The Sleepless

Chapter 1

The mattress wasn't too soft nor too hard, it had the perfect dip-body weight ratio. The pillow was fluffy and smelled nice. The blanket was comfortably heavy, yet cool against his bare skin. The bed was the most comfortable one Mo Guan Shan had ever laid in, yet he was painfully awake.

He was missing the chance of his life to sleep like fucking royals, and it was all He Tian's fault. The bastard, of course, was sound asleep in his own bed right next to him.

Frustrated, he sighed and flopped onto his back for the umpteenth time. He listened to the hum of the air conditioning and He Tian's steady breathing but instead of lulling him to sleep they became distracting.

What kept Guan Shan awake wasn't the noise, though, but the echo of He Tian's hand squeezing the back of his neck and pushing him against the mattress. Almost unnoticed, his hand reached back and knead the skin below the hairline. It didn't feel the same, though, when it was just his own fingers.

He Tian's breathing hitched, and the blankets rustled when he turned over. Soon his breathing started to catch in the back of his throat and every inhale carried a little snore with it.

Great, more noise.

Guan Shan fumbled for his phone on the nightstand and squinted when the bright light of the screen hit his eyes painfully. 3.19.

It hadn't been just the hand, either. There had also been thighs and a crotch pressing against his ass. The bastard had had the nerve to grind his hips when he had said he could help Guan Shan with the mysterious special service. The memory alone dipped the bottom of his stomach.

Annoyed Guan Shan pushed the suddenly suffocating blanket aside. He glared at He Tian and concentrated hard to send him bad vibes telepathically. Sleeping like a baby, the bastard, while ruining the night for others. Come to think of it, why were they even –

"Unn...Mmmhh..." He Tian's other hand twitched, and he made some incoherent sounds and half-mumbles. The sudden sounds in the darkness startled Guan Shan, and his heart nearly crawled out through his throat.

"Nngh! ...Ummh..."

The mumblings continued, and He Tian's hand jerked and thudded against the corner of the nightstand.

Was he dreaming? Should he wake him up? Had he really managed to float bad spirits across the room? Suppose he shouldn't have kidded around with that stuff.

Again, fumbling in the darkness he clicked the night lamp on. It cast a soft, dim light that was just enough for Guan Shan to take a better look at what was going on. Not that he was worried or anything. The mumbling was just kind of eerie, and there was no way he could sleep listening to it.

Whatever He Tian was dreaming about, it didn't seem like a happy dream. There was a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead glistening in the light. The corner of his blanket was twisted around his hand, and the fingers twitched rapidly clinging to the fabric.

"Mmhh..."

"Hey, idiot, shut up," Guan Shan hissed. "People are trying to sleep."

He Tian's breathing hitched, and for a moment Guan Shan cursed that he had woken him up. God knew the bastard would have misinterpreted that as an invitation for hanky-panky business. But He Tian didn't come to, just rolled over while remaining sound asleep. He had managed to tangle the blanket around himself in a way that it revealed his naked upper body.

Guan Shan averted his eyes from He Tian's bare back and busied himself with adjusting his pillow before laying down again. He still had a few hours to catch some Zs. While reaching for the light switch, he completely unintentionally glanced over to the next bed and cursed himself for being awake to care about useless things.

Quietly he got up and unfolded the bed cover he had bundled out of the way at the foot of the bed earlier and carefully pulled it over He Tian.

"This is just to save me the trouble of having to take care of your insufferable ass if you catch a cold or something," he muttered. "So, don't get any ideas."

The next morning, He Tian was the first to wake up. To find himself wrapped in two blankets – one of which wasn't even from his bed – was an odd but delightful surprise. He wondered if he would one day manage to tease the truth out of Guan Shan.