[fic] Dead of Night [Yami no Matsuei][for starza]
Fandom: Yami no Matsuei
Title: Dead of Night
Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka
Warnings/notes: For starza. My first YnM-fic ever, which makes me twice as nervous about posting it. Rated PG, I suppose, though Tsuzuki's not really helping.
Dead of Night
*
Warnings/notes: Tsuzuki/Hisoka, drabble-ish, TWT.
Disclaimer: I don't own Descendants of Darkness/Yami no Matsuei.
**********
When he is exactly twenty-three years, three months and five days old, Kurosaki Hisoka decides that it's ridiculous to still be afraid of the dark at the age of sixteen. Things like that are for children who don't know any better than to believe their parents when they're warned about the monsters under their bed that'll come and eat them if they don't behave - although Hisoka can't clearly remember if he ever was scared as a child, and he feels, in fact, that no intelligent human being should buy a silly story about monsters with nothing better to do all day than watch for bad behavior.
Monsters aren't that stupid, Hisoka knows by now. Not that stupid, and definitely not letting the goodness or badness of their prey make a difference. Possibly -or probably, actually, based on his experiences so far, and even taking into account the idea that some people might consider him and Tsuzuki to be monsters, too- monsters don't have any special preference for dark places.
(If his fear had been something he could see, he'd have been glaring at it by now, snapping at it to get out already, because he's found plenty of arguments against its presence.)
(However, like the monsters that are hiding so well that they're actually not there, his fear can't be chased that easily, sticking around to mock him and keep him from daring to let his eyes drop closed, because -or so it seems- that's just what *they* are waiting for.)
There's a small lamp standing on Hisoka's nightstand, easily within reach, so that he won't even have to crawl out from under the blankets very far in order to turn it on. All he needs to do is stretch out his left arm, and he'll have chased the darkness from his room.
Hisoka hasn't turned it on even a single time since he received it as a Christmas-gift from Tsuzuki, two years ago. Tsuzuki claimed the lamp was to enable him to read in bed, without disturbing anyone, or needing to get out of bed just when he's all warm and comfortable. Tsuzuki knows him a little too well though, Hisoka thinks, and so he's thanked Tsuzuki politely for his thoughtful gift, and silently swore never to use it or read in bed.
Tsuzuki may know him well, but, like too many people, he considers Hisoka to be little more than a child, someone to be coddled and indulged. Perhaps, Hisoka thinks, with a hint of malice, Tsuzuki does that because he himself would want to be coddled and indulged, if he'd have Hisoka's looks and thus be able to pull off the act of a helpless young man successfully.
Hisoka sighs. He's willing to bet that, for all his clumsiness and laziness, Tsuzuki doesn't lie awake at night, staring at the dark and fighting down his fears. He's never seen Tsuzuki's bedroom; it might have a lamp like the one Hisoka now owns, or not. If it does, Tsuzuki probably actually uses it to read.
It's a strange, unlikely image: Tsuzuki reading in bed. Hisoka knows that Tsuzuki does visit the Library on occasion (often enough to have the Gushoshin come up with a special 'What-To-Do-When-Tsuzuki-Shows-Up-Again-To-Destroy-Our-Library'-plan) but somehow, Tsuzuki usually seems more interested in things like food and vacations.
Hisoka turns, wishing he could fall asleep already, knowing he won't, not as long as he's still able to keep control over his own thoughts, and direct his mind in the direction of his partner, rather than other, less annoying and pleasant subjects.
Tsuzuki is easy to think of, easy to be distracted by. He may be an idiot, but at least he's got good intentions. The word 'subtlety' can no more be found in Tsuzuki's dictionary than 'restraint'. It makes it very tempting to trust Tsuzuki, because Hisoka knows that Tsuzuki isn't going to turn about on him, or deceive him by saying one thing and meaning something else.
In the end though, Tsuzuki is still nothing more than an idiot. He can't help Hisoka; the only person who can and should do that is Hisoka himself, and if Hisoka can't, then that's his own problem. Hisoka doesn't want to involve Tsuzuki, not simply because Tsuzuki trying to help might end in a disaster, but also because letting Tsuzuki help him is the same as admitting that he can't do this himself.
Hisoka has already concluded that it's ridiculous to be scared of the dark. He shouldn't need Tsuzuki to deal with it, to start using his brains. He should be smarter than this.
Tsuzuki is -
Hisoka blinks, his body already responding to the sound of someone being about to enter his room even before his mind has fully caught up with the situation. Fortunately, his mind does arrive at its conclusion before he's actually taken any actions that might make it necessary for him to move to another bedroom the next day, due to a need for reparations.
"Tsuzuki?" Hisoka hopes his voice sounds sleepy, rather than on the verge of panic. He can usually mask his emotions well enough, even around Tsuzuki, but he's spent a long time in the dark, and he's not used to people entering his bedroom in the middle of the night.
"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki sounds a little worried. "Isn't there a light-switch around here somewhere?"
Stumbling around in the dark, Hisoka feels strangely relieved. It's annoying not to be able to see anything, but knowing that Tsuzuki is near somehow makes all the difference between the kind of dark that reduces him to a frightened child and the kind of dark that's nothing more than a temporal absence of the light. Eventually, he finds the switch.
Tsuzuki stands there blinking in his doorway, and Hisoka wonders for the first time why he's here. If there'd been an emergency, Tsuzuki wouldn't have sounded 'a little worried'. He'd have sounded very worried, and not bothered with light-switches. On the other hand, if there is no emergency, then what is Tsuzuki doing, stumbling into Hisoka's room at a time like this?
"The light in my room stopped working and I don't know how to fix it," Tsuzuki says. He sounds slightly embarrassed, but Hisoka's willing to bet it's more because of his inability to fix a broken lamp than because of any problems Tsuzuki might have sleeping in a room without a working lamp.
Hisoka isn't sure what he's supposed to say. He knows how to replace a light-bulb (who doesn't?) but even Tsuzuki should be able to do that, so he has to assume the lamp's more broken than that. Which means Hisoka can no more fix it than Tsuzuki.
"Can I sleep here tonight?" Tsuzuki asks.
Hisoka thinks of facing the dark with Tsuzuki close enough by his side to hear him breathe. He tells himself it's just for one night; tomorrow, Tsuzuki will be gone, and Hisoka will be alone again. Giving in now, will only make things harder. He can't count on Tsuzuki to always be there.
"Please?" Tsuzuki adds. His eyes are large and wide, and Hisoka could swear that Tsuzuki's putting on an act, like when he's pleading with Tatsumi not to withhold his salary, but he's not entirely sure.
"I suppose." The words have come out (grudgingly) before Hisoka remembers that there's a very comfortable couch in the living room, and isn't there an empty guest-room, too, somewhere?
Tsuzuki beams at him. Hisoka thinks he looks like a child who's just been promised a wonderful treat, or, possibly, who's just been assured that the monsters that are hiding underneath his bed aren't going to dare come and get him while he's with Hisoka.
"Don't worry, Hisoka; you won't even notice me and Mister Totoro are here!" Something big, blue and fluffy is dragged into the room. Hisoka stares at it and wonders why he feels like he might start laughing in another few seconds. It's still night, and the lamp on his nightstand illuminates only a small part of the room. "I brought my own blankets and everything."
In the end, Hisoka manages not to laugh.
(He also manages to fall asleep fairly quickly, even though Tsuzuki won't let him turn the lights off, because he claims Mister Totoro is afraid of the dark, which is so obviously untrue that Hisoka doesn't bother protesting.)
~OWARI~
Title: Dead of Night
Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka
Warnings/notes: For starza. My first YnM-fic ever, which makes me twice as nervous about posting it. Rated PG, I suppose, though Tsuzuki's not really helping.
Dead of Night
*
Warnings/notes: Tsuzuki/Hisoka, drabble-ish, TWT.
Disclaimer: I don't own Descendants of Darkness/Yami no Matsuei.
**********
When he is exactly twenty-three years, three months and five days old, Kurosaki Hisoka decides that it's ridiculous to still be afraid of the dark at the age of sixteen. Things like that are for children who don't know any better than to believe their parents when they're warned about the monsters under their bed that'll come and eat them if they don't behave - although Hisoka can't clearly remember if he ever was scared as a child, and he feels, in fact, that no intelligent human being should buy a silly story about monsters with nothing better to do all day than watch for bad behavior.
Monsters aren't that stupid, Hisoka knows by now. Not that stupid, and definitely not letting the goodness or badness of their prey make a difference. Possibly -or probably, actually, based on his experiences so far, and even taking into account the idea that some people might consider him and Tsuzuki to be monsters, too- monsters don't have any special preference for dark places.
(If his fear had been something he could see, he'd have been glaring at it by now, snapping at it to get out already, because he's found plenty of arguments against its presence.)
(However, like the monsters that are hiding so well that they're actually not there, his fear can't be chased that easily, sticking around to mock him and keep him from daring to let his eyes drop closed, because -or so it seems- that's just what *they* are waiting for.)
There's a small lamp standing on Hisoka's nightstand, easily within reach, so that he won't even have to crawl out from under the blankets very far in order to turn it on. All he needs to do is stretch out his left arm, and he'll have chased the darkness from his room.
Hisoka hasn't turned it on even a single time since he received it as a Christmas-gift from Tsuzuki, two years ago. Tsuzuki claimed the lamp was to enable him to read in bed, without disturbing anyone, or needing to get out of bed just when he's all warm and comfortable. Tsuzuki knows him a little too well though, Hisoka thinks, and so he's thanked Tsuzuki politely for his thoughtful gift, and silently swore never to use it or read in bed.
Tsuzuki may know him well, but, like too many people, he considers Hisoka to be little more than a child, someone to be coddled and indulged. Perhaps, Hisoka thinks, with a hint of malice, Tsuzuki does that because he himself would want to be coddled and indulged, if he'd have Hisoka's looks and thus be able to pull off the act of a helpless young man successfully.
Hisoka sighs. He's willing to bet that, for all his clumsiness and laziness, Tsuzuki doesn't lie awake at night, staring at the dark and fighting down his fears. He's never seen Tsuzuki's bedroom; it might have a lamp like the one Hisoka now owns, or not. If it does, Tsuzuki probably actually uses it to read.
It's a strange, unlikely image: Tsuzuki reading in bed. Hisoka knows that Tsuzuki does visit the Library on occasion (often enough to have the Gushoshin come up with a special 'What-To-Do-When-Tsuzuki-Shows-Up-Again-To-Destroy-Our-Library'-plan) but somehow, Tsuzuki usually seems more interested in things like food and vacations.
Hisoka turns, wishing he could fall asleep already, knowing he won't, not as long as he's still able to keep control over his own thoughts, and direct his mind in the direction of his partner, rather than other, less annoying and pleasant subjects.
Tsuzuki is easy to think of, easy to be distracted by. He may be an idiot, but at least he's got good intentions. The word 'subtlety' can no more be found in Tsuzuki's dictionary than 'restraint'. It makes it very tempting to trust Tsuzuki, because Hisoka knows that Tsuzuki isn't going to turn about on him, or deceive him by saying one thing and meaning something else.
In the end though, Tsuzuki is still nothing more than an idiot. He can't help Hisoka; the only person who can and should do that is Hisoka himself, and if Hisoka can't, then that's his own problem. Hisoka doesn't want to involve Tsuzuki, not simply because Tsuzuki trying to help might end in a disaster, but also because letting Tsuzuki help him is the same as admitting that he can't do this himself.
Hisoka has already concluded that it's ridiculous to be scared of the dark. He shouldn't need Tsuzuki to deal with it, to start using his brains. He should be smarter than this.
Tsuzuki is -
Hisoka blinks, his body already responding to the sound of someone being about to enter his room even before his mind has fully caught up with the situation. Fortunately, his mind does arrive at its conclusion before he's actually taken any actions that might make it necessary for him to move to another bedroom the next day, due to a need for reparations.
"Tsuzuki?" Hisoka hopes his voice sounds sleepy, rather than on the verge of panic. He can usually mask his emotions well enough, even around Tsuzuki, but he's spent a long time in the dark, and he's not used to people entering his bedroom in the middle of the night.
"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki sounds a little worried. "Isn't there a light-switch around here somewhere?"
Stumbling around in the dark, Hisoka feels strangely relieved. It's annoying not to be able to see anything, but knowing that Tsuzuki is near somehow makes all the difference between the kind of dark that reduces him to a frightened child and the kind of dark that's nothing more than a temporal absence of the light. Eventually, he finds the switch.
Tsuzuki stands there blinking in his doorway, and Hisoka wonders for the first time why he's here. If there'd been an emergency, Tsuzuki wouldn't have sounded 'a little worried'. He'd have sounded very worried, and not bothered with light-switches. On the other hand, if there is no emergency, then what is Tsuzuki doing, stumbling into Hisoka's room at a time like this?
"The light in my room stopped working and I don't know how to fix it," Tsuzuki says. He sounds slightly embarrassed, but Hisoka's willing to bet it's more because of his inability to fix a broken lamp than because of any problems Tsuzuki might have sleeping in a room without a working lamp.
Hisoka isn't sure what he's supposed to say. He knows how to replace a light-bulb (who doesn't?) but even Tsuzuki should be able to do that, so he has to assume the lamp's more broken than that. Which means Hisoka can no more fix it than Tsuzuki.
"Can I sleep here tonight?" Tsuzuki asks.
Hisoka thinks of facing the dark with Tsuzuki close enough by his side to hear him breathe. He tells himself it's just for one night; tomorrow, Tsuzuki will be gone, and Hisoka will be alone again. Giving in now, will only make things harder. He can't count on Tsuzuki to always be there.
"Please?" Tsuzuki adds. His eyes are large and wide, and Hisoka could swear that Tsuzuki's putting on an act, like when he's pleading with Tatsumi not to withhold his salary, but he's not entirely sure.
"I suppose." The words have come out (grudgingly) before Hisoka remembers that there's a very comfortable couch in the living room, and isn't there an empty guest-room, too, somewhere?
Tsuzuki beams at him. Hisoka thinks he looks like a child who's just been promised a wonderful treat, or, possibly, who's just been assured that the monsters that are hiding underneath his bed aren't going to dare come and get him while he's with Hisoka.
"Don't worry, Hisoka; you won't even notice me and Mister Totoro are here!" Something big, blue and fluffy is dragged into the room. Hisoka stares at it and wonders why he feels like he might start laughing in another few seconds. It's still night, and the lamp on his nightstand illuminates only a small part of the room. "I brought my own blankets and everything."
In the end, Hisoka manages not to laugh.
(He also manages to fall asleep fairly quickly, even though Tsuzuki won't let him turn the lights off, because he claims Mister Totoro is afraid of the dark, which is so obviously untrue that Hisoka doesn't bother protesting.)
~OWARI~