querencia: i.e. a place from which one's strength is drawn, where one feels at home; the place where you are your most authentic self. Cross-posted on AO3.
It is shortly after midnight when the door to his room suddenly slides open. It's not a loud sound, but the rattling stirs Tobio out of his slumber nonetheless, and he blinks his eyes open slowly. The room is dark, not even a sliver of light falling in through the blinds, and his eyes strain to catch whoever it is that just entered. There is the pitter-patter sound of footsteps paddling lightly across the dark floor boards, and it creaks when the intruder comes across a particularly old plank. A low hiss followed by a curse, then the room falls silent again.
Tobio can't help but feel that he is still being watched though.
So, he turns around, the warmth of his duvet sliding off of him slowly as it falls onto the floor beside him. There is a scowl on his face and he curses every single being in heaven and hell for waking him up at this ungodly hour.
His eyes land on Shouyou.
He looks all tousled up, his locks sticking up cutely in various directions. The oversized shirt hangs loosely off one of his shoulders, and somehow it makes him appear even smaller than he already is. He seems a little lost as well and the sudden urge to gather him in his arms hits Tobio like a ton of bricks.
It is only then that he notices how anxious he looks even in the dim light. How his fingers are fidgeting nervously with the hem of his shirt as he rocks back and forth on his heels. Or the way his teeth worry his bottom lip while stubbornly refusing to meet Tobio's eyes. And Tobio swears, if there had been enough light, he would see Shouyou's face adorned by a rather adorable blush.
Shouyou squirms some more, his eyes adamantly fixed on the floor before he mumbles a short Can I sleep here tonight? His words jumble together and for a moment Tobio has difficulty grasping them over the rapid beating of his thumping heart.
Once they do though, Tobio sighs and wordlessly opens up the part of his duvet that is still on his bed. The coldness that seeps into his skin is almost instantly replaced by the small body of Shouyou as he crawls over him to wiggle his way under the blanket and into its warmth. Once he's settled Tobio lies down beside him, head burying in orange locks almost on instinct and hands snaking shyly around the others waist. Shouyou makes a muffled sound and Tobio tenses shortly, almost expecting Shouyou to push away. But the boy does no such thing and instead tucks his face into the others chest with a content sigh. None of them move after that, and they end up sharing the small space on the bed. Huddled together, Tobio can smell the sweet strawberry scent of Shouyou's shampoo as the soft strands tickle his nose.
Neither comments on the hand curled tightly in the back of Tobio's shirt, nor how their calves are touching just the tiniest bit or the way Shouyou's shoulders shake against his body as he sobs silently. Instead they fall into a peaceful silence and let their bodies soak in the comfortable warmth the other has to offer. The thoughts running a mile a minute inside their heads, replaying the last minutes of their last game, come to a halt. And while the loss is still fresh in their minds, just being together helps.
In the morning they will both shed themselves of their insecurities and put on a new skin. They will harden their resolve once more, bleed back into steel that won't bend no matter the hardships. They will st and strong in front of their teammates and look forward, forward, forward, yet never back.
The world is still moving and so are they, and there will be a next time, and a next and a next. And then another after that.
But for now, they will built their homes within in each other, draw the strength that will mend their broken spirits once more, and rise from the ashes of their broken dreams to come back stronger than ever before.
Because this is them, and morning dawns once more.