A Dadvid Oneshot by me :)
David lightly caressed his thumb. He examined his finger, happy to see the cut had healed quickly. David wasn't sure if it was because it wasn't that bad or if the cream he borrowed from CJ wasn't as legal as he said.
David managed to accidentally cut himself when he was clearing out Nurf's tent. In his defense, he was distracted by the fact that the campers were all alone in the woods at night. Maybe if he had told the truth from the beginning, the campers wouldn't have had a rebellion against each other—a "Lord of the Flies," Max called it. Oh well, there was no use sulking about it now. It had already been two weeks since then, and thanks to CJ and his 'ointments', the campers—and CJ himself—managed to grow their hair back almost instantly. He had to admit there were some positives to having CJ around.
David checked his watch. He hadn't quite outgrown his staying-up-late problem yet. David heard a snuffing sound from the other side of the cabin. He bit back a chuckle seeing his previous co-counselor drool like she always did. There was something so enchanting about seeing her relaxed. David figured he should get to bed. He stood up to turn off his lamp.
He paused. Someone was knocking on the cabin door. "Who could be up at this hour?" David thought, then chuckled. He tried to be as quiet as possible to not wake up Gwen or CJ. His footsteps seemed to echo as he made his way to the door. He turned around, still asleep. David mentally patted himself on the back. He twisted the door knob open and was surprised to see a mess of familiar black curls from his peripheral vision.
"Max?" David lowered his tone after he heard one of the bunks creak. "What are you doing awake? It's nearly one in the morning!" David whispered. Max didn't answer. He glared at the grass with his fists clenched, a sudden breeze making him shiver. It was strange to see Max without his hoodie, and it was even stranger to Max. He didn't know what to do with his hands without his hoodie pocket. "Max," David spoke again to catch his attention, "is something wrong?"
A moment or so passed until Max finally spoke up. "Everything feels loud." He said bluntly, as if he had to force it out.
David had to process that for a second. Everything feels loud? They are in a summer camp in the middle of the woods at night. It's anything besides loud at this hour. He wondered if maybe he misheard him, "Loud?" David asked again. Max nodded, still staring at the ground. David considered that some of those fumes from two weeks ago had gotten to him. Still, he kept trying to understand. It was his job after all.
That's when David noticed Max's bed head. He had been tossing and turning since lights out, trying to get to sleep, but some kind of non-existent noise is keeping him awake. David invited Max into the cabin to sort this out. As they went inside, David noticed Gwen and CJs snoring had died down. Thank goodness.
"Do you have a cricket in your tent?" David tilted his head. "No it's not that!" Max hissed. "I don't know. The world feels echoey or something!" Max complained as he subconsciously tried to shove his hands in his absent hoodie pocket. "I can't sleep."
David got to Max's level, "So, you say everything feels loud? How come?" David whispered. "I already told you, I don't know. It's just too quiet, and it makes everything feel loud." Max said once again with a little less patience. Suddenly it clicked. David had gone through the same thing once or twice. "Does it feel like there's a movie playing in your head? Like background noise?" David asked. Max's eyes widened. It was clear he didn't expect his counselor to understand what was going on. He finally made eye contact.
"It happens to me sometimes too. Your thoughts get so crowded to the point where you don't notice how quiet it really is." David said. Max couldn't believe what he was hearing. "He gets it," he thought. Max switched from eye to eye, as if trying to find out they're the same. Then David smiled that stupidly warm smile. Max scoffed. He knew he couldn't pretend David was wrong like usual, and he was too tired to backtalk. David seemed to take a hint, so he stood up. "Don't worry. My mom taught me a trick when I was around your age!"
"How exactly is this helping?" Max said into David's chest. "It's supposed to calm your nerves. So says my mom." David whispered. Max grumbled. He started to question why he went to David in the first place. David put his hand on his head. He nearly forgot how soft his curls were. Max growled as he swatted David's hand away. "Alright, alright," David chuckled. Somehow they always manage to have moments like this when either of them feel upset. When will Max learn. He sighed.
"When I was your age," he began, "I sometimes had trouble falling asleep too. So much that my mom came up with a trick to help soothe me to sleep." David beamed. "Was it Melatonin?" Max asked. "No. Mom knew I'd end up eating too many." Max grumbled as he shifted. He was lying down beside David, snuggled under his shoulder. It was more comfortable than his cot, but it didn't help him fall asleep. If anything, it made it worse. He was too embarrassed to fall asleep like this. "So then what was your moms method? You better not tell me to start counting sheep." Max had already tried that and failed. David set his palm on his back, to which Max was too tired to react. "Don't worry, mom knew that never worked for me either." He said softly. "Now, close your eyes, and pay attention to what's going on around you." David whispered, not sure if Max would follow along.
Max begrudgingly closed his eyes. He wondered if this would even work. "List what you hear, feel, or smell. Anything that you can note with your eyes closed, point it out." David instructed. Max clenched his teeth. He didn't want to do this, but he did want to fall asleep, so he closed his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, Max could hear the background noise in his head. Still, he listened.
"I hear... You breathing," he started. David was a little surprised that Max was following along. He must have been more tired than David thought.
"I hear crickets," Max continued. His breathing began to sync with Davids. "I hear my breathing." Max could feel his heartbeat slowing down. He let out a yawn. The cabin felt a lot quieter, "I feel my heartbeat," he said. His exhales started to get heavier.
Maxs head pressed a little heavier on David's chest. A sudden stroke on his curls surprising him. "I feel you touching my hair, and..." He took a second to finish, "your heartbeat." Max continued. His voice began to trail off with every word. "It feels like the room is spinning." Max croaked. David smiled, recognizing that sensation. Max was falling asleep.
"I feel you scratching my head." He subconsciously leaned toward the touch. David curled his hair in his fingers, let go, then continued to stroke his scalp. Max's voice was a mutter, "I hear..." He sighed and tried again, "I hear..." Max's voice trailed off with another breath. He never finished his sentence.
David continued to stroke Max's hair. After a minute of silence, David heard a soft snore from the young boy. He smiled at the result, glad his mothers method still worked. David couldn't help coo as Max slept soudly in his arms. A part of him felt proud and ready to go to bed, but the other didn't want to let him go. Maxs cheek was smushed against David's chest. David took a moment to watch him sleep soundly. His tiny body rising up and down with each breath. The pressure of Max's weight felt nice, like a mini weighted blanket.
David's eyes grew heavier. His palm stopped mid-caress and rested on Max's curls. David tired to keep his head up. He knew he had to get Max back to his tent, but his heart refused to part with the sleeping boy snoring soundly on his chest. Before he could stay awake, David rested his philtrum on Max's forehead, the tip of his nose in his curls. He didn't need to use his mothers method before he fell asleep. Soothed by each other's peace and company, both boys had fallen asleep.
Gwen woke up in a haze, the morning light hitting her before she fully opened her eyes. She turned over and looked out the window. She was surprised to see it was still dark outside. "Great." Gwen said realizing her friend forgot to turn off his lamp again. She slid off her bunk, careful not to make too much noise. Gwen walked over to David's desk, her eyes barely open in order to stay sleepy. She reached his desk and leaned forward to turn off his lamp, but something made her stop in her tracks. Gwen slowly made her way to David's bunk. Her eyes flew open. Gwen had seen many questionable things at Camp Campbell, but this was by far the craziest and most adorable.
She watched as the two boys slept soundly. Max's cheek rested on David's chest as he let out soft snores. Meanwhile, David had a hand in Max's curls while the other was on the jaded boys back.
Gwens heart fluttered seeing the adorable scene in front of her. Though, something was missing. She grabbed a spare blanket from her drawer and carefully settled it on both boys. Gwen had never seen them so calm. She let out a tiny gasp before turning around to grab her phone. Being the reporter she is, she took a picture of David and Max. She smiled down at the photo before putting her phone down.
She leaned forward to adjust their blanket. Her cheeks flushing a little when she felt David's breath on her. Gwen shook her head and reached toward Max. She pulled the blanket over Max's shoulder before moving his bangs to the side. "Sweet dreams guys." Gwen whispered. A soft yawn escaped her lips. She took one more glimpse at both of them before heading back to bed. She wasn't sure what had happened here, but for the first time, she was glad her previous co counselor had left the lamp on.
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