#one: kim finally facing his feelings foe chay

[crookedkingdomruinedme]

Chay: How long do you think it'll take? 

Kinn: I don’t know, three or four. 

Chay: Three or four what? Days? Weeks? Months? 

Kinn: Yeah, maybe five. 

Chay: Five what?!

[snickerdoodlles]

Trick or treat!! <333

(sorry if i already swung by with a tot request. i honestly can't remember 🥲)

no such thing as not enough tricking or treating!! here's more of this one! so also tagging @arewedoneyet because i didn't mean to give u such a short snippet, i was just really busy and very tired yesterday > <;;

Chay swings their hands again, squeezing gently. “Guilt aside, I am grateful.” Chay’s cheeks darken as his eyes swing between Kim and their surroundings and back again shyly. “I like spending time with you.”

Kim’s own face feels hot as he forcibly swallows back his instinctive responses of spend all time with me and stay with me forever and I’d go everywhere with you. It’s getting harder to hold himself back these days. Especially at times like this, when Chay looks at him so fondly and Kim feels like he’s ready to burst. 

They round the final corner and there the bus stop stands, as mundane as everyday and Kim’s most hated foe. His spite spikes when Chay perks up at the sight of it as well, and Kim slows down until he’s an anchor dragging down Chay, stealing precious more seconds and hiding his theft with pouts and other dramatics. 

Chay laughs. The sky has filled with dark grey crowds since they began their walk, the dregs of sunshine pushing through turning everything color rich, and Chay glows with it. Kim hungers. 

The first drop of rain is a surprise and a shock. Between one startled blink and the next, the last rays of sunshine are swallowed up and the clouds break. Kim hisses and Chay gasps at the rapidly increasingly downpour and Kim ushers Chay under the bus stop’s overhead. The rain is thunderous against the thin tin roof, and Kim has to press close to Chay to hear him.

“Kim!” Chay protests anyways, “I’m all wet!”

“I know,” Kim says unhappily. He loops his arm around Chay’s waist and pulls until Chay’s pressed entirely down his side. Chay’s clothes gently steam everywhere they touch. Chay’s hand presses against his chest, not strong enough to push them apart but about to if his worried frown is any indicator. 

Kim pulls his hand away and tightens his hold with an eye-roll. “I’m fine Chay, I’m not a candle.”

Chay’s worry doesn’t budge, but he doesn’t try to pull away either. “I just don’t like leaving you out in this,” he says with a frown.

“I could still come with you,” Kim tries again. Not that he really wants Chay doing anything less than playing hooky today, tomorrow, and every day, but Kim’s trying to be better about that sort of thing. 

Chay smacks Kim’s chest with a half-laugh, half-huff and starts digging through his bag. “Don’t be silly, then you’ll be stuck waiting for me all day!” Kim will still be doing that, just further away, but he’s struggles to explain that before Chay lets out a triumphant ah-hah! and holds out an umbrella. 

Kim frowns and doesn’t take it. “You’re staying out all day.”

Chay rolls his eyes and pushes it into Kim’s hand. “Why do I care about rain? I brought it for you.”

All of Kim’s schemes to steal more minutes from Chay dissipate like steam. 

“For me?”

Chay snorts and forces Kim to take the umbrella. “Yes, you dork, of course I did.”

Of course, he says. Kim looks out at the misty downpour and tries not to shake as the words rattle through him. Of course he did. 

Kim’s second personal nemesis appears through the gloom, but the bus’s arrival is softened by Chay giving him a smile and a squeeze goodbye before he boards. Kim watches him leave silently and unblinkingly, continues staring out into the rain long after the bus’s tail-lights have faded into the mist. 

When Kim finally steps back out into the rain, this time safely sequestered under Chay’s umbrella, the drop of sound from the thunderous barrage on tin to the gentle patter on cloth draws Kim up short again. It’s incredible just how much larger every little thing feels on this small scale. Kim’s so full of wants and feelings he’s shocked he can keep it all inside. Perhaps that’s why he can’t swallow back the lump in his throat, maybe he’s finally reached his max capacity. 

Kim swallows back what he can and holds his hand out to catch the rain. His skin hisses and crackles and steams, but Kim doesn’t waver. He waits until his hand is fully blackened and cooled to bring it back and press it against his chest to feel the heart within pound against his ribs. 

Already, his skin is beginning to pink. It won’t be long before his hand is once again too hot not to risk further scorching the precious thing. But if there’s one thing Kim’s learned on earth, it’s how to appreciate the seconds.