when the no.6 suit starts messing with reno's ability to regulate his body temperature, iharu steps up with a suggestion. it's no big deal! he's just doing it to be nice, right?

When just peacefully being with the other is enough.

The title can be "breathing with you", or something similar, as there are two driving themes:

refuge.

presence.

Refuge because:

to Reno, Iharu is a refuge from chaos and stress/overwhelm. (ch 63).

to Iharu, Reno is a refuge from judgement (he's not competitive).

Refuge is only one ingredient of romantic love. Still, a non-negotiable one.

As for presence:

Usually I try to avoid generic (like this could be any other two characters). But the emptiness here:

is a nod to the "simply being with the other can be enough". No extra stuff (actions, meaning, objects, colors, etc), just them, together, existing with each other. Finding value — comfort (it's restorative, regulating), connection — in the simple act of being with somebody who feels safe, meaningful, supportive; personally dear.

backgrounds the what exactly they're doing (hugging/etc) and foregrounds the experience they're having: who they are to each other and how they're feeling because of that when being with the other in such a basic way: when the other is "not doing anything" but simply is, with them (because even then, the person is a model in one's brain, comprised of memories and expectations, thus generating certain emotional states even if the other isn't doing anything or can't do anything anymore due to being dead). The answer to both being: many things, but in this drawing "refuge" is the focal point.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/79748636/chapters/209273326

RELATIONSHIP: Furuhashi Iharu x Ichikawa Reno

SUMMARY: What's really left to be, if the other already feels like home? Perhaps closer, until they're both the hearth.

RATING: E

TAGS (some): Canon-Compliant, Post-Canon, Getting Together, Fluff, Light Angst, Mutual Pining, Tension, Comfort, Humor, Kissing, Cuddling & Snuggling, Vulnerability, Tenderness, playful

CHAPTERS: 4/? (prbly 6-7)

Iharu is yelling his name as he's breaking through the ice, and then carries Reno out of that place while Reno is out of it...

...but Reno's mind turns all that into this warm, reassuring moment of "I believe in you".

Just when Reno seems to have crumbled, perhaps even lost hope for a moment (even despite the amount of hope he has for & offers to Kafka), Iharu is there for him, to bring it back & bring him back into the game.