SOME NIGHTS - YUWIN

3:00 AM

3:00 AM being shown on the clock is the last thing Sicheng sees before he walks out the door. It's cold outside, but wow-- the storm stopped. Yuta isn't anywhere nearby. Swallowing down a wave of concern, Sicheng begins searching.

He couldn't have gone far, could he? Even though the storm had stopped, the aftermath remained. A harsh bite of cold wind from the west, a dismal sky north. 

When Sicheng adjusts the shirt he's wearing, something he quickly realizes not to be his own. How many layers was Yuta wearing? Was he near freezing by now? What if...

No. He had to stay somewhat positive. For Yuta's sake. 

The bittersweet breeze pushes his trudging legs onward as the morning awakes. It's sad, but...he kinda wishes Yuta was hugging him into his bubble of warmth right now. 

Sicheng really hoped he was okay. If anything happened to him-- wait. Was that him?

A shadowy figure was crossing the street, head hung low, stripped down to nothing but a low-hanging t-shirt and tight Levi's. Shoulders sagging, white bursts emitting from the cold of every breath, and from underneath the lamppost's yellow light, Sicheng could make out the face he longed to see. 

"Yuta!" He yells, already beginning to move closer. "Yuta, wait! Stop..."

The Japanese boy turns around just as Sicheng stops running. He looks just how Sicheng saw him in the video, teary-eyed and heartbroken. 

"Yuta," Sicheng whispers now, breathing heavy and locking eyes with his lover. "Please stop walking away." 

"I thought you wanted me to." Is all that Yuta says.

"No, no, I--" Sicheng closes his eyes and rubs at his face in self-irritation. "I misunderstood everything, Yuta. I'm sorry. I..."

"I remember you."

"I remember it all. From when we met, to when you first kissed me. I remember high school, hugs, leaving for college with your hand in mine. I remember being yours. I remember you being mine. I remember each and every video you took, from our first date to the day you lost me. I remember that too, Yuta. I'm so sorry for leaving you. I'm sorry. I'm here now. I remember you-- I remember it all. I remember your feelings and I...I hope you can help me remember mine. I remember you, Nakamoto Yuta." 

Yuta doesn't say anything for a while before salty tears come rushing down his face like a split dam. Sicheng smiles weakly and is quick to hold him close, holding Yuta's head, kissing his hair, rubbing his back. Yuta is shaking from what seems to be shock, but that only makes Sicheng hold him tighter. 

"You r-remember me..."

Life really is full of surprises. Meeting Yuta-- for the second time-- is almost like some strange sort of reincarnation process that allowed to him love someone he lost once again. He wondered what it was like, before the accident, when things were normal. But wasn't everything okay now?

No, not really. It wasn't okay, not yet-- but it would be. All wounds would heal with time. 

Time. The thing that brought them together and tore them apart, then lead them back to each other. Hours, minutes, seconds, of learnt lessons and love, connection and reconciliation. From PM to AM, night leaking into day like the flick of a light switch. And in those moments, they loved. They loved until they broke at the thought of it. 

Though in the end, it was okay. Everything was okay. Maybe not now, but like he said before, they would be.

Sicheng was sure of it.

- - - 

delay...school's started. sorry about that. 

-jae