The Fallout and Recovery
Taiki slapped one hand over his mouth, eyes wide as he stared at an equally shocked Shuichi. His heart was pounding in his ears and he felt panic quickly rising like bile, his words echoing through his skull. What the fuck would you know? You are never even around! He had never in his life yelled at someone like that...never in anger...and never with obscenities. Especially not to the man in front of him...
And then to see Shuichi’s face drop...
“No, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it!” He whispered frantically through fingers that were still covering his lips. “It just...you were angry...and I was getting upset...and it just kind of came out...But I didn’t mean it!” He pleaded, watching the aura in front of him plummet from a brilliant (if angry) red, all the way down to a dim gray of sadness. The bed sagged as Shuichi dropped limply onto it, his shoulders drooping and head hanging so that blond bangs obscured his features.
It had all started with Shuichi getting upset over the fact that Taiki had not told him about his current work situation. Not about Jonas, not about the potential danger, and not about the circumstances surrounding everything. And true to his personality, Kansai-ben obscenities had flown as the overly-passionate blond expressed his concern, anger, and fears. But the emotions were too close, too strong...and they smashed their way through Taiki’s already weak defenses resulting in the shockingly uncharacteristic outburst.
“Even if you didn’t mean to say it, ya still obviously think that way...” A hollow sigh and Shuichi looked up, suddenly appearing very tired. Taiki wondered how long the flight must have been from South America...wondered if the man had even slept after the game against Brazil, or if he had immediately jumped onto a plane...Had he even eaten? ...Nevermind that Taiki had not slept for the past week and his meals had consisted of nothing more than a few crackers and a lot of wasted take away. “Why don’tcha ever say anything? Ya just keep quiet...About work, about this,” he gestured between them “about everything.” Taiki let his hand fall to his side and he stared at the ground, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, blurring his vision.
“I didn’t mean it. Yes, I miss you...but...but I didn’t mean it.” He finished lamely, repeating himself once more. “And I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want you to worry...You’re busy...” He knew his words sounded pathetic, but he was grasping blindly now; unsure of what to do or say to make things right. “And Jonas-san...he just...” Taiki broke off, taking in a deep breath. This was not the way he had planned things, not the way he had wanted to approach this with the blond. He thought he’d have time to fix everything, to set things straight over here, then he would go home and everything would be okay. Glossed over. Forgotten. Work was separate from life; US and South America were separate from his sanctuary in Japan. Everything in its own drawer, and things would never overlap or touch...
But this was wrong; someone had died. He had been so overwhelmed, so tired...and he had missed Shuichi so badly...but now the man was here and all Taiki had done was mess everything up.
Another sigh and in one motion Shuichi slid off the edge of the bed and reached for Taiki’s wrist, moving to sit on the floor and pulling the slight psychic down with him.
“What happened?” A warm arm securely around his waist, his head on a shoulder, and a cheek resting against his temple.
((Directly after this))