#mk 1

"Oh, it's fucking raining cats and dogs out there, I ain't going out," you hummed with a shake of your head as you closed the curtains and looked over to where Syzoth was lounging on your bed, his green eyes wide slightly as he furrowed his brows in confusion. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Syzoth shook his head, and slowly got up so that he could look out of the window; all he could see was heavy rain that pounded against the windows and bounced back up when it hit the concrete pavements outside. He paused, and looked up at the skies for a moment; huge charcoal grey clouds lazily trudged their way through the smoke coloured canvas, no sunlight visible at all, and certainly no cats or dogs outside.

You smiled, your face feeling a little hot as you shook your head again and did your best not to call him just about the cutest thing in the world; with your time split between Zaterra and Earthrealm, you could understand why he had not quite grasped the usual phrases and idioms and such just yet; it still did not make it any less charming, though.

"Where are the cats and dogs?" He asked quietly.

"Oh, fuck," you muttered to yourself, forgetting that he might not have known. But when you saw the puppy dog look in his green eyes, you knew he thought that you were frustrated, and you shook your head at yourself.

"No, it's just a saying," you explained with a grin that made him immediately relax and realise that you were far from angry. "Y'know like when we went to the museum in Zaterra's capital, and I told you that I'd rather shit in my hands and clap than bring Johnny along?"

Syzoth nodded, still unable to shake the foul image from his mind. "Unfortunately I do."

"It's just like that," you told him. "I mean, Zeterra has to have phrases like that, too, right?"

Again, he nodded. "We have a similar one to yours about horse's mouth, from the eye of the well."

"See?" You hummed, smiling so brightly at him that it felt like his heart was going to burn in his chest. "That's all it is, but... I gotta say, it's cute when you're confused."

His features burned pink for a moment as he turned away for just a moment, his tail protruding from his lower back as he failed to keep control of it from coming through; he always did that when he was flustered, and if it wasn't his tail, it was often his tongue instead. But you could only grin as you hummed, tilting your head slightly to the side to admire just how good he looked and how much you enjoyed making him go all shy and blush.

It was cute, it was a side of him that you rarely got to see; usually, Syzoth was rarely flustered, always having a quiet confidence about him, but if you could draw that fluttering sensation in his chest and that pink blush across his cheeks out, you would, and he was always willing to let you do it.

At first, Syzoth had to admit, he was a little bit apprehensive about dating someone from Earthrealm, but he liked you enough that he was confident in sharing his anxiety around it, and the two of you had worked together on it for so long that now, he knew he could not be with another man - Earthrealmer or otherwise.

You were all that he sought in a partner, confident and charming and intelligent and open, never condescending, but always happy to explain and fill him in on things that he did not quite understand. You were the man for him. No one else could compare... maybe, in his heart of hearts, it was raining cats and dogs for you.

Or at least, that's how he thought of it, even if he was using it wrong.

You never thought less of him for being confused about the cultural differences, and you never put him down for it; you just admitted that it was cute when he was confused, and happily explained until he told you that he understood.

But then, your phone buzzed, and you rolled your eyes with a sigh as you unlocked it to show Syzoth the text from Johnny. "He wants us at his house party tonight... I can't think of an excuse."

"It's raining cats and dogs," Syzoth pointed out with a smile that made you want to punch him from how cute he was being. "Did I use that right?"

You nodded. "You did, but... you know what Johnny's like. He'll just send a car to get us if we try and use the weather."

"Well..." gently, he reached for your hand as his tail protectively found its way behind your legs, leaning into you to ensure that you knew you wouldn't stumble. "It's been a while since we saw Kenshi, Kung Lao and the others. Why don't we see if they're going?"

You thought about it, then frowned. "I was kinda hoping that we would spend the day together, though."

"Give me the square," he told you, and you handed him the phone. "I will say you have Tarkat."

"No!" You yelped, shaking your head. "Say I have a cold."

Syzoth furrowed his brows, and placed his free hand to your forehead. "You don't feel cold..."

"It's just a light disease that people get," you explained, "just say I've got a cold and I'm sneezing and coughing everywhere."

He nodded, typed it out, and when you said it was good enough to be convincing to Johnny, he pressed the send button and handed you the phone back.

"There," he nodded. "Now we don't need to go anywhere... I have you all to myself, now."

"That you do," you hummed, leading him towards the bed. "Don't tell Johnny, but... do you wanna watch a Skorsese film and eat our weight in sweets?"