from august to december

chapter twenty two

at the end of august, it would get cold.
the sun would disappear earlier to make more room for the darkness.

and it would be time for fall, where everything drops. the temperature, the leaves and the count of people outside.

right now, while it was still august, it was pretty warm, the sun was shining onto the grey concrete and through eden's living room window.

there would be months sometimes where nothing happened in their lives.
nothing interesting enough.
that's what they were used to, just boring days one after one, not anything that would bring them passion or joy.

yuri himato hated his job back in the town he lived, he hated seeing the same faces over and over again and not experiencing anything other than feeling average.

and he was even considering just moving back here, quitting his job as a teacher and working in a local grocery store or something.

money wouldn't be the problem, at least while he was still living with shino.
the blond didn't mind at all, it gave him a piece of his old life back to live with the man.

and park shino didn't like letting go of things, he wasn't good at handling change in any way.

that's why he enjoyed staying in his comfort zone that much, even if it started getting filthy and disgusting.

shino would always have to be the best at the work that he did, without any help from anyone, of course, that was his comfort zone.

eli was watching the three through big eyes.

"do you want to settle this, eden?"
yuri asked and a soft cough left his lungs.

the cough wasn't severe anymore, it was just sometimes shaking his lungs a little.
but it was very bearable, he had probably caught a simple cold.

yuri had a very calming effect on the people around him, especially these days even more than before, and that might've been because of the huge change in his personality.

eden didn't really know what to say to that, because his heart told him he wanted to forget all of his past, to move on, give out a second chance.
but then his brain was rationally thinking about this, and his heart had shrunk massively during the last years.

so he couldn't really hear it in that moment, he could only feel a little pain in his stomach.

"what makes you think i would ever want to talk to you about this again?"

yuri nodded and circled his shoulders, then he cracked his back before speaking.

"you're right, i would understand if you didn't want to speak about everything again."

eden licked his lips.
he stared into the others eyes in an attempt to be intimidating.

"just because i gave you an answer doesn't mean i suddenly like you again."

the dark haired man nodded again, only tilting his head as much so that the black haired could see it.
because the other two couldn't, for them this all felt like a drama right before the main characters were about to kiss.

the tension in the air was incredible.

"but then, why'd you give me an answer in the first place?"

eden crossed his arms in front of his chest, yuri instantly subconsciously mirrored that body language.

"b-because i-"

the other raised one eyebrow and let himself fall into the armchair, a subtle cough coming out of his throat.

he reached for the cup of tea on the coffee table and chucked it down almost entirely.

"you could have just continued to ignore me. but you didn't. so clearly something has changed inside of you."

"stop acting like you know me, you don't. you haven't seen me for three full years. you don't have any idea about the shit i've been through."

eden narrowed his eyes at the other, then he searched for shino's face.

"he was the only one that was here with me, he didn't ever leave." he continued while nodding his head at the eldest, which made him close his eyes in gratitude. "so, you know what, i don't even need you."

yuri clenched his jaw visibly.

"eden, i think you should give him a chance."
suddenly, the voice of the blond filled the air and eli switched from eyeing the two younger to nervously staring at park.

"after he-"
"no, you need to stop that."

the black haired was about to say something, when shino inhaled a sharp breath and let it out louder than he would have needed to.

"you need to stop dwelling on the past."

eden turned his entire head to study yuri's face, he was playing with the silver rings on his fingers, the dark locks falling into his face as he looked down.
he was trying to hide from the uncomfortableness and the pain the other's words had caused.

love never fades, and one still loves someone after they rip every single organ out of your body.

he's changed.
eden could see it, when he thought about it.

yuri didn't give up, not like before.
he looked like he genuinely felt, not like before.
he wouldn't dare to say any sharp words nor raise his voice, not like before.

but he still looked at eden with the same softness in his eyes, like before.
he still didn't know how to button his shirt properly, like before.
and he sure as hell didn't know how to express himself, like before.

"please give me a chance, eden."

and when said person looked at eli, even his eyes had gotten a little watery.
but not from jealousy, it was because he knew that the dark haired would be a much better fit for the love of his life.

he thought he would be the one that would be the one to heal the black haired, but he was okay even if he wouldn't be.
and that was because all he wanted for him was to be happy, and if that wasn't with him, that was okay.

the red haired smiled and nodded.
as if he was the last signal of approval he needed before he would know what to answer.

"you know what," he murmured.

"okay. i'm ready."
and those words were clear as they reached yuri's ears.

but he at first thought he was dreaming and he would wake up any second now.

he shifted in the armchair, searching something in eden's eyes.
for some kind of emotion.
and there was finally something, there was a very little spark.

right now, it wasn't as visible, but maybe one day, the glow yuri loved to paint, would be back.

and maybe this time, he would be skilled enough to bring it onto his paper.