I'm surprised I ended up writing this one-shot, and somehow actually finished it. Says a lot about my priorities.

Tbh, I was actually working on another fic chapter, but soon found myself opening another doc because a plot bunny literally just slapped itself across my face. I'm not surprised that franticshipping feelings have once again, returned for whatever reason, but man, I didn't think I'd end up finishing a one-shot in a single day. I suppose it was inevitable, as I always somehow find myself crawling back into Pokespe no matter how long. We all have our own childhood otps I guess haha

Nonetheless, here's my crappy one-shot haha

Under the Rain

Back in Goldenrod, Ruby had hated the rain.

Especially when there was heavy rainfall in the metropolitan city that was Goldenrod, Ruby had usually spent his days cooped up inside his house. While his mother had usually hummed to herself as she cooked up a hot meal for her and her son to eat during the storm, Ruby would be seated on a soft pillow across a window, leaning against the wall as he sewed together his latest masterpiece. Whenever Ruby would get tired, he'd press his cheek against the glass pane, eyeing the cityscape from the corner of his eye as raindrops would batter against it.

His thoughts would usually revolve around the same topic. Rain never made anything look good. The overcast clouds looming over the usually lit up city had never appealed to Ruby. With the dark shadows, it was rare to see anyone walking around the streets, enjoying the sunlight as it rose over the buildings. An eerie quietness would cast itself over the city grounds, and everything would be an empty space filled with puddles upon puddles upon puddles.

Rain also proved to be a hassle for Ruby. How else was he supposed to go to the mall and buy the yarn that was usually on sale over the weekends? And risk getting soaked? No thank you.

However, it wasn't until he moved into Littleroot that his thoughts began to change.

When Ruby first moved to Hoenn, had it not been for his feud with his father, the jarring difference between Jhoto's modern cities and Hoenn's rural countryside had almost made him want to hide in a closet and never come out. To him, Hoenn was just that: a scorching hot and tropical region that would make him sweat through his clothes due to its humidity.

Oh yes, with constant rain too. And he despised the rain.

But soon enough, with some (or a lot) of coaxing, Ruby soon fell in love with the region. It was so much more than just a "rural countryside."

Volcanoes raised high up into the skies. Sandstorms brewing across vast deserts. Powerful ocean waves pounding against rock formations near the shores. Canopies of forestry blocking out the bright blue that only let little rays of sunlight shine through.

The land. The ocean. The skies. To the naked eye, Hoenn was a gorgeous region. However, one needed to truly step foot into the region and explore themselves to appreciate Hoenn's beauty.

Even Ruby's previous perception of rain began to change drastically over time.

While Ruby was sewing in the cozy confines of his house in Littleroot Town, he began to hear the familiar pitter patter of raindrops falling onto the roof. Hoenn was such a tropical region that rain was already a given, with its humid climates and all. He let his eyes lazily travel through the town from his perch, watching as the soil began to darken and the water falling from the leaves. He took off his glasses, listening as the town fell into a quiet hush, before getting up and storing away his materials into his backpack.

Grabbing his Pokeballs and slinging his backpack across his back, Ruby went downstairs to see his mother cooking up a storm in the kitchen. She was silently humming under her breath as she sliced up the potatoes and carrots. A pot was heating up on the oven, and Ruby could smell a delicious aroma wafting from it. He rummaged through the closet to find an umbrella, and once he found it, he cleared his throat to catch his mother's attention.

"What you making?" he asked, making his way across the kitchen to look at the contents inside the pot.

She smiled in response, her apron snug and tied around her waist. "Just making curry. Hot food is always best served when it's raining after all." She continued to cut the vegetables and when she was finished, poured the contents into the pot next to him. Grabbing a ladle, she began to stir the vegetables in the sauce. "I might add in some coconut as well. You always liked mixing coconut with curry."

Ruby tried not to jump too much in excitement. She knew him too well. "Yea, can't wait for it."

Once his mother finished stirring, she lowered the heat and eyed his umbrella. "Huh, you planning on going out?"

He nodded in response. "Yea, I just want to take a short walk. I'll be back before dinner though." He didn't want to worry her too much.

However, it looked like she wasn't too concerned, as she only sent him a smug smile in reply. "No, it's alright. Take your time, dear. I'll still be here anyways." She turned back around to raise the heat again, signalling the end of the conversation.

Ruby blinked at her behavior, feeling the back of his ears begin to burn as he scrambled towards the door. Slapping on his running shoes and opening his umbrella, he heard his mother shout at him to "have fun" before he closed the door. The moment the door closed, he sighed loudly to himself, but then shook his head and started his trek into the forest. While his mother could be embarrassing at times, he knew she meant well.

As he walked in the forest though, his running shoes sank slightly into the mud, however he didn't care too much. The air around him was fresh and earthy, and the trees above him sheltered him from most of the rain. Droplets of water dripped from the sides of his umbrella, and he twirled it in his hands. With an extra skip in his step, he saw a small pack of Poochyena quitely snoozing in a hollow trunk, and he forced back a grin.

Climbing up the side of the cliff, Ruby wrung the water out of his umbrella and set it outside the cave entrance, before walking into their secret base. He sat down onto a nearby chair, and removed his materials out of his backpack. He grabbed his sewing needle that was attached to the garment he was working on. However, while he fully intended on continuing his work, his grip on the needle was slack as he stared outside of the mouth of the cave, watching more droplets falling by. Hoenn was such an… untouchable place. Everything seemed so natural and pure, somehow still keeping its identity while people settled across the continent.

Perhaps that was what always fascinated him — the way people in Hoenn so easily integrated themselves into the region without making any drastic changes.

After a few moments of staring, he soon heard the sound of footsteps outside. A silhouette appeared from the front and not to his surprise, there she was. The brunette girl blinked at him, her blue eyes widened in astonishment. "Oh, Ruby, I…" she paused. "I didn't think I'd see you here today."

He tilted his head to the side, the side of his mouth quirked up into a grin. "Well, Sapphire, you'd think a little rain would stop me?"

Her eyebrows rose a notch, but then shook her head fondly. With that, she crouched down next to his seat, staring at the needle in his hand. "Really? You're already making something else?"

He smirked at her. "Why wouldn't I?"

She shrugged, the smile on her face slowly morphing in more smug one. "I dunno, maybe it's because you've already made the same hat several times for Nana? You couldn't just have settled for a single hat?"

Ruby scoffed. "You know what they say, 'Fashion is like eating, you shouldn't stick with the same menu.' Of course I'm gonna have to experiment before I make the perfect hat."

Her smug grin didn't let up. "A perfect hat aside, you can't tell it's perfect if it looks exactly the same to a more casual viewer."

He blinked, a little taken aback from her sudden snark. "Excuse me?"

"You're excused."

She never failed to surprise him.

After sharing a laugh, the duo settled back into silence, and Ruby started working on his stitches once again. Despite this, while his stitches remained on point, he found his mind wandering to other places, refusing to stay situated in a single place. Mentally, he sighed in frustration, but he soon saw Sapphire at the peripheral of his vision. She had moved back to the entrance of the cave and was carefully drying herself off, trying her best to avoid spilling water onto the rugs in their base.

It was then that he finally took note of her appearance. She was wringing water out of her mousy brown hair, wincing a bit as she did so. Her wet bangs were still plastered to her forehead, and her clothes clung to her skin, sagging a bit due to the excess water. Her blue eyes blinked as she attempted to get rid of some droplets that was still stuck against her eyelashes, before she used her calloused hands to wipe them off. Mud marks and scratches were also splattered against her legs, perhaps due to her running through the forest grounds, and her cheeks were flushed a rosy pink.

She had never looked more gorgeous.

Perhaps he could work on this another day.

Getting up, he placed his sewing needle and garments onto his chair. He called to her. "Hey Sapph?"

She turned around, and tilted her head to the side. He continued on. "Wanna get out of here?" he asked, gesticulating towards the rain outside.

Her eyes slowly trailed onto his figure, taking note of his clothes, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she did so. "Won't your clothes get dirty though?"

He walked past her, purposefully avoiding his umbrella as he grabbed her hand. Her hand was still rather damp, he noted, as she stumbled behind him. He laughed lightly once he turned around and saw her bewildered expression. "One time isn't gonna hurt."

With one last tug (as well as a yelp from Sapphire's end), they were under the rain.

And as his shoes continued to sink into the mud, as his hat flattened itself onto his head, as the heavy drizzle of the rain soaked its way into his skin, the hand that was still attached to his own remained warm. As they danced around together, a part of him wanted to scream to the world that somehow, this amazing, stunning, breathtaking girl was his, and somehow, he was hers as well. To think, there was a time where they had both despised each other, but somehow, fate had decided otherwise. It was like the universe was spinning, their teasing laughs filling the empty void, matching the rhythm of the rain as it pattered onto the leaves, the puddles, the ground.

They probably looked like idiots, two teenagers frolicking around in the forest during a summer storm.

However, as he watched her soft giggles transform into loud guffaws, drenched mousy hair, calloused skin, flushed cheeks and all, he couldn't bring himself to care.

Truly, Ruby mused to himself, he really did love the rain after all.