Falling for a Tragedy | Kei Tsukishima ?

You woke up early the next morning, stretching out your arms as pale grey light tumbled through the windows, painting rainbows on the glass. Slipping out from the covers, bare feet cold against the floor, you checked the time - 6:13 - and tiptoed out of the room. The house was quiet and dark, still afflicted with the remnants of peaceful twilight, as if oblivious to the turmoil of those living beneath. How nice it must be to live in ignorance of such wrongdoings, of such evil. Or was it? If you never knew, how could you ever begin to correct it?

You paused just beyond the doorway of your room, staring at the door opposite until the white wood started bleeding into the rest of your vision. You didn't want to risk waking him up, but something urged you to make sure he was still there.

Sucking your lip through your teeth with silent breaths, you opened the door to his temporary room.

The duvet strewn over the bed - white with printed lilacs - was crumpled and drawn back, revealing the bare mattress beneath. The rest of the room lay untouched, empty. Grinding your teeth, you checked the bathroom before heading down to the kitchen. He wasn't there either, and you gently ran your fingers through your hair, trying to figure out where he'd go. There was no possibility of him returning to his family, was there?

No. His relief and gratitude had been evident last night, and genuine. He wouldn't so willingly go back after the effort you'd made to get him out of there.

You quickly changed into your usual jumper and jeans, running a comb through your hair and making a wary effort with your appearance before leaving the house to its solitary peace, locking the door behind you. The air was dewy with the previous night's rain and it felt moist against your cheeks as more tangible traces of sunlight brushed the tips of the houses. Despite the brief panic of the morning, today felt... good. It felt like today good things might actually come within reach. 

You walked with a hurried pace through the sleepy neighbourhood, curtains starting to twitch like eyelids fluttering open against dawn's first touch, and to the usual spot in the woodland. There was nowhere else he could have possibly gone. That's what you kept telling yourself as you waded through the tangled blades of grass, trainers sinking into the softened earth as you traipsed through the trees. It was much cooler in the shade, and you were glad of the thick woollen material cushioned against your skin. Was Tsukishima warm enough? Did he bring a coat? You had nothing to give him if he hadn't.

You batted a stray branch away from your face and flushed with relief as a familiar blond figure swam into view through the trees - he was leaning against a thick trunk with a rock hopping between his fingers; you watched as he weighed the pebble in his palm before tossing it forward with a low arc, skimming the crystalline surface of the lake once... twice... and disappearing with a soft plop.

"Are you just gonna stand there?"

Righting yourself, you stepped forward, clumsily untangling the vines around your feet that seemed to have grown wild since you were last here. You cleared your throat, and the sound seemed to echo through the clearing like a gunshot. "I was worried. I thought you... I can leave if you want. Now I know you're okay."

Tsukishima shrugged, though there was a stiffness to his actions - a reluctance. Maybe he wanted you to stay after all. 

"Aren't you cold?" You asked as he pushed off from the tree, pulling the sleeves of his thin jacket over the tops of his knuckles. 

"A little," he admitted, to your brief surprise. A few months ago his response would have been little more than a shrug and a scowl before storming away. You looked down at your feet, your cheeks starting to radiate heat. You felt different than you normally did around him. More conscious - of the fact that it was just the two of you, alone, but together, in a forgotten world, your own world.