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A thunderstorm rages outside Armin's house. His parents are at work, and it's a Friday, so he was excited to have Jean pick him up for their first date today. But obviously, after a week of clear skies, the one day he picks for their date gets rained out. He's not really mad about it, but they planned this date out a while ago. It sucks to have to cancel it. He sends Jean a short text saying not to pick him up.
Getting out the book he's in the middle of, he bundles up in some blankets on his bed. The deep rumble of thunder is the perfect ambiance for reading. At least he can enjoy the rain, but he wishes Jean was here.
Minutes later, he hears a frantic pounding at the door. Who would come during this? Checking the text he sent to Jean, he sees it's still delivered. Of course it is. He bounds down the stairs and throws open the door.
Looking like a wet kitten, Jean stands drenched outside his house. A lightning bolt flashes in the sky behind him.
"Hey Armin..." For whatever stupid reason, he looks a bit sheepish. Armin can't believe him.
"Jean!" He grabs Jean's hand and pulls him into his house.
Inside, he can see that every layer Jean is wearing has been soaked. His white shirt is sticking to his skin. Armin goes to get a towel to dry him off before he gets distracted.
He comes back with a towel and reaches up to set it over Jean's head.
"What were you doing out there!? I told you not to come!"
Jean seems all too happy to be fussed over like this. "Oh really? Sorry, I didn't see your text. My phone doesn't like the cold of the rain."
Armin huffs in annoyance. "It's pouring outside! You should've known not to come in this."
"Well, it really started coming down when I was about halfway here. I thought it would just be a cloudburst, and then it kept getting worse. At that point, your house seemed closer than mine."
Since Armin is so close to Jean, he can see Jean is shivering. He can't bring himself to be mad, so he lets out a long sigh instead. Armin ruffles Jean's hair a bit before using the towel to pull him down and kiss his forehead.
"Go take a shower, okay? And leave your clothes in the hall." Jean has a stupid smile on his face when he nods and saunters off.
Armin waits for Jean to get into the shower before getting his clothes. He puts them in the washing machine and fiddles on his phone for a bit.
Then, the power goes out.
Armin, after fumbling around, manages to secure two flashlights for the both of them. He's perplexed as to why everything is going wrong at once today.
When he goes to check on Jean, he finds him standing in the dark hallway in only a towel. Ahh, and he thought a wet shirt was distracting. Seeing all of these new sides of Jean is better than he could've hoped for. But then he remembers he should say something.
"Jean, I think your clothes are clean now, but they're probably quite soapy and damp. I haven't put them in the dryer yet. So," he realizes midway through his rambling that Jean has nothing to wear other than something of Armin's. Almost all of his clothes are guaranteed not to fit Jean, but he does have a sizeable collection of big sweaters. Even then, he's not sure it'll fit, but it's better than having Jean walking around in a towel until the power comes back on.
"I think I could find a sweater for you." Jean looks relieved.
Armin rummages through his closet to find his biggest sweater. It looks like a dress on him, so hopefully it's big enough for Jean. He comes back out and hands the sweater and flashlight to Jean.
"Thanks, Armin. I'll get changed." Jean pats his head and goes into his room.
After a few minutes, Jean's muffled voice asks, "Can you come inside?" Armin enters the room and sees Jean has hung the flashlight from his fan as a makeshift overhead light. Even in the low lighting the flashlight has provided, Armin's face heats up in embarrassment at the sight of Jean.
Jean looks...really good in his clothes. Only in these circumstances would he find out something like this. Jean wouldn't wear anything of his any other time, no, it would be the reverse. But now, he wants to see Jean like this more. His sweater is high on Jean's thighs, but the sleeves cover his palms. The skin revealed from the sweater is soft looking and unblemished. He makes eye contact with Jean after staring right at his legs. Stupid!
"Do you, um, have any loose fitting underwear?" So he's not wearing anything under Armin's sweater...no, snap out of it! Why do thoughts like these always come at the worst of times!? His face feels so hot. Jean has to think he's weird for zoning out at a time like this.
Armin coughs to mask his awkwardness. "I don't think any of my underwear would fit, but I'm glad the sweater fits you pretty well." Jean lets out a low hum in disappointed agreement.
A silence falls over them as they listen to the raging storm outside. They're alone in the house, and his parents couldn't come back now. Somehow, hanging out during this made their relationship progress further than it would have on that date. In a weird way, Armin is grateful for the storm.
Since he's finished getting dressed, Jean reaches up to turn off the flashlight. He must not want Armin to stare at him too much, but he wasn't thinking about how short the sweater is on him. Armin averts his gaze.
"What's wro—oh!" When he realizes, he rushes to turn off the light in case the sweater rode up too much. In the darkness, Armin hears fabric shifting, and he assumes is Jean trying to pull down his sweater more, but his eyes haven't adjusted yet.
Another moment passes in silence. Their eyes adjust, and shapes of the room come into view.
As they're standing there, he hears Jean mumble, "My legs are kinda cold..."
Eager for something to break this silence, he brings Jean over to his bed and wraps his blanket around him. Even in the dim lighting, Armin notices Jean waver before speaking. "Can we...cuddle?"
Oh. He never expected Jean to say that. A warm feeling bursts in his chest. He nods a couple frantic times in the dark.
"Um, you can spoon me, so I don't...you know." Jean's voice fades into the downpour. It takes Armin a moment, but he understands what Jean is getting at.
He assumed it would be Jean drying him off, letting him use his shower, giving Armin his clothes, and he would have to ask Jean to cuddle him. He had prepared himself for that kind of thing. But this is a fantasy outside of his imagination. The unfamiliarity of it all has led him to understand a new side of himself. And, he thinks Jean might feel the same. He's always the protector rather than the protected. To be vulnerable like this, with Armin, he must feel safe and loved.
Armin gets into his bed and pats the spot next to him. It's not a very big bed, so they'll have to squeeze in close. Jean comes in after him. Armin pulls up the blanket onto them and wraps his arms around Jean's waist. His warmth is seeping into Armin's skin.
"Better?"
"Mm."
His heart thumps against his chest. He didn't expect to like the feeling of holding someone else so much. Jean isn't protesting either. Armin nuzzles into Jean's neck and places a kiss over his pulse. A shiver wracks Jean's body, so Armin moves the sweater and plants a couple of softer kisses on his shoulder. He wants to kiss Jean more, but they end up dozing off.
They wake with a start when everything beeps and all the lights turn back on. While they were sleeping, the thunderstorm turned into a gentle rain. The two of them are reluctant to part, but Jean stands up and turns around to face him.
"Armin, when we're cuddling I can keep wearing this sweater if you want, but I'd like my underwear at least."
He leaves the room before Armin can react. Jean picked up on that so fast! Despite being flustered, he goes after Jean to help him dry his clothes.
That night, they cuddle in the same position as the rain rocks them to sleep.