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Lance couldn’t really sleep.
It’s nothing new, he’s spent nights studying a test before, so a night or 2 shouldn’t really be too much.
But it’s been going on for about a week now, he hasn’t kept count.
There’s been a surge of ghost stories in Easton recently, and ever since he’s caught wind of some of them, Lance hasn’t been able to sleep soundly despite how tired he is.
Normally, all of his problems can be solved with the help of his sister, Anna, but it seems as though no amount of Anna he surrounds himself him can help him out of this one.
There are bags under his eyes and he’s almost sure Mash and the others have been giving him worried glances in class, though his cranky attitude might’ve warded them off from asking.
Being only able to take a quick nap in and between class was probably the only reason he’s still functioning.
The silence of his room has made Lance even more acutely aware of his surroundings, the sound of wind sounds like howling and who knows what’s making that creaking noise.
This can’t continue, if his grades slip he’ll need to stay behind and he can’t visit Anna for the holidays, which would be infinitely worse than any supernatural entity.
Mash and Finn are already dorm mates and he didn’t want to wake up two people at once, Lemon is in the girls dormitory so that really only leaves one option .
Lance clutched his Anna locket and grabbed a pillow. It took him all his courage to get out into the hollow hallway and knock.
Waking up Dot would be the least guilty, thus most logical option.
————————
Dot was never a superstitious person, he didn’t really believe in ghosts and all that even though he lives in a world where magic was the norm.
So he thought nothing of it when the rumour circulated around campus, swept it to the back of his mind and forgot about it entirely.
However he’s almost inclined to believe it now.
It’s quite rude,really. To be suddenly dragged out of dreams of sweet nothings, but the frantic knocking from the other side would probably be enough to scare anyone awake. It certainly startled Chutaro Nabe.
Dot’s more tired than scared, he didn’t really want to get up, could probably sleep through the noise if it weren’t for Chutaro crawling and hiding up his shirt.
So much for “Handsome warrior of Destruction”.
Doesn’t really leave much of another option other than to open the damn door now that he’s awake, maybe even give the ghost or whoever’s on the other side a good scolding for scaring his mouse friend.
____________
Dot, still tired, is greeted by the sight of the double liner he calls his rival (frenemy?), visibly shaking and clutching a giant plush of his own sister.
“What the actual fuck are you doing here, you tryna start a fight, pretty boy? Hey-”
Lance pushed pass Dot (and the mouse under his shirt I suppose) and dashed into the redhead’s dorm room.
The room welcomed him with the scent of tea leaves, it looked neater than what he would’ve expected in the dim light, just barely able to make out the silhouette of a violin in the shadows as his eyes got used to the room. But then again he didn’t expect much or anything from Dot anyway.
Despite them being friends (if you could even call them that half the time) for almost a year now, he didn’t really know that much about the other. Defying expectations is something Dot constantly does he suppose.
He would want to hear Dot play the violin though.
“Ok. First you made a ruckus at my door and now you just rush in, do you care to explain yourself?” Dot said as he relocked his door.
“…can I stay here for the night?” Lance muttered, voice just slightly louder than the mouse that was scared by his knocking earlier, and the anger dissipated from Dots face, replaced with genuine shock as he turned around “I’m sorry, what???”
Lance was still shaking, visibly calmer than before as he hugged his giant Anna doll tighter.
“I asked if I could sleep here tonight, thug...”
His voice is still quiet, his normally coolheaded demeanour now shy.
He has no right to still look this good while scared, Dot thought.
“I mean, you’re here already, aren’t you? “
There are only a few things that would scare the cyan haired boy this much,and as much as Dot hates Lance and his dumb face, seeing his usual independent demeanour break down into the desperate mess in his room, he couldn’t help but soften at his request. It’d just be cruel to deny someone in their time of need, no matter how strong the urge to punch them is.
“You can take the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor… wouldn’t want any ghosts or whatever to grab you first, right? Go lie down on my bed while I set up a futon.”
Lance begrudgingly agreed to Dot’s flawless argument and arrangement.
The bed smells mostly of gunpowder with a hint of brass, surrounding him as watched the red boy pull out a futon from under the bed, ultimately dozing off.
___________
“What was that.” Lance jolted up to survey the room for the third time that hour, he was still on high alert, seems like the change in surroundings wasn’t of much help.
“It’s probably just Chutaro Nabe, now can you please go back to sleep before I bite you ?” Dot answered from the floor, grogginess in his voice.
“Can’t sleep.” Lance stated as he stared at the ceiling into the nothingness.
He wasn’t scared per se , and he wasn’t not tired either, exhausted even, but for some reason he still can’t let his guard down enough to sleep soundly, even with the Anna plush still snug in his arms.
It’s like his brain and consciousness were fighting, none of them winning or losing, resulting in Lance’s continued insomnia.
“You want me to sleep with you ?” Dot half jokingly offered to lighten up the mood, expecting a scoff in return.
The prideful bastard on his bed would most likely just ignore him.
“ …I don’t suppose that the floor would be as comfortable as your bed here, would it?”
Silence once again filled the air between the boys, making Lance almost regret his answer before Dot broke the silence as he crawled into bed. “Scoot over “ a weight to the mattress was soon followed by the fumbling of sheets.
The scent of gunpowder and brass grew stronger.
Warm
Dot had his back faced towards Lance in embarrassment when the cyan boy turned to face him, face far too red for him to face Lance. “..Thanks”
Dot turned to face Lance when the blush on his face died down a little, only to be met with soft snores from the other, heavy eyelids with long lashes closed in place of his normally cold azure eyes.
Dot and Lance’s interactions mostly end up in silly quarrels or fist fights, but even Dot had to admit that the star reflected sea he calls irises are to drown in. Mostly icy and hard to approach, the peaceful look so rarely seen by Dot almost makes him melt inside.
To think the stubborn siscon Lance Crown would come to him for help as a friend filled him with some pride, and the sight of the sleeping boy almost makes his heart skip a beat.
It feels almost intimate, lying down next to him, both unnatural and natural at the same time.
Though it’s most likely a one time thing, that Lance would just never mention it again after his wake and it would just be another secret kept between them. Amiss their constant fights Dot yearns for this sometimes.
Soon, Dot too has drifted back to sleep, slipping into his dreams of sweet nothings once again.
______________
It was the brink of dawn when Lance awoke, his mental alarm tends to wake him early, the fact that he was a light sleeper didn’t help much.
Despite only the few hours of rest he’s gotten, it was surprisingly the most well rested he’s been in quite a while.
He looked at the single liner beside him, fangs baring while he lied there in the wildest position. Lance wanted to get up, but with their lower limbs entangled, he supposed he could sleep in a little longer.
_______________
“You got drool on my shirt asshole!” “Well, you weren’t any better stealing all the blanket, were you ?” Their usual quarrel ensued and everything returned to normalcy as they entered dorm room 302 for their regular meet-up.
Finn’s observation of a more well rested Lance was not mentioned but was duly noted. Lemon was mostly just glad Lance was ok, while Mash kept quiet on the change in atmosphere between the two.
The nightly knocks that ring in the hallway of the Adler Dorm spawned more speculation on the spirit that resides, which persisted throughout the whole semester.
Funnily enough , the knocking stopped around the time Dot and Lance requested a shared dorm room, but that was most probably just a coincidence.