Tetsuya could feel his shirt clinging to his back, his bare thighs sticking to the wood beneath them. He'd moved to the floor on the assumption it'd be cooler but when even the air was hanging hot and heavy around him, it was no use.
The idle buzzing of the electric fan in the corner intermingled with the chirping of bugs outside and lulled him into a mind-numbing daze, leaving him to stare at the bright blue patch of sky through the open door with no remorse. When he finally blinked, the sun had left black spots in his vision; when they cleared, Daiki had appeared, looming above him with a glass of water in each hand.
The ice cubes clinked as he set one down beside Tetsuya's head. Condensation was already forming. Tetsuya sat up, grabbing the glass and bringing it to his lips. "Thank you," he murmured before taking a sip that lasted several moments. When he put the glass down, it was half-drained.
Daiki consumed his own drink just as quickly. Flopping down, he joined Tetsuya on the floor, sprawling limbs crowding his own for space. For a while, neither of them moved, content to lay there, desperately wishing for a breeze to spring up.
Eventually, Daiki spoke. "Want to have sex?"
"Too hot," Tetsuya replied, unfazed.
The next question came much more hesitantly. "Want to play basketball?"
"Too hot," Tetsuya repeated and almost felt bad about his answer when Daiki fell silent again. He knew very well what a fragile thing they'd regained, as well as how easily it could fall apart again. There were some days when things worked, when Daiki smiled, without a care and burden-free; but there were other times when Tetsuya wanted nothing more than to screw his eyes shut and forget everything, sure that they would never make it.
In the half a year they'd advanced together — step by tentative step — Daiki had only asked for a game a few times and Tetsuya usually indulged him. Even now, lacking the energy to bristle, he could feel Daiki simply withdrawing, unsure of how much he could ask for, unaware that Tetsuya wondered the same.
So he reached out, hand sliding along the floor until his fingers brushed Daiki's. "In the evening," he amended and that was enough for that warm grip to tighten. The heat exchanged between their hands increased, became a link that connected them as the sun illuminated the room.