[Team Two] Im Schatten der Mauer
What would be more fitting and logical than Shintaro and Juri living in Germany during the Cold War? XD This is just a random scene from a longer story I've been planning, so it's lacking the context, but I just really really wanted to write it down!
Shintaro/Juri | G | ~1000 words
East Berlin, Winter 1963
There's a knock that comes just after ten o'clock in the evening. Juri jumps in his chair as he hears it. The pen is still clutched in his fingers, the ink smudging the paper beneath. He barely dares to breathe aloud as he stands up and carefully moves toward the front door.
"Who's there?" he calls out carefully.
"It's me."
The voice is muffled but unmistakable. Juri unlatches the lock fast and swings the door open, and there he is.
Shintaro is wearing a thick coat, white fat snowflakes dusting on his shoulders. His face is slightly flushed from the cold.
For a moment, neither of them speaks. They just look at each other for a second before Juri pulls Shintaro inside and shuts the door quickly behind him.
"You came," Juri says with a quivering voice.
"I told you I would," Shintaro says. His smile looks soft but tired. He drops his bag to the floor and reaches for Juri, pulling him into a hug.
Juri clings to him, his fingers digging into the coarse fabric of Shintaro's coat. He buries his face in Shintaro's neck and breathes his scent in.
"For a moment, I thought you wouldn't," Juri murmurs, his face still pressed against Shintaro's neck.
"What are you talking about?" Shintaro says, pulling back just enough to look at him. "Like I could stay away from you? Of course, I had to find a way to come here."
They sit together on the sofa, and Shintaro squeezes Juri's hand before he places his bag between them. He unzips it and pulls out a small package wrapped in brown paper.
"Coffee," he says, handing it to Juri. "And tobacco. It's not much, but-"
"It's everything," Juri interrupts as he takes the package. "You know how hard it is to get these here."
"I do. That's why I had to be careful. The guards at the checkpoint didn't ask too many questions this time, but…" Shintaro's expression darkens.
"But what?" Juri prompts.
"I have a feeling they're starting to get suspicious," Shintaro admits. "My company told me the travel permission was harder to get this time. They don't like repeat visitors."
He sighs.
"I might not be able to come back for a while."
- - -
The night comes. The nights have grown colder and tonight is no exception. But that cold exists only outside. Inside, the apartment that was once as silent as it was cold is now warm and comfortable. Juri brews another pot of coffee, and they sit close together, their legs tangled as they share a single cigarette and keep drinking.
"You shouldn't stay too long," Juri murmurs, unable to hide the worry in his voice. He taps the cigarette, letting some ash fall into the ashtray next to him.
"I know," Shintaro replies. "But I couldn't come all this way and not be with you. Not properly."
The tension in Juri's shoulders doesn't ease, even as Shintaro shifts closer, brushing their knees together.
"It's dangerous for you to stay overnight anywhere else but at those official hotels. If they suspect anything-"
"They already do," Shintaro interrupts. "That's why I have to be careful, and I will be, so I paid them well. And I'll always come back. You know that, right?"
Juri nods, swallowing the lump in his throat.
Shintaro leans in, his forehead pressing against Juri's. "When this is over-when I can get you out of here-I'll take you to the sea. We'll go somewhere no one knows us, and we'll never have to hide anything again."
Juri closes his eyes. "You really think that day will come?"
"I do," Shintaro says. "And until then, I'll keep coming back. No matter what."
Juri leans into Shintaro's touch as a hand cups his cheek. The calluses are rough against his skin, but the feeling is also reassuring like nothing else.
"Do you remember what I said in my first letter after the wall was built?" Shintaro asks suddenly.
"Of course I do," Juri says as he brings his hand on top of Shintaro's hand to stroke the skin. "You said everything that I needed to hear. 'The sun will one day set in the east.'"
"And what did you write back?" Shintaro continues.
"'And the sun will rise in the west.'"
The code had been simple since the very beginning. It was their way of saying "I love you" without saying the words outright or aloud. Their own thing that no wall or watchtowers could sever.
Shintaro presses his forehead against Juri's, his breath warm against Juri's lips. "The sun will rise in the west, Juri. Don't forget that."
"I won't," Juri whispers.
They kiss, slow and deep, the taste of tobacco and coffee mingling between them. It's a kiss filled with longing and desperation, yet also a silent vow to hold on.
The kiss deepens. Shintaro's hands slip beneath Juri's sweater, pulling him closer until the warmth between them flares, searing away every thought but each other.
-----
Morning comes too quickly. The sky outside is a dull, ashen gray. Shintaro shrugs into his coat. All his movements are slow, as if that might somehow stretch the time they have left.
Juri stands in the hallway, watching silently as Shintaro adjusts the straps of his bag.
"Be careful," Juri says.
"I always am," Shintaro says back. He steps close, his hands settling on Juri's waist. "And you. Stay safe. Keep writing."
Juri nods, and his throat feels too tight to speak as Shintaro squeezes his hand.
At the door, Shintaro stops and remains still for a moment, looking back at him one last time.
"The sun will set in the east," he says.
"And rise in the west," Juri replies, the words of a lifeline, a promise, and a farewell all at once.
The door closes behind Shintaro, leaving the apartment quiet and cold again. But Juri doesn't cry. Instead, he turns to the desk, pulls out a fresh paper sheet, and begins writing.
Because the sun will rise again. And so will they.
shinysylver, you're up!