By The Frozen Lake He Waited - Umi x Rui - Oneshot
Title: By The Frozen Lake He Waited
Chapters: Oneshot
Author: paranoiascreams
Genre: angst, fluff, AU
Warning: unbeta'd
Rating: PG
Pairings/Characters: Umi x Rui
Synopsis: Living in a yukiguni made him almost impervious to the cold weather but whenever Rui looks back on that night, he feels his hair rising and goosebumps appearing on his skin once more.
Disclaimer: I own them. NOT.
Comments: This is set in FEBRUARY 2011 (but not exactly Valentine's). Technically, thinking of winter in 2005 (which is December) makes it only 5 years and 2 months ago, if i got my Math right.
Prompt # 3
It was the coldest winter he had experienced.
-----
Year 2005. Half a decade ago.
"... Are you coming back?" Rui's lips shivered; not from the cold but from the fear that his lover might say a negative answer.
"... I'm not sure." Umi's gaze moved away from his younger lover's eyes.
"Why do you have to study in Tokyo!? Can't you stay here in Sapporo?!" Rui's foot stomped hard, making the old wooden port rattle.
"Come on, Rui. I'm 19 and you're 16. It's my future we're talking about here." The older teenager tried to keep his voice calm but it's obvious he's becoming irritated by the minute.
"And I'm not a part of that?" Rui started feeling and sounding defeated. There's a brief silence between him and Umi and only the howl of the cold wind could be heard.
"... I care about you, Rui. You know that, but I just... I have to leave."
"... Stay here with me, please." the younger teenager grabbed Umi's sleeve, pulling him closer to him, "Please?" he begged.
"Rui... I can't."
"Please..." Rui buried his head on Umi's chest and broke down; his tears cold against his lover.
Umi kissed his lover's head, "Will you let me go if I tell you I will wait for you in Tokyo? Finish high school and we'll meet half way like we always do."
The younger boy sniffled, "If you promise me..."
"I promise you, Rui."
"Then wait for me, okay? OKAY?!" Rui hit his lover's chest, Umi chuckled.
"I will."
-----
Rui sighs at the thought.
He sits on the port where they separated in 2005. The wood had become older and shakier but it doesn't make him move away from his spot even with the possibility of it breaking against his weight with him falling to the frozen lake beneath him.
Living in a yukiguni made him almost impervious to the cold weather but whenever Rui looks back on that night, he feels his hair rising and goosebumps appearing on his skin once more.
"I can never really catch up to you, can't I?" Rui asks to no one in particular.
He sighs and a cloud of fog escapes his lips.
"I never can..."
He looks at the far off distance to see the sun still peeking out in the sky. It's almost dawn but he stays. It gets dark, too dark at night in this area but sneaking out with his ex-lover before made him braver.
It hurts to tell himself Umi was his ex-lover. He's not even sure himself if he and Umi are over. He doesn't want to.
Umi's all he had known all his life.
-----
Rui was three when he and his mother left Beppu to live in Sapporo. He cried and cried when they reached their new apartment because it was really cold for his sensitive little body to take.
He was a kid and moving from the hot south to the cold north was almost a life changing experience for him already.
"There, there... Rui. Calm down." His mother told him, at least that was what he wanted to remember his mother telling him when he cried.
"It's cold. IT'S COLD!!!" He cried loudly and then there were knocks on the door.
"Wait here, darling..." Rui's mother stood up to get the door, and being a stubborn kid, Rui followed her.
She opened the door to another mother, it was obvious because an older boy was hiding behind her.
"Hi, you must be the new neighbors..." Rui heard the lady outside talk but he ignored her because he had fixed his eyes on the boy fidgeting behind her.
"I'm sorry if his cries are disturbing you and..."
"I HAVE AN EXTRA BLANKET." The older boy suddenly spoke, cutting the conversation between the two women.
"Lend me?" Rui sniffled.
"I'll give it to you. Come with me." The older boy grabbed Rui's hand and led him to his room.
"I'm Umi. This was a gift from my classmate. I dont like the color red. You can have it." Umi took the blanket from the closet and gave it to the younger boy.
"T... thank you. I'm Rui."
Umi finally smiled. And Rui did too.
-----
The red blanket was Umi's first gift and he never goes to sleep without it, even up to now. The blanket's color had faded and it only covers Rui's torso and thighs but he has kept it with him still.
Rui lights up a cigarette. The temperature has gotten lower and the fog from his mouth thickens.
A smile forms across his face everytime he remembers Umi fidgeting behind his mother when he was six because it is always a great memory to look back on. Umi has always shown bravery but during that moment, the older boy exuded insecurity and fear.
And Umi never showed that again. He's often serious, over-confident, and sure.
Rui sighs again.
He wishes he could see an insecure Umi again. If he could see Umi at all.
-----
"Umi... Rui will be sharing your room from now on."
Umi was 12 and Rui was 9.
They had become close friends growing up but now that Umi was in an awkward stage of puberty, Rui was sure his older friend would turn him away.
"Why?" Umi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"My... mom..." Rui bawled. He stayed on his spot since he was afraid Umi would punch him if he went near him.
"Mom, what happened?" Umi was getting irritated already. He hated it when he was disturbed from building up model Gundam kits.
"His mom died in an accident this morning. Rui's an only child and his father's dead too. His mom and I had an agreement that I will take Rui in if something happens to her..." Umi's mother' voice was breaking but her son ignored him and ran to Rui and hugged the younger boy.
"There, there, Rui. I'm here..." Umi told him. He knew how it felt to lose someone when he lost his father 2 years ago, losing both at a young age would have killed him.
Rui hugged Umi tighter and he cried more. The door closed behind them afterwards.
Living together was easy at first until Umi turned 16 and Rui was 13.
Rui started feeling awkward whenever Umi would sleep beside him in their shared bed inside their shared bedroom. He felt butterflies in his tummy whenever Umi would hold him closer when the nights were colder. And he always felt like kissing him whenever Umi would suddenly pout in his sleep.
And he did when he was 14 but the problem was: Umi kissed back.
And that was it. They were suddenly holding hands underneath the dining table when the three (including Umi's mom) of them were eating their daily meals. They would spend the whole day after school inside their room: sharing stories, sharing hugs and sharing kisses.
They were on their first year of relationship when Umi's mother caught them making out in their bedroom. Instead of the scream they were waiting for, all they heard from her was, "That took you both long enough." And she left the room with a smile.
Everything started changing though when Umi was a senior in High School. He didnt have time to talk to Rui even if he was just sitting beside him. He was buried in his books as he studied. His already short temper got even shorter whenever he got distracted and that meant kicking Rui out of their room for the rest of the night or until Umi called him back inside.
Rui loved him enough to keep up and understand him. And he thought at least that if he did, Umi would never leave him until his older lover got his invitation letter from a university in Tokyo and everything changed.
-----
"Where the fuck are you, you asshole?!" Rui yells to no one again and throws his half-finished cigarette to the lake causing the frozen water to fizz a little before killing the flame of the nicotine stick.
He lights up another stick and curses under his breath.
He did what Umi asked him to do five years ago. He finished high school, studied hard to get to a university in Tokyo only to find out that Umi took the latter years of his college life in a foreign country.
An information Umi forgot to tell him.
Or didn't intend to tell him.
"Fuck you, you fucking prick..." Rui curses again. "You told me you'll wait for me, but it was me who did all the waiting. STILL waiting..." And he cries. Again.
It is the semestral break and he's back home to the apartment in Sapporo. Umi's mother welcomed him back earlier this morning but told him even she had not heard from Umi either. What a way to start her welcome remarks if you ask Rui.
They shared breakfast and Rui slept in his and Umi's old bedroom. He woke up around 4pm and now, at 5:46 in the afternoon, he's still in the port by the lake.
"I hate you... I really hate you."
"You do?"
Rui gasps. He isn't sure if he did hear something but it felt like it.
"I'm sorry, Rui."
Rui turns around to see Umi standing a few steps away from him, "Umi?"
"I'm back..." Umi smiles, "M... mom told me you're here and I..." Umi scratches his head, "I came here as fast as I..."
Umi doesn't finish because he felt Rui's hand slap him across the face, "YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE, WHERE DID YOU GO?! YOU TOLD ME YOU'LL WAIT FOR ME IN TOKYO!!! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME AGAIN?!" The younger boy's crying, his tears are almost frozen against his cheek.
"I'm really sorry..." Umi starts as he rubs his reddened cheek, "I was required to finish my studies in Australia. I told mom not to tell you where I was going because you'd go paranoid and you'd follow me there. I mean, knowing you."
"Why are you so mean to me?!" Rui buries his face in his gloved hands and keeps crying, "You could have called, you could have emailed me. I was going crazy thinking about what happened to you. The last time you contacted me was 2 years ago. I just... I thought..." Rui struggles as he wiggles away from Umi's hug but eventually gives in and buries his head on Umi's chest again, just like in 2005.
"If I had contacted you again, if i heard your voice or even received just one email, I would have flown back immediately. I missed you like crazy Rui... I'm really sorry. I really am. It was easier when I was in Tokyo. I mean, I came home a lot then if you didn't notice but Australia and Japan are a thousand miles apart and pretty expensive too." Umi chuckles, Rui hits him in the chest.
"You fucker..."
"I'm back for good Rui. I just graduated."
"And then what, I go back to Tokyo and you'll stay here and I have to wait until I graduate before we can get back together?"
"That... I kind of fixed."
Rui looks up with confused eyes, "What do you mean, 'fixed'?"
"I just rented an apartment near your university and you can move in with me if you want. IF YOU WANT."
"What if I dont want to?" Rui smirks, Umi scratches his head again, "Then i guess I have to move to a smaller pad... I mean, Tokyo's already expensive as it is and..."
"You really look adorable when you're getting insecure..." Rui chuckles and wipes the cold tears away from his cheeks, Umi makes a pouty face.
"ARE YOU MOVING WITH ME OR NOT?!"
"I am." Rui hugs Umi back, "BUT DONT THINK YOU CAN JUST COME AND GO AS YOU PLEASE YOU PRICK." Rui hits him in the chest again, Umi laughs, "Yes dear. I will always tell you where I'm going from now on."
Umi kisses his lover's forehead, "Let's go home. Mom prepared dinner."
---------------------------------------------
Author's Notes: I just needed to write this because vistlip is finally back. *cries* I was supposed to use the prompt for another pair but I guess I'd just make another story for them. ^___^b
Comments are love.
Chapters: Oneshot
Author: paranoiascreams
Genre: angst, fluff, AU
Warning: unbeta'd
Rating: PG
Pairings/Characters: Umi x Rui
Synopsis: Living in a yukiguni made him almost impervious to the cold weather but whenever Rui looks back on that night, he feels his hair rising and goosebumps appearing on his skin once more.
Disclaimer: I own them. NOT.
Comments: This is set in FEBRUARY 2011 (but not exactly Valentine's). Technically, thinking of winter in 2005 (which is December) makes it only 5 years and 2 months ago, if i got my Math right.
Prompt # 3
It was the coldest winter he had experienced.
-----
Year 2005. Half a decade ago.
"... Are you coming back?" Rui's lips shivered; not from the cold but from the fear that his lover might say a negative answer.
"... I'm not sure." Umi's gaze moved away from his younger lover's eyes.
"Why do you have to study in Tokyo!? Can't you stay here in Sapporo?!" Rui's foot stomped hard, making the old wooden port rattle.
"Come on, Rui. I'm 19 and you're 16. It's my future we're talking about here." The older teenager tried to keep his voice calm but it's obvious he's becoming irritated by the minute.
"And I'm not a part of that?" Rui started feeling and sounding defeated. There's a brief silence between him and Umi and only the howl of the cold wind could be heard.
"... I care about you, Rui. You know that, but I just... I have to leave."
"... Stay here with me, please." the younger teenager grabbed Umi's sleeve, pulling him closer to him, "Please?" he begged.
"Rui... I can't."
"Please..." Rui buried his head on Umi's chest and broke down; his tears cold against his lover.
Umi kissed his lover's head, "Will you let me go if I tell you I will wait for you in Tokyo? Finish high school and we'll meet half way like we always do."
The younger boy sniffled, "If you promise me..."
"I promise you, Rui."
"Then wait for me, okay? OKAY?!" Rui hit his lover's chest, Umi chuckled.
"I will."
-----
Rui sighs at the thought.
He sits on the port where they separated in 2005. The wood had become older and shakier but it doesn't make him move away from his spot even with the possibility of it breaking against his weight with him falling to the frozen lake beneath him.
Living in a yukiguni made him almost impervious to the cold weather but whenever Rui looks back on that night, he feels his hair rising and goosebumps appearing on his skin once more.
"I can never really catch up to you, can't I?" Rui asks to no one in particular.
He sighs and a cloud of fog escapes his lips.
"I never can..."
He looks at the far off distance to see the sun still peeking out in the sky. It's almost dawn but he stays. It gets dark, too dark at night in this area but sneaking out with his ex-lover before made him braver.
It hurts to tell himself Umi was his ex-lover. He's not even sure himself if he and Umi are over. He doesn't want to.
Umi's all he had known all his life.
-----
Rui was three when he and his mother left Beppu to live in Sapporo. He cried and cried when they reached their new apartment because it was really cold for his sensitive little body to take.
He was a kid and moving from the hot south to the cold north was almost a life changing experience for him already.
"There, there... Rui. Calm down." His mother told him, at least that was what he wanted to remember his mother telling him when he cried.
"It's cold. IT'S COLD!!!" He cried loudly and then there were knocks on the door.
"Wait here, darling..." Rui's mother stood up to get the door, and being a stubborn kid, Rui followed her.
She opened the door to another mother, it was obvious because an older boy was hiding behind her.
"Hi, you must be the new neighbors..." Rui heard the lady outside talk but he ignored her because he had fixed his eyes on the boy fidgeting behind her.
"I'm sorry if his cries are disturbing you and..."
"I HAVE AN EXTRA BLANKET." The older boy suddenly spoke, cutting the conversation between the two women.
"Lend me?" Rui sniffled.
"I'll give it to you. Come with me." The older boy grabbed Rui's hand and led him to his room.
"I'm Umi. This was a gift from my classmate. I dont like the color red. You can have it." Umi took the blanket from the closet and gave it to the younger boy.
"T... thank you. I'm Rui."
Umi finally smiled. And Rui did too.
-----
The red blanket was Umi's first gift and he never goes to sleep without it, even up to now. The blanket's color had faded and it only covers Rui's torso and thighs but he has kept it with him still.
Rui lights up a cigarette. The temperature has gotten lower and the fog from his mouth thickens.
A smile forms across his face everytime he remembers Umi fidgeting behind his mother when he was six because it is always a great memory to look back on. Umi has always shown bravery but during that moment, the older boy exuded insecurity and fear.
And Umi never showed that again. He's often serious, over-confident, and sure.
Rui sighs again.
He wishes he could see an insecure Umi again. If he could see Umi at all.
-----
"Umi... Rui will be sharing your room from now on."
Umi was 12 and Rui was 9.
They had become close friends growing up but now that Umi was in an awkward stage of puberty, Rui was sure his older friend would turn him away.
"Why?" Umi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"My... mom..." Rui bawled. He stayed on his spot since he was afraid Umi would punch him if he went near him.
"Mom, what happened?" Umi was getting irritated already. He hated it when he was disturbed from building up model Gundam kits.
"His mom died in an accident this morning. Rui's an only child and his father's dead too. His mom and I had an agreement that I will take Rui in if something happens to her..." Umi's mother' voice was breaking but her son ignored him and ran to Rui and hugged the younger boy.
"There, there, Rui. I'm here..." Umi told him. He knew how it felt to lose someone when he lost his father 2 years ago, losing both at a young age would have killed him.
Rui hugged Umi tighter and he cried more. The door closed behind them afterwards.
Living together was easy at first until Umi turned 16 and Rui was 13.
Rui started feeling awkward whenever Umi would sleep beside him in their shared bed inside their shared bedroom. He felt butterflies in his tummy whenever Umi would hold him closer when the nights were colder. And he always felt like kissing him whenever Umi would suddenly pout in his sleep.
And he did when he was 14 but the problem was: Umi kissed back.
And that was it. They were suddenly holding hands underneath the dining table when the three (including Umi's mom) of them were eating their daily meals. They would spend the whole day after school inside their room: sharing stories, sharing hugs and sharing kisses.
They were on their first year of relationship when Umi's mother caught them making out in their bedroom. Instead of the scream they were waiting for, all they heard from her was, "That took you both long enough." And she left the room with a smile.
Everything started changing though when Umi was a senior in High School. He didnt have time to talk to Rui even if he was just sitting beside him. He was buried in his books as he studied. His already short temper got even shorter whenever he got distracted and that meant kicking Rui out of their room for the rest of the night or until Umi called him back inside.
Rui loved him enough to keep up and understand him. And he thought at least that if he did, Umi would never leave him until his older lover got his invitation letter from a university in Tokyo and everything changed.
-----
"Where the fuck are you, you asshole?!" Rui yells to no one again and throws his half-finished cigarette to the lake causing the frozen water to fizz a little before killing the flame of the nicotine stick.
He lights up another stick and curses under his breath.
He did what Umi asked him to do five years ago. He finished high school, studied hard to get to a university in Tokyo only to find out that Umi took the latter years of his college life in a foreign country.
An information Umi forgot to tell him.
Or didn't intend to tell him.
"Fuck you, you fucking prick..." Rui curses again. "You told me you'll wait for me, but it was me who did all the waiting. STILL waiting..." And he cries. Again.
It is the semestral break and he's back home to the apartment in Sapporo. Umi's mother welcomed him back earlier this morning but told him even she had not heard from Umi either. What a way to start her welcome remarks if you ask Rui.
They shared breakfast and Rui slept in his and Umi's old bedroom. He woke up around 4pm and now, at 5:46 in the afternoon, he's still in the port by the lake.
"I hate you... I really hate you."
"You do?"
Rui gasps. He isn't sure if he did hear something but it felt like it.
"I'm sorry, Rui."
Rui turns around to see Umi standing a few steps away from him, "Umi?"
"I'm back..." Umi smiles, "M... mom told me you're here and I..." Umi scratches his head, "I came here as fast as I..."
Umi doesn't finish because he felt Rui's hand slap him across the face, "YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE, WHERE DID YOU GO?! YOU TOLD ME YOU'LL WAIT FOR ME IN TOKYO!!! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME AGAIN?!" The younger boy's crying, his tears are almost frozen against his cheek.
"I'm really sorry..." Umi starts as he rubs his reddened cheek, "I was required to finish my studies in Australia. I told mom not to tell you where I was going because you'd go paranoid and you'd follow me there. I mean, knowing you."
"Why are you so mean to me?!" Rui buries his face in his gloved hands and keeps crying, "You could have called, you could have emailed me. I was going crazy thinking about what happened to you. The last time you contacted me was 2 years ago. I just... I thought..." Rui struggles as he wiggles away from Umi's hug but eventually gives in and buries his head on Umi's chest again, just like in 2005.
"If I had contacted you again, if i heard your voice or even received just one email, I would have flown back immediately. I missed you like crazy Rui... I'm really sorry. I really am. It was easier when I was in Tokyo. I mean, I came home a lot then if you didn't notice but Australia and Japan are a thousand miles apart and pretty expensive too." Umi chuckles, Rui hits him in the chest.
"You fucker..."
"I'm back for good Rui. I just graduated."
"And then what, I go back to Tokyo and you'll stay here and I have to wait until I graduate before we can get back together?"
"That... I kind of fixed."
Rui looks up with confused eyes, "What do you mean, 'fixed'?"
"I just rented an apartment near your university and you can move in with me if you want. IF YOU WANT."
"What if I dont want to?" Rui smirks, Umi scratches his head again, "Then i guess I have to move to a smaller pad... I mean, Tokyo's already expensive as it is and..."
"You really look adorable when you're getting insecure..." Rui chuckles and wipes the cold tears away from his cheeks, Umi makes a pouty face.
"ARE YOU MOVING WITH ME OR NOT?!"
"I am." Rui hugs Umi back, "BUT DONT THINK YOU CAN JUST COME AND GO AS YOU PLEASE YOU PRICK." Rui hits him in the chest again, Umi laughs, "Yes dear. I will always tell you where I'm going from now on."
Umi kisses his lover's forehead, "Let's go home. Mom prepared dinner."
---------------------------------------------
Author's Notes: I just needed to write this because vistlip is finally back. *cries* I was supposed to use the prompt for another pair but I guess I'd just make another story for them. ^___^b
Comments are love.