Title: Look to the Skies
Fandom: Tiger & Bunny
Characters/Pairing: Yuri Petrov/Keith Goodman
Rating: T
Length: 1200ish words
Summary: Yuri has learned to keep his eyes down on warm, sunny days; even a certain hue in the afternoon sky can cause the memories to return. Perhaps he can find something better to associate that color with.
Notes: Flashbacks involving domestic violence and childhood trauma. I was always struck by how the animated sequence starts off looking like such a beautiful day... and PTSD is a sneaky, persistent bastard.

-----

It was strange, the way memories formed, or did not form. Yuri couldn't remember what day of the week or the month it had been, what he had been wearing, what had prompted his father's rage that time, what had happened before or immediately afterward. Yet he clearly remembered the acrid scent of used motor oil that hovered around him in the back of the garage where his mother had urged him to quickly hide, the sound of his father's fist striking flesh and the bone beneath, the dark shape of him looming over his mother, the whimpering as she sought to simply endure until his rage had worn itself out. He recalled that it had been a beautiful day, the warm sunlight shining and bringing forth the brightest of colors in everything beyond the open garage door, a stark contrast to all the darkness within - a darkness known to only the three of them, engulfing them, while surely any ordinary family must have been outside enjoying the nice weather.

And it was also strange how memories returned so easily at the smallest provocation. During sunny weather, Yuri made sure to keep his eyes down. Seeing that particular shade of blue sky, certain cloud formations against its backdrop - even years later his mind could not help but superimpose his father's silhouette, arm raised, before it. Yuri would find his own fists clenching anew, tensing in preparation to rise and do something, though there was nothing left to be done but to bring his thoughts into submission, lest the memory displace his reality. Though he was able to fully control his powers now, it was not impossible that he might find himself slipping back to a time and place where he could not.

And he had learned to control them quite well. It was a whim, an idle thought that had turned to curiosity, which had caused him to discover that he could propel himself through the air with concentrated jets of his flame. Of course he had not been so foolish as to try it in broad daylight, where people might see; all the more so as it might mean finding himself lost among the hated blue he associated with that cursed day.

It was just as well that once he found an application for such use of his powers, most of his excursions took place by night.

-----

"Look! There goes Sky High!"

"Sky High! We're rooting for you!"

It was impossible to ignore the presence of the heroes when one worked in Sternbild. In the case of one in particular, Yuri did his best anyhow. Passing through a crowd of pedestrians, all of them looking up, shading their eyes, pointing and waving in their excitement - Yuri kept his head down, his eyes on the sidewalk ahead of him, perhaps sparing a glance at his phone to see if the heroes had been dispatched to handle a crime or if Sky High was simply on his way somewhere. That was the limit of his interest in the matter.

At least, until the day came when he did have a certain amount of interest in the comings and goings of Sky High - but even then, it was less an interest in Sky High than in the man inside the hero suit. Yuri didn't have to raise his eyes higher than the street corner to watch for his date's arrival at the little sidewalk cafe a few blocks from Justice Tower, or further than the door to his office to see Keith entering with a smile that was both eager and slightly sheepish; the clothing he favored when off-duty left him a bit underdressed in the administrative wing. And watching Sky High's feats on the monitors was not so much a problem, since a digital screen simply could not match the truest color of the sky on a sunny afternoon. Even if a confrontation was taking place directly overhead, or visible outside his office window, Yuri turned his attention to the broadcast instead. The skills of those who worked the cameras meant the action was easier to follow anyhow.

Yuri continued to keep his head down during the daylight hours. His eyes remained on the monitors, on his paperwork, on the citizens that came before his bench for justice rendered, on the pavement radiating heat up against those who walked the streets of Sternbild beneath the bright sun. Until one day when he was returning from a solitary and rather late lunch, having had a tedious week thus far, his schedule much too busy and subject to changes to meet with Keith at lunch or for an early dinner as was their habit. A pity, the weather was perfect for outdoor dining at the cafe where they often met. Not that his mind was dwelling on it at the moment - more reports remained in his office for him to look into and research as soon as he returned - but it did occur to him when he heard a shout from somewhere nearby.

"It's Sky High! Up there!"

Immediately the majority of the people in the vicinity paused, their faces upturned. Yuri didn't realize his head had turned too, until he was seeing Sky High fly overhead through the swath of blue between skyscrapers, glancing down at the cheering crowd in the square below and doubling back to circle above them, swooping low and then rising up to hover above, giving them a salute - and a beep in Yuri's pocket caused him to look down, reaching for his phone.

miss u! dinner this weekend? again, miss u! <3

Glancing upward again, Yuri spotted Sky High slipping something back inside the folds of the long coat he wore, then striking his signature pose for the crowd, both arms outstretched. In spite of himself, Yuri smiled slightly, giving him a nod before the jetpack fired again and Sky High soared off on his way.

Yuri watched him disappear into the sky, and... found himself less troubled than he had been before he had looked up, only just then having realized that he was staring into that same blue.

-----

Though still somewhat wary, Yuri permitted himself to try looking up more often on sunny days. Being privy to Sky High's schedule and notified of situations in progress, he could often guess where and when Sky High might be spotted in the skies above Sternbild - and when it was another pedestrian in the streets who spotted him unexpectedly and called out to those around, Yuri already knew it would not be in vain. Though at times the glare of the nearby sun brought the memory of pain, it was banished as a different silhouette cast its shadow over him, standing out against the brightness, occasionally giving a jaunty wave or doing an entirely frivolous barrel roll for the amusement of the crowds below.

Yuri's own flights still took place largely under cover of night. His father's ghost still haunted him in the dim evenings at his family home, and during the late nights Yuri spent in his office gathering information on yet another murderer who was reportedly running loose in the city. But at least his memory no longer dominated the sunny skies, for Sky High had unknowingly helped Yuri to reclaim that particular shade of blue.