It was the fourth night in their new apartment and rain hit the window relentlessly. Lightning and thunder alternated; at least every ten minutes a strike of lightning would flash outside and would be followed by the rumble of thunder less than a minute later. Noriko Nakagawa huddled into Shuuya's side underneath the blanket, one side of her face pressed into his shoulder.

They were sitting on their couch. The lights had gone out quite a while ago, sending them into darkness only interrupted by the aforementioned lightning, and now there was nothing to do but huddle together on the couch and watch the storm. They had managed to secure a few pieces of furniture, though they didn't have a bed yet. They instead slept on the couch, curled up together and happier than they had ever been.

Thunder boomed again and Shuuya's arm tightened around her. She glanced up at him, taking in what of his face she could see, what little of his face wasn't bathed in shadow. He looked down at her and smiled, a little awkward. The next question out of his mouth was something that perplexed Noriko a bit.

"How do you feel about getting some music in here before a bed?"

She blinked, unsure how to answer. She – or rather, her back – did miss sleeping on a bed, though they hadn't slept on a bed for quite a while now. As well as that, Noriko had managed to solidify a steady job. Shuuya was still looking. He searched around for a job in the mornings and usually spent a good chunk of his afternoon playing his guitar and singing. They had been working together on lyrics lately. Shuuya had been trying a few of his original songs, he'd said, and he thought that he could be discovered any day now.

"That would be okay," she said. She tried not to sound disappointed, because she wasn't, but from the look on his face, she gathered that she must have sounded that way anyway. She hurried to explain. "It'll make us happy. It's a good idea, really. And we haven't had a bed for a while, anyway."

Shuuya still looked a little worried, but he nodded anyway. "Then we will," he decided. He shifted a little, his hip moving to rest against the arm of the couch. While Noriko was curled into a ball, he was nearly sitting straight up with his feet on the floor and one arm on the back of the couch. The couch itself was threadbare; something that they'd managed to find at a charity shop for cheap.

Lightning lit up the room and Noriko pulled the blanket further up around her neck. She was tired, even if the storm was keeping her awake. It was nice, to sit with the rain pounding on the windows and the lightning illuminating them every so often, as long as she was with Shuuya. It was as if he heard her thoughts and hugged her tighter to him, and she rested her head in the hollow of his throat. His chin rested atop her head.

They didn't have much at all, just the bare essentials, but they had shelter and they were fed and, best of all, they were together and free. They were safe, inside their little world that consisted of a couch and a kitchen table and a few more odds and ends. "This is the best thing in the world," she said, voice so quiet that she wasn't sure if he could hear her. He shifted.

"Huh?"

"Being here. Together. Safe," she said.

"Mhm," he said. She could feel the rumble in his throat as he agreed with her. She had become so attuned to his movements, his breathing, his habits. "Yeah."

They sat there until morning, together, as thunder and lightning crashed around them.

This was requested by a user on Tumblr, who wanted another Shuuya/Noriko! somehow ic ouldn't make it as atmospheric as the last one oh well