Story: Facades
Title: Facades
Author: kage_no_kodoku
Rating: PG, PG-13 to be safe (?)
Warnings: un-beta-ed
Genre: romance, fluff (?)
Pairing: Tora x Shou
Prompt: Make Up and a Taxi
Summary: A glassful of dark brown liquid downed in one go, and the world spun so fast that everything blurred into a single, multicolored line. He didn't realize that he mistakenly grabbed another's glass. He could have just taken a sip or a taste to realize the truth, but all the excitement made him thirsty enough to drink in large gulps. And it only takes that much of chocolate vodka to drown all sense in him.
Disclaimer: I own SHOU! *mumbles*my SHOUphilic patient will kill me now*mumbles* I don't own anyone.
Notes: I apologize for all the inconsistencies in style and errors in grammar. m(_ _)m I'm yet to find a beta-reader and Notepad isn't very helpful when it comes to these things. It opens quickly on my slow computer, though.
***
"Well then, we'll leave it up to you."
Nao-san shut the door with some firmness, thus blocking most of the festive noise coming from the establishment. The engine roared to life and soon we were moving. Even from within, I could hear the sound of asphalt grinding under the wheels of the cab as we pulled out into the street. In the rearview mirror, there are three distinct figures waving. See you later.
The small vibrations coursed through the whole of the vehicle and into my body. It felt relaxing, as if I'm being lulled to sleep. I closed my eyes to delve into the sensation. It was just then that I felt a gentle weight bump against my shoulder. Casting a quick glance to my right, I saw a patch of hair colored a combination of night and rusted copper. It seemed to bob with his head as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Softening from my usual sharpness, I carefully shifted our positions so that I had an arm draped protectively around his shoulders. That bit of movement caused him to start.
"Unh? Where...?!"
His shoulder dug into my ribcage as his form instantly stiffened in our semi-intimate position. He stared at me wildly, his whole form tight and ready for fight or flight. He was a cat with tail high and claws bared. I could feel it from the tenseness oozing out of his every pore.
In response, I pulled him closer into my odd half-embrace. Just like how a tiger would its cub, its kin. I held onto him even when his strength would push against me. I held onto him, his face, and forced him to look into the depths of my eyes. Our foreheads met, and so did the two lines of recognition.
"T-Tora?"
He squinted his eyes with much effort. He wasn't wearing his contacts and the darkness wasn't helping. He had stopped struggling though, and was calm enough to lean his head against the backrest. The space between his eyebrows was scrunched up, and so was his expression. It was exactly the same one he would wear whenever he's writing lyrics and the words would not flow as well as he wanted them to. I could almost imagine the gears moving in his head as he strained to piece together why he was in a taxi with me and not at Hiroto's birthday celebration.
A glassful of dark brown liquid downed in one go, and the world spun so fast that everything blurred into a single, multicolored line. He didn't realize that he mistakenly grabbed another's glass. He could have just taken a sip or a taste to realize the truth, but all the excitement made him thirsty enough to drink in large gulps. And it only takes that much of chocolate vodka to drown all sense in him. Nao-san had to order someone to take him home safely, but I volunteered before our leader could say anything.
His gradually face smoothened out with each piece of tonight's events falling into recall and comprehension until finally, his attention returned to the here and now. He centered his drunken gaze on me as he slowly moved his lips, but the words ended up stumbling out of his usually eloquent mouth. "S'rry."
"Don't worry about it."
He offered me a small goofy grin-- the one he could manage only when he's drunk. For a few beats, he was just staring and smiling at me like that, until eventually his eyelids drooped as he succumbed to slumber. His balance gave way that his weight was sliding against my side again. This time, however, I shifted his body a little so that his head was comfy on my lap. He nestled his face to the warmth of my abdomen.
Observing him behave like this caused a tender feeling to bloom in my chest and I could only stare in utter awe. His completely relaxed state right now brought forth a tranquil aura on his features that seemed angelic. An angel snuggling against me and immersed in a red glow. Hmm?
Looking forwards, I found that the redness was from the traffic light ahead. No wonder the motion felt duller than usual; we had slowly come to a halt. In the rear view mirror, I saw the driver stealing glances at us every so often before his face would contort to a grimace. From disgust, from loathing, or hatred-- I'm not sure. Perhaps it's all of those. I threw knives at him with my eyes, hoping my glare was intense enough to shatter the looking glass. He just shrugged and clumsily refocused his concentration on the road as the light turned green.
A turn to the right and we're surrounded by a repeating scene, like a computer wallpaper on tile. The same colors and the same faces, doorsteps pushed back for a bit of lawn. The facades of residential houses make me wonder what's hidden within those walls. What sort of secrets lie beyond those curtains and are kept out of sight in unlit rooms?
I pressed my palm against the window on my left, the heat of my flesh fogging the glass. The white lingered for a brief second before entirely disappearing when I withdrew my hand. If only I could dissolve those facades and behold the truth as easily as that...
Something warm seeping through the material of my pants gently brought me back from my reverie. I drew my gaze again to the one sleeping soundly on my lap.
There was a single drop trailing down his cheek-- black, perhaps from the black of night and from the eyeliner he had on previously. I carefully brushed it off his face with my fingers, which trembled the moment I thought of doing so. The hotness of the liquid clashed with the cold of my mild tenseness. The color of the tear contrasted the paleness of my skin.
'Are you crying?'
He moaned a little and turned to a more comfortable position. I began to wonder what he could possibly be dreaming of. Perhaps it was something more pleasant than not despite the hot water his eyes had shed, because the corners of his lips would move upward every so often whenever he would murmur something. And it was not all incoherent as most people would say about the words spoken in sleep. At one point just before the taxi came to a full stop, I heard something distinct enough to be understood.
It was my name, followed by three very pure words.
Hn. Your make up needs a touch-up, Shou.
But that doesn't matter now, we're home.
***
Hmm... I'm not exactly at my best shape here. The scoldings I had just received made sure of that. >_< Anyway, enough about me... Comments and constructive criticisms would be greatly appreciated. ^_^
Author: kage_no_kodoku
Rating: PG, PG-13 to be safe (?)
Warnings: un-beta-ed
Genre: romance, fluff (?)
Pairing: Tora x Shou
Prompt: Make Up and a Taxi
Summary: A glassful of dark brown liquid downed in one go, and the world spun so fast that everything blurred into a single, multicolored line. He didn't realize that he mistakenly grabbed another's glass. He could have just taken a sip or a taste to realize the truth, but all the excitement made him thirsty enough to drink in large gulps. And it only takes that much of chocolate vodka to drown all sense in him.
Disclaimer: I own SHOU! *mumbles*my SHOUphilic patient will kill me now*mumbles* I don't own anyone.
Notes: I apologize for all the inconsistencies in style and errors in grammar. m(_ _)m I'm yet to find a beta-reader and Notepad isn't very helpful when it comes to these things. It opens quickly on my slow computer, though.
***
"Well then, we'll leave it up to you."
Nao-san shut the door with some firmness, thus blocking most of the festive noise coming from the establishment. The engine roared to life and soon we were moving. Even from within, I could hear the sound of asphalt grinding under the wheels of the cab as we pulled out into the street. In the rearview mirror, there are three distinct figures waving. See you later.
The small vibrations coursed through the whole of the vehicle and into my body. It felt relaxing, as if I'm being lulled to sleep. I closed my eyes to delve into the sensation. It was just then that I felt a gentle weight bump against my shoulder. Casting a quick glance to my right, I saw a patch of hair colored a combination of night and rusted copper. It seemed to bob with his head as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Softening from my usual sharpness, I carefully shifted our positions so that I had an arm draped protectively around his shoulders. That bit of movement caused him to start.
"Unh? Where...?!"
His shoulder dug into my ribcage as his form instantly stiffened in our semi-intimate position. He stared at me wildly, his whole form tight and ready for fight or flight. He was a cat with tail high and claws bared. I could feel it from the tenseness oozing out of his every pore.
In response, I pulled him closer into my odd half-embrace. Just like how a tiger would its cub, its kin. I held onto him even when his strength would push against me. I held onto him, his face, and forced him to look into the depths of my eyes. Our foreheads met, and so did the two lines of recognition.
"T-Tora?"
He squinted his eyes with much effort. He wasn't wearing his contacts and the darkness wasn't helping. He had stopped struggling though, and was calm enough to lean his head against the backrest. The space between his eyebrows was scrunched up, and so was his expression. It was exactly the same one he would wear whenever he's writing lyrics and the words would not flow as well as he wanted them to. I could almost imagine the gears moving in his head as he strained to piece together why he was in a taxi with me and not at Hiroto's birthday celebration.
A glassful of dark brown liquid downed in one go, and the world spun so fast that everything blurred into a single, multicolored line. He didn't realize that he mistakenly grabbed another's glass. He could have just taken a sip or a taste to realize the truth, but all the excitement made him thirsty enough to drink in large gulps. And it only takes that much of chocolate vodka to drown all sense in him. Nao-san had to order someone to take him home safely, but I volunteered before our leader could say anything.
His gradually face smoothened out with each piece of tonight's events falling into recall and comprehension until finally, his attention returned to the here and now. He centered his drunken gaze on me as he slowly moved his lips, but the words ended up stumbling out of his usually eloquent mouth. "S'rry."
"Don't worry about it."
He offered me a small goofy grin-- the one he could manage only when he's drunk. For a few beats, he was just staring and smiling at me like that, until eventually his eyelids drooped as he succumbed to slumber. His balance gave way that his weight was sliding against my side again. This time, however, I shifted his body a little so that his head was comfy on my lap. He nestled his face to the warmth of my abdomen.
Observing him behave like this caused a tender feeling to bloom in my chest and I could only stare in utter awe. His completely relaxed state right now brought forth a tranquil aura on his features that seemed angelic. An angel snuggling against me and immersed in a red glow. Hmm?
Looking forwards, I found that the redness was from the traffic light ahead. No wonder the motion felt duller than usual; we had slowly come to a halt. In the rear view mirror, I saw the driver stealing glances at us every so often before his face would contort to a grimace. From disgust, from loathing, or hatred-- I'm not sure. Perhaps it's all of those. I threw knives at him with my eyes, hoping my glare was intense enough to shatter the looking glass. He just shrugged and clumsily refocused his concentration on the road as the light turned green.
A turn to the right and we're surrounded by a repeating scene, like a computer wallpaper on tile. The same colors and the same faces, doorsteps pushed back for a bit of lawn. The facades of residential houses make me wonder what's hidden within those walls. What sort of secrets lie beyond those curtains and are kept out of sight in unlit rooms?
I pressed my palm against the window on my left, the heat of my flesh fogging the glass. The white lingered for a brief second before entirely disappearing when I withdrew my hand. If only I could dissolve those facades and behold the truth as easily as that...
Something warm seeping through the material of my pants gently brought me back from my reverie. I drew my gaze again to the one sleeping soundly on my lap.
There was a single drop trailing down his cheek-- black, perhaps from the black of night and from the eyeliner he had on previously. I carefully brushed it off his face with my fingers, which trembled the moment I thought of doing so. The hotness of the liquid clashed with the cold of my mild tenseness. The color of the tear contrasted the paleness of my skin.
'Are you crying?'
He moaned a little and turned to a more comfortable position. I began to wonder what he could possibly be dreaming of. Perhaps it was something more pleasant than not despite the hot water his eyes had shed, because the corners of his lips would move upward every so often whenever he would murmur something. And it was not all incoherent as most people would say about the words spoken in sleep. At one point just before the taxi came to a full stop, I heard something distinct enough to be understood.
It was my name, followed by three very pure words.
Hn. Your make up needs a touch-up, Shou.
But that doesn't matter now, we're home.
***
Hmm... I'm not exactly at my best shape here. The scoldings I had just received made sure of that. >_< Anyway, enough about me... Comments and constructive criticisms would be greatly appreciated. ^_^