The Sun and Moon in Tokyo

5: Perfection

On Tuesday morning, Tsukishima Kei awoke with a start. He had a nightmare-- an incredibly vivid and unreasonably complex nightmare with a clear plot-- and began desperately groping the pile of blankets beside him. He felt nothing besides the fabric of the comforter for the longest time as panic began to grip his every sense. And then-- suddenly-- a body. He threw the blankets down and clutched at the figure. Its skin was unnaturally warm and satisfyingly soft. Its hair was made of countless gentle curls. Its frame was small, but its muscles were defined. Yes-- Tsukishima could breathe again. Hinata was still with him.

A sigh of relief exploded into the darkness of the hotel room. "Kei? ...are you alright?", came the sleepy voice of the redhead as Tsukishima pulled their bodies as close together as possible. Tsukki wasn't ready to speak. He nodded into the back of Hinata's head, and the redhead snuggled back into him.

"I had a nightmare", Tsukishima finally confessed. With great effort, Hinata wriggled his way around Tsukishima's grasp so he could face the taller boy. "Do you want to talk about it?", Hinata asked quietly. The question was unexpected, but Tsukishima was grateful for the gentle option given to him. He shook his head 'no', and went back to inhaling the familiar, comforting scent of Hinata's hair.

The conversation the boys had the night before had apparently bothered Tsukishima more than he'd realized, so to the point where his unconscious mind had created a scenario based off of it. In his dream, Hinata had realized that their relationship was doomed to begin with-- he could never get into the same school as Tsukishima, so they wouldn't be able to be together for seven years at the bare minimum. But, Kageyama and Hinata got into the same school, and on a volleyball scholarship no less. They joined Japan's national team. And Tsukishima rotted, alone, abandoned by Hinata immediately at the end of their conversation about Iwaizumi and Oikawa. The nightmare had been so realistic that it took Tsukishima several minutes to sort out what had occurred in reality versus what was just a dream. Hinata didn't need to know what was bothering him; Tsukishima was just grateful the redhead was still there.

It was still dark out, though it was difficult to tell through the light-blocking curtains that not even the first of dawn's light touched the sky. Hinata had settled back to sleep after exchanging kisses with his sullen boyfriend, but Tsukishima was not able to do so himself. He just laid there, listening to Hinata's breathing, and worrying desperately about the future.

* * *

"Wow, you look terrible ... did you even sleep at all?", Hinata exclaimed upon returning from the bathroom. Tsukishima scowled at Hinata. He wasn't a morning person to begin with, but having the person he loved insult him first thing in the day was not going to make him any cheerier. Ignoring Hinata's question entirely, Tsukishima got out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. As he squeezed the toothpaste onto his toothbrush, Hinata came and wrapped his arms around the taller boy. "If you want to talk about it, I'm here", the redhead said sweetly as he buried his face in Tsukishima's back. Tsukki shoved his toothbrush in his mouth and began brushing furiously; at least, this way, he had a valid excuse not to talk. Hinata stayed attached to him for a few minutes before grabbing his own toothbrush and joining the taller boy. "You know--", Hinata started with a mouth full of toothpaste and foam, "dey ay at upples oo--" "Stop it", Tsukishima said, wiping his face with a towel. "There is nothing you could possibly have to say that is important enough for me to have to listen to this. " Hinata frowned at Tsukishima before grabbing a glass and rinsing out his mouth. "Mean!", Hinata admonished at the taller boy, who was trying to make some sense of what his hair was doing. Tsukishima spared only a glance at the redhead before turning back to his own problem. "As I was saying ", Hinata said with a frown, "They say that couples who brush each other's teeth have a more intimate and trusting relationship or something like that...". Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at the smaller boy through the mirror. "Where the hell did you hear something like that?", he asked, astonished. Hinata blushed slightly and replied, "I read it!". "...where?", asked Tsukishima, narrowing his eyes at the redhead, who only began blushing more. "I-- I just-- places! ", Hinata exclaimed, "If you don't want to do it, you could just say so!" Hinata stormed out of the bathroom, and Tsukishima followed him with a smirk. "That's not it. I'm just dying to hear where you say you 'read' this. Since, you know, you're claiming to have voluntarily read something." Hinata threw himself on the bed. "Shuddup", he mumbled, burying his face in the pillows. Tsukki went over and flopped next to him. "Aww", he said as he rubbed Hinata's bare back, "my wittle baby's so sensitive!" Hinata looked up from the pillow only to glare at Tsukishima once more before burying his face even deeper. In the brief moment his cheeks were exposed, the blonde could see that Hinata had-- somehow-- gotten even redder. Of course, he didn't mean to embarrass Hinata. Just... toy with him a little bit.