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Medkit typically wasn’t a fan of the rain. It made the sky all dark and dreary, it was a hassle to go in and out of places and fight with umbrellas, and it made the air heavier for the days that followed. When it rained, the healer was content to call it an early night and spend his time reading over his work in his office while the rain battered his window and the wind howled outside. It was his routine, and Medkit usually paid close attention to the weather to make sure that it wouldn’t get disrupted.
This time, it ended up slipping his mind because Boombox had come over for dinner at Medkit’s apartment. Most times, instead of going out somewhere in Crossroads, they’d simply spend time at either of their apartments, cook together, watch a movie, and then go their separate ways for the night. More often than not, it ended up being Boombox’s apartment, since the DJ didn’t have a car or license of his own and there weren’t as many buses running in Lost Temple. The nights when Boombox was over for dinner, Medkit always drove him back, which now brought him to his current predicament.
Medkit had gotten so swept up in making sure he had everything they needed for dinner that he’d forgotten to check the forecast and see if the chance for rain had risen. He’d thought about it after everything was set up and then Boombox showed up, and of course his boyfriend’s presence was distracting enough to keep Medkit from checking the weather like he should’ve done sooner as he moved around the kitchen and helped get things together.
His boyfriend. It still felt strange in the best way possible to call Boombox that, even though they’d been dating for about a month now. Before he got to know the DJ, Medkit thought it would be miserable to willingly spend time with him because of how loud and obnoxious he’d seemed, but with all the time spent together and the moments they’d shared, it wasn’t horrible at all. Boombox still talked a lot, but it wasn’t loud and instead simply balanced out how untalkative Medkit was.
They certainly were an unusual pair, Sword was even convinced it was a joke when he’d asked Medkit again if he and Boombox were dating and the healer had told him that they were. He was sure plenty of other phighters had similar reactions when the word slowly spread around that he and Boombox had ended up together, but did it even truly matter? Yes, it was a bit embarrassing to know that his love life was being openly discussed among his peers, but no amount of talk and gossip could undo the fact that Medkit cared about Boombox, and Boombox cared about him. Besides, it would eventually pass and the dust would settle into normalcy, as the DJ had said when the news was starting to spread.
Medkit was thinking about it again when the rain had started, pattering the glass and ripping him from his train of thought. It had thrown Boombox off too, as his attention also turned to the window to listen to the sound of rain against it. He hated driving in the rain, but he also hated the thought of Boombox walking in the rain to get back to the bus stop. They’d still had a movie to watch, and Medkit had said they’d figure something out if the rain was still going after their movie had finished.
He knew that the rain would likely still persist after their movie, but it wasn’t at the forefront of his mind because Boombox had leaned his head against the healer’s shoulder, and Medkit had wrapped his arm around the DJ to hold him close. They’d picked out the movie together, but in all honesty, Medkit simply used this time to think more about how they ended up here whenever there was a lull in the plot. He wasn’t unhappy with the way things had turned out, he was far from it. It simply seemed so… unreal, like it came straight out of a fictional story and not reality. It did mean they had one hell of a story to tell whenever they inevitably got asked how they got together.
Then the movie ended, and the rain still fell. Boombox had said he didn’t mind walking in the rain to get to the bus stop because he wasn’t a stranger to getting a bit soggy, and Medkit refused to let him go and walk through the Lost Temple downpour, especially since it rarely rained. The DJ had shot back that Medkit didn’t like to drive in the rain and he didn’t want the healer doing something he didn’t want to, and the next sentence that came from Medkit’s mouth was one he thought he’d never say to Boombox:
“Then stay the night.”
Stay the night. It had caught Boombox off guard at first, Medkit could see it in the DJ’s eyes, but after the initial surprise had worn off, the healer found Boombox throwing himself into his arms and saying that he wouldn’t mind that at all. Yes it meant that he likely wouldn’t be getting any extra work done, yes it meant his rainy night routine would end up disrupted, but any annoyance that might’ve risen up had been quickly squashed when Boombox smiled up at him.
Medkit had still managed to get some work done when Boombox said he’d clean up the kitchen, and even when Boombox had peeked into his office to see what he was up to after the kitchen was all dealt with. It wasn’t as much as he would’ve liked to have done, but when he’d tried to get Boombox to go ahead and get some sleep and not stay up for him, he’d had simply told the healer that there was always tomorrow and he’d at least gotten some work done, which was better than none.
Boombox, surprisingly, could be logical at times, which was something Medkit had realized when they’d started spending more time together. He’d been discovering more and more things about the DJ with the more time they spent together, and he was certain that the same could be happening for Boombox learning about him. Such was the nature of having such a close relationship, one where both sides felt safe enough to bring down the walls they’d held up for so long.
That brought them to where they were now, together in Medkit’s bed under the covers to combat the chill that ran through the healer’s apartment. Similar to how they were on the couch, Boombox’s head was resting against Medkit’s shoulder as he partially pressed into his side, and Medkit had an arm loosely wrapped around the DJ’s back to keep him close, like he would fall off the bed or roll away if he didn’t hold him there. Medkit would’ve thought he’d already fallen asleep if it wasn’t for the fact that they were currently looking at each other because of how quiet it was in the room, the only sound being the rain hitting the glass and the occasional rumble of thunder from the dark sky outside.
One of Boombox’s hands moved to cup Medkit’s cheek, thumb just barely grazing the bottom of the scar that covered his left eye. This wasn’t the first time Boombox had seen him without his eyepatch, but he still acted with the same level of care as he did the first time Medkit had taken it off around him. He seemed to know just what to do when it came to it, and the healer was eternally grateful for it.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Boombox asked, his voice quieter than it usually was, something that better fit the atmosphere of the moment.
Medkit gave a quiet sigh, one of his hands moving to brush a stray curl out of Boombox’s face and hold the hair out of his face. The DJ smiled at him and the action, and there was that familiar twist of affection in his chest that greeted him every time he was able to see Boombox’s smile without the visor.
“I was simply thinking about us,” Medkit answered, his own voice a similar level of quiet as his own hand moved down to cup Boombox’s cheek, “That’s all.”
Boombox laughed, leaning into the touch as his smile grew. “You do that a lot,” He teased, thumb now gently brushing over Medkit’s scar instead of lingering around the edges, “But I’m flattered that our odd pairing takes up a lot of your brain room.”
Medkit huffed lightly, something similar to a laugh in his books. How could their pairing not take up space in his thoughts? He had a boyfriend that was someone he once considered absolutely insufferable, and someone he once wished would just leave him alone for good. Now, Medkit sometimes found himself yearning for the other’s company on the days and nights he had nothing to do, and it simply felt too quiet.
He hadn’t realized how quiet his life was until Boombox came into the picture, filling it with welcome noise and music, as long as it wasn’t too loud. Medkit still had his limits on music and still felt his eye twitch when hearing the blaring EDM coming from the DJ’s gear during phights, but it was fine because Boombox always opted to play something different if his gear was playing anything at all when they were together outside of phights. More often than not, it was always sitting by the doorway, waiting for Boombox to grab it on his way out.
Most of the time, the music came from Boombox himself, whether it be because he was playing the piano or humming a tune, like he was now. The DJ had a nice voice, Medkit knew that already from the mandatory parties Flipside sometimes held after event phights, but there was just something soothing about his humming. Typically, it was too quiet for the healer to catch it when they were out and the noise of the world around them drowned it out, so it made sense that he’d really only hear it when it was just them two.
Medkit closed his eye for a moment, listening to the rain and the humming of his boyfriend. He wasn’t sure which song it was, but it didn’t really matter. He brushed his thumb across the other’s cheek as he opened his eye again and moved his gaze to Boombox’s. He still wasn’t quite sure why Boombox insisted on wearing the visor, especially because he looked so normal beneath it. There were no scars, nothing that seemed to be a point of shame, just bright green eyes that crinkled up with glee every time Boombox smiled.
“Are you just thinkin’ about me now?” Boombox’s teasing brought Medkit out of his thoughts, his hands moving to rest under his chin as he looked up at the healer, “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”
Medkit rolled his eye, listening to Boombox laugh at his own joke before there was a particularly bright flash of lightning and loud crack of thunder. Both of them turned their heads to look at the window like that would do anything about the weather outside, and Medkit dreaded the fact that this meant it was going to likely be humid for days. Medkit gave a sigh of bitter acceptance before they settled back into their original places, his hand resting under the DJ’s chin now.
It was nice, honestly, to be laying together in the quiet like this. There was nothing more than each other and the storm outside, existing in the dark and only occasionally being illuminated by the flashes of lighting. If it wasn’t so late, Medkit would’ve been content to stay like this forever. But he wasn’t sure what time it was now, and he really didn’t want to go through the hassle of breaking and repairing his sleep schedule again like he had to do before they’d gotten together.
So, he opted to shift his position just enough to give Boombox a kiss on the forehead before settling back down, watching the other’s mouth drop open slightly in surprise and his cheeks flush. No matter what, the smallest little moments of affection seemed to fluster the DJ greatly, and it was something Medkit kept in his back pocket whenever he wanted to see Boombox like this. He couldn’t ever hide the small smile of amusement that came from it, and the hand under Boombox’s chin moved up ever so slightly to close his mouth.
“I’m going to sleep, and if you wake me up at any point, I’m going to make you sleep on the couch,” Medkit warned with no real heat behind it. It was an empty threat because he quite liked the feeling of Boombox beside him, but he didn’t need to know that. Besides, it seemed like he already knew that because of the response of soft laughter that came from him.
“Alright, whatever you say,” Boombox simply answered, his own positioning shifting to give the healer a kiss on the cheek. Now it was Medkit’s turn for his cheeks to warm up with a flush as Boombox settled back down into a position that seemed more comfortable to sleep in. “Goodnight, sleep well Med.”
“Goodnight Boombox.”
The healer simply got a quiet hum of acknowledgement as he closed his eye, letting the sound of rain and his boyfriend’s humming fill his ears until he fell asleep.
Boombox did not fall asleep when Medkit did. He wasn’t quite tired enough yet, so instead he opted to spend his time pressed against the healer’s side and listening to the rain as he hummed a small tune. Honestly, earlier he was ready to just walk through the rain to get to the bus stop and pick up his gear from Medkit’s apartment the following day, but then Medkit asked him to stay the night, and he felt his heart soar all over again.
Never did he think he’d ever get here, laying next to his boyfriend and getting to fall asleep with him. Boombox honestly had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, like most days when he sat and actually realized that he was dating Medkit. It was something he never thought would end up happening, and then it did, and here they were, much to the surprise of the people around them.
There were always those moments of wondering how much it would take before things would fall apart, but those always came and went. Such was the nature of letting his thoughts run rampant, and he just elected to ignore them. They weren’t real if he didn’t look at them or think about them, and nothing would ever go wrong if he simply just kept it out of his mind. Out of sight, out of mind type deal. Surely, it would work.
Boombox gave a small huff, mentally waving away his train of thought as he looked back to Medkit’s face. The healer still had an arm loosely wrapped around Boombox, his hand resting against his back despite being asleep. He knew if he accidentally woke him up, he wouldn’t get sent to the couch, but he didn’t want to wake him up anyway. Medkit’s sleep schedule was very important to him, especially because of all the work he did during the day.
Honestly, Boombox didn’t really have much of a sleep schedule. He just had a sort of range, he fell asleep between these hours and then woke up between those hours. It might not be the healthiest thing to have, but hey, it worked out for him just fine most days! He didn’t know what time it was now, but it really didn’t matter. Boombox knew he’d fall asleep when he needed to, and then he’d wake up when he needed to, which would likely be when Medkit woke up. Simple as that.
He simply kept humming, letting the time tick by before he felt his own eyelids grow heavy thanks to the sound of the rain hitting the glass of the window. Boombox didn’t mind the rain, it was just storms he didn’t like, with the loud thundering and crackling of lighting that came with the howling of the wind. Thankfully, it seemed like the worst of it had already passed, and now it was just nothing but heavy rain. He looked back towards the window, the curtains drawn to keep the flashes of lightning out and ensure privacy, since his visor was off and Medkit had also taken his eyepatch off.
Boombox still wasn’t sure what happened to cause the scar and the loss of Medkit’s other eye, but he knew it wasn’t his place to ask about it. The healer would tell him when he was ready to, just like how Boombox would tell him about why he wore the visor when he was ready to talk about it. For now though, they existed in the comfort of being able to take them off and set them aside when they were alone together.
The DJ looked back up to Medkit’s sleeping face, considering saying something he always wanted to, something he’d known for so long but held back on admitting it. It weighed down on him, yes, but he didn’t want to say it at the wrong time and risk having things take a turn in the wrong direction and ruin what they had. They were still figuring things out, letting their walls down slowly around each other. It wasn’t the right time yet, but one day it would be.
Besides, Medkit could wake up and hear him say it, and how awkward would that be? Getting caught saying something that was only being said because it was assumed it was being said to sleeping ears, if that happened to him, Boombox felt like he would shrivel up into a raisin out of embarrassment. He considered saying it though, hesitated, and then decided that being a raisin was a terrible fate to end up with.
So, instead the phrase died on his tongue and never left his thoughts as he fell asleep against Medkit, his hand moving to rest over where the other’s heart was to feel the steady, rhythmic beating of it.
“I love you.”