'Oh, hey. Alright in there?'

Takeru hears Taichi over the pounding of the water from the shower, and sniffs as the steam wafts up his nose. 'Yeah.'

He keeps his eyes closed, hearing heavy jeans plummet and light polyester flop onto the floor. Taichi must have had a busy day too - Takeru hadn't heard a belt amidst the quick (but not hurried) stripping. That means Taichi's truly stumbled in on him by coincidence - he's taken his time, isn't rushing anywhere, not like usual. He had enough time to slip his belt off and take off his socks.

They can both agree that hot water is incredibly great for stress.

The shower door slides open smoothly, and Takeru can feel the hot air around him flood out as Taichi steps in behind him, cold breeze sweeping up Takeru's legs and over his shins. Taichi's hands immediately find their way to Takeru's hips, and they stick down. Dry on wet. They can't really remember the last time they'd showered together - it wasn't a regular occurrence, but it wasn't unknown. They probably used up more water than they saved, though. And, more significantly, shared showers almost always meant heavy groping was involved. Takeru's zonked, but he really doesn't mind having some company.

'You just get home, then?' Taichi asks, pulling a bar of soap from the shelf beside them and letting go of Takeru to lather it in his hands, and probably soap himself up first. The sluggish patter of water gets disturbed for a few seconds, but Takeru is peaceful. It still washes over him; down his back, splashing on his shoulder, dampening his hair and Taichi's.

Taichi's so used to using those bars of soap. They make him smell sophisticated and well-kempt, so put together. Almost imperial, like he's just come out of a fancy hotel. Takeru is too practical to fumble with slippery bars of posh soap (it bugs Taichi when Takeru calls them posh, but whatever), though he's certainly fucked around with one, dropped it on purpose for the sake of hilarious sexual innuendoes and humorous attempts at seduction. Just to hear Taichi laugh, and pull him closer - it's so worth it.

It's also cool that they don't share some things. They wouldn't be interesting if they were the same person. That's not how they fell in love, so it would make sense that they wouldn't change such minor things about themselves just for the sake of matching.

He replies, 'Yeah. Just wanted to freshen up and have a nap or something. Long day.'

'Hmm.'

Taichi begins to rub his thumbs along Takeru's shoulders, and the blond sways under the grip. He feels like a puppet, stepping forward to balance loosely under Taichi's control. Taichi knows exactly where to press, what muscles to hold down against. For someone who generally doesn't get up to much, Takeru has a lot of knots. He lets out a shaky sigh, and says gratefully, 'You came at just the right time. Aren't you lucky?'

Taichi laughs, and says over the shower, 'If I was really lucky, I'd have gotten back about ten minutes earlier. You know how much I like watching you take your clothes off.'

It's a light, controlled press of lips towards the side of Takeru's neck that finally gets him to open his eyes. The bright whiteness of the shower is a lot, but the beating of water provides plenty distraction. 'Well then, you know what you need to do differently next time.'

'Yeah, I do.'

Taichi presses forward, stepping into Takeru. Their bodies fit together easily enough - Takeru isn't as tall as Taichi, but he hasn't quite finished growing. Taichi looks a lot closer now that his hair clings to his head, removing the extra inches. Takeru reaches behind him and stretches to run a hand through Taichi's slick brunet mane. 'You gonna pass me the body wash-?'

Taichi manoeuvres his hand onto Takeru's arm, forcing it back down to the younger man's side. 'Relax. Let me take care of you, yeah?'

'Ok.'

Taichi grabs Takeru's soap from the shelf - the scent is generic and meant for 'men', though Taichi has only ever associated the flavour with Takeru - and empties some out in his hands. He definitely intends to use way more than necessary, but Taichi doesn't care if it's expensive, or whatever. He just wants to soap Takeru up real good. He starts on Takeru's upper body, making sure to rub everywhere. Takeru almost begins to slump back into Taichi's chest, but Taichi doesn't mind. He likes being wanted, likes being able to take care of his boyfriend. No one else can do this for Takeru, other than him - and, that's exhilarating to Taichi. It's almost empowering.

'I'm not gonna sex you up right now, 'kay? We can just...'

Taichi takes his time to ponder, his hands working their way down to Takeru's ass.

'... Slip into some pyjamas, get nice and cuddly under the duvet, under a blanket, maybe both...?'

'You say 'not sex me up', and, yet, your fingers are- oh boy-!'

Taichi laughs, snickering - he knows how to push Takeru's buttons, what he does and doesn't like. He's finished with scrubbing Takeru's body down way too soon for Takeru's liking, and Takeru can only sigh as the hardworking hands come away from his skin. 'I guess that... sounds good to me.'

Taichi hums in agreement, rubbing shampoo into his own scalp, and offering some to Takeru. 'And then, we can watch a movie or something. Maybe after, a hot meal, something warm and hearty. Chicken? Noodles? I can order in something... won't even have to get out of bed...'

The water jets down around them. 'Yeah, Tai', sounds really nice. And hey, dinner's on me.'

'No, my treat.'

Takeru sighs languidly as he swaps places with Taichi, who begins to lather conditioner onto both of their heads. He almost loses track of their feet, able to see through the mist but not one hundred percent sure which are his. He's like soft, warmed-up clay once Taichi's worked him over like this. So pliable, too pliable.

He falls apart so easily.

Taichi kisses him again after all the soap and stress has been washed away. This time, their lips meet and Takeru can taste the clear water on Taichi's face. It's fresh, and fragrant, and warm and plain and sexy all at once. Takeru likes Taichi like this. He pulls away, and throws his hands around Taichi's neck as he steadies himself against his boyfriend. Taichi's body glistens under the cascading water, the light bouncing off his skin at just the right angles. He feels so lucky. 'These impromptu hang-outs are great, Tai'.'

Taichi presses his face into Takeru's neck, and purrs, 'I agree so hard. I've been thinking about coming home, throwing my bag down and having this shower for the longest time, I mean, my lectures were killer, so catching you in here was a really nice surprise- Takeru...?'

'Sorry... all I heard was 'so hard'.'

Taichi slaps Takeru's wandering hand away. 'No way, not yet. We're relaxing, cleaning up after a long day. Not... working up another sweat. Yeah?'

Takeru nods. Makes sense. Sometimes he jumps the gun - he's happy to just be with Taichi, but he's just as capable of initiating fun as Taichi is. He doesn't want sex to ever become a routine - Takeru flip-flops, which must frustrate Taichi; sometimes, he'll suggest he wants it but the next minute, he'll have changed his mind. He can't help it, he doesn't mean to be like that. But he gets it, if Taichi just wants to spend time with him, too. That's what they do - what they should do. They haven't had a chance to be really by themselves in a few days - this will be good for them. Like a date, almost.

They'll treat it like a date, and fall that little bit more in love with each other than they were already.

'Hold me?'

The shower's small, but if Taichi had the room to lift and carry Takeru, he would. Instead, he holds Takeru's waist like he's about to pull him along in a slow dance, and presses their foreheads together. Takeru bristles at the tightness, when his hands are caught against Taichi's chest, but Taichi doesn't care. Takeru appreciates the body contact more than anything. It relaxes him way more effectively than anything else Taichi can think of. It's the feel of warm skin against his own that makes Takeru breathe that little bit more deeply.

'You can snooze, Takeru, but you'd better not fall asleep on me. We're gonna get through at least one movie and dinner before you're allowed to knock out. I want three hours of your undivided attention, minimum.' Taichi says, the water still washing over their shoulders.

'Pfft. Three hours? Easy. You don't bore me that easily.' Banters Takeru, rubbing water away from his ocean eyes. 'Don't you worry.'

'Ha ha.'

Takeru plants a kiss on Taichi's cheek, before twisting the water off. The silence is enveloping, and oddly centring. Like, amidst all the chaos, they ground each other. Takeru can float however much he wants, because Taichi will always keep him rooted to home. It almost doesn't make sense how powerful they are to each other. It's wild. Taichi can't seem to keep his hands away as it is.

'Thanks for conditioning my hair by the way.'

Taichi sighs, sounding contented. 'You never do. I've been telling you for how long that you should.' He grabs a lock. 'See? Feels silkier already.'

While Taichi plays with his hair, Takeru says with an eye-roll, 'I'll concede your point, Doctor Yagami. My hair will forever sing your praises.'

'Don't be an ass about it.' Taichi teases, shaking his head. 'Just because I was right-'

'It's just one of those things I never thought to be bothered about.' He says, shrugging in honesty, 'But thank you for bringing it to my attention.'

'You are very, very welcome babe.'