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Rain pounds down around Akihiko, heavy and soaking through the thin shirt he's wearing. When he left, it was just drizzling.
He didn't think that he would be out long enough for it to strengthen into something like this. He welcomes a light rain when running, keeping him cool and adding just a little challenge with slippery concrete, but nothing like this.
Lightning splits the sky in two, a bright light even with the lamps flickering overhead.
Thunder cracks around him and he flinches.
He's not afraid of thunder. Not like Miki was.
It just unnerves him being this close when he's outside.
The last thing he wants to do is explain to Mitsuru why he was hospitalized after being struck by lightning.
He wouldn't even have the chance to explain anything to Shinjiro. He'd start laughing the moment the irony of it all hit him.
Just because Polydeuces's Zionga doesn't hurt him as much doesn't mean a lightning strike wouldn't.
Akihiko glances down the street, frowning and fighting the urge to wrap his arms around his chest.
A light shirt was a smart idea when he first started running.
He's only halfway through the run he wanted to get through, but the rain just picks up every second he spends standing here staring at the road.
The street lights glimmer in the water pooling on the road, stark against the dark asphalt.
Thunder rumbles overhead, closer this time.
Bitter anxiety presses against his lungs.
He can't run like this. At least not effectively. And the whole point of this is for training. If he can't do that, then he shouldn't be out here.
The water running down the back of his neck is freezing too.
He glances down the street one last time before turning around and jogging off in the opposite direction.
The few people that were out on the roads when he left are gone now, all having shut away in their homes at the first sight of thunder.
He doesn't know how he missed it until it was right over him.
Something clatters against the ground in a mix of metal and concrete and he jumps. He loses his footing and only barely catches himself before landing ass-first on the ground.
It didn't sound anything like thunder, but his heart rate skyrockets in his chest despite that.
He should've tried harder to get Koromaru to come. Even this late at night, Koromaru has never been one to say no to a walk.
At least, he wouldn't have been the only one trudging back to the dorm soaked to bear Mitsuru's ire.
He shakes out his arms and shoulders in an attempt to dispel the lingering jolt of adrenaline before continuing.
It does him no good just to sit here. He can't wait it out here. There's no guarantee that it will be gone before the Dark Hour falls.
And just because he has his Evoker tucked against the small of his back doesn't mean he wants to fight a horde of Shadows alone.
Well, he definitely does but Mitsuru would have his head if he did something like that after the stunt he pulled last April.
And Shinjiro, Akihiko no longer knows exactly how he'll react.
It's like looking at a ghost, when Akihiko sees him in the dorm. The person who he used to be overlaps with the person he is now, and Akihiko doesn't know which one is real.
He tries reaching for both and can only seem to find him when it's Akihiko's fist against his skin.
Akihiko doesn't know what to do with the knotted relief unfurling in his chest at the sight of the dorm's ornate doors.
He opens them slowly, half-expecting to see Mitsuru waiting for him. Or the pitch black that blankets the lobby when no one is here.
Light spills out from the kitchen, accompanied by the quiet clatter of kitchen utensils.
Only one person would be up this late cooking of all things.
The distant sound of thunder cuts off the moment he shuts the door, but not soon enough. A chill runs down his spine and he can't stop his hands from shaking.
He strides across the room, his shoes squelching with every step. Water clings to him, sticking his clothes to his skin, but he barely feels it over the thready adrenaline running through his veins.
Why couldn't it be helpful this time, like it is before a match or battle?
Shinjiro has his back to the door, messing around with something on the stove. Akihiko wraps his arms around his waist, pressing his face into the junction between his neck and shoulder.
Even dressed in only his turtleneck, he's warm.
"Aki, you're getting me wet." Shinjiro rests one hand on Akihiko's arm, his touch light.
Akihiko just holds Shinjiro tighter. Water pools on the floor, cold as it drips down his skin.
Shinjiro sighs. "What were you doin' out? I thought you turned in for the night."
"It was raining," Akihiko says into Shinjiro's shoulder, his voice shaking ever-so-slightly. He hopes that it isn't enough for Shinjiro to pick up on.
"So?" Shinjiro moves whatever is in the pot around. Akihiko can feel his shoulders shift against his chest. "It does that sometimes."
"It's nice to run in." It doesn't feel like a proper explanation for everything. But the words catch in his throat as thunder cuts through the quiet sound of something sizzling in oil.
The tension in Shinjiro's shoulders bleeds away. "You got caught out in the thunder."
Akihiko grits his teeth but nods.
Shinjiro switches the spoon between his hands and brings one hand up to Akihiko's head. He cards his fingers through wet hair, loosening any tangles he gets caught on. "You coulda called me, y'know."
"Yeah, and short out my phone?" Akihiko sinks into the touch, the tension wound in every muscle slowly seeping away.
"You coulda figured somethin' out." Shinjiro pats Akihiko's head, a flicker of a grin in his voice. "Kirijo's always saying you got some brains in there, you could use 'em."
Akihiko presses his hair against the thin strip of skin between Shinjiro's hairline and his turtleneck. Much to Akihiko's chagrin, Shinjiro doesn't even react. "You could at least sound like you believe her a little."
"When I got so much evidence sayin' otherwise? I don't think so." Shinjiro musses Akihiko's hair before pulling his hand away. Akihiko misses the feeling already. "I'm almost done here. Go and get changed into somethin' dry and I'll meet you up in your room."
"You're bringing food?" Whatever Shinjiro is making smells amazing and Akihiko can only hope that he's lucky enough and Shinjiro made extras.
"Course." Shinjiro nudges him with his shoulder, the touch gentle and light. "Now get goin'."
Akihiko lowers his arms from Shinjiro's waist, pressing a light kiss to his neck.
Now this gets a reaction out of him. He flushes, and even if Akihiko can only see it in his ears, he can imagine how red his face is now.
Akihiko slips away before Shinjiro can retaliate.
At this hour, he's the only one awake. It's easy for him to step around the boards that creak by now, having done the same thing the entire time he's stayed here.
Mitsuru's not wrong for worrying about him slipping out. He's done it far more times than she knows.
Akihiko strips off his wet clothes and grabs something dry from his closet. The simple shirt and pants does nothing against the chill seeping deep into his skin.
He climbs onto his bed, grabbing his blanket and pulling it up over his shoulders.
Rain pounds on the windows. He watches it run down through the half-open blinds.
Lightning glows within the water, bathing his room in a pale light.
He braces for the thunder, pulling the blanket tighter around himself.
It cracks overhead, close enough for the sound to cut through him.
His door creaks open a couple of minutes later, Shinjiro shouldering it open. He holds a steaming bowl of something in both of his hands with chopsticks in between his fingers. His thick jacket is draped over his shoulder and he still has his hair up in the small ponytail.
"Shouldn't you knock first?" Akihiko leans forward, letting the blanket drop to his lap. An uneasy grin pulls at his lips. "What if I wasn't finished getting dressed yet?"
Shinjiro just gives him a long look and doesn't dignify the question with a response. He sets one of the bowls down on Akihiko's desk and tosses his jacket at Akihiko. "Put this on. You look stupid sitting there feezin' your ass off."
Akihiko pulls Shinjiro's coat on, the material thick and comfortable, but just a touch cold. It doesn't have any of Shinjiro's usual warmth.
Shinjiro hands Akihiko a bowl, filled with rice, and meat and vegetables in a light sauce, before grabbing the other one and taking a seat next to Akihiko on the bed.
Akihiko leans into his side, shaking down the jacket sleeves before grabbing some rice and meat.
It's really good. Everything that Shinjiro cooks is amazing, but Akihiko is always impressed with how he can take the simplest things and make them taste like this.
Whenever Akihiko tries to do it, it comes out as a bland mess of slightly overcooked meat and undercooked vegetables.
"It's good," Akihiko says unprompted. He grabs a piece of meat, runs it through some of the sauce pooling at the bottom of the bowl, and sticks it in his mouth.
Shinjiro lowers his chopsticks from his mouth. "It better be. I didn't put a lotta sugar in it."
Akihiko grins and finishes off the rest of the rice in a couple of quick bites.
The warm food, coupled with the thick jacket wrapped around him and Shinjiro pressed against his side, fights off the chill lingering on his skin. Water still drips down his neck from his hair, but it's no longer that biting iciness that it was before.
Shinjiro takes the bowl from Akihiko's hands and stacks it with his on the desk. The moment he leans back, Akihiko wraps an arm around his waist, tucking himself into his side. Shinjiro reaches over Akihiko's shoulders to grab the blanket and drape it over their laps.
Shinjiro smells like spices and cooking oil and the faint hint of the sharp shampoo that he uses.
He smells like home.
Shinjiro wraps his arm around Akihiko's shoulders, messing with the ends of his hair. "Y'know, you don't hafta hide that you're afraid of thunder."
Akihiko stiffens. He was hoping it wasn't that obvious.
But Shinjiro's known him forever. There's no way he doesn't remember how afraid of it Akihiko was when they were young and naive.
"You'd just tease me." Akihiko glances up at Shinjiro, his hair brushing against his cheek.
"Just a little." A thin grin pulls at Shinjiro's lips. "But you can….come to me. If it's gettin' too bad."
Something catches in Akihiko's throat, the quiet loneliness that crept up on him days and weeks after Shinjiro left the dorm.
There was one point when Akihiko could barely find Shinjiro on the best of days, let alone cling to him like this.
Akihiko exhales, slinking further into Shinjiro's side. "I know."
Akihiko holds Shinjiro close enough to feel the rise and fall of his chest, to hear the steady beat of his heart.
He lets his eyes slide closed, even with the sound of thunder rolling around him.
Before he slips off to sleep, Shinjiro presses a gentle kiss into his hair.