Mitch and Bert snored loudly in the other bed, dreaming about what the first founds of the tournament in the morning would bring. And it was only when the two had fallen asleep that Hawk took out his alarm from his bag, the one Miguel was looking at while they laid in the dark in their own assigned bed.
"School trips must've been fun, huh?" Miguel tried to joke light-heartedly, handing the device back. This was the most they'd talked openly about the subject, though he remained mindful to keep it quiet. If the others so much as stopped snoring, he'd drop it in a second.
Hawk snorted softly, accepting his alarm and clipping it to his pajamas. "I just stuck with Demetri," he whispered, picking at a fingernail. "He's the only one who knows. And you."
"I think the others would probably be more understanding than you think," suggested Miguel. "I mean, it's just a medical condition, right? That's nothing to be ashamed of."
Hawk's mouth twisted uneasily. His eyes drifted over to the bed next to theirs. Mitch had rolled over and Bert was now hanging precariously on the edge of the mattress, but the boys remained sound asleep. "Would you want them to find out if it was you?" Hawk retorted, looking back at Miguel.
Miguel sighed and shook his head truthfully. "No."
He wished he could offer more than empty words of encouragement. But more than sympathizing with how embarrassing it must've been to live with such a problem, Miguel was struck by how lonely it must be. Carrying that secret around with you, worrying about others discovering it. Having that barrier between you and someone you wanted to be closer to.
"Anyways, we should probably get some sleep if we want to kick some ass tomorrow," said Hawk, shifting to sit up on the bed. The motel staff had procured him a cot upon request, which waited for him between the two beds. Humiliating enough to have to ask for one in the first place. Worse still to have to tell the others to mind their business when they asked what it was for.
Miguel picked at his bottom lip, wondering what a lifetime of being regulated to cots, couches, and air mattresses would do to a guy. "Wait." He reached out, stopping Hawk with a touch of his arm. "Just a little bit longer," he said, tugging his shirt to coax him back into lying down.
Eli didn't need more convincing. And a soft expression smoothed over his features when Miguel wrapped his arm around him and curled in closer. He returned the intimate gesture, closing his eyes and burying his face in Miguel's shoulder. In spite of everything, he felt relaxed and content at that moment.
"Whoever falls asleep first, the other gets the cot," he heard Miguel murmur by his ear.
"You sure?" Eli whispered back.
The arm around him hugged tighter, silently promising what Miguel was willing to do. "Goodnight, Eli."