White Wolf Fan Fiction Presents:

~Memories~

A Crooked Man Story

Title: Memories

Words: 2,496

Warnings: Very fluffy Yaoi (as always) and possible angst/hurt and comfort... you know kind of the usual stuff in my fan-fiction.

Pairings: David/D

Disclaimer: Sad to say, I don't own anything, not even a copy of the game. I actually watched Cry play this, so... yeah.

Summary: I have no fucking clue what to say for the summary... Oh well, I'll get back to you on this.

-0-

The chill air was silent, save for the soft calls of the wind and the soft crunch of the leaves underfoot, as a tall man with golden brown hair and vibrant sea blue eyes walked along the broken sidewalk. His gloved hands were in his jacket pockets and his hood was up, sheltering his head from the cold wind. His breath was soft, each letting out a pretty white puff from his soft lips, disappearing only a second after being released before being replaced by another.

The man had been out on a walk for an hour now, attempting to take a break from his life and everyone in it; even though everything was supposed to be alright now, he still had doubts and fears that frequented his thoughts and often tormented his dreams. He never told Paul or Marion, and he'd definitely never told Shirley, his now re-ex-girlfriend.

Though everything had seemed to be fine in the first few weeks, after Shirley and he had gotten back together, they'd broken up again. This time though it was David who'd broken up with Shirley. Don't get me wrong, she was the most perfect girlfriend any guy could have ever dreamed of and ever wanted, but after everything the man had gone through... Of course, she took it very lightly, telling him she understood him and that they would always be friends. He'd happily agreed and they went their separate ways.

Now, five months after everything had happened, the man, David, didn't know what to do. And strangely enough, even after every nightmare, he found himself walking in the direction of the old abandoned law school. His steps faltered as he neared the old crooked gates of the school entrance and he felt himself become small as the building that had once trapped him inside towered over him.

Letting out a shaky breath, clenching his hands tightly in his pockets, he closed his eyes and turned away.

"It's all in the past... nothing can hurt you now..." he whispered to his self, before letting out a heavy sigh and he felt tears sting his eyes when memories of what happened inside the building invaded his walls and dug deep within him.

"Seriously, a monster! Even little girls don't believe in that stuff!" A suddenly cheerful voice invaded his mind and his eyes widened when he heard it, his lips parting slightly as he let out a shaky breath. "You're being a total doofus." Even as he heard those words in his head he could picture the man that went along with them; bright red, messy, but soft hair framing pale freckled skin and nearly shielding beautiful forest green eyes from view, and his lips were quirked upward in a silly grin.

"D..." he breathed out the name and he couldn't help the smile that lit his face, even if it was only just a small one. D was one of his best friends, and had originally started as a pain in the ass, that he'd met while he was searching for Duke and running from the Crooked Man. And though he'd nearly enjoyed every second spent with the younger man, he hadn't heard or seen him since it all happened. And it upset David, a little more than he'd like to admit.

Turning his back from the building, his mind elsewhere now, he began to head in the familiar direction of the near-by park; it was one of the few places he'd spent his time recently, aside from his home or at his work.

Reaching the park, he made his way to one of the benches before sitting down and he pulled a cigarette from his pockets, lighting it with a lighter found in the other.

He was tempted to let his mind shut down as he smoked in peace, but instead he let his memories run their course through his mind. Not surprisingly, most were all about his time spent with D.

"Have this..." D was standing before him, seen clearly even as David covered half his face with his hand. David could see worry and confusion and fear whirling around in the other man's eyes, a frown placed on his lips, and blue eyes wandered down to the outstretched hand that held a clear, thin, blue bottle towards him.

"...Huh?" David muttered, returning the frown and he eyed the drink and its carrier warily. He was on edge after what'd just happened and he didn't think he could handle anything else at the moment.

"I already had a little, but..." D looked away for a brief moment, and David could've sworn he saw a light blush dusted across his freckled cheeks, before looking back at David, "it's an energy drink. Drink up." He said, holding the bottle a little higher for the older man. David could clearly see the light blush that was on D's face, but he could also see the determination in the other's eyes as clear as day.

"What, seriously...?" David narrowed his eyes a little, though he lowered his hand from his face. "I don't need this... I told you, leave me be." He repeated his words that were said earlier, almost expecting the younger man to leave, but unexpectedly glad that he didn't.

"Drink it! Geez!" David blinked, slightly in surprise and more-so in confusion, when he saw D's cheeks puff out and he almost thought the other looked... dare he say, cute. He was about to say something when D continued, obviously fed up with David's attitude now. "You really look like you need food and drink! And I'm being nice," there was that blush again, "so accept my kindness!"

And David couldn't help the miniscule smile that shifted from the frown and he hesitantly reached for the drink. "Alright... thanks..." he murmured, soft, but any dimwit could tell he was truly grateful. And it was certainly worth it to see D's blush darken, if only just a little, and his eyes flitted to the ground, avoiding David's own. At this, David let his smile be replaced by a smirk, though he thoroughly hid it behind the bottle as he took a much needed drink from it.

David let his smile grow as he replayed through his most cherished memories of the cute little red-head.

D was lying in a white bed before him, and David's now dark blue eyes flitted across the pale figure as panic washed through him again, replacing the relief he'd felt only minutes before when they'd escaped from the gassy territory. "D... are you sure you're okay? You don't need to go to the hospital? What if you got poisoned?" So many 'what ifs' ran through the man's mind at that moment and he felt his heart clench at the thought of loosing D.

D let out a weak, but steady laugh, "I'm fine..." he answered and David frowned, sitting down in a chair beside the bed. "Head hurts like hell and I feel gross, but I'll get better." The older man let out a soft breath at this and he shook his head, mostly to get rid of his increasingly dark thoughts. He opened his eyes, not having realized he closed them in the first place, only to find he was staring into equally dark green eyes that somehow still shimmered like a thousand stars. "Thanks, dude. I'd be screwed without you around! I owe you my life!" David felt heavy, but also surprisingly light at those words, and somehow he managed to give the other a crooked smile as he sat back in the chair; utterly and completely relieved, and it showed too.

David remembered that conversation well, every thing that had been said between them, every compliment, every blush and cute smile and adorable grin. That was the first time, in a long time, that David had actually opened up to someone about his dreams and who he'd wanted to be. And he was glad he did, too.

"D..." David sighed softly, walking a few steps towards the solemn red-head. He was glad he found him, but it made his heart ache to hear those words from his mouth. But then... not everything was always as it seemed, and as the saying went, 'life isn't always fair, but you live with what you have anyway.' "That's life, isn't it?" David started, watching as D's hands clenched tightly at his sides, the paper crumbled in his right hand. "I mean... you weren't cut out for it."

D turned towards David, a torn look in his eyes and David frowned at the sight of the other. "...what?" D questioned quietly, as if unsure of what he heard. So David laid it out straight for him, and he turned his head towards the ground slightly, looking away from the other.

"Just looking at you kind of irritates me..." it was true, but at the same time it wasn't, and David wasn't sure how to explain it himself, so he just continued. "Maybe it reminds me too much of myself." He added, almost in a quieter voice, but his tone grew sharper near the end and he turned to look at the other man again. He was a little surprised to find a spark inside D's eyes and he nearly smiled, though he kept his frown as he continued his words. "You need to wake up. Aren't there enough hopeless idealists in the world as it is?"

There... there, that's what David wanted to see. The spark fanned into a full blazing fire. "You shut the hell up!" D shouted, shaking his head sharply and he closed his eyes, shielding them from David, making the other man frown. "Yeah, I'm stupid, but I'll keep studying!" He said, clear as day, and David tilted his head up, the frown deepening.

"Everyone's lacking in something or another." He continued in a harsh tone. "In your case, it was intelligence." Now David could see he was shaking, and the other opened his eyes again, unshed tears brimming them and David almost felt bad for saying what he did, but it was the truth.

"You goddamn..." D gritted his teeth and David could tell he was trying hard not to cry. "You want a piece of me!?" David would've laughed if it weren't for the situation he'd been in.

And so, he just continued, but this time in a much softer voice, his dark ocean blue eyes clashing with blazing forest green. "In my case... it was my eyes." He said and all at once, D stopped shaking, his eyes becoming wide and he gasped; a sound that David equally found just as adorable as the rest of him.

"Huh...?" D said shakily and David, for the briefest of moments, let a smile cross his face.

Putting out his cigarette, David sighed and let his head rest against the back of the bench, his gaze cast upward towards the cloudy blue sky. Looking back to the last night David had seen D... he recalled what the other asked him. "To have a drink... when we see each other again..." David sighed and sat up, leaning forward a little as he stared back at the ground, frowning. "When will we see each other again though...?" He questioned softly, closing his eyes and he briefly registered the sound of leaves being crushed under heavy boots as he reached up to touch his cheek. He remembered the feather light touch from the sweet little kiss that D had given him on the cheek and he wanted nothing more than to feel it again, although he could think of more things he'd like to do with the other, even after all this time since they'd last seen each other. "Huh... D?"

He barely even realized that the park had gone completely silent until he heard an extremely familiar voice, "David, long time no see!" and his head snapped to see the one person he'd been thinking of. The man himself stood before David, a bright grin lighting his face and his beautiful green eyes shined brightly in the daylight. D's hair was just a little longer than it had been when they'd last seen each other, but it was still as messy as ever and still just as cute. He was wearing a pure white jacket with light fluff around the edges and he had on black jeans and cozy-looking winter boots, though it was only late-autumn. David hadn't even realized he'd been staring until D spoke up, and David noticed a small blush covering his freckled cheeks. "Er... David?"

David stood up slowly from the bench and he took two steps forward until he was directly in front of the other man. He was still a good four inches taller than the other, he noticed, since D had to look up to look into his eyes. D's blush darkened when David's hand reached up to touch the others cheek, if only to tell himself that this was real and that he wasn't finally losing reality, and it wasn't even a second later when David wrapped his arms tightly around the other, breathing out a heavy sigh of relief and happiness as he buried his nose in the other hair.

D was barely able to let out a squeak before being dragged into the hug and his blush only darkened when he heard David whisper his name, along with several other things that D couldn't exactly hear, despite being so... so close to the other man. "I-It's only been a few months... David..." D managed to get out before David pulled back, a bright smile on his face and his sea blue eyes sparkling. It nearly melted D's heart when he saw this and he couldn't help but grin a little in return.

"A few months too long, D." David let out a breathy chuckle, and for a moment, silence seemed to go on between the two. David stared down at the red-head with a barely there smile, but it was enough for D to go speechless and he held his breath, as if waiting for something, anything, to happen. Once more David placed his hand on D's cheek, his thumb brushing gently across the smooth, pale skin, and D blushed even darker, if that was possible at this point. And before D could even let out his breath, David leaned down, his lips barely touching D's. "I missed you..." he whispered before finally connecting their lips with a gentle kiss and almost immediately, D's eyes closed upon the contact, along with David's, and he felt himself melting into it, kissing him back.

When they broke, D had the biggest grin on his face as he looked up at David, "I missed you, too." He repeated the words back to David and was glad when David smiled that one little smile that D would soon come to realize was only meant for him.

Well, first Crooked Man fan-fiction... what do you guys think? *grins* Hope it's okay.

~The White Wolf, Zero