Laptop’s barely breathing (in fact, it’s working pretty well with me now – so it would probably be dead tomorrow), desktop’s temporarily dead, writer’s block… yes. YES. I fail in life.

Now, about Sleep, well, I wanted to write simple fluff without much conflict, so don’t expect any underlying meanings or anything.

Story notes: Story is set during the earlier parts of the story – sometime like, one to two months after Ryoma and Sakuno’s first meeting.

All disclaimers apply.

To astraldrop11. Happy ninth of March!

SLEEPTALK

by neko11lover

Seishun Gakuen was buzzing with excitement that late afternoon, particularly, at the entrance. Long, white tables were duly lined up, backed with each club’s president, vice-president and secretary, and different fliers were being passed around by members of the student council. Music was blaring from a nearby stereo, and some teachers were standing watch, looking like they wanted to be anywhere else but there.

It was the school’s annual club camp activity.

Every year, they gave clubs a chance to spend a night in school, entitling each with a room of their own. Only a few clubs used to attend, but this year was special. Their school’s famous tennis club would attend – for the first time since anyone remembered. All eyes were on the table manned by the silent Kunimitsu Tezuka, with the female captain sitting nervously beside him. His vice-captain, Oishi, together with Fuji, were both standing behind him, ready to be ordered.

“Oishi.”

The vice-captain perked up at the sound of his name; finally, Tezuka was actually going to ask him to do something. “Yes? Anything I can do to help?”

Skimming the registration papers, he gave Oishi a short glance. “Everyone’s late.”

Fuji chuckled. “Very much like them, Tezuka,” he commented. “Though I recall seeing Momo around a few minutes ago.” He took the registration paper in Tezuka’s hand and looked through it quickly. “They’ll be coming for the new kid, won’t they?” he added, chuckling a bit.

Tezuka took the paper back and brought it down the table. “I’ll have them run thirty laps around the school,” he said impassively, his face unchanged.

“It would be perfect with Inui’s new concoction,” Fuji nodded in agreement, and laughing a silent ‘fufufu’ under his breath.

Oishi, who had broken into a strange, cold, sweat, could only watch the two, while backing away quietly. “I… I think I need to go to the bathroom.”

--

“Sakuno-chaaaan!”

Ryuzaki Sakuno turned around, a bright smile on her face. “Mou, I thought you wouldn’t come!” She stopped, thinking for a while. “I thought you didn’t join any club?”

“Nonsense!” Tomoka exclaimed, pointing at the strip of cloth tied to her forehead. “I’m the president of Ryoma-sama’s fan club, silly! In any case,” she lowered her voice, “I’m undercover as a member of the Lit Club, since the principal won’t sign the fan club’s papers. Ryoma-sama’s Fan club must live on!”

Sakuno could only smile in embarrassment, as she tried to quiet her friend down. “By the way, Tomo-chan,” she began, hoping to change the topic. “Have you read the itinerary? There’ll be star gazing tonight, sponsored by the astronomy club!”

“Oh, it would be fun if we could really watch,” Tomoka said, pouting a bit. “But they’re stingy jerks and they’ll probably hog the space! How about we go watch alone?”

Sakuno smiled brightly, clapping her hands together. “Yes, I’d love that! Let’s meet at the south rooftop ten minutes before midnight! It would be so much fun!”

--

“Did you hear that, Momo?”

Momoshiro nodded eagerly, his grin stretching from ear to ear. He went back into the bush he was hiding behind, together with two of his upperclassmen. “Sure did, Eiji-sempai!” he replied, giving his red-headed senior a thumbs-up. “What do you think, Inui-sempai?”

Inui finished jotting on his small notebook and his glasses glinted knowingly. “Perfect. There would be 95 percent chance that Ryuzaki-sensei’s granddaughter would definitely watch that. Echizen’s interest in stars would be about one percent at most, considering the data I have on him now, but it could be done, given perfect planning.” He glanced at Eiji. “What do you think, Eiji?”

“Nya, easy, easy!” He rubbed his hands together.

“Okay,” Momoshiro said, slinging his arms over Eiji’s shoulder. “Plan: Get Echizen a Love-Love Experience During Club Camp Day will be a definite success!”

--

Meanwhile, Echizen Ryoma pedaled quickly because ten minutes ago, he had woken up late from his afternoon nap and realized that he had completely forgotten about the club camping that day. He wondered if they’d be allowed to play matches at night (maybe he could sneak in a match or two with Fuji) or if the school’s vending machine would be open 24-hours. You never know when you began craving Ponta in the middle of the night.

--

11:55 PM

“Here she comes!” Momoshiro hissed as a silhouette of a girl with two long pigtails passed by the tennis club’s assigned room’s windows. “Just as you said she would, Inui-sempai!”

Inui pushed up his glasses. “98.9 percent that Osakada would get engrossed in reading love novels and fall asleep quickly. Same percent for Ryuzaki trying to wake her up for five minutes and giving up quickly.” He pushed up his glasses again. “My data is perfect.”

Quickly, Eiji ambled over to a lightly snoring Ryoma at a nearby futon. Without warning, the redhead jumped onto him and began shaking him wildly. “Wake up! Wake up! Hoi, hoi, Echizen! Nap time’s over!”

The three heard Ryoma groan and push Eiji away. The boy had been asleep for more than an hour, right after he had a small match with Kaidoh in the courts and showered. Everyone else was sleeping, as well, especially after finishing Tezuka’s assigned laps, and drinking Inui’s juice. Good thing Eiji and Momoshiro managed to talk him out of it.

Momoshiro followed Eiji and bent over his kohai, eyes sparkling in excitement. “We’ve got it all set up with you, Echizen! Go get her!”

Ryoma ignored them and pulled the covers on his head. “Ngh, leave me alone…” he muttered, rolling so that his back was onto his sempai.

But Momoshiro and Eiji were having none of that. At a count of three, both of them held onto Ryoma’s blanket, and pulled them away from the boy, revealing a curled-up Ryoma in baby-blue pajamas. Fighting the urge not to laugh, the two hoisted the young boy up, and slapped him lightly on the cheek.

Ryoma scowled, but before he could say anything, Momoshiro cut him off and placed his hands on the boy’s shoulder.

“Ryuzaki-chan’s going out to watch the stars, and you should watch with her.”

Ryoma swatted the hand off and frowned. “Why would I do that?” he asked, rubbing one of his eyes sleepily. “If you want, you go. Good night, sempai.” And he fell back onto the bed, curling up again.

Eiji pulled him up again. “This is your chance to prove your manhood, ochibi! Ryuzaki-chan’s waiting up there all alone, cold and lonely! You should go up there and cuddle with her!” He wiggled his brows at Seigaku men’s tennis club’s new Regular.

Ryoma’s eyes opened in attention, and he glared at Eiji without moving from his position. “No way,” he snapped. “Mada, mada dane!” He covered his head with his arm and refused to budge, even when Momoshiro tried to pry it off.

Inui broke the two off from Ryoma and calmly said, “Echizen, there is 76 percent chance that in five minutes time, your friend, Horio-kun, who secretly likes astrology, would go up to the south rooftop to watch the stars.” He snapped his notebook close. “With Ryuzaki-san. Alone.”

And with that, Ryoma didn’t need to hear any more.

--

Sakuno sighed as she finished laying out a blanket on the ground. Dreamily, she sat on it and pulled her jacket closer to her. Her right hand reached for the nearby thermos and one of the glasses she brought up. She felt sorry that Tomoka wouldn’t be up to witness something so rare, but then again, she couldn’t miss it for anything.

Before she could twist open the cap, she heard the doorknob of the rooftop opening and she turned around.

“R-Ryoma-kun?!” she gasped in surprise, almost letting go of the hot thermos. She somehow imagined something like this happening, but never really hoped that it would. It was much too… plotted.

Ryoma looked distressed. Very. Under his eyes were light circles, like he was supposed to be sleeping and was deprived of it. His hair was disheveled, plus, his Regulars jacket was put on carelessly over his pajamas. As if reading her mind, the boy ran a quick hand through his hair before looking around curiously.

“A-Ano…” she began tentatively. “What are you doing here?”

Ryoma sighed in relief after scanning the rooftop before looking at Sakuno. “Nothing.”

“Oh.”

Ryoma walked over to the blanket and waited until Sakuno gave a fervent nod, that meant that it was alright to sit. He did so without hesitation.

Sakuno’s earlier relaxation all disappeared. Instead, it felt as if she was a bundle of nerves which grew a body – she felt stiff, uncomfortable and awkward. Not that she hated it. Of course, she didn’t.

Suddenly, the prince let out a wide yawn, without even bothering to cover his mouth.

“Are… Are you sleepy, Ryoma-kun?”

“Yes,” came the quick reply.

Sakuno flushed. “Then why are you here?”

He shrugged and leaned back to look up. “When does it start?”

Sakuno glanced at her wristwatch. “Um, I guess after the clouds clear up.” She looked up at him, wondering what suddenly brought him there.

Ryoma yawned again.

Remembering, Sakuno quickly took the thermos and handed it to Ryoma. “W-Would Ryoma-kun like some? It’s hot chocolate, from downstairs… I thought it would be cold tonight so I…”

Ryoma frowned as he stared at the thermos. “I want Ponta.”

Sakuno tried hard not to gape. Trying to recover from her surprise, she stammered, “Well, I’m sure they have some at the vending machine downstairs.”

“It’s tiring to go down there from here.”

Sakuno took a deep breath. “I-I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t have any here.”

“Oh,” Ryoma muttered, a bit disappointed. He said nothing more on the subject and asked something entirely different. “So, there’s no one else here?”

“Well… Tomo-chan fell asleep…” she began. “She must be tired from all the club activities… I heard they read books all day long.” She cocked her head curiously. “What did your club do, Ryoma-kun?”

“Tennis.” He paused. “And laps.”

Sakuno blushed, feeling embarrassed. “O-Oh.” Of course.

“What club are you in, anyway?”

“Mou!” Sakuno couldn’t help exclaim. She was the coach’s granddaughter, for heaven’s sake! And Ryoma must’ve seen her in her tennis gear before! “I’m in the tennis club!”

“Ah.” Ryoma nodded, looking at her from head to toe. “You don’t look very good.”

Her face flushed. “T-That’s true.”

Ryoma shrugged. “All it takes is practice,” he muttered. “It isn’t that hard. You just hit back the ball when it comes to you.”

An awkward silence crept up between the two, and Sakuno tried racking her brain for questions to keep the conversation going. God knows when the chance that Echizen Ryoma sat down next to her would happen again! At least, she should have him end the first impression that she was nothing but a mediocre tennis player!

After a few minutes of trying to gather her strength, she gave a small glance at her companion, and was surprised to find him in a glazed expression. His eyes were heavy and lidded – threatening to close any second – and his emerald irises were glassy with sleep. His head was propped up by an attempt to stay awake, yet it was obvious that he was failing.

“R-Ryoma-kun?”

Ryoma slowly looked at her, a dreamy smile on his face.

--

“Holy crap, I never thought this would happen!” Momoshiro exclaimed, grinning ecstatically at what he thought was Ryoma’s expression of love.

“The boy surely exceeded my expectations again – he’s always going out of my data range!” Inui said, scribbling on his notebook quick. “It's amazing! What he’s doing is 50 percent off my original percentage margin! I wouldn’t have expected it!”

“Ochibi’s a Casanova!” Eiji declared proudly. “Nobody could’ve guessed!”

“He is, isn’t he? Echizen’s growing up pretty well,” Momoshiro said dramatically, dabbing his eyes. “I’m so proud.”

Eiji nodded in deep agreement, his eyes teary and beaming.

--

Sakuno stared wide-eyed at the boy in front of her, somehow feeling strange. “A-Are you alright, Ryoma-kun?”

“Yeah…” he drawled, letting the words roll of his tongue. His eyes drooped dangerously, almost half-asleep. “It’s nothing…” He chuckled to himself.

Sakuno held on tight onto her blanket. Did she drug the chocolate or what? Suddenly, she felt helpless as Ryoma’s body swayed around groggily.

“You’re sleepy, Ryoma-kun,” she said firmly but gently, shyly holding him by one shoulder to keep him from falling. “Maybe you ought to go back to your room and sleep…”

“Of course I am,” Ryoma insisted, his eyes now closed, and his head waving from left to right. He pounded on the blanket. “But Horio’ll come and take you away!”

Sakuno gasped. “E-EH?”

“I won’t let him!” He pounded on the blanket again. He was sleep-talking now, Sakuno was sure. Then he growled.

Sakuno shook her head to clear it out of any mistakes she was starting to come up with. “You’re being silly, Ryoma-kun!” she announced, gaining strength at the thought that Ryoma was sleeping. “You need some sleep.”

“But I need to be here,” Ryoma mumbled under his breath. “Need to… need too…”

“No.”

“Yes!” Ryoma insisted further.

“No.”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“I said no, Ryoma-kun, so please just go to your room and get some sleep!”

“I said yes,” Ryoma mumbled, his lidded eyes opening slightly. “And I’m gonna kiss Ryuzaki to prove it!”

Sakuno shut her eyes tight, preparing herself for what happened next.

Nothing.

Sakuno shut her eyes tighter, counting for another ten seconds.

Still nothing.

Finally, she opened one eye, and found Ryoma’s head hung low. He was snoring lightly, as his hung head bobbed up and down in small movements. Realizing what had just ended, she took a deep breath and looked away.

She was disappointed, that was for sure, since she had somehow hoped that Ryoma WAS awake and WAS telling her all those things. But there was no way in the world that he could’ve, right? She was kidding herself, and she was acting selfish for acting like that, when all the while, she was aware that Ryoma wasn’t his usual self.

Sakuno, in truth, was very tempted to push Ryoma off the rooftop.

--

“What’s Echizen doing now?” Momoshiro demanded, trying to peek into Inui’s notebook. “Come on, sempai! That data of yours should at least tell us something!”

“I’ve trashed all data about Echizen’s love life and I plan to rework it soon.”

“But Inui!” Eiji said. “We’ve come so far! Couldn’t we go closer to hear them better? Ochibi looks really into talking! Look at how his head’s bobbing! It can’t bob like that when you’re not talking about deep, dark, secrets, right?”

Inui nodded. “I assume that, as well.”

“Jeez, I really want to hear them,” Momoshiro groaned. “But we should at least leave Echizen with his privacy.”

Inui looked disappointed, but he had to agree. He then stood up and dusted his sweatpants and shirt. “It’s time to sleep, boys.”

“Mou, but I want to watch some more, nya!” Eiji pouted, pulling his night cap closer to his head. “Maybe they’d kiss or something more, you know, interesting?” He smiled naughtily.

“Eiji-sempai!”

Eiji stuck out his tongue before standing up, at the same time as Momoshiro did. “Oh, well. There’ll be other times.”

--

12:30 AM

Soon enough, Ryoma fell sound asleep, sleeping up, and Sakuno almost forgot that he was there.

The deep black of the night was suddenly filled with small flickers of light, falling like a light drizzle. Her eyes widened at the sight and was about to turn to wake the boy up, when she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder.

She looked, and was surprised to find Ryoma’s head on it. Still snoring lightly, the boy was undoubtedly in deep sleep – his chest rising and falling in rhythm, his hair hitting the side of her face because of the night wind, his warm cheek – She shook her head, and focused on the sky, but she cannot anymore. All she could focus on was how hot her own cheeks felt.

--

12:45 AM

Soon enough, Sakuno found her eyes, closing slowly, slowly. Her head felt heavy, and she was unaware now. The burning in her cheeks had long gone. And soon, she let her head rest on a mop of dark hair…

Ryoma opened his eyes, feeling something touch him. He heard indistinct mumbles, and when he tried to listen harder, he heard his name.

Not wanting to fully wake up, Ryoma closed his eyes slowly and smirked to himself. Seigaku was definitely full of interesting people. His sempai-tachi who didn’t know how to hide very well, his buchou who loved making them run laps, and this girl, whose hair seemed too long and whose dreams seemed to obvious.

“Mada, mada dane.”

And he fell asleep again.

FIN.

Okay. I finished editing at 11:23 PM. Will be checking again at some other day, just so I could get it up today. Happy March 9th to astraldrop11 again!

Thank you for reading!

Neko11lover

PS You might’ve noticed that I don’t hang out much at as much as I used to. I’m over at livejournal with the same username, and writing in my own fic community at possiblechances(dot)livejournal(dot)com – and I plan to stay there instead of here soon. Mostly, all I’ve got there are 10-minute fics/drabbles and stuff like that. Some RyoSaku. It would be great if any of you dropped by sometime. (Btw, don’t let the amount of yaoi scare you. Just look at the tags and filter to your liking.)