Shadowless
by "Vi", the Symphonic Mess
Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me. I am only an avid gamer who loves them strongly and enjoys playing with them both on the screen and in my writings. I get nothing out of it besides the joy of writing, squeeling and generally discussing with others how amazing they are.
There are over a hundred offensive maneuvers and probably just as many defensive maneuvers meant specifically to get a person out of these kinds of positions. Hint: in a well calculated, well-fought situation in which a fighter is mentally and physically prepared, these things should not happen. And yet, dizzy from the sudden shift of momentum, the world seems a little less perfect and the moment seems isolated and trapped in stone the moment someone's foot instinctively shoots out towards their dizzy opponent; aiming right for their fragile rib cage with enough force to break a few. It feels a little ridiculous to think that the thoughts of the losing opponent might simply be that of awe and wonderment, before they black out completely from the erupting pain coming from their now obviously broken ribs.
It hadn't been planned at all, but it wasn't something that should have been lost. Pushing away the horrid idea of struggling to use his little remaining energy to open his eyes or lose any more of the air that was slowly coming back into his lungs after having been completely knocked breathless, Duo Lon contemplated the stupidity of his own actions sometimes.
Had he been less concerned with the speed of his actions and the thought of retaliating before the larger man knew what was happening and therefore gaining the advantage had slowly been losing to the man's brute force and yet, fairly quick movements. This had been the first opening he got, so he had been a little anxious to take the opportunity and thus he landed himself here, in a defeated pile. How disappointing, he scolded himself, aware that the fight was over and that he was no longer in danger of being further injured. But that also told him that he had to be prepared for the next hurdle; the blur of pink, blond and skin colored pigments running to him; now at his side. Telling Shen not to move so fast to avoid making him sick was not an option. That would only make him worry further. And he was sure that Shen needed no pushing in the paranoid direction when it came to his well-being.
Which was ridiculous when he considered the amount of stunts that the brute Shen himself pulled on a daily basis, making Duo worry. And whenever the black haired man opened his mouth to say something about it, the larger of the two would always cut him off with some smarmy remark about how it wasn't the same at all. Maybe in a fist fight, it wasn't. But in the instances when anything goes and the enemy was armed, it didn't matter how many muscles he had or how broad his shoulders were or how high he loomed over them, the result waiting for him would be the same. It took a lot of restraint not to let some biting remark slip, when he heard the too loud, buzzing sound of Shen's voice erupting in his ear. "This is over. I'm taking him home..." Duo wanted to shake his head no, but he was afraid of the motion itself.
Shen just had to say home, didn't he. Not to the nearest house, not to the hospital, but home. That would bode well. In his mind, Duo could almost see the incredulous faces of the people around him. And yet he felt himself being hauled up into Shen's strong arms, faster than he would have liked. But he couldn't deny how good it felt once he was up there, safe and secure with his face in the crook of Shen's shoulder, feeling how he practically melted into the other's larger frame content with the world and no longer bouncing. His arms were warm next to Duo's chilled skin, and he dug into that feeling, letting it sink in a bit further and healing the sick feeling.
His breath was slowly coming back to him, the longer he kept his mouth shut. But feeling the nausea of opening his mouth, he decided that now was no time for words. When he curled in just a certain way, he could feel what he expected to be a broken rib and winced, trying his best to remain exactly where he was. "You are really stupid, you know that?" Shen said softly, anticipating the way Duo probably felt right now. It felt pretty bad to be called stupid by someone he often scolded for being so dimwitted, and yet he felt like it should be dually noted. After all, he had made the mistake leading up to all of this, even if it felt slightly out of balance next to some of the blunders the other made, but he didn't feel particularly confident in arguing with him at the moment.
The only thing he seemed to be capable of was fisting the soft fabric of his fushia shirt in his hands and wimpering pitifully as his chest bounced lightly against Shen's with every soft but jerking step. It felt like it took forever, focusing on his closed eye-lids and practically counting the steps in fear of opening his eyes. The last look he took had caused his stomach to jerk violently at the violent, blurry shapes that were so far out of focus. There weren't even words to fill the space. Shen didn't seem to be in the lecturing mood this time. Maybe he did realize how much Duo actually beat himself up for his blunders. "Hey." Shen said, and finally the movements stopped. He was being lowered on to something warm and soft, but he found that he was being removed from Shen's arms and didn't like the sudden rush of air that indicated Shen leaving the room.
Now he was on a couch, or something like that. Feeling around with his legs, he realized that it was indeed the couch, but didn't get far into investigating comfortable positions before he felt strong hands turning him over; guiding him towards darkness and warmth. When he opened his eyes experimentally he noticed where Shen had gone. All the windows had been covered, dimming the room greatly, leaving the shadows darker and keeping out the glaring sunlight that hurt his dizzy eyes. "T-thank you." Duo said very softly, unsatisfied that he let himself stutter, even if it was only slight. It also hadn't come out as strong as he wanted, more like a pitiful whisper than a genuine response.
Shen let one hand gently stroke Duo's arm, and the other patted his head, playing with the soft, gorgeous hair he so loved. If he had his way, he would steal those obnoxious hair ties and have him leave it down all the time. "Are you going to tell me what happened out there?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Unlike other times, he was calm, almost relaxed, as he looked at his lover's fleeting dark orbs as he continued to strain his eyes to adjust.
What was there to say? "I don't think it'll make an ounce of difference, so no, I won't." Much better, he told himself, although the volume could still be better. He had concentrated on the loving, soothing patterns of Shen's hands rubbing him and had been able to instantly hear and feel a difference. He heard Shen sigh, but not much else. The lines were becoming clearer, and he could read Shen's expression much better now. It did indeed look much calmer than usual, but the lines of frustration were still evident; creasing his brow unnaturally. On Shen it was so obvious, because he was naturally such a carefree person when he wasn't in a fight with someone.
"I don't like repeating myself." Shen stated quite obviously for Duo. He never lectured the same thing twice, that was for sure, Duo noted, remembering all the different ways that Shen had gone about saying it. He tried the technical approach, the emotional approach, the desperate approach, the guilty approach... there couldn't be many left, Duo noted with a small upturning of the lip.
"You know me; I live for unnecessary procedures." This caused the lines of worry to erase themselves from Shen's forehead as he laughed quite genuinely, cradling Duo's head to his chest in an act of loving affection. Although it seemed dry and generally didn't sound humorous, he had learned to pick up the things that Duo said that were meant to make him laugh. Not only that, but he was actually starting to see how they were supposed to be funny. At first he had missed the subtle notes. Learning more about Duo and spending more time with him had increased his abilities a good deal. Now he noticed them the moment they were said.
"I love you." he said, still chuckling lightly as he rested his head on top of Duo's, rubbing his cheek into the soft hair there.