Title: Vacancy
Rating: Pg for use of a few big kid words and mentions of sex.
Warnings: None. Yes, I know, how boring.
Constructive Criticism: Lay it on me!
Summary: Sleep eludes Ginji, and it's not because of the lesbians next door.
Ginji stretched and sank deeper into the mattress. He shifted some more, trying to get comfortable. He wished he'd said no when Ban suggested spending the night with an actual bed in celebration of completing a job and getting paid (with money!)- a landmark achievement.
And so, flushed from victory, they'd stood before the front desk of a relatively cheap, but clean motel. The man asked if they wanted two rooms and before Ginji had quite registered the question Ban had said yes. Then they were handed two keys and sent on their way.
Ginji flipped over onto his stomach and listened to the springs squeak as they compensated. He immediately flipped back over and began to search for a position conducive to sleep.
There was nothing wrong with the bed. It was very nice, really. Just the right kind of broken-in where the mattress sagged a little in the center and coaxed you into sleeping in a ball. And the sheets were so crisp and clean and starched that he could almost hear the crackle as he scrunched them up. Sleeping on a mattress at all was a luxury- one of his favorites.
He yawned and shut his eyes, seeking rest. Four seconds later, they snapped open and he stared at the ceiling, frustrated. Ginji Amano- GetBacker and partner of the indomitable Ban Mido- could not sleep by himself. It was slightly humiliating, even if no one but he himself knew about it. He couldn't even say it was paranoia, which might have been justifiable. He sighed and rolled onto his side.
Thinking back, he could not remember a time that he had slept without someone within arm's reach. Even when he'd been lost in the Infinity Fortress for a few days with only Jackal for company, he'd slept relatively well next to the man. As much as Ginji feared him (oh, how he feared him!) he trusted Jackal to be Jackal, if nothing else. So Ginji had slept soundly in the knowledge that Jackal wouldn't kill him in his sleep or allow anyone else to kill him in his sleep because that wouldn't be fun. Yeah, Jackal was a freak, but at least you could expect him to be freaky.
The door of the room to the left of his slammed shut and soon the strains of strenuous activity filtered through the wall until Ginji was engulfed in his own personal porno soundtrack...Which he happily listened to when he realized that it involved two female voices.
Eventually he lost interest in the late night entertainment and tried to fall asleep. And failed. It wasn't the noise; he'd grown up in the Infinity Fortress. There was never any real quiet there; everything was always in motion. The constant buzz of the power supply was perfect white noise, and at any given time you could hear the sound of conversation, varying in pitch from the mutter of doves to a truly ugly dog fight. And there was certainly no shortage of people wanting to blow off a little steam in the same manner as the two ladies to his left.
No, the problem was that he was alone in this gigantic, empty room. He looked at the door with dismay. He could go find Ban's room and beg entry. But...Ban probably wanted a whole bed to himself. Ginji couldn't really blame him either. He wished he could appreciate the queen sized bed he was laying on. As it was, he'd settle for a pile of rags and a warm body.
During his tenure in the Fortress, he had always had a companion next to him; frequently Kazuki or Makubex, but they were far from the only two. Shido had capitulated easily, mumbling something about puppies. Even Masaki had become accustomed to it. And, since he left with Ban, he'd spent the last few years sleeping in the same small car with his partner.
Ginji sat up, fluffed his pillow and flopped back down. Shido must have had to get used to sleeping alone since his departure from Infinity Fortress. Kazuki must have, too. He wondered vaguely how they managed it, and vowed to ask at the next opportunity.
That settled, he closed his eyes and courted sleep again, very nearly succeeding. Naturally, someone began pounding at the door. He ignored it. It was probably someone come to tell him to keep it down, thinking that his room was the one with the two girls in it. If only.
"Open the door, dammit! You'd better not be sleeping!"
"Ban-chan?" He unlocked the door and it swung open so fast it almost clipped his nose. Ban marched in and flung himself on the bed.
Then he shot Ginji a woeful glare. "And why didn't you come get me for the "Incredibly Loud Lesbian Sex" radio show?"
"Uh- sorry, Ban-chan." Ginji shrugged and scratched his head. "I was...distracted?"
"I'll bet you were," he muttered then paused to listen. "Ah, music to my ears."
Ginji dropped himself onto the bed, spread out and settled in. Ban was throwing off heat like a furnace. "-like to get a peek," Ban was saying.
"They'll throw us out of the building," Ginji offered with a yawn.
Ban started a running commentary, suggesting breast sizes based on voices and judging stamina from the muted sound of slapping flesh. Ginji dutifully laughed and made sounds of agreement until he fell asleep. If he snored over the sounds of girly pleasure, Ban didn't wake him up to register his complaint.