Work Text:
A railway station
On a long forgotten line
No destination
But it always leaves on time
He buys his tickets
As the train prepares to leave
Don't want to miss it
On this evening Christmas Eve
Yamato arrived at the train station bundled up against the falling snow. It was an older train that headed into the country rather than the standard high speed train and Yamato was surprised that it was still even running. He had received an email from Sora saying to head to this specific train station and that Taichi would be waiting at the last stop. Taichi and Yamato's relationship had ended nearly five years ago. Yamato had been the one to end it. At the time, he was still in the band and Yamato was still struggling with caring too much about what other people thought of him. His pained reminiscence ended abruptly as he realized that the train was preparing to leave. He looked around until he saw the area to buy his ticket. He braced himself as he got the ticket and boarded the train. As Yamato took his seat, he noted that he wasn't the only passenger on this old train line. But most other people were like him, sitting quietly in their seats.
He stared into the night no expectations
He watched the world go by without a sound
He saw the city lights arrive and fade away
While all that night
All that night
The snow came down
No conversation
As the snow fell from the sky
His consolation
That the world is well disguised
Yamato stared out of the window watching the city lights fade in and out of his view as the snow continued falling. He tried not to get his hopes up. He knew Taichi was loyal, but it had been five years. Would he really show up after all of this time? Would he really be willing to try again? The world wasn't a kind place, he knew that all too well between his parents divorce and the music industry. He pushed away the person who genuinely cared about him because he was worried about the homophobia of Japan. Yamato cringed as his mind replayed the nasty comments that he heard throughout his career as a musician. How selfish it was to ignore the needs of the society. How it was gay people's fault for the population crisis of Japan. The snow made the city and country a beautiful winter wonderland, but really it just covered up the cruel realities of the world we live in. Then again, the pure snow often got muddied quickly, so maybe it was as fleeting as everything else in life. Yamato couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all...
He stared into the night no expectations
He watched the world go by without a sound
He saw the city lights arrive and fade away
While all that night
All that night
The snow came down
He stared into the night, no expectations
But in his heart he wanted to believe
That somehow someone would be waiting there
Upon this Christmas Eve
The train stopped to let some of the other passengers off. Yamato couldn't bring himself to stand up and get off the train. Maybe loving Taichi was selfish, but it wasn't like he could stop. He had tried to all these years. So many days he sat looking at his phone wondering if the number he had for Taichi was still accurate. Yamato didn't want to admit to himself how much he really wanted Taichi to still be there. To know that Taichi still loved him. To see the warm and bright smile. Would the world have changed him too? The more that he thought about seeing Taichi, the more he longed, so he cleared his head again. He would be devastated if Taichi wasn't there and all of this hoping and wishing was for nothing.
And when his train it pulled into that station
He saw there was a single pair of tracks
Within the snow and leading to that station door
And he followed those steps back
The train continued traveling on throughout the Christmas Eve night and eventually pulled up to the last stop. Yamato braced himself emotionally as he stood up and headed over to the train door. When he got to the exit, he saw a pair of tracks heading up into the old station and he let out a breath of air that he didn't quite realize he was holding in. He started heading up along the same path his heart beating louder with each step. After what seemed like an eternity, he reached the old station door and pulled it open. And saw Taichi standing near one of the walls, bundled up against the cold as well, and a smile graced Taichi's face when he saw Yamato.
“You're here.” The phrase left Yamato's lips in almost a whisper. Taichi approached him, the smile never leaving his face.
“I knew you'd come. I believed you would.” The familiar words warmed Yamato from the inside. Taichi approached him and Yamato wrapped his arms around Taichi, pulling him close into a hug.
“Thank you for believing in me. But I'm sorry I'm so late.”
Taichi wrapped his arms around back. They stayed like that but before long, Taichi couldn't help chuckling.
“That was more than a little bit sappy, wasn't it?”
“You're the one who started it, idiot,” Yamato replied, his snark laced with affection. Taichi's laughs reverberated through his chest and the small room and Yamato smiled. He was glad to know Taichi hadn't changed much over the years. Taichi pulled away looking Yamato in the eyes.
“I've missed you.” Taichi's love and honesty shone in his eyes and Yamato felt his heart melt under the gaze.
“I've missed you, too.” Taichi's honesty affected Yamato's. He felt like some warmth had entered back into his life even with the coldness of the night around them.
“So what now?”
Yamato tensed at the question. He knew that Japan had improved slightly in their views, but there would be plenty of complications waiting for them. But, he didn't want to leave Taichi's warmth. Not when he just had it back in his life. His grip tightened on Taichi's coat and he felt Taichi's gloved hand lifted his face up again so their gazes were level. Yamato saw Taichi gaze between his eyes and lips, and Yamato understood that Taichi was looking for permission. Yamato crashed his lips against Taichi's in near desperation. Taichi pressed back against the kiss with the same energy and passion, both of them relishing the moment. By the time they parted, they were both completely out of breath.
“I want to stay by your side. I don't care if people have an issue with it. I need you in my life.”
That was all Taichi needed to hear to take Yamato's hands and place his lips back on Yamato's. Taichi pulled back after the brief kiss.
“We should probably get back inside and warmed up,” noted Taichi as he could see the harsh red of the cold on Yamato's pale skin. Yamato looked around the small station for the first time. They were in a small empty lobby. There was a glass ticket window in the corner of the room and a door that led into the room from there. But, it was deserted.
“How did you get in here?” Yamato asked the first question that came into his mind. Taichi blinked before answering.
“Oh, well, I actually was waiting by the train tracks originally, but after a little bit of waiting I figured I would try the building to get out of the snow. The door was unlocked. This place seems to be fairly abandoned, but I guess it didn't have enough value for people to care or it was to let the occasional person wait out a snow storm if they got caught out here, although some way to heat the place would really help in that case.” Taichi shrugged, not really sure what else to say. Yamato nodded and headed back to the door. Upon opening the door, Yamato's eyes went wide as he realized another issue.
“The train already left...” Yamato stood frozen. He hadn't expected that. They weren't stuck were they? While he wanted to be with Taichi, the idea of being stuck somewhere with no food or heat in the middle of a snowy night was not nearly so appealing. Taichi walked up to his side, and quelled Yamato's concerns.
“There's a small village just over the hill. I've rented a place there for the next couple of weeks, so we can stay there if that works for you at least until a train comes again. I don't really know what your schedule is...” Yamato turned to face Taichi again.
“I have the next few days off from the restaurant I'm working in, but I can't stay longer than that. What are you doing up here for two weeks?”
“Skiing!” A huge grin broke out across Taichi's face as he answered. “I got a couple of weeks off, so I figured I'd try something new and this place is great for skiing.” Yamato smirked at the answer. That definitely sounded like Taichi.
“Got enough for two?”
“I'm sure I can find something.”
With that figured out, Yamato reached out to take Taichi's hand and they headed towards the warmth of the village, the snow falling down from the sky.
And on this night of our salvation
Where dreams that have been lost
Can there be found
They walked away together
On that Christmas Eve
While all that night
All that night
The snow came down
*Two years later* Sora smiled as she watched Taichi and Yamato. Taichi had his arm wrapped around Yamato's shoulders, snuggling and warming up after the impromptu snowball fight earlier. She was happy that it worked. Although, she wasn't surprised. She had found out from the holders of the crest of hope and light of the group that their older brothers still had feelings for each other. They just needed a little push. Nothing that couldn't be done by the owner of the crest of love. She smiled leaning back against Joe, feeling his arm wrapping around her shoulder. Christmas in Japan would always be a lover's holiday and this Christmas was no different.
The End.