Inch by Inch

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"And inch by inch we get closer

to every little part of each other."

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I.

The wind whistled overhead, and his eyes are drawn upward by that sensation, and then they meet --glassy emerald green and a dying (dead) shade of gemstone blue-- a sight that takes a second of their lives away.

Not a breath, but a precious moment wasted.

However, neither regretted it, months later.

Even when moments were all they had.

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II.

His throat has closed up, breathing is fast becoming a distant memory, and the only reason Yukimi isn't checking to see if he's still alive is because Yukimi isn't even there, because no one is there, because no one even knows where he's gone. No one has ever bothered looking for him before, and the belief is something that's already ingrained into his system that he sometimes forgets that now, there was someone who would look for him, and not just because they needed his power.

No, the Shinrabanshou had far more mundane reasons than that.

"Yoite?"

He's a bit shocked to realize that he's come to like those reasons (no matter how mundane and unreasonable -at least to him- they were).

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III.

It was completely by accident when Miharu tripped, and it was only natural for the Shinigami to keep him from hurting himself (he did promise that he would make him the ruler of Nabari, it would be extremely foolish to endanger his life before then), and so neither of them thought much about the palms that connected with each other,

that small spark of warmth was ignored as well, because in that split second that they'd acknowledged it, they found that they liked it, and that was a cause for worry-- at least, one of them thought it was

Yoite having held out his hand and Miharu having instinctively reached out for something to hold on to.

Though, they couldn't avoid thinking a lot about the fact that, even after Miharu had gotten back on his feet, their hands remained linked with each other's.

...well, perhaps it wasn't ignored that well at all-- Miharu didn't even try.

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IV.

It takes them two hours to get back to Yukimi's flat, and the train ride was what it always had been-- quiet and light, without the constant chatter that everyone else seemed to need whilst traveling.

Miharu's head is leaning on Yoite's shoulder, but the boy is not asleep. Yoite is, with his cheek pressed against Miharu's head, against the soft black tresses there, and the younger boy is far more comfortable with this position than normal.

He liked it-- the way they fit so easily

perfectly

together, how even though Yoite was some inches taller than him he never felt dwarfed by the boy and instead felt as if he had some sort of ethereal being

some sort of death god

watching over him with an endless gaze (because Yoite wasn't an angel, and Miharu thinks --knows-- he's something far better than that).

Yoite's breathing is like a lullaby of life to his ears,

no matter how faint, how labored, how raspy it gets

the rise and fall of his chest is something he wants to engrave into his memory forever,

no matter how many times he's seen it (up close and just within his reach-- he wonders if Yoite would agree to being his pillow, even just once)

and the way he feels so warm when he's by his side is just too incredible,

no matter how clearly he can feel him slipping away when they're side by side like this

he would be hard pressed to actually move when the train stopped.

This, he thinks, is heaven. Or maybe it's hell, because it just felt too good to be legal up there, with the pearly gates and the saints and --he thinks with a sudden shiver, a sudden chill-- without the death gods.

Suddenly, Miharu knows, heaven wasn't the place for him

When Yoite wakes up, Miharu is holding his hand and snoring quietly, and he sees that they've still got an hour until they arrive at their stop, so he decides to let the boy have his hand and go back to sleep, blissfully unaware of the slight tightening of that grip on his hand when he settles his head back on Miharu's head.

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V.

He's the one who kisses the taller boy first, and he's also the one to pull away when he hears a faint whimper escape from those impossibly soft lips. Yoite is wide-eyed and flushed a most becoming shade of red, and he's just staring at Miharu, and it's just irking the smaller boy now, how his lips are still pressed together, still not allowing him entry.

But Yoite, being Yoite, does what Miharu doesn't expect him to do (and this fact makes the Shinrabanshou immensely happy), and he opens his mouth --probably to say his name in a tone just shy of confused, or whatever it was that passed for shock in the Shinigami's vocal cords-- and Miharu skips being thankful and jumps in again, holding him in place with hands on either side of his face.

It's not a chaste kiss, but that's not what Miharu was aiming for, anyway.

Hesitation had no place with him and Yoite.

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caesura


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Author's Notes: Hello everyone~! ^o^ this is my first time writing for Nabari no Ou, and for this pair as well, so please go easy on me! I'd really love to improve for everyone's satisfaction, and of course, for my own. :D MiharuYoite is 3, and yes, you read that right. :D I am of the opinion that Miharu would make an excellent seme~ (how the heck would that be possible?? __ ehhh... I'll figure something out...) Anyweiss, please, leave a review! Tell me if I sucked, or if I actually did some sort of justice for this OTP of mine. XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Nabari no Ou, because if I did, it wouldn't have ended the way it did, and our fave pairings would be more obviously canon than they already are :D

9.42pm/04-07-09/tuesDAY