No sleeping beauty, just an aching samurai~

[wavesoakedlegs]

Who: Akechi Mitsuhide (wavesoakedlegs) and Chōsokabe Motochika (behisstrength).
Where: Akechi-Chōsokabe home.
When: Today, early hours of the morning (2AMish).
Style: Prose.
Status: Closed.

~

He ached.

That was the first thing Mitsuhide was aware of, when he woke up. Almost every muscle in his body felt stiff and slightly painful; when he rose a hand to his head an unpleasant kind of heat shot down his arms. He groaned, slightly, and wearily opened his eyes.

The room was dark, telling him Vatheon was dimmed for the night, and at his side he could hear his lover, Motochika, breathing softly. It was no time to be waking up, yet he honestly felt like he had slept for far, far too long. After a few minutes he sat up, shook his head and tried to think. This was Vatheon, and in Vatheon... well, he probably had slept for too long, hadn't he? Turning to the side a little, he reached out to his bedside table and felt about until his fingers curled around his SFC.

A quick check of that confirmed it. Nearly two weeks asleep.

"Oh... good heavens..."

It was said almost inaudibly, in a frustrated manner. Well, it couldn't be helped.

Going back to sleep was definitely not an option, and he was sure he wouldn't manage it even if he wanted to. As consciousness flooded back he was becoming aware of other aches in his body, and its demands. He was more hungry than he had ever felt before in his life, and the moment he thought about eating, that was it. Despite the aches, he was up and out of bed.

The resulting dizziness prevented him from leaving the room, for a moment, but after righting himself and waiting for it to subside, he rushed to the bathroom.

After that, he tackled the two flights of stairs as quickly as he could manage (which was not, right now, very quickly at all) and headed straight for the kitchen. The hunger was too intense to even think about cooking something up, because that would take time. A quick investigation of the fridge revealed fresh leftovers, which he eagerly pulled out.

No time for a plate, or putting it out properly. He fished out a fork from one of the drawers, opened the container, and started to eat whilst still standing up.

Comments

[behisstrength]

Being caught in an enchanted sleep had not stripped Mitsuhide of his warmth; it was inevitable, then, that without Mitsuhide the bed would grow colder. Motochika stirred slowly and blinked his eyes open, taking a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark. He stroked his palm over the sheets then pushed himself up.

Mitsuhide was gone.

That meant only one thing: Mitsuhide was awake.

Motochika untangled himself from the covers and got out of bed, pushing aside his tiredness. First he checked the bathroom. It was empty, but recently used. He headed downstairs next and entered the kitchen.

The corners of his mouth curled upwards at the sight of Mitsuhide eating so ravenously, all elegance set aside to stave his hunger.

Life would fill their home again with both Akechi now freed.

"You have awakened," he said in greeting as he leant against the doorframe, his voice soft, warm and pleased.

[wavesoakedlegs]

Mitsuhide turned his head to regard the other man. He blinked.

"Yes," he replied, slightly embarassed, when he had finished his current mouthful; hunger didn't override his politeness, after all. "With a hunger more intense than I have ever known."

Walking across the kitchen, Mitsuhide sat on one of the stools next to the breakfast bar. He took a few more mouthfuls before saying anything further.

"I hope I did not worry you overly much, my Lord."

It was, in truth, still hard for him to think clearly. His hunger was far from satiated, after all.

[behisstrength]

Motochika padded over, taking the seat beside Mitsuhide. At an angle, he folded his arms on top of the breakfast bar and laid his head upon them, content to simply watch Mitsuhide eat.

"No," he answered.

Mitsuhide had at least looked peaceful as he slumbered. Perhaps he would have felt more concerned had Gracia not stirred yesterday.

Though it was undeniable that he had missed Mitsuhide's affection and embrace; Mitsuhide's elegance of motion and Mitsuhide's dark, thoughtful gaze; Mitsuhide's company on all levels.

"You will be glad to hear that Gracia has finally stirred."

[wavesoakedlegs]

Mitsuhide said nothing else until he had finished off the leftovers. He was still very hungry, but not so much that it was almost painful, anymore.

"That is very good to hear," he said, placing the fork down for a moment. "Such a long cursed sleep... I will not lie, I had began to wonder if something else was happening."

It had been a worry he had not dared voice, before now. Thank goodness he had been wrong in his suspicions that some darker power of Vatheon's had been at work; his child was safe and lively again. Tomorrow he could see her once more.

After a moment he looked around the kitchen, with considerable interest.

"...what do we have in the cupboards?" he asked. "I wish to make some hot food, now. It will fill me properly."

The topic was probably going to keep coming back to food, for a little while.

[behisstrength]

Motochika had been of the same mind, regarding Gracia's situation. Considering how strong her musou was and how easily she wielded magic, he'd started to wonder if Vatheon's sorcery affected her more deeply than others.

“Not much. But enough to fill you.”

Motochika shifted slightly to free one arm; he reached out and brushed his fingers against Mitsuhide's forearm, before he yawned.

[wavesoakedlegs]

Mitsuhide tilted his head, regarding his lover thoughtfully. His expression became something soft and loving.

"Lord Motochika, go back to bed," he said softly. "You are clearly not ready to be awake yet."

Reaching out, the samurai took the hand that had brushed his forearm with his own, squeezing it lightly.

"I do not think I will be falling back asleep tonight, but I will be fine."