*Bows* Glad I could get you writing.
Now, it has been a long time since I could get myself writing for one of these. Thanks to Zickachik for the awesome beta job, since the writing was all over the place 
. A Morning Moment
By Tensleep
It was a rumble. Not like a fight, more like a sound, though you’d think there was a fight going on in the next room with the amount of noise rattling the pictures. I sighed to myself, shoving Soda over a little bit so I could breathe. Ok, maybe it wasn’t that loud, but when you were used to sleeping in a quiet house – at least at night – anything different was deafening.
You see, ever since Darry had taken that second job at the granary, he’d been snoring like a herd of elephants or a loud engine or something. Soda could sleep through anything, but the way it was reverberating through the wall just set me on edge and what sleep I did get was disjointed. Darry didn’t mean to be heard a county over; in fact, he seemed a little embarrassed when we mentioned it the other day, but the dust off the wheat clogged his sinuses no matter what he did. It looked like I would be sleeplessly gazing up at the ceiling a lot until Darry actually did find something better than the granary.
The truth of the matter was that Darry was lucky to get that job. There wasn’t much going on after hours that paid as well. For a while, Darry thought he would have to quit his steady roofing job to find something that paid more during the day. He was good at roofing, he was friends with the other roofers, and the hours were consistent, so he really didn’t want to give it up. That’s when the granary job popped up and Soda started giving Darry half his paycheck. We were okay for now. Okay was the best we could hope for after the accident four months ago.
I glanced over at the clock. It was nearly six. Darry’s alarm would go off in fifteen minutes and I could snag another hour or even hour and a half of sleep before we had to leave of school. Soda slung his arm over my chest again and pulled me close in his sleep. Soda was a cuddler and it didn’t help with my insomnia. I agreed that sharing a bed with him helped the nightmares, but I was still working on getting used to having someone else in the bed with me before I woke up hollering.
So I shoved Soda over again, watching as he clutched at his pillow instead. I folded my arms behind my head and watched the ceiling slowly lighten. The sun was rising, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep, period, if I somehow managed to pull myself out of bed to go watch it. I flexed my feet at the thought, causing the blanket to rustle. Soda twitched a little in response and I closed my eyes.
The rumbling noise through the wall was still there, just as deep and carrying as it had been every night of the past two weeks. I’d been pretending it was a far off engine so I could get to sleep over it, but it wasn’t working so well for me this morning. At least it was Friday. I usually used the weekends to catch up on missed sleep, if I could sleep over the general racket that built up around here, that is. But just the act of closing my eyes and focusing on nothing was relaxing.
I guess that was why I half-jumped out of my skin when Darry’s alarm clock went off. The rumbling snores stuttered, completely disappearing before the clock stopped ringing and rattling along Darry’s dresser top. I heard Darry groan loudly through the wall, his protest to the morning. I assumed he did that every morning, and not just the ones I was listening in on. Next would come the squeak of the bedsprings, then Darry’s feet on the creaky floorboards as he opened the door and padded down the hall to the bathroom.
The sound of the shower running was soothing and I sighed in relief this time. It was far enough down the hall to be a background noise and easy enough to sleep over. I could feel sleep tugging me the moment I heard it.
“Ponyboy!” Darry hollered. “You’d better get up or you won’t get to eat before school!”
I ignored him, flopping onto my stomach and fell back to sleep.
Suddenly there was giggling. Gasping, out of breath, hysterical giggles. It took me a moment to figure out they were coming from me. My eyes shot open to see Soda’s grinning face, his fingers firmly running over my sides. A moment later, I realize Darry is the one holding my arms over my head, keeping me from protecting my sides from the attack. I’m still gasping and choking from their touches when Darry let go and patted Soda’s shoulder.
“Rise and shine. There’s cake in the kitchen, Two-Bit’s in the living room, and there’re clean socks in the linen basket,” he announced, leaving the room. “So hustle up!”
Soda gave me a crazy grin and leant in close. “C’mon, Sleeping Beauty. You heard Darry.”
Still panting, I shoved Soda off the best I could and he rolled off the bed onto the floor, still smiling like there was no tomorrow. He was already dressed and showered, if the wet drops on my chest were any indication. So it didn’t surprise me when he didn’t stick around. I slowly got up as well, shaking my head.
No matter how grown up my brothers got, they would never out grow tickling me into hysterics. I hated that I was so ticklish when they weren’t, but the attention from both of them, to see both of them looking carefree for a few minutes…it was worth it.
Pulling on clean clothes for the day, I could hear the noise in the rest of the house. As soon as I stepped out my door, I’d be engulfed in it, like I was every morning.
And I wouldn’t have traded it for a single thing.
- End
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