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Shouichi was supposed to be relaxed yet the tension was still there. Although the battle was over and everything returned to normal, he still felt the nagging at the back of his mind. It was as if something was trying to tell him danger was still out there. Of course, he knew danger was imminent, especially in his line of work.
Byakuran had scarred him good. He had anxiety from constantly overthinking about how danger, like the former Millefiore leader, was still out there. To be frank, it felt like he wasn’t out of his grasp yet. He can feel the fingers of his white-haired best friend wrapped around his neck. Freedom yet to be found.
His eyes closed for a moment. His body sunk into his mattress. He finally calmed his mind down but he knew this peace wouldn’t last long. He desperately clung onto the hope of slumber claiming him for one night. Just as he found himself in the land of sleep, he jolted awake right as Byakuran’s face crossed his mind.
How was he to escape the clutches of this horrid man? Even after death, he does not leave Shouichi alone. He was tired. Exhausted from this reoccurring routine, the red head slung his legs off the bed. He breathed a tired sigh, his eyes felt heavy.
Just how much longer did he have to suffer? He craved sleep like an addict.
Finally giving up on sleep for the umph time this month, he shuffled himself to the kitchen of the Vongola base. He rubbed his eye drowsily. His feet stumbled unstably as he entered the lit room.
Wait, lit? The lights should be out and everyone should be asleep. He stared at the body digging around the fridge. He made out a sleeping cap on the figure. There’s only one person in this entire structure who slept with a sleeping cap.
“Spanner,” he called out to his best friend, “why are you up?”
The mechanic pointed to the companion he was with. Shouichi hadn’t noticed the extra presence until now. His brain finally registered who it was a short moment later.
“Lambo-san. You’re here too…” he muttered, surprise evident in his voice.
Lambo, donned in his trademark cow pajamas, raised his hands filled with food from the fridge. He shook them to show Shouichi what the two of them were going to do before the redhead interrupted.
“Do you want some? Breakfast is in a few hours anyway.” Lambo lazily smiled.
Shouichi had not realized it was this late at night (or perhaps, early in the morning) already. Time passed by so agonizingly slow, yet so bleary fast. How long has he been suffering like this? He couldn’t tell anymore.
He could only tiredly uplift the corner of his lips before they slipped back down to its neutral position. Spanner and Lambo glanced at each other, nodding their heads understandingly and returning to making what’s supposed to be breakfast for everyone. They kept a careful eye on the tired male. Spanner would make small, unnecessary conversations about his projects, both successful ones and failed (but informative) ones. Lambo asked questions in-between about anything he didn’t comprehend since there were some technical terms that Shouchi and Spanner understood but he didn’t. Shouichi, albeit had exhaustion written all over his face, listened intently to his best friend’s words.
His eyes began to wane downward. Was sweet release finally coming in the form of sleep? He couldn’t help the small smile that graced his lips as his head lolled toward the table. Spanner noticed his lack of bare minimal reaction and stopped talking. He caught the redhead’s head before he slammed against the wooden surface at full force. After placing Shouichi’s head on the table, he stood straight and swished his lollipop to one side. His eyes darted around for something to cover the tired genius.
Lambo threw a blanket his way with an explanation, “I used to sleep here all the time as a kid. Let’s not ask why though.”
Without further interrogation, Spanner draped the blanket over Shouichi’s body.
“I wish he would rely on us more.” Lambo sighed, setting the table with food for the two of them. He had wrapped the rest in containers for everyone else to eat when they woke up.
“It’s hard to build up trust after all that has happened to him. He took a gamble with Tsuna,” Spanner paused as he looked fondly at his hardworking close friend. He could empathize the hardship Shouichi went through. Timeline after timeline. Failure after failure. When all hope was gone, he continued moving forward. He strived for victory despite the defeat in every route he took. Spanner envied the mental strength Shouichi had but at the same time, he wished he was able to share the burden he had to carry all that time.
“I’m really proud of him.”
His last statement was uttered too softly to reach Lambo’s ears clearly, who in turn hummed in confusion but was softly dismissed shortly after. The two took a glance at Shouichi to make sure he was getting the sleep he deserved. The redhead was knocked right out with drool beginning to pool on the table that neither of them bothered to wipe for the time being.
“So…” Lambo began and the two launched into a quiet conversation while waiting for everyone to awaken.