Original: "What the eyes can't see." Slash
This was almost one of those weeks, man, but I finished something. Thankfully. New school year and all that jazz, and still trying to get everything back into the groove XP
Summary: Cecil may be blind, but he can still see how much Kiran cares...
Cecil paused, listening intently. His own heartbeat kicked up a notch, panting slightly from the brisk walk and the sudden surge of adrenaline. The wind rustling through trees and playing through the leaves covering the ground. He could hear birds a little way off and the distant sound of the freeway traffic, but there were no sounds out of the ordinary. He held a moment longer before slowly continuing on, slim white cane sweeping the ground in front of him.
He’d made this walk hundreds of times and knew by heart the way from Kiran’s home to his own, he assured himself. There was nothing new about this time, beyond the fact that he was psyching himself out again, though he’d done that before too. And hadn’t that turned out just fine? he reminded himself. He really needed to stop reading Stephen King novels.
Cecil had reached the root that grew up through the Clemenstine’s sidewalk when it happened again, that prickling sensation that crawled up his neck, the half-thought sound of something scuffling on the sidewalk behind him.
He froze, ears straining for any noise, any little sound out of place. A pebble skittered off the curb into the street and his heart was suddenly racing much faster than he thought was healthy.
“Hello?” he called, hoping his voice didn’t sound as close to panic as he felt. He tried to discretely inch his free hand into the pocket holding his panic button, incomprehensibly grateful that his mom forced him to carry it with him always, even just to Kiran’s house.
“Look,” he continued, not bothering to turn toward a possible person he couldn’t actually see, nerves on edge as he remained tensed. “I don’t know who you are or what you want, but I can assure you that I’m not nearly as helpless as I might seem.” He staunchly ignored the way his voice wavered slightly on the last word. He swallowed thickly, almost wishing something would happen, the tension alone feeling as though it were pressing down on him. “I don’t -”
“It’s me, Cec.”
Cecil had to take a moment, almost physically thrown as the tension disappeared suddenly, before turning to face the voice. “Kiran?”
A familiar quiet chuckle responded first. “Yeah,” he confirmed softly, footsteps coming closer. “Didn’t mean to alarm you there.”
Cecil took a deep, slightly wobbly breath, shaking his head to try to clear it. “What are you doing here?” he asked, angling toward the sound of footsteps and wondering what his friend could possibly be doing in this neighborhood.
There was a long pause, as if Kiran hadn’t expected the question and wasn’t sure how to answer it, before he let out a long, heavy sigh. “Look, Cecil, please don’t be mad when I tell you, okay?”
Feeling slightly uneasy, Cecil shook the words off. “Just tell me, Kir. You know I hate when people beat around the bush.”
Kiran exhaled a laugh, the sound striking Cecil as seeming rather nervous and a knot started forming in his stomach. There was a long sigh first and then the faint, familiar sound of Kiran scratching the back of his neck. “I was…” Another long sigh, this one mostly resigned. “I was following you home.”
Cecil’s first reaction was anger, but he immediately tamped it down. He’d known Kiran too long and too closely to not at least give him a chance to explain. “Why?” He could hear Kiran start to answer when something more important occurred to him. “Wait, how long have you been doing this? Is this the first time?” he asked, somehow knowing this wasn’t.
Kiran gave a rather telling sigh. “No. I’ve been doing this…I’ve been doing this since the very first time you walked home on your own.” Cecil knew he’d be hunching his shoulders guiltily now, though he couldn’t see it. “Cec…”
“Why?” Cecil demanded, cutting him off more sharply than he had meant to.
Kiran breathed out that laugh of odd amusement he always showed when Cecil got impatient with anything. “That first time? I was worried about you. And for a while after that too. I just wanted to see you home safely. Then, by the time it was way obvious that nothing was going to happen to you, it had sort of become a habit to walk you home.”
Cecil huffed in frustration, holding out a hand imperatively. Even after so long, Kiran’s emotions could be hard to parse out based on voice alone. Thankfully, it also meant his friend was used to this way of reading faces, evidenced by the banjo-calloused fingers that grasped his hand, guiding it to Kiran’s face. Cecil’s fingers ghosted over his features, tracing over where his brow bunched upwards in the middle, down over his nose to the one-sided tilt of his lips. He continued up along Kiran’s jaw, trailing a finger over an ear…and tugging it sharply. “A creepy, stalkerish habit. Honestly, Kir, why didn’t you just say something? You know I would’ve -”
“Gotten angry with me and told me you were damn-well capable of taking care of yourself, thank you very much,” Kiran laughed softly. “I worry; you know I worry. There are also sorts of things that could go wrong on your walk home: stray rabid dogs or distracted soccer dads backing the car out of the driveway or…or goodness only knows what else.”
Cecil gave his ear another tug for good measure before letting go, shaking his head. “What am I going to do with you?”
Kiran grabbed his hand before it could fall away completely, keeping a light grip on his fingers. “You could always just let me walk you home?”
He snorted. “And if I don’t, will you follow me anyway?”
Cecil could hear the smile in Kiran’s voice when he answered. “Probably.”
Turning back toward home, Cecil snorted but didn’t say anything, allowing Kiran to tuck his captured hand into the crook of his elbow, the other sweeping his cane across the sidewalk. He smiled softly as they walked in silence, knowing Kiran smiled in return, even if he couldn’t see it.
Summary: Cecil may be blind, but he can still see how much Kiran cares...
Cecil paused, listening intently. His own heartbeat kicked up a notch, panting slightly from the brisk walk and the sudden surge of adrenaline. The wind rustling through trees and playing through the leaves covering the ground. He could hear birds a little way off and the distant sound of the freeway traffic, but there were no sounds out of the ordinary. He held a moment longer before slowly continuing on, slim white cane sweeping the ground in front of him.
He’d made this walk hundreds of times and knew by heart the way from Kiran’s home to his own, he assured himself. There was nothing new about this time, beyond the fact that he was psyching himself out again, though he’d done that before too. And hadn’t that turned out just fine? he reminded himself. He really needed to stop reading Stephen King novels.
Cecil had reached the root that grew up through the Clemenstine’s sidewalk when it happened again, that prickling sensation that crawled up his neck, the half-thought sound of something scuffling on the sidewalk behind him.
He froze, ears straining for any noise, any little sound out of place. A pebble skittered off the curb into the street and his heart was suddenly racing much faster than he thought was healthy.
“Hello?” he called, hoping his voice didn’t sound as close to panic as he felt. He tried to discretely inch his free hand into the pocket holding his panic button, incomprehensibly grateful that his mom forced him to carry it with him always, even just to Kiran’s house.
“Look,” he continued, not bothering to turn toward a possible person he couldn’t actually see, nerves on edge as he remained tensed. “I don’t know who you are or what you want, but I can assure you that I’m not nearly as helpless as I might seem.” He staunchly ignored the way his voice wavered slightly on the last word. He swallowed thickly, almost wishing something would happen, the tension alone feeling as though it were pressing down on him. “I don’t -”
“It’s me, Cec.”
Cecil had to take a moment, almost physically thrown as the tension disappeared suddenly, before turning to face the voice. “Kiran?”
A familiar quiet chuckle responded first. “Yeah,” he confirmed softly, footsteps coming closer. “Didn’t mean to alarm you there.”
Cecil took a deep, slightly wobbly breath, shaking his head to try to clear it. “What are you doing here?” he asked, angling toward the sound of footsteps and wondering what his friend could possibly be doing in this neighborhood.
There was a long pause, as if Kiran hadn’t expected the question and wasn’t sure how to answer it, before he let out a long, heavy sigh. “Look, Cecil, please don’t be mad when I tell you, okay?”
Feeling slightly uneasy, Cecil shook the words off. “Just tell me, Kir. You know I hate when people beat around the bush.”
Kiran exhaled a laugh, the sound striking Cecil as seeming rather nervous and a knot started forming in his stomach. There was a long sigh first and then the faint, familiar sound of Kiran scratching the back of his neck. “I was…” Another long sigh, this one mostly resigned. “I was following you home.”
Cecil’s first reaction was anger, but he immediately tamped it down. He’d known Kiran too long and too closely to not at least give him a chance to explain. “Why?” He could hear Kiran start to answer when something more important occurred to him. “Wait, how long have you been doing this? Is this the first time?” he asked, somehow knowing this wasn’t.
Kiran gave a rather telling sigh. “No. I’ve been doing this…I’ve been doing this since the very first time you walked home on your own.” Cecil knew he’d be hunching his shoulders guiltily now, though he couldn’t see it. “Cec…”
“Why?” Cecil demanded, cutting him off more sharply than he had meant to.
Kiran breathed out that laugh of odd amusement he always showed when Cecil got impatient with anything. “That first time? I was worried about you. And for a while after that too. I just wanted to see you home safely. Then, by the time it was way obvious that nothing was going to happen to you, it had sort of become a habit to walk you home.”
Cecil huffed in frustration, holding out a hand imperatively. Even after so long, Kiran’s emotions could be hard to parse out based on voice alone. Thankfully, it also meant his friend was used to this way of reading faces, evidenced by the banjo-calloused fingers that grasped his hand, guiding it to Kiran’s face. Cecil’s fingers ghosted over his features, tracing over where his brow bunched upwards in the middle, down over his nose to the one-sided tilt of his lips. He continued up along Kiran’s jaw, trailing a finger over an ear…and tugging it sharply. “A creepy, stalkerish habit. Honestly, Kir, why didn’t you just say something? You know I would’ve -”
“Gotten angry with me and told me you were damn-well capable of taking care of yourself, thank you very much,” Kiran laughed softly. “I worry; you know I worry. There are also sorts of things that could go wrong on your walk home: stray rabid dogs or distracted soccer dads backing the car out of the driveway or…or goodness only knows what else.”
Cecil gave his ear another tug for good measure before letting go, shaking his head. “What am I going to do with you?”
Kiran grabbed his hand before it could fall away completely, keeping a light grip on his fingers. “You could always just let me walk you home?”
He snorted. “And if I don’t, will you follow me anyway?”
Cecil could hear the smile in Kiran’s voice when he answered. “Probably.”
Turning back toward home, Cecil snorted but didn’t say anything, allowing Kiran to tuck his captured hand into the crook of his elbow, the other sweeping his cane across the sidewalk. He smiled softly as they walked in silence, knowing Kiran smiled in return, even if he couldn’t see it.