Nothin's Gonna Hurt You, Baby

[galaxycannon]

[ It's been a long haul to adapt to the life they're all living now. Shino had been in the CGS for longer than everyone but Eugene. But Eugene had had a life of comfort before his family's fallout. Shino never had the sheltering Eugene had. There were never any expectations for him growing up. It wasn't until after Tekkadan had formed that he finally found some purpose and future to strive for with his own efforts. Orga had given that to all of them, and now he can make an honest living beside.

Well.

Someone he didn't think would become so important. It's not that Yamagi had never meant anything before. He was family just like anyone. It really wasn't until the fight in Edmonton that he really started paying Yamagi such specific mind. Sure, he'd hung out with him more as they started to work together more closely. Who knew it'd end up with Yamagi falling for him? By the time Yamagi was his mechanic and his mechanic only, he felt like they could be thick as thieves.

And then he'd paid attention to the way Yamagi looked at him when he came by to check on the status of Ryusei-Go's maintenance. The way he ruffled when he got too close. Once the signs became clearer, he figured out his feelings more easily that Yamagi might have liked. It was more from someone that a guy like him could ever hope for, those feelings of love. He'd spent his time since giving him openings to act on them and learning how to let that love into his own heart. It wasn't easy for the older CGS crew to look at love and accept it.

And now he's lugging boxes for him, using his strength to do what he does best. Yamagi's thicker than he used to be in build from all the hard work, but he's still not on par with Shino's mass. He's happy to trot at his heels as a trainee for a new maintenance procedure. Yamagi's patient enough to teach him but hard enough to keep him in line and he enjoys it. He gets to tease the hell out of him when he's bored and learn new things when he's into it. He can keep his hands working here at the old man's company, too, so it all works out for him. ]

Comments

[workstation]

[ having shino here, working with him, is more than he could have ever imagined, let alone asked for. having shino come back battered up but safe is more than he could have ever looked up at the stars shino loves so much and prayed for. this must be the closest thing to happy he's ever been, having so much time to spend with shino like this, learning more about him and seeing all his different colors. yamagi can't help but feel like he's waited for this opportunity for such a long time, the opportunity to have a life spent close to shino, to work alongside him and prove his own worth.

and yet.

there are still unspoken... feelings between them. yamagi doesn't expect shino to reciprocate. he still hasn't said anything, but spending every day with him just makes them stifling, suffocating, harder and harder to bear and keep up with hiding. he can't help but wonder whether or not shino's figured it out yet — they'd been so close when shino had gone on that mission back then, so close that yamagi might have summoned the courage to act had there not been the barrier of helmets between them. since then, though...

well, they hadn't gone drinking like shino promised or even touched the subject, and yamagi had to wonder if what he thought was there might have just been a delusion stemmed from desperation. shino has stopped talking about taking him out to meet girls, though. there's that. progress.

yamagi keeps telling himself he just hasn't found the right moment, but deep down, he knows that's not it. it's just that he still can't be sure it's alright, and he's... still scared. scared that shino won't accept him, or much worse; knowing that he will accept him but nothing more and that it won't be enough for yamagi's selfish heart. he doesn't remember what it's like to not love shino norba with his entire being. there are times his heart feels like it's about to burst.

at the moment, yamagi is hauling boxes, too, a thin sheen of sweat covering his forehead and making stray strands of hair stick to it. shino is better in this particular area. yamagi's shoulders are trembling with effort, but he doesn't need help, he's fine —

and with a startled yelp, yamagi realizes that he's a good three seconds from dropping them and toppling over. he's gotten stronger, but not strong enough to carry a couple of boxes of equipment, apparently. ]

Shino — !

[ his ears are burning with embarrassment before his name even comes out of his mouth, but he's more concerned with the fact that his knees are about to buckle. ]