To Cry in Front of You

Shun is taking care of Hyoga while he is recovering from a broken ankle. When both of them decide to watch a movie Hyoga starts feeling uncomfortable.

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Hyoga was in his apartment's living room, sitting on the couch with his right foot elevated in front of him, on a bunch of pillows, and wrapped in a walking boot. Since he couldn't do much with a broken ankle, Shun had practically moved in with him right from the start of his recovery.

His boyfriend's presence was a relief for the Cygnus Saint. Since he hated to be dependent on others, his emotionally constipated personality didn't allow him to openly acknowledge his needs and that he was, in fact, useless and vulnerable at the moment. The only person he seemed to be open with was the Andromeda Saint; even before they started dating, the green-haired was the one and only person he could trust and actually show how he was feeling.

But even with Shun there, he felt impotent.

The blond sighed; if it had been the other way around, he wouldn't have hesitated in coming to Shun's aid and probably would've done everything for him, from the cooking to the cleaning, just like Shun was doing. Normally, Hyoga was all in for doing cutesy and attentive things for Shun, but he couldn't stand being the recipient of such attention.

Perhaps Shun was right; Cygnus was frightfully full of himself, and his immobilized limb was a blow directed right at his ego.

With Hyoga unable to do a lot of things the couple enjoyed, the top hobby was binge-watching series or movies.

They had watched everything, from silly sitcoms to timeless classics, terrifying horror films to mediocre dramas, awfully written movies to rather enjoyable stories. And that day was no exception, with the decision of the day's film lying in Shun's hands.

Andromeda's pick: Titanic.

The quintessential love story, the film that marked a generation and changed the movie industry. Leo and Kate at their best, with top-notch writing, costumes, and visual effects. A great film, indeed.

There was just a tiny little problem with that...
Hyoga loathed it. And the worst part was that he couldn't go away.

He would have to sit down for three hours straight, eating popcorn and other shenanigans Shun was planning on giving him.

"Ready, ducky?" Shun asked with a grin as he left the popcorn bowl on the table and sat beside his convalescent boyfriend.

Hyoga didn't reply; he just gave Shun the most convincing smile he could put on. He knew if he said a word, his boyfriend would notice.

And so the film began. Hyoga tried to shift positions in his place every now and then; he was unusually uncomfortable.

Shun noticed that and often checked on Hyoga's body language—discreetly, since he knew Cygnus would never acknowledge he was in pain or discomfort as long as he lived, and asking him with actual words what the matter was would only make the Bronze Saint remember his uselessness.

Nevertheless, Andromeda didn't catch anything concerning; Hyoga had a grumpy face more often than not, and Shun attributed the clear discomfort the blond was showing to the stiff and heavy walking boot.

The film continued; Leo and Kate shared their passionate kiss on the edge of the transatlantic, and Jack drew Rose as one of his French girls. Hyoga was still crabby, and Shun was slightly blushing as he imagined himself being drawn in that compromising position by his boyfriend.

But once the sinking started, Hyoga's face changed completely. He was no longer showing discomfort or crankiness; his expression changed into one of pure distress.

"Do you need something?" Shun inquired softly.

Cygnus denied with his head.

Shun was perceptive and knew something was wrong, but he couldn't do much if Hyoga didn't cooperate; Andromeda sighed and solely grabbed his boyfriend's hand.

The Japanese's pale hand was almost squashed by Hyoga's.

"You're so stupid, Rose! Why did you do that? Why?!"

"You jump, I jump, right?"

"Right"

The romantic scene was interrupted by uncontrollable sobbing. Shun turned to his boyfriend, who was melting into tears.

Was Hyoga really that sentimental?

Concerned, Shun took the remote and paused the film.

"Hyo-chan? What's wrong, ducky?"

"N-Nothing... I... I'll be okay... in a moment... just..." the blond mumbled between sobs.

"Oh, my love!" Shun hugged his boyfriend. "I had no idea you were that sloppy!"

"It's not because of the film!" Hyoga burst out, his eyes already red and puffy.

"Huh?"

"Well... Maybe it is!" Cygnus reconsidered. "The sinking! It just... reminds me of my mom..." the blond sobbed.

Suddenly, Andromeda felt like crap. What was he thinking?! Hyoga's mother literally died on a sinking ship! But he completely overlooked that fact and forced his boyfriend to watch that film. He should have known better.

"Oh, my love... I'm so sorry..." Hyoga hung onto his boyfriend as much as his elevated foot allowed him. "But... why didn't you say anything?"

Stupid question, indeed.

"I don't know!"

"Hyoga, you don't have to play tough with me..." Shun explained, fondling Cygnus' blond hair.

'Titanic' was forgotten; instead, both Saints spent their afternoon on the couch, holding each other.

Indisputably, Hyoga could just be himself around Shun; there was no need for him to put on a tough face and pretend everything was fine, because regularly it wasn't, not now, not ever.

Injuries or feelings, traumas or concerns. Hyoga didn't need to conceal anything, and he could be sure he would never be judged.

Sometimes he forgot, but Shun would always be there to remind him.

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Hello!

Thank goodness I managed to end this chapter before expected! I will try my best to finish the series as soon as possible; the last chapter had more attention than I imagined, and it really gave me the boost I needed to complete this collection.

Anyway, in other news, I recently created an AO3 account, where I'll be publishing only English content (including this series) for the moment; and starting tomorrow, I'll begin with a series of drabbles for Saintober!

My account has the same name (Andromeda_Nat) in case you want to dive in and read them.

That's all for now, thank you tons for reading! I'll see you in the next chapter!

Thanks for reading! 💕