Chapter Text
"It's you, isn't it?"
A simple question.
A clap of thunder in their chest.
"No," the first hurried word fell from their lips, and, unspoken, so did the cascade of excuses they'd already thought of countless times before and prepared in advance, and they were left with nothing they could grasp at, just when they'd have needed it most. They could hardly hear themself over their own body starting to shift, tear and crack. And crumble. "No, you must be mistaking me for someone else. This is the first time-"
The boy grabbed their hand. And, if their body had been cold marble before, the ice in it all melted. And it was by a miracle and surely devilish intervention if they were somehow still solidly standing, and still there.
"It's not the first time," the boy quietly, but resolutely denied. "And it's not the second, nor the third. You-"
Kousuke's head shook vehemently as they tried to pull away- they had no strength to do so, none of all that they'd had before, not even the speck that they'd been left with after their many, many, too many infractions. There was no more pounding, only terror. They weren't supposed to feel like this, they were never supposed to feel like this- they hadn't been made to withstand feeling like this.
"I've never seen you before, boy," they lied. "Not once. You're mistaken."
Their fingers seemed to regain their shape only to allow for the boy's to touch them, and cautiously run along them, and interlace themselves in them. From there, warmth flowed, and a feeling of deep familiarity, and belonging. Like pieces of a puzzle- no, because Kousuke's had been made for that purpose alone- their fingers threaded and fit together as two halves of the same apple would: inevitably, once let go of, they would fall apart all over again. Kousuke would. It was by nothing more than those hands that they were kept whole.
"As I thought," the boy spoke in a gentle voice, with something akin to glee. "It is you."
A thousand flashes. A sob.
"Please," the other found themself begging, unable to move anymore, unsure whether there was a point to their request anymore. "Let go."
"But you-" the boy started, only to shake his head as his grip tightened. "Why?"
Kousuke tried to think of a response. Thinking, however, seemed to be too mighty a task- and only a whimper left their lips.
"It's okay," the boy reassured with a caress to the hand he was holding. "It's okay to ignore that one."
"Please," was all their tightening, and now warping vocal cords could repeat.
"Just one question," the other insisted, a plea of his own creeping up into his tone. "Just one. Then I'll do as you say."
And, all thoughts of rejection far from their mind already, Kousuke nodded first, then hummed their hesitant agreement.
The boy smiled softly. Their heart seemed to swell up, one last time.
"What are you?"