[ once upon a time, kuramochi youichi's life was utterly, irreparably destroyed.
(or so he thought.)
kominato ryousuke and kominato haruichi, two people who were kuramochi's entire world--he'd played second base with them both, loved the second like a brother and the first in ways he couldn't put his fingers on--had a death annoucement in the newspaper. a house robbery, while kuramochi was away at work. haruichi had been living with them while he was preparing for spring training with a professional baseball team. it was an accident, an unlucky coincidence that they were both in the same place at the same time, that kuramochi came home from work and found both brothers dead, ryousuke over haruichi as if he'd protected him with his dying breath. he probably did.
the grief had been insurmountable--and then one day he woke up and it was like things reset. as an adult, he saw ryousuke grow. one day he found him when he was six years old. another, he was eight. a third, they were together again, ryousuke with lines from his permanent smile. it felt like every other time he closed and opened his eyes, he woke up to a different lifetime--one where they'd end up together, ones where they didn't.
it was a chance to fix things. kuramochi wasn't an idiot.
he couldn't fuck this up again (couldn't take it if it was him meeting the kominatos that ruined their lives, but it turned out not to be this way), and as he tread carefully through the timelines, trudged through cold nights alone and the occasional, painful night together. it took years. he thinks--time is complicated, now, and he doesn't talk about it.
but one day. one day youichi woke up at 25 years old--the age he was when the kominatos passed away--with ryousuke curled up at his side. he's only shifted into the warmth beside him out of habit, his arm slung around a thin waist, nose tucked into familiar pink hair. in fact, what wakes him up is not his own realization of time travel, but a cat.
a cat who leaps on his face. kuramochi reacts immediately, his face screwing up, and grunts-- ] C'mon, Lovecraft, jesus-- [ and then freezes in the middle of gently pushing the lump of gray fur off his face. lovecraft had been his and ryousuke's cat in the original timeline--when everything was okay.
his eyes snap open, and kuramochi looks down. sure enough, ryousuke's there, still asleep, blankets pulled up to his nose like he does in the winter. winter means it's past when the robbery happened (early fall, the red leaves covering up twin gravestones, ms. kominato crying into kuramochi's shoulder) and kuramochi's stunned so speechless he can't move, the tidal wave of warmth knocking him breathless.
heaves
(or so he thought.)
kominato ryousuke and kominato haruichi, two people who were kuramochi's entire world--he'd played second base with them both, loved the second like a brother and the first in ways he couldn't put his fingers on--had a death annoucement in the newspaper. a house robbery, while kuramochi was away at work. haruichi had been living with them while he was preparing for spring training with a professional baseball team. it was an accident, an unlucky coincidence that they were both in the same place at the same time, that kuramochi came home from work and found both brothers dead, ryousuke over haruichi as if he'd protected him with his dying breath. he probably did.
the grief had been insurmountable--and then one day he woke up and it was like things reset. as an adult, he saw ryousuke grow. one day he found him when he was six years old. another, he was eight. a third, they were together again, ryousuke with lines from his permanent smile. it felt like every other time he closed and opened his eyes, he woke up to a different lifetime--one where they'd end up together, ones where they didn't.
it was a chance to fix things. kuramochi wasn't an idiot.
he couldn't fuck this up again (couldn't take it if it was him meeting the kominatos that ruined their lives, but it turned out not to be this way), and as he tread carefully through the timelines, trudged through cold nights alone and the occasional, painful night together. it took years. he thinks--time is complicated, now, and he doesn't talk about it.
but one day. one day youichi woke up at 25 years old--the age he was when the kominatos passed away--with ryousuke curled up at his side. he's only shifted into the warmth beside him out of habit, his arm slung around a thin waist, nose tucked into familiar pink hair. in fact, what wakes him up is not his own realization of time travel, but a cat.
a cat who leaps on his face. kuramochi reacts immediately, his face screwing up, and grunts-- ] C'mon, Lovecraft, jesus-- [ and then freezes in the middle of gently pushing the lump of gray fur off his face. lovecraft had been his and ryousuke's cat in the original timeline--when everything was okay.
his eyes snap open, and kuramochi looks down. sure enough, ryousuke's there, still asleep, blankets pulled up to his nose like he does in the winter. winter means it's past when the robbery happened (early fall, the red leaves covering up twin gravestones, ms. kominato crying into kuramochi's shoulder) and kuramochi's stunned so speechless he can't move, the tidal wave of warmth knocking him breathless.
it's fixed. ]