Insomnia

Note: Occurs somewhere after Gundam SEED. This is slightly AU with a bit of OOC here and there. A bit...crack-ish. Silly.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED Destiny.

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Kira Yamato had insomnia. It was as simple as that. No amount of tossing and turning on the foreign bed allowed him the comfortable, blissful rest that he wanted.

…It also didn't help that he could hear scratching and other miscellaneous sounds coming from his closet.

Taking a moment to steel himself against the unnerving sounds, he moved onto the outside balcony with his cell phone and dialed a very familiar number.

He waited until he heard the rich voice answer - albeit groggily but that certainly cannot be helped - "…Hello?"

"Hi."

There was a light scuffle and groan from the other side of the receiver. "Kira…Why are you calling me at four in the morning?"

The aforementioned smiled blithely. "It's too hot and weird in hotel beds…"

"And so you couldn't sleep and had this really bright idea to call me to keep you company," added Athrun wryly.

Kira could clearly hear his smile. "Drat. You figured me out." He leaned over the balcony railings, taking in the shadowy ocean view, with the wireless phone in his hand.

"So."

"Hmmm…?"

"Well you're the one that called me." He heard the cluck of annoyance. "I'm not going to attempt to strike a conversation when I could be sleeping."

"Yeah. I guess not." The gentle breeze tugged at his loose t-shirt as Kira waited for awhile longer before commenting, "But…Doesn't this sort of remind you of all those other times…?"

When Athrun didn't respond, Kira sighed, "Don't tell me you forgot."

"…Mhmm…"

"Athrun."

Slightly exasperated when the other didn't respond again, the brown-haired coordinator stated crossly, "If you really need your sleep, I can hang up on you."

"…I'm awake."

"Yes. Of course you're awake."

He can hear hurried shuffling from the other side of the receiver before the indignant reply blasted through the speaker. "I am!"

Kira shook his head, smiling lightly. "Well anyway."

"Yeah?"

"Don't you recall all those midnight phone calls you gave me when we were little?" he asked in a wistful voice.

"Ahh…Yeah." There was light chuckling. "But I think it was the other way around, Kira. From what I can remember, you always phoned me when you're convinced a monster is about to lunge out at you from the closet."

"I did not! I think you have faulty memory," huffed Kira, face flushed in slight embarrassment. He couldn't help but feel a bit humiliated as it really was the noises coming from his closet right now that got him freaked out enough to phone Athrun.

Athrun suddenly did a crude mimic of a younger Kira. "'Aaaaaathrun! There really is something in there! I just heard – Ohhhh did you just hear that? Did you Athrun?! It's going to eat me!'"

"Athrun!" The older man could feel a slight pounding pain behind his eyes developing from the squeaky grating voice. "I did not sound like that!"

"Do you actually know how you sounded like?" teased the other coordinator.

"Well…" Kira frowned thoughtfully before jumping up an inch from a sudden sound. "Athrun…Did you hear that?" It sounded suspiciously like a knock against the inside of his closet door. "There's been all these…noises in my closet and…"

Loud laughter reached his ears before Kira hissed seriously, "I think there might be someone in my hotel room." The coordinator glanced at the dark room behind him, a slight nagging fear blossoming in his heart.

"Ahhh…" Kira could hear the hesitancy from his friend. "I'm sure it's nothing, but maybe…?"

"Yeah, I'm checking." Kira turned his body around while scanning the shadows carefully.

"Well?" came the impatient question.

"It…must have been my imagination," dismissed Kira when there was nothing out of the ordinary. But he swore there was that loud bump...

"If you say so."

He gazed back into the room one last time before shaking his head; he added in a pinched tone, trying to convince himself, "Yeah. It's probably because of the lack of sleep that I'm on edge." The grip around the mobile phone tightened.

There was light breathing from the receiver before Athrun's concerned voice echoed into his ear. "Maybe you should try and sleep."

"I want to sleep-" Kira winced when he heard the particularly loud noise from his closet. "-but insomnia won't let me."

A long silence followed before Athrun answered, "Too much to worry about?"

"No-" started Kira before he was interrupted.

"-'Cause there really is nothing to fret over, Kira. There are no monsters in your closet." He could hear the lifting smile. "If you want, I can come over and check for you."

Exasperated, Kira muttered, "Don't bother yourself with that. I know there are no monsters."

"Well then, how about we play our game?" Athrun asked demurely. "I'm sure it would distract you."

"You don't mean…that game, do you?"

"Yeah…What other game do you know of?"

"Well…Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" he pointed out. "I mean…We're older and it's not even really a game at all."

"No one is going to listen in on us."

Kira bit back a laugh as he remembered their past fears when playing the game. It's more than slightly absurd that he should be afraid of anyone catching them; after all, it is four thirty in the morning. "I don't know…"

"Jerk."

"Athrun!" His lips twisted upwards. "Meanie."

"Slug-breath."

"Banana-brains."

"Burned-spinach-eater."

There was a pause as Kira found a more comfortable niche against the railings before continuing, "Stale-bread-licker."

"Guy-who-wear-dresses."

"Envelope-and-avocado-collector."

There was a satisfying sputter of laughter from both ends of the phone – an obvious inside joke - before Athrun said, "Insect-'drowner'-with-monster-feet."

"Eater-of-ants-and-snails."

"Metal-tasting-mud-coloured-pineapple-hair!"

"…Puppy-kitty-birdy-and-hamster-kicker."

There was a loud triumphant shout. "I win!"

"Ehhh…How did you win?" demanded Kira. "I have the required number of words."

"You can't list things like that."

"You were listing things just now!"

He could hear a sigh. "Listing adjectives is an entirely different story."

"…You're always making the rules up as you go along," muttered the older coordinator.

"I'm just better at this game than you are," retorted Athrun. Kira could clearly hear the mirth from the statement.

"Oh well. Cheater." Kira grinned and checked the time silently. Five o'clock sharp.

"I do not cheat."

"Athrun, if you make the rules while playing the game, you can easily form them to your advantage," stated Kira playfully. "I think that's classified as chea-"

"Kira!"

His shoulders stiffened at the sudden voice coming from above his head. He tilted his gaze upwards to meet the reprimanding stare of his mother as she stood on the balcony above his.

"Ahh…Good…morning, Mom," greeted the young man uneasily. He could hear Athrun's laughter from the speakers of the phone.

"And I was wondering who was having such an immature conversation about bananas, brains, and snails," commented the matriarch calmly. "Well, Kira. Shouldn't you be sleeping? I know I was." She did not like the fact that her sleep was interrupted.

"Insomnia," explained Kira.

"So you called poor Athrun to keep you company?" Mrs. Yamato frowned lightly. "Try to keep it down a bit, please? I can hear your conversation all the way up here!"

"…Sorry Mom." Kira ducked his head, glaring at his phone when he heard Athrun say, 'Yes, Mrs. Yamato. I'm losing sleep here because of your inconsiderate son calling at an ungodly time. Please, punish him with a mean spanking!'

"Oh, and if he can't hear me, tell Athrun-dear that he shouldn't bang against the walls of the hotel like that. It might wake up your neighbours."

"Banging against the wall?" asked Kira in confusion. Athrun fell silent.

His mother nodded thoughtfully, "Yes. Didn't you hear those noises…?" She continued murmuring to herself, "You'd think that a hotel would learn to soundproof their walls as a precaution against particularly loud customers."

Soundproof. Walls. Noises? "I did hear noises, but I didn't know it was Athrun's doing!" Kira brought the phone back up to his ear. "Athrun! It was you who tried to scare me earlier, wasn't it?"

"Hmmm…Maybe." The line fell silent.

"I-I-I can't believe you!"

Athrun hung up on him.

"In any case, Kira. Go to sleep," interrupted Mrs. Yamato as she smiled gently at the fuming young man. "Good night." And with that, she disappeared from his sight.

Kira sighed, staring at his cell phone before pocketing it; he faced the yellowing horizon, waiting for his 'friend' to appear.

A few minutes later, the balcony doors from the next room slid open and Athrun appeared meekly with an apologetic expression on his face. They had their hotel rooms assigned next to each other.

Kira cast a glance his way. "You're never taking the room next to mine ever again."

Undeterred, Athrun rested his elbows on top of the railings. "Sorry, Kira. I couldn't fall asleep because of the bed creaking coming from your room."

"So…My insomnia caused your insomnia."

"Yeah, I really think insomnia is contagious." Athrun smirked.

"Whatever." Clearly, Kira was not pleased with his excuses.

Athrun let his smile drop and sighed, "...I was only being an excellent and considerate friend by knocking against the wall between our rooms."

"And what does that achieve?" Kira frowned, still irate. "You…"

"Sorry for scaring you."

"I was not-!" Kira trailed off as he shot Athrun a withering glare. "What was I suppose to think?! You knocked right against the wall of the closet!"

"Well I didn't know that! Besides, I just assumed you were having-"

"-I was NOT!" exclaimed Kira, blushing lightly. "And you should know I wasn't."

"The noises your bed was making…" Athrun grinned cheekily, a bit of red dusting his cheeks as well, and shrugged. "The noises your activity caused-"

"No. Sex. None." He crossed his arms, wishing Athrun would just shut up. "Besides, wouldn't it be just weird to call anyone between that?"

Apparently, Athrun did not want to dwell on that question for long. "Well anyway, I tried to make you stop whatever you were doing by knocking against the wall."

"It worked," muttered Kira coldly.

"I can't believe I scared you."

"Aaaathrun…!"

The younger coordinator offered him a smile. "Though…It's nice to know that I was the first person you called for comfort."

Kira fell silent, more than embarrassed and warmed by that statement.

When Athrun noticed he wasn't supplying an answer any time soon, he added, "Don't worry about it. Whenever you call, I'll always be there to answer."

"…Thank you. I guess…uhhhm…I'll always be there for you too." Kira turned away from him, smiling genuinely, and added, "What a chick-flick moment."

"I suppose so." Athrun shrugged, also smiling. "It can't be helped now...I can't exactly take my words back."

The older coordinator nodded in agreement before switching topics and asking, "So, want to get some breakfast?"

"At five thirty?"

"Room service, Athrun."

"Ahhh…Why not? As long as you're paying, of course."

"Fine, meanie."

"Jerk." He grinned at the familiarity of those words before shaking his head. "…Actually…Wait."

Kira's eyes widened as he watched Athrun back up. "You are not doing what I think you're about to do, are you?"

Athrun grinned, almost feral-like. He then ran and vaulted over the railing and the large gap between their balconies, before landing almost gracefully onto Kira's balcony.

Kira quickly found his voice, "You could have killed yourself!"

Athrun gripped Kira's arm and tried to drag him into the room. "I knew I could've jumped that beforehand."

"But how-?"

"Breakfast first, Kira." He sighed. "I don't want to explain myself again on an empty stomach." With that, Athrun pulled Kira into the room…

…And while they waited for room service to come, they both fell asleep, one curled up against the other on that 'hot and weird' hotel bed. The hotel worker, who was startled from the night lull to bring up their food, was baffled when he received no answer after knocking on the door. So unable to deliver the food, said worker retreated into the staff lounge and attempted to return to dreamland, but he found himself unable to fall asleep.

Oops. Guess insomnia really is contagious.

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End

Spyrit