[snapshots] Time After Time
Title: Time After Time
Author: Luna (dreamweavernyx )
Pairing: Inooyama
Genre: Fluff
Rating: G
Summary: Don't give up, it's just the weight of the world. Five moments of Inooyama.
Playlist: Songs you can listen to while reading:
You Are Loved (Don't Give Up) | Josh Groban
Time After Time | Eva Cassidy
Notes: For hotfruits . ♥
I think from now on I will file this sort of writing style under 'snapshots'. It's pretty much like a 5-times fic, except without the prompt. Also, the 'Playlist' section will be used from now on for anything inspired by music. :)
~
one: don’t give up, it’s just the hurt that you hide;
Yamada had hidden himself in a janitor’s closet on the fifth floor, which was why Inoo only managed to find him half an hour after the entire group had set out to search for him.
“Yama-chan!” he yelped, surprised, as he pulled open the door.
There was a sniffle, and Yamada looked up. His eyes were red and puffy, and Inoo bit his lip in concern.
“You okay?” he asked softly, squatting down to meet the younger boy’s eyes.
Yamada was silent.
Sighing, Inoo rummaged in his pocket for his handkerchief, and he gently cleaned off the drying tear tracks from Yamada’s cheeks.
“…The Juniors keep saying things,” mumbled Yamada after a while, looking away.
“Things?” Inoo frowned.
“Like…” Yamada paused, and took a deep breath. “Like how they say I’m the next to go in JUMP, because I act like an adult already…”
“What does that have to do with anything?” scowled Inoo.
Yamada shrugged dejectedly.
“Maybe they think I’m drinking illegally or out driving cars without a license.”
Turning around, Inoo slowly sat down on the floor of the janitor’s closet, next to Yamada. He gently reached out an arm, and put it around the younger boy’s shoulders.
“Look, Yama-chan,” he said. “Don’t give in to their words, alright? You know I’ll be there for you if you’re hurt inside, so let it all out.”
Even without looking, Inoo knew puffy red eyes were being directed his way, and he allowed himself to smile a little.
“I mean it, Yama-chan.”
Yamada sniffled, and slowly leaned his head on Inoo’s bony shoulder.
“…Thanks.”
“No problem,” Inoo murmured back. “I’ll always be there for you.”
two: if you fall, I will catch you;
“Just jump already!” Chinen shrieked, stomping his foot in annoyance.
Inoo shook his head furiously, hands gripping the poles that kept the flying fox platform upright.
“It’s scary,” he wailed, closing his eyes and willing himself not to think of the downward plunge he had seen everybody else take on the flying fox.
“You’re not going to fall, you know,” he heard Yamada say dryly, a note of comfort in his voice.
Inoo shivered.
“But what if the harness snaps halfway? Or the rope breaks? Or…”
Dimly, he could hear Chinen groan, and yell for everyone else to move on first.
“Just do it,” Yamada said, and Inoo figured he was probably the only one left waiting for him now.
“But…”
Yamada sighed audibly.
“Look, I’ll run under you while you come down, alright? So if you fall I’ll be able to catch you. You can even keep your eyes closed if you want.”
“…Alright,” Inoo said, steeling himself.
Mustering his courage, he jumped off the platform.
three: because you are loved;
“Here,” Yamada said, shoving a box at Inoo.
Inoo blinked at Yamada, then grinned, his eyes crinkling a little at the edges.
“You’re blushing,” he laughed.
Yamada scowled, and blushed a darker shade of red.
“Just take it.”
Smiling, Inoo took the box from Yamada’s hands, and gently untied the ribbons holding it closed. He gently lifted open the cover.
Yamada was watching him expectantly. “Well?”
“…It’s a chocolate piano,” he said.
“Yes, it is.”
“…You got me a chocolate piano,” Inoo said again, sounding slightly incredulous.
“Um,” Yamada fidgeted a little, before meeting Inoo’s eyes.
“Happy Valentine’s Day.”
four: if you’re lost, you can look and you will find me;
Inoo grumbled to himself as he slowly made his way through the haunted house. Truthfully, if he’d had a choice, he would be far, far away, perhaps sitting in the spinning teacups or on the Ferris wheel, but…
Damn Hikaru for insisting all of us had to come here, he complained in his mind.
Suddenly, he realized he had been wondering around without actually noticing where he was going.
“…I’m lost,” he voiced his realization out loud.
He tried to walk around a little, looking for something familiar. Without noticing, he walked into a room, and when he caught sight of a bloodied head on a platform he shrieked aloud.
It took him all of ten seconds to realize it was a dummy.
Quickly, he backpedaled out of the room, only to hear footsteps approaching.
“Go away, zombie!” he screamed, terrified.
The ‘zombie’ approached, and showed no sign of stopping.
“Go away,” Inoo repeated, feeling himself beginning to freak out a little.
“…Inoo-chan?” the ‘zombie’ asked, sounding slightly amused.
That voice was familiar, and Inoo nearly slumped in relief when he worked out who it was.
“Yama-chan!”
“I could hear you shriek from all the way over there,” Yamada said, grinning. “Come, let’s go to the end together.”
Gratefully, Inoo took Yamada’s hand.
“Let’s go.”
five: if darkness blinds you, I will shine to guide you;
It was meant to be a sleepover, in which they would watch movies and stay up until way past midnight throwing popcorn at the screen.
Then the blackout happened.
Inoo sighed, as he blindly felt his way to his kitchen where he knew he had candles stashed somewhere in a drawer.
“Ow!” he yelped, banging his knee against a kitchen stool.
Five minutes later, he had located the correct drawer and found some matches along with the five candles. Slowly, he made his way back to the living room.
Yamada watched curiously as Inoo lit up the five candles, and suddenly the room was awash with light.
“Sorry,” Inoo muttered apologetically. “I only have five candles left.”
“S’okay,” Yamada said, pressing his chin to the coffee table as he stared at the dancing flames. “Candles are pretty.”
Shuffling a little, Yamada shifted closer to Inoo, and leaned his head sideways on Inoo’s shoulder. He exhaled softly, eyes still fixed on the candles.
“The flame’s hypnotizing,” he mumbled, fighting back a yawn.
Inoo laughed softly.
“You can sleep, you know. It’s not like we’ll be watching any movies for a while.”
Yamada mumbled something blearily that might have been a yes. When Inoo next tried to take a look at Yamada, the younger boy was already fast asleep.
Smiling, Inoo slowly put an arm around Yamada, and looked at the candlelight creating shifting shadows on his wall.
By the time the power came back on, the candles had long burnt out, and both boys were fast asleep, heads nestled against each other.
fin.