The day couldn't have dragged more slowly for Sage. He checked his watch every hour, and every fifteen minutes when Taro was in plant form for his midday nap. He silently applauded the setting sun and the rising moon, though he couldn't see them, the clouds were a heavy blanket across the sky. He kept checking outside to see if the stars would appear, but they never did, not even when midnight struck, and he gulped a strong coffee to stay awake.
"Are you tired?" he asked Taro when it was almost time for them to sneak outside.
"No, I'm excited."
"Me too." Anything out of Sage's regular routine was exciting, even if it was sneaking into his own garden in the middle of the night. Sage checked his watch one more time. "Let's go," he said, not forgetting to take a bottle of water with some plant food mixed into it. Taro's smile when he carried the bottle didn't go unnoticed.
Together, they tiptoed down the corridor. The guard who was posted outside Sage's door didn't bat an eyelid at them sneaking out together, but Sage still felt the need to mutter, "Can't sleep, I need a walk."
"You know, you're allowed to go anywhere you want in your own home without having to explain yourself," Taro whispered once they were down the stairs.
"A nice thought, but it's not true when your house is full of strangers."
They continued through the hallway, passing only guards who bowed their heads and stared firmly ahead when they walked by. Sage gulped when they reached the garden and slipped out into the night. He rushed to the shed and instead of going inside, he hurried around the side, stopping where the looming palace windows couldn't stare back.
"You paused at the right place," Taro said and knelt down to pick up a hot flask of tea and a carrot cake wrapped in a paper bag. "Oh," he sighed, turning the bag back and forth. "Looks like the ants got to it first."
Sage chuckled. "Let them have it." He zipped his jacket as far as it would go. "The thought was nice though."
"The ants think so too."
They shared a quiet chuckle before a cold gust of wind pinned them both to the side of the shed. "Is it going to rain? I can't tell." Sage squinted at the sky but saw only darkness. The lack of a moon meant that the clouds hadn't shifted.
"Smells like the rain is coming."
Sage then squinted at Taro in the darkness. "And what does that smell like?"
"The air smells sweeter, and the wind is warming up. We might get caught in more than just rain tonight."
Sage shuffled a little closer, until their shoulders touched. "Was that- is that- can you tell that because of the plant part of you?" he whispered.
"Many humans can sense this too, but my kind are never wrong about it."
"I'm going to demote you to the Greenthenors personal weather reporter." Sage could see Taro trying to focus on his features too.
"Then I'll find so much joy in watching you get caught in the rain after I tell you it'll be sunny all day." Taro nudged him, smirking. "Let's go. We don't have long until it rains."
Sage followed him into the darkness with a loose smile on his face. They walked and walked until the lights from the distant town grew closer, and the Palace got smaller. Sage struggled to see his own two feet and slowed down. Taro, who seemed to walk as gracefully as if the sun was out, retraced his steps and linked arms with him.
"Your vision will adjust," he said, and Sage felt his warm breath on his cheek before the wind whisked it away into the night.
The closer they got to the end of the ginormous garden; the more Sage could see around him. The thick brick wall was twenty feet ahead that separated Sage from the outside world. One of the many hawthorn trees surrounding the palace grounds was suddenly right in front of them, breaking through the darkness like the first drops of rain from the heavy clouds above.
They sat down against the base of the tree. Sage looked back at the Palace, feeling lighter to see it from afar. The raindrops soon clattered on every leaf above, though the tree was dense enough to shelter them for a while.
Sage sipped his tea while Taro sipped his water, painfully aware that they were on a date. What should I say? He knows a lot about me already. Maybe he wants a kiss. I want a kiss. Sage glanced at Taro, and at the soft light on his face. His eyes were content, his posture relaxed, and his lips curled up at the edges.
"You look glad to be outside," Sage said above the noise of the rain.
"I'm glad to be anywhere with you." Taro turned his head to face him.
Sage allowed the silence to stretch for as long as he could. "Your flirting is getting a bit cheesy."
Taro grinned. "Are you incapable of sharing a nice moment with me?"
"No, I'm just not sure I like hearing people flirt very much." Sage thought of many times when he cringed at his parents exchanging cute words on an evening. Though maybe he was just jealous and bitter that he was all alone. Taro's flirting made him uncomfortable in an embarrassed sort of way, because he didn't know how to react.
"It's because you're not used to it." Taro leaned against him, and the tips of their noses touched. "I'll get you used to it."
Sage's heart spiked. "Why?"
"Because I like it when you get all flustered." Taro's hand lightly touched Sage's arm. He trailed a finger up the fabric of his thin jacket, across his shoulder, and settled a hand against his neck. "I like it when you pretend you haven't heard me, but you can't hear anything else." His thumb rubbed against his jaw. "I like it when my words make you shy, and you go all red, and you don't know where to look." Taro moved closer.
Sage's heart skipped a beat when he felt Taro's breath on his lips. But before they could seal a kiss, the heavy rain broke through the thick tree canopy. Sage flinched from the cold drops on his face. He tried to pull back, but Taro curled his hands around the back of his neck and kept their heads close together.
"Kiss me," Taro whispered.
The rain drizzled down the side of Sage's face as Taro's blond hair stuck to his forehead. The rain was so loud, he could barely hear himself think. Why did he have to think when there was an attractive man in front of him, asking for a kiss?
Sage leaned forwards and their lips pressed together. As if the universe aligned just for them, thunder roared in the sky above, and Sage felt alive. He forgot about the dangers of being out in a storm, especially under a tree when lightning struck. He could barely think of anything when his lips moved in sync with another man.
With each grumble of thunder, they held each other tighter. Sage's arms coiled around Taro's waist as his arms coiled around Sage's shoulders. Their kisses ignited with passion and their lips were charged by the energy of the storm.
Taro pushed into him, and Sage fell back against the wet ground. He didn't care that the rain seeped through his jacket and soaked his trousers. He was warm with Taro on top of him, holding him, kissing him deeply.
He was losing himself in the moment, like he had always dreamt of doing with another person. Sage had both feared and longed to share a passionate kiss with another man, and nothing had prepared him for the exhilaration. Sage cared only about each passing minute, and all his worries drained away with the rain.
His woes seemed so feeble when his lust was so commanding. Sage tore down his defences and replaced them with Taro's strong arms around him. Their kisses deepened, the rain hardened, and the lightning spread across the sky.
Sage felt as though he was floating when Taro's tongue slipped inside his mouth. A low moan was muffled by the noise of the storm, but Taro showed that he liked it by kissing him as passionately as Sage had only thought about in his dreams.
He never wanted the moment to pass, but the rain soon slowed, and the cold reached his bones, and the tree roots underneath dug into his lower back. Their kisses resurfaced, and turned into gentle movements, until they finally parted to the distant sound of thunder that had once been right above them.
Taro stared down at him, breathing heavily, and with water dripping from the tip of his nose and the ends of his hair. His green eyes circled Sage's face while his smile brightened the black night. Sage smiled with him, barely believing that he had kissed him that way, under a tree in the storm, out in the open where anyone could see. Nobody can see us, it's way too dark, and we're far enough from the Palace. Sage deflected his anxieties to savour the peace in his chest. He sat up when Taro climbed off him to lean back against the tree. They remained close, still smiling.
"You should probably drink your tea while it's still warm," Taro finally said, handing him the flask. His voice was soft and calm. His eyes were big and shaped with joy.
Sage glanced to the bottle of water in a muddy pool from the rain. As he pushed into Taro to reach for it, he couldn't wipe the daft smile from his face as he said, "I think you've been watered enough for one day."