Title: Hand to Hand
Pairings/Characters: ShuichixTatsuha, Eiri/Shuichi
Length: 400 words
Theme: Snow
It was snowing that day as they walked to the train station to escort Tatsuha home. Shuichi was walking between Tatsuha and Eiri, unusually quiet. He had a knit hat pulled snuggly over his head, but the other two men went with their heads uncovered. He was holding Eiri's hand, squeezing tightly and looking up at him, watching the way the snow collected on his blond head. Actually, it was amazing he hadn't tripped now or that Eiri hadn't yelled at him. So Shuichi had been savoring the moment until he heard Tatsuha cough.
That was the whole reason for this little trip. Tatsuha had come down with a cold and Eiri had refused to let him drive back on his own. Another cough and Shuichi found himself looking at Tatsuha. He was looking forward, trying to pretend he hadn't been coughing. He hadn't wanted to go home, but Eiri had insisted, tired of their father calling.
The snow on Tatsuha's hair showed up more clearly than it did against Eiri's. White against black, just as pretty as white against gold. He still remembered before they had left, Tatsuha begging him to get Eiri to change his mind. He still remembered the one line Tatsuha had said: "Why don't you love me as much as you love him? Are we that different?"
After that, both Shuichi and Tatsuha had been silent, trying to forget the strange outburst. Shuichi hadn't answered him and hadn't planned on it, until now. He glanced at Eiri once more and was relieved to see that like Tatsuha, his eyes were facing forward. Shuichi carefully reached out with his other hand and took Tatsuha's. He heard an intake of air at first, and then he felt his hand being squeezed. It wasn't a proper answer, especially when he was also holding Eiri's hand, but it was the best he could do.
But, when they finally arrived at the train station, it was apparently enough. Because Tatsuha got on the train with a smile instead of the frown he'd had on before. He brushed the snow off his hair, before waving good bye. All with the hand Shuichi had held, which now felt like it was burning. And even now, days later, it still remembered that heat.