A brief oneshot inspired by the song "Talk You Down" by The Script. If you haven't heard them, you should. They sing well live and they're from Ireland—what more could a girl ask for? Haha
Disclaimer: Gravitation does NOT belong to me
-xXx-
Shuichi instinctively felt that something was off. He couldn't say exactly why or what it was, he just knew. Very reluctantly and cursing his body's paranoia, he opened his eyes looking to the spot where Yuki usually lay. Empty. Forcing himself out of bed and into the chilly air that filled the apartment Shuichi set about looking for his lover, making a mental note to have Yuki turn the heater on when he found him—winter was setting on faster than he had expected.
A brief search of the apartment turned up no sign of the novelist—the only sign of Yuki Shuichi had managed to find was a still smoking cigarette that lay in the ashtray on the coffee table. Shuichi sighed, the feeling in his gut telling him exactly what had happened. Yuki sometimes got like this—this awful, twisted depression that caused him to isolate himself from everyone including Shuichi.
But every time Shuichi was there to bring him back.
The first time it happened it had taken a good ten days to get Yuki back to his usual jerk-ish self. Recently these times when Yuki would lapse back into his memories had become shorter and fewer between and Shuichi couldn't be more grateful for that. Not that he didn't like helping his boyfriend when he was feeling lost like this—Yuki was certainly worth it—but it meant that his presence was beneficial to the blonde.
But this time…to go get him or not? Shuichi eyed the cigarette once more. From the looks of it, Yuki had just left, meaning if he followed now he wouldn't be too far behind. Shuichi ran to the door, barely remembering to put on his sneakers and throw on a coat to keep himself warm in the early winter chill.
As soon as he was out of the building, Shuichi took off for the park knowing that Yuki would be there, sitting on that bench near the pond like he always did when this happened. It wasn't a terribly short distance between the apartment and the park, but Shuichi ran every step of it, not wanting his love to feel alone for any longer than he already had. Finally he neared his destination and slowed to a walk, calming his breath as he traveled the remaining few meters to Yuki. The sweat that had formed on his body instantly cooled in the winter air sending an icy warning through his body that it wouldn't be healthy for him to stay outside too much longer. Shuichi disregarded it and went to stand in front of Yuki, keeping quiet until he found a way to breach the silence between them.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Shuichi blinked in surprise at the voice; Yuki rarely initiated conversation with him when he got into this mood.
"Same goes for you." Shuichi said softly with a small smile, trying to gouge Yuki's current mood. Very cautiously he sat himself down on the bench next to Yuki, wrapping his arms around his own body to fend off the cold that was seeping through his coat. Not a single word was said for several minutes—Shuichi had learned long ago that at times like this it was best just be with Yuki. He would talk if he wanted to talk.
Shuichi gave a slight shiver, watching as his breath came in foggy puffs before his face as the temperature fell even more. Slow, lazy snowflakes began to flutter down, dusting the frozen earth in a veil of white ash. Shuichi watched the snow silently as it piled up around them, transfixed to the point of not even bothering to brush it off of himself as it landed on his head and shoulders. Eventually the cold got to him and he tilted his head ever so slightly to look at his boyfriend. He could see a cigarette was resting in the blonde's mouth, but the way the ash had built up at the end suggested he wasn't really paying attention to it.
Giving the slightest touch to Yuki's shoulder, Shuichi spoke up, keeping his voice low for fear of disrupting quiet calm that surrounded them.
"Hey…Yuki. It's freezing. Let's go back."
Yuki didn't speak a word, but he pulled the stick out of his mouth and dropped it to the ground, letting the snow put it out completely.
"You go back. I'm going to stay out here for a bit longer."
Shuichi breathed a sigh and shivered again, a little more violently this time—the sweat from the run had dried and now the moisture combined with the freezing air and snow was only adding to his discomfort. The snow by this time was starting to sink into his clothes which were thin to began with—a simple t-shirt and pajama pants covered only by his jacket.
"You really think I would come all the way out here searching for you and then leave without you?" Shuichi asked through gritted teeth, trying to stop the shaking that wracking his body.
"Stubborn brat." He heard Yuki mutter but the comment made Shuichi smile—it meant Yuki was coming back to him. The novelist stood and turned to Shuichi, looking down on him for the first time since Shuichi had arrived. Shuichi followed his lover's example, ignoring the bitter chill that hit his body as it was fully exposed and wrapped his arms tightly around Yuki's torso.
The embrace wasn't returned—though that had been expected—instead he felt the hesitant fingers of one hand stroking through his hair, brushing away the snow as they went.
"I love you, Yuki." Shuichi breathed, face pressed against the winter coat that covered the blonde's chest.
"I know." Shuichi must have shivered again or done something else to call attention to his currently frigid state because quite suddenly he felt the warm, cozy fabric of Yuki's scarf pressing against the exposed skin of his neck.
"At least dress yourself properly if you're going to come running out here after me." Yuki chided as he wound the scarf around Shuichi's neck. Shuichi only responded with a smile. It seemed to be taking less and less time for Yuki to snap out of these emotional (or rather emotionless) pitfalls. Now almost as soon as Shuichi arrived Yuki would let go of whatever thoughts were plaguing him and return to the singer.
"Let's go." The novelist said simply, once his job was done. He turned away from Shuichi and started walking down the white path, following its now hidden trail by heart. Shuichi caught up, falling into step next to his lover. Very shyly Shuichi reached over, linking his icy fingers in with Yuki's own.
The blonde didn't say anything though he looked down at Shuichi with a raised eyebrow. But the hand wasn't removed. Instead it was gripped tighter as Yuki pulled Shuichi closer to him, using their linked hands to create a semi-embrace around Shuichi as they walked.
Shuichi looked up at Yuki curiously, wondering why he was acting so sweet but certainly not willing to risk losing the moment. The gaze was caught and held—but only briefly.
"It's four in the morning. No one will be out to see us this early." He stated bluntly, looking away to watch the trail.
The rest of the walk passed in a comfortable silence—Shuichi feeling drowsy due to a mixture of the hour and Yuki's warmth beside him. As soon as they entered the flat Shuichi kicked off his shoes and stumbled down the hall towards the bedroom.
"Oi! What do you think you're doing?" Yuki asked as Shuichi started to pull back the covers.
"Going to sleep?" Shuichi responded, not wanting to believe that Yuki would actually stick him back out on the couch—they had gotten past that stage over a year ago!
"Not when you're soaking wet, you aren't." Shuichi felt something drop onto his head and the fabric of a white bath towel obscured his vision. Strong hands started to massage it against his scalp, soaking up the droplets of melted snow and Shuichi relaxed into the touch.
"You're always so nice after…" Shuichi trailed off, unsure of how to finish his sentence and too tired to really care.
"Yeah? Just call it a moment of temporary insanity." Yuki said, his smile apparent in his tone. The towel was discarded and Shuichi felt fingers slide under his chin, tilting his face up to look at Yuki who instantly leaned down to kiss Shuichi fully on the mouth, savoring the taste of the singer as he slowly explored his mouth for the millionth time. Yuki pulled away with one last kiss to Shuichi's lips.
"Get changed and get under the covers, I'll be there in a minute." Yuki stepped away, turning his attention to his own damp hair. Shuichi stripped off his wet clothes and jumped into the bed, not caring enough to find replacements and wanting the warmth of skin on skin anyway. Shortly after he was joined by Yuki who placidly allowed the singer to snuggle into his arms.
"You're freezing, you idiot."
"And whose fault would that be?" Shuichi asked, head pressing against Yuki's chest.
"Yours." Came the automatic reply. Too sleepy to make a come-back, Shuichi let the conversation fade into silence, both Yuki and Shuichi simply enjoying the feel of the other's skin against their own.
"Shuichi?" Yuki questioned softly after a moment, unsure whether or not his lover had fallen asleep.
"Hm?" Shuichi responded, unable to form words or even open his eyes due to exhaustion.
"…No. it's nothing." The singer was vaguely aware of fingers threading slowly through his hair and he thought he might have heard Yuki say something more but before his brain allowed him to dwell on it, he dropped into the abyss of sleep, perfectly content in the arms of the one he loved.
-xXx-
I…honestly don't know where that came from. But yeah. Sorry if it was unclear at points, it wrote itself rather quickly.