Drunken Lullabies

The moon scythe was shining shyly above the land of Aki, revealing the silhouettes of its placid hills.
It was a quiet night just like the others, but the breath of another person was filling the silence the man was used to.

Much time had passed since Motonari has enjoyed the presence of someone alive in his house. The perpetual mourning of that place made him forget how does it feel to fall asleep knowing that someone is there for him. Living his same present, breathing his same air.
However, the warm breath of the other man, with which he was sharing his bed that night, wasn't as comforting as it was supposed to be.
The scent of alcohol he was exhaling reminded him of something he hated. A memory lost in his past, a scene from his childhood which has haunted him for years.

His hand slipped on the other man's face analyzing its traits until his fingers ended up touching the scar on his left eye. There was a story on it he was ignorant about and he was even afraid to find out.
The Devil of the Seas, his greatest enemy, now just a harmless sleeping sheep covered in warm blankets, opened his eyes. He was still drunk, but the way he looked at his rival suggested that he, somehow, has gained enough lucidity to understand what was going on.

"Go to sleep" he grumbled, in a desperate attempt to catch his attention.

"I'm fine" said Motonari, tucking him in, "close your eyes now"

His voice has always had a strange effect on Motochika, who wasn't strong enough in that very moment to rebel against his orders: it was so flat he felt like he was singing a lullaby instead of scolding him.
It has always been like this: even in the middle of the hardest battles, his voice would remain flat and emotionless. With the sole exception, of course, of those situations in which someone dared to offend him. Rage was the only emotion he would allow himself to show in public, and Motochika hated it.

"Even when you're drunk, you don't seem to smile"

"I don't have any reason to"

"Oh, C'mon! Is that because of your defeat? I won fairly!" protested the pirate, with both eyes closed, "Is it too much if I ask you to give me a smile once in your life?"

Silence reigned again in that room.
Motonari was not going to reply to that question.
There was, actually, a reason for it and it was more deep, more painful than the Devil of the Seas could ever imagine.
And this time, it has nothing to do with their battle or their relationship in general.
The pirate opened his eyes again, staring at the wooden ceiling.

"Did you... Forget how to do it, aren't ya?"

"Why are you so talkative even when you're drunk?"

"Old habits never die, I guess" he said, laughing, the scent of Sake coming out his mouth.
The young tactician rubbed his eyes, tired. Pillow talks were for him the worst part of sleeping with someone. He just wanted silence and peace, he wasn't asking for much.

"It is called Yase-gaman*. Every man of honor should be able to do it”.

"Don't you think you're exaggerating with this stuff?"

Motonari turned his head to finally meet his gaze.
His brown eyes were as deep as the ocean, and in that night they even seemed able to glow in the dark. He almost felt like they were able to penetrate his defences, his lies.

"I guess, a disgusting barbarian like you would never understand”.

"Spare me your insults, I want a reply to that question”.

Silence.
The tactician sighed. In other occasions he would yell at Motochika and ask how dare him to talk like this, but this time he was too tired and he didn't intended to talk with a drunk delinquent. He just put his fingers through his white hair, whispering softly.

"Close your eyes. It's late, and you're drunk. One day, I'll tell you. Maybe"

At first, the pirate was surprised by his initiative: being concerned about someone in general wasn't like him, but the Devil of the Seas decided to let him win this time. He was tired too after all, and the warmth of the other's body was melting away every thought. Motochika surrounded the other's waist with his arms, in search of comfort, burying his head on his shoulder. The man tried to escape from his grip at first, but Motochika was way more stronger than him and in the end, he had to give up.

"You're a bastard, Motonari. I've always knew it"

He said, whispering at him and holding him tight.

"But the more you push me away, the more I want to pull you close to me”.

"Just shut up and let me go”.

"See? Call me a fool, but I love it when you try to resist me. I just can help!"

"But you are a fool. Now, let me go, I won't repeat it again”.

The pirate started laughing, "You liar! I saw how your body melted under my attention; you almost begged me with your eyes!"

"You're drunk”.

"And you're a liar”.

Silence reigned again, and Motonari decided to cut it off. If there was anything that he hated the most in these kind of situations, was that his mumbles had sense and it seems like he was still lucid after all.
He put an hand onto the other man's hand and closed his eyes. His warm breath on his neck sounded like a lullaby. It took them less than a minute to fall asleep, and just one night to forget all that had happened the day before.

*Yase-gaman (痩せ我慢) "fake stoicism", pretended endurance for the sake of pride. From 痩, "get thin", and Gaman (我慢) which is the Buddhist virtue of endurance or perseverance.