Work Text:
Sendai Station
One week after the New Year
Aside from this, Megumi had been to Sendai exactly once, and it hadn't been in the winter. No one had told him that—
Well, no. Yuuji had told him: that winters in Sendai were cooler than he was used to in Tokyo, and that he should bring a couple extra things to bundle up, just in case.
What he hadn't told him was how vicious the winter winds could be. How they ate away at any hint of warmth on one's skin when unimpeded by the tall structures of a large city like Tokyo. The wind had come mercilessly for the tip of his nose, his ears, and—god, his hands. He squeezed his hands into a pair of tight fists, bunching them into the pockets of his jacket and revisiting the events of the last week to distract himself from the cold.
After all, they'd had a long, busy week, with not much time for chit-chat. They had spent the entire frosty week scavenging through the last of Yuuji's family belongings, running back and forth between the donation center and Yuuji's old home.
Housing outside of Tokyo was evidently in high demand nowadays. Yuuji had deemed it right to empty out the place and let the home go to someone else. They had shipped back only a few items Yuuji had wanted to keep: some family photo albums, his grandfather's archery bow, and a couple of other things that Megumi had barely had a chance to glance at before they were sealed away in their box.
Over time he had come to learn that Yuuji was a more private person than he let most people believe. Just right now he seemed entirely lost in thought, with barely a word spoken since they'd taken their seat by the train tracks.
"Are you really okay letting it go?" Megumi asked calmly, studying Yuuji's features.
"The house?" Yuuji asked after a moment. "I think so. I'm not going to live in it, so. It doesn't feel right to hold onto it right now."
"Right, I guess that makes sense," Megumi replied. "You'll feel better closing that chapter for good."
He knew, because for a while now he'd been in a similar bind. To this day, he'd given no thought to what to do with Satoru's inheritance, which included the ultramodern yet rather bare apartment he'd visited so many times throughout his time with Satoru. Every time he recalled it, he quickly shoved it to the back of his mind. He couldn't let go like Yuuji was—not yet. "It's a nice thing that you did, though. They look like a nice couple, the ones that are moving in."
Yuuji grimaced momentarily, but nodded. "Yeah, I think so too." Still hesitant.
Megumi lifted an eyebrow. "Are you still being superstitious? I told you already, it's not cursed."
Yuuji let out a small laugh. So easy for Megumi to say it that way and actually believe it, despite everything. "You're right. Sorry. I just … Sometimes I worry about that energy … you know, lingering."
Megumi shook his head, and said with finality: "It doesn't work that way. We would have sensed something. Now, when's this damn train getting here?"
Again Megumi leaned over and looked one way and the other over the train tracks, as if he might see the train approaching any minute from either side.
Yuuji thought it was cute, how hard Megumi tried to hide when he was at a loss on how things worked in his hometown. Megumi knew from memory which train to board to get anywhere they wanted in Tokyo and where to transfer without so much as glancing at a map, but out here, he had no idea which direction the train tracks went.
Yuuji liked that Megumi acted like he knew everything, and at some point he had really believed it, too—because who knew better than Megumi what to do in a bind? Even now he sometimes found him intimidatingly sharp, impossible to challenge.
But he also liked moments like these: when through the sureness he could sense the sliver of imperfection, unknowingly giving away his not-knowing.
"Your hands are cold," Yuuji noted gently, watching the way Megumi's hands fumbled in his pockets. "Didn't I tell you to bring gloves?"
"Huh? Oh, probably. I must have dropped them off somewhere," Megumi answered nonchalantly. He was so prideful, too, Yuuji thought.
"You're so stubborn. I told you it gets colder here than it does in Tokyo," Yuuji chuckled, teasingly elbowing his side so that Megumi would think nothing of his next challenge: " … Show me your hands."
Megumi clicked his tongue. "I'm fine, see—"
Megumi pulled his hands out of his pockets, showing them off and hoping to hide them away just as soon so Yuuji wouldn't be able to tell how cold he really was. But before he could do anything, Yuuji enveloped his hands with his, and any other protest fell dead on his lips as he stared at their joined hands.
Yuuji's hands were gentle, wrapped completely around his own. Yuuji squeezed them softly, as if trying to pour the warmth of his hands into Megumi's. Slowly, the feeling returned to the tips of his fingers; the slight ache faded away from his bones.
Megumi closed his gaping mouth after a moment and swallowed, feeling his cheeks warm far more quickly than his hands were. Suddenly, he was too warm; his face felt like it was burning.
"Here," Yuuji said, picking up his gloves from his lap and handing them over. "They'll keep you—"
"What? No, they're your gloves," Megumi protested, quickly handing them back. Not only that, but Yuuji had just given him all of his warmth, too. No doubt his hands were colder now.
"It's okay, you can have them. Seriously, train should be here any minute now anyway," Megumi dared to glance up at Yuuji as he spoke and noticed that his cheeks were also burning up.
He froze for a moment, before he let his instinct take over and he grabbed both pairs of gloves. "Fine, half & half—" he said, taking it one glove and slipping it on his right hand then grabbing Yuuji's left to do the same. It was such a stupid idea, but he went on without flinching and—
And grabbed Yuuji's ungloved hand in his own, and shoved their joined, bare hands into his coat's pocket.
"Happy?" he finished grumpily, making sure he explained his reasoning: "Now we're both warm."
Yuuji's eyes were wide, but he merely nodded in assent, all obedience, as if anything more or less would break the spell and make Megumi retract himself. Okay, okay, deep breath. And—just nod.
For a long time they didn't dare to do more than glance at each other from the corner of their eyes. But not so secretly, they each hoped that the train would take another good long while to arrive.