Shou has yet to meet someone their own age that didn’t sleep like they were inviting death. It’s so curious to be crouched little more than a foot away from Rey without him stirring in the least. His pulse beats visibly on the side of his neck, slow and easy and trusting. His expression serene as he experiences an untroubling dream.
It’s not that Shou fantasizes about killing their friend in the long hours of the night that offer them no sleep. It’s just hard not to think about how easily it could be done, sometimes.
Watching people sleep is a bad habit that Shou rarely entertains breaking. Some people are interesting; small twitches overtaking their limbs as they convert from wakefulness into unconsciousness. Some speak aloud from their dreams, garbled and indecipherable in meaning.
They don’t care if it’s considered creepy to entertain themself like this. To the contrary.
Rey’s eyes finally open, unfocused as they drag over Shou’s form. Confusion slowly morphs his face and Shou waits patiently and gleefully for Rey to snap into full wakefulness and flinch away, whine that Shou needs to stop being an asshole and hovering over him in the middle of the night.
“Do you want to sleep with me?” Shou blinks slowly, lips pursed. Rey’s voice is heavy with sleep, brows furrowed and genuine with his offer. “Did you have a bad dream?” Shifting around in his sleeping bag Rey manages to free one of his hands, reaching towards Shou’s face with it.
Shou sighs in subdued chagrin, taking Rey’s hand in their own to nuzzle their cheek into his open palm.
“Silly boy,” they whisper. “Move over, then.” Some of the grogginess leaves Rey’s expression as he moves to obey. With his arm straying to lift the corner of the sleeping bag so Shou can slide in next to him he hesitantly rests it back down on top of their waist.
“Are we contemplating a goodnight kiss?” Shou teases, knees knocking against Rey's own. There seems to be no wresting the situation back onto their own terms, because Rey simply flushes before he’s actually leaning in, leaving Shou’s eyes round and shocked as he places a barely-there kiss to their cheek.
Shou’s fingers curl loosely into Rey’s nightshirt, huffing a short laugh before gently kissing the tip of Rey's nose in return.
"Night, Shou," Rey murmurs, eyes closed and nearly asleep once more.
My parents separating, I suppose. Had that not happened I'm not sure how different of a person I'd be today, or if I'd have ended up in the same friend group I have now, which is a scary thought.
Your happiest memory
When my friends all chipped in to buy me my first binder and wrote weird self-insert like. Erotica poetry of me lmfao it was a really good evening.
A.N.: Based heavily off this post, thanks to yarusnow for editing for me. ;v;
Camping out never offered much in the way of menu, especially for breakfast. Rey still misses the heavier meals he ate when at home and, this morning, his plate was cleaned in record time. This, for some reason, catches Shou’s attention, bright eyes lingering on the empty plate long enough that Rey snaps his fingers in the space between them several times just to get them to blink.
“You’re like a damn bird or something sometimes, you know? Staring like that.” Having those wide, yellow eyes flit to fixate on him isn’t really what Rey wanted either, but he isn’t sure what other response he should have expected. It’s difficult to hold their gaze for long, so he settles for rolling his eyes at their lack of reply and instead turns his attention to the dying embers of the fire.
In all honesty, it’s probably stupid to be traveling with someone who consistently and easily makes him feel so uncomfortable. Shou didn’t even have to do much of anything, sometimes, and the hair on the back of Rey’s neck would rise up. He’s mentioned it in an off-handed comment once, and Shou had gone uncharacteristically still and quiet, eyes hidden with a turn of their head, but a smile curling their lips with a silly quip not moments later.
It had been odd, even for Shou, and Rey had been sure to make it clear that he trusted them soon after. It’d been the truth, too, as hypocritical as it seemed.
“I like your voice in the mornings.” The comment is out of the blue, calling Rey’s attention back to Shou. They set their fork aside to free their hand, reaching out in an unnecessarily fast movement to rest the tip of one nail against the hollow of Rey’s throat, gentle in pressure. Like it’s no big deal to do so. “It’s deeper and less smooth.”
“Thanks?” Rey’s hand has only twitched with the intention of pushing Shou’s hand away before it’s already gone, withdrawn by their own accord and accompanied by short, tinkling laughter. In this case he knows it’s probably because of the heat scorching high in his cheeks, but he’s too distracted by how easily the simple touch had come to Shou to retaliate as he usually would.
—
Rey talks both often and enthusiastically about his culture but never seems to touch upon some of the most basic things. He talks little about himself in relation to his people and even less about social conventions. It’s not very often that Rey does something when around other people that’s considered impolite, and it’s even less often that he’s confused by how somebody else acts in a social situation, but Shou is always a step away to effortlessly smooth things over whenever these times arise.
Though, Shou often ruins grateful looks on the boy’s face with their poorly hidden grins of merriment over his blameless ignorance. It’s never mean, really, just a playful indulgence to their own amusement that Rey probably only allows because Shou makes a point at giving short explanations for his intellectual gain.
Recently, Shou has made something of a game out of Rey. That was the entire purpose of traveling with him at first, of course. He was amusing and therefore deserving of Shou’s company. Shou’s never been blind to how Rey shies away from their touch, never quite fast enough to realize what’s happening before a soft hand is already on his shoulder or a playful caress being laid across his cheek.
Shou knows discomfort when they see it, knows it too well in the stiff lines on Rey’s body, but the reactions during this game are anything but. The stillness comes from a curious restraint. It’s as though Rey wants to lean into the touch, but, instead, does the opposite.
It has Shou absolutely fascinated, and puts their cunning to good use, finding any and every excuse to get closer to Rey.
What they’re truly interested in is having their sleeping bags next to one another. After several failed attempts and Rey getting overly cross about Shou’s smothering, they had honestly admitted that they liked to sleep with their back to something solid. For a moment they thought maybe Rey would relent, but he had only moved his sleeping bag to the opposite side of the fire, as per usual.
Tonight is no different and Shou sighs delicately, but theatrically, to themself.
“Rey, do you not like it when I do things like hug you?” Shou has no visual of Rey, tucked into their sleeping bag as they are, and the burning of wood and popping of tree sap neatly covers up everything but Rey shifting in his own blankets.
“I’ll stop, if you ask me to..” Their offer is as genuine as the provocative tone underneath. They’ve gotten absolutely nowhere with their game recently, so it seemed well enough to force Rey’s hand in the matter.
“I won’t ask you to do that.” Shou has never heard such a stubborn and uncertain reply before, brows knitting as they stare up at the starry sky. As if sensing that Shou’s prepared to press the subject, Rey cuts them off before they can start. “Go to sleep, Shou. I’m tired.”
“Alright.” Sleep isn’t something that Shou needs like a regular person, so instead they close their eyes, pretend, and adjust to the sounds around them until they can hear Rey’s uneven breathing over the sound of the fire.
—
He doesn’t sleep, or, rather, he doesn’t realize when he’s gone from stressed worrying into restless dreaming. He practically jerks awake, eyes snapping open with no gauge as to how much time has passed since he last closed them. The moon still sits, small and slivered, just off from its highest point.
“Shou?” The name feels thick in Rey’s mouth and comes out quieter than he’d meant, which is good because less panic follows in turn.
“Rey.” His name is purred back without missing a beat, seemingly disembodied amongst the contrast between dark night and jumping firelight.
“Are we friends?” Rey’s heart beats a little faster, adrenaline suddenly coursing through him and making his hands twitch because he’s frozen, but wants to run away. He doesn’t know why he asked that. He shouldn’t have, it was dumb, it was —
“I like to think so,” Shou replies, honest and easy. Rey surprises himself with a choked-out breath and bites his bottom lip as tears begin to well and burn in his eyes. “I’ve thought so for quite some time.”
Try as he might, Rey can’t completely smooth out the hitching in his breath, and doesn’t want to call attention to the fact he’s now crying by wiping away the hot trails racing down his face. He’s exhausted, overwhelmed, and none the wiser when sleep blindsides him for the second time that night, dreams undisturbed and serene.
—
Privately, Shou is enthralled with Rey’s uncontrollable show of emotion. He’s trying to quiet himself, sure, but Shou can hear almost every delighted, wracking sob his body is trying to produce for the revelation. Rey can be private, at times, and this open display of his emotions is deliciously refreshing. The boy is absolutely vulnerable and Shou is just —
Well, elated.
After Rey is subdued by fitful sleep, Shou stands and ghosts around the fire towards him in a state of Zetsu. Sitting down beside him, Shou bravely reaches out to bush away some of the dried-on salt with the pad of their thumb.
“What a stubborn, lovely boy,” They murmur to themself, rubbing the salt between their fingers to feel its gritty texture. Shou pulls their legs up to prop their chin on their knees, entertaining themself for a while by watching the mesmerizing lapping of reds and oranges from the fire’s light as they brush over their friend’s sleeping face.
I don't really do these things, but my kohai needs me.
I can't talk about myself q.q
Tagged by: Law
Nicknames: Psycho, Sieg, Guts, Levi(athan),
Birthday: 27 may.
Gender: Female.
Sexual Orientation: Ace.
Height: Somewhere around 1.65, I believe (?)
Favorite Color: Black (yes I know, black isn't a colour, let me act like it is) and red. People call it crimson red but... still red.
Time & date at current moment: 23:44, december 21.
Average hours of sleep: 4
Last thing I googled: deep purple discography
First word that came to mind: Crown
One place that makes me happy: The Polovragi Cave is pretty chill.
How many blankets I sleep under: 2 (because winter)
Favorite Fictional Character: Yagami Light. We are alike in so many ways that it scares me.
Book: I read many books about WW2, but some people may feel uncomfortable with the subject, so I choose Misery/The Shining/The Green Mile by Stephen King. Any book by Stephen King, he is an amazing writer.
Animation: Death Note is my number 1, I will never forget it. Death Note ruined me so bad...
TV Show: Oz. Really interesting show about a prison and different kinds of people. Something like the anime "Rainbow", but more brutal and no friendships.
Favorite Beverage: Cappuccino counts, right?
Favorite Food: Spaghetti = cool.
Last movie seen in cinemas: Guardians of the Galaxy, I think.
Dream wedding: Uh, I don't want one.
Dream job: serial killer Hard question. I don't know what I'm gonna do tomorrow. Jobs are too hard for someone like me.
Tagging: I barely talk with my mutuals oooh. 5 should be enough.
Noctalie, she is pretty and beautiful and french and funny and oui oui take me.
Broccellati, the reason I started jjba, beautiful and german and she knows how amazing is illumi's butt.
yarusnow, amazing Hisoka, they seem really nice but I'm shy so oh yeah.
Rules: Just insert your answers to the questions below. Then tag at least 10 followers.
Name: Anjali
Nicknames: Don't really have any. Occasionally 'Wife'.
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Hetro
Height: Half a centimetre shorter than my dad. It's infuriating.
What time and date it is there: 00:24, 21/12/14
Average hours of sleep: Not enough. 5 to 7-ish?
OTPs: Oh no the eternal question is how many do I put down? Just finished LoK so Kainora is still adorable (but no interaction in book four at all??). Also SPOILER The Korrasami ending was also cute.
Okay all I can seem to think of is Tamaki and Haruka from Ouran High School Host club and Ellie and Haru from Rave Master waaaay back in the day.
The last thing I Googled: French castle prices. I have recently discovered I could own a badly insulated but still dream-fulfilling castle in the middle of the French countryside for not nearly as much as I would expect.
What I last said to a family member: How much dessert is too much dessert?
One place that makes me happy and why: Movie theatres? I've never had a bad day out seeing a movie with friends and I do quite enjoy a good film so yes.
How many blankets do I sleep under: I sleep under two quilts. I am a cold-blooded child and as such proper insulation must be acquired and utilised.
Favourite beverage: HOT CHOCOLATE IT WARMS THE SOUL.
The last movie I watched in the cinema: The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies. Still trying to figure out what the fifth army was.
Three things I can’t live without: Maths, a piano, the internet. Too little of any of these and I become a very unhappy bunny.
Something I plan on learning: All the amazingness of the fourth spatial dimension. Also how to cook edible things without injuring myself in the process.
You HAVE to listen to this song: Nooooo there are so many but one that has actually had me in tears before and certainly with goosebumps every time I hear it is 'Romatic Flight' from the How To Train Your Dragon soundtrack. It's so beautiful and wonderful and it makes me so happy I just... just go here and enjoy the genius of John Powell.
As for more of a song song, Warriors by Imagine Dragons for Lol's world championships is epic and the animation in the MV is glorious so go watch that too.
Okay I'm pretty sure some of you guys have already been tagged but I shall tag you again anyway.
I tag iwishiwasbuffy, imaginarypirateninjabot-frommars, yarusnow, drinkingteawithhellhounds, storrmynights, kigamin, amiraswift13blog and anyone else who might want to do it!
I'm going to be predictable and say that Shou is always extremely put off when they meet someone interesting but said person is too hung up on what Shou's "real" gender is and what they look like under their clothes. To Shou their close-mindedness is at fault and they will sulk at the missed opportunity to want to hang around someone who could have entertained them.
