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You knew it was coming. And in the moment, you were confident in the choices you had made. Now looking back, you wanted to have a full on brawl with the you from an hour ago.
Making your way down the sidewalk, you bustled past strangers and the occasional neighbor that you recognized but did not acknowledge in fear they wouldn’t recognize you. So you kept your eyes glued to the distant horizon and the blazing sunset that had dark, thick rainclouds encroaching on it’s bright demeanor. A quick glance to your phone told you that you had less than ten minutes until the sun set, and who knows how long until the sky decides to open up on you. Hoisting the bags from your little excursion farther up your forearms, you shoved your phone back in your pocket and continued your hurried pace toward your apartment.
You could handle walking in the dark, hell you were practically in your neighborhood already, but walking in the rain would ruin your entire mood. Especially because you were wearing open toe shoes, carrying foodstuffs that couldn’t get wet without getting ruined, and on top of it all, you had had your umbrella in hand as you left your apartment, but decided it was too bulky to carry. The golden rays hit your eyes as you silently cursed yourself and used the anxiety you felt to propel yourself forward at a speed that wouldn’t cause people to worry for your sanity, but still got you closer to your destination quicker than your typical gaunt. You could almost see your street coming up in the distance.
Your drive to get home was fueled by a couple things, one of which was yes, the impending doom and gloom of the now thundering clouds above your head. But another was to hopefully get home and get started on this surprise for your horribly stressed out boyfriend. He had been a pro-hero for a couple years now, quickly working his way up the chain of command from just a sidekick for a previous mentor, to being considered as a full-time partner in the agency. You weren’t completely sure how exactly the whole ladder worked, but from Fumi’s many soliloquies, he had been jumping up major rungs quite fast, and from your own intuition, the closer he got to the top, the more he had been taking out of himself. That and Dark Shadow tended to complain when he felt both of their feelings were being ignored. The two of you had your respective work - you had your day job that kept you content, he had his hero duties...daily and nightly. So it seemed that the two of you only ever saw your other half when they were sleeping. But, for the first time in months (it felt more like years), Fumikage had the day off and when you left him, he was splayed across the bed taking a well deserved nap. It was a decently lazy Sunday, so you also had the day off, and the two of you had been doing some cleaning around your shared living spaces, when he had suddenly fallen asleep standing up. You had seen it coming and quickly jostled him awake and helped guide his slightly unconscious form toward the bed so he could be comfortable.
You took this as an opportunity to finally go through with plans you had been putting off for a few months. It was simple, but you knew he would enjoy it, and that it would allow for a great end for a calm day. You adjusted one of the bags on your arm, the apples inside causing your muscles to strain as - as you got hit in the face with a fat raindrop. You were so close to home, the sky had to hold out for you out of simple respect. Or at least you hoped. You sputtered slightly and really picked up speed, tearing around the corner onto your street, and you could see the side of your beloved building coming into view. You just needed to get home before he woke up, and before you were forced into a completely involuntary shower. One of your neighbors was standing in a small patch of grass coming up under a streetlamp that had just flickered on, and as you passed you waved to both him and the dog as the largest clap of thunder tore through the sky right above your head, almost causing you to drop all your belongings. The dog yelped and quickly ceased it’s sniffing, now content to just get back inside. Me too buddy, you thought as another raindrop hit your forehead, and another pegged your arm, and another and another, all picking up speed. You were now in front of the building, starting to tear up the stairs to your place, fumbling for your keys as you quickly approached the door marked with both of your last names.
You broke the threshold just as the sky began to drop what felt like an ocean’s worth of water from the sky all at once, completely obscuring the world. You quickly and quietly kicked off your shoes and listened for any sign of life, and after being met with none, you briskly made your way to the kitchen. You set your items lightly on the countertop, and turned to wash your hands as you walked past the kettle on the stove, boiling contentedly, threatening to whistle at any moment. You hadn’t put it on before you left, so you didn’t understand how it could have gotten there, and you also hadn’t left the lights on, but it soon clicked as you heard the gentle patter of a feet approaching the kitchen. With a stretch and yawn, you were greeted by the sight of the raven feathered bird-man that held your whole heart. At the sound of the sink turning on, he opened his eyes and a gentle smile spread across his beak as he made his way over and placed the top of his head gently against the back of your own.
“Good morning sleeping beauty, or evening I suppose I should say.” You dried your hands off on a towel and gently turned yourself around to be able to meet his eyes. They were closed and you found yours fluttering shut at Fumikage’s calming presence and just the pure feeling of being close to one another. You felt him move off of you as something bumped into your shoulder, opening your eyes you were greeted by your boyfriend yawning as his feathers ruffled across his head, along with his literal other half, Dark Shadow. Dark Shadow was like the dog you never got to have growing up, and you weren’t sure how you felt about that. Like, you were grateful that your boyfriend had such a powerful quirk, especially one that he could communicate with and have looking out for his weak points when he just couldn’t. But sometimes you’re never sure when Dark Shadow’s present, and that fact sits ever ready in the forefront of your mind whenever the two of you were together.
“That sleep was the best I have gotten since my youth.”
“You say youth as if you’re already retired with both feet firmly planted in the grave.” He gave you a chuckle and took the kettle off the burner before it had the chance to rip open either of your skulls, and then carefully poured himself a cup of one of the many teas your kitchen was stocked with. He offered to pour you a cup, but you declined, beginning to put away the few cold things you had in the fridge.
“What did you go to the store for?” Fumi asked, simply leaning against the counter, his arms bright against his dark shirt as he clutched the cup close to his chest.
“Stuff.”
“.....And that is it?” He cocked a feathered brow as he wiggled the tea bag about his cup before taking a tentative sip. You chuckled and began to unbag the apples as his brow raised even farther behind your back. “That’s a lot of...stuff.” You could hear the interest and joy in his voice, which was music to your ears. The sound of rain against the windows gently brought your attention away from your apple sorting and your love as you debated telling him what was up, though you were sure he suspected what was happening already. You turned toward him, leaning against the counter, blocking the apples from view, a simple smile adorning your face. His eyes were resting again, and you could see that his shoulders were tense and it made your heart squeeze a little. A house shaking thunderclap caused him to open his eyes and meet your gaze. “What?” He asked, smiling back behind his cup.
You closed the short distance between the two of you and he raised his arms slightly to allow you to duck under before placing them behind you as you gently rest against his chest. “Well I was hoping that you would stay asleep long enough for me to at least get it into the oven, but I was going to make you a pie.” His chest rumbled as he hummed out an affirmative noise before placing his beak against your head. Your eyes had fluttered closed and they stayed that way despite a couple of serious cracks of thunder and a sudden uproar of rain pelting your windows. Fumi’s feathers bristled and he soon was pulling his head from yours.
“Um…[y/n],...I believe that our power has went out.” He stiffened and Dark Shadow re-emerged from his back, eyes slightly glowing in the darkness. You pulled away and anchored yourself to the counter behind you. The darkness was suffocating, and was only broken by the gentle dusky light that was barely coming in from behind the curtains around the apartment. You felt the familiar fear creeping up into your throat, not exactly stopping your breath, but definitely causing you to go a little rigid and shifty. You felt a presence enter your space as you heard Fumikage put down his cup and walk away from you. You open your eyes to find Dark Shadow placing a gentle shadow talon on your shoulder and muttering things about staying calm, and that the dark does not hold anything that the day does not. You knew of several nocturnal animals that would prove the figure wrong, but you kept them to yourself as you heard a gentle scratching before a spark of light found life at the end of your kitchen.
Dark Shadow sort of reeled back from the source, and soon Fumikage’s face was illuminated by a small white candle sitting on the counter in front of him. Soon he had two more lit and had placed them on the dining table, and on top of the stove so that the kitchen was as evenly bright as it was going to be until the power returned. Dammit. Well, there went your plan for pie. You felt really bad, because you believed that it would be a great moment that the two of you would be able to enjoy and really bring you both some mutual joy, but now here you were, in your boyfriend’s element, the exact opposite of your own. You just didn’t like the ambiguity and uncertainty of the dark, one thing that Fumikage would monologue about and praise as one of life’s purest treasures (besides you, he would always add in to make sure you were still listening).
Fumi made his way back over to you, gently wrapping his arms around your middle. “I apologize for this situation, I do know that it is not optimal conditions for either of us.” You chuckled.
“Baby...you live for the dark. How is this not your optimal condition?”
“It being dark and having absolutely no electricity are two different dances [y/n]. Plus, when you are upset, it makes me heavy hearted.” You chortled at his response to you and found a smile plastered across your face in the dark, his words spurring a quick idea in your head. After a moment of wriggling, he released you from his lean arms, and followed your figure now accompanied by a candle as you began to dig through the cabinets that neither of you ever really opened. You rummaged for a few minutes, your prince of darkness looming peacefully over your shoulder as you finally found the dusty piece of work you were looking for. You quickly dusted it off a little before placing it on the countertop and hoping that the batteries inside still worked.
Slowly you turn the large dial on the side of the box and were greeted by static and after fiddling with the opposite dial, soon a dulcet pop tune began to flow through the speaker, occasionally crackling, but it was working and that was what mattered. You turned toward your man and smiled, “If they’re two different dances,” you curtsied in the most clumsy but also most safe way that you could in the relative darkness. You watched as a simple and loving smile crept across Fumikage’s beak as he dramatically bowed and then offered you his hand on his way back up. You took it with a flourish and soon you were just simply swaying in one another’s arms as one song drifted off into another, into another, into another….
You didn’t know how much time had passed, but you did know that soon a man’s voice came over the radio, prefaced by an alarming shriek. The two of you swayed simply as he listed off all the areas that were without power, and reporting that the city had promised that power would be restored before morning at the latest, so you breathed a sigh of relief as Fumikage nuzzled into your hair. “It seems that that pie is not going to be made tonight. I appreciate the thought and you more than I would ever be able to describe….I apologize for the recent distance, but I promise that it will be worth it and once I get promoted I will be around much more and able to give you my full undivided attention while I am awake.” The music hadn’t returned yet, but if you had been asked, it absolutely had, as his words were music to your ears. From what he said to the way he said it. Soon you felt extra pressure up against your back. Your heart was full and you didn’t even mind the company. Dark Shadow wrapped around the both of you, bringing the three of you very close and neither of you was going to complain. It was the simple moments like this that you lived for.
With a sigh, you reached up to press a kiss against the raven feathers that shone so beautifully in the dim lit, and looked into the crimson eyes that bore into you even more than normal before they slipped closed. You didn’t know what time it was, and had misplaced your phone when you had gotten home, but you could feel waves of sleepiness slipping over you as Fumikage rubbed small circles into your back. After a yawn, you leaned up to look up into those eyes again before asking in the same lighthearted tone you would use to mimic your boyfriend’s flair for the dramatics, “Would you like to retire to the bedroom?” He chuckled and pulled from you, gently motioning his arms toward the hall for you to take the lead before he turned to blow out the candles and turn off the old radio. After changing into something a little more suitable for sleeping, you and Fumi just laid in silence for a long heavy moment, listening to the sound of the now easy rain patter against the window panes, before slipping into a content sleep tangled in one another’s arms. This was where you belonged, and you were so glad to be there.
As you drifted off to sleep, you thought of fun crust patterns you could use when you made that pie tomorrow.