The Sleep
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This is just one of the times when Ginji wishes that Ban would just hit him because of his "stupidity".Which he did.
"Waah! Itettete!!" Ginji still couldn't help but react as his partner bonked down and again at his head, instinctively trying to shield his head with his arms but the effort was mostly in vain.
"Bakayarou! Didn't I tell you to look after the car?? What the hell were you doing??" Ban seethed, still raining down blows.
"Anou... I wanted to pee..." Ginji tried to squint up at Ban with one eye from under the rather ineffective umbrella of his arms, "I didn't really expect that it would get towed that fast! I swear! I'm really sorry!"
"Bakayarou," Ban had muttered, before pummeling one last, but subtly gentler, blow at Ginji's head, and turning his back and dropping down to the floor behind Ginji with an exasperated sigh. There goes their money again, especially after a mission that almost stretched them to the limit. He really couldn't look at Ginji straight up right now --- for if he did he might actually smash his Snake Bite after all at the other's stupid chibi-ed face especially if the other one would even try to pull up a pitiful pout at him. "Next time, try to hold it in longer, will you??"
Not that he didn't understand --- of course people had to pee, but still... He peeled off his rain-soaked shirt from his body, and for a split-second almost threw it across the room in his anger but realized that upon sitting down he felt too tired already to do even that.
He just settled with wringing out the remaining water and spreading it to the floor to dry beside Ginji's already spread out green vest, still trying very hard to keep his fuming in check, and carelessly kicking off his waterlogged shoes. He heard the shoes bounce off against a wall in the dark beyond before him with a satisfying thump, and almost immediately he felt the remaining frustration within him slowly dissipate. Sighing again he leaned back until his back shoved slightly against Ginji's to reach into his pants for the similarly soaked wad of money that they've earned from the retrieval operation for that day.
Out of habit (habit that usually kicks in when they happen to get caught in the rain), Ban peels off the clotted bills from each other to spread them individually out to dry on the floor, his sharp blue eyes having adjusted to the darkness counting as he did so. He was also calculating the possible amount that could be left to them when they finally reclaim their 360... damn there should be at least something left!
"Ban-chan..." Ginji's voice floated through the crumbling empty storeroom they've managed to find and climb into in their mad dash for a temporary overnight shelter from the storm (Ban had refrained from renting a hotel room... because of what Ginji had done he was not sure of their money's worth anymore).
"Aa," Ban drawled out of habit rather than really hearing, as he was more concentrated on the bills right now.
"I'm hungry..."
Ban absentmindedly pushed to Ginji's general direction that plastic of Italian carbonara --- that current food craving of Ginji's that made him leave the car in Ginji's "care" to look for one earlier that day --- without missing a beat from his count.
He was almost nearing the end of his count when he suddenly remembered...
"OI GINJI!! Leave some for me, dammit!"
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Ginji felt like he was bending forward far too much.No, he was actually being bent forward far too much, as when he sleepily tried to straighten up in his sitting position on the floor he realized that the full weight of Ban's back was pressing against his own back.
Sometime along the night they must have fallen asleep against each other --- Ginji couldn't remember who passed out first. It's kind of a surprise they hadn't fallen to the floor yet. The storm continued raging outside, occasionally spraying drops at them along with those chilly gusts of wind.
Ban-chan so heavy, was the first thing that came to his fuzzy mind, as his body in a kind of sleepy childish stubborness retaliated by pushing back against Ban's weight, momentarily straightening them a little from their slump against each other.
But when Ginji felt himself sinking further back into sleep, his head lowering to his chest, Ban's heavier weight began pushing him forward again. It appears that his own weight against Ban's was loosening when he's falling asleep, or maybe he just wasn't as well-balanced in his position as Ban was.
This won't do, Ginji thought a little irritably, knowing that he'd get cramps in the morning if he wouldn't remedy this situation. He wouldn't risk waking Ban though to at least coax him to lie down, for he seemed too tired and high-strung earlier and Ginji had already irked him that day.
Also, he never really knew that Ban-chan's back could be so warm, and he hadn't really considered relinquishing that warmth sooner.
So with bleary eyes he adjusted his position until his right side and almost half of his front was pressed against Ban's back. He tested fully placing his weight to that area to counter Ban's, and somehow their slump against each other evened out.
With that, Ginji closed his eyes again. His head instinctively found its place over Ban's left shoulder, vaguely welcoming the cool shell of Ban's left ear against the back of his neck.
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A sharp elbow digging into his thigh woke Ginji up, making him lift his head from Ban's shoulder and wince as he half-opened his eyes and straightened up a little. Ban's head tipped further back with that slight withdrawal of support from Ginji and gently rested against Ginji's neck, Ban's lower back sliding slightly down the floor and elbow digging down again in instinct.A moment later Ginji's sleepy eyes met Ban's equally sleepy ones.
"Sorry," Ban seemed to mutter, as Ginji began to move his thigh out of the way of Ban's left elbow. The thigh slid to the opposite side of Ban's hips, the position making Ginji face Ban's back.
And the sleepy Ginji did what seemed to feel comfortable for the both of them in that position --- he slipped his arms around Ban's waist and brought his weight forward, then pulled at the body before him, straightening Ban a little into his earlier half-sitting, half-slumped position. With that fixed, he rested his chest against Ban's back and buried his face near the bare junction of Ban's shoulder and neck, his arms still looped around Ban's waist.
This way, he seemed to feel the warmth of Ban's back more as if the other hadn't really been wearing his usual black tank.
Warmer, was the only thought that registered in Ginji's mind before he fell asleep again, in that position where he is half-supporting Ban and half-resting at Ban at the same time. He did not really feel Ban's body stiffen slightly at the close contact, nor did he hear the other's sharp intake of breath at the sudden action.
Neither did he feel that body eventually melt against him afterwards.
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The next time Ginji stirred, what met his half-lidded eyes was a window with a blackish-greyish-bluish sky.And the feeling of him laid out on his side on the cool wooden floor, with what seemed to be Ban's white shirt placed over him up to his chin like a blanket.
Ban's nowhere before him.
"Ban-chan...?" Still heavily disoriented, it took a while before he thought of at least twisting around to look for Ban. But before he did, he felt an arm slide over his waist, and some warm body pull up at his back.
"Mhh?" Ginji just heard Ban murmur sleepily behind his neck. With that voice, it didn't seem morning yet.
So Ginji fell back asleep.
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Ban allowed himself a small smile when he felt Ginji's body relax again within his arm. Screw the 360, he thought, knowing dimly without even opening his eyes what time it really was, as he felt some rain spray slightly at them again. I bet the Traffic Department's closed today anyway...-=-
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finauthor's notes: The title "The Sleep" is not really a grammatical error. It was kind of inspired by the title of Wong Kar-wai's BMW-short film, entitled "The Follow". Not that "The Follow" 's storyline is similar to this piece --- that's another story altogether. This story is inspired by a storm and a dream, though that dream "ended" with me and Ban putting sunflowers in vases Xx.