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It was more bothersome than anything else undertaking this mission, if Yuu had to be honest.
Yes, they were traveling to rescue Guren and Mirai in Sanguinem, which Yuu stood behind 100%, but now that the war was over, the streets were much safer than what they used to be, and their heroic journey slowly turned into less heroism and more miles and miles of just walking.
By the time evening has rolled around, nearly everyone is exhausted, except for Mikaela of course.
“Let’s stop to rest for a minute,” Yuu whines loudly to the others, stopping to lean over and place his hands on his knees.
The others in front of him pause as well, glancing back.
“No,” Shinoa says simply, turning to walk again. The others follow and begin to trail after her.
“What!” Yuu cries, outraged that they would continue and leave him there. “Everyone’s tired, though!” he yells, chasing after them.
“I know,” Shinoa tells him over her shoulder, “but we’re not going to stop in the middle of the street in the rain like an idiot.” Yuu huffs under his breath, insulted. “We’re going to find a dry place to stay for the night.”
As Yuu stands still, staring at his friend’s backs and wondering why he didn’t think of that idea first so he could have shown Shinoa up instead of the reverse, Mika looks back to him with a fond smile.
“C’mon, Yuu-chan.”
A few minutes later, the group finds and settles on an old, empty store on the corner of a street. It might have been a bakery at some point, or maybe just a small cornerstore that sold candy bars and soda, but now it is just a building filled with empty shelves and dusty floors.
They stepped off the sand of the beach hours ago and can no longer even see the sea, though the fresh beach air is still on the breeze and wet sand is still sticking to their shoes.
True to what Yuu said when standing in the ocean, it had started to rain not long after they started walking, and soon the sand became a clumpy mess to walk on. Mika had scolded Yuu for at least ten minutes for foolishly walking into the water and getting the bottom of his jeans all wet, but Yuu had just laughed it off and told him that he was fine with a little water. Honestly, he couldn’t have told Mika what possessed him to wander into the sea. Somehow, he had just felt like he had to. At the time, it had just felt right. Yuu couldn’t explain the feeling even if he tried.
“Well, today was boring as hell,” Yuu comments as they all step out of the light rain and into the shelter of the old store.
Yoichi hands Kimizuki’s jacket back to him, who had given it to the smaller boy to keep him dry when it started to rain. “It was peaceful,” he disagrees in a cheerful voice, following the others behind a large shelf for some privacy from the open doorway exposing the building to the street.
“Nah, it would have been cooler if a Horseman showed up or something,” Mitsuba says, setting her bag down on the tile floor alongside the other’s. “Or a stray vampire, or something. All we got was wet clothes, sandy boots, and Shinoa’s boring attempts at small talk.”
Shinoa straightens up from where she was reaching into a bag to pull out rations of food for their dinner and glares. “Well, excuse me. At least I was trying to break the silence a little.”
“Some of us appreciated the silence,” Kimizuki says pointedly, sitting down beside Narumi and taking the food from Shinoa’s hands.
Mika sets his bag down as the others bicker behind him, taking off his damp brown coat and setting it down too, before looking over at Yuu, who is lingering near the doorway and looking out down the street.
Pulling at the sleeves of his white sweater, he approaches Yuu with a soft smile, placing a hand on his arm.
“They’re getting ready to eat, Yuu-chan. Come in and put your things down.”
Yuu, previously lost in thought, looks to Mika in surprise, as if he didn’t see him there, and then glances to the heads of those still standing up behind the metal shelf. “Oh,” he mutters, still slightly distracted, moving to walk further into the shelter. “Yeah.”
Mika follows, mildly concerned about why Yuu has been acting so distracted and odd lately, making a mental note to talk to him about it later.
The whole group gets their food unpacked and eats in a tight rectangle, some sitting with their backs against the shelf, some sitting right across from them, and two sitting on either side to close the rectangular setup. They can almost pretend they are at a dining room table somewhere nice and not in a dusty cold building, but the chill from the open doorway and the sound of rainfall drifting in shatters that illusion easily.
Mika sits with the group and talks with them as they eat, turned away from them and working on getting their sleeping mats unrolled. Shinoa and Yoichi make a big effort to include the vampire into the conversation, and Mika thinks they probably just feel bad because they’re eating human food in front of him, something he can’t really do anymore. He appreciates the kindness and talks with them for a long while, not nearly as bothered as they assume him to be.
Though they don’t say much to each other, caught in separate conversations, Mika and Yuu catch eyes from across the rectangle several times, both cherishing the little knowing looks they share. Sometimes they don’t need to say anything at all to communicate.
After dinner time, they all agree to go to sleep early in order to get a good start in the morning tomorrow, and set up their sleeping mats in a tight formation. Yoichi, Kimizuki, and Narumi lay down in a straight line, with Shinoa and Mitsuba laying side-by-side across from them, with their heads facing the boys. Mika sets his and Yuu’s bags perpendicular to the others, facing the middle of their two lines.
“Good night, everyone,” Shinoa calls out to the others, and they all murmur good nights in response, snuggling into their thin blankets for the night.
All except for Yuu, Mika notices soon as he rolls over to face the other. His mat is completely empty, his blanket folded back over it. Mika lays and stares at it for a while before sitting up quietly and looking around their little circle. After a while of nothing but soft breathing from those who have fallen asleep, he slips away from his mat and stands, the tile floor cold under his socked feet.
He spots a sway of black in the dull moonlight from over the shelf and steps around it, his feet light on the floor and making no noise, so as to not wake the others.
Yuu is standing in the open doorway again, gazing down the city street. Mika stands beside the shelf and watches him from a few feet away for a while, eyes running over his bare feet, as he took off his socks to let them dry, and his still damp jeans. His dark hoodie is off, and his arms are crossed over his chest, but Mika can’t tell if it’s because he’s thinking or because he’s cold.
“Yuu-chan?” he whispers, taking a step towards him finally.
Yuu turns quickly to look towards the voice, but when he recognizes who it is, his features soften and he holds a hand out. Mika steps forward to take it and stand by Yuu’s side.
“What are you doing out here in the cold?” Mika asks, still whispering. He steps close to the other and takes both of his hands into his own, rubbing his cold fingers.
“I was just thinking,” Yuu mutters back, letting Mika fuss over his hands. He stares into Mika’s face, appreciating the glow of his soft red eyes and light blond hair under the moonlight. “Are the others asleep?”
“Mhm,” Mika hums in confirmation, looking back into the store. He lets go of one of Yuu’s hands and turns to go back inside. “Let’s go get your jacket. It’s cold out here.”
“No,” Yuu protests immediately, grabbing his other hand and holding him back. “I’m fine.”
He pulls Mika close to him and wraps his arms around his waist before he can go and get Yuu’s jacket anyway, rubbing his cool hands along the back of his sweater.
Mika blushes in his arms but returns the hug, sighing. “Yuu-chan, are you okay?”
“I’m great now,” Yuu sighs out happily, and Mika’s blush deepens against his will. “I’ve just been thinking about stuff recently. Just... You know. Everything.”
“I know,” Mika mumbles. “Just try not to let it overwhelm you, okay? I worry about you sometimes.”
“You mean all the time,” Yuu teases, and smiles when he can practically hear the pout in Mika’s grumbled response.
Yuu slips his hands slowly under Mika’s sweater before he has a chance to notice, and the vampire jumps when he feels Yuu’s cold fingers grip his bare sides, gasping. “Yuu-chan!”
“Shh,” Yuu shushes him, spreading his hands over the small of Mika’s back under his sweater. “You’ll wake the others.”
“You’re too cold for this,” Mika complains, squirming slightly but otherwise letting Yuu use his back as a personal handwarmer.
“I thought vampires were immune to the cold or something,” Yuu jokes, but Mika worms his hands up Yuu’s shirt as well, touching his warm sides and making him jump too.
“Well, vampires have no real body heat, Yuu-chan. Which means that when your hands feel cold to me, they are really, really cold.”
“God!” Yuu gasps out, and Mika removes his hands from under his shirt, chuckling. “So what you’re saying is that when it’s cold outside, you become even more of a human popsicle.”
“Yes. Except not... human,” Mika whispers back, the levity slowly leaving his voice, and Yuu mentally kicks his own ass for making that stupid verbal slip-up.
He’s tempted to apologize to Mika, explaining that it’s just a saying, but he decides not to dwell on it, instead leaning away from the hug and meeting Mika’s eyes. They are still bright red in the light, still with that captivating glow to them, and Yuu now realizes exactly why vampires are generalized as being mystifying and seductive. During his childhood, of course he never saw them as that, and when he joined the Demon Army, they were only his mortal enemies, but now, staring at Mika like this, he sees something entirely different.
Mika’s eyes are also fixed on him just as intensely, and Yuu swears he sees them wander down his face and suspiciously close to his jawline.
“Are you hungry?” he offers, watching as Mika’s face immediately turns as red as his eye color and taking silent pleasure in witnessing such a reaction.
“Well. I. Uh,” Mika stutters out, his eyes quickly darting away and looking to the street outside.
“You can tell me these things, Mika,” Yuu says with a smile. “That’s how this is suppose to work.”
“But I’m not hungry,” Mika rushes to say, looking down. “I just... Um..” He trails off, obviously overwhelmed with embarrassment. Yuu tries not to laugh at the rather cute look on his blushing face. “I was just thinking...”
“You want a snack?” Yuu asks, unable to keep the grin off his face, and Mika looks up in total mortification.
“Don’t call it that!” he cries, looking at Yuu like he’s betrayed him in some horrible way that can never be rectified, and Yuu has to cover his mouth to muffle his laughter.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he blurts out between laughs, grabbing Mika’s wrists to keep him from fleeing, but the vampire is obviously stronger and uses that to his advantage to pull a hand from Yuu’s grasp and cover his mouth with it.
Yuu’s eyes grow wide in surprise, one of his hands uselessly pulling at Mika’s fingers over his mouth, as Mika leans in with a wicked look in his narrowed eyes. “This is your payback...” he whispers before ducking his head, and Yuu feels an unexpected prick on his neck.
He bites his lip behind Mika’s hand at both the sudden pain and pleasure, letting his head dip back and his eyes close, as Mika’s hand slowly falls away from his mouth and drops to grip his shoulder. The vampire only lingers for about five seconds in total before pulling away, only taking the equivalent of a “snack”, as Yuu called it, though it still makes him blush to even think of it that way.
As Yuu blinks, taken off guard, and runs his fingertips lightly over the new wounds, Mika watches and tilts his head down, humiliation and shame washing over his entire body at the realization of what he’s just done.
“I’m sorry...” he whispers, unable to meet Yuu’s eyes. When Yuu doesn’t say anything, he grits his teeth and stares at Yuu’s bare feet on the ground. “I should have warned you. I won’t do that again. I promise. I swear.”
He shuts his eyes tight when he feels Yuu’s hand touch his cheek, drowning in guilt for taking advantage of him in such a way. “Remember I said you can use me if you want to, Mika,” Yuu murmurs affectionately, obviously trying to appeal to him, but it does nothing to stop the wave of regret. If anything, those words make it worse.
“And I said I never would!” Mika stresses, leaning away from Yuu’s touch, like he doesn’t deserve it anymore. “I don’t want you to ever have to fear me... To ever see me as.. as a monster.”
The vampire’s voice is passionate and deeply hurt, but Yuu just scoffs, hoping it will snap him out of it. “Me? Afraid of you? Yeah, good luck with that,” he jokes lightly, but Mika peeks up at him from under his lashes, a frown still on his lips, clearly not amused by the jeer, and Yuu sighs.
“C’mon, let’s go inside. I’m just getting colder and colder standing out here, and I know you are, too,” he says, taking Mika’s hand and leading him back inside. His bare feet pad softly on the floor, but Mika’s footsteps are completely silent behind him.
They get themselves both settled on the sleeping mats without waking anyone else up, but Yuu notices how far away they are from each other now, not even within arm’s length, and decides to do something about that. He slides right up next to Mika, essentially connecting their two mats into one big one, and smiles at Mika’s frowning face.
“Don’t sleep beside me, Yuu-chan,” Mika mumbles, dejected. “I could hurt you in your sleep somehow.”
“That’s so untrue that it’s almost laughable,” Yuu says dismissively, continuing to scoot close and reach out for Mika. The other boy lies motionless on his back as Yuu squirms his way onto his chest and wraps his arms around his neck. “Remember when we use to sleep like this as kids?” Yuu whispers into his ear, chuckling.
Mika is completely silent before he finally moves, shifting a little under Yuu’s weight, but still not moving to embrace him. “I remember when I used to wake up like this. Crushed under you in the night,” Mika grumbles, and Yuu almost laughs out loud, threatening to wake the others, so he presses his mouth to Mika’s shoulder and muffles his laugh there.
“Well, I can’t really crush you anymore...” Yuu starts slyly, pressing his face against Mika’s cool neck. “And you don’t need to use a blanket. So I’ll just be your blanket for you.”
Mika blushes, but is touched enough by the words that he finally brings his arms up to hold Yuu against him. “We both know you’ll end up halfway across the room by morning anyway,” he teases, smiling when Yuu laughs into his sweater again.
As they both relax and silence takes over the room, with Yuu gently breathing against his neck, Mika clears his throat lightly and hugs Yuu tighter. “Yuu-chan,” he starts, his voice a shallow whisper, “I really am sorry about what I did earlier. It was wrong of me.”
“And I really am serious about what I said, too,” Yuu responds light-heartedly.
Mika furrows his eyebrows, frustrated that Yuu isn’t listening to what he’s trying to say. He needs Yuu to understand that he would never take advantage of him, either for something cruel or just for a joke. Never. “Yuu-chan, don’t joke about this. I’m saying I’m-”
There is a gentle pressure at the corner of Mika’s mouth suddenly, interrupting what he was about to say. Soft and warm and lovely against his cool skin. He falls completely silent when he feels it and stays silent when Yuu leans away.
“I love you, Mika...” Yuu breathes, finding Mika’s eyes in the darkness. They’re opened wide in surprise. “If you want to use me, especially for something so trivial as that, I will let you. Any time. People have already used you so much.” Mika tries to avert his eyes, but Yuu works his arm out from under the other and holds his chin. “People have used you all your life... You would let the vampires use you when we were kids, and you saw how angry that made me. Then vampires continued to use you, and you were even used by your real parents. Abused by them,” Yuu growls now, getting upset just thinking about all the shit Mika has had to go through.
He shakes off the anger, looks Mika in the eyes, and smiles. “So you can have me,” he whispers to his only real family, his one and only, meaning every word. “Have me, and use me, and do whatever you want to me, because I’m here for you. And I will be here no matter what you do or who you are.”
He runs a thumb along Mika’s cheek softly as if to wipe a tear away, and although Mika is not even crying, that simple gesture prompts a tear to slip from his eye. Yuu is right there and ready to catch it as it falls.
“That’s so unfair to say, Yuu-chan...” Mika mumbles out, and Yuu readily wipes away even more of his tears as they fall. “Sometimes I think you just say these things to make me cry.”
“No,” Yuu whispers back. “I say them because I mean them.” His insides flutter when Mika looks at him and smiles brightly at his words, one of those heart-stopping, beautiful, genuinely happy smiles, and Yuu can’t resist hugging him close anymore.
They lay together talking for another whole hour, joking and laughing, sharing their feelings and ideas on what else their journey will have in store for them. Eventually, after a moment of silence, Mika feels Yuu’s body settle more heavily against him, their chests pressing firmly together, and Mika smiles at the realization that Yuu fell asleep on him in the middle of talking.
He moves one of his hands to Yuu’s head, holding him close in the night so that his joke of Yuu rolling off of him really doesn’t come true somehow, and, for the first time in a long time, falls asleep with a smile on his lips, Yuu’s heartfelt words still running through his thoughts.
In the morning, Shinoa, the first to wake up, finds Yuu’s mat empty, with him still sprawled out over Mika, drool dripping from his mouth onto Mika’s neck, and grins quietly.
She giggles maliciously to herself, fully planning on using this image against Yuu to endlessly tease him in the future, but takes longer than necessary to roll up her own sleeping mat beside them, purposely letting the whole group, including the two friends, sleep like that peacefully for just a little bit longer.