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The weather forecast had promised clear skies. Arisu should have known better than to trust it.
“I told you we should've brought an umbrella,” Chishiya said with a smirk on his face as the two of them sought shelter under the narrow awning of a closed bookstore, watching sheets of rain hammer the pavement with impressive force.
“You did not tell me that,” Arisu protested, wrapping his arms around himself. His shirt was already soaked through, clinging uncomfortably to his skin. “You said, and I quote, ‘It probably won't rain.’”
“‘Probably’ implies uncertainty. You should have known better than to trust my intuition.” Chishiya's hair was plastered to his forehead, water dripping from the bleached strands. He looked like a disgruntled cat, and the sight might have been funny if he didn't feel this cold.
“Oh, so now it's my fault?” Arisu scoffed, shaking his head to fling off the rain on his hair. “Weren't you the one adamant about taking a walk today?”
“Fresh air is good for you. You've been cooped up in the apartment all week working on that game.”
“Baby, that game is paying half of our rent.”
Chishiya seemed pleased about the pet name, though he covered his emotions quickly, as always, with his typical sardonic smirk. “Then maybe you should make it pay all of our rent so I can retire early.”
“You're a doctor. You literally save lives. I make people jump at pixels on a screen.”
“Your pixels are very impressive pixels.” The older man retorted while shifting closer, and Arisu realized that his boyfriend was shivering despite how he was doing his best to hide it. The temperature had dropped with the rain, neither of them had particularly dressed themselves for this scenario, and the rain wouldn't let up for another hour. The weather app confirmed it.
“Wonderful.” Chishiya sighed and pocketed his phone. “Rain lasts for a few hours while everything else is closed because it's Sunday. Perfect planning on my part.”
Arisu blinked. In all their months together, he had seen his boyfriend looking annoyed, amused, even genuinely happy on rare occasions — but this was different. This time, the older man actually seemed disappointed, maybe even guilty that their date had gone sideways.
It tugged at his heartstrings in a way words could never describe eloquently, so he bumped their shoulders together with a smile and said, “It's just rain. We'll dry off.”
“… You're going to get sick.”
“So will you.”
“I have a better immune system than you.”
“Is that your medical opinion, Dr. Chishiya?”
Chishiya nodded stiffly while chewing on his lower lip — another tell that this whole situation was genuinely bothering him — so Arisu slipped an arm around his shoulders and pressed a brief kiss to his cold cheek to comfort him.
“We could make a run for it.” He suggested. “The apartment's only about ten minutes from here.”
“Ten minutes in this?” The older man gestured at what could only be described as a monsoon in front of them. “We'd need to swim.”
“At least we'd get home faster?” Arisu said with hope in his eyes. “Please?”
Chishiya looked up then — water droplets caught in his lashes, eyes narrowed in a way that meant his brain was already producing a list of why this idea was irrational and poorly thought out — and he braced himself for the inevitable lecture that would be coming his way.
But that didn't happen.
Instead, his boyfriend just hummed and said, “Fine. But when you're sneezing into your keyboard tomorrow, don't blame me.”
“I thought you said this wasn't your fault because ‘probably’ means uncertainty?”
“I've revised my position. This is entirely my fault, and you're allowed exactly one ‘I told you so’ when we get home.”
Arisu blinked. Chishiya admitting fault voluntarily was about as rare as a solar eclipse. “Are you feeling okay? Did you hit your head on the way here?”
“Shut up and run, Ryō.”
So they did, sprinting blindly through the rain with hands clasped tight so they wouldn't lose each other in the blur of water, and by the time they stumbled into the lobby of the apartment building, both of them were breathless, dripping, and thoroughly miserable, and Chishiya had to brace one hand against the wall to keep himself upright.
“Never again,” the older man panted, hood fallen back to reveal his completely soaked hair. “I'm becoming a hermit. I'm never leaving the apartment for the rest of my life.”
“You have to go to work tomorrow,” Arisu managed between breaths.
“I'll call in sick. Tell them I drowned.”
“You're a doctor. They'll know you're lying.”
“Then I'll actually drown myself in the shower out of spite.”
Arisu laughed despite himself, reaching up to wipe water off his face. “I'll make sure to attend your funeral if that does happen.”
“At least make the eulogy interesting.” Chishiya pushed off from the wall and headed toward the elevator with a grunt. “Say I was attacked by a rogue shower head or something.”
The elevator ride up to their apartment was mercifully short, though it left a puddle on the floor that he felt slightly guilty about. His boyfriend, on the other hand, didn't seem to share that concern, too busy trying to wring water out of his hoodie with limited success.
“This is disgusting,” Chishiya muttered, tugging at the soaked fabric clinging to his torso. “I can feel it in places fabric should never be.”
“That's what you get for wearing white in a rainstorm.” Arisu pointed out, trying very hard not to notice how the wet fabric had become almost transparent at this point. “I can practically see through that thing.”
“Then stop looking.”
“I'm your boyfriend, Shun. Looking is part of my privilege.”
“Then it is officially revoked due to poor decision-making skills.” The older man shot back with a smile, seemingly pleased by the comment, so Arisu took his chance and pressed a quick kiss to his boyfriend's lips before they reached their floor.
“That's bribery,” Chishiya huffed, though his ears had gone noticeably pink as he fumbled with the key to unlock the door.
“But it's working, isn't it?” Arisu winked cheekily, bounding into the familiar warmth of their home with a loud sigh of relief. “God, this feels so much better.”
His boyfriend, in response, just toed off his soaked shoes before padding toward the bathroom. “Get those clothes off, Ryō. Floor's all wet from your clothes.”
“Usually you at least buy me dinner first.”
“Hilarious.” The older man shot a dry look at him. “Now strip before you flood this place.”
They left a trail of soaked clothing from the entryway to the bathroom, and Arisu caught sight of their reflection in the mirror — two thoroughly bedraggled men who looked like they had gone swimming fully clothed. Chishiya's hair hung limp and dark without its usual styling, making him look younger somehow, more vulnerable.
“Shower?” He suggested, hand reaching for the control to turn it on.
“Together?” His boyfriend raised an eyebrow at the implication behind his question. “Trying to save on the water bill?”
“More like trying to make sure you don't actually drown yourself out of spite like you threatened.” Arisu turned on the spray, adjusting the temperature until steam began to fill the small space. “Also, yes, water conservation is important.”
“How noble of you.”
Despite his sarcasm, Chishiya didn't protest when he tugged him under the spray, both of them sighing in relief as hot water cascaded over cold skin. The bathroom was small enough that they had to stand close, and Arisu took the opportunity to pull his boyfriend properly into his arms.
“Hi,” he said softly.
“Hi yourself.” Chishiya's hands came up to rest on his chest, fingers splaying over his heartbeat. His boyfriend's cat-like eyes tracked over his features with an intensity that still sometimes caught him off guard. “You're taller like this.”
“I'm always taller than you.” Arisu pointed out with a grin. “By about ten centimeters if we're being precise.”
“Don't get smug about it.”
“I would never.” He said, squeezing some of the shampoo into his palm. “Turn around. I want to wash your hair today.”
Chishiya complied without putting up a fight, allowing Arisu to work the shampoo through the bleached strands with careful fingers. His boyfriend's hair was surprisingly soft when wet, and with a few gentle movement against his scalp, the man immediately melted against him with a quiet hum.
“How catlike…” He murmured, watching the way Chishiya's shoulders relaxed under his touch. “I should start keeping treats in my pocket.”
“I'd prefer cash, actually. My services don't come cheap.”
“What services? Being difficult?”
“It's a highly specialized skill set.” His boyfriend said drowsily. “Takes years to perfect, y'know…”
“I see.” Arisu chuckled in amusement, washing the shampoo off Chishiya's hair before working the conditioner through them. “Then is this a good form of repayment for you, Your Majesty?”
The older man hummed in agreement, tilting his head back to let the water rinse through his hair. They spent the rest of their shower in comfortable silence afterward, trading places so that Chishiya could wash Arisu's hair in return. Once the shower was done and they finally emerged from the steamy bathroom, both of them looked significantly more human than they had twenty minutes ago.
“I'm stealing your clothes,” Chishiya announced as he rifled through their shared closet.
“… But aren't they too big for you?”
“That's the point.” The man said, putting on an oversized hoodie that definitely belonged to Arisu and letting the hem fall to mid-thigh. “There, perfect.”
He couldn't help but stare. There was something endearing about seeing his boyfriend swimming in his clothes like this, looking soft and rumpled in a way this man rarely allowed himself to be. It was endearing, in a sense.
“You're staring,” Chishiya said without looking at him, still busy working his way through his sweatpants.
“Can you blame me? You look adorable.”
“I look practical.” The older man corrected, though his ears had gone pink again. “Your clothes are warmer than mine.”
“Mm-hmm, that's definitely the only reason you're stealing my clothes.” Arisu grinned, tugging on his own dry clothes before guiding his boyfriend into his arms. “Not that I mind, though. You look lovely like this.”
Chishiya leaned into the embrace like always, damp hair ticklish against his chin. “You're being sentimental again.”
“But I happen to like you very much, especially when you're in my clothes.” Arisu asked, pressing a kiss to those soft, blond locks of hair. “Is that a crime?”
“No, but ‘like’ is such a weak word.” The older man peered up at him, sharp eyes squinting with content. “You can do better than that.”
“Oh? You want specifics?” He smiled and cupped his boyfriend's face gently, thumbs brushing high across his cheekbones. “Alright, I love you. Better?”
“Marginally.” Chishiya nodded seriously, and Arisu couldn't help the chuckle he let out as he pulled the man closer for a kiss. It was soft and unhurried, tasting faintly of mint and the lingering sweetness of the convenience store candy his boyfriend had been eating on their walk, and for that particular moment, nothing from the world outside really mattered at all.
“You know,” he murmured when the kiss broke, “the little mishaps today made me fall for you all over again.”
Chishiya snorted at that, seemingly amused and somewhat exasperated with his sentiments. “You're ridiculous.”
“And yet you're still here.”
“Unfortunately,” his boyfriend muttered into the soft fabric of his sweater. “Someone has to make sure you don't survive on convenience store food and caffeine alone.”
“Is that your way of saying you love me too?”
“Don't push your luck.”
Arisu shook his head with a smile, hand catching his boyfriend’s fingers and brought them to his lips to kiss them softly, and in the reflection of those catlike eyes, he saw every star he ever cared to wish on.