[AIM log - complete] Comfort Me Inside This Darkness

[divaricatore]

10 PM on a Friday. As soon as Shouichi had finished his work at the Monacello building he’d taken the train and then a cab down to the shadier parts of Reggio Calabria. While Shouichi had a major distaste for the neighborhood, he traveled there more than regularly to visit his best friend, Spanner. He’d been asked to help with one of his bigger projects, something that Shouichi had been looking forward to almost impatiently all day.

They’d been working for around four hours now, the clock ringing three times. Now dressed in a blue jumpsuit about two or three sizes too big, Shouichi lifted the goggles up over his eyes to wipe the sweat from his brow. Reaching down to the floor for his bottle of water, he glanced to Spanner. "What do you think?"

Once more, Spanner missed his throw, the lollipop stick hitting the edge of the trash can and plopped on the floor, but he didn't care. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Spanner's head as he tore the plastic off, tossing it to the side and sticking another candy into his mouth, eyes studying the towering robotic structure before him. "It looks good." He breathed, scanning over the gears and joints, then glanced at the monitor where everything were to be recorded.

"We should give it a try, no?" The mechanic turned to his friend and smiled, wiping his hands on his overalls, smearing bits of oil on blue fabric. "I'm rather excited." Pale eyes twinkled as his lips widened, body itching to jump into action.

Wiping off his glasses with a towel, Shouichi smiled to himself before putting them back on. Working on a project like this was amazing - Spanner was a mechanical genius, whether or not he cared to admit it. He was extremely excited to see how this would turn out.

Nodding in agreement, Shouichi stepped forward to stand next to his friend. "Understandably so - she's beautiful." He said, taking another moment to take in the satisfaction of a nearly completed project. "Aa… I'm ready when you're ready."

Spanner patted Shouichi's shoulder briefly then lightly squeezed it as a silent thank for his friend's help. Despite his work in Monacello, Shouichi still found time to come and help him with these machines, and Spanner was grateful.

He took a few brisk steps towards the control board next to the monitor, adjusting levers and gauges and watching the monitor as the graphs moved accordingly. The lights on the Mosca blinked dully as the power was adjusted, slowly inching upwards - Spanner wanted to see the performance report with the maximum amount of power available.

So far, so good.

There was a brief moment of pause for hesitation as Spanner glanced at the activation button. It was probably dangerous doing it down in the basement, but Spanner had it built as sturdily as he could possibly make it, so a little bit of damage would not hurt... probably.

He pushed the button, eyes fixing on the slowly waking Mosca, lights flashing and joints creaking as it started to move.

Then suddenly the movements stopped, the lights started crackling and everything went dark.

Shouichi’s eyes lit up automatically as he watched the giant mosca grind and whir to functionality. Gaze flickering between the monitors and their hard work, a genuine grin began to creep across his face. His mouth falling open, speechless as it began to move and -

Electricity crackled, gears squealed and the room shook as the lights flickered out and mosca came to an abrupt halt. Momentarily losing his balance, Shouichi gasped and flinched as he found himself surrounded by pitch black darkness.

"Uwah..! Aa - Spanner..!"

"Calm down." The mechanic said briskly as he grimaced. "The back up generator is supposed to activate if something happens. I don't understand why it didn't." He searched around the table, groping for that one flashlight in a drawer somewhere that he had already forgotten where.

Cursing under his breath, Spanner brushed the useless junk out of the way, hearing them collide against the floor as his fingers found the cylindrical shape of the flashlight.

The tiny circle light flashed on, and Spanner waved it towards the Mosca, then towards the direction of the generator. "I think the Mosca used too much power, and the circuit shorted out." He scowled. This would take forever to fix in the dark.

Shouichi sighed, just thinking of how troublesome it would be to repair the generator if the mosca had caused everything to short out like that. "Well, it certainly didn't waste any time..." he commented nervously, not moving from his position.

"W-w that your main circuit breaker..?"

"Yeah, looks like it." The light moved towards Shouichi. "Sit down somewhere so you don't trip... I'll go take a look at the breaker." Spanner moved the light towards the couch and took a hold of Shouichi's arm. "I'll walk you over to the couch."

"Mm.." Normally, Shouichi would have objected to this sort of treatment, but he tended to go along with the mindset that Spanner-knew-best. And given the fact that the amount of time he'd spent in this room compared to his friend made it clear that there was absolutely no contest - Shouichi was more liable to trip and break something because he was unfamiliar with where everything was kept.

Keeping close to Spanner, Shouichi followed. "If you unplug the equipment you might be able to get basic electricity back.."

Spanner made a noise of agreement as he took Shouichi towards the couch, patting him on the shoulder lightly. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Leaving his friend there, he turned and navigated to the back of the room, where the main circuit and power box was located.

The screws came off with a creak - Spanner had bolted them as tightly as he could when the basement was built to prevent any accidents, and he found himself breaking a sweat just by unscrewing them again. The pale light shone on the switch board, and Spanner tried the main power switch.

A crackle. No light.

He sighed and tried the other switches, which in turn made a hiss come off from the Mosca, but there was no light to be seen. He tried them all, and the sounds from his CPU whirred to life. But still, no light found. The small blinking lights on the Moscas came back, but not the fluorescent ceiling lights. To make sure, Spanner held a hand in the direction of the A/C vent, and surely, he could feel the draft of cold air against his skin.

Sighing, the mechanic made his way back to the couch, stumbling over a nail or a wrench now and then. He flopped down on the leather beside Shouichi, head leaning back. "Seems the light bulbs burned out. We got the electricity back though."

Shouichi looked almost hopeful, but his shoulders dropped instantly as he heard the tell-tale crackling of the light bulbs across the ceiling. They were definitely gone. As Spanner took a seat next to him, Shouichi half-smiled - nervous and apologetic, really. "Aa... that's a relief, at least."

Though except for the blinking lights of the moscas and computer equipment, it was still very dark. It made him uncomfortable, but if Spanner was right next to him it wasn't too bad. Hoping his friend wasn't overly disappointed, he attempted speaking again. "Mm.. at least it looked great.. Th-he mosca, I mean. From what we saw, anyway."

A chuckle left his lips as Spanner waved the flashlight around in circles, watching the beam pass on the walls and on the metallic skin of the Moscas. "Yeah. I think the problem was that the Mosca used too much power. Gotta fix that when I get the bulbs replaced. But otherwise I think it was doing just fine."

He patted Shouichi's shoulder again assuringly. "Don't worry about it, 'kay?"

Shouichi nodded, understanding and looking sheepish. "Mm, I'm not.. I'm just glad we know it works. Just.." He cracked a small, amused smile. "A little too well, I suppose. But maybe that's not so bad after all.."

He adjusted his position, folding his legs and sitting upright. "If you do some re-wiring, maybe get a separate generator for just this -" he began, gears obviously turning in his mind. "Well, tomorrow anyway... after we replace the light bulbs."

"Yeah... It's pretty late." Spanner yawned, remembering that it was some time in the early morning. They were too much into the work, it looked like, and Spanner gave a start. "You don't have work in the morning, do you?" He asked nervously. It was already Saturday morning, and usually people didn't work during weekends, but the mafia could have an entirely different way of operating.

"Aah.." Shouichi twisted his expression. Work was secondary to any hobbies or social life, and while at one point he was fine with that - the more time he spent with Spanner, the more time he found himself resenting his grueling schedule. Sighing a little, he nodded. "Mm, I have some things I need to catch up on before Monday morning."

"Doesn't tell me whether you need to come in for work or not." The mechanic laughed, twisting the candy in his mouth. "Anyway, sleepy yet?" The electricity was back, so they wouldn't have to boil in the summer heat.  "I don't want to keep you up if we don't have anything to do."

Shouichi dropped his head and chuckled quietly. "I think Gin-san would appreciate me showing up to work before my deadline." Glancing around into the nearly pitch-black room he exhaled. Without the lights, they could pretty much kiss the concept of doing any more work goodbye. "It's been a long day. Maybe sleep would be a good idea." It was nearing four AM, and since Shouichi had come into work at the Monacello building at six AM that morning, it was safe to say he was tired.

"Mm." Spanner picked himself up from the couch, feeling his muscles suddenly ache. Giving a strangled groan as he stretched his body, the mechanic sighed. "I think I need a shower first though." His skin was sticky and slick with oil, and sweat residue was probably all over his body by now. A wash was much needed, also because washing one's body would definitely be better than washing the sheets. White sheets, for that matter.

Taking the goggles completely off his head and running his fingers through his hair, Shouichi nodded a he encountered a damp, matted and tangled mess. "Ugh, that's probably a good idea.. we were working hard.." he placed the goggles on a work bench and got to his feet. "At any rate, it'll help us get to sleep faster. I can still feel a little adrenaline from earlier.."

"Then let's go, shall we?" The mechanic chuckled and grabbed a hold of Shouichi's hand, pulling him along towards the direction of the bedroom. "You can shower first... wait..." Spanner halted on his steps as he suddenly remembered that Shouichi did not bring anything resembling clothes. "You don't have a change of clothing, do you?"

Shouichi leaned and regained his balance when Spanner had stopped unexpectedly. "Oh.." He'd paused to think. "You're right." Sighing, he almost sounded amused - it was amazing how absent-minded he'd become. "I actually wasn't planning to stay tonight because I had work early.. then we ended up working so late.. but now I'm unprepared." It was embarrassing to admit he'd been so caught up in working with his friend that it had been that easy to abandon other thoughts.

Reaching out a hand to scratch at the back of his head, Spanner cocked his head for a moment to think. "Not a problem." He tugged at Shouichi's hand again, continuing their way up the stairs. "You can borrow some of mine, though it'll be rather big..." A chuckle left his lips - Shouichi still had the body of an adolescent boy, not that it was a bad thing...

The pale light guided them down dark hallways and into Spanner's bedroom, where only a small dresser and a bed decorated the interior. He let go of Shouichi's hand. "Stay here for a moment." And moved towards the dresser, fumbling through drawers and looking for the smallest pieces of clothing he could find. He then returned with a pair of old pajamas, holding them out to the red-haired man, head motioning towards the door to their right.

"The bathroom's right there. Take this flashlight. I have another one laying somewhere around here... I think."

A light smirk appeared on Shouichi's face. He was learning slowly to not worry so much about thinking he was a "bother" to Spanner, though the thought did arise quite a bit. He found it much more productive, however, to focus his appreciation towards having such a good friend instead. "Ahah.. thanks for this.."

Taking the small pile of folded clothing and the flashlight, he glanced in Spanner's direction and then in the direction of the bathroom. "Mm, right." He replied, and with that he'd walked inside and closed the door.

It'd taken him a little time to find the water faucets with the aid of the flashlight, but finally he had the water turned on and gradually heating up. Boots were unlaced and removed, the jumpsuit dropped to the floor. Gently removing the glasses from over his eyes and placing them on the tiled counter top, he proceeded to pull his shirt up over his head.

Using another flashlight, Spanner located an old, dusty light bulb in the small storage nearby. There were little chances that it would work, but it was worth a try, and he switched it with the bulb in the bedroom, carefully turning off the electricity first.

But of course, something that old and dusty would not work. It was a wild thought after all.

He sighed then decided to give up, picking out some clothes for himself when Shouichi finished so it would be his turn in the shower.

Meanwhile, Shouichi had finished folding the clothes he'd just worn - not liking to make messes in other people's homes. They sat on the counter top in a ridiculous looking pile. It'd started to become very humid and steamy in the room. Pulling back the plastic shower curtain, Shouichi stuck his hand out to feel the water - immediately drawing it back, seething. "Aah..!" Too hot! Jumping back slightly, the flashlight had fallen out of his free hand, thudding loudly as it hit the hardwood floor. Shouichi glanced back at it, not paying it too much mind as he proceeded to fumble around for the faucet again to adjust the temperature before the air got too thick with steam.

Maybe it was too quiet then, or maybe the bathroom door wasn't entirely sound-proof, that Spanner heard the loud thudding noise of something hitting the floor. He hurried over, pushing open the unlocked door and peering in at the swirling light as the flashlight rolled on the floor.

"Shouichi, you okay?" His eyes glanced at the only source of light in the room, and he walked in, picking the flashlight up and waved it around, ending on Shouichi's bare shoulders. "What happened?"

Shouichi's breath hitched and his heart stopped as he heard the incoming footsteps and the door opening - at the sound of Spanner's voice and a bright light directly in his face he suddenly wished for death. The overall darkness, plus the extremely heavy blur from not having his glasses on made him unable to see anything but white. "H-hey..!" In a frantic movement in efforts not to be seen, he smacked his head against a cabinet, leaving him more disoriented than before. "AAH - tetete.. it's fine, it's fine, it's fine!"

Yes. Death would be nice, right about now.

Flinching at the sound of Shouichi's head colliding against the cabinet, Spanner stepped closer, leaning over and shining the light down on his friend's head. "Careful there, it's dark." Suddenly Shouichi was so clumsy all of the sudden, and Spanner didn't understand it. He reached out a hand and brushed away red strands of hair to take a better look at the bump. "Why are you so worked up anyway?" An eyebrow arched.

Shouichi wanted to shrink back, away from Spanner - but he was between the wall and the bathtub by now, with no more space to step backward. He still couldn't see anything but white, his eyes attempting to focus over and over but to no avail. Though for him right now, it was probably better that way. Chewing on his bottom lip nervously, his face began to turn red - a sensation he'd become all too familiar with as of late. No, no, no.. "Um..! It's fine, I'm fine..!"

Not fine, not fine! He thought as he attempted to breathe regularly.

Noticing the painful look as Shouichi's eyes were scrunched up, Spanner diverted the light away, focusing on the other's hair instead. "Why are you all nervous for?" He asked, holding Shouichi's head in place as he looked for the spot where it hit the cabinet. "What happened anyway?"

Sometimes Spanner was too oblivious and tactless to notice what exactly was the problem.

Shouichi sighed, trying to ignore the fact that his knees wanted to shake until they snapped. "Sorry.. the dark.. a-and then the light.. I-I get sort of disoriented.." he explained, which was the truth to a certain degree. His face continued to color and he resisted the urge to fidget and/or run away. "Mm.. I let the water get too hot.."

While his mind was screaming wondering how Spanner could be so calm, he tried to keep it hidden. This was not the time to question these things.

"I see." Spanner nodded and rubbed against the back of Shouichi's head lightly. There didn't seem to be a bump. Which was good. He pulled away, sticking a hand into the still running water to test the temperature. "Hmm... it should be alright now, I think."

He stepped back, waving the flashlight around again to check if there were any other damage, before noticing the dark flush on Shouichi's face and the state of undress his friend was in. Suddenly Spanner's face heated up also, and he turned away. "A-... Sorry, I didn't notice..." Oh sheesh, how clueless could I be?

You might have well as dumped a ton of brick onto Shouichi, as Spanner's delayed reaction made his stomach tie itself up in knots.  I want to die, I want to die, I want to die, I want to die- Finally able to grab the shower curtain and pull it over himself a bit, he sighed yet again. "S-so..." his voice had been quiet. Clearing his throat, he was louder this time - and more enunciated. "If you don't mind.."

"Ah, yeah." Spanner muttered, placing the flashlight on the counter as he moved away. "Sorry. I didn't see anything." He added at the door in a hesitant voice before closing it behind him.

Shouichi didn't take too long in the shower, as he was worried the hot water could run out at any given time. It wasn't more than five minutes before the faucets were shut off and he stepped out.

The mirror was wiped until the glass was reflective again, hair was towel dried, glasses returned to cover his eyes. The spare set of clothes that Spanner had loaned him were big and hung off of him in a way that was amusing, though Shouichi frowned as he pulled on the drawstring of the pants he had on. Opening the door he quietly stepped out back into Spanner's room - and even though the cool breeze of the air conditioner was hitting him, his face remained just as red as it had ten minutes before. Eyes on the floor, Shouichi spoke up. "Um. I-I'm finished, thank you.."

All the meanwhile as the shower ran in the bathroom, Spanner was standing outside, leaned against the wall and trying to tell himself that he was not at fault. Well, maybe he was, for running in like that without permission, but for chrissake, they were both males, and it wasn't like Spanner saw anything important, just Shouichi's torso. It was already too dark to see much anyway, with just a flashlight.

The heat just wouldn't go away.

His eyes unconsciously wandered towards Shouichi when the door to the bathroom opened. Obviously the other was still embarrassed, and Spanner found himself getting pulled along with the awkward moment. He nodded stiffly, "No problem. Go ahead and go to bed," and he moved towards the bathroom, brushing slightly against the smaller man's shoulder.

Shouichi nodded and closed his eyes briefly as the other brushed against him walking past. "Mm.." Going to bed was a good idea. Good idea. Quietly walking over, he layed down - stomach still in knots, how was he going to pull this off? - at the edge of the bed so as not to take up much room. Practically burying his flushed face into a pillow, he silently prayed for his nerves to calm down. Go to sleep, go to sleep - go to sleep before he comes back, please...

Spanner stayed longer in the shower than he normally did. Partly to scrub off the grease entirely, and partly to brush off the haunting image of Shouichi in his mind. He still felt guilty about it, despite what he had told himself. It appeared that he was always making Shouichi nervous and awkward, and maybe his friend was finally getting sick of it.

He came out of the bathroom, clad in loose pajamas (He didn't normally wear this to sleep, sometimes he would crash in his jumpsuit, and sometimes just a T-shirt and shorts, but with Shouichi here, he figured being so casual would cause the other to be even more nervous.) Glancing around the room, Spanner spotted Shouichi laying on the edge of the bed, and frowned. Well, it was understandable, Shouichi was embarrassed, so Spanner figured he would be better off not saying anything about it. He climbed into the bed, staying on his side and tried to go to sleep.

Feeling the bed shift as Spanner got in, Shouichi closed his eyes tightly. He'd caused enough trouble for one night, so he felt he really needed to be as quiet and still a possible so as not to disturb him. If all was possible, he'd wake up early and leave for work before Spanner even woke so he could spend the rest of the day at work thinking of a way to make-up for the high tension. He always seemed to be causing situations like this, by now it was probably getting on Spanner's nerves.

After about twenty minutes he'd managed to fall asleep.

It wasn't more than an hour later, however that Shouichi felt his heart clench and body jolt awake. Gasping and suddenly holding himself up by his arms, he coughed and stared back down wide-eyed. He often had nightmares that caused him to wake up once or twice during the night, but whenever he'd share a bed with Spanner he found himself able to sleep without interruptions. Why he'd woken up tonight he didn't know for sure, but he was safe to assume it had something to do with falling asleep while his nerves were still knotted from earlier.

Waking up with a start as the bed jerked, Spanner turned, eyes still hazy from sleep. He could see Shouichi's dark silhouette sitting up right on the bed, body shaking. Spanner pushed himself up also, hand reaching out to touch the other's shoulder. "Shouichi?" It was probably a nightmare... But didn't Shouichi already said that he didn't usually have nightmares when they slept together?

It must have been what happened in the bathroom, Spanner thought, and sighed.

A hand clutched at the fabric over his chest, Shouichi mumbled incoherently as he was desperately trying to get himself to calm down. He'd been wound up far too much, all things considering and it'd just caugh up to him. Chest rising and falling rapidly, he made a solid attempt to catch his breath. Spanner's voice and hand on his shoulder were highly comforting, somehow, despite everything. He glanced to the other, and though his eyes were half-lidded and his expression showing strain, there was appreciation. "S-Spanner.."

He scooted closer, squeezing Shouichi's arm as eyes blinked, trying to shake away the sleepiness. "Nightmare?" breathed Spanner as he propped himself up with an elbow as the other hand tugged Shouichi closer. "I thought you didn't have nightmares when you're over here..." Eyebrows frowned as he blinked in the dark, trying to make out Shouichi's facial features.

Shouichi complied and was moved closer without any hesitation. Still breathing heavy, he replied quietly - eyes still wide open, though vision was obviously compromised. "It's never happened before.." Shaking his head, his shoulders were tensed up beyond belief, racked with nerves just as the rest of his body was. Though this was the first time he'd woken up like this and there was someone beside him. Considering the situation, that part was kind of nice.

Spanner debated whether to pull Shouichi down so that he laid on the bed, or pull himself up so he could sit with his friend. His hand moved against Shouichi's arm in a slow pace, trying to calm the other down with human touch. "Do you want to lay down?" He tugged at Shouichi's sleeves and the other hand went around, holding his friend's other shoulder. "I could... give you a massage? If you want?" ask Spanner tentatively.

Eyes finally fluttering completely closed, Shouichi focused on steadying his breathing, as his heart felt like it was going to burst. Calm down, calm down... All the while his head was swirling and his stomach was in knots - he merely nodded to Spanner in response. It doesn't matter, whatever you want The fact his friend was there was more than he could really ask for.

Lifting himself up, Spanner kneeled on the mattress and gently tugged at Shouichi, flipping him around so that the other laid on his back. It had been a wild thought - Spanner wasn't sure that he would be able to pull this off. It was, he thought, the first time that he actually gave someone a massage, and he had no confidence that he would be able to do it well. Worth a shot, nonetheless.

He ran a hand slowly down Shouichi's small back, feeling the tense muscles before fingers dug in gently, kneading and nails grazing through the thin layer of fabric.

Shouichi complied to this rearrangement all too easily, too overwhelmed to consider the embarrassment factor of the current situation. Spanner was trying to help and Shouichi was in no position to refuse it. His breathing was beginning to steady, though he still felt drained and shaken. In and out of a daze, he could feel Spanner's hands attempt to relieve pressure on a lifetime of tension.

He didn't really know what he was doing - Spanner realized. It was all a guessing game, as his hand traveled down the expanse of Shouichi's back and pushing against knots. He had never received a massage himself, and everything he was doing now was out of speculations - of course, a person's body could only be systematic, and he could guess where to push and where to squeeze. Shouichi didn't seem like he disliked it, anyway, so that was a good sign.

Spanner's breathing became synchronized with the movements of his hands and wrists, twisting on Shouichi's back and massaging the back of the other's neck, pushing down on the flesh just above the collarbone and shoulder blades. "How is it?" He asked quietly, easing the pressure a little bit and just moving his palm on Shouichi's back in a slow, soothing motion.

It was actually helping, which surprised Shouichi as he usually wasn't a fan of being touched. Something was particularly comforting, though maybe it was just the fact that Spanner was placing so much care and concentration into this. Certain places, especially closer to his shoulders got a more vocal reaction. His voice was light, dazed and distant, though was a definite "yes" answer to the other's question.

A quiet chuckle left Spanner's lips as he pushed down a little harder. "I didn't ask a yes or no question..." Shouichi was probably getting sleepy again, but that was the intended effect, so Spanner had nothing to complain about. "But I'm glad you seem to enjoy it." His guesses were not too far off their mark, he realized, and felt a pulse of satisfaction. He continued, lips humming a tune barely above a whisper, trying to lull the other to sleep, but seeing as Spanner was tone deaf, it... probably would not work.

It was almost inaudible, but the tune hit Shouichi's ears for just a moment. He registered the situation, somewhat. It was quite touching. Though now he was becoming quite exhausted again from everything. A hand reached up to lightly tug on Spanner's sleeve, as if gesturing him to lay down as well. He mumbled, almost sounding amused. "Aa.. I'm a mess.."

A yawn forced its way out of Spanner before he could muffle it. He was quite tired himself. Ruffling Shouichi's hair gently, Spanner shifted to the side and laid down on the bed, scooting a little bit closer to Shouichi and turning to face the other. "It's alright. I'm here." A hand rubbed Shouichi's shoulder as Spanner whispered, his eyes falling shut.