he can't seem to get a grasp on what the blockhead is thinking. After what Tom considers to be a rather uncomfortable moment, his brother returns to his own seat, and even takes his hand back with him. Softly, barely audible, he confides, "I'm tired."

"Then sleep."

"I can't, I'm afraid that I don't have anything to lean on, " In a graceful, sweeping motion of his hand, he draws attention to the starkness of the back of the vehicle, "Nothing I can trust to support me, and keep me comfortable and safe while I sleep."

Tom's throat goes dry. He ineloquently croaks, "Well... I'm here."

This earns him a grateful smile, and Terry rests his head on Tom's shoulder, with soft orange hair spilling down his arm, almost tickling him. He brushes the locks off his skin. Once his fingers know the silky feel though, he can't bring himself to pull them back. Instead he gently strokes his brother's mane. This earns him a contented sigh, moments before his younger sibling drifts off. His hand only stills when he can't stay awake any longer, his head drooping over to rest on Terry's as he slumbers.