After the Love Song

By Languish-Dreams

A/N: Hello everyone! It's been quite awhile, yes? I settled down and decide to try a quiet piece, nothing heavy, nothing with much of a plot. Simply a glance in time at our boys. I would encourage you to read "Just Another Love Song" to understand the dynamic that's evolved between the pair here, but it's not completely necessary. I do reference it slightly in some ways, but the choice is yours. This piece is meant to be set sometime after that story, so forgive my hawking it to you. ;) Please enjoy and comment if you'd like. I appreciate all comments, especially to correct my sometimes errant grammar. Thank you very much for your time and I hope you find entertainment herein.

With a sharp, quiet gasp violet eyes flew open to regard the darkness surrounding him. It was several seconds before Shuichi realized he was holding his breath, and several more still before he allowed himself to release it in a slow stream. Sitting up as slowly as he could, the singer turned to glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand - three a.m. Suppressing a groan of exasperation, Shuichi ran a hand across his forehead, removing the perspiration that had built there. The writhing shadows that had created such physical turmoil and awakened him were slowly receding into the darkest corners of his mind.

He couldn't stop a small shudder of breath as he exhaled next, the last wisp of a darkened dream caressing his conscious mind before fading from his grasp. He didn't struggle to recall the nightmare now - Shuichi knew the memory of it had already slipped away to be forgotten. A light touch caressed his back then and the singer jumped despite himself.

He could feel his bed partner sit up then, concern evident in Yuki's voice. "Bad dream?"

Shuichi could only nod at first before realizing the writer most likely wouldn't see the motion in the darkness of their bedroom.

"Yeah." he managed quietly. "I need a drink."

Throwing the covers to one side, Shuichi shivered against the coolness of the hardwood floor beneath his bare feet as he padded towards the kitchen. He pulled down a glass and filled it with water, each movement slow and deliberate so as to increase the time before he would have to return to bed again. The singer pressed the glass against his cheek, amused how the chill felt so good despite the protest of his cold feet. He didn't need to hear the blonds' steps to know that Yuki was watching him from the kitchen door then.

"We really should stop doing this." the writer said quietly. "You always have a nightmare when we fight."

Shuichi nodded as he glanced out the small window to the cloudless night sky. "They do say not to go to bed angry, you know."

Silence stretched before them then, each man knowing what needed to be said and yet neither quite able to overcome the day's earlier stubbornness to voice it. The singer felt his lover's presence grow stronger before a pair of arms slowly encircled around him. The warmth that encased him then shook away the remaining protests of his feet; Shuichi allowed himself to smile and lean into the embrace.

"Things have changed so much." the writer said suddenly, his voice nearly a whisper. "I forget myself sometimes."

The singer nodded in agreement, unable to find the right words just yet to add to the treaty of their conversation.

"I've never forgotten my promise, though." Yuki continued, as he slowly turned Shuichi around in his arms. "So long as you'll have me."

"So long as you'll continue to try." the singer returned softly, a smile tugging at his lips as he set down the glass to wrap his arms around the blond before him.

He felt a kiss ghost across the top of his head as Yuki pulled him tighter for a few moments. Nimble fingers traced lazy designs across his back and Shuichi could feel himself relaxing completely. They spent several long minutes in the darkness of the kitchen, wrapped in an embrace of mutual understanding nearly a year in the making. It was a long road behind them - an even longer one ahead; but Shuichi knew in that moment that even the smallest steps back would always result in the greatest leaps forward.

Ever after, he'd learned, would never be. Even after the dancing, after the declarations, after the love song had faded, there was always more life to lead. Slaying the dragon wasn't the fevered pitch of the story, oh no - that was reserved and commanded simply, by moments like these. Shuichi felt Yuki shift slightly and shook himself from his thoughts.

The writer smiled at the sleepy expression on the shorter man's face and bent down to place a chaste kiss on waiting lips.

"Come." the blond said quietly. "Back to bed."

The singer nodded and drooped forward slightly, the past few days hurried activity at work showing in his listless form. Yuki placed a hand on his back and slowly lead the singer back down the hall and towards their bedroom. Once they had again placed themselves beneath the warmth of the covers, Yuki pulled himself forward until he could wrap a loose arm around the singer's waist. He heard a sigh of contentment as Shuichi buried himself against the writer's chest, soft locks drifting up to tickle at his nose slightly.

The quiet ticked by, trying its most to lull the pair back into the land of dreams once again. Yuki was hesitant to oblige, however; he could sense things weren't quite settled yet. Feeling Shuichi pull back slightly, he knew his suspicions had been correct, though he loathe to bring up the conversation that had lead them to this moment to begin with.

"I won't go."

The writer raised an eyebrow then, trying hopelessly to view the singer's face in the darkness. "Oh?"

Shuichi nodded against his chest. "You're right. It's too soon after our own tour to jump into someone else's."

Yuki hummed slightly and gave the younger man a slight squeeze. "You worked yourself half to death during that tour. And you've been working just as hard for the past week since you got back."

"I know." the singer said with a smile. "It's easy to get caught up in it all. It's like being in a river - the current just kind of drags you along for the ride."

Yuki nodded and placed another gentle kiss on the singer's forehead. "Eventually everyone has to reach calm water."

"Good thing I have such a strong and handsome anchor." the singer replied with a grin, running his fingers down Yuki's ticklish side.

The blond's body jerked in protest and he grabbed the younger man's errant hand. "Don't even go there, brat."

Giggling despite himself, Shuichi waited until the writer's hand relaxed around his wrist. Pulling it free in a swift motion, he dove for Yuki's side again, eliciting a stream of curses and laughter in the wake of his fingers. By the time he granted mercy, both men were breathing hard from their combined laughter.

"I will so pay you back for that." the novelist ground out.

"I look forward to it, as always."

Yuki huffed, even as he drew Shuichi closer to him. "It was a lot more fun when you feared my punishments."

He felt the singer chuckle against his chest. "Well, I've been thinking about getting into acting."

"Oh?" Yuki lifted Shuichi's face up with his hand and pressed their lips together - lightly at first, but the intensity slowly built around them the longer the touch lasted. "Let's see exactly what you can do."

The last traces of sleep fading away, Shuichi grinned as Yuki pulled them even closer together. He had been wrong, he realized then.

Every moment together, bad or good, was the true peak of their story.

-(End)-