So…going through the archive of the website, and…there's only 2 pages of TsukiXRoppi! Why? So, I've taken it upon myself to add some bulk to the selection. This will be a cute little one shot that hit me like a ton of bricks when I put my ipod on shuffle. I do not own Durarara! Or the song "Make Damn Sure" by Taking Back Sunday, from which this fic is based. Enjoy~!
[You've got this new head filled up with smoke, I've got my veins all tangled close…]
Tsukishima stood outside the large front door, shuffling his feet side to side. More often than not, he and his brothers would shamelessly stride in, uninvited or not. This time was different though…This time was important.
Tsuki was moving. He was moving away from the home that stood next door to his best friend. He had found a job in the city, and was ready to start a new life. It was great, living with his brothers. Really, it was. Since their parents died, it was always just them. And when the raven's had moved next door…things never ceased to be interesting.
The tall blonde shifted his weight from foot to foot, fiddling with his white scarf.
"I need to tell him…if I don't…he'll be heartbroken." he thought to himself. So, shaking uncontrollably, he knocked on the door. There was a moment of overbearing silence, then…
"Tsuki-chan! Why didn't you just walk inside?" Psyche asked, opening the door with surprise. "You never knock!"
"Oh…Um, sorry…I just…I need to…" Tsuki stammered.
"Roppi is in his room." Psyche smiled knowingly.
Tsuki really liked Psyche. He was definitely the nicest of the Orihara brothers. The pink eyed male was in a relationship with his own brother, Tsugaru. The two had met the first day the ravens' moved next door, and had been inseparable since. They were engaged now, the pink diamond shining on Psyche's finger as he let the blonde inside.
"Tsukishima? Why did you knock?" came a voice from the couch. Golden eyes were watching him passively.
"Um…I-I was…" Tsuki began.
"Stop stammering! It's an awful habit! What have I said?" Hibiya hissed. He had been trying to help the boy with his speech problems for years, to no avail. Hibiya was…well, he was actually really fun. When he was drunk. Tsuki would never forget the New Year's that his own older brother Delic had shamelessly poured shot after shot of whiskey down the proud teen's throat. That had been a few years ago now. The two were also involved, though not engaged. Yet.
"He's here to see Roppi." Psyche said to the golden eyed male. Hibiya grinned, returning his attention to his book. Tsukishima looked around.
"Where's Izaya?" he asked. Two pairs of eyes flicked to him.
"Iza-chan already moved out, Tsuki-chan. He left two days ago. He got a good job in Shinjuku, so he took it." Psyche smiled.
"Good riddance, I say. He always tried to pick fights with me!" Hibiya hissed.
"But…Izaya was Roppi's favorite…" Tsuki thought to himself. Though Roppi hated mostly everyone, he did talk to Izaya the most. What would he do…when he lost Tsuki too? The blonde shook the thought from his head.
The two youngest of both families had been best friends for years, despite being opposites in every way possible.
[You are everything I want, 'cause you are everything I'm not…]
"Tsuki?" a voice came from the bedroom down the hall. Roppi stood, wearing a red shirt with his usual black and red jacket over it. His garnet eyes observed the fumbling blonde.
"Get in here." he hissed, throwing open his door. Tsuki didn't argue.
"What's wrong?" Roppi asked as soon as the door was closed.
"N-Nothing!" The blonde lied, readjusting his thick glasses.
"Tsuki." The raven sighed, "I know you. Something's bothering you."
"I-I heard Izaya moved!" Tsuki blurted, unsure of what else to say.
"Yes. He moved to Shinjuku. I heard Shizuo was moving there too." Roppi stated calmly, scrutinizing his friend's face.
"My brother, Shizuo?"
"No. The avocado, Shizuo."
"Sarcasm is mean…" The blonde pouted, flopping backwards on his friend's large bed. Roppi sat on the edge, careful not to brush against the other man.
[We lay, we lay together, just not too close, too close.]
It was always this way. The two practically did everything together, but never had much contact. Tsuki often wondered if he stank or something, the way the raven avoided physical contact. They had been friends for 8 years now. The gentle man could count on one hand how many times they had touched. Not that Tsuki didn't try. He wanted to be closer to his friend…much closer.
[How close is close enough?]
"Tell me what's bothering you." Roppi said suddenly. Tsuki hid his face in his large scarf.
"I'm…I'm moving away…" he whispered. Roppi's gaze grew wide.
"…When?" he asked.
"Couple of days…"
"How long have you known?"
"Couple of weeks."
The raven frowned, his eyes narrowing to slits.
"When were you planning on telling me?" he almost shouted.
"…Two days ago…but I couldn't so…I guess now." Tsuki said sheepishly, hiding even more from his furious friend. There were a few minutes of silence, filled only with the ticking clock on the bedside table.
"Stop that. You look like a turtle." Roppi chastised, pulling the scarf away from the taller man's neck to reveal ruby eyes filled with tears.
"Why are you crying?" The smaller man asked.
"I'll…I'll really miss you." Tsuki whimpered, trying to hide his face again.
"If you're so sentimental about this place, then why are you leaving?" Roppi pressed.
"I…need to try and move forward…If I stay here any longer…I'll never leave…"
"I understand that. Believe me, I do. I want to leave too." The raven said. The blonde sniffled, and cried silently as his friend watched him sadly. Then…Roppi ran his fingers under his own eyes, brushing away moisture.
"Roppi! Are you crying?" Tsuki bolted up, looking his bed mate in the eye.
"I'll…really miss you too…" Roppi whimpered miserably. This was a rare occurrence indeed. Tsukishima felt his heart ache even more. He threw caution to the wind, reaching up to cup his friend's face.
"Tsuki…" The raven mumbled, trying to get lose from the touch.
[I just wanna break you down so badly…]
"Look at me." Tsuki found strength in his words, wanting the man to hear him out.
[Well I trip over everything you say…]
"Come with me." The blonde whispered. Garnet eyes widened.
"You…want me to?" Roppi asked softly.
[I just wanna break you down so badly…]
"More than anything." Tsuki replied.
[In the worst way…]
"…Okay…" The raven closed his eyes, leaning into Tsuki's gentle touch. The blonde was on top of the world.
Moving was a pain, both men agreed. The blonde tripped over his own feet at least 10 times just moving his own stuff. Delic finally gave up and carried most of the boxes himself.
"I swear, bro. You'd trip over a flat surface." he sighed.
"Hey." Shizuo said from his place at the window, smoking a cigarette.
"Yeah?" Tsuki replied.
"If you need anything, I'm not going to be far from where you'll be." The brute huffed.
"Shinjuku is near Ikebukuro?"
"Right next door." Shizuo grinned. The youngest Heiwajima found comfort in this.
"Are…you and Izaya getting married?" he asked his oldest brother.
"Fuck no. I'm just living with him to annoy him! He can't escape me so easily!"
Tsuki had never understood the strange relationship between the oldest of the brothers'. They were in "hate at first sight" with each other, as Tsugaru often explained it. However, they spent every moment together since that first sight.
"Tsukishima." Tsugaru said from the doorway. "If you need to come home here…you're always welcome." The serene man looked sadly at all the boxes. They had always been together, from day one. Hell, they shared the same birthday!
"Um…yeah. I will." Tsuki said, fiddling with his scarf again.
"C'mon! Cry dammit! You know you're going to!" Delic laughed, grabbing the youngest Heiwajima from behind.
"No I'm not!" The blonde wiggled, trying to get free. "You guys are only a few minutes older than me! Stop thinking I'm a baby!" Three pairs of eyes settled on him.
"Come home soon, Tsuki."
"Yeah…I'll visit soon…" The youngest said, finished putting the boxes in the small truck he had rented, just for the move. He wiped stray tears from his eyes, hoping his brothers didn't see.
Tsuki walked next door, strolling in to hear an argument.
"Roppi! You're being unreasonable!" Hibiya yelled. They were standing in the large den.
"I'm not! Those pills are useless! I'm not taking them!" Roppi shouted back. The youngest raven had…emotional issues. He was on medication to control them, but more often than not refused to take it. It used to be, he would take it out on himself. Tsuki whimpered at the memory of the boy cutting his arms with a blade. Tsuki had found him curled up in his sheets later that night.
[The shade across the bed, you are red, violent red.]
Tsukishima had vowed then to protect the smaller man. Their relationship always being a strange one, he truly wanted to be a special person to his friend. He thought…Roppi was beautiful.
[You hollow out my hungry eyes, you hollow out my hungry eyes…]
"What's wrong?" he asked the feuding males.
"They're trying to control me! I'm 23 years old, I don't need supervision!" Roppi snarled. Hibiya glared hard at him, Psyche shuffled his feet.
"Roppi…you promised…" The blonde whimpered, holding up the bottle. The raven eyed him furiously, then lowered his defenses.
"I did…" he conceded, taking the bottle from his friend. He went to get some water.
"Oh thank goodness, Tsuki-chan! You're the only one he listens to sometimes!" Psyche clapped his hands together, jumping slightly. "He scares me when he throws his tantrums."
"Are you sure you want to live with him?" Hibiya asked bluntly.
"Very sure…I wouldn't want to live with anyone else." Tsuki said, shifting his gaze down to the comforting white fabric of his scarf again.
"You're in love with him, aren't you?" Psyche whispered. The blonde felt his face heat up at the sudden question.
"Y-Yeah…" he stammered, hiding his face again. Hibiya rolled his eyes and Psyche danced with joy.
"When are you gonna tell him?" The giddy raven asked.
"I-I dunno…Haven't planned that far ahead yet…I'm just so happy he's coming with me…"
"Roommates are the perfect couples! You'll see, he'll realize he loves you too!" Psyche giggled. This conversation was really uncomfortable.
"Tsuki, could you help me move my stuff in the truck? I'm not as strong as you." Roppi said from behind them suddenly.
"Eh? Oh, y-yeah!" Tsuki blurted, eager to leave the questions. Together, they put the rest of the boxes away. Tsuki stared at the raven's empty room.
"It looks so sad…" he whispered. "You're leaving so many memories here."
"We'll make more together." Roppi said. The blonde blushed.
"Y-yeah…together…"
Ikebukuro took getting used to. Between his new job at a book store and unpacking and getting settled, time seemed to fly by. It had been a whole month since the move.
Roppi adjusted quite well. He didn't much like the city full of people, but he did like the busy fast paced life. They all moved so fast, they never paid him much attention. That's what he wanted, to be overlooked. Tsuki was happy as well. His job was fun, and everyone was nice. Not to mention he got to brink home discounted books to his friend.
Then there was that word again. "Friend". Tsuki wanted more than that. It was tiring, when people asked his relationship with the other man.
"He's my roommate." he would say sometimes.
"He's my best friend." he would say other times.
Truth be told, he wanted to say they were lovers. He wanted to be everything to the smaller man, like he was to him. This conflict was creating a rift between the two men. Tsuki came home late one night, to find the raven still awake in the armchair.
"Roppi! Why are you still up?" Tsuki asked, removing his jacket and scarf.
"We need to talk." Roppi replied, sitting his book down.
"Oh no…" The blonde thought.
"What about?" he asked, sitting on the couch across from the chair. Crimson eyes settled on him, a look of sadness in them.
"I think…I should move back home…" Roppi whispered.
Tsuki felt his heart drop.
[Gonna make damn sure…]
"Why? Did I do something? Did I make a mistake? I'm sorry!"
"Don't apologize when you don't even know what you're apologizing for." Roppi sighed.
"What…did I do?" Tsuki asked quietly.
"Nothing. You just seem unhappy. I think it has something to do with me. I'll leave, if that's what you want."
[That you can't ever leave…]
"That's not-!" The blonde began.
"Really, it's okay. I know I'm hard to deal with. Everyone has a hard time around me. There are no hard feelings." The raven interrupted. Tsuki stood from the couch.
"You can't leave! You can't! I want you here! I need you here!"
[No, you won't ever get too far from me, you won't ever get too far from me…]
Roppi looked up at him.
"Then what's wrong?" he asked. "Why can't you talk to me, like you used to?"
"I…" Tsuki began. He sighed, sitting on the floor in front of his companion.
[Gonna make damn sure…]
"I've been thinking so much…about us…Roppi…I don't want to be friends anymore."
[That you can't ever leave…]
"You…don't want to be my friend anymore…?" Roppi's voice cracked a little.
"I want to be more than that…to you…"
[No, you won't ever get too far from me! You won't ever get too far from me! You won't ever get too far from me! You won't ever get too far!]
"What are you…saying?" The raven asked.
"I'm in love with you…I want to be your lover…" Tsuki said. He put everything on the line. He was terrified…of rejection. But he had to say it. He observed Roppi's face.
"Tsuki…are you sure you can love someone like me…?"
[I just wanna break you down so badly…]
"More than I've ever loved anything." The blonde whimpered, readjusting his glasses.
"You…won't regret it?" Roppi said, the blonde holding onto his every word.
[Well I trip over everything you say…]
"I won't."
The raven put his hands on either side of the blonde's face, pulling him from the floor.
"I love you as well." Roppi confessed. Tsuki's jaw dropped.
[I just wanna break you down so badly…]
"Do you really, Roppi? You can love someone like me?"
The raven pulled their faces together, connecting their lips. They kissed again and again, the blonde reveling in the feeling of being loved in return. He continued to connect their mouths, worried that when the connection broke, they would move back to where they were. Finally, they broke apart. Cloudy garnet stared up at half-lidded crimson. Two shades of red swirling with the same emotion.
"I couldn't love anyone else but you." Roppi smiled awkwardly. Tsuki held back the tears, bringing their mouths together again. Now, he was truly happy.
[In the worst way…Worst way.]