** Disclaimer: This part really challenges a writer to be creative. Nope dun own 'em.

** To all who have reviewed, thank you very much.

Lullaby

Grunt.

Shift.

Open an eye.

Shut eye.

Turn.

Grunt.

Count one d'aho, two d'aho, three—

He huffed then gave up, opening both eyes.

He couldn't sleep. He, Kaede Rukawa, master of sleeping anywhere and everywhere, could not sleep. It was a cruel twist of fate.

He again shifted in bed and tried to think of any reason why he now had a bad case of insomnia.

Eat dinner. Check.

Brush teeth. Check.

Watch basketball on TV. Check.

Bathe. Check.

Ritual phone talk with Hanamichi when redhead in not sleeping over. Check.

Yes. He had done his usual night routines. So why was he not sleepy?

His eyes shifted to the photo near the phone that showed him and Hanamichi sitting under a cherry blossoms tree near the Kanagawa Park. It was his favorite photo of his boyfriend. Well, besides the one that he secretly kept inside his wallet.

He shivered a bit from the cold as he stared at the photo. After a while, he decided that maybe what he needed was something hot to drink. He hefted his body from the bed and made his way to the kitchen to fix something up. Surprise, surprise, he didn't even so much as nod during the entire procedure of heating up water, fixing his drink and going back to his room.

"I must be coming down with something…" he muttered as slipped again into bed, sipping his drink slowly.

His eyes roamed back to the picture. He didn't notice finishing his drink as he got lost in his staring. When he realized that all he was sipping was air, he gently put down the cup and frowned.

His mind went back to the recent phone conversation with his boyfriend. He had listened, grunted, and called Hanamichi d'aho as the other boy had chattered on about his day as if the two of them had not spent practically the whole day together.

Yep, everything had happened like it usually did. So what was wrong?

Out of sheer frustration, Kaede mindlessly picked up the phone and speed dialed Hanamichi's number. He was listening to the third ring when his conscience hit him. The redhead would have been fast asleep by then.

"Hello," a sleepy voice rumbled before he could put the unit down. "Oi, anyone there?"

Kaede sighed and slid deeper under his covers.

"D'aho."

"Kitsune," Hanamichi growled but the effect was lost when Kaede heard him yawn. "Why the heck are you calling me at this hour for? This genius needs his beauty sleep you know!"

Kaede snorted.

"Oi! I heard that!" Hanamichi grumbled. "So why'd you call? Hurry up so I can go back to sleep."

Kaede opened his mouth to reply but realized that he really did not have a reason for waking up Hanamichi. He had phoned on impulse, something he was not used to doing. Impulsive acts were the redhead's department.

"Oi, Kitsune, you still there? I'm gonna beat you up tomorrow for this y'know!"

"I—I couldn't sleep," Kaede confessed lamely.

He waited for Hanamichi to laugh but apparently the other boy was too sleepy to do that.

"Then drink something," Hanamichi suggested.

"I already did that."

"Count sheep!"

Kaede hesitated. Was that like counting superdeformed Hanamichis? He supposed so.

"That too."

"Read a book."

He hadn't tried that. It might be worth a shot. He squinted at the dark room and realized that all the books he had were textbooks.

"No use," he murmured.

"Want me to sing a song for you?"

Kaede panicked. His boyfriend's voice could wake up the dead. That was the last thing he needed.

"No!"

"Then there's nothing I can do for you!" Hanamichi growled. "I'm going back to sleep."

"No! Don't hang up," Kaede blurted out.

"Dammit! What the hell do you want me to do?" Hanamichi muttered, quite irritated.

"Just—just keep the phone near you," Kaede said.

"What?"

Kaede could almost see Hanamichi's bewildered look complete with blinking eyes and frowning lips. He couldn't help but smile at the image.

"Don't hang up," he clarified. "Go back to sleep but keep the phone near you."

"Why?"

"Just do it d'aho."

He heard the other boy yawn again.

"Okay, okay," Hanamichi finally agreed. "But you owe me an explanation tomorrow Kitsune."

Kaede just sighed.

He heard Hanamichi shifting around and getting comfortable in bed.

"G'night Kitsune."

"Night d'aho."

Soon he heard the deep breathing that signaled Hanamichi's return to la-la land. He smiled and faced the space the redhead usually occupied during his sleepovers. Kaede's imagination painted a vivid image of the sleeping redhead—face relaxed, hair messy, tank top rumpled, and one arm around him while the other rested on the pillow. He turned up the volume of the phone and let his boyfriend's sound envelope him. Soon his eyes began to droop. A smile spread on his lips as sleep finally came to him while he listened to his favorite lullaby.

-end-

A/N: These stories are getting sappier and sappier. Ever heard of a dragon that's a hopeless romantic?