Going out on a two hour stroll is bound to be exhausting, but when it's pacing your living room with a phone in hand, you tend to forget the effort involved. There is nothing more stressful than waiting for a phone call, especially when it's from your boyfriend. You tend to be nervous and constantly on edge, jumping at any abstract sound and becoming conscious of your appearance every other second. The anticipation is of course increased when the phone fails to ring at the arranged time, and you hear no further word from your chosen correspondent for a worryingly long time. And, as impossible as this may sound; the feeling of unease is heightened immensely by the presence of an ominous storm outside.
This is the situation in which you found yourself on the 21st of October, the day you had organised to be the 15th date with your first boyfriend, Yamazaki Sousuke. He was renowned for being extremely precise and having accurate timing, so the fact that his call was 2 hours late alarmed you considerably. This lead to you double and triple checking the connection and batteries of your phone - just to be on the safe side - before finally reaching the aforementioned conclusion that Sousuke was late.
You were so alert to any noise, that the sudden ringing of your doorbell startled you out of your musings. After reminding yourself that your family was out of town and would be unable to answer the door, you placed the phone reluctantly down on the coffee table and headed out into the hall. The rain was pounding on the glass panes set into the front door, so you were unable to see anything outside, apart from the blurred outline of a tall figure waiting on the doorstep. Too worried to feel any apprehension, you unlocked the door and opened it, a cold gust of wind ruffling your skirt as it intruded into your home.
You looked up into the face of the man standing before you. He had an odd familiarity about him, even as he was looking at the drenched concrete floor below him. His stance, his clothing, even the way he was roughly breathing seemed to remind you of someone. And it was only when you saw his sopping wet, dark brown hair that you recognised him.
"Sousuke?!" you cried, dashing out into the rain.
"Don't come out here! Idiot," Sousuke snapped, extending an arm to push you back over the threshold. "You'll freeze to death in that outfit."
You glanced down at your short skirt and t-shirt, before staring at him sceptically, wondering what the difference was between what you were wearing and his t-shirt and jeans. But before you could say a word, Sousuke collapsed before your eyes and began coughing violently, too distracted to stop you running forward a second time.
The rain hit you with the force of a small car as you left the safety of your porch, running to your boyfriend's side and dragging him to his feet, insistently pushing him inside the house and kicking the door closed behind you. You guided Sousuke into the living room, leaving puddles of rainwater on the polished wooden floors. He sank down into a chair and regained control of his breathing, trying to speak but only managing a hoarse whisper. You rushed into the kitchen and boiled the kettle, quickly brewed a pot of scalding hot tea and hurried back into the living room. Sousuke mumbled his thanks as you handed him the mug.
He wrapped his hands tightly around it and extended his chin forward, so that the steam that rose out of the boiling liquid could warm his face. His dark hair was dripping onto the chair he sat in and he looked bedraggled and soaked to the skin. You sat down sympathetically beside him and registered the gratitude in his turquoise eyes as he gulped down the tea.
"I'm sorry, your seat is all wet," he said apologetically, draining his mug and setting it down on the table.
"It's fine," you breathed quietly, surprised that he could even be worrying about that in his current state. "Why on earth were you standing out in the rain? I thought you were going to call and arrange to come by my house in a taxi."
"That was the plan," Sousuke explained. "But I had some difficulties. For a start, some filthy thief stole my jacket on the way out of my house. And he took my phone and wallet with me, so I couldn't call you or pay for a taxi. Anyway, as I was walking over here it started to rain, so I went to shelter inside a cafe by the main road, but I was thrown out of there when they realised I wasn't going to buy anything. An unpleasant little shop, to tell the truth. So I had no choice but to keep walking over here, but as you can see, the rain was quite relentless."
Shock filled you after hearing his tale and you felt so guilty for asking him out here in the first place, that you raised your arm and made to put it around his shoulders, only to find it knocked out of the way.
"As much as I appreciate the offer," Sousuke said, blocking your arm with his hand. "I don't want you getting cold and wet."
You smiled softly at him, taking the mug from the table and stashing it safely back in the cupboard. Luckily, your family wouldn't be returning until late that night, so you had plenty of time to clean the house before they arrived home. The last thing you needed was a telling-off. As you sauntered back into the living room, unsure of what to do next, you noticed that Sousuke had begun to shiver violently, although he was doing his best to control and hide it.
"Come with me," you said, in a more demanding tone than usual. "You need a hot shower. No, don't argue. You've caught a chill, and unless you want to spend the night in hospital, you'll listen to me. Ok?"
Sousuke nodded and got to his feet, kicking off his sopping trainers before taking your outstretched hand and following you up the stairs, tripping occasionally due to the numbness in his legs. You pulled him into the bathroom and closed the door, turning on the shower and holding your hand under the gentle flow of water until it had reached the desired temperature.
"Stay in there until you're clean and warm," you ordered, draping a towel over the back of a chair for him to use. "I'll go find something dry for you to wear."
You closed the door as you exited the bathroom, making your way into your parent's bedroom and pulling open a drawer as you heard the muffled sound of the shower door opening and closing. Smiling to yourself because he'd finally done what you'd told him for once; you rooted through your father's clothes until your found a pair of loose jeans and a white cotton shirt that looked like they might fit. You walked back down the hall, carefully carrying the folded clothes, and knocked twice on the bathroom door before entering.
As the two of you had already slept together, you had no problem walking in on him in the shower. As it was, the intense heat from the water had condensed and misted the glass, so all you could make out was, once again, an unfocused body outline.
"I'll leave some clothes on the chair with your towel!" you shouted, raising your voice so you could be heard over the running water.
"Thanks," grunted Sousuke, opening the door a little to wave his hand around. "Do you have any shampoo I can use?"
"Oh, sure. I'll just get it,"
You hurried over to your shelf in the shared family bathroom, and picked the bottle of shampoo that would smell the least girly. After you had passed it to your boyfriend and closed the door for him, you caught sight of the pile of his discarded, drenched clothes and decided to put it through the wash. You gathered them up and carried them at arm's length, wanting to avoid becoming as freezing cold and wet as they were. However, as you were separating them and throwing them into the wash-box, you noticed that Sousuke's shoulder brace was among them, and it was just as soaked as the rest of his clothes. Unsure as to what to do with it, you draped it carefully over the corner of the radiator in the upstairs hall, hoping that it would dry quickly and without damage.
When you returned to the bathroom, you found Sousuke to be out of the shower and already fully dressed. The jeans were the perfect length and only a little too loose around the waist. The cream coloured shirt you had picked out suited him down to the bone and that, along with the fact that you knew he wasn't wearing any underwear or socks, made him almost irresistably sexy. This feeling just about doubled when he turned to face you and you noticed that he had left the shirt unbuttoned, exposing his perfectly toned chest and stomach.
"Thanks for the clothes," he said, picking up the towel and draping it a little messily back over the chair. "Although my fingers don't seem to be working properly, so I couldn't do the buttons."
You laughed softly, walking towards him and putting your hands around his neck, trailing your fingers through his slightly damp hair until they reached the shirt collar. You slowly began to fasten each button skilfully, never once taking your eyes away from his face. You continued this movement until each button was fastened, apart from one at the bottom (which left his abdomen on show) and two at the top (which tactfully allowed you to see his chest and collarbones).
"You didn't have to do that..." Sousuke muttered, resting a hand on your waist and looking at the floor.
"But I wanted to," you replied, reaching your arm back up again to lay gently on his uninjured shoulder.
He wrapped his other arm around your back, wincing slightly at the twinge in his shoulder, before he pulled you towards him and tenderly kissed you. It still amazed you how someone so strong and powerful could be so gentle and loving. Despite his rough good-looks, Sousuke wasn't your typical pretty boy, but a kind and considerate boyfriend. That, and the fact that he had become a lot more vulnerable since he'd injured his shoulder.
He broke the kiss, wincing a little more noticeably as he let his arms drop to his sides. You gazed compassionately at him and entwined your fingers with his, picking up a fresh, warm towel from the radiator nearby and guiding him out of the bathroom and into your bedroom. He followed obediently, chuckling to himself as the two of you walked past the radiator where you had done your best to arrange his shoulder support.
As your parents weren't at home, you had no need to close the bedroom door for some privacy, so you pushed him immediately down onto your bed and knelt down behind him. You draped the towel over his head - covering his eyes cheekily - and began to rub his hair dry, pausing every few minutes to plant loving kisses along the sides of his neck, just where you knew he liked it the most. Sousuke's breathing soon became deep and slow as the moisture was removed from his slightly fluffy locks.
"I think my shampoo had a nice effect!" you giggled, throwing the towel aside and ruffling his hair. "Now you're a little teddy bear!"
"Shut up!" Sousuke laughed, leaping away from you and flattening his hair.
You threw the towel onto your desk and grabbed him around the waist, practically pulling him on top of you as you both fell into a heap on the bed. You squeezed him tightly, hugging him into you and burying your face in the crook of his neck. You couldn't deny it, he smelled wonderful; like spotless, sparkling clothes and soft, silky hair.
His body had gone limp and, although he was unable to hug you back, you could tell he was happy to be close to you. He sighed deeply, reaching a hand behind him to press your face closer to his injured shoulder.
"My shoulder's been really bad lately," he admitted, brushing your hair out of your face. "Your warm breath feels really nice."
You pushed him gently into a sitting position and once again sat behind him, trailing your fingers over his bruised shoulder-blade with soothing tenderness, pressing down tactfully with your palms in the places that felt the most agitated. Even through his shirt, you could feel the swollen heat emanating from Sousuke's unfortunate injury, the injury that had crushed his dreams of becoming a professional swimmer.
"That doesn't hurt, does it?" you asked quietly, squeezing the edge of his shoulder between your hands.
Sousuke shook his head almost tiredly by means of a response, a low groan escaping his lips as you dug your thumb into his back. You rubbed wide circles with your fingers, allowing the sensation of his ridged muscles to travel through your arms and up to your chest, creating a fond feeling of affection for the man who was close to falling asleep in your arms.
"Damn, that's good," he sighed gratifyingly, rolling his head forward to stretch his neck. "Could you use more pressure?"
"Sure," you replied quietly, pushing your knuckles into his tender skin and extracting another pleasurable moan from your boyfriend.
You continued your ministrations until you were practically holding Sousuke up, with one hand still tending to his shoulder, and the other wrapper around his front, occasionally stroking his chest whilst gripping his body closer to yours. This continued for quite some time, until Sousuke eventually unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it down to hang around his elbows. This allowed your warm fingers to come in contact with his skin, which was a painful carmine red colour. You breathed in sharply upon seeing it - this was the first time you had seen his shoulder exposed without the brace - and you touched him with more care and awareness now you could see what you were dealing with.
The rain was still pouring down outside, rudely hammering on your bedroom window and trying to interrupt your peaceful moment. Sousuke's tired eyes had drifted closed and his body was loose and relaxed; you smirked to yourself as you realized that this was down to you. Leaning forward, you pushed him into your pillows and whispered softly in his ear.
"Lie down for me?" you asked, settling down behind him and tugging his shirt even further down his strong arms.
His consent was all the response you received, but you were too distracted to care. The heat from his muscled, tanned back was almost overwhelming, and your heartbeat increased even more as he reached his legs back and entwined them with yours. You leant forward and kissed his bruised shoulder, earning yourself yet another peaceful sound of bliss from his beautiful lips.
"Tired..." he mumbled, shrugging his shirt back over his shoulders and rolling over to gaze sleepily into your face. "Can we stay here for a while?"
"Of course," you replied, gently stroking the side of his cheek with an outstretched finger. "We can stay as long as you want."
And with that, Sousuke closed his eyes and pulled you tightly into a back-to-chest embrace, causing you to blush slightly as you felt his muscles clearly due to his unbuttoned shirt. You grinned before tightly gripping his hands that were holding your waist to his, allowing your own eyes to drift closed. Before you knew what had happened, the room was filled with the faint sound of two dreaming people.
Your eyelids fluttered open several hours later after you were woken by a muffled sound. You turned your head slightly, careful not to wake the still sleeping Sousuke, and glanced towards your bedroom door. Your eyes were not fully open, so your mother didn't see you looking at her. However you clearly saw her peeking through the gap in the door. She had a small, happy smile playing around her face as she watched the two of you snuggling in your bed. You resisted the temptation to throw her out, as well as holding back a delighted whoop when you realised it had stopped raining. It was pitch black outside now; the two of you must have slept for quite some time.
Sousuke had started to stir, mumbling unrecognisable words in your ear as he held you even closer to him. Your mother slowly backed out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her as she left.
"Looks like you're staying the night," you said amusedly, your voice still thick with sleep. "Are you comfortable enough?"
"With you by my side, how could I not be?" he replied, making your heart ache with love for him in that wonderful way he always did. "Now stop talking. Wanna sleep..."
You giggled, brushing your hair out of your face and squeezing his hands tightly again.
It wasn't long after this that you both fell sound asleep again, your heads filled with thoughts of each other. The two of you, and the everlasting care that you shared.