Aki flinched as Sho slammed his hands against the steering wheel and cussed loudly. “Could this day get any worse?”

What had started off as a bright and cheerful morning, with a day planned at a lake up in the mountains, had quickly turned into a disaster.

They had gotten a late start due to horrible traffic, and then gotten lost when Sho’s GPS sent them down back road shortcuts that went nowhere. By the time they had gotten to the lake it was well past noon. Aki had made quick work of unpacking their lunch, knowing that once Sho ate something his mood would improve drastically.

And it had, until it began to rain. Hoping that it might nothing more than a light summer shower they had decided to wait it out in the car. But it soon became clear that the rain had no intention of letting up, instead pouring down harder. Finally admitting defeat Sho had packed up and turned the car around.

Halfway down the mountain there was a loud bang and smoke began pouring out from under the hood of the car, forcing them to pull over.

“Stay in the car.”

Undoing his seat belt, Sho opened his door and stepped out into the rain, slamming the door shut. He was soaked through within moments. Aki pulled her knees up to her chest and waited.  

Eyes squinted against the rain Sho lifted the hood up and coughed, waving the smoke out-of-the-way. After a failed attempt at discerning the problem, during which he burned a couple fingers on the hot engine, he slammed the lid back down, and pulled his phone out as he made his way back around.

“What’s wrong?” Aki asked him once he was back inside the car.

“No idea,” he dialed the roadside service number he had in his phone.

“I’m sorry you are outside your phone’s service area.”

“Damn it.” Angrily Sho tossed his phone into the back seat. “Guess we’re stuck here until some drives by.”

“What if we…”

“What if we what Aki? Fix the car? Get out and push?”

Sitting up straighter Aki reached over and punched him as hard as she could in the forearm.

“Ow! What was that for?” Sho rubbed his arm and looked at her in surprise.

“I know today hasn’t turned out as planned. But you don’t have to be a jerk about it and take it out on me.” Crossing her arms Aki gave him a pointed look. “Now if you’ll listen to me for two seconds I might actually have a viable solution.”

Sho’s shoulders slumped and he sighed. “You’re right and I’m sorry. None of this is your fault. What were you going to suggest?”

“We passed a sign for an onsen a ways back.” Aki reached over and rubbed the back of his neck. “They should have a phone we can use to call for help and get home.”

“Alright.” Sho opened the car door once more. “I’ll head back up the mountain. You wait here.”

“What? Why?”

“Because one of us needs to stay with the car in case someone does come by. And there’s no sense in both of us getting wet when I’m already soaked.”

“But…”

“Aki, please. I don’t want you getting sick.” Sho begged her with his eyes and she nodded mutely. “I’ll be as quick as I can, I promise.” Leaning over he pressed a kiss to her lips and then got out, beginning his jog through the rain and up the mountain.

Aki watched him until he disappeared around the bend, and then curled up even tighter into her seat to wait it out.

Sho had been walking for about twenty minutes or so when the first flash of lightning came, thunder following soon after. He paused, looking over his shoulder. The lights of the onsen were visible up ahead, but Aki was sitting alone in the car, and she was terrified of thunder storms. He ran.

Inside the car Aki clapped her hands over her ears and closed her eyes tight as another flash of lit up the sky. In an attempt to fight back her terrified tears she bit her lip so hard it bled. Suddenly cold wet air blew over her and her eyes flew open.

Sho held open her door with one hand and reached for her with the other. She gladly fell into his embrace even though it meant leaving the dry safety of the car.

“Come on.” Sho pulled her tightly into his side. “Let’s get you out of this.”

Together they began a second ascent, stopping each time the lightning flashed so Aki could bury her head tightly into Sho’s chest until it passed. It took them twice as long, but they soon stumbled up the steps, across the porch, and into the well-lit entry way. Standing in the large genkan, they dripped.

“Dear God, what happened to you two?” And woman who looked to be in her mid-forties approached them.

“Our car broke down further down the mountain.” Aki wrapped her arms around her waist and tried to stop her teeth from chattering.

“Can we use your phone?”

“Oh you can use more than just that. Takeshi! Get these two young people some dry robes and prepare a room for them as well.”

“That really won’t be necessary…” Sho tried to interject.

“Nonsense,” the woman hushed him. “That poor thing is shivering so much she can barely stand. And they announced a landslide just a bit ago on the news. You’ll have to stay the night either way.” She began ushering them down the hall. “Now first things first. A hot bath for the both of you and some food.”

After a good long soak in the onsen, Aki headed for the room that had been given to them. When she slid open the door Sho was already seated at the small kotastu, shoveling rice into his mouth. She tied her robe more securely and sat down across from him. She picked up her chopsticks but didn’t eat. 

“Did you get through to the road side service?”

“Yeah, and I called Jun so that the guys wouldn’t worry, as well as the agency.” Sho lowered his bowl. “You okay?”

“Tired, not very hungry, and to tell the truth, I still feel cold even after my bath.” As if to emphasize the fact, Aki sneezed.

Reaching across the table Sho placed the back of his hand against her forehead.

“You don’t feel warm. But maybe you should get in bed just to be safe.”

He helped her to her feet and over to where the two futon lay side by side. After tucking her in he was about to return to his food, but Aki grabbed him by the hand.

“Stay.”

“Is it because of the lightning?”

When she nodded, Sho reached over head and pulled the chain connected to the light, sending the room into shadows, and slipped under the covers, conforming his body to hers. Aki pulled his arm across her waist and linked her fingers with his. It didn’t take long for her breathing to slow and for sleep to overtake her. Sho watched her for a bit before resting his head down on the pillow, breathing in the scent of her hair. And both slept.

It wasn’t until well after midnight that Aki’s sleep was broken.

Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark room, and then another moment for her to realize what had woken her up.

The spot next to her on the futon was empty.

The onsen was quiet except for the sound of the rain that still hadn’t lessened. Aki shivered, running her hands up and down her arms. She was just about to lie back down when the largest bolt of lightning streamed across the sky, the thunder follow not even a second after.

The combination of the lightning, thunder, and the figure the lightning illuminated standing in the door way, tore a scream from her lips.

“Sho!” Her eyes clamped shut, her hands went over her ears and she just started shaking.

A second pair of large warm hands descended on her own and she started, but still kept her eyes tightly shut.

“Shh, it’s just me, shh.” Sho cradled her head and hands. “I’m here. It’s going to be okay.”

He was unsure what to do. He had experienced lightning storms with Aki before, but only ever in the city where they never felt this close. This level of her fear was new to him and he wasn’t sure what to do if anything.

He examined her face closely, frowning when he saw how tightly she was biting her lip. She was going to make it bleed again.

With his hands occupied by shielding her ears from the rumbling, he tipped his head down, and flicked the tip of his tongue against her top lip. A light twitch, but still she refused to let go.

He rethought his strategy. Starting at the top, he kissed her forehead, both closed eyes, the tip of her nose and finally . It was a slow deliberate kiss, one that forced her let go of her bottom lip allowing him to le on it, laving his tongue over the swell.

Releasing he rested his forehead against hers. Aki, her breathing considerably heavier now, slowly opened her eyes. She slipped her hands out from under his and rested them on his forearms while he continued to cup her ears. Aki trailed one hand up his arm, over his shoulder and around the back of his neck, curling her fingers into his hair. As the room was illuminated again, she pulled him forward, kissing him roughly. Sho wasted no time in reciprocating.

The kissing grew more heated, Aki pulling Sho down on top her, and he supported himself on his elbows. As much as Sho wanted to run his hands over her, he kept them firmly over her ears.

Instead he satisfied his craving for her by covering her face, neck and shoulders with kisses. It was Aki who loosened the ties on their robes starting first with her own, exposing her chest to his hungry mouth before slipping her hands inside of his, the muscles in his stomach jumping under the tips of her fingers.

Sho pushed her legs apart with his knee, and lowered his full weight onto her, claiming and body in one fell swoop.

The following morning Aki stood in the window, robe tied loosely about her waist and slipping off one shoulder revealing the stop curve of her . Her hand was pressed against the glass as she examined the dappled shadows on her arm, created by the sun streaming through the glass and drops of water that remained.

She could see the older woman’s husband in the process of uprooting and cutting apart a tree that had been split by the lightning no more than 25 meters from their room. The thought that it had hit that close caused her to shiver. Aki looked back over her shoulder to where Sho lay in bed, the sheets about his waist, and his arm tucked partially under his head and pillow as he watched her.

“Morning.”

Aki left the window and dropped down, straddling his waist, Sho letting out a low grunt. She rested her hands on his chest. “You know what I’ve decided.”

“What?” Sho hands crept up her legs and under her robes.

“Lightning storms really aren’t that bad.”

Aki pressed a kiss to Sho’s mouth and he rolled her beneath him.

Fin