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The sudden downpour caught both of them by surprise.
It was completely unprecedented— it seemed to be just another hot, sweltering summer day up until that point. Not that Parad paid much attention to the weather outside. Bugsters were usually unbothered by changes in temperature or humidity, and he spent most of Emu's shift lounging around in the windowless CR anyway.
They were about halfway home when it started, having just rounded the corner past the little playground. Emu had squinted, holding a hand out to check for rain as Parad trailed behind him. His eyes were still fixed on the handheld he insisted on playing on the way back, and he only knew it was raining when a fat droplet landed on the display. The water warped his party's and the Demon Lord's 8-bit sprites. Eventually, the drizzle found its footing and turned into a proper shower— there was so much water on the little screen that it looked like his party members were drowning.
Transfixed, he only looked away from the pitiful sight when Emu called for him.
He was led summarily to some sleepy-looking storefront as they took shelter from the rain. Emu was completely soaked. Parad was, too. One of the conveniences of being an entity composed of data was that he had the ability to change aspects of his form. This meant that his waterlogged coat could very easily be reset to its default settings. But he didn't, instead sweeping wet curls of hair out of his eyes as he took in Emu's profile.
"Doesn't look like it'll stop anytime soon," Emu said, and sighed. Parad believed him; by now the downpour had intensified. Even the playground looked dreary when viewed from behind the thick curtain of rain, he thought. "Sorry, Parad."
They'd had plans to play the newest installment of that fighting game series once they got home. A reward, Emu had said, for being on his best behavior all week while his host endured one emergency call after another. They hadn't even seen one another much that week. Emu often had to communicate through their link that he wouldn't be able to walk home together with Parad that evening, too busy with something or another. Those times, he simply teleported home. There was no point to that long walk back without his company.
Emu had once said that it would be nice if Parad became accustomed to a more human way of living. That meant walking and eating and sleeping, though a Bugster needed none of those things. Poppy was able to become integrated into human society as Karino Asuna because she was used to living like one. She was recognized as an independent being and could apply for things like credit cards and loans, and possibly more, though at this point in Emu's lecture he had already tuned his host's voice out.
Parad had answered that he didn't mind being Emu's Bugster. That there was no point to pantomiming and pretending to be human, forgoing the conveniences that being a Bugster allowed him. He didn't mind being dependent on Emu— he hadn't planned on living separately or finding a life outside of games and CR and Emu anyway.
For some reason, this answer saddened Emu. He said nothing, of course, but their unique bond allowed him to parse his true feelings. Emu's sadness reverberated inside him, ping-ponging off the data-built walls of his hollow insides.
Eventually, he agreed to walk home, though it took thirty more minutes than necessary. He sat at the breakfast table, though it did nothing to nourish his inhuman body. He accepted the spare futon from a smiling Emu, though he could do nothing but lie awake for six hours at night, listening to Emu's soft breathing all the while.
Maybe all of this acquiescing caused a fault in his internal logic somewhere. Ordinarily, he would have already refreshed his appearance. He disliked the additional weight that came with wearing wet clothes. He would have— should have teleported home and brought back an umbrella for Emu so that they could get home faster. Those were things that only a Bugster like him could do. It made sense to use his abilities.
But Emu had seemed so relieved when he met Parad outside the hospital, waiting for him so that they could walk home together. It didn't take a Bugster-human link to feel the weight fall off the overworked Emu's shoulders. He could only deduce that these little inconveniences somehow brought Emu joy.
Emu pointed at the handheld, as if finally noticing its presence. "Ah, jeez. I hope that's water-proof," he said, pulling a miraculously-dry handkerchief from his pocket and wiping the worst of the raindrops off the screen as Parad held it. Emu's proximity meant that Parad could feel the body heat radiate off his host in waves. "The older models are probably tougher, but..."
Parad made a small, affirmative noise, focusing on the feel of Emu's hands brushing against his own. "I've beaten this game already. Doesn't matter." He was in the middle of a challenge run, so it actually did kind of matter. He immediately decided it didn't though, because it got Emu to fret like this, and that was better than any completion screen.
"Doesn't matter?" Emu echoed. "These things aren't cheap, you know. It'll be a while until I can buy you a new one." But then he got a good look at the display and granted Parad the luxury of a small, geniune smile. "Looks like it's still working, though. Why are you running an all-white-mage party?"
"Game's boring on default settings," he murmured. The topic of his handheld was forgotten as he leaned in closer.
Kisses. Those were a human thing, too. His education, composed of video games and the occasional TV show, included scenes of humans kissing. Strictly speaking, a Bugster did not need to express affection. He could have let the moment pass. There was a non-zero chance Emu would dislike it, anyhow, and Parad had been trying to get on Emu's bad side less these days. He could have instead followed it up with a cheeky comment about how Emu hadn't even started a challenge on this game yet.
...His internal logic was, again, faulty. There was no need to hesitate, was there? So he kissed Emu.
Emu kissed him back.
Alone well into high school, Emu had had no romantic partners for 18 years and Parad knew this fact well. He certainly drew the eye of a few girls, but Emu— no, M had no time for them. There were competitions to be won. After his separation, though, Parad had no idea.
There was, at least, no technique to be felt from this kiss. It was clumsy and awkward. Nothing that suggested a previous partner or that Emu had found someone during Parad's absence. Emu's crooked front teeth knocked into Parad's. It was nothing like the painstakingly-drawn CGs he had glimpsed in otome games, nor the lengthy kiss scene he had seen in a daytime drama.
But Emu's heart swelled with emotion that filled the hollow space within Parad's body and made him feel whole. Through their connection, he could feel an overwhelming sense of joy and relief and affection. He was happy. Emu was happy. The rain, his clothes, the human charade; anything and everything stopped bothering him as much.
They kissed one last time, Parad chasing Emu's lips as his host pulled away with a smile. "We suck at this."
"We can always practice."
"When we get home, you mean," Emu said.
And because the rain wouldn't let up, because he was growing used to these human inconveniences for Emu's sake, or maybe simply because he wanted to kiss Emu some more, Parad strode out into the downpour and out of their makeshift shelter. The rain chilled his body, and made his heavy clothes even heavier. He really could have teleported.
Instead, he pulled Emu out into the rain with him. Emu suffered through all the same things he did, and he exclaimed as they were both caught in the freezing rain. It should have been miserable. Parad should have found it inconvenient. But they ran and laughed all the way home, and he thought for a moment that playing human wasn't so bad after all.