Title: Petrichor and Carbohydrates
Characters: Mouri Jusaburou, Ochi Tsukimitsu
He was stuck waiting under an awning untilt the torrential downpour let up. He didn't really mind. After all, he was the one who gave up his umbrella when Ootori's own broke all of a sudden. Mouri was listening to the rhythmic sound of the heavy drops pitter-pattering on the ground as his shoes were slowly getting soaked from the collateral splash. The peaceful silence from the lack of other lifeforms being around was otherworldly. He slowly felt himself be lulled to sleep by the serenity of the moment. It had been a while since he was able to be alone like this.
"Rain sure is fun to look at," he sighed.
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, noting that the delightful scent of petrichor intermingled rather nicely with the aromas from the nearby cafe's roasting coffee beans.
"The sound is so soothing to listen to." He let out a yawn. "I think I'm getting sleepy..."
He was the type who could sleep anywhere. He leaned back against the store window and crossed his arms over his chest. As he began to nod off, someone calling out his name snapped him right back into reality.
"Mouri?"
"Hm?" He opened one of his eyes to glance at the person talking to him. "Ah, it's you, Tsuki-san." he smiled.
Ochi said nothing and continued to stare at his doubles partner.
"Are you on your way home from shopping?"
"Yeah, " he nodded. "What are you doing here without an umbrella? Didn't you say you were planning to go out with the middle schoolers today?"
"Yeah, I was with them until just now. One of them broke their umbrella, so I gave him mine instead. I thought it would be nice to take a break from the rain," he answered sheepishly.
"That's just like you," Ochi recalled with a hint of wistfulness behind his usual deadpan tone.
Ochi shuffled beside Mouri and closed his umbrella. Mouri looked at him with a weird expression as he moved over.
"Hey, Tsuki-san, why are you closing your umbrella?" he asked.
"Sometimes, it's not so bad to take a moment to listen to the rain," was his partner's reply.
Mouri was rather speechless. He smiled softly when he realized Ochi just wanted to spend some time with him.
"I guess so. Then, let's relax here for a little."
Mouri felt himself nodding off again. He let his head fall to Ochi's side, but the taller boy did not seem to mind. The lingering scent of Ochi's body wash only further drove Mouri into a sleep-like state of existence. The taller boy noticed his partner about to drop the bag in his hand as he was losing consciousness and reached over to grab it before it could fall. The sudden movement brought Mouri's attention back to reality once again.
"Oh, I just bought a soba manjuu," he laughed nervously. "I heard it has a reputation for being delicious, so why don't we eat it together when we get back?"
"Sure," was his one-worded response.
The rain continued to hurl itself down violently from the sky. It almost seemed as if it would never let up. Mouri couldn't find it in him to actually fall asleep anymore as he just stared at the water pelting down onto the concrete streets. Ochi remained statue-like and expressionless, but Mouri could see the hints of relaxation in his usually piercing eyes.
"Hey, Tsuki-san," he began talking out of the blue, "don't you just love the smell of rain?"
"I guess." Ochi shifted more inward to avoid the dripping stream from the corner of the awning. "What were you doing with the middle schoolers earlier?"
"Since when were you so interested in them, Tsuki-san?" Mouri teased.
Ochi said nothing as he closed his eyes.
"If you must know, I was helping that Ootori kid with a problem of his. He said his doubles partner was feeling depressed and he wanted to cheer him up in some way."
"I see..."
He laughed. "It seems as if all of them wanted to do something for their doubles partners. Strange, right?"
Ochi said nothing in response. He continued to stare out from where he was standing. The rain seemed to be letting up, but only slightly. There was now a few centimetres of rain around their feet.
"I wanted to do something for you too, Tsuki-san," Mouri admitted. "But, I couldn't think of anything while I was there!"
"Why?" he asked.
"Because!" he shouted, mildly offended. "You're the best, Tsuki-san!"
"How so?"
"Well, for starters, you always wake me up in the mornings," he pointed out. "And you drag me to practice against my will every day, and you always nag me to clean behind my ears, and you—"
Ochi stopped him before he could drone on about the mundane things he always reminds his younger partner to do.
"My point is, you do a lot for me, Tsuki-san," he smiled. "I can't show my appreciation for it?"
"I'd rather you not make such a big deal out of it," he stated.
"Aw, are you shy, Tsuki-san?" Mouri grinned deviously.
"I'm not interested," he brushed off.
Mouri pouted slightly as the last of the rain came spitting down. Small slivers of sunlight began poking their way through the heavy clouds. The two looked up towards the sky, where a faint rainbow was forming.
"Tsuki-san, look!" he excitedly exclaimed as he pointed up.
"Yeah." Ochi stepped out from underneath the awning gently holding onto Mouri's hand and pulling him along. "Let's go."
He was taken aback by the sudden gesture and almost tripped over his own two feet. "T-Tsuki-san!"
With his lightning-fast reflexes, Ochi turned around and caught him before he could fall. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing! Just wait a moment," he stammered, cheeks beginning to flush a rosy pink.
"Okay."
Mouri struggled to regain his composure before they continued to make their way back to the camp in silence. Mouri felt suffocated by the sheer awkwardness in the air, but Ochi did not seem to notice it. Rather, he looked at his doubles partner, slightly confused.
"Mouri."
"H-huh?!" His head immediately shot up.
"What's bothering you?"
"R-really, i-it's nothing," he stuttered. "Don't mind me, Tsuki-san."
Ochi did not seem to buy his terrible lying, but said nothing as he turned back around. Mouri felt himself reaching out for his partner's hand, but hesitated before he could touch it. His hand hovered near his for a brief moment before Ochi reached back and held it. There was a slight skip in the steps Mouri took until they reached the camp grounds.
"Let's practice tonight," Ochi said monotonously as he admired the coloured arch in the sky.
Mouri raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Why not practice now?"
"I think the middle schoolers should use the courts first," he replied as he held up Mouri's bag from earlier. "Plus, you should eat this while it's still fresh."
"Oh, you're right! I nearly forgot about those. Should we head back to the dining hall?"
"Sure."
When the two reached the entrance to the hall, the lovely aroma of fried rice and ramen permeated every inch of the room.
"Oh, it smells good!" Mouri blurted out as soon as he processed the scents in his nose.
Ootori and Shishido turned their heads in the direction of their voices and smiled when they noticed who it was.
"Senpai!" Ootori quickly ran up to greet the two towering boys. He handed Mouri the neatly folded, yet slightly damp umbrella from earlier. "Thank you for lending your umbrella."
"Was the rain alright?" Shishido asked, following quickly behind his doubles partner.
"It has already stopped," Ochi answered.
"Yeah, yeah," Mouri agreed. "And, if you go out to the courts right now, you'll see something really cool." He nudged his partner in the side with his elbow. "Right, Tsuki-san?"
"You guys should go check it out," he nodded coolly.
Ootori and Shishido looked at each other, confused, before shrugging and making their way outside. The rest of the middle schoolers there noticed the two Hyoutei players leave and followed suit. Soon enough, it was just the two high schoolers remaining.
"I'll go make tea," Ochi mumbled as he shuffled his way into the kitchen.
Mouri cracked a smile as he pulled out a chair by a table and sat down. He set his bag on the tabletop and opened it, removing the manjuu and setting them out in the middle of the surface. It didn't take long for Ochi to return with two cups of green tea—one steaming-hot and one that was more lukewarm, borderlining cold. He set the cooler one beside Mouri before sitting down across from him.
Mouri took a sip and was slightly shocked. "It's not too hot!"
"Yeah," Ochi responded as he brought his cup to his lips. He closed his eyes and revelled in the moment before taking a gentle sip. "You don't like hot things."
"Since when did you know that?"
Ochi shrugged as he set his cup down and picked one of the round sweets. He stared at it intently before he took a methodical bite of it. Mouri looked at his expression, which could only be described as gentle amazement.
"Tsuki-san?"
He said nothing in response. Mouri sighed slightly as he leaned forward and propped his head up with his hands. For some reason, he could read exactly what was on his partner's mind.
"It's really good, right? The manjuu, I mean."
"I suppose." He finished it and chased it down with the hot tea. "It's sweet."
Mouri looked at him with an expression of disbelief that could only be described as 'well, duh'. "It's supposed to be."
Ochi leaned forward and gently kissed the boy sitting across from him, surprising Mouri.
"T-Tsuki-san!"
"That was sweeter," he said coolly.
Annoyed that he was caught off-guard, Mouri stood up and leaned over the table, grabbing the collar of Ochi's jacket and fiercely returned the gesture.
"I wasn't ready," he pouted slightly.
Ochi shrugged his shoulders, but his cheeks were beginning to turn a light peachy pink shade. The sun was beginning to set. "Let's go practice."
"Cold as always, Tsuki-san..." Mouri sighed as he let go of his partner's jacket and stood up. "Not that I mind that about you."
"Mouri," he pleaded as he crossed his arms and tapped his fingers impatiently against them.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, you impatient old man," he teased. "Always needy, aren't you, Tsuki-san?"
The two set off for the courts as the sun began to set—a sight that was sorely missed those past few days.