Chapter Text
The first thing Tsurugi felt was… a sweltering heat that burned behind the skin of his face and pierced through the core of his body. Before even reaching full consciousness, he was assaulted by a vile nostalgia… and discomfort; a discomfort that refused to let him open his eyes.
With effort, they finally squinted open, yet still he struggled to focus. His mind felt like an incredibly angry beehive, thoughts buzzing in and out, stinging when he tried to hone in on any specific one. It could be him being drowsy from just waking up but it took a good few steady, long moments before he could begin to process his state– to remember where he was and get a grip on what exactly he may be dealing with here.
A few moments too long.
He couldn’t breathe through his nose. His throat felt like it had been ravaged, clawed to oblivion– red and raw, albeit felt ticklish underneath with the urge to cough and worsen its haggard state. Unconsciously, unwantedly, his body was shivering from cold; sweat beading on his skin, yet trailing his fingers along his own arm, it felt uncomfortably warm to the touch.
…
It seemed he was in disrepair today; gears churning along, spewing away smoke in every unreliable cog turn that threatened to be its last before collapse. How, overnight, did he end up like this? What in the world had he gotten in contact with to let it get to this point?
Tsurugi stared at his bedmate. Yuki had been having problems with nightmares lately; as such, here he was, curled up together with him. Despite Tsurugi himself not taking up much space, Yuki was quite the entity in bed– one arm had ended up over Tsurugi’s neck, the other was lolling over the edge of the bedframe, and he was somewhat diagonal under the covers. Despite the sheer state of him, the ginger was quite peacefully asleep. Good for him, he’d taken most of the blankets. Tsurugi still had custody of only a feeble corner.
Normally he didn’t mind. He’d be a fool to mind; Tsurugi had slept on the floor, any number of hard surfaces during raids, and out in nature a good couple of times. Sleeping with a blanket hog was a piece of cake in comparison. If a bit annoying, Yuki felt… oddly safe. It had taken him a while to get used to sleeping with someone, yet the sensation of someone at his side took the edge off of his own nightmares- admittedly less frequent, yet in that way, it was symbiotic.
Careful not to wake him, Tsurugi slowly rose. An intense pressure hit the core of his head and he shuddered, almost stumbling back to his initial position. He caught himself, that much was inevitable. Despite the dizzying state of the world right now, despite the weariness he felt after a night that should have revitalized him– If he stayed here in bed, if he stayed here with the comforting presence of his boyfriend beside him and about a half a foot of blanket, there would be one less person to monitor, to regulate, to pace towards the impossible truth of a world without crime. The world will not slow down for you, his father had once told him, and he had internalized it well.
The world was not frozen despite all his shivering. And despite the way his limbs felt heavier by the moment– he still had a job to do.