Silence | Book 2

4-1: Embrace

Hibiki let out a long, deep yawn stretching his arms as far as he could in the backseat of the car. Despite having slept for a large part of the flight, it was jarring to arrive at midnight again. He'd been in darkness for far too long, and it messed with his sense of time. Somehow it felt eternal, like he had been caught in nocturnal limbo.

The only thing that really gave him some sense of mental direction was being with Tristan. Even when it was midnight; after crossing such distances to see him, the hour meant nothing to him anymore. So when after all that travel Tristan's building finally appeared, his heart pounded as if it wanted to leap out and sprint ahead of him.

In the quiet, dark hour it seemed so peaceful and mundane. The streets were empty and dark. Frigid air was dense with water, which caused the streetlights to cast a pale, dimmed haze. It felt somehow too silent and still for the end of such a long journey – so he was the one that shattered the peacefulness with his impatience.

The moment the car stopped, he threw the door open and ran along the street. He didn't care about the cold, and gave even less of a fuck about the exhaustion. Half-dazed yet with iron focus on what he wanted, he pressed the doorbell repeatedly. Behind him he heard his bodyguards and Kazuo catch up. Impatiently he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, causing him to lightly bounce. A buzz indicated the door had opened, and without hesitation he pushed it open.

Some part of him wanted to be cool in front of Tristan, and not look desperate or emotional – but every other part was already running up the stairs. Driven by his heart more than his mind, he jogged down the hallway, only slowing when he saw the open door.

The sight of Tristan in the doorway was what managed to stop him. He was pale, with dark bags under his eyes and deep purple bruises on the side of his face. One of his hands was held against his waist, bandaged up tightly and clutching the fabric of the old T-shirt he wore. Hesitant he threw a glance up, and there was a gleam of happiness, but that was quickly snuffed by shame.

It took Hibiki a second just to take it all in, by virtue of it being so much to process. The pain he saw, the anger he felt at the one who'd hurt him, and then finally all the love that drowned out those other feelings. He threw his arms around Tristan and pulled him in for a tight hug.

He felt a slight shock run through Tristan, but then he wrapped his good arm around his waist and sank into the embrace. As best as he could he tried to hold him without hurting him, his hands grasping the back of his head and pulling him in towards his shoulder. There was warmth and softness, but at the same time he could feel Tristan cling on to him needy and desperate, starved for love. Heavy, quivering breaths washed against his shoulder, on the border between relieved and sad.

Unable to speak what was on his mind, he tried to express it through small gestures. Slowly he ran his fingers up and down through his hair. He pressed his cheek against the side of his face, just to give every bit of warmth he had. One moment spilled into another, wanting it to last forever. He didn't care who saw, or knew, because they'd see it was right – even if those people were Kazuo or his bodyguards.

"I missed you..." The soft words fell against his neck, and tumbled straight to his heart. It caused everything to dissolve in what had to be pure love, tingling and sparking.

Unable to respond he ran his hand down slightly and ran his thumb back and forth over his cheek. He nodded intently, to say he knew and felt the same.

Tristan pulled away slowly, and he let him go. Instead he took his good hand in his, the other still on his cheek as they shared a glance.

"Do you want to come inside?" Tristan asked, his gaze darting quickly to the men in the hallway, but he was too flustered to keep looking.

Hibiki nodded, placing one hand on Tristan's waist and the other on his shoulder as he lightly pushed him back over the threshold of his room. Once both inside, he turned around, and smiled at Kazuo before signing.