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The air was freezing in the room on the top of the ruins that became the guerillas' hideout.
That wasn't what kept Akane awake though.It was the idea of sleeping under the same roof as him that made her restless.
The sheets had a familiar scent of cologne,sweat,books and Spinel and that alone made her unable to close her eyes.
On the other hand,Kougami's breathing was peaceful and regular. He was sleeping soundly as if laying on a row of chairs wasn't uncomfortable.He might have slept in more uncomfortable places though, going through lands without laws and fighting for his beliefs. Still, she was ridiculously happy that he left his bed to her despite the fact that they might be ennemies when tomorrow's light comes.
Right now,she wasn't an inspector and he wasn't a fugitive ; just a man and a woman sharing shelter in a cold night in a foreign land. That didn't mean anything but it made her happy and sad all at once and she missed those feelings of deep melancholy that she couldn't feel anywhere but by his side.
Lost in her thoughts,Akane didn't realise that Shinya's breathing had grown irregular until she heard muffled sounds coming from his direction. Worried, she got out of bed and moved close to him.
It was a full moon night and the light softly illuminated his face.
The peaceful expression that the young man had on his face after saying good night to her had long left his face and he looked like he was suffering deeply for his handsome features were distorted in pain.
At that moment, Akane was sure that Kougami was seeing a nightmare. The man who was once an inspector before being an enforcer had gone through more trauma than her. Yet he'd always keep a composed attitude and throw witty comments here and there, his smirk never leaving his lips.
Seeing that very man so vulnerable and fragile pained her to the depth of her soul and she couldn't help but put her small hands on his face, hoping sincerely that those images of white hair covered in blood and mutilated bodies - in disgusting positions as if they were mocking him - would leave his mind.
His cheeks were hot and sweaty and she could feel his whole body trembling. And it made the iron walls she had built around her heart crumble.
For the first time in a while, Tsunemori Akane felt like crying. Crying to her heart content like a baby.
And then his eyes opened suddenly and what she saw inside his grey pupils was an abyss of loneliess and fear - and maybe a bit of relief from waking up and realising it was nothing but a nightmare.
At first,Akane could read confusion on his expression and then it was just lassitude as he looked at her without saying a word. And when the words finally left his lips, they were nothing more than her name.
She could feel the "Akane" he mulmbled with a cracked voice with her soul. That was a word that she heard only once from him and back then it was a voice filled with apprehension and worry.
She slowly held his hand in answer, hoping to transfer some of her warmth and coolness all at once to him.
“I'm right here.”
Silence.The thought that he might had gone through nightmares every single night deeply pained her.The thought that he might have awoken afraid and soaked in sweat without anyone close to him to rely on scared the hell out of her.
“I'm not going anywhere,Kougami-San.”
There was an invisible line that she couldn't cross for both of their sakes and that was all that she could say, all the comfort she could offer.
And all over his face, she could read relief and gratitude mixed with incertitude, as if he was struggling to say something but couldn't put words on it.
Akane had never seen such a painfully complex expression on his face before but she could understand his unsaid words - she always did, just like he understood hers - and a storm of feelings bursted inside her chest.
Kougami looked more fragile than any illusion she had ever created and yet, so real at the same time. Her hands, that were tighly holding his, were quietly trembling.
She lead him silently and seconds later, they were both laying in the bed without saying a word.
Shinya simply closed his eyes and she pulled him into her embrace holding back her tears and he was thankful to her, with every inch of his being.
They both knew that it didn't mean anything and that they might be ennemies when tomorrow's light comes.
But right now,she wasn't an inspector and he wasn't a fugitive ; just a man and a woman sharing a bed in a cold night in a foreign land.