1. A Visitor
Izuru and Momo
"It's okay," says Momo, softly, and she runs her hand through Izuru's hair; his head buried in the crook of her neck. She doesn't ask what it is. She's not sure she wants to know at all, they have each their own secrets which they bury like dead things and which haunt them like dead things, too.
Crawling to their beds at night, seeping rancid memories across their pillows. Momo breaths deep in the cool, black air and watches, mesmerized, when the breathe leaves like a white fog against the light of the moon. Izuru's arms are wrapped around her back, clutching at the fabric there. Momo has never seen him shed a tear, even now. Izuru screams, Izuru bites hard on Shuuhei's collar bone, drawing blood, Izuru sits fetal position in his office at two in the morning when he should be at home but Izuru does not shed tears.
Momo learns these things slowly, over time, and she loves Izuru on his bad days just like he loves her on the days she wants to rip her heart out of her chest, crying and hating herself for never once hating anyone else.
Life is hard sometimes, Momo learns. It always seemed before that life was only beautiful, but now she knows it is both, neither without the other. She hopes Izuru knows this, thinks he might not, wonders if he even cares. She won't force it on him.
Momo knows she is crying, now too, her cheeks are cold when the wind brushes against the moisture but she's not sad. When Izuru pulls away he says thanks quietly but his voice is always unearthly clear. Momo kisses him briefly on the cheek and then opens her door for him, pulling him by the hand off her porch to something less bitter cold. Momo is fire and life and warmth.
"Stay awhile," she smiles, "I'll make tea, let's play a board game." Izuru will, of course, beat her. The sun will be up in two hours and they will both be awake to see it, but it's okay, thinks Momo. Whatever it is.
Consider this a stand-in until I'm able to write coherently again. I've got these cross-posted at ao3; but there isn't enough love for the lieutenants on this website and I enjoy being in pain.
Also, for those interested, I'll also be updating "Birds of a Feather" this week (2/29/16) so go check that out. It'll probably be Thursday, as that's when work is less ... everything.
For the remained of these ficlets, I'll try to keep author's notes to a minimum to avoid messing too much with word count ... but please, feel free to leave comments. Actually, I encourage it ... actually, I crave it.