Sounds In The Night

P.O.V. - Third Person
Mature Themes - Mild Swearing/Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Artwork by EmurinnARTIST (DeviantART)
(A quick thank you to mariosonicfan16, TaurusDoodles and eli_art.cosplay on Instagram for proofreading the story <3)

Arthur has always been a light sleeper; the slightest noise can disturb his sleep and it can take him hours to return to his slumber. In a sense, as a Fire Soldier that may be needed at any time of the day, this is a blessing. To Arthur however, he only sees it as a curse, especially with roommate, Shinra, who just so happens to have a habit of tossing and turning in his sleep. A lot.

Arthur can hear Shinra's every movement as the bunk bed slowly creaked every time he so happens to turn in his sleep; he can hear his light snoring as he falls into a deep sleep, and his light grunts all throughout the night. He isn't loud per say, but it still disturbs Arthur to no end. Then again, almost everything Shinra does irritates him; they're always butting heads and are always at each other's throats over something, even if it is the most miniscule thing they could ever argue over. Arthur does not hate him however, quite the contrary - Arthur has quite the soft spot for the guy, although he would never admit that aloud to anyone

It was a normal night for the Company; the crew had returned from an infernal fight and were exhausted. After a quick debrief, everyone left for their own quarters. Arthur stretched and yawned loudly as he untied his hair and flopped into bed, watching Shinra climb up to their bunk above his. He was hoping to get at least an hour or two of sleep tonight, especially after such a hard fight; no one was expecting that Infernal to be as tough as it was. Arthur sighed with content, yet as he slowly closed his eyes, hoping for the drowsiness to take over, they shot open once again; something felt... off. For once, he could not hear any noise come from above; no creaks from the bed, no snoring, no nothing. Shinra must have been really worn out if he had fallen asleep without much of an issue. Usually, Arthur would see this as an absolute blessing, however it didn't feel right to him; Shinra always kicked about for at least half an hour before falling asleep, yet no noise came at all... Curious and even a little worried his roommate, Arthur got up out of bed, before climbing up the bunk bed ladder partially to check up on him. Shinra was facing the wall, his eyes closed, yet it was not clear if he had fallen asleep. Still, seeing that Shinra was indeed resting was enough to put Arthur at ease for the time being. Gently, he climbed back down and hopped back into bed, a faint blush tinting his face ever so slightly. Arthur felt his flustered face, then sighed, burying his head into his pillow; he knew what this was.

It had started out as mere admiration for Shinra; he strived to become a hero. He trained and studied hard every day back in their Academy despite almost every student and teacher looking down upon him for his past. He was demonised, labelled as a 'devil', yet he did not let these words take him down. He was brave and courageous, willing to fight to the bitter end just to save one life, and he was skilled. Arthur may never admit it, but he was once envious of Shinra. But now, that envy and has faded and fused with his admiration for the so called 'devil' into something... Different. Now, Arthur saw Shinra in a different light, one that made him feel confused; he desired to be closer to Shinra and the mere thought of the boy made his heart a flutter. It was an awful yet oddly comforting feeling to him

Arthur let out a long sigh as he felt himself staring at the bottom of the top bunk, his thoughts swirling about the boy he knew was now fast asleep above him. Even without any noise to distract him, the thoughts he had were more than enough to keep him up for at least a few minutes, precious time he could have used in a healing slumber. Eventually, Arthur let out a yawn, the drowsiness finally taking over him. He shifted in his bed ever so slightly as his eyes fluttered shut, slowly slipping into a light slumber...