AN: Warning, there will be mentions of abuse in this chapter!
He waited for morning for so long that he could barely believe his eyes when the sharp shadows, cast by the street-lamps through the metallic blinds, started to fade, diluted by the onset of daylight.
The hours he spent waiting for first light felt like days had gone by.
Silky covers gently brushed over his bare skin, almost drawing out a shiver from him. He pulled them closer to his body and leaned back against the giant sofa pillows, slowly sinking into them.
It was as if he were on a cloud, which could also mean that he was feeling the effects of drowsiness—after all, he hadn't slept through the night.
This morning wasn't grey, but a mix of soothing lavender and brilliant amber. The colours merged into various shades of pink and peach, giving off a soft feeling, as if a veil of blurriness was thrown over the sky. Fluffy clouds slowly moved across the overlapping colours, drifting without an obstacle in their path.
Yet, amongst the relaxing scenery and soft lights, Yuma pulled the covers over his head and closed his eyes.
_
The next time the sun filled his vision, it was accompanied by soft knocks from his front door.
With an undeniable ache in his bones, he sat up. The silky covers slid off him and pooled around his hips, with parts of it hanging off the side of the sofa and brushing against the fluffy rug that laid next to it.
One brief look at the clock told him what time it was: 11 a.m.
It was not the usual time he woke up at, but that was to be expected if he chose not to sleep through the night.
When the soft knocking continued, he swung his legs off the side and pushed himself off the sofa. The rug felt soft on his bare feet. Strands of his hair pricked at his eyes, and he rubbed them with his fingers in an attempt to rid himself of the uncomfortable feeling. With uncoordinated steps, he made his way through the hallway and towards the front door, and after he peered through the peephole, the door clicked open.
"I wasn't expecting anyone this early," He spoke as he leaned against the doorway. "I can only guess why you're here."
The woman gave him a light quirk of the lips, "Chika told me what happened."
That was to be expected. "Did she tell you everything?"
Shion's dark irises gave out a silver sheen as the light hit them, "Yes, she did."
Yuma lightly nodded and moved to the side, "Come in, we'll talk inside."
Shion did as told.
_
"Would you like something to drink?" He offered, swiftly folding the covers atop the sofa, "I think I have some juice in the fridge."
Shion patiently waited for him to finish what he was doing, before she answered, "Iced water is fine," Yet, before Yuma could even get it for her, he was stopped. "I'd like to talk about what happened."
Of course... It wouldn't be surprising if Chikara was the one who put her up to this.
"And no, before you say anything, Chika had nothing to do with me coming here."
Yuma furrowed his brows at her, "I wasn't going to say anything."
Shion arched one, thin brow, "Are you sure about that?" She questioned, placing her bag on the sofa as she sat down. "Your expression told me otherwise."
He was that easy to read, huh? Maybe he should work on that.
"Fine, you got me," Yuma gave up and took a seat on the chair across her. "Go ahead, ask away."
She leaned forward, hands coming to rest on her knees, "Do you like him?"
For a moment, Yuma was caught off guard. That sort of question was rather... direct.
"Yes, I do like him," He answered her, lightly shifting his feet. "Why ask that question when you already know the answer?"
Shion pulled away and leaned against the sofa, "Because I wanted to hear it directly from you."
Directly from him, eh?
"You're not going to react the same way as Chikara did?" That may have been a stupid question.
He was proved right when Shion raised her brows, "Do you want me to?"
Almost immediately, he shook his head, yet another question was stuck in his throat.
Why? Why did Chikara react the way that she did? She said it was because she didn't want him to get hurt, but there seemed to be more than just that.
"Listen, Yuma," Shion began. "I'm going to tell you something that only a selected few know about, all right?"
Only a selected few? Finding no other option than to simply nod, he did just that.
"Chika and I started dating back when we were much, much younger. She's actually younger by a year, which makes her thirty-eight now."
That wasn't something Yuma knew.
"While she was in her last year of high school, I had already finished it the year before and started working in my family's fast-food restaurant," Shion continued. "We met when she visited the restaurant with some friends after school. Long story short, the more she visited, the closer we got and it all kind of went from there," The way she spoke made it sound like that wasn't all there was to it. "As you can expect, she was the one who pursued me, but it wasn't as easy as just saying 'yes' to dating. My family was still in the picture. Hers already knew about her sexuality and they fully supported her, yet mine... weren't too keen about the idea of same-sex love."
He could already guess where all of this was going.
"On Chika's 18th birthday, she came over and we had a two-man party at my place. That was the same day my father found out."
One would expect it would be tough for her to talk about something like that, but she looked and sounded like it didn't bother her at all.
"He waited until she went home and then he beat me to the point of unconsciousness," There was even a hint of amusement in her tone. "As if doing that would ward off the 'sickness' inside me. My mother bandaged me up, but those bandages weren't really of any use when he'd just beat me over and over again."
Her form was relaxed, and she was casually leaning against the back of the sofa.
Yuma didn't know why she was telling him all of that.
"I'm... sorry you had to go through that," he spoke up. "But what does this have to do with what happened last night?"
That may have been a bit uncaring on his side, but he truly didn't know what else to say to something like that. He never imagined that she would have a past like that—a past that was similar to his own.
Shion tilted her head, as if surprised he hadn't gotten the point of her story, "Chika's way of caring for people doesn't have limits, it was a bit off-putting at first, to be honest. I decided to stay silent about my father's beatings, but she found out in the end. Do you know what happened when she did?"
Yuma shook his head no.
"She broke three of his ribs and gave him a concussion. He almost ended up in a coma."
That... did sound like a thing Chikara would do.
"Now, Yuma, what do you think she'd do if she even had a suspicion about you being hurt by someone?"
It was then, that Yuma realised why she was telling him all of that, "She'd find that someone and..."
"And?" Shion asked, urging him to finish.
Yuma averted his eyes, choosing to stare at the coffee table between them, "And hurt them more."
"Correct."
Chikara... was worried about him—he understood that—but she didn't have to go to such measures, right? Was it not enough that he believed in Shouto? Did his opinion not matter to her?
Did she not trust him?
"I'll try and talk with her about this," she spoke up. "Just from looking at you, I can see that the boy means a lot to you."
Yuma glanced back at her and noticed the fond look she was giving him. "Just from looking at me?"
She nodded, briefly averting her eyes. Her bangs slid across her forehead as she lowered her head, "You have the same look in your eyes as Chikara did when she first started liking me, it's impossible not to notice. She always was obvious about things like that. Seems like you got that from her."
Was it that obvious?
"Don't worry too much about how Chikara is. She may be acting like this now, but she'll get around in the end," she continued. "Because, there is nothing to worry about with that boy, is there, Yuma?" Her ebony irises bore straight into his own, and Yuma felt the hairs at the back of his neck stand up as a chill went down his spine.
Her eyes were a bottomless pool of darkness, like midnight and raven's wings. They pulled him in like a black hole ready to swallow everything up at a moment's notice.
The way she posed her question made it seem more like a threat than anything else.
He wondered what she would do if he said that there was a problem with Shouto, alas, as soon as that thought passed through his mind, he determined he'd rather not want an answer to that.
"No. Everything is good with him. There is nothing to worry about."
And then, as her lips quirked up, he decided that she was more terrifying that Chikara could ever be.
"I'll take you up on that juice offer now."
Terrifying, indeed.
_
"Won't you stay a bit longer?" He fiddled with the hem of his shorts as he looked up at her.
Not even an hour had passed since she arrived, and she was already leaving.
Shion's expression shifted and the corners of her lips pulled up in a soft smile, "Don't you have some packing to do?" Then, she reached out her hand, but stopped mere inches away from him.
Right... He'd never touched her before.
Breathing in, Yuma took a step forward and felt her fingers slide along his cheek. Her impossibly dark eyes widened at the motion, yet she did not pull her hand away, instead she swiped her thumb along his cheekbone, slowly, as if afraid he'd break under her touch.
There was a higher chance she'd break instead.
"You're right."
He indeed did need to start packing. There was a training camp he needed to go to.
"I'll be sure to visit more often, all right?" She offered, threading her fingers through his curls. "It gets lonely—being here all alone—doesn't it?"
He'd like that...
Giving out a light nod, Yuma leaned forward and circled his arms around her waist, "Thank you, auntie."
Something soft pressed against the top of his head, before he heard an equally soft whisper, "You don't need to thank me for this."
He closed his eyes and breathed out.
Yes... yes he did.
_
And then, the door clicked shut and he was alone once again.
_
He carried the glasses back to the kitchen, the remnants of ice soundlessly clicking against their insides. That was the only sound in the apartment. Everything else was silent—even his own existence seemed to be the same.
Everything else was silent, until a piercing noise resounded through the kitchen. The sound of glass shattering against the marble floor was a familiar sound, and Yuma soundlessly reprimanded himself in his head. To think that he was clumsy enough to drop a glass...
What would his fath-?
He stopped himself from finishing that trail of thought. It no longer mattered what that person would think, right? Yuma was not a concern of his anymore.
With sleep-ached bones, he crouched down and, as carefully as possible, tried to pick up the broken pieces. It didn't go as well as he hoped it would. Through the newfound stinging in his fingertips, he picked up the pieces and watched as the translucent glass got stained crimson.
Splat, went the liquid from his skin.
What an awful sight.
His bare feet trekked across the cool marble as he made his way into the kitchen. The glass shards thudded against the inside of the bin, and then it slammed shut, hiding any trace of the destruction.
The water from the sink washed away the crimson liquid, only to be replaced by fresh blood. It dripped and dripped, until it looked like something got gutted in the sink. Grabbing the paper towels on the side, he pressed them against the injury and leaned against the counter, a tired breath slipping past his lips.
Tired... that was how he felt, but the tiredness didn't seem to be the result of a lack of sleep.
The deep ache in his bones—soul—just didn't want to go away.
_
After a trip to the bathroom, and the usage of a bandage, his front door clicked shut and he broke out into a run.