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"Kakeru, hurry up, I’m dying."
"You’re not dying, Haiji," Kakeru mumbled, his hands buried in the depths of the cupboard. When Haiji didn’t continue his complain, he hesitated and took three steps back to peek in their living room. "Don’t move!" he warned, and saw Haiji turn his head to look at him from where he was lying on the couch.
"Hurry up then, I’m melting." Haiji had definitely intended to sound sterner, but his voice dropped into a whine.
But Kakeru didn’t let that faze him.
"You melted when you didn’t put sun cream on before we went outside, Haiji," he said, and went back into their bathroom to continue searching the closet where they kept their medicine, creams and lots and lots of cough drops of various brands they had collected over the years.
Haiji had once tried to store their lube in that closet, but it hadn’t worked. Firstly, because Kakeru refused to face lube when all he needed was a painkiller, and they used lube much more often in the bedroom than anywhere near the place they went to pee.
Now, Haiji grunted something unintelligible into the thick fabric of their couch, which he covered with his bare stomach. His legs were unharmed – the shorts had saved him from the worst of it – but his back was painted in an angry red that rivalled the deepest blush Kakeru had ever seen on him; a very fond memory, by the way, and one he remembered fondly, mainly to tease his boyfriend about.
A minute passed with Kakeru trying to find the cooling after-sun cream they had bought some time ago, hoping that neither of them would ever need it.
"Kaaaakeruuuu~."
"Yes, Haiji, I’m still searching," Kakeru answered in a light singsong tone that matched the pained drawl his boyfriend had called him with. "Where did you last see it?"
There was a short pause.
"In the shelf," Haiji said then, quietly and slightly dreamily.
Kakeru frowned. "Which one?" he asked, sending a glance to the door.
"The one…," Haiji began, and for some reason his voice sounded a little bit off. It Kakeru worried that his boyfriend may had a heatstroke after all, but as he continued, he actually smiled. "The one where they have everything, everything you need. They have painkiller and syrup and toothpaste and heating pads and drops, the orange ones and the green type, the ones that taste like apple and when you take them on your tongue, it turns green too and–"
"Are you talking about the pharmacy?" Kakeru wasn’t able to suppress a grin and was lucky Haiji couldn’t see it.
"Yesss…"
The dreamy voice made Kakeru chuckle. "We should have something here as well."
"Hurry up."
"I do, Haiji."
A short pause.
"Kakeruuuu."
"Yes, Haiji."
Kakeru smiled while he searched each shelf, which were stacked with all sorts of items they had collected. He could understand that it felt uncomfortable, but Haiji had to bear with it for a moment longer. It wasn’t like Kakeru had been searching for ten minutes yet, and he wondered if the August sun had finally managed to melt away his burnt boyfriend’s sheltered patience.
The day outside had been nice. The city had built a new water park close by, and the two men had taken their dog for a visit. Together they had walked quite a long distance around the whole site, while taking breaks here and there, resting in the shades, sitting on the bench next to the water or eating ice cream at the parlour they had found. Their dog had splashed in the water where it had been allowed, and when he had shaken his fur dry, Haiji and Kakeru had laughed as they got wet or when the shiba had come closer to be petted.
For most of the day Haiji had worn shorts and a tank top, which he had taken off when they had reached a spot where they could relax alone and close to the water. Kakeru had thought that his boyfriend had used sun cream, as he had before they had left their flat, but apparently Haiji hadn’t. Thus, when they had arrived home, Haiji rubbed his arms and hissed at the burn that covered his shoulders and – after an act of undressing – his upper back as well.
At the memory of the day, soft steps, quieter than a human’s, neared the bathroom. Looking down Kakeru saw their dog standing in the bathroom, facing him with huge black eyes.
"You fled from that burnt, lamenting lump too, hm?"
"Oi, I heard that!" Haiji’s protest was muffled by the couch. "I’m burnt, not deaf."
Kakeru snickered, then said to their dog, "Won’t you keep Haiji company for a little?"
The dog made a soft squeak and tilted his head a little as his tail flapped back and forth. He blinked before coming closer and settling on the tiles between Kakeru’s bare feet, pressing his back against Kakeru’s ankle and putting his snout on his toes.
Kakeru paused his search and gazed at the dog. He wanted to crouch down and caress the soft fur, but he had a mission and would do everything he could to relieve Haiji of his pain first. So he continued.
"Kakeru, did you find it yet?"
"Not yet."
"What are you doing, hurry up. It’s quicker to buy a new one at this rate."
"I know we still have some we haven’t used yet. Be patient a little longer, Haiji."
A deep sigh was his answer, and Kakeru bit his lip. He was about to take out everything they had ever stuffed into the cupboard, when he finally saw it. Behind a crumpled packet of painkillers, a blue roll of tape, and their plasters, Kakeru saw the promising yellow colour of the desired tube, shoved all the way to the very back.
"Ah, found it!"
"Finally."
Kakeru smiled, fetched the tube and gently nudged their dog. Together, they went back to the living room, where Kakeru found his boyfriend unmoving on the couch. Haiji turned his head to look at him, even his face was red, and when Kakeru placed the back of his hand against his cheek, Haiji sighed in relief.
"I’ll start right away."
"Mhm."
Kakeru knelt next to Haiji, stroked through his slightly sweaty hair, still warm from the outside air, and opened the tube.
"You should drink something too, Haiji."
Brown eyes glared at him. "If there’s no cream on me in the next minute, I’ll melt on the couch for sure. And then you can mop me up and dispose of me. Or drink me," he added, raising an eyebrow. His protest sounded harsh, but his voice was weak.
Kakeru’s smile didn’t falter and he hurried to put a dollop of cream on his palm. "I would never dispose of you, Haiji," he said quietly.
Satisfied with the amount of cream that was already taking effect on his hands by cooling the skin a little, Kakeru cast an appraising glance at the protruding shoulder blades and redness.
"I will start now. It might be a little chilly at first."
Haiji huffed. "Good."
Kakeru grinned and let the cream touch Haiji’s skin. Haiji winced a little at the touch, but when the cream was spread across the deepest blotches of red, he sighed deeply in relief.
"Wait," Haiji mumbled. "Was that a reference to lube?"
"Hm?"
"When you said it would be chilly at first."
Kakeru shrugged. "I guess it’s similar, but… we shouldn’t use this cream as lube."
"Of course not," Haiji snorted. "But," he added thoughtfully. "Cooling lube, huh? I mean lube that stays cool throughout the process of doing it, wouldn’t that be something?"
Kakeru thought about it. "Maybe. But there’s no such thing."
"Not yet, Kakeru. Not yet."
Kakeru giggled at the hopeful tone of Haiji’s voice and continued distributing the cream over Haiji’s broad back. The sheen of it made it look a little better already, and he hoped that the skin wouldn’t peel too much.
"I guess you’ll have to sleep on your stomach tonight. It’s just the back, right?"
Haiji grunted something.
"Are you disappointed?"
"Mhm, not really." Haiji turned his head to look at Kakeru from below. "I just… had some plans today. Tonight, to be precise."
"Oh." Kakeru blinked, then smiled. "Well, nothing’s impossible, is it?"
A weak frown dug between Haiji’s brows. "How?" he asked, glancing at his own back, or at least trying to.
"We will find a solution. You just can’t lie on your back, that’s all."
"That’s all, you say. Like it’s the easiest thing in the world."
Kakeru chuckled and stroked his dry hand through Haiji’s hair again; it had already cooled down a bit and Haiji’s complexion looked a little better. "I will make sure that you’ll feel great, Haiji."
Brown orbs stared at him, round and full of anticipation. A smile formed on his lips. "Good," he whispered, nuzzling his chin into the couch and extending an arm to caress their dog, who rested next to Kakeru’s knee.
"But please, remember to put on sun cream next time, Haiji. I don’t want to see you in pain. It doesn’t look good either, and it’s not good for your skin."
"Oh, certainly," Haiji said as he looked at him with a serious expression. "I don’t want to ruin the final days of our holidays again."
"We’ll make the best of it," Kakeru agreed, humming.
"I can’t wait," Haiji whispered, a strong gleam in his eyes.
Kakeru smiled. He looked forward to the night, hoping that the heat of the day would subside and be replaced with cool sheets and a very different heat that would seep into his bones and burn his heart in all the good ways.