Hey everyone! Welcome to the next chapter of First Comes Love!
Originally, I was just going to go straight into the big OVA fight after the last chapter, but I decided to throw one more little two parter in there for good measure. I felt like we were seriously lacking some Ryuko and Akio moments, so I decided to write this to make up for it!
I was also going to make this just one big chapter, but in the end I chose to split it in two. It felt weird having the mood change so suddenly (as it will later on), so this little tidbit will be a bit more on the fluffy side!
Also, unrelated, but if you know the meaning of this chapter's name is, kudos to you!
I hope you all enjoy!
Akio pulled back the curtains and looked outside, his jaw tightening at the sight that awaited him.
It was a thunderstorm.
The sky had turned into this ominous tar-black as the rain poured down, with no signs of stopping any time soon. The droplets of water pelted angrily against the window, creating a loud tapping sound that was grating on his nerves. It reminded him of the buzzing of hundreds of angry bees. The sound only stopped when it was interrupted by the booming of thunder overhead, which only made it worse.
Akio took a step back and let the curtains close. He hated thunderstorms. Ever since he was little, the violent nature of the storms scared him. Rain he was fine with. It could be calming even, especially when it was light. But the thunder and harsh winds that accompanied them… that was a different story.
If the sirens started going off, he really might just lose it.
"Sorry, Satsuki," Akio said and fell back onto the bed behind him. He was supposed to have a meeting with the student council president later in the day, and from the way she sounded over the phone, it seemed important. Whatever it was, he had no clue, but he did know it'd have to wait. There was no way in hell he was going out in that. He'd just text her later saying he couldn't make it. Hopefully she'd understand.
Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to calm himself, but it was no use. Every time there was a flash of light and a loud boom overhead he always flinch. Even though he knew they were coming, he flinched every time! They were like miniature explosions. How could you not be afraid of explosions?
There were only two things in the world that would calm him right now and neither were here with him. The other night Akiko wanted to stay the night over at the Mankanshokus, which Akio found no reason to object to at the time, so he had given the okay. If he had known about this storm, he would have said no almost immediately. There wouldn't have been any room for discussion.
Thinking about his little sister made him fret even more.
Grabbing his phone, he dialed the Mankanshoku's home phone number in a vain attempt to get a hold of someone.
Immediate disconnect.
No connection.
Looks like he wouldn't get to talk to Akiko or Ryuko.
Akio squeezed his eyes shut. He truly was alone.
Boooom!
The sudden thunder nearly made Akio's heart burst from his chest.
"God damn son-of-a…"
He jumped up and paced out of the room, all the while muttering curses under his breath. He had to do something, otherwise he'd just lay there listening to the sounds of the storm for the next few hours. That really wouldn't do him any good.
Entering the kitchen, he opened up the cabinets above the kitchen sink and pulled out a box of pre-bagged tea. Hopefully the tea would take his mind off of things and alleviate some of the stress caused by the storm. Food was definitely out of the question at a time like this, so tea was his last resort.
Another boom of thunder caused Akio to drop the box to the floor, sending all of the bags flying every which way on the tile.
"Damn it!" Akio cursed, his closed fist nearly connecting with the countertop before he stopped himself.
God, what is with me…
Akio let out a shaky sigh and ran a hand over his face. He's felt rather irritable lately, and it wasn't just because of the thunderstorm. It's felt like he's barely gotten any sleep the past week, but that was nothing new. Akio had never been much of a dreamer, but as of late he's been having these recurring nightmares that'd scare the crap out of him. It'll be fine for the first few hours of sleep, but then it starts to show itself. They were things that he'd rather not see or feel ever again.
Needless to say, after experiencing that he'd rather just live with a few hours of sleep.
Preparing some water to heat, he reached down and picked up the packs.
It was just a rough patch. Things would go back to normal in a couple of weeks. It's natural to have nightmares. Everyone has them!
That's what he told himself and he'd stick to it.
While he waited for the water to get warm he walked over to the TV and turned it on. Maybe the TV would take his mind off of things.
"…it is currently advised to stay indoors and avoid going outside if possible, as the conditions are dangerous. The typhoon should last for at least two more days, so make sure to take the necessary precautions. Make sure you have enough food and water in case-"
"Great," Akio grumbled and turned off the television. Just what he needed to hear. A damn typhoon.
Now he was even more worried about Akiko. If this lasted another two days, she'd be stuck over there without any way for Akio to contact her. Hopefully the connection wouldn't be so shitty in a few hours. If he could just get in contact with her…
"What am I going to do with myself?" Akio moaned to the empty room. He never realized how much he treasured Akiko's presence around the house until just now. Even on her off days, she was always a little bundle of joy to him. It was like she literally brightened whatever room she were in. If she were here right now, they could play a game or watch a movie or something, and then Akio wouldn't have to worry over this damn storm.
Bang, bang, bang!
"AHH!" Akio yelped and fell the ground with a hand over his chest.
It wasn't thunder this time, but the door? Who the hell would be knocking at a time like this!?
"W-who is it?" Akio called out shakily and stood.
"It's me!" A familiar voice called back.
That sounded an awful lot like…
"It couldn't be."
There's just no way…
Akio jogged over to the door and pulled it open to reveal the form of his dripping wet girlfriend.
"R-Ryuko?" Akio's jaw dropped at the sight of her.
"Hey, there. Mind if I come in? I'm soaked."
Without waiting for a reply, she strode past Akio, giving him a peck on the chin as she went by.
"O-of course!" Akio stammered, still staring at Ryuko dumbfounded. "But what in the hell are you doing here?"
"I was in the area, so I thought I'd drop by!" Ryuko shouted back her reply from somewhere deeper in the apartment. "Everyone else is taking shelter with Satsuki in some giant mansion, so I thought you might want some company since you're here all alone."
Well, she was right about that. He really was starting to go stir crazy here all alone. It was also a huge weight off of his shoulders that Akiko and the others were safe and sound.
"But a mansion?" Akio called back. "Did it really need to be a mansion? That seems so… unnecessary."
"You're telling me! Apparently the basement is the size of one of these apartments alone!"
That's just insanely impractical. Just what would one do with a basement that large? At least Akiko would have fun with them, but the point still stands.
"But what are you doing here in this weather?" He asked skeptically and walked to the kitchen just as Ryuko returned with a towel in hand. "It's raining cats and dogs out there. You could have gotten hurt, you know."
Ryuko rolled her eyes as she begun drying her hair.
"You'd think I'd get a warmer welcome after coming all the way here to make sure you were okay," She offhandedly remarked. "Some boyfriend you are."
Akio sighed and shook his head, but he felt a smile form on his face regardless. How silly. Of course he was.
"Of course I'm happy to see you."
"Well that's more- hey!"
Before she could finish, Akio had closed the distance between the two in an instant and wrapped his arms around her in a vice grip.
"Very, very happy."
"Y-you're going to get wet too you idiot!" Ryuko blushed, leaving her arms hanging over his shoulders in a vain attempt to keep her partner dry. "Don't you have any common sense at all?"
"It's fine."
"You could have just waited until I changed!"
"It's. Fine."
Ryuko huffed as if she might protest further, but instead wrapped her arms around his back and rested her chin on his shoulder.
"If you say so. Just don't start yapping at me when we both need to change clothes."
Smiling, she tightened her grip around him and sunk into it. After the experience she had running here, his warmth was most welcoming. It really was raining cats and dogs out there.
Boom!
Ryuko felt Akio flinch in her grasp at the sounds of the storm.
"Thank you for coming all the way here," He spoke quietly after a brief moment of silence.
Ryuko remained quiet for a bit before replying.
"…There's no where I'd rather be."
Akio's grip tightened even more. If he squeezed any harder, he might have broken a rib. Ryuko couldn't tell if it was because of what she said or because of the thunder.
"You don't like storms, do you?"
"Hate 'em."
"Since when?"
"Since always," Akio mumbled into her hair. "I don't like any of it. The lightning, the thunder, the wind, nothing."
"Not even the rain?"
"The rain's all right," He admitted weakly. "Everything else can go away though."
"Man, I didn't know you were such a wimp."
Akio could almost feel the smug aura radiating from her. He couldn't let her off that easy after that one.
"Says the girl that's afraid of needles."
"T-that's different!" Ryuko protested hotly and bopped him in the shoulder. "You are literally getting stabbed every time you get a shot, you know that right? Are you telling me you like getting stabbed?"
"How is that any worse than a tornado sweeping through and leveling a town? I'd rather get poked with a needle than swept away like a plastic bag."
The two remained quiet for a few moments, both taking each other's arguments to heart.
"Call it even?" Akio offered.
"I can live with that," Ryuko nodded. "You were starting to crush me, anyways."
"O-oh!" Akio recoiled backwards. "I-I'm sorry, Ryuko, I should have-"
"Oh, hush. I was just joking."
Akio sighed in relief. He was happy he didn't go too overboard with his hug. He just… he really fucking hated storms. Plus, when she had given him that line, he just couldn't control himself. Ryuko had always been this fierce and hotheaded woman to him, so it was always a surprise to see her cuter girly side.
Ryuko was watching him curiously at the sudden change in his mood. Akio noted the lines of worry in her brow.
It looked like she was… pitying him. Why would she pity him all of a sudden?
"We should get you out of those clothes before you catch a cold."
He cursed at himself for changing the subject like that, but he just didn't want her to continue looking at him like that. He didn't want it to be that obvious. Akio wanted to have fun with her while she was here and not look like a complete wreck. He shouldn't be that weak.
Ryuko blinked, her train of thought broken.
"Yeah, I guess so," She agreed meekly. "I didn't bring a change of clothes, though."
"Don't worry about that," Akio waved her off and lead her by the hand to his room. "You can just borrow some of my clothes."
"Your clothes?" Ryuko hesitated. "But…"
"'But?'" Akio stopped and turned to her. "I didn't think this was much of a 'but' situation."
"It's just… you taste in clothing is so bad. You do know there's more colors than black and white, right? It's like you've never seen a rainbow before."
"Well, excuse me. I didn't know you were always such a little fashionista."
"I guess I can live with looking like some gothic chick," Ryuko gave an exaggerated sigh and walked into his room.
"You do know I have more colors than just white and black, right?" Akio asked as he followed after her.
"I'll believe it when I see it," Ryuko said and opened up his closet, only to poke her head out to give him a pointed look. "And grey doesn't count."
Akio rolled his eyes and tried to look as miffed as possible, but he couldn't help but smile as well.
"Wow, I didn't think you owned any button-ups," Ryuko hummed and pulled out a blue one. "Even blue. Impressive. Maybe your sense of fashion isn't completely lost after all."
"I aim to please," Akio deadpanned and placed himself behind Ryuko so that they could both peruse his clothing. "I think you'd look good in blue. It matches your eyes."
"And you called me the fashionista," Ryuko griped, but Akio's compliment had left her feeling pleased. "Blue it is."
"There are some gym shorts in the bottom shelf over there."
Ryuko nodded and waked over to his dresser, leaving Akio to pick out his own change of clothes out.
"I guess I could afford to spruce up my wardrobe," Akio mumbled to himself and pulled out a white shirt. There were a bunch of black and white, a few blues, and a single green one. They were pretty bland looking too. His only green shirt had no designs on it. Just plain green. Talk about boring.
Well, he was never one for flashy attire. There's nothing wrong with boring outfits! They were just practical.
Taking off his now damp shirt, he tossed it behind him where it fell to the floor harmlessly. He paused before putting on his new shirt, his eyes once again drawn to his tattered midsection. Akio knew he did it every time he changed, but he just couldn't help it. His eyes were drawn to them like magnets every time he inspected himself.
He had grown to accept them over time, but that didn't mean he liked them. Each one carried a memory more painful than the injuries themselves. There were the ones he had gotten from Iori back in the very beginning, which seemed like nothing now. The ones he had received from the hands of Nui and Ragyo had left the most long-lasting damage.
"I really did take a beating, huh…" He whispered to himself, his fingers absentmindedly rubbing across the worst scar on his abdomen; the one he had gotten from Ryuko herself. He never knew how to feel about this one. It had always left him with a storm cloud of emotions.
Akio sneakily glanced at his now half-naked girlfriend on the other side of the room. Ryuko had changed out of her wet clothing and was now only wearing her undergarments. He felt guilty peeping on her like this, but she was just so mesmerizing to him. The fact that not a single scar marred her skin was so utterly flabbergasting to a ragged man like himself. Ryuko had taken at least ten times the beating he had over the years, but her pale skin still didn't show a single sign of it. Akio had personally witnessed Ryuko's heart get ripped from her chest, as well as watched as she was cut in two, but there was not a single mark of evidence that those things ever happened. He knew why that was the case now, but thinking about it was just a whole other can of worms he didn't want to get into. Life Fiber-human hybrid or not, she was still the woman he loved. That was enough for him.
Now that he thought about it, this was the first time that Akio had ever inspected Ryuko so closely before. Sure, he had seen her half-naked literally dozens of times now, but this is the first time he's felt his eyes linger like this. Her skin was so smooth and strikingly pale, which really brought out the black of her hair and the blue of her eyes. Her curves were in all the right places as well, and then there were her more… feminine aspects, which were nothing to scoff at either. Had he really never noticed this side of her before? Or was it that he just avoided it?
Akio blushed furiously and looked away before she could notice. He was vastly aware that his feelings of awe had turned into ones of longing. That came as a bit of a surprise to him. He didn't think he could get into that mood so easily.
Slapping his cheek a few times, he hurriedly changed his clothes. That was a close one. He was getting a little too observant there and let his mind wander to rather dangerous places. Thank god he didn't get a-
"Hey, you hungry?"
Akio nearly jumped out of his skin, somehow forgetting that Ryuko was actually still in the room with him.
"H-hungry? Me? Y-yeah, I guess I could eat," Akio laughed nervously. He probably sounded like a mad man.
You should probably face her now you idiot.
Akio gulped and turned around, hoping to keep his emotions in check but failing miserably.
Ryuko had changed into the blue button up, which was about two sizes too big for her. It went down to the middle of her thighs, completely covering up whatever pair of shorts she might have been wearing, but still leaving a fair bit of leg showing. It left very little to the imagination, that's for sure.
Heat rushed back into Akio's cheeks. He knew a lot of guys had fantasies very similar to this one, but he never thought he would get to experience it firsthand.
"What's wrong?" Ryuko cocked her head to the side, completely unaware to the sudden effect she was having on him.
"I, uh, just remembered I have to take a shower!" Akio exclaimed and briskly paced out of the room. "A very, very cold shower."
Ryuko watched him sprint out of the room, raising an eyebrow curiously.
"What's up with him all of a sudden?"
And that's that!
I know, I know, it's a little on the short side. But a little something is better than nothing, right! Plus this way I can get an update out to you all quicker.
Next chapter we'll get to the second part of this impromptu two parter! Expect some serious developments next chapter.
Until next time!