Disclaimer: not owned by me :D
Pairing: FuwaxKazamatsuri

Pleasant Dreams

By: yukuro

Fuwa Daichi was a light sleeper. He would always trouble sleeping in new surroundings, despite how such a trait seemed strange for someone who radiated a tough image such as his. When he slept in new places, it would always feel cold and foreign. Insomnia would plague him and he would end up losing too many hours of precious rest. The worst part was every little sound seemed to have been intensified by ten. As if he wasn't a light enough sleeper as it was at home in the surroundings he was used to.

The first night at Senbatsu training camp, Fuwa spent a good deal of the night simply staring up at the ceiling. Just when he had begun to drift off to sleep, the sound of elephants stampeding in the room woke him up abruptly. Shortly later, he as well as Sugihara discovered that no, it was not a stampede of elephants but Koiwa's incredible snoring. Of course, even more incredible was Kazamatsuri's ability to sleep through it all.

The morning and afternoon passed normally for Fuwa. At least, as normal as it got in a training camp full of overly competitive boys. It was all rather interesting, he supposed. There was actually something for him to do now and then and even when there wasn't, he could observe the others and collect some data. Not everything turned out too badly.

Daytime with the others was one thing, but sleeping in a cold, unfamiliar room with a herd of elephants nearby was completely another problem. No one knew that he was bothered by this, of course. There was really no one that knew anything about him in the first place. Although, he supposed that if word got out about how much of a delicate sleeper he was, his "image," not that he cared about it, would be damaged.

Fuwa was on his way to take a shower down the hall when he noticed Kazamatsuri going out for practice. He paused for a moment by the window and watched the small boy quietly. Even though he was far away, Fuwa was sure he could see the determined gleam in Kazamatsuri's eyes as he practiced alone in the growing darkness. Strange as it was, Kazamatsuri continued to surprise and intrigue him.

The first thing that Fuwa had thought was strange about the smaller boy was his ability to constantly be smiling. Kazamatsuri's smile would always be so cheerful and bright, it would somehow make Fuwa feel at ease. His smile was very different from others, Fuwa noticed. It was only Kazamatsuri's smile that made him feel comfortable while others' frankly disturbed him slightly. He had not grown used to trusting smiles yet. Kazamatsuri was just an exception.

The more he thought about it, the more amazing Fuwa thought it was that Kazamatsuri had solely dragged him into this soccer business. The longer he played soccer, the more Fuwa began to feel his little bits of intrigue turn into the feelings that Kazamatsuri had tried to make him feel. Fuwa was beginning to enjoy soccer. He supposed he owed Kazamatsuri a great deal of thanks. Especially considering how Kazamatsuri was the only one who accepted him while others thought he was frightening.

Fuwa broke out of his trance when Sugihara passed by, tapping his shoulder lightly. The shorter boy smiled before continuing down the hall. Fuwa stood for a moment to take in some mental data: a smile from anyone else meant pretty much nothing, but a smile from Kazamatsuri made him feel…pleasant.

Frown setting on his face, Fuwa marched down the hall towards the shower. A few boys stared at him as he went, startled by the extremely serious expression on his face. Ignoring them, Fuwa continued down the hall as he muttered to himself, "I still don't understand it. I guess I'll need more data."

Within a minimum amount of time, Fuwa found himself staring up at the blank ceiling again in the dark. His surroundings felt awkward and cold so it was still hard to fall asleep. He had given up on counting the specks on the ceiling by the time he got to 1,304. The harder he tried to fall asleep, the harder insomnia counterattacked him. Finally sitting up with a deep-set frown, Fuwa drew back the curtains around his bed and swung his legs over. He figured he would just have to find something even more boring to do until he could fall asleep.

The elephant herd was still stampeding away, much to Fuwa's annoyance. He was so irritated by the noise, he accidentally tripped over the last step on the ladder and fell onto the ground. Fuwa instantly cursed under his breath for such stupidity. Oh well. It was not as if anyone could have heard through such terribly loud snoring.

Apparently, Fuwa was wrong.

There was a soft, clumsy shuffle of curtains, making Fuwa freeze in his creeping about. In the next second, a very sleepy-looking Kazamatsuri stuck his head out to peer at him. "…Fuwa-kun?"

Fuwa was surprised. Kazamatsuri was able to sleep through all the noise of the heavy snores and yet was awakened by the muffled sound of his tripping? Fuwa felt his lips twitch in an awkward upward position. Kazamatsuri really was a strange person.

"Fuwa-kun, is that you?" Kazamatsuri asked sleepily, bringing a hand over to rub his eye. It was then when Fuwa remembered Kazamatsuri had barely returned for two or three hours ago from practicing. "What are you doing up so late?"

"It's impossible for me to fall asleep here," Fuwa stated bluntly from his position on the ground with the snoring roaring away from behind him. "I'm surprised you've been able to sleep so well. Or maybe you're too tired from coming back so late from practicing."

"Oh," the smaller boy yawned with a sheepish smile. "You saw me, Fuwa-kun?"

"Of course," Fuwa replied as Kazamatsuri let out another soft yawn. He continued his explanation, "You were the only one outside and it seems like something you do often anyway."

Kazamatsuri let out a slightly embarrassed laugh. He covered his mouth with his hand when Koiwa let out a particularly loud snore. Kazamatsuri smiled softly over at his teammate seated at the ground. "Teppei-kun is a bit loud, but I've still been able to sleep fine. You're probably right, Fuwa-kun. Maybe because I practice too late."

"Maybe I should try that," Fuwa mumbled to himself as he rose to his feet. Just as he was about to move towards the door, he felt a weak tug on his shirt. Surprised, he turned to look back.

"Don't go outside, Fuwa-kun," Kazamatsuri said quietly with a concerned smile on his face. "It's too cold and too late at this time. Maybe you should try another way to fall asleep."

"I've tried everything I can think of," the taller boy stated as he watched Kazamatsuri slowly release his grip.

"I remember when I was little," Kazamatsuri began musingly, although still sleepily, "it was hard for me to sleep at times. I would always feel cold and strange, even though I was in the same bed as usual. Kou-nii told me that if I held onto something warm, I would probably sleep better. He also said that I should try hard to fall asleep to meet the pleasant dreams that were waiting."

Fuwa stared.

Kazamatsuri laughed embarrassedly. He admitted with a slight blush, "Actually since I was still small at the time, I ended up crawling into bed with him and sleeping in his bed. After he moved out, I had to get used to sleeping with cold spaces again. It does feel kind of nice to have another warm person beside you though."

There was a pause and for a moment, only Koiwa's snoring could be heard. Finally, Fuwa lowered his head and mumbled something.

"What was that, Fuwa-kun?" Kazamatsuri asked softly, his voice slightly slurred by his sleepiness.

"I said, 'move over a little,'" Fuwa mumbled again, shifting his gaze towards the wall. At that moment, he felt incredibly grateful for the dark. If there had been even the slightest bit of light, he was sure Kazamatsuri would have seen the blush that tinted his face.

Kazamatsuri blinked, not completely understanding Fuwa's meaning but complied and moved inwards on his bed towards the wall. He watched in silence as Fuwa climbed onto his bed and drew the curtains closed after him. His sleepy mind was barely able to process that the other boy's body was now very close to his own. Even when he realized it, he could only smile. "I hope you'll be able to sleep well, Fuwa-kun."

After seeing that smile, Fuwa finally felt himself at ease. He still was not at home in his own bed and his surroundings were still foreign to him, but somehow, he felt his insomnia slowly fading away.

"I haven't slept like this for a long time," Kazamatsuri admitted with a slight laugh. He was silenced when he felt Fuwa's body draw closer and an arm awkwardly enclosed around his body. "Fuwa-kun?"

"'Hold onto something warm,' right?" Fuwa muttered, closing his eyes. He was embarrassed, but his growing weariness made it seem less severe.

"Oh, that's right," the smaller boy said with a smile. Unconsciously, he drew closer still and snuggled up against the other boy slightly.

Fuwa let out a quiet sigh. He had never thought that he would see the day when he would willingly do something like this. Even as a child he slept alone, never wanting the presence of another person. Perhaps that was why he had become such a light, sensitive sleeper. He was probably frightened to be alone as a child, even though his mind would not admit to it. Kazamatsuri had a strange talent of drawing Fuwa out of his shell and making him feel strange, foreign emotions.

Closing his eyes, he tightened his hold on the smaller boy slightly. Just as he brought his lips a centimeter from Kazamatsuri's forehead, a yawn escaped and spoiled the mood. Sighing, he gave up let his mind slowly wander towards dreams. Quietly, he mumbled to himself sensibly, "I had better get up early in the morning had get back to my own bed or the others will be suspicious."

Kazamatsuri laughed softly and sleepily. "In the mean time, I hope you have pleasant dreams, Fuwa-kun."

In his newfound warmth despite the strange surrounds about him and the still-loud snoring that roared away, Fuwa felt as if he was home. In the way he was now, he was sure that he would have plenty of pleasant dreams.

Oyasumi nasai.

A/N: Yup, I wrote Whistle! again. It's too much fun! XD Plus, I guess I'm a bit disappointed that this fandom is so small. Grr. …anyway, yay for Fuwa. x)

Thanks for reading.