Chapter Text
Mayoi opens his eyes to pitch black darkness. The air surrounding him having the viscosity of thick mud, enshrouding him, suffocating him. Every step drags his feet down like freshly-mixed cement, it pulls on his legs constantly like quick sand. No matter how much he traverses the barren, unchanging scenery, it feels like he is heading nowhere. Wait, where is he heading exactly? What is the point of all of this? He doesn't know, but despite the growing uncertainty and the heaviness coming from his burdened feet, he continues marching on. Run away... to anywhere but here.
After a few minutes of aimless wandering, he starts hearing whispers in every direction. Toxicity in every word being uttered much like deadly poison, paralyzing him in place. It laughs at him mockingly, taunting him. He doesn’t fight it. He knows, he knows that it’s true. It’s all true. He wallows in insults that grow increasingly hostile by the second, the feeling of phantom hands pointing at him with pure disdain. This must be his punishment for being himself.
Then silence. Time seems to have stopped as he feels a gentle warmth enveloping his helpless frame. A warmth so faint but it became his saving grace, it pulled him up from the depths of the abyss. In that instance, the cruel and dark environment gradually dissipates, replaced by a familiar bedroom that materializes in front of his very eyes.
“Mayo-chan...” a whisper resonates in his ears, all too comforting. The heat from soft exhales grazes the bare skin of his nape. The tickling sensation helps him regain his senses and he finds himself wrapped from behind in the source’s embrace.
A tear trickles down his face without warning, the salty droplet slowly leaving traces as it makes its way to the hugger’s arms. Another drop manages to escape his eyes, then another, and another. Soon, the small, contained whimpers escalated into loud, uncontrolled cries as he buries his face in his palms. He was scared, but most importantly, he felt like he deserved it. Someone born from the darkness could never deserve such dazzling light.
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Niki patiently waits for the trembling person in front of him, his gentle but sturdy hold unrelenting. During their time together, they both had their fair share of spiraling negative thoughts and stormy days, so much that they’ve gotten better at dealing with them. He knows what Mayoi needs at this moment, just as Mayoi knows what he needs when he is feeling the same. However, sometimes the situations can change.
As the tremors violently intensify and breaths become increasingly ragged, he pulls Mayoi closer to his chest, fear starting to take over his rationality. He’s afraid of a possibility-- that if he loosens his hold even by just a millimeter, the other might slip away and disappear, becoming eternally lost on a place that he could never reach.
“Mayo-chan, Mayo-chan...” he calls out to the void, hoping to catch the attention of the person inside it, hoping to convince them into turning around and running straight for the light. Eventually, the calls recede to mellow whispers.
“ Mayo-chan...”
A stimulus. A single teardrop caresses his forearm and it was all it took for his growing distress to soothe. Wetness puddles on the space between his arms as a continuous stream of beads run down to integrate with each other.
A drop falls eventually, escaping from a slight gap on his limbs, then it stamps a damp circle on the sheets.
Simultaneously, a pair of glassy orbs connects with his.
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Mayoi turns his head around to face his savior, a relieved expression greeting him as soon as he laid eyes on his face. Not a face of malice that he saw in his vision, nor a face of disgust that he imagined. Just pure affection. His body soon follows, entwining with the embrace of the older man.
“I’m sorry.” he buries his face on the other’s collarbone, attempting to hide his unkempt appearance from the piercing gaze “I look repulsive right now.”
Niki doesn’t give a verbal response. Instead, he cups Mayoi’s head with his hands and starts peppering his face with light kisses, completely unbothered by the salty taste of his skin.
“Are you feeling better now?” he leaves the purple-haired man one last mark on his lips before asking.
Mayoi nods weakly and they return to their previous intimate cuddling position. After a while, Niki breaks the hug and rises from the bed.
“ Shall I make us something sweet to eat?”