Waking Up
The morning light was unkind to his poor throbbing head. Sho heaved himself up off the bed, almost heaving up the meager contents of his stomach as he did.
"Unh," he moaned, cradling his head in his hands. Smushing his face as a form of retribution for hurting so badly, he gingerly turned his head, making sure the bed was empty.
The phantasm of last night had haunted his dreams. He winced, this time more at the pain inside than the way his pulse throbbed against his temple. His subconscious was even better at torture than Reino. He'd been so damn real. Sho let his hands fall, afraid to ghost them across his lips and lose the vague memory of the dream. He stood, the movement taking longer than it took a decrepit old man, easing his way up.
A sound more snarl than laugh confronted him from the doorway. Sho pressed his eyes closed, his hands covering his ears. It was morning. Another hallucination. He was breaking, slowly breaking.
Footsteps coming toward him.
He shook his head rapidly, willing away the sensations.
His shoulder— feather-light, nails then digging in— "Don't touch me!" he screamed, lashing out and throwing off the arm, his eyes meeting amused deep purple ones. A heartbeat and then he ran, shoving past Reino, stumbling to the door, his fingers slipping on the knob once, twice, and he was free, chaotic footfalls racing down the hallway with one thought ringing through his body: GO.
The sunlight burst over him like a shockwave and he stopped, staggering in place. He threw a glance over his shoulder— no one pursuing— and dashed across the street, collapsing into a seat at the coffee shop counter. His heart was racing, drumming against his rib cage like a terrified bird. A barista started over, then reconsidered and turned back to another table. He gripped the pole below the table, twisting his hands around it as he watched the door to his hotel.
There. Not two minutes passed and he emerged onto the street, too terribly normal in his black shirt and sunglasses, his silver hair wound up into a casual bun. Sho tensed, waiting, his feet planted and ready to flee. Reino stood quietly, looking over the morning pedestrians going about their business, then put his hands in his pockets and strode off.
Sho slumped over the table. He couldn't breathe. No, no— he finally could breathe. He wasn't going back. He'd buy all new clothes, and luggage, and never go back. He could run! And he had! Sho started laughing, the sound bursting out of him like new wine, shocking and bright. A man beside him frowned, shifting his chair sideways, but Sho didn't care. He felt it roll out of him, the pain and isolation and fear and suddenly he was just so very, very tired. Smiling weakly, he laid his head back on his hands, a mirror-image of himself in the room. Everything flipped now.
"Berry boy?" That voice again. Sho smiled, nuzzled down farther into his arms. They might throw him out for sleeping here, but he'd risk it for a few more glimpses of his dream.
"Sho," Koga's voice said. A hand fell on his shoulder and Sho jerked up, spinning around.
He held a small coffee in each hand. Paper to-go cups, little stoppers in the lids. Manicured fingernails, all the same length, capped fingers that obscured the scribbled notations for the coffee orders. "C / WC / " read one, "St / S / WC" the other. Jacket zipper hanging slightly askew, defying gravity by sheer willpower and a pull tugged too hard too often. All these details, filed away one by one as his brain struggled to wrap itself around the reality that this was not a dream.
"You're… here," he said, the tone implying a question.
Koga held a coffee out to him. "You're hungover."
The cup was overly warm. Sho clung to it, the heat sinking through to his pulse.
"I'm not dreaming."
Koga frowned at him. "You're in a coffee shop. Do you normally fall asleep in coffee shops? Or is this some affected 'I'm a cool American' thing."
Sho wanted to rub his eyes like a child on his birthday; he spun the coffee in his palms instead. "I— no, not normally— why are you here?"
Now it was Koga's turn to stammer.
"Ah. Why. You."
"A-Y-U?"
Koga shifted his weight, considering his coffee as if it held the secrets of the universe. "Can we?" He nodded at the hotel across the street, his eyes flicking to the customers on either side of Sho and back.
"Oh. Yeah, yeah." Sho swallowed, standing. The movement brought him close enough to bump Koga's coffee by accident. He mumbled an apology, but Koga neither answered nor moved back, his stillness drawing Sho's gaze up. He was close enough to see himself in his eyes. Last night came rushing over him and with a sharp intake of breath Sho realized none of it had been a dream. He leaned forward, drawn in by the way Koga's lips pressed together when he swallowed.
Koga stepped back and the spell broke. The tips of his ears burning with embarrassment, Sho turned and led the way out, sipping the scalding hot coffee as they crossed the street. His nerves were humming, filling his mind with white noise during the elevator ride.
He managed to get the door open, and they were inside.
"Went and got your boyfriend?" Reino drawled, sitting back on the bed indolently.
"Sho?" Koga questioned, still partially in the hallway.
Reino stood, walking over to take the coffee from Sho's hand. He sipped it, making a face before throwing it with a splash into the trash can. He leaned in to whisper in Sho's ear. "Good… you were starting to become predictable."
Sho could feel the anger rising in him, mixing with potent shame. Koga could see- he was there- and the knowledge that he was watching him be pulled apart, trapped and turned into a pathetic excuse for a man twisted inside him.
"You left- you-" he started, his hands pressing against Reino's chest. He grunted, forcing the words out. He would not be the pathetic one, not now. "You missed her, you know- she's gone!" He felt triumph surging through him at the knowledge that at the very least he'd been spared that much. Everything else was burning, but this dick had missed out on the one thing he had wanted.
Reino's laugh ripped through his triumph. "I know," he said, his voice silken as he stepped back. His eyes were still staring over Sho's shoulder. Koga was so quiet. Had he left? Sho couldn't blame him; he wouldn't want to watch this sick show. He had to get out of here-
"I lied," Reino said, cutting off Sho's thoughts. He looked up at Reino in startlement. "It made it more fun, you thinking you were saving someone." Icy realization crept over Sho, freezing him slowly. "It was never about her. It's always been about you." Reino finally looked at him, drawing a fingernail slowly down his neck. "Carefully, tenderly, breaking you."
A snarl erupted behind him and Koga's hand struck out, grabbing Reino's collar over Sho's shoulder and shoving him back against the wall. He stepped around Sho, his face twisted with rage.
"You bastard." He spat the words out.
"Don't let him touch you!" Sho yelled. He reached for Koga to pull him back but Reino was there, wrapping his fingers around Koga's wrist, a dark smile twisting his features.
"This one is your choice?" Reino's voice fell mockingly over Sho, a drape of darkness. His gaze raked over Koga. "He's broken." His fist tightened around Koga's wrist as he leaned in close. "Empty."
Koga's eyes lit with fire. "You know what happens when you break an empty bottle?"
Uncertainty flickered in Reino's eyes, his grip shifting on Koga as unsaid thoughts passed between them.
"It becomes a weapon."
He had time to snarl before Koga's fist was slamming into his face, punching him again and again. It was a moment, a heart's breath of fury but Sho could see it all, the shock of impact, the way knuckles dig into skin and bone, lip splitting and bright blood staining flesh and then it was done and Reino was staggering, rushing, his face white and wild as he cursed at them and fled and he was gone.
