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There was a soft knock on the door. Kody opened it and there stood Lumine, holding a few items in hand and he came in silently, almost like a ghost. Without another word, he set his things on Kody’s bed and got on, curling himself up into a ball.
Kody closed the door and joined him on the bed. Summer had just started in the city and it had been burning up the last couple of weeks. The air conditioners in the house were working overtime and Kody, more than once, had to get baskets full of water bottles and whatnot.
The heat was becoming unbearable..
“It’s too hot in your room, isn’t it? That’s why you came here.”
Lumine looked over at him, now on his back instead of curling up, “yeah. I went outside with Elijah today and we almost passed out on our way to the park because it was so hot. It’s like there’s a heatwave happening or something..”
“From what I heard, there is,” Kody sat on the bed beside him. His sleeves were rolled up and so were his pants. The air conditioner in his room provided coolness, but not enough to relieve the both of them from the uncomfortable hotness.
A groan came out of Lumine, “I can’t bear the heat,” he complained.
“Why’s that?”
“I don’t like the feeling of it.” He admitted sheepishly. “Do you like it, Kody?”
“Not at all. I prefer winter. At least in that way I won’t get a heatstroke and collapse on the front lawn.”
“Oh, but what if you get frostbite?”
Kody hadn’t thought about that, but he shrugged, “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had frostbite.”
“Never?! I’ve come close to it a couple of times.”
“..excuse me?”
Lumine began telling one story of him almost getting frostbite. He didn’t have a job for that week and he was stuck outside on the snowy streets of the city. He barely had any money and hung around a cafe and would have almost frozen to death if it weren’t for the owner who brought him inside.
The owner was a sweet lady and handed him some food and a drink, letting him warm up before he headed out again. To this day, Lumine still goes to that cafe and repeatedly thanks the owner, even buying things from it to support her.
Kody was appalled, “and you said you’ve almost got it..multiple times?”
“Yeah. Living outside like that constantly was really hard as I went from job to job. I’m glad I’m here now though! It’s the best place ever.”
His smile was radiant and he appeared to not be bothered by his numerous near death experiences, though Kody knew him more than that. Underneath that pure smile and patient exterior, he was truly burnt out from his time outdoors, and only now had a breath of fresh air.
He didn’t know how he did it. Kody laid down on the bed and pushed himself closer to Lumine, reaching and taking his hand within his own. Lumine made a funny face, “your hand’s all sweaty. Is the conditioner just as bad here?”
“I tried tinkering with it a bit..I don’t know if it helps.”
Lumine looked to be sinking into the mattress of the bed. “Sort of. We’re gonna wake up covered in sweat or something. Gross.”
He stuck his tongue out in disdain, eyes closed, making a face. His expression made Kody softly smile, “then we can take a shower in the morning to get rid of it. Don’t hog up all the cold water tomorrow..because you always do that.”
“I don’t!” came Lumine’s reply.
“You do. You’re going to run that water bill all the way up.”
“Hmph, say that for yourself,” a scoff came out of him, “you’re going to make the grocery list longer the more you want to bake!”
“I think I’m banning the macarons from you.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“I would. I just did. You’re banned.”
Despite their playful banter and ‘fighting’, their hands never separated and they had gotten even closer. The blanket had been tossed aside (they both would have melted from the heat it provided paired alongside the literal heatwave).
The door opened a tad. Aiden peeked in. He had noticed Lumine’s bedroom door was wide open and not usually locked (Lumine always locked his doors, probably out of some habitual paranoia) and came to see if he was here in Kody’s room instead.
He swore he had heard whispers and a conversation, even a couple of laughs and muffled giggles, and when he opened the door, he was greeted with a sight that pretty much cured everything going wrong in his mind. Something about the scene this time was much cuter.
Lumine and Kody were cuddling, faces pressed against each other, their legs and hands intertwined on the bed. The blanket was on the ground next to it. The air conditioner in Kody’s room seemed to be struggling a bit, there were signs of someone messing with it.
He had to get that fixed, didn’t he? He’d call someone tomorrow.
For now, Aiden let out a sigh of relief that Lumine hadn’t wandered outside again. That boy liked to sit outside on the porch for hours into the night, staring into space.
At least the two had found comfort in each other that didn’t rely on any potentially concerning means. It was easier on his heart to know the two were okay. He went inside the room and picked up the blanket, folding it and putting it away before taking one last look at the boys.
Damn, if he had his phone, he’d take a picture and send it to everyone in the house!
Aiden left the room and closed the door after him.
The heatwave didn’t improve for the rest of the week sadly, and like Kody said, Lumine took all of the cold water in the shower and ran for it. I mean, what was Kody going to do? Ban him from the cake next?
(Spoiler alert, he did.)