A/N: So I totally sort of scrapped my original idea (it'll get finished eventually) and wrote this between the hours of 11pm and 1am. This is so dialogue heavy, I'm dying. But…don't question anything that happens, just go with it. Enjoy the products of my exhaustion and crossed eyes and EXILE's New Horizon (I listened to it…39ish times?). Never let it be said I don't love you! My eyes are so dead, have mercy on my soul and like this.
Lyrics are from Taylor Swift's song I'm Only Me When I'm With You.
Pairings: MidKino, CoLu.
Summary: Old friends are like gold. Never let them go. {Snapshots of Yukino and Midnight's years of friendship.}
"Midnight~!"
It was all the warning the 21 year old narcoleptic was given before his oldest friend shoved him upright, pressed her back to his chest, grinned and held up her phone, snapping a picture of the two of them.
"Kino…" he groaned, dropping his chin to his chest with a sigh. She'd been doing this for weeks now; randomly appearing from nowhere like a freaking ninja and taking selfies and bolting off. There was no purpose in it. She just did it because it brought her joy. Midnight watched her dash off, mission completed, her white hair bobbing as she laughed like the little girl he remembered so well.
And he smiled.
"Midnight. What. Are. You. Wearing." Cobra stared at his friend. The other man looked at him quizzically from under hooded eyes.
"What's wrong with my clothes?"
"You're wearing," Cobra said slowly. "A shirt that says, 'If lost, return to Yukino.'" Midnight nodded slowly, as if searching for the hidden question within the question. "Why?"
"Because I'm wearing this!" Yukino said brightly, appearing right behind Cobra and causing the brunette to jump five feet. He had excellent hearing but she was so bloody light-footed… Her green shirt said in big, proud letters 'I'm Yukino', the match to Midnight's blue one.
Cobra shook his head in disgust as Lucy came and looped her arm through his. "That is the most coupley thing I've ever seen a non-couple ever do. I'm actually kind of weirded out now." Lucy chuckled and watched her cousin drag Midnight by the hand in the direction of the bar. They might not be a couple but no one had to tell them that.
Besides, they were just the cutest thing ever! They would be a ship if it was the death of her.
Lucy was going to win that MidKino bet.
"Midnight, I'm borrowing your hoodie!"
"Okay."
"Midnight, do you ever wear this shirt? Can I have it?"
"Uhhh…sure?"
"Midnight, I need to get out of my jeans before I die."
"Feel free to raid my drawers."
"You're the best!"
"Kino, you left this at my house again."
"Oh. I thought the washer had eaten that! Thanks, Midnight, I was looking for that. It's probably the most comfortable bra I own."
"I know. You've told me."
"Why are you snuggling with my hoodie?"
"Because you left it here, you silly albino, and it smells like you."
"Okay..."
"I'm borrowing your leather jacket to go with my dress, is that okay?"
"NO. I will let you steal every single other article of clothing that I own, but you are not taking my leather jacket, Yukino Agira. There are some lines I will not cross."
"Please? It'll look so nice with my dress! See?"
"…Dang it, why do you have to be so cute. Fine, you can borrow it."
Yukino poked at the food on her plate. She looked at it, up at Midnight, back down at the food, and back up at him. "What is this." She said flatly.
"Food, now eat it." Midnight scowled and crossed his arms over his chest.
She raised a blue-toned eyebrow in polite shock. "Midnight, if I eat this, I'm kind of afraid I'm going to die. You are many things, but a cook is not one of them."
He pointed the spatula at her. "You," he informed her. "Are a crusher of hopes and dreams."
Yukino grinned, pulling a couple sandwiches out of her bag. "Yeah I am. But I'm also a better cook than you!"
They said they weren't a couple, even scoffed at the idea, but everyone else knew they were lying. It showed.
It showed in the way Yukino would nestle all up in Midnight's side and take a nap with him.
It showed when Midnight propped his arm on her head and she didn't judo flip him like she had Natsu when he had tried.
It showed in the 'totally platonic' way Midnight would kiss the inside of her wrists.
It showed in the way Yukino would kiss Midnight right between the eyes as gently as a butterfly.
But…they didn't know the whole story.
Yukino had suffered horrific nightmares as a child and napping next to her childhood friend was the only way she could sleep for years.
Midnight had protected her from being kidnapped like her older sister had when they were teens.
He kissed her wrists to reassure himself that she was still alive after he'd lost control during a bout of serious depression and almost killed her as she tried to help him.
She always kissed the scar between his eyes to remind him that his father couldn't hurt him anymore.
They weren't a couple.
But they were closer than any couple could ever be.
Cobra liked to say they resonated on a soul level.
He slipped into her apartment quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping beast known as the Roommate. Yukino had invited him over for help with proofing an essay.
He hadn't expected to find her curled up on the couch, her white head pillowed on a hoodie he recognized as his. Her books were scattered all over the table, stacked on the floor, and piled on the chair. The faint sound of classical music brushed against his ears.
Midnight smiled softly and shrugged out of his jacket. Moving quietly, he draped it over his friend and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"Sleep good, Kino."
"Snow White."
"Black as Night."
"Pure Sugar."
"Black Heart."
"Jack Frost."
"Yin Yang."
"Elsa."
"Panda Bear."
"I do not look like a panda!"
"Aw, yes you do, Midnight! See, you have black and white hair and the way your eyeliner smudges, you look like a sleepy little panda!"
"…Yukino. I am not a panda bear. Please stop trying to persuade me otherwise."
She appeared in the doorway and gave a quick twirl. "How do I look?"
His head lifted ever so slightly to give her a once over before his eyes slid closed. "Your dress is cute, I like your heels, but your hair looks awful."
She stomped her way over to him, shoved a hairbrush and bobby pins under his nose, and parked herself in front of him. "Work your magic, oh Midnight the Great Hairdoer."
"So you know that part when he like jumps through the roof and lands in front of her?"
"Uh huh. Wait, did you want blue or green on this nail?"
"Blue. Anyway, so when he does that, the look on her face! Oh my goodness, I almost fell over. Lucy was throwing things at me because I was laughing so loudly."
"That scene is pretty funny. Sparkles? No sparkles?"
"Why are you even asking? Sparkles of course!"
"Just checking."
"But after that, when she hugs him and he changes, the look on his face. He looked so disgruntled! He actually looked like you when someone wakes you up from a nap."
"I do not look like a grumpy cat when someone wakes me up from a nap."
"Do you need the remover? And yes you do."
"Yeah, I accidentally got too much on this nail."
"What on earth are you two doing?"
Midnight and Yukino looked up from their place on the bathroom floor to meet Lucy's befuddled eyes. Midnight blinked his red eyes at the blonde woman. "I'm doing Yukino's nails, obviously."
Lucy rolled her eyes and backed out of the bathroom, shaking her head and muttering about idiots who were so in love it was stupid.
Their friends fell out of their seats laughing when they realized both Midnight and Yukino were wearing tshirts that said 'I'm With Stupid'.
In public.
As they walked in together.
"Midnight, I told you to put on sunscreen! I told you!"
"I know, Yukino," he groaned as she gently prodded his tender red skin.
"Well, it's your fault for forgetting to put sunscreen on despite me reminding you a thousand times. When are you going to listen to me?"
"Alway, Kino," he mumbled into the couch cushions. He couldn't see, but Yukino was smiling slightly as she slathered aloe vera on his back. "Always."
"Friday night beneath the stars, in the field behind your yard, you and I are painting pictures in the sky, I DON'T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU, CUZ I'M ONLY ME WHEN I'M WITH YOU!"
"Kino, that isn't how that song goes."
"YOU KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT ME, YOU SAY YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT ME! YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY HALF THE TIME-"
"Yukino. Stop singing the song if you don't know the words."
"THE OTHER HALF I'M ONLY TRYING TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WHAT I FEEL IS TRUE-"
"I give up on you."
"CUZ I'M ONLY ME WHEN I'M WITH YOU!"
"Woman, I swear you're going to be the death of me." Yukino came up behind him and draped herself over his shoulders, resting her cheek on his soft hair. Her small hands rested on his chest and curled around the fuzzy lining of his jacket.
"Yeah, I know. But you love me~!"
Midnight sighed, resting one hand on her much smaller one. Yeah, he thought, I really do love you.
"You know…" Yukino said slowly, leaning back on the roof with a sigh. Midnight didn't move from his spot on the edge of the roof and kept his eyes closed. Instead, he simply quirked an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
"I kind of love you. Like, actually love not just platonic love."
Midnight replied the only way he could in such a situation:
He fell off the roof.
"Seriously? That's how you reply to my confession? YOU FALL OFF A ROOF?" Yukino demanded in a harsh, quiet voice.
The boy in the hospital bed groaned and tried to shift. Instantly, she flew to his side, scolding words falling from her lips as she patted him frantically. She was being careful of the broken arm that lay on the bed when he made his move.
With one swift movement, Yukino was laying half across his chest, her lips pressed to his black ones. He held her so gently, like she was the most precious gift he'd ever been given.
And she was. Because she was his oldest friend and the girl who could never be replaced. She held his heart and made him whole.
A/N: I hope this didn't confuse you too much. I can't vouch for my sanity or clarity after 12am. Still, I hope you enjoyed it anyway.