His breathing was harsh and quick, closely resembling the loud sobs that often plagued him.
Everything hurt. Everything.
He had long given up searching for an escape, long stopped hugging himself and whispering that he'd be fine, and long ceased to move from where he was shoved back into the room. None of that did any good anyways.
So he lay on the cold concrete floor and struggled against the now constant threat of hysteria. With his eyes shut tight and his fingers curled in white-knuckled fists, Yuu struggled to control the raging, consuming fear that had built up inside him.
Every shadow and scuffle sent his mind into a panic, and his imagination had become his worst enemy. Every thought was grim, so Yuu tried to stop thinking completely. Waiting was torture.
If he could just hold out a little longer, if he could cling to sanity and hope just a tiny bit longer, then maybe someone would find him.
The door opened. Yuu let go of his control and began wailing senselessly as a guard dragged him by his foot from the "safety" of his cell.
His only comforting thought was that maybe this time they'd slip up and kill him. Life this way was not worth it.
-.]
He needed to help Little boy somehow. Watching him suffer like this made his heart hurt. He wanted to make things better.
He made up his mind, clinging to the vague clarity that eluded him so often, to go into the light when Little boy was brought back. He could help Little boy. He was sure. Not very much, but maybe stop him from crying. Stop him from laying on the floor like there was nothing left to live for. He hated that. He hated seeing Little boy hurt.
When he sees Little boy shoved back in, he waits for him to fall asleep first.
Nervous. He takes a breath and slowly slides forward from his corner. Silver, though very dirty, hair glides over the concrete as it trails after him. He hesitates halfway, blinking fiercely against the dim light peeping from the square on the door. It hurt. Hurting lots. Black fuzzy dots began to pepper his sight, but he squeezes his eyes shut and shakes it off.
Not time to focus on pain. Little boy. Little boy needed help. Little boy needed him.
He lets out a pained sigh when he settles next to Little boy. This was close. He had been just watching for so long. Being this close was weird. He reaches out and brushes a stiff hand over his arm. Little boy shifts and mumbles in his sleep. His face was wet. Crying did that.
His stiff hands struggle to pull Little boy onto his lap. His fingers weren't always stiff. He knew that. They once moved easily. Now they were awkward.
He gives another sigh, this time in accomplishment. Little boy was laying quietly over his legs, still breathing softly and sleeping. He pushes himself back against the wall.
And now he waits.
-.]
For once, his dreams weren't as torturous as his reality. Rather, instead he was dreaming about home. Tsubasa was smiling at him. The room was foggy, but Yuu saw Tsubasa's face perfectly. That gentle smile made Yuu's heart clench. He might have been saying something too, during the dream, but Yuu couldn't hear it or see his mouth move. It was only an impression he got that Tsubasa had spoken.
"What?!" He yells. Suddenly it seems very windy in the room. Really hard to hear over the wind. He sees Tsubasa's lips move this time, but no sound. "What?! Speak louder!"
The wind gets stronger. It was getting harder to hear over it. The roar of the wind was too loud...
Then suddenly it wasnt the wind, but the sounds of the cell. Despair washes over Yuu as he wakes and realizes that it was just a dream. He didn't want to wake up. Maybe if he just kept his eyes shut like this... Though wait.
The warmth of the room was still there. There was no hard cold concrete floor under him, rather something softer and warner.
Yuu opens his eyes.
Tsubasa's face gazes back at him.
Yuu jerks up into an upright position and stares at Tsubasa's face, taking it in. He couldn't be... Tsubasa was... Tsubasa was HERE!
Yuu launches himself forward and squeezes Tsubasa hard around his ribs, Yuu's face pressed hard into his chest.
There was no way. Yuu was imagining things. Yuu was dreaming. This wasn't real.
But... It was. He could feel Tsubasa, solid and completely real, under his hands.
Tsubasa was real. Tsubasa was here. Yuu's mind wouldn't stop circling around those thoughts like a CD stuck on repeat.
Yuu wasn't alone here. He clings to Tsubasa tightler. The relief building was too much and he broke into tears again.
He wasn't going to die alone here because Tsubasa was here. He was going to be found because Tsubasa was right here, right in front of him!
For once in this cell, Yuu didn't feel weak, helpless, or ashamed about his crying. He was going to be alright now.
-.]
He watched Little boy grab onto him tightly and start crying again, remaining still. Then he got a feeling. That feeling knew what he should do next. So he followed it, and wrapped his arms around crying Little boy.
Hug. Yes. That's what it was... Right? Hug.
He could hold onto Little boy and keep him from breaking apart. Hold him tightly so he wouldn't explode from all the bad stuff that made him upset. He knew what an explosion was. It had been in his head. That had been a while ago though. Before little boy came.
The explosion had hurt, and sometimes his head still hurt. He was hurting right now, because the light was pushing on his head and hurting him. His eyes were blurry too.
Little boy was alright though. That was good. Impor... Important.
His face felt stiff though. Maybe because off the stuff on it. It was stuck to his face and had been since the explosion. It was itchy sometimes. Right now it was.
He lifts a hand and scratches at it. Flakes fell down. They... Red. Red and black mixed. Dark. He wasn't sure where the stuff had come from. It was bad though, he was pretty sure. He had seen it before, and sometimes Little boy had it on him.
The red was bad.
Hugs were good.
And holding Little boy together was good.
And it's Tsubasa! Congrats to the winner, Yuu101cutie, for being correct. I award you fifty virtual brownie points. Enjoy.
Most popular guess was Reji. I guess that was due to the way I wrote him. Reji would have been interesting... I like him, maybe I'll have to write about him sometime.
Now, brownie points to whoever can guess what's up with Tsubasa. I thought I made it slightly clearer in this chapie, but I might be wrong.
Review, or I'll make them both drop dead in the worst, most uninteresting/uncreative way possible.