#i don't know why. i prefer sunshower better.

[ink-flavored]

#OCKiss2024 Day 2: Rain

Sunshower Part of the @ockissweek event from Feb. 12-18th, featuring the titular couple from Pride & Justice. Tips are appreciated!

It was a peaceful day out. Pride walked down the street hand in hand with Justice, sated from lunch date and gawking around the local curiosity shops. They didn’t end of buying anything—or stealing anything, no matter how much he wanted to—but looking was enough. On a clear, warm day like this, walking around was an activity unto itself.

The first droplet struck his nose out of nowhere. Startled, he swiped it off and frowned up at the sky for an explanation. It wasn’t supposed to rain today. Sure enough, not a single dark cloud appeared to take the blame. They were all fluffy, white, and innocent. Pride narrowed his eyes.

“What’s the matter?” Justice asked.

“Did you feel any rain?”

Curious, Justice stuck his palm out, but he shouldn’t have bothered. A second drop, a third, followed by dozens and dozens more freckled the city streets. In a heartbeat, they were subject to a downpour. They both froze in shock, Pride gasping as water drenched his hair and shoulders and Justice hunched over with his hand over his head in a feeble attempt to shield himself. A torrent of rain plastered them, with pearly white clouds and the sun shining merrily.

“What,” Pride demanded, “the fuck?”

“I didn’t know this could happen,” Justice said, awed at the concept.

“What is happening? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.” He laughed, shaking his head. “I have no idea!”

Pride tugged him down the street. “Come on, let’s get somewhere dry.”

All around them, frazzled pedestrians dashed down the sidewalk to find refuge. No one had an umbrella, resorting to holding books, suitcases, purses, anything with a decent mass above their heads to poorly mimic one. Pride searched all around, trying to find an awning or a doorstep or something for them to stand under. Wet hair slapped his cheeks as he whipped his head back and forth. He swiped it away with growing annoyance, clothes getting steadily soaked through. He couldn’t find any escape.

“Oh no, Pride,” Justice warned.

“What?” he asked, squinting through the rain.

He squished his lips together, suspiciously amused. “Your eyeliner is…”

Pride froze, hand flying up to the corner of his eye. He stared in horror when his fingertips came away bright red. “Motherfucker.”

Justice snorted hugely before dissolving into laughter. Water ran in rivulets down the sides of his face, and they could have been tears of joy. Pride tried to swipe his face clean, but only succeeded in smearing it around.

“Ugh!” he complained. “I look like a mess now.”

“So do I!” Justice agreed, as if it were a good thing. “Here, here, watch.”

He flipped his locs over one shoulder, gathered them in his fists, and wrung them out like he did after a shower. A tiny waterfall rushed from his hands, splattering on the ground into the puddle forming at their feet. Pride stared, completely bewildered, while Justice broke into giggles again.

“What the Hell is so funny about this?” he asked.

“It’s fun to be a mess, isn’t it?”

“Only when I want to be.”

Justice shrugged, grinning in the face of his frustration. “You’re not getting any drier!”

With that, he skipped off down the street, arms outstretched to the pouring rain. Astonished, Pride could only chase after him, not enjoying it nearly as much.

The clouds hadn’t let up in the slightest. Rainwater rivers glugged into the street gutters. Puddles gathered in any unsuspecting divot, pooling at the ends of the sidewalks. There wasn’t an inch of Pride that wasn’t soaked, outfit ruined from the impossible storm. But ahead of him, Justice jumped and twirled around, water thrown off his locs in a shimmery arc.

“Can you slow down?” Pride called.

Instead of replying, Justice turned around and skipped his way back down the street. He took Pride’s hands and dragged him in a circle. Stumbling around, he sputtered through the water dripping down his face.

“What are you—why?” he asked.

“It’s fun,” Justice said, not dampened by the rain or his confusion. “Come on, try it.”

Pride resisted making a sour face. He wasn’t in the mood for fun. He wanted to stomp his way home, throw on some dry clothes, and complain incessantly about this disaster. But Justice was… happy. So he didn’t want to mess that up.

“Fine,” he sighed. “I guess I can’t look any more ruined than this.”

Justice stopped spinning and pulled him along at an eager pace. Pride jogged with all the effort he could muster, boots splashing in the rain. Justice’s sneakers matched him beat for beat, water bursting from under his soles. The drops continued to fall, flying right into their faces as they trotted through the curtain of rain. Pride swiped his eyes, clenched Justice’s hand, and picked up his pace to keep up. Justice smiled back at him, but with a brow raised. He sped up just enough to stay ahead.

Pride narrowed his eyes. If this was a race, he wasn’t going to be left behind. He lengthened his stride, practically jumping over the asphalt squares of sidewalk. With the advantage of height, Justice matched him easily. Pride steeled himself and went even faster, each footstep creating a burst of water that crashed back down like turbulent ocean waves.

He nearly tripped, alarmed, when he caught himself smiling. This… was fun. In his shock, Justice pulled ahead far enough that their linked hands stretched to a diagonal.

“No!” he growled.

Justice startled—a fatal mistake. Pride sprinted ahead with all his strength, wet footsteps matching the competitive thud in his ears. He grinned fiercely the second he was in the lead, fingers straining to keep their hold on Justice. Their wet hands slipped apart for a second, but he barely noticed, focused only on his victory.

The entire world lurched away. Justice snatched his waist, hoisted him into the air, and spun him in circles. Water flew off his soaked hair and clothes, and all Pride could do was laugh. Like their race mere seconds before, Justice matched him, beat for lighthearted beat.

On the way down, Pride twisted around to plant a wet kiss on his cheek. Justice set him down, spun him around, and cupped his cheeks for a full kiss. Pride grabbed his shirt, twisting his hands in the wet fabric to pull him closer. It squeezed a stream of water on the ground, joining the raindrops all around them.

“I don’t think you look ruined,” Justice murmured to him, “by the way.”

“No, I do,” Pride corrected. “But I make it look good.”

#OCKiss24 #OCKiss2024 #original writing #original fiction #original character #original characters #spilled ink #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writeblr community #annika talks #P&J #Pride & Justice #fun fact: in texas a sunshower is called 'the devil's beating his wife' #i don't know why. i prefer sunshower better.