[Yami no Matsuei] "Stormy Romance" (PG-13)
Author's Note: Written for < lj user="30_kisses">'s "29. The sound of waves". Also 
fic_promptly's any - any - stormy weather Featuring Ukyou and Muraki caught in a typhoon.
July had come, and Kazutaka had planned to take a week or two off from work. About that time, Ukyou got a call from a high school chum of theirs, Rika Miyagi, inviting them to visit her at her family's inn.
"Her inn hasn't had much business, and she's been wanting to see us," Ukyou told Kazutaka, over dinner in their apartment.
He looked up from his rice bowl, his brow furrowed. "You know the summers in Okinawa are murderous for me," he said.
"It would only be for a few days, and we haven't seen her much since high school," Ukyou pleaded. "Please, Kazu-kun?"
"Well, we haven't been away together, just the two of us, in some time, and I can't refuse you, when you look at me like that," he said, with a tired smile.
And so the next day, Ukyou called Rika back, to tell her they would come the next week and to reserve a room, then she went through her closet and chest of drawers to dig out her summer things.
* * * *
They arrived without incident, Rika receiving them with delight before leading them to their room. Once they had unpacked and settled and changed out of their traveling gear, Ukyou begged him to come out onto the sands behind the inn. He assented, hunting up his two piece bathing suit before they ventured outside, weighed down with bags of books and snacks, a beach umbrella and two deck chairs.
Once they settled and set up their chairs and umbrella and Ukyou had put on her own sunblock, Kazutaka went rummaging through the bag, unpacking the contents, then turning it upside down and shaking it.
"Is something the matter?" she asked, raising her sunglasses.
"I can't find my sunblock," Kazutaka said, with a vaguely worried tone.
"You can use mine," she said, picking up the bottle at her feet and holding it up to him.
"I appreciate that, but you're using SPF 45, aren't you?" he asked, eying the bottle.
"Yes, of course," she said.
He sighed and accepted the bottle. "It's better than nothing, but still: my skin is so pale, I need to wear at least SPF 80," he said, uncapping it and smearing the lotion on his arms.
"Oh dear," she said. Even under their beach umbrella, she could see his arms starting to turn pink. "Should we go back inside?"
"I'll tough it out, for as long as I can," he said, continuing to slather lotion over his skin.
It barely worked: when they headed back to the hotel a couple of hours later, her fiance had turned a shade of medium pink across the back of his shoulders, the backs of his upper arms and the backs of his lower legs. Without a word, he limped to their room and went to draw a cold bath.
"Are you all right?" she asked, outside the door.
"I'll be all right, once I've soaked for a while," Kazutaka mumbled, painfully, as he sat back in the tub.
"Are you angry?"
"No, only sore. Could you have Rika mix up some milk and water and ask her for some rags?" he asked.
"Whatever for?" she asked.
"I'm going to soak the rags in the mixture and use it for a compress," he said.
* * * *
Ukyou awoke the next morning, hearing the wind whistling under the eaves and the pounding of hammers. Even the waves on the shore crashed louder than before.
When she entered the dining room, she found Rika, the house boy and Kazutaka nailing shutters over the outsides of the windows.
"What's going on?" Ukyou asked, curious.
"A typhoon is coming," Rika said, sticking her head through a still open window. "We're not likely to get washed away, but we're close enough to the sea that we have to shutter the windows."
"You're sure we don't need to go to higher ground?" Ukyou asked, worried now.
"If it gets bad enough, we will, but we've only had to do that once since my aunt and uncle opened the inn," Rika said, as Kazutaka approached her with another shutter, moving so stiff and sore that she suspected he hadn't yet gotten over the sunburn.
"Gaaah," Kazutaka grunted, setting down the shutter and rubbing his right shoulder with his left hand.
"Kazu-kun, are you all right?" Ukyou asked, approaching the window.
"I'm fine, but I think I've thrown out my shoulder, dammit," he growled.
"You take it easy, Doc: I think Rika-sama can take it from here," Yuuki the houseboy said, joining them and taking the shutter from him.
Ukyou guided Kazutaka back to their room. While he sat in their washroom, she helping him rub alcohol into his shoulder, the wind grew more fierce, wailing like a wild beast. Ukyou dropped the bottle and clung to him, terrified. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, then scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom. Something crashed onto the roof and she could hear the waves slamming on the shore below the inn. She yelped and clung to him, as he gently laid her onto the bed.
"What was that?" she demanded.
"It sounded like palm fronds," he said, laying down behind her.
Something smashed against the window, hard enough to rattle the shutters. She yelped again.
"What was that?!"
"More palm fronds," he said, putting himself between her and the window, like a shield.
The timbers of the old house shrieked and she expected something to tear loose. She clung to him, trembling, her nails cutting into his skin.
He held her a little bit away from him. "Such a lovely tropical paradise," he called over the wind.
"Kazutaka, this is no time for sarcasm," she called back, glaring at him.
"What could be a more fitting moment?" he replied, with a dry laugh in his throat. He spoke the truth, she had to admit.
And then, suddenly, the wind died down. The house creaked again as it settled. Ukyou looked up at Kazutaka. "Is it over?" she asked, in a whisper.
He released and rising, went to the window to look out. "It's likely the eye of the storm passing overhead," he said, returning to her side. "It's not over just yet, but we're through the worst of it." He knelt before her, looking her in the eye. "Ukyou, I love you dearly, but next year, please let me choose where we have our vacation," he said, gently, but the look in his good eye brooked no argument.
"Kazutaka, I didn't think we'd have all this trouble, but I feel like I've brought it on us both, when I put my foot down like that," she said, putting her hands on his shoulders.
The look in his eyes softened and he took her face into both of his hands, angling her head onto his shoulder and nestling his face into her head. "No, you couldn't have known. At least this trip will be a memorable one."
"But it still caused more trouble than it was worth," Ukyou said.
He tilted her face to his and kissed her mouth gently. He pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers. "At least we're experiencing these catastrophes together."
fic_promptly's any - any - stormy weather Featuring Ukyou and Muraki caught in a typhoon.
July had come, and Kazutaka had planned to take a week or two off from work. About that time, Ukyou got a call from a high school chum of theirs, Rika Miyagi, inviting them to visit her at her family's inn.
"Her inn hasn't had much business, and she's been wanting to see us," Ukyou told Kazutaka, over dinner in their apartment.
He looked up from his rice bowl, his brow furrowed. "You know the summers in Okinawa are murderous for me," he said.
"It would only be for a few days, and we haven't seen her much since high school," Ukyou pleaded. "Please, Kazu-kun?"
"Well, we haven't been away together, just the two of us, in some time, and I can't refuse you, when you look at me like that," he said, with a tired smile.
And so the next day, Ukyou called Rika back, to tell her they would come the next week and to reserve a room, then she went through her closet and chest of drawers to dig out her summer things.
* * * *
They arrived without incident, Rika receiving them with delight before leading them to their room. Once they had unpacked and settled and changed out of their traveling gear, Ukyou begged him to come out onto the sands behind the inn. He assented, hunting up his two piece bathing suit before they ventured outside, weighed down with bags of books and snacks, a beach umbrella and two deck chairs.
Once they settled and set up their chairs and umbrella and Ukyou had put on her own sunblock, Kazutaka went rummaging through the bag, unpacking the contents, then turning it upside down and shaking it.
"Is something the matter?" she asked, raising her sunglasses.
"I can't find my sunblock," Kazutaka said, with a vaguely worried tone.
"You can use mine," she said, picking up the bottle at her feet and holding it up to him.
"I appreciate that, but you're using SPF 45, aren't you?" he asked, eying the bottle.
"Yes, of course," she said.
He sighed and accepted the bottle. "It's better than nothing, but still: my skin is so pale, I need to wear at least SPF 80," he said, uncapping it and smearing the lotion on his arms.
"Oh dear," she said. Even under their beach umbrella, she could see his arms starting to turn pink. "Should we go back inside?"
"I'll tough it out, for as long as I can," he said, continuing to slather lotion over his skin.
It barely worked: when they headed back to the hotel a couple of hours later, her fiance had turned a shade of medium pink across the back of his shoulders, the backs of his upper arms and the backs of his lower legs. Without a word, he limped to their room and went to draw a cold bath.
"Are you all right?" she asked, outside the door.
"I'll be all right, once I've soaked for a while," Kazutaka mumbled, painfully, as he sat back in the tub.
"Are you angry?"
"No, only sore. Could you have Rika mix up some milk and water and ask her for some rags?" he asked.
"Whatever for?" she asked.
"I'm going to soak the rags in the mixture and use it for a compress," he said.
* * * *
Ukyou awoke the next morning, hearing the wind whistling under the eaves and the pounding of hammers. Even the waves on the shore crashed louder than before.
When she entered the dining room, she found Rika, the house boy and Kazutaka nailing shutters over the outsides of the windows.
"What's going on?" Ukyou asked, curious.
"A typhoon is coming," Rika said, sticking her head through a still open window. "We're not likely to get washed away, but we're close enough to the sea that we have to shutter the windows."
"You're sure we don't need to go to higher ground?" Ukyou asked, worried now.
"If it gets bad enough, we will, but we've only had to do that once since my aunt and uncle opened the inn," Rika said, as Kazutaka approached her with another shutter, moving so stiff and sore that she suspected he hadn't yet gotten over the sunburn.
"Gaaah," Kazutaka grunted, setting down the shutter and rubbing his right shoulder with his left hand.
"Kazu-kun, are you all right?" Ukyou asked, approaching the window.
"I'm fine, but I think I've thrown out my shoulder, dammit," he growled.
"You take it easy, Doc: I think Rika-sama can take it from here," Yuuki the houseboy said, joining them and taking the shutter from him.
Ukyou guided Kazutaka back to their room. While he sat in their washroom, she helping him rub alcohol into his shoulder, the wind grew more fierce, wailing like a wild beast. Ukyou dropped the bottle and clung to him, terrified. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, then scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom. Something crashed onto the roof and she could hear the waves slamming on the shore below the inn. She yelped and clung to him, as he gently laid her onto the bed.
"What was that?" she demanded.
"It sounded like palm fronds," he said, laying down behind her.
Something smashed against the window, hard enough to rattle the shutters. She yelped again.
"What was that?!"
"More palm fronds," he said, putting himself between her and the window, like a shield.
The timbers of the old house shrieked and she expected something to tear loose. She clung to him, trembling, her nails cutting into his skin.
He held her a little bit away from him. "Such a lovely tropical paradise," he called over the wind.
"Kazutaka, this is no time for sarcasm," she called back, glaring at him.
"What could be a more fitting moment?" he replied, with a dry laugh in his throat. He spoke the truth, she had to admit.
And then, suddenly, the wind died down. The house creaked again as it settled. Ukyou looked up at Kazutaka. "Is it over?" she asked, in a whisper.
He released and rising, went to the window to look out. "It's likely the eye of the storm passing overhead," he said, returning to her side. "It's not over just yet, but we're through the worst of it." He knelt before her, looking her in the eye. "Ukyou, I love you dearly, but next year, please let me choose where we have our vacation," he said, gently, but the look in his good eye brooked no argument.
"Kazutaka, I didn't think we'd have all this trouble, but I feel like I've brought it on us both, when I put my foot down like that," she said, putting her hands on his shoulders.
The look in his eyes softened and he took her face into both of his hands, angling her head onto his shoulder and nestling his face into her head. "No, you couldn't have known. At least this trip will be a memorable one."
"But it still caused more trouble than it was worth," Ukyou said.
He tilted her face to his and kissed her mouth gently. He pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers. "At least we're experiencing these catastrophes together."