Calm. Surrounded.
"…Yasutomo…"
"Mph… What."
Despite being the first to speak, Shinkai remained silent, looking down at the dozing raven whose head occupied his lap, gently rocking the porch swing to-and-fro.
It was the beginning of May, and the thunderstorms were starting to roll in, thus resulting in club activities postponed until the weather turned less treacherous. All of the Hakone team had the drive to practice in the rain, but once the lightning made its appearance, the team was forbidden to practice, at least at school, for safety reasons.
Hence Shinkai's current position, on the swing on his front porch, Arakita dozing beside him, as they watched the rain fall and the lightning streak across the sky, listening to the quiet birdsong of a single bird in a tree nearby. It was a very grey day, and even at nearly noon, there was hardly any natural light to be had.
Nonetheless, the two still enjoyed the view of newly blossoming leaves and grass, all turned electric green by the rainfall, the bark of the trees black with water and contrasting in the way that you only see during early spring.
It was times like this where Shinkai felt the most at peace, calmed by the rain, surrounded by love.
It was chilly, but the house shielded them from a minor wind, and a light jacket would suffice in keeping them warm. Though Shinkai was wondering, at this point, if he even needed one with Arakita draped over him. The raven was very warm, which probably added to his sleepy state.
Now the raven in question finally opened his eyes a smidge, irritated at being called out to seemingly without a reason. "What do you want, dumbass?"
Shinkai chuckled and smoothed down a tuft of Arakita's hair that had been blown astray, gently trailing the back of his hand down a pale cheek. "Sorry, I thought you were asleep."
Arakita made a lackluster growling noise. "So you're in the habit of talking to people while they're asleep? Sounds like something you'd do." He grumbled and rolled over on the swing, a feat in itself, to press his face to Shinkai's stomach, breathing out a small sigh and relaxing once more.
Shinkai smiled and continued to run his fingers through Arakita's hair, smoothing out nonexistent tangles and gently massaging his scalp. Arakita made a small purring noise, content in all aspects.
The two of them dozed for a while longer, before a sudden, loud clap of thunder caused Shinkai to jump, jostling Arakita. The raven stretched, sitting up. "Wanna go inside? It's getting cold out anyway."
Shinkai shrugged, but instead of getting up, he wrapped his arms around Arakita's waist and hoisted him over to sit sideways in his lap.
Arakita smacked the side of his head, not hard, but enough to get his point across. "The fuck do you think you're doing!?"
Anyone else may have thought he was vehemently against being pulled so close to the redhead, but his words contradicted the way he almost instantly relaxed against Shinkai's chest.
Shinkai gently ran a hand over Arakita's lower back, and Arakita relaxed further, bringing his knees up to half-curl around Shinkai.
Arakita sighed in resignation, slowly bringing his arms around Shinkai's neck, resting his cheek against the redhead's and closing his eyes.
Shinkai nuzzled him for a moment, and then turned to press a kiss to his cheek. Arakita turned to face him and they bumped noses, and Shinkai was surprised to see Arakita smiling.
It was small, but it was still there. The usually-grumpy, foul-mouthed, bad-tempered all-rounder was smiling something other than his maniac grin, or a devious smirk. Arakita was genuinely smiling, and he was smiling at him, and Shinkai felt like he was melting.
Then Arakita leaned forward and kissed the end of his nose, and Shinkai had to wonder if he was dreaming.
"You're not dreaming, moron." The insult was said without even a trace of malice, almost affectionately. At Shinkai's questioning look he huffed a laugh. "It was written all over your face. I believe the word I'm looking for is 'star-struck'."
Arakita grinned, and Shinkai leaned forward again to press his lips to Arakita's cheek. The raven gasped softly and Shinkai kissed his way across his face, brushing his lips over Arakita's cheeks, closed eyelids, the bridge of his nose, and his forehead.
Arakita sighed, running his fingers through the hair at the nape of Shinkai's neck, and Shinkai pressed a short, soft kiss to his lips.
Arakita smiled and leaned in again after a moment, and the two just sat, languidly exchanging kisses, until it really did get colder.
As Arakita was moving to get up so they could go inside, Shinkai scooped him up and held him close, opting to carry him instead.
Arakita laughed and touched his forehead to Shinkai's, and the redhead smiled back.
"Yasutomo?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you."
Shinkai was once again surprised when all the response he was met with was a smile and a kiss pressed to the top of his head.
He could still feel Arakita smiling into his hair when he replied. "Yeah, and I love you, you great buffoon."
A/N
Waking up to a thunderstorm is the best inspiration sometimes I swear TTwTT
Cuddly ShinAra heals my soul I kid you not.
Also, jumpy!Shinkai is completely Komarty's fault. Pleeeeease pleaseplease go check out their ShinAra fic Homozygous Recessive on Archive of Our Own - /works/3844066/chapters/8579827
It's not finished, but the wait will be worth it I swear it to you on my honor as a writer. If you love ShinAra you will LOVE that fic plz give it a chance TTwTT
That is all now I shall go back to being bike trash once more.