Work Text:
Kawanishi hummed under his breath as he sorted through the stack of DVDs. “There’s just one more to go,” he attempted to reassure Shirabu.
“One more,” said Shirabu, and he must have made a face, because Kawanishi’s full-body shudder was truly remarkable. Shirabu crossed his arms, making his intentions clear in every movement. It was like art. Everything he did contained purpose. It felt magnetic to Kawanishi, it always had. But only now, the little ferrous fibers were creeping over his body, endlessly stimulating him.
He shifted his body. “It’s the best one,” he said firmly, and went to change out the DVD.
Shirabu yawned loudly, openly. To the untrained eye, he might have seemed fully neutral to the situation. After all, he wasn’t explicitly complaining.
And yet, as soon as the television screen lit up with scenery, Shirabu’s eyes immediately closed tight.
“Shirabu, you - “
“It’s late,” said Shirabu. “I’m tired,”
“But this is the last, in the trilogy - “
“Watch it without me,”
He leaned up against Kawanishi, his warm body still and resolute. Without any other options, Kawanishi watched the movie by himself. The clock crept deeper into sacred hours, when the world could be nothing and anything you desired. It was quiet out and it made Kawanishi’s words seem louder.
“You’re a stubborn bastard, you know?” He murmured, so that he could still hear the actors. “It’s not even that late,”
His head began to slowly nod, but he caught himself just in time.
“But you need your beauty sleep, right? Or you’ll have that shit-faced look in the morning. Well, you always have it on. Like the world isn’t good enough,” Kawanishi continued on. His words came in a steady stream of consciousness. “And it - it isn’t. When we’re at the store, or walking around, I look at you, and the world’s just a backdrop. You just…you stand out,” Kawanishi’s cheeks prickled with sudden heat. His mouth wouldn’t stop talking. “And I can’t believe I’m this lucky, to see it - to see you, to be there with you - and here too. I’m too lucky,”
The words from the television became a blur. Kawanishi’s heavy eyelids succumbed to their load, and he fell limp into himself. He leaned up against Shirabu too, their bodies in equilibrium. And when Shirabu shifted, his eyes fluttering open, he couldn’t help but smile.