4:00 pm. Finally.

Friday had never taken so long to arrive.

Better yet, the forecast called for rain starting around 4:30, meaning there'd be absolutely no reason for anyone to unexpectedly come home early.

Everything had lined up perfectly.

His little sister, Saki, was off having a giant sleepover with the other girls in Leo/Need—or whatever girls did at sleepovers. Movies? Gossip? Face masks? Tsukasa had no idea, and frankly, he didn't care.

His mother was spending the weekend teaching piano lessons to one of her students, while his father had gone fishing with a few friends and wouldn't be back until sometime Sunday.

The house was completely empty. Completely. Which meant... Rui would be here any minute.

Tsukasa had lost count of how many times he'd checked the clock in the last hour. Every passing minute felt agonizingly slow, and he'd already looked out the front window at least six times just to make sure Rui hadn't somehow arrived without him noticing.

He wanted tonight to be perfect.

The living room had already been transformed into their little movie corner. Blankets were piled high on the couch, pillows were scattered everywhere, and he'd spent far too long deciding which movies Rui might actually be in the mood to watch.

The coffee table was covered in snacks; their favorite chips, fresh popcorn, chocolate, several different sodas.

And, of course, an excessive amount of soda candies specifically because Rui liked trying all the strange flavours.

...He'd also quietly restocked their... special drawer.

Just remembering that made heat creep up his neck. He physically cringed as another memory surfaced.

His mom had casually mentioned earlier in the week that she'd cleaned his room while he was out. Tsukasa had nearly suffered cardiac arrest.

Because he'd forgotten that he'd shoved the receipt for a box of condoms and a bottle of lube underneath his pillow after buying them.

He'd spent the next three hours convinced she'd found it. Every awkward glance she'd given him afterward had felt suspicious. Thankfully... she never brought it up.

Either she'd never found the receipt... or she'd chosen to pretend she hadn't. Tsukasa desperately preferred believing the first option.

He buried his burning face in his hands for a moment. "Never thinking about that again.." He muttered to himself.

Anyway.

That wasn't important. Tonight was. His attention snapped back toward the clock.

4:08.

...Come on...

As if the universe had finally decided he'd suffered enough—

Ding-dong.

Tsukasa nearly launched himself off the couch. ‘He's here!’ He thought.

He sprinted for the front door so quickly that he almost slipped on the hardwood floor, catching himself on the wall before rushing the rest of the way.

By the time he reached the entrance, another knock sounded. "C-Coming!" He yanked the door open.

...And there Rui stood.

The gray afternoon sky framed him from behind as the first hints of rain-laden clouds rolled overhead. His violet hair was a little windswept, his scarf sat loosely around his neck, and that familiar little smile tugged at his lips the second their eyes met.

To Tsukasa... he looked breathtaking. For a brief moment, Tsukasa simply stared. His brain completely stopped working.

"Hey..." He managed after a beat, trying very hard to sound casual—as though he hadn't just sprinted down an entire flight of stairs like an overexcited golden retriever.

"Uh..." Smooth. Very smooth. "...My family's out." ...Why would he lead with that? He cleared his throat, feeling his ears burn. "I mean— we're home alone."

...Somehow that sounded even worse. Tsukasa wanted to throw himself into the nearest hole and stay there forever.