Sweet Dreams
a drabble by Cascading Rainbow
---
A/N: Okay, so this isn't going to be like my normal drabbles. It's about twice as long as my longest posted drabbles have been so far. And no one commissioned me for this one – it's all for my own benefit, although someone basically gave me the inspiration by (grumble) signing off too soon.
---
"If you leave now, I won't forgive you," she warns him. Her eyes seem dull; her youthful face is pallid and worn. There is a dangerous tone in her voice, surprising both of them.
For this reason, Akito Hayama knows that Sana Kurata is not making an empty threat.
He considers the situation for a moment and then shakes his head. With a wry half-smile, Akito murmurs two words under his breath: "Sweet dreams." And then he walks away.
Well, at least, he tries to. But then he notices that her right hand is wrapped tightly around his wrist, preventing him from going any further.
"No," Sana insists.
The boy stops in his tracks and turns toward her, meaning to summon a stern glare to his face. But he cannot achieve it. And so his stare lengthens itself to such an eternally long time that it seems to undergo a transformation. It starts out a stare and, from there, softens into a glance and then into a gaze that even the dense Sana can sense is etched with a longing for something more than friendship.
It is true that he cannot help but notice how distinctly stunning she looks in the moonlight. From the way she has let her hair down due to the chill of the night, to the reflection of the bright moon in her pretty eyes, to the poise and grace and charm she exudes without even trying, to the confused yet endlessly determined expression on her face, to the delicate features that make up the girl herself …
Akito Hayama can no longer handle this.
He takes one last look at Sana, shakes his head as if disappointed in himself, and, against his better judgment, shifts his right hand and intertwines his fingers with hers.
Sana shivers for a second but relaxes when a feeling of warmth shoots up her arm.
"Come on," Akito prompts her tersely, and, without another word, Sana allows him to lead her along.
love hope dreams sleep
lay in the garden with me as i weep
sun rain hail snow
i cling to you because you're all i know
Sana no longer knows where they are.
Neither, for that matter, does Akito.
"Why did you take me here?" asks Sana. She wonders why Akito is still clutching her hand in his.
"Because."
"Because of what?"
"How far we are doesn't matter, Sana. We will always be together; no matter what, I will always be here for you, never letting you go," he says simply.
Sana seems to accept this answer, as is evident by how she entangles her fingers from his and locks him in an embrace deeper than he has ever dreamed is possible.