A late night in winter of 2020. Silence everywhere, because everyone was inside. Less cars on the road at night. Strange silence, like where I grew up. Reminding me of it too much. Not wanting to think about it. Growing up on a small island far away from everywhere. Waiting for the boat to come once per week, if it came. Asking if the man brought any music from the mainland. He didn't. Sometimes he did. I will sell you this record I brought for 1000 yen. You don't have that. Oh well. Too bad, it's the greatest record in the world. Teasing me, this pre-teen who waited by the docks for music, video games, books. 

There was one store on the island, and my family owned it. A convenience store/everything store. Groceries, magazines from a while ago, newspapers, garden and other heavier tools, fishing gear, clothes that nobody but people from the island wanted to wear. There was a library on the island, a small one, so everyone got their entertainment from that. No need for us to carry unnecessary entertainment media, then. Too much of a risk. It wasn't essential. Maybe nobody would buy it. Therefore, my older brother, younger sister, and I were always bored children. By the age of ten I'd read everything in the small library except for the law books. They never got anything new. By the age of twelve, I was tempted to read the law books. 

About the only interesting thing our island had were cats. Lots and lots of cats. There is another much more famous island which is known for cats. We were not that island. Maybe it would have been more interesting if we had been. Tourists, imagine? Instead, I'd wander off in the summer with a piece of long grass in my hand and go on the many walking trails. Our old neighbor's golden retriever would follow me as I went. Wanting to see if I got up to any adventures, probably bored, too. 

I never got up to any adventures. Walking to the shrine in the woods for the five millionth time. Going to the cliffside of the island and watching the ocean. Going to the docks to watch the fishing boats and being told to clear out so I didn't get in the workers' way or hurt. Sometimes there was a small open air market near the docks, but I never had any money. Homemade candy, little crafted toys. These things I remembered, because I always wanted them and couldn't have them. 

The only kind of job other than our store that could be had on the island was to be a fisherman or in that industry. If you were lucky, you might become the ferry boat captain after he died, but that probably wouldn't happen for another fifty years. The island was no place for me, especially as a gay person. On the island, men had to be the height of cisgender straight masculinity to be a fisherman, or at least that's what I was taught by my father. I was not that in any way. It was obvious from when I was little. So, I got these speeches a lot. 

My brother and I would talk about leaving the island. He never did. Neither did my sister, but she liked the island. I got out. Went on the ferry with my bags one day and never went back. A desperate move-

HHHHHWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNN

My eyes shot straight open. Memories of the island faded away instantly. No more half sleep.

"What is that noise?!" I sat up in bed as if a drill sergeant had ordered me to all of a sudden. 

"Hmmm?"

Yuki's comforting voice in the darkness. I wrapped my arms around his back, squeezing him to myself. My precious, beautiful human shield. 

HWOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNN

"That noise is weird." He was being so casual about this. Was it because he'd just woken up?

"What is it?!" 

He definitely wouldn't know. But, I had to ask. 

"Hmm. I don't know. It's strange."

It was a long sound, like a foghorn but unlike a foghorn. Continuing for no reason. 

"Does it have to do with the virus?! A warning of some kind?! Is it an emergency?!"

"Hmm. I don't think so. If it were a warning, they'd be saying things in it. Seek shelter, stay inside, wear your mask. Something. Like they do when a typhoon is coming."

Oh. 

I relaxed a little bit. But not enough. 

"Should we investigate? I don't know where it's coming from- it just started up suddenly. It could still be a warning of some kind. Something new that we don't know about." Talking entirely too fast.

"Hmm. Maybe. We can get up. Let's go on the balcony and listen. Maybe there's words that we can't hear from inside."

"But is it safe to go outside? Maybe it's warning us to not go outside."

"Oh. You're right. Well, let's go to the kitchen and see. Maybe we can see something from the balcony door. I wonder which direction it's coming from."

He was so logical. Made me feel so safe. I couldn't imagine not having him here and this happening. Assured like this, we got up. I put on my pants. He found a shirt. He took my hand and led me to the kitchen, taking charge. It warmed my heart so much. 

The noise was definitely louder in here. We found our cats sleeping on the cushions of our kitchen chairs. Lupin was so tiny, a small black soot ball compared to Flowercoat. But, I couldn't dwell on that. 

"What is it? It seems to be coming from this direction," I noted, holding onto Yuki's whole arm and pressing my body to it. My cheek pressed to his shoulder even though I was taller than it. Making myself smaller, hiding behind him a little. 

"Hmm. I don't know. Let's open the curtains. Maybe there's something. Hmm." 

He led me to the big glass sliding door to the balcony hidden by our red curtains. He used his free arm to pull a curtain back, and I pressed my cheek harder into his shoulder in worry. Honestly enjoying feeling him protecting me. Strange enjoyment. 

We waited for about a minute. The noise was still going continuously.

HWOOOOOOOOOONNNNNN

Ominously, it seemed. 

"Do you see anything?" I asked. 

"Hmm."

Waiting.

"Anything?"

"Hmm. Nope. Maybe it's just a sound."

"I've never heard it before."

"Well. I don't know. There's usually other noises. Maybe those city noises covered this up?"

Oh.

My brow creased. He was so smart. So logical. 

We waited for a few more moments, listening. After a while, it didn't seem as scary anymore. Nothing was happening. Maybe he was right, and it was just a normal noise that we'd never heard before. 

It took me back to the island. How silent it is. How we'd never have anything like this on the island. All the familiar noises that I'd grown up with. There'd never be a weird noise in the night like this. Strangely, thinking about that, this noise was now kind of exciting. I had no idea what it was. It was still scary, but it made me feel alive. 

"Okay. Um. Let's go to bed." 

"Yeah." He readily agreed, but didn't move from the balcony door. "If it's going to harm us, at least we'll be comfortable in bed."

This sounded so good, too. He was so right. 

"Okay."

"Okay?" He turned to me at this. Gently moving with me. His arms wrapped around me, and we were face to face, with him looking down at me a little bit. His tallness just another assurance, how much bigger he is than me. How much more able to protect me in an emergency. His large hands began rubbing my back and I just had to smile. "I think it's a normal noise," he told me, so close to my face. "If it isn't, we'll find out about it in the morning. I bet loads of people will talk about it on Twitter."

I sighed deeply, smiling at him. He was so wonderful. "You're right. I bet they will. Maybe they're even talking about it now." 

He broke into a grin. "That is smart. Never would have thought about that. I bet people are. Let's go check." 

Unable to resist his smile. "Okay." 

His lips puckered and oh, I could never resist, nor would I want to. My own went into the kiss and I sighed so deeply in it. All of my stress going. As long as he was here, I had absolutely nothing to worry about. He was my rock, and I didn't know how I'd ever gotten along without him.

This kind of relationship had been exactly the kind my father had warned me about on the island. If I grew up in the direction I was going, it would happen and then where would I be? My older brother would inherit the store when my parents retired, and I wouldn't have a job. So, I had to be more tough so I could be a fisherman. But, I didn't have to grow up tough. Because, I ended up in the kind of relationship my father feared. I could just be myself, and my Yuki was all the toughness, yet gentleness, that I needed. Protecting me with his intelligence. This kind of relationship. If you don't toughen up, you'll end up gay, in a gay relationship. He'd had no idea how much I'd wished that would come true. This kind of relationship. That's why I'd left the island. And it came true. So wonderfully true.