First We Get Nice And Wet

There are days that are unbearably boring, and there are days that might seem unbearably boring to an outsider but are, in reality, relaxing to the parties involved. These tend to be the same days, viewed from different angles.

Atsushi and En were the type of couple to cherish those uneventful days. They both liked silent activities one could engage in home alone - reading, watching TV, doing jigsaw puzzles, sleeping... And they were totally comfortable doing those things in each other's company without saying a word. They would head at either one's place after school and sit or lie there in silence for hours, neither of them wondering for a second if it was weird or awkward. It was them in their natural habitat.

Of course, this didn't mean they never did anything. Atsushi never forced En into anything other than getting to school on time and eating his vegetables, but lucky for them both, En had his sudden bursts of motivation. Sometimes he would just snap awake and throw in a suggestion such as "we should go explore that forest near my grandmother's place", often followed by a weak protest ("En-chan, it's a three hour train ride") that was never even intended to stop them. Atsushi liked these unexpected moments, despite how much En would complain when they actually did the thing.

But if En managed to catch Atsushi off guard before, it was a whole another story now that they were dating. En always was unreserved but lately, Atsushi felt like his boyfriend's ideas were even more... unconventional.

"Hey, Atsushi," started En with that draggy voice of his on yet another completely uneventful Saturday, "Do you think we could take a shower together?"

Atsushi was just adjusting his glasses and poked himself in the eye.

"Ow! I- wha- WHAT was that, En-chan?"

En reached over from the bed he was lying on and gently brushed Atsushi's cheek, making sure he wasn't hurt before continuing.

"It's something couples do in countries where they don't bathe much, right? They take showers together." He sat up. "Maybe it feels closer. Plus, it would be nice to have someone wash your hair and back for you. Stretching arms is a pain."

"I don't know, En-chan..." muttered Atsushi looking down, "that sounds... very intimate."

En snorted.

"Atsushi, we basically sit on each other's laps every time we're alone in the bath. And that isn't close to the most intimate thing we do."

Atsushi threw his notebook at En, trying and failing to scowl without smiling. En laughed.

"But would even work in practice?" asked Atsushi. "A shower is already a cramped space for one person, how did you think it could fit two?"

En shrugged. "They just gotta be close. That's the whole point, isn't it?"

Atsushi still looked doubtful, but En thought he also saw a hint of curiosity in those brown eyes.

"We wouldn't even get caught you know," he continued in a lower tone, "Your parents shouldn't be home until tomorrow."

A couple of seconds of staring seemed to do the trick, as Atsushi finally gave in.

"Fine. We both need to wash up anyway, so let's try it then. But just this once!"

Two minutes later the two boyfriends stood awkwardly in the bathroom, glancing at each other, trying to figure out how to both fit in the narrow shower stall. En finally grabbed Atsushi's wrist and stepped under the shower, pulling him along. "Can't be that hard, can it?" He asked and turned it on. Atsushi squealed as the water hit him and hopped closer to En.

So there they stood, under the warm, running water, Atsushi with one of his arms on En's back, En still holding Atsushi's wrist, both gazing into each other's eyes.

It is simple, trivial moments like this when you truly realize the beauty of life and everything it offers. Atsushi and En saw one another, looked at one another, appreciated one another countless times each and every day. Being up close and personal was nothing new to them, and they had even gotten used to being near each other naked long before starting dating. But there was still something about looking at the one you love through wet eyelashes and hair and falling water, something magical. Maybe it's the same effect as kissing in the rain in romance movies, who knows. But kissing was what the boys ended up doing. Of course they needed to keep them short to breathe in between (En had never given gills a thought before but man, did he wish he had some now) and not digesting too much water was a struggle (Atsushi called it, he knew it was going to be impractical), but who would let such minor inconveniences get in the way of showing your love?

After some pleasant minutes of kissing, embracing and tender touching, Atsushi leaned his forehead on En's and finally spoke up.

"This is exactly what you were planning, isn't it, En-chan?"

En merely hummed and gave Atsushi's nose a small peck, squeezing his skinny arms a little tighter. This told Atsushi enough; of course he knew by now that En didn't really plan things and preferred going with the flow, but he also knew his boyfriend had tricks up his sleeve and MIGHT have been planning a make-out season all along. Maybe without realizing it himself.

He still reminded En that a shower was meant to be used for cleaning oneself, and that that was what they really should be doing.

So En wordlessly closed the tap, reached for a bottle of shampoo, poured some on his hand and started rubbing it in Atsushi's hair. This, of course, took him by surprise.

"Eh... What are you doing, En-chan?" He exclaimed. En's expression shifted just slightly into a more amused one, a change probably unnoticeable for anyone who didn't know him as well as Atsushi did.

"I'm washing you."

"Why are you washing me, I can do it myself!"

En chuckled, reclaiming the shampoo bottle. "Of course you can, you're a big boy already."

"Says the old man."

"Oi!"

"Turn around, I'll wash your back like you wanted so much."

Silence fell between the two again as En applied shampoo into his hair and Atsushi rubbed soap on En's back. He made sure to do his job properly, but didn't forget placing tender kisses on En's shoulders, neck and back or changing his touches into something more light and teasing every once in a while. En shivered at every such contact, which in turn made Atsushi's lips curl into a small but devious smile.

He grabbed En by those wide shoulders he loved so much, leaned forward, and whispered right into his beloved one's ear: "Do you think we're ready to rinse yet?"

En turned his head as much as he could from the angle he was in noting, once again, that Atsushi's eyelashes were indeed long and sexy, and grinned lazily.

"Yeah, think so."

Atsushi rinsed En's back, En took care of his own hair and turned to do the same for Atsushi despite his oppositions (nothing but a habit by now - he was smiling the whole time). They finished washing up eventually - after getting distracted in various ways more than once or twice - and returned to Atsushi's room.

"Well? Did you enjoy your shower?" asked En with that cheeky, lazy and damn sexy voice of his and snuggled closer to Atsushi under the covers.

Atsushi's already closed eyelids closed even more and he hoped he wasn't blushing. "You know we both had fun, En-chan," answered Atsushi. God, he really was awful at concealing smiles.

"We could have even more fun, you know," En said with a smirk, sliding his hand on Atsushi's back a little lower.

Atsushi sighed and opened his eyes to look at his boyfriend. One would think that cuddling with someone as lazy as En would be peaceful but… No.

"I just changed the sheets. And we would have to take another shower." You didn't even need to know En as well as Atsushi did to know he hated getting up once he settled on a flat surface.

En stopped his hand just above Atsushi's bottom.

"... I think I could manage that. If we do it together."

Atsushi chuckled and lifted his chin enough to kiss En properly. Maybe another figurative love shower wouldn't be too bad, with the person he loved so much.