New Beginnings - Keico Fannovel

Chapter 2:Part 2

Author's Note: Fluff.

Pico shifted as he began to wake up. It was still dark out, and it was cold in his apartment. He stretched and pulled the thin blanket off of his body. He needed a cigarette. Grabbing his Uzi off of his dresser, he holstered it on his hip. Looking around for a few seconds, he found his sweater and slid it on over his head. Concealing his weapon in the process. He glanced up at the clock on his wall, 1:39... great. He got 2 hours worth of sleep. He sighed and grabbed his coat, beginning to head out. He grabbed his cigarettes and lighter off the table before he stepped out the door.

The night was clear and windy. The city lights expanded far in front of him as he leaned against the railing of the rusty balcony he stood on. Despite how late it was and how far from the central park he was, the streets were still busy. Cars coming and going, shining bright lights on paved road. He shifted his arms on the ice cold railing. If anyone was exposed to these temperatures for more than an hour they were sure to freeze to death. He lit his cigarette and placed it up to his chapped lips, taking a long drag. He closed his eyes and exhaled. A flash of large, grey, tired eyes and neon hair filled his mind. Bringing with it a slight headache. He had just barely woken up and his mind was already on that guy? Fucking spectacular.

Pico pushed off the railing and propped himself against the wall of his motel apartment, arms cold from the rusty metal. He wanted to go on a walk. Night time walks were always the best. Less people, less problems. He looked down at the floor, his cigarette loosely hanging from his lips, maybe he should go see if Keith was still there. It seemed stupid to think he'd still be there in this weather, but he had never seen him leave that bench... he didn't understand why he even remotely cared about that half-dead neon blue highlighter, (scratch that, he didn't care. Why would he care? They just met he couldn't care.) but if he was going to wander around he might as well head to the train station and check. He doubted he'd still be there anyways, too cold.

As he made his way down the stairs of the motel and onto the pavement, he glanced up at the sky. No stars. Not even a moon to look at. Light pollution was a hell of a thing, huh? Pico continued walking, thinking about the little things he had found on his walk, like how the gravel in the dirt roads used to be sharp, and were now worn down. Like how the trees he used to like looking at were now gone and replaced with stupid office buildings. He threw his cigarette down, stomping out the cherry, as he rounded the corner to the train station.

He didn't see anything at first, however as he approached the bench he noticed that Keith was still there, shivering in his sleep. "What the hell?" He muttered to himself. Pico didn't notice, but his pace sped up as he made his way over to Keith. He stood there beside the bench, gazing down at him. Had he really stayed out here all this time? Without thinking, Pico removed his hand from his pocket and brushed Keith's hair out of his face, lightly placing the back of his hand to his cheek. He was about as cold as the bench itself. He was freezing. Keith shook and shifted in his sleep, his body tensed. Was he having a bad dream?

Pico sighed and took a drag from his cigarette, what was he going to do about this? He came up with two options, leave and let the man freeze, or wake him up. He chose the latter. He placed his hand on his shoulder and lightly shook him, "Hey, wake up." Keith's shivering slightly intensified before he finally woke up. "Wh-a?" He mumbled silently as he propped himself up with his arm. "It's probably 2 am by now. You've been out here for at least 3 hours." And the only one in the family Keith rubbed his eyes with his palms and looked up. When their eyes met, it felt like the oil inside of Pico caught a light. He ignored it with a cold experience and took a drag from a cigarette with closed eyes, his brows furrowed.

He exhaled, opening his eyes, "You're freezing. You need to get home." Pico watched as Keith looked at the ground and laid back down, muttering, "I'm okay, I'll just stay for a little longer..." Pico's gaze unintentionally sharpened, "if you stay in little longer you'll die." However, Keith didn't respond. He mumbled something to himself that Pico didn't catch, "Sorry, repeat that?" The thin man didn't respond, he just closed his eyes and continued to shiver. Pico sighed and placed his cigarette back up to his lips, holding it there while he sat down om om armrest of the bench.

"Why don't you want to go home anyways? It'll be warmer and you can sleep on an actual bed and not just this frozen piece of scrap." He got no verbal response, though he did realize that when he said "warmer" he had brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them. Pico continued to sit there, gazing at Keith. He didn't notice but he had started to examine him again. His skin was visibly paler and he was still shaking. His brows were creased, his soft looking lips quivered discreetly, as he continued to examine his facial structure he began to notice that he was wearing a cheap concealer... the concealer was good enough for when someone just glanced glanced you, but if you kept looking you could almost see through it. He had a bruised lip, almost looking like someone bit it, and a bruised cut above his right eyebrow.

An abusive partner. That was the one thing that Pico hadn't considered. However, Keith's bruised and bitten lip proved it was a possibility. A very likely possibility. "So, what's her name?" Pico asked, assuming he was straight.
"I...I'm sorry what?" Keith asked, sitting up and looking at Pico with those wide, dark eyes, "Your abusive girlfriend. What's her name?" Pico asked again. Keith's eyes teared up, "I...I don't have an abusive girlfriend...she's just...mean sometimes." He choked on his words as tears slowly slid down his face. Pico sighed, "So this, mean, girl of yours..." he began, "she bruise you often?" Keith sat there in silence, he hugged himself as his eyes became red.

Pico realized he probably wasn't being the most compassionate person, but he wasn't going to sugarcoat his words for Keith. He watched as Keith shook and stared at the ground. A few tears fell from his face and hit the concrete. Pico's jawline went white, he didn't know what it was but seeing Keith crying like that angered him. Why? He didn't have time to answer that question before his mind started waging war on itself, should he comfort Keith or remain uncaring? (Like any normal person would. He was a stranger after all.) Before Pico could fully think it through, he had already taken off his leather coat and draped it over Keith's shoulders. He watched as Keith froze for a second, however soon after he had put it on and nuzzle into its warmth.

Keith and Pico shared no words for a long time until Keith looked up at him and murmured, "Thanks Pico, for everything you've done for me tonight."  Pico averted his gaze as that same burning feeling he had gotten before resurfaced, "just don't expect every stranger you meet to be so... understanding... or even caring." Keith leaned a little bit closer to Pico, wearing the oversized coat. Pico couldn't understand how he had gotten this close to a stranger in a matter of hours, but the sudden change felt... strange. He hadn't held a nice interaction with another human like this in maybe a year. Despite multiple attempts, he couldn't swallow that burning sensation in his throat, but... he supposed it... didn't feel too bad.