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zombified-queer · 3 years

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Monotropsis odorata - A Smile For Me Fanfiction

The ice clinks against the glass as Kamal pours himself more iced tea. The air conditioning hums like a beehive, low and droning. It’s hot today. A hundred degrees. Hotter than it’s ever been before.

He glances out his apartment window. Everything shimmers in the heat. Every pane of glass reflects the sun, blinding and brilliant. The asphalt seems to melt into a tar pit. Kamal closes the blinds as best he can. Anything to keep his apartment nice and cool.

He sinks onto his couch, nursing his glass of iced tea. The news keeps talking about the heat as if it’ll do anything about it. But there’s just waiting for it to be over. Nothing else will make the heat vanish.

Kamal takes another sip of his tea and cringes. Too much sugar in this batch. He could try adding more water but the kitchen is so far and his whole body is smothered by the heat.

But it’s nice, in a way. No one’s calling him. He hasn’t had a single email all day. Just a nice (if hot) day off.

He could go to the pool, he supposed. But that involves getting up and changed and then going out in the heat. So he sips his iced tea.

Or he could go for ice cream. But that involves putting on a shirt, grabbing his wallet, putting on shoes, and risking a sunburn on the walk around the corner. So he nurses his iced tea.

He sets his glass on the coffee table, condensation sprinting down the sides of the glass only to pool on the surface of the table. Kamal flips through the different channels. There’s re-runs of an old science fiction show, a gardening competition going on despite the heat, and some trashy talk show. Nothing good.

Staring at his collection of VHS tapes, he evaluates each one based on how much ice and snow they have. He settles on Dove Love Panic! if only for the obligatory Christmas episode.

The tape slides into the VHS player. It takes a moment but Kamal knows exactly how long to fast forward to get to the snowy wonderland of Dove Love Panic!’s Christmas-smothered campus. And then he lays on his side, watching the old episode from the comfort of the cool tile floor.

“Can’t wait for winter,” Kamal complains to the VHS. He chuckles and adds, “I might even celebrate Christmas this year.”

Dove Love Panic! doesn't acknowledge Kamal's quip. Instead, the Christmas episode plays out like Kamal remembers it. Ryouta and his friends make their wishes for the new year.

Kamal envies these college kids and their snowy adventures. The thought of building a snowman is enough to make Kamal feel a little cooler.

"Shit. My tea."

Kamal sits up, grabbing the glass. The ice is mostly melted. But maybe that's for the best.

He sips his tea—still cold—and lets himself get caught up in the episode. Something about the giant lazer and the holiday outfits applied to the mechs is really nice. Even the laser and its resulting explosion make Kamal shudder, aware of a chill on his skin.

And after the Christmas episode is the Valentine's episode. Which also has a snow theme. So Kamal settles in, losing himself in the anime. Really, it helps take his mind off the heatwave.

By the time he's finished his glass of iced tea, the sun's setting. It's a nice relief from the heat of the day. But Kamal pours another glass of iced tea anyway and considers what to make for dinner. There's leftovers, which sounds amazing considering he absolutely doesn't want to stand in front of a stove.

He eats in front of the television, sprawled out lazily on the couch. When did Dove Love Panic! get such a catchy theme, he wonders.

When he's finished, he washes his dishes and puts them away. And then it's back to his anime until he finishes the season. Really, he was halfway through it when he started on the Christmas episode.

"Time for bed," he tells himself, stretching. "But first, gotta brush."

#sfmweek2021 #prompt: free day #smile for me

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