"What does the end of the world look like?" Keiji wants to know, his head resting in Koutarou's lap, eyes sliding shut at the steady touch of firm fingers stroking through his hair.
Koutarou draws a breath and tries to find an answer that does it justice.
"Beautiful… I think."
"You think?" Keiji cracks an eye open, reaching for one of Koutarou's hands. He links their fingers together. His gaze is patient, steady, not demanding answers when he knows that he'll get them in the end.
"It's a lot of things," Koutarou sighs. "Apocalypses are… complicated. They're terrifying, sometimes, and sometimes that terror makes them even more beautiful. They're always colourful. Usually loud."
"Sounds like your kind of thing," Keiji murmurs, bringing their joined hands to his lips, kissing them gently. "I'm afraid I'm a little too mortal to enjoy it, myself."
Koutarou presses his lips together into a thin line, the way he does when he thinks of Keiji's inevitable death. He doesn't make a fuss, when he knows that Keiji doesn't like it. Instead, he just strokes his fingers through Keiji's hair again, focusing on how soft it feels.
"I'm sorry," Keiji says at length, breaking the heavy silence between them. "I know you don't like it when I talk about things like that."
Drawing a deep breath, Koutarou looks to the sky. "The last time I witnessed an apocalypse, the sky cracked open, like a mirror that somebody dropped. Deep fissures, in all directions across the sky, as if the fabric of reality was being torn apart. In between, you could peek through to other worlds, other possibilities, like when you reach the end of a book where you can choose your own adventure and then go back to read the other endings too. They don't always make sense, but you can piece things together from what you see."
Keiji looks up at him, attention fully captured. His face shines golden; Koutarou realises that it's from the light of his eyes. They tend to glow, whenever he remembers moments like these.
"It was lonely, then," Koutarou tells him. "Living alone in a scorched world, watching other worlds continue on in the sky. In some of them, people were still alive. I didn't know how to reach through to them."
"It sounds like a difficult responsibility," Keiji sighs, sitting up. He rests his head on Koutarou's shoulder. "Being the watcher, at the end of the world. It sounds very lonely."
"Someone needs to watch the world end," Koutarou murmurs, circling his arm around Keiji's waist. "If no one witnesses it, then who can say it happened?"
Keiji hums, closing his eyes again. He's sleepy, Koutarou realises. He has a limited time in this world and he's still willing to sleep some of it away. Koutarou has always thought mortals were fascinating.
"At least," Keiji tells him, voice thick with sleep, sounding like he's already speaking through a dream, "you aren't alone right now. I hope that helps."
"Believe me," Koutarou replies, kissing his forehead. "You have no idea just how much it does."
FILL: Team Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, G
word count: 515
"What does the end of the world look like?" Keiji wants to know, his head resting in Koutarou's lap, eyes sliding shut at the steady touch of firm fingers stroking through his hair.
Koutarou draws a breath and tries to find an answer that does it justice.
"Beautiful… I think."
"You think?" Keiji cracks an eye open, reaching for one of Koutarou's hands. He links their fingers together. His gaze is patient, steady, not demanding answers when he knows that he'll get them in the end.
"It's a lot of things," Koutarou sighs. "Apocalypses are… complicated. They're terrifying, sometimes, and sometimes that terror makes them even more beautiful. They're always colourful. Usually loud."
"Sounds like your kind of thing," Keiji murmurs, bringing their joined hands to his lips, kissing them gently. "I'm afraid I'm a little too mortal to enjoy it, myself."
Koutarou presses his lips together into a thin line, the way he does when he thinks of Keiji's inevitable death. He doesn't make a fuss, when he knows that Keiji doesn't like it. Instead, he just strokes his fingers through Keiji's hair again, focusing on how soft it feels.
"I'm sorry," Keiji says at length, breaking the heavy silence between them. "I know you don't like it when I talk about things like that."
Drawing a deep breath, Koutarou looks to the sky. "The last time I witnessed an apocalypse, the sky cracked open, like a mirror that somebody dropped. Deep fissures, in all directions across the sky, as if the fabric of reality was being torn apart. In between, you could peek through to other worlds, other possibilities, like when you reach the end of a book where you can choose your own adventure and then go back to read the other endings too. They don't always make sense, but you can piece things together from what you see."
Keiji looks up at him, attention fully captured. His face shines golden; Koutarou realises that it's from the light of his eyes. They tend to glow, whenever he remembers moments like these.
"It was lonely, then," Koutarou tells him. "Living alone in a scorched world, watching other worlds continue on in the sky. In some of them, people were still alive. I didn't know how to reach through to them."
"It sounds like a difficult responsibility," Keiji sighs, sitting up. He rests his head on Koutarou's shoulder. "Being the watcher, at the end of the world. It sounds very lonely."
"Someone needs to watch the world end," Koutarou murmurs, circling his arm around Keiji's waist. "If no one witnesses it, then who can say it happened?"
Keiji hums, closing his eyes again. He's sleepy, Koutarou realises. He has a limited time in this world and he's still willing to sleep some of it away. Koutarou has always thought mortals were fascinating.
"At least," Keiji tells him, voice thick with sleep, sounding like he's already speaking through a dream, "you aren't alone right now. I hope that helps."
"Believe me," Koutarou replies, kissing his forehead. "You have no idea just how much it does."