****The First Night****

The first night might've been awkward if Mihashi wasn't weird about it; but Mihashi was awkward about everything, so things were twice as worse. The boys got ready for bed and headed into the tent, pointedly ignoring making eye contact with the other. But what got Abe? Was the way Mihashi instantly blushed a deep red when he first the saw the single sleeping bag, never mind the lack of crawl space or even the awkward tension. Sighing, Abe resolved to ignore his behavior and just sleep.

But sleeping was another matter entirely. Mihashi sat down with his legs folded under him to give Abe room to move around and fix the sleeping bag so that it would cover both of them, but when Abe got under the cover and resolutely closed his eyes, he could still feel Mihashi watching him. With a snort of irritation, Abe rolled over the face the opposite side of the tent, figuring the blonde was taking some time to spaz quietly before coming to bed, but when the next couple minutes passed and no Mihashi laid down next to him, Abe sat up in a huff.

"Mihashi, are you going to sleep or what?"

"I….um…well…"

Mihashi actually hadn't planned on sleeping. His sole mission once he had figured out he was sharing a tent with the catcher was to let Abe decide whatever he wanted to do, and not get in the way of things; he stuck by this idea with great determination. So when Abe had gotten under the covers, Mihashi had been content to let the raven have the bed, because he deserved it. He figured he'd meditate till morning, maybe curl up in a corner and sleep, and then Abe had asked him a question, giving him a choice. Seeing the sandy haired boy hesitate, Abe face palmed and grasped Mihashi's wrist tightly.

"You little ditz…get over here!"

And suddenly Mihashi found himself on his back, staring up at the tent's ceiling with a grizzled Abe lying next to him.

"A-Abe, what are you—"

Abe groaned into his pillow, the sound of his exasperation muffled. His voice when he spoke was also muffled, but the pitcher got the point clear enough.

"Shut up and go to sleep, okay?"

Abe felt the pitcher try to get comfortable next to him and was secretly glad for the way the darkness hid the blush that was surely on his face. As the pitcher settled down, he felt a full body shiver rack the blonde's slim form and, concerned, he turned and pulled up the covers, then found himself too drowsy to remove his arm after, letting it rest on Mihashi's chest. The pulse underneath his hand quickened as Mihashi whispered, "A-Abe?"

"Mmm?"

"Y-You…um…"

Abe lifted his head off his pillow and glared at Mihashi sleepily.

"Mihashi," he growled somewhat affectionately, "I could care less even if you were lying on top of me. All I need is for you to go to sleep."

Nodding, Mihashi shut his eyes tightly, making Abe chuckle as he his head back down, his breath tickling Mihashi's ear. He was mostly relaxed when all of his attention was pulled to a point of contact along his arm where, tentatively, Mihashi had placed his hand. And, well, if Abe went to sleep with a smile, no one had to know except for the night.

...

Abe blinked awake to see…dark. He gave a soft groan as he realized it was probably the middle of the night, and then wondered why he had woken up. The catcher's sleepy mind wasn't making much progress until something shifted and he realized: something was lying on his chest. Looking down, he saw a head full of sandy hair; Mihashi was curled up to Abe, one leg hooked around his, arms tucked close as his hands gripped Abe's nightshirt in a grip that promised never to let go, head on his shoulder. Mihashi's slow, even breaths skittered across Abe's collarbone, and the awakened boy realized with a slight start that his nightshirt had been rucked up during the night, and was around his armpits; he couldn't pull it back down without waking Mihashi. Even as he grasped this, Mihashi's arm drifted across his bare chest and crossed to his other side, effectively caging Abe in his arms.

Abe briefly wondered if this was a way of Fate getting back at him for making the remark he had made earlier to calm the other boy down, and resolved to never let himself slip like that again. The situation threatened to break all his hard won self control around this boy; he wanted to be as carefree with his touches and hugs as Mihashi was in his sleep. Slowly, though, he realized that if he did do something, Mihashi would assume it was done in his sleep, just as his actions were, and he wouldn't be held accountable. So, very carefully, Abe picked up a hammer and broke his own self control to pieces, just for the night, as the pitcher started to mumble unhappily in his sleep. With a blissful sigh, Abe gave in and took just one stolen moment, carding his left hand through the other boy's hair, stroking his soft hair much like a mother would to calm down her child. His right hand came up and linked with Mihashi's left as it fell across his chest, the other boy's hand warm in his as his muttering stopped. Closing his eyes, Abe let the slow fall and rise of Mihashi's chest lull him back to sleep.