Eye of the Storm

by boofatthemoon

Summary:

They're both boys. Both still so young.

Notes:

• For defeatedbyabridge, LucyBlueBunnies, butyoumight.

Just a random bunny that hit me while I was washing dishes.

The door frame is solid against her arm, steady enough to keep the tremble out, even as it makes the bruise above her elbow twinge. She crosses her arms, and that relieves some of the pain, but not all of it. Never all of it.

The room is dim but for a single tiny lamp attached to a floor-level socket, it glows a faint path of blue across the room, almost to her feet. A guiding path should anyone wake up and need to find their way.

One figure in the bed stirs, and she holds her breath, thinking she's been discovered. But he simply shifts in his sleep, moving closer to the smaller form, and slides an arm around his middle, his nose tucking up beneath the boy's ear.

Both boys. Both so young.

"Megumi?"

Arms slide around her middle and draw her in close against a chest that has too many muscle for its vocation. She lets out a slow breath, a small sigh of contentment, and leans back slightly, resting her head back against Jou's shoulder.

Even without his voice, she would have known him. She knows his arms from Yuusuke's, knows the subtle differences in they way they hold her. Yuusuke likes to hold her with his arms low, almost around her hips, leaning over her so that he can rest his chin on her shoulder. He says he can smell her perfume better from there, and usually gives the spot behind her ear a small kiss. Jou prefers her middle, closer to her ribs. He likes it best when she leans back against him, when he can rest his chin on the top of her head, as he is now.

"You know," he whispers, giving her a gentle squeeze. "It's not nice to spy on comrades."

"I'm not spying." She keeps her eyes on the bed, watching as Junichi turns and curls closer to Tetsuya until he's tucked up under his chin. "I'm just checking on them."

Jou lets out a slow breath, blowing a few locks of her hair into her eyes. "It was a rough day for all of us."

Megumi tenses in Jou's arms, moving the palm of one of hand along his forearm. Her fingers brush over the bandage just above his wrist, thinking of the angry gash concealed beneath. Her bruises, Yuusuke's black eye, Junichi's sprained ankle. Tetsuya has his fair share of scrapes as well. None of them escaped unscathed.

"We'll have to go out early tomorrow." Her voice is sad, but she's not thinking of herself, or her lovers. She thinking of those boys on the bed. Of how hard they keep fighting. How far they keep pushing themselves.

"Then we should get some sleep, yeah? Yuusuke's probably grumpy that the bed's so empty." Jou's grip on her tightens, gently coaxing, but there's a firmness beneath the care. She could protest, of course, but even she can admit that she's tried.

"They're so young."

A gentle laugh, close to her ear. "We're not exactly old."

Somehow he can always make her laugh, even when there's nothing particularly funny.

"Take me to bed."