[drabble] Silence
Title: Silence
Author: Luna (dreamweavernyx )
Pairing: Inoobu
Genre: Angst/Fluff
Notes: Inspired by Mine (Taylor Swift).
~
Inoo Kei had always sworn that he would never fall in love.
What was the point? Love always ended up hurting people in the end. He knew this all too well.
Every day of his life, for twelve painful years, he had had to endure the constant arguing of his parents. Shrieks of anger, howls of rage, screams of disbelief, yells of mocking sarcasm - each had become background noise to him, after hearing it go on for so long.
To be honest, he felt that it was much better to endure the pain when they finally divorced.
Love brought great pain. Of that, he was definitely sure. So he swore to himself to never, ever, let himself fall into that deep pit.
But then Yabu came along, and turned his world around.
~
Inoo knew he felt different around Yabu. Whether it was a small spark when Yabu held his hand, or the tingly feeling in his heart when Yabu let him lean his head on his shoulder, Inoo knew he never felt this way around others, and he never would.
“I love you,” Yabu would often murmur quietly to him, as they sat with hands intertwined, fingers interlocking, just simply existing together.
Inoo never dared to say it back.
He was afraid of loving, of losing Yabu like how his parents lost each other, all because of love.
He never knew exactly why he had finally returned those three simple words to Yabu at long last. Perhaps being with Yabu had softened the careful barriers around his heart. Perhaps he had finally been convinced that the case of his parents was a minority in love.
But either way, he felt no regret. He loved Yabu, Yabu loved him, and they were both blissfully happy.
~
Yabu found out, after a while, why his own heart was so carefully guarded.
“Don’t worry,” he reassured, “we’ll never end up like your parents.”
And Inoo felt comforted.
~
Then came that night, two years later.
It was 2.30 AM, and both were standing in the kitchen of the apartment in which they lived together.
They were arguing, and Inoo found himself fighting a losing battle. Suddenly, he saw several scenes flash in his mind’s eye, and the voices of his arguing parents echoed in his head once again.
I don’t want to end up like them, he thought, broken and irreparably crushed. I don’t want to.
He could feel his tears threatening to spill over, and whirling around, ran out the kitchen, out of the apartment, to the little garden below. He collapsed into a heap at the base of the only tree, and sobbed alone for a long while.
Footsteps crunched lightly on the gravel behind him.
“Kei.”
Inoo’s heart sank as he heard Yabu’s voice, and he mentally prepared for the inevitable goodbye that was surely about to fall from Yabu’s lips.
Yabu’s hand landed on his shoulder gently, and tried to pull him up.
“Just say it,” mumbled Inoo quietly.
“What are you talking about?”
Yabu pulled Inoo up, and gently embraced him.
Inoo fisted his hand in Yabu’s shirt.
“Please,” he whispered once more, “just end it now, before it turns too painful. Don’t drag it out.”
Yabu sighed, and pulled away to look Inoo straight in the eyes.
“Do you remember,” he said softly, “all those times we just sat together, hands intertwined, just gazing at the stars?”
Inoo remained silent.
“During those times, I told myself I would never forget the kind of feelings I had in my heart. I never have, and I never will.”
Yabu reached out, and caressed Inoo’s cheek gently, wiping away the glistening tear tracks with his thumb.
“Didn’t I tell you before? We won’t end up like your parents. So what if we’ve just had our first argument? It’s not enough to sever our bond.”
Inoo looked up at Yabu’s face, meeting the other’s honest eyes.
“W-what?”
Yabu smiled.
“I love you,” he murmured gently, “and that will never change. Even if the sky falls down, even if the ocean swallows up the dry land, I’ll always love you. Never forget that, okay?”
There was a short pause.
“That was seriously cheesy,” Inoo choked out at last, smile wobbly.
“But that’s love,” replied Yabu, grinning, “you can’t help but be a little cheesy sometimes.”
Reaching down, Inoo took hold of Yabu’s hand and held it, fingers interlocking, just like they had done so many times before.
“I love you too,” he whispered into the still night air.
Yabu chuckled, and they both fell silent, just simply existing together under that glittering night sky.
Neither said anything for a long time. They didn’t need to.
They say actions speak louder than words.
But sometimes, silence speaks louder than actions.
And as Inoo gazed at the stars quietly, he affirmed what he had felt so many times before with Yabu.
Love can speak louder than even silence.