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It started with the rain.
Not poetic rain. Not a cinematic, golden-hue, softly-falling sort of rain. No. This was aggressive, sideways rain, hard droplets smacking the window like they had beef. A particularly vengeful downpour that made the entire flat feel colder and grayer than it had any right to.
Sharky was on the couch, hood up, socks mismatched, one knee tucked under him like a sad cinnamon roll. He hadn't moved in what felt like hours. Not out of depression, just... the kind of mental fog where even blinking feels like a chore.
The telly was on, but he wasn't watching. Just the dull glow of some cooking show rerun filling the living room with hollow commentary and sizzle noises. The host was aggressively enthusiastic about roasting garlic. Sharky wasn't.
He hadn't eaten anything but two hobnobs and a slice of cold pizza.
Still, he stayed curled on the sofa like a cat refusing to be perceived.
Rain thundered against the window harder. A little shiver went through him.
"Sick of this whole city, man" Sharky muttered under his breath.
As if in direct protest, the rain picked up.
And then, keys jingled in the door.
Sharky didn't move.
The door swung open, letting in a cold breeze, wet coat smell, and a very familiar voice.
"Yo! Why's it smell like wet socks and existential dread in here?" Chunkz asked.
Sharky didn't reply. He gave a lazy grunt, the universal language of, not now, I'm wallowing.
Chunkz kicked his shoes off, padded inside, and paused at the living room entrance.
"Oh no" Chunkz said, with dramatic flair.
"It's the rainy day slump version of you. The rare limited-edition Sharky who looks like a man that got ghosted by sunlight" Chunkz added.
Sharky gave a dry laugh, but didn't move. His eyes stayed fixed on the TV, even though his brain was somewhere on the floor.
Chunkz walked around the coffee table and plopped down beside him, their thighs bumping.
"Okay, quick mental health check, have you eaten something that didn't come out of a vending machine today?" Chunkz asked.
"No" Sharky said.
"Hydration?" Chunkz asked, squinting at Sharky.
"Does coffee count?" Sharky asked.
"Not if it was yesterday" Chunkz said.
"...Then no" Sharky said.
Chunkz nodded.
"Alright, on a scale from 'vibe' to 'void,' where are we emotionally?" Chunkz asked.
Sharky's voice was a sigh.
"Void, probably" Chunkz said.
Without another word, Chunkz got up, vanished into the kitchen and returned with a cold can of Sharky's favorite drink and a cereal bar.
He held them out.
"For the sad gremlin on my couch" Chunkz said.
Sharky accepted them with a small smile, cheeks going a little pink.
"I'm not a gremlin" Sharky said.
"You look like a hoodie ghost who regrets his life choices" Chunkz said, laughing afterwards.
Still, Sharky took a sip of the Rubicon.
And then, Chunkz climbed back onto the couch and tucked himself in next to him, arm behind Sharky's shoulders, hand idly toying with the drawstring of Sharky's hoodie like it was muscle memory.
They didn't say anything for a while.
The show on the TV changed. Outside, the rain softened into a steady beat against the glass, less angry now, more rhythmic. Soothing, even.
Sharky leaned into him a little. Not deliberately but like gravity chose Chunkz instead of the Earth.
"Bad day?" Chunkz asked as he glanced sideways, voice quieter now.
"Just... one of those days" Sharky muttered.
"Tired. Weird. Don't feel like anything's working" Sharky said.
"Work stuff?" Chunkz asked.
"Work, people, brain, all of it" Sharky said.
Chunkz made a soft hum.
"Mental lag. I get it" Chunkz said.
There was another pause, longer this time. Sharky's breathing started to sync with Chunkz's, his shoulders dropping half an inch.
Then, in the quiet, Sharky whispered
"Can I ask you something?" Sharky asked.
"Always" Chunkz said.
"When I'm like this... tired. Mopey. Just... off. How do you always know how to calm me down?" Sharky asked.
Chunkz blinked. His hand stilled on Sharky's hoodie string.
"Serious question" Sharky said.
"Like, how the hell do you do that? One second I'm spiraling, and then you walk in with cereal bars and call me a gremlin then suddenly I remember I exist" Sharky said.
"Because I've been where you are and I love you enough to sit there with you, even if you're in the void" Chunkz said as he smiled softly.
Sharky's throat tightened.
"Still, you make it seem easy" Sharky said.
"It's not easy" Chunkz said, looking over at him.
"It's you. It's loving you. You make me want to help, not out of obligation but because... you're my favourite person. Ever" Chunkz added.
Sharky turned, meeting his eyes.
"I don't think you even realize" Sharky said, voice shaking a bit.
"The joy you make me feel when I'm inside your universe" Sharky added.
Chunkz stared.
"You hold me like I'm the precious one" Sharky said.
"But I swear, it's the other way around" Sharky added.
Chunkz opened his mouth. Closed it again.
His hand reached for Sharky's-- interlocked their fingers, squeezing.
"You can thank your lucky stars all you want but I'll always be the lucky one" Sharky murmured.
For a second, neither of them breathed.
Then Chunkz leaned forward and kissed him-- soft, unhurried, tender.
The kind of kiss that says thank you and I'm here and you matter, all at once.
When they pulled apart, Chunkz pressed their foreheads together.
"I love you" Chunkz said.
"I know" Sharky whispered.
"That's the bit that saves me" Sharky added.
They sat in silence again. Comfortable this time. The kind of silence that feels full, not empty.
Sharky laid his head on Chunkz's chest, listening to the steady rhythm there. The smell of him, cologne and hoodie fabric and faint pizza crumbs was grounding. Familiar.
Chunkz rubbed his back in slow, lazy circles.
"You always think I save you but you don't see what you do for me, Sharky" Chunkz said.
"Hm?" Sharky hummed.
"You laugh at my dumb jokes. You never let me spiral without pulling me back. You make me feel like I'm actually seen. Like I'm not just funny, or useful, or the guy who makes people smile-- but someone worth holding onto" Chunkz said.
Sharky blinked, eyes glassy now.
"You are" Sharky said.
"So are you" Chunkz said.
They stayed like that for hours. No talking. Just the background of the rain, a warm couch, and the quiet miracle of finding your person in the middle of the noise.
At one point, Sharky fell asleep against Chunkz, one hand still holding the empty Rubicon can, face smushed against his boyfriend's chest.
Chunkz didn't move.
Didn't even reach for the remote.
He just looked down at Sharky, at the little crease between his brows, the softness in his features when he was asleep, the corners of his lips still holding onto the last smile he made before drifting off.
And he whispered, just for himself.
"I'll always be the lucky one" Chunkz said.