Sun in snow [Roberto -> Hiraga]
Aug. 11th, 2018 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
roesslyngTitle: Sun in snow
Fandom: Vatican Miracle Examiner
Characters/Pairing: Roberto -> Hiraga
Rating: 0+
Length: 800 words
Summary: There are things that Roberto can't - or rather, won't - express with words. He's come to accept this. Cycle of brief moments together, both on the job and off.
Other: Written for izayoi_no_mikoto for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
parallelsfic exchange. :) [Ao3 version]
Sun in snow
There were things he couldn't say. Roberto knew this.
At times, it was almost too tempting to spill the truth to Hiraga. There were moments when he wanted to take his hand and confess everything; to pour the secrets out for him like water, like blood, and reveal everything he felt for him.
Roberto was aware, of course, that this would not do. There was, of course, their profession to consider, and their partnership. And there was the undeniable fact that in comparison to everything that Hiraga should have, everything he deserved, Roberto was sadly lacking.
So, he left the words concealed, unspoken, and unconfessed. It was for the better.
Still, though Roberto couldn't tell him with words, he found other ways to express the depths of what he felt.
He confessed to Hiraga in soft hiss of the iron as he pressed his clothes. He showed his affection in the scent and taste of good food, prepared especially with Hiraga's tastes in mind, the sort of things that Roberto knew he liked.
Small things. Always.
It didn't matter that Hiraga didn't catch on, that he didn't know what Roberto meant by it.
In fact, it was better that way.
There were few things quite like Hiraga at work. Roberto watched him as he went about his business in the room they had been generously allowed to use as a makeshift laboratory, carefully testing the strange substance they had found at the miracle site they were investigating.
Concentrating, serious, determined.
No matter how impractical it seemed for him to haul so much equipment on their work ventures, at times it proved to be very useful. Though Roberto had naturally teased him about it, Hiraga had insisted. His logic had been that, because they would be investigating in a remote location, sending away for supplies or to test evidence wouldn't be practical.
In this case, he'd had surprising foresight.
"Well! It's coke," Hiraga said finally, looking up.
Roberto raised an eyebrow. "Coke?"
"Petroleum coke," Hiraga clarified.
As Hiraga explained to him precisely what they had found out in the supposedly miraculous singing hills, Roberto felt warm. Even with his face slightly obscured by safety glasses, there was something charming about the way Hiraga looked and acted when he was in his element, delving into scientific inquiry.
Perhaps it was simply that the divine, miraculous brilliance of his mind was shining through.
Roberto peered in through the door.
There Hiraga was, thin winter morning light spilling from the window and washing over his face. He'd fallen asleep fully-dressed.
At least he'd managed to make his way to the bed first, unlike the numerous times Roberto had found him at his desk, with his head pillowed on his arms, the work he'd been doing throughout the evening spread all around him.
The notebook and pen he had been using had dropped to his chest, and a few sheets of notes had spilled from the bed to the floor. Roberto bent to pick them up, then looked once again to Hiraga.
It seemed a shame to wake him, and in fact for a moment Roberto debated letting him be. They had a while yet before they would have to be at the investigation site.
But as much as it pained Roberto to disturb him, waking him really would be more practical.
A gentle nudge and a "Good morning" was all it took. Hiraga's eyes fluttered, then blinked up at him.
"Hm? Roberto...? Oh! I must have dozed off. Is it morning already?"
His smile was enough to make Roberto's heart ache.
The sound of the city rang in the crisp winter air.
They emerged from the church side by side. Another investigation was now complete; the miracle proved to be false. What had initially appeared to be a miraculous work of God had instead turned out to be a clever ruse engineered for the sake of profit, like so many other miracles they had investigated together in the course of their work.
Hiraga was rubbing his bare hands together, looking up at the sky, grey and spread over with clouds. Snowflakes swirled down, catching in his hair, dusting his shoulders.
"Are you disappointed?" Roberto asked. For a while, the so-called miracle had nearly fooled both of them.
"No," Hiraga said after a moment. "I expected it to turn out like this. But I still think, one day, we'll encounter a real miracle."
"Oh?"
"Yes." Glancing over to meet Roberto's gaze, Hiraga smiled broadly. "And I'm looking forward to investigating it with you."
Roberto's chest felt tight. He knew that Hiraga only meant exactly what he said.
But he could pretend, for a moment, that he meant more.
"Of course," he said, returning his smile.
He could want nothing more than that.
Fandom: Vatican Miracle Examiner
Characters/Pairing: Roberto -> Hiraga
Rating: 0+
Length: 800 words
Summary: There are things that Roberto can't - or rather, won't - express with words. He's come to accept this. Cycle of brief moments together, both on the job and off.
Other: Written for izayoi_no_mikoto for
parallelsfic exchange. :) [Ao3 version]Sun in snow
There were things he couldn't say. Roberto knew this.
At times, it was almost too tempting to spill the truth to Hiraga. There were moments when he wanted to take his hand and confess everything; to pour the secrets out for him like water, like blood, and reveal everything he felt for him.
Roberto was aware, of course, that this would not do. There was, of course, their profession to consider, and their partnership. And there was the undeniable fact that in comparison to everything that Hiraga should have, everything he deserved, Roberto was sadly lacking.
So, he left the words concealed, unspoken, and unconfessed. It was for the better.
Still, though Roberto couldn't tell him with words, he found other ways to express the depths of what he felt.
He confessed to Hiraga in soft hiss of the iron as he pressed his clothes. He showed his affection in the scent and taste of good food, prepared especially with Hiraga's tastes in mind, the sort of things that Roberto knew he liked.
Small things. Always.
It didn't matter that Hiraga didn't catch on, that he didn't know what Roberto meant by it.
In fact, it was better that way.
There were few things quite like Hiraga at work. Roberto watched him as he went about his business in the room they had been generously allowed to use as a makeshift laboratory, carefully testing the strange substance they had found at the miracle site they were investigating.
Concentrating, serious, determined.
No matter how impractical it seemed for him to haul so much equipment on their work ventures, at times it proved to be very useful. Though Roberto had naturally teased him about it, Hiraga had insisted. His logic had been that, because they would be investigating in a remote location, sending away for supplies or to test evidence wouldn't be practical.
In this case, he'd had surprising foresight.
"Well! It's coke," Hiraga said finally, looking up.
Roberto raised an eyebrow. "Coke?"
"Petroleum coke," Hiraga clarified.
As Hiraga explained to him precisely what they had found out in the supposedly miraculous singing hills, Roberto felt warm. Even with his face slightly obscured by safety glasses, there was something charming about the way Hiraga looked and acted when he was in his element, delving into scientific inquiry.
Perhaps it was simply that the divine, miraculous brilliance of his mind was shining through.
Roberto peered in through the door.
There Hiraga was, thin winter morning light spilling from the window and washing over his face. He'd fallen asleep fully-dressed.
At least he'd managed to make his way to the bed first, unlike the numerous times Roberto had found him at his desk, with his head pillowed on his arms, the work he'd been doing throughout the evening spread all around him.
The notebook and pen he had been using had dropped to his chest, and a few sheets of notes had spilled from the bed to the floor. Roberto bent to pick them up, then looked once again to Hiraga.
It seemed a shame to wake him, and in fact for a moment Roberto debated letting him be. They had a while yet before they would have to be at the investigation site.
But as much as it pained Roberto to disturb him, waking him really would be more practical.
A gentle nudge and a "Good morning" was all it took. Hiraga's eyes fluttered, then blinked up at him.
"Hm? Roberto...? Oh! I must have dozed off. Is it morning already?"
His smile was enough to make Roberto's heart ache.
The sound of the city rang in the crisp winter air.
They emerged from the church side by side. Another investigation was now complete; the miracle proved to be false. What had initially appeared to be a miraculous work of God had instead turned out to be a clever ruse engineered for the sake of profit, like so many other miracles they had investigated together in the course of their work.
Hiraga was rubbing his bare hands together, looking up at the sky, grey and spread over with clouds. Snowflakes swirled down, catching in his hair, dusting his shoulders.
"Are you disappointed?" Roberto asked. For a while, the so-called miracle had nearly fooled both of them.
"No," Hiraga said after a moment. "I expected it to turn out like this. But I still think, one day, we'll encounter a real miracle."
"Oh?"
"Yes." Glancing over to meet Roberto's gaze, Hiraga smiled broadly. "And I'm looking forward to investigating it with you."
Roberto's chest felt tight. He knew that Hiraga only meant exactly what he said.
But he could pretend, for a moment, that he meant more.
"Of course," he said, returning his smile.
He could want nothing more than that.
