A/N: I wrote this short story for a creative writing course at school, but didn't want to give in who I really was writing about since everyone in the class read this. Also, I didn't want them to know I was writing about two guys. I used these code names and since Finnish doesn't have different pronouns for each gender, it was easy to fool everyone into believing Redhead is a girl.
I translated this from Finnish to English, so it might have some weird phrasing and such in it. The grammar in the Finnish AND this version is purposely a bit weird and the sentences long as hell, but please bear with me.
Also, augh, I hate myself for the Western culture references in this... I didn't really think about that too much when writing this. Oh well...
But anyway, I hope you enjoy this little piece of Taishirou fluff. :D
Although Redhead was feeling quite sleepy, he didn't want to go to bed yet. Tiredness weighed down his eyelids and stung in his eyes so that he wanted to press something cool against his lids. Rain was drumming against the window behind the curtains in an irregular rhythm and a smile was trying to crawl onto Redhead's lips.
Prince Valiant was sleeping in his lap.
Prince had fallen asleep while they were watching some trivial chat program on TV in the middle of the night. Watching TV had been Prince's idea, of course, since Redhead would've rather spent time with his beloved laptop - or slept, because the red digital numbers of the clock on a nearby shelf told them it was already quite late. But as a reward for watching the stupid chat for two hours Redhead finally got Prince in his lap and a smile on his face.
Prince was snoring away quietly and drooling a wet spot on the hem of Redhead's shirt, but Redhead was just amused.
"You're lovely, you know," he whispered to his Prince without looking at him
(is Prince Valiant the Sleeping Prince now, he wondered)
and stroked his wild hair absentmindedly. The chat drew to an end and the at least equally trivial TV Shop started, but Redhead didn't want to reach out for the remote control that lay on the table since it was way too warm and nice on the couch and Prince might have woken up if he did.
Had Redhead had the power to decide, the night wouldn't have ended in a hundred eternities. The TV screen created a pale blue glow everywhere and the darkness made Redhead sleepy. He wanted to chatter something, but he was so tired he couldn't really come up with anything smart to say.
"If you loved me, you could always sleep on my lap," he finally stated to Prince, caressing his hand wistfully. "I'd stay up every night so that I could be with you as much as possible."
He thought about it for a while, watching the lure ad on the TV screen. Life with Prince Valiant would be-
(it was more than he dared to dream during daytime. During nights he could dream about that, though only when he was sleeping)
"And I'd come to see every football match you have and you'd make all the goals and then you'd dedicate them to me in some interview afterwards," he added after some time and glanced at his Prince. The voices from the television were subdued, Prince shifted a little and didn't snore anymore. Redhead caressed his cheek and smiled.
"Should we make a gingerbread house tomorrow?"
Prince answered with deep, calm breathing and Redhead took that as a yes.
"I don't know how to bake, though. I wonder if you do? We have to make lots of that white sugar paste thing, I know you'll eat half of it before we get to use it." He almost laughed out loud at the thought but kept it inside since he couldn't wake Prince up.
"I think it'd be fun to make gingerbread men. When I was little I only got to eat heart-shaped gingerbread cookies... we could have one of the gingerbread men have your troll hair." Redhead threaded his slender fingers through Prince's thick hair and sighed. "And we could make one of them smaller so that it'd be me."
For a while Redhead concentrated on listening to the rhythmless drumming of the raindrops against the window and watching the shadows and the light from the TV screen dance in the ceiling. He was still thinking of the gingerbread house and how he would make it with Prince. They'd both be covered in flour, and happy, he decided, and then they'd eat a huge amount of warm gingerbread cookies and drink cold milk at the kitchen table. Maybe they'd light a big candle and gaze at each other through it's warm flame.
"We could make a gingerbread version of my laptop!" Redhead figured suddenly, eyes lighting up, and eyed Prince, amused. "Wouldn't that be fun? I think it would. Let's make some pink sugar paste thing."
His laptop was coloured yellowish ochre and plastic white and there was no pink anywhere, but in that digital time threetwentytwo AM it felt like a brilliant idea. Redhead's smile started to look sleepy.
"And then we'll make a whole house where you and I live. I could wear a pink apron."
Redhead didn't actually realize what he was saying anymore, or what kind of promises he was making. He found it nice to talk about whatever came to his mind, especially now that the only listeners were the sleeping Prince and the TV that was currently advertising some kind of miraculous vacuum cleaner.
"There will be spruces and pigs in the gingerbread yard. Gingerbread pigs, not ham." Redhead giggled at his own joke and absent-mindedly gazed at the opposite wall for a minute. Then he remembered the gingerbread cookies again and even though he was practically falling asleep, he wanted to keep going with his dorky monologue.
"Maybe I should talk more during the days so I wouldn't feel this chatty when you want to sleep... Shall we make the cords of the gingerbread laptop from licorice string? You can eat all of them, I don't like licorice," he promised and stroked Prince's hair again with a scatty smile on his face. "Or if it makes you happy, you can eat the whole laptop."
After thinking about this for a second he added: "I mean the gingerbread version, not the real one."
After that Redhead finally let his eyelids fall shut and the sweetdreams come. In the morning he might wake up without Prince in his lap but one tired memory and a baking idea richer.
When Redhead's breathing became sleepy calm and regular, Prince opened his eyes and grinned to himself. "If there's someone lovely here, that would be you."