~No More Time~ (EraserMic)

Broken Pieces

“Zashi, Baby, I think you've had enough, Okay?” The raven haired woman murmured quietly as she rubbed her shaking blond friend's back in a comforting manner as he sat hunched over the white marble island that cut her tidy little kitchen in half, his eyes usually alert and sparkling neon emerald irises bloodshot and foggy from the hot, salty sadness that silently, steadily cut its way down his splotchy, pink and red blossomed face, his thin, shaking hands clutching tightly to an empty glass of what might have once been the brandy she had poured him, but by now had been tainted with tears, the two liquids running together and making a saline clear and bloody red cocktail of heartbroken misery.

Hizashi, to exhausted and sick with himself to care about his friend's concern for him, drank the last few traces of the misery-in-a-cup he had unwittingly concocted, his usual, goofy grin long vanished from his face as he thought back to the scene he had created and ended in his and Shota's shared apartment, relieving the moment as the force of his own, ragged voice blasted crystalline shrapnel out of their windows, still seeing the scarlet lacerations that had gored their way across Shota's shocked, frightened face, that small, fleeting glimpse of devastated emotion like a nail through his soul, before the grip of his smaller lover's empty black eyes and dead expression jerked him back from his pitiful daze of guilty regret, reigniting his helpless, exhaustion fueled rage, his hands shaking around the little glass.

“H-How could he just.....S-Sit there?!” The quivering hero growled in a low, gravelly voice that made even Nemuri jump with surprise at his bitter, resentful tone, unused to and unable to handle this sudden shift in her friend's usually happy go lucky attitude. “H-Homeless lookin' sonofabitch can go to hell...”

“Honey, you can't possibly mean that. You were so much happier with him than you were with anyone else, even before the two of you started fu—S-Seeing each other.” Nemuri murmured softly as she gave her despairing companion a gentle squeeze, still trying to offer some form of comfort and understanding despite how irrevocably stunned she had been to hear something like that come out of Hizashi, especially considering the fact that the 'Homeless lookin' sonofabitch' was their mutual colleague, who until now, Nemuri swore was who her blond friend was destined to be with for the remainder of his life.

But now, after having stumbled across this broken and crying version of a once lovable and overzealous version of Hizashi on the street, alone at night and dumb enough to leave his shoes, glasses and coat behind him, she was beginning to have her own doubts about the solidarity of her two friend's seemingly perfect relationship, pushing them aside when she remembered who she was dealing with, trying to find the words needed to convince Hizashi of the untruth behind his muttered curses, but she needn't have bothered, because even as the blond poured his anger out in the form of harsh, meaningless insults, he regretted them.

It didn't matter though, for although his own hushed words and enraged thoughts made him ashamed and disgusted with himself, some dark, twisted part of him found comfort in blaming his absently suffering lover, so without thinking he continued on, letting the wave of tangled emotions fuel that blaze in his stomach and the fire on his tongue, letting it lash out as little used cuss words and insults he had never used or needed before, not noticing the weakening of his voice, or the watering of his eyes, or the guilty twinges that continued to run up him as he let that sickening feeling fester and grow in his chest like some sort of venomous weed.

At least he was until he felt that strong, manicured hand clamp tightly on his still aching shoulder, looking up and meeting the icy, moonstruck eyes of his companion for a fleeting moment of shocked tranquility, before he was roughly pulled into a tight, suffocating hug that would have prohibited any means of escape, even if his exhausted muscles had not resembled steamed string beans.

He didn't want to escape from her though, his grin now a grimace as he wrapped his bony arms around Nemuri's curvy frame and surrendered himself to utter misery, wailing weakly into her shoulder and feeling warm hands rub up and down his back comfortingly through the thin fabric of his sweatshirt, just listening in silence as the hysterical blond's anger,fear, regret, and uncertainty poured out of him in a tsunami of tears and muffled apologies, the sorry drops of sorrow that flowed steadily out of his exhausted body staining the floor.

“I-Its all my fault, Nemmy!” Hizashi wailed in a broken and quavering voice that, had it been at full volume and strength, would have given the woman severe hearing damage, spilling his guts to the R-Rated Hero, who simply sat there and held him against her in silence until he pulled away from her on his own, his face a splotchy red and pink mosaic and his eyes wet and bloodshot, dark, dismal shadows seeming to dominate the underneath.

Even his tiny blond mustache looked depressed.

“I-I....I told him he could enjoy his l-life without me.....” He croaked in a hoarse whisper that made him wince as he tried to wipe his burning and bleary eyes clear, his thin, sparsely muscled shoulders heaving as he found himself choking on his own words again, the tears regathering in such number it made him feel pathetic, especially as Nemuri continued to watch him with concern. “...but I don't want him to live without me, Nemmy!  S-Shota and I were all we had growing up, a-and....I dont th-think I....I-I.....”

Hizashi gulped, burying his face in his hands with a ragged inhale of desperate breath, his raven haired companion gently patting his shoulder as he regathered himself, his voice so worn out from his excessive tears and curses that it was almost inaudible.

“I-I don't want to lose him, N-Nemuri...”

“Then you have to go back and apologize.” The woman stated in a calm voice, Hizashi feeling those icy blue eyes gaze into his with such a sense of severity that he found himself wanting to obey in an instant, but the next second the fear came back, imagining the Shota's reaction when he suddenly slunk back into the apartment he had destroyed after yelling and cursing the smaller man in front of him, who even then didn't seem to flinch as he was abused verbally and had his home trashed.

“H-He probably hates me now, Nem—!”

Hizashi yelped in shock and pain as Nemuri raised her manicured hand and slapped him so hard he suffered whiplash, his own fingers flying up on instinct and cradling the distinctive red print she had etched into his skin, stunned utterly speechless.

“Im sorry, Honey, but you don't seem to have one shred of sense inside that thick ass blond skull of yours.” She deadpanned in a breezy tone of voice, not seeming to care that Hizashi flinched in fear as she clapped both of her hands on his thin shoulders and yanked him over to her roughly, making him meet her icy blue gaze with foggy green pupils, giving him a shake.

“You love Shota, Don't you?”

“N-Nemuri....”

“Answer the question, Yamada. Do you love him, or not?”

Hizashi was silent for a second, then gulped weakly, nodding his head in affirmation as he let his broken voice crackle forth once more, wincing at the ache it created.

“I-I love him m-more than anything, N-Nems...”

“They why the hell are you still here?! Get your sorry ass out of my kitchen and find that Fuckhead!” The woman roared as she yanked him up and shoved him out towards the door of her apartment, throwing the pink knit she had draped around herself over his shoulders. “Go get your man, Zashi!”

“B-But, Nemuri!” He stuttered uncertainly in reply, his only answer being shoved out into the frigid air of the parking lot, Nemuri standing in the doorway with a serious expression as he regained his balance and pulled the knit tighter around himself, turning slightly to see her smiling.

“You had better hold onto my cardigan, Honey, cause you'll catch your death, and piss me off if you don't!” She teased, shooing him away with her hands as the man who stood before her wiped his bleary green eyes and smiled weakly back at her, holding tightly to the knit she had tossed around him for warmth.

“Th-Thanks, Nemmy...”

“Your welcome, Hon, Now, Scoot before I knock you out and drag you there myself!”

Without another word, Hizashi started running.
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