1.
The window is open. It shouldn't have, but Misaki likes fresh air more than air conditioner (Which they don't have – but that's just domesticated ice wind anyway, he laughs at his own joke). The fan looks like it will spin its propeller away any given moment. A loose screw somewhere. Maybe three.
"Hey, Saru. You said you fixed it."
Saruhiko clicks his tongue. And sighs. And turns on his side. Far far away from the yellow light. The sun can't kill him if he pretends he doesn't exist.
"It's trash. I make trash work for a week. I'm a fucking genius."
It's not that cooler on the floor. If anything, it feels like lying on a frying pan. A cheap ass sticky frying pan.
"It's too hot, I think I'm melting," Misaki rolls on his stomach. Then rolls back. Then rolls to Saruhiko, their head nearly touching.
"Yeah. Hi. I'm a puddle," Saruhiko grumbles, but there is no bite.
"We could mop the floor with our sweat by now."
"That's a gross line of thought."
"I know right?"
"I hate summer." A sigh.
"My birthday is in July!" A poke.
"That doesn't even have to do with anything we're talking about." A light kick.
"July is in summer, you jerk." A soft slap.
The streets are silent. There are birds chirping outside. The fan is creaking. They can't afford an air conditioner. Their little fridge never makes enough ices. Nothing to do except nonsense talking.
"Saruuuuuu, this sucks so so so much. Is it the end of the world? Have we died already and this is hell?"
"Misaki, it's called global warming."
(Well. They never admit that they don't mind summer That Much.)
2.
Midday got the town deserted. The sky is too blue to be called blue. Perhaps the scorching sun has burnt all the clouds away ("It really works that way?" Misaki sounds almost believing. How silly. 100 points).
Clothes stick to their body like a second skin. Having fire singing in their blood doesn't help. Saruhiko sweeps his glasses for the sixteenth time. Five minutes later, he does it again, but with Misaki's baggy shirt.
"I would let you borrow a pair of shorts, you know. And a shirt that isn't black," The redhead scowls.
Two seconds of pausing.
"…No thanks."
Two seconds of pausing is already too much information.
"Yeah, yeah, you're so freaking stubborn for someone who's gonna get a heat stroke."
"I'm not," Saruhiko scowls back.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, could have fooled me." Eyes rolling up to his forehead, Misaki drags the other boy down a nearby bench. Protected by the shade of a large tree, they are safe from the heat."Coke or ice cream?"
Saruhiko gives up on being tough. "Tsk. Ice cream."
"Vanilla or chocolate?"
"Lemon."
"Huh? What brought that up? You never tried lemon flavor before," Misaki raises an eyebrow. He's only waved away lazily without a word.
Twenty minutes and two lemon ice creams later, Saruhiko finds out that the myth about first kisses is, apparently, absolutely correct.
(Misaki accidentally lets it slip later, and the whole bar laughs like there's no tomorrow. Chitose laughs the loudest.)
3.
Curiosity kills the cat once. Rivalry kills all the cats all nine lives.
"I-I won't l-lose to you!"
"H-Hah? You're too g-green for winning!"
There they are. Riding the longest, fastest, meanest roller coaster until they feel sick. Then riding it again. Then again. Then – wait – does the park always burst fireworks at 10 in the morning?
(They did this to themselves. Really, they deserve every second of it.)
"T-T…T…Tim-e ou-out…"
Misaki swears he could physically eat sunshine right now. It tastes like a spoiled ketchup-flavored cotton candy. Should go pretty well with a cup of the tears of his enemy.
In the meantime, said enemy may or may not produce more kinds of liquid other than tears.
"Ughh…You okay?"
Raspy breathy sound rattles in the air. Saruhiko lies flat on his stomach, arms stretching out, unmoving. A "Do not step on the grasses" sign is right above his head. Poor grasses. May you be trees next time.
"I guess that's a not-okay."
Sighing, Misaki takes his upon himself to carry the half-corpse to a coffee shop nearby. Putting Saruhiko in a chair. Calling two cold drinks. Wiping his face. Taking off his shirt—okay, no, no, that's too much. What's more? Hm. Taking his own red jacket off, folding it, letting Saruhiko use it as a pillow. Pulling the glasses away too.
Misaki takes a long time just staring after that.
"Heh. It is totally my win."
He ruffles Saruhiko's hair up until it looks like a hedgehog. A soft, sleepy, snuggy hedgehog.
Wait.
Where did that snuggy part come from?
"Shit. That roller coaster screwed me up too. Or maybe it's the heat. Definitely the heat. It's hotter the higher up, right? Stupid weather."
His face isn't burning at all. He isn't scratching his head At All.
Nope.
(Now there are two snuggy hedgehogs in the coffee shop.)
4.
Summer storms come fast. The rain is unmerciful. The apple tree on the opposite road from their window has been struck by lightning. There's no electricity. No food, either. (They both refuse to do groceries on Sunday. That's what happens when you divide housework by odd and even days.)
"Hey Saru, do you think we can collect the fallen apples? They may as well be apple pies now."
"Let's not do that. You'll be cursed."
"C-C-Cursed?"
"Yeah. The bogeyman told me so."
"What the fuck!?"
Saruhiko wraps the thin blanket around them tighter. It's cold and wet and rumbling outside. They should just wait inside until the storm is over. Here they have warm blankets and dry lips and steady heartbeats. Even if it's dark.
"Geez. I'm hungry. It's all your fault. I already bought food the last Sunday."
"We should sleep the time away. You'll forget being hungry soon."
Misaki leans back against his partner's chest a little.
"Fine. We can't do anything like this anyway."
Saruhiko smirks.
"We can't do anything? I just told you we can sleep the time away."
(And then, it becomes hot touches and swollen lips and wild heartbeats.)
5.
Their road trip is long. They stop at several stations to refill gas. Fastfood restaurants serve greasy chips and tasteless hamburgers, but the soda is good. Family restaurants get grilled fishes done nicely, but they throw away the tea. They see mountains and flowerbeds. They see cities and rice fields. They see coastlines and silver lining waves. And they see misty dawns and hazy noons and orange sunsets and nights full of stars.
(Saruhiko always speeds up when the highway is empty. Misaki always opens the window to let the wind blow through their hair. They always smile when their favorite songs come up on the radio.)
"So…?" Misaki grins.
"So what?" Saruhiko looks away.
"You never told me what's up with this trip. You think you can just drag me everywhere for days without an explanation?" Misaki grins even wilder.
"What are you suddenly being so smug about…" Saruhiko looks away even further.
A white small box is placed between them. Along with another red box, much smaller.
The back seat is too small to run away.
"I can't believe you. You can be such a hopeless romantic scaredy-cat, Saruhiko. What if I never find them?"
"Well you found them now so—"
"So?"
"So…" Saruhiko sighs, holding the white box up. "Happy Birthday."
"Thank you," Misaki takes the box, yet the grin stays. "Soooooo…?"
It's hot, and
Summer Love is playing on the radio, and
The green leaves are rustling, and
The road is empty, and
The birds are chirping, and
Misaki is smiling, and
"So," Saruhiko feels like he isn't holding a red box but a sun instead, "So. Marry me."
(That isn't even a question, but he gets a hell yes anyway.)