(((Dedication: Dedicated to Rollingthunder, who introduced me to EG, and to a certain Flex Dyslex, who made watching it so much fun.

Summary: Ren tries for the Garden of Eden, traveling in the rain. When she collapses by the side of the road, no one is there to pick her back up again. Or, so she thinks...

Disclaimer: I own nothing--not Ren, not Coud, not the Garden of Eden, not the featured song, nothing.

Info: Songfic one-shot--"Stand in the Rain" by Superchick. Whether it's romantic or not is up to your perception. I'm not really sure.

Author Notes: I've only just started watching EG, and I already love it!

Stand in the Rain

By: Tjix

Because she does not want to cause further trouble, and because she does not want Coud to get hurt, Ren has set off to find the Garden of Eden on her own.

Head down, Ren walked through the pouring rain, mud squelching beneath her shoes. Every so often, lightning split the sky and thunder crashed like a giant drum. She'd grown used to it, but that wasn't to say the great flashes of light and rolling booms didn't frighten her. More than once, she wished that Coud were with her. She always felt safer with him around.

She'd been walking for days, and it seemed like it had rained the whole time. She had found very little to eat and hadn't rested much at all.

She never slows down.

She doesn't know why

But she knows that when she's all alone,

Feels like it's all coming down.

Tears choked her throat. She tried to bury them--tears were for humans and Sitting Raids, not for Eden Raids, and certainly not for the Shichikouhouju--but she found that she couldn't. She tried very hard to prevent the hot tears from falling. If she started crying, she wouldn't stop until she reached the Garden of Eden--perhaps not even then.

She had to keep going.

She won't turn around.

The shadows are long

And she fears if she cries that first tear,

The tears will not stop raining down.

"Coud," she whispered, tears swimming in her eyes. She rubbed her sleeve over her face, wiping away rain and tears, and continued to fight her way through the rain.

So stand in the rain,

Stand your ground.

Stand up when it's all crashing down.

Stand through the pain,

You won't drown.

And one day what's lost can be found.

Stand in the rain.

Ren fell, exhausted, by the side of the road. Her eyelids were heavy. She was soaked and shivering violently, but she didn't care. She remembered that after she and Coud had Reacted, he would always carry her so that she could sleep. She remembered the warm, gentle scent of him. She remembered thinking that maybe the smell of humans wasn't always such a bad thing.

Resting her head on a tree trunk and shivering, Ren whispered Coud's name again, to herself.

She won't make a sound.

Alone in this fight with herself

And the fear's whispering.

If she stands, she'll fall down.

Ren struggled to get on her feet. Standing on shaky legs, she took a step--and fell to her knees. She was worn out. She'd had very little to eat and very little rest. She was cold and wet. She was tired and her feet ached.

She caught herself wishing that Coud would find her. That he would somehow appear out of the rain and reach out his hand to her.

She wants to be found.

The only way out is through everything

She's running from.

She wants to give up and lie down.

Ren fell facedown in the mud, the rain beating on her back.

So stand in the rain,

Stand your ground.

Stand up when it's all crashing down.

Stand through the pain,

You won't drown.

And one day what's lost can be found.

Stand in the rain.

She couldn't anymore. Her eyes closed. Her grip on her sorrow had grown weak, and was now broken. Salty tears spilled from her closed eyes, mixing with the rain and mud on her cheeks.

Warm, strong hands turned over carefully, then slipped under her back and knees, lifting her with very little effort. A very familiar scent surrounded her. Her eyes opened slightly.

Coud's silver-gray eyes looked worriedly down at her. "Ren?"

"Coud," she whispered.

Carefully balancing her with one arm and his knee, he wiped the mud from her face with his sleeve. Then his strong arms cradled her against his warm chest. "You're safe now," he told her.

"You shouldn't have come after me," she said softly. "I don't want to cause more trouble. Please, go back."

"Where you go, I go."

"Don't take me back."

"Take you back?" His arms tightened around her and he hunched over her, shielding her face from the rain. He grinned down at her. "I promised I would take you to the Garden of Eden, no matter what. I'm not going to break that promise."

She closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest, inhaling the warm scent of him. As he strode off into the rain, every step taking them closer to their goal, she fell asleep in his arms.

Safe.

So stand in the rain,

Stand your ground.

Stand up when it's all crashing down.

Stand through the pain,

You won't drown.

And one day what's lost can be found.

Stand in the rain.