Rain
WytorBAM

She piles her hair on top of her head, trying to get the damp strands off her neck. The results of an earlier autumn rain fight are still evident. Her hair takes a long time to dry, even as short as it is. Dark eyes gaze up at the sky, staring at the stars reflecting so gently in the fog. She likes the fog. The way it majestically weaves its misty fingers through the trees and around her body, coating her in a thin layer of dampness.

She hears the distant rumble of thunder and feels a tug on her heart. The last time she had been happy in the rain, he had been with her. She wants him to be with her again. She needs to hear his voice whispering that she is beautiful, that she is perfect... That he loves her. She desperately needs to hear his voice, feel his touch, taste his kiss... Anything to keep her going, to know that he's keeping her breathing, so she can go on living. She misses him terribly...

The first rain drops of an autumn rain begin to fall gently, searing her flesh as each drop hits. It feels like poison as it touches her yet she stands there, staring at the stars. Not a cloud in sight, yet the rain still falls, harsh and cold. Just like everything in her life. Everything that keeps her going is missing and she's not sure that she can keep it going. She wants desperately to let the rain wash away everything so she can start again, but that only works in fairy tales and silly stories.

She feels the tears stinging her eyes, but does nothing to stop them from falling. One after another, they drip down her cheeks, desperately struggling to reach the ground. Her face drifts downward until she is staring at the ground. The rain pours down harder, stinging her exposed skin more than before. Tears and rain mingle on her face and stream down her cheeks, some of it ending up in her mouth. The salty and acidic taste makes her gag before she falls to all fours.

"Why?" she wants to scream. "Why now? Why couldn't you just stay here with me..? We would have let you stay forever!"

But no words come out. She is left on her hands and knees gasping and sobs threaten to overtake her. She knows that if she cries, she will exhaust herself until she has nothing left. If that happens, then she will remain out here in the cold of Radiant Gardens' chill autumn winds. She was too far into the icy cliffs to be able to collapse here.

"Yuffie."

She looks up to see the last person she expects to see. He's wearing jeans and a long-sleeved leather jacket with white fur on the collar. "Leon?" she wants to ask, but instead she turns to sit. She looks up at him with tears slowly drying on her cheeks. At least the flow has stopped.

"... Let's go inside."

A moment of silence passes between them before she says anything. "I want Riku, Squall. I miss him... A lot."

Her voice is so firm that he doesn't know how to react immediately. "Yuffie. Riku... He's not going to be able to come back for awhile. He told you that."

She pulls her hair up into both hands and lets it go, avoiding his eyes. Those eyes that criticized, tore through her, threatened to expose her... They sit like that for seconds, minutes, hours... But neither speaks to the other. She wants a man that has gone, he wants her to smile, they both want this night and her tears to end.

"I love him."

"I know."

She looks up and smiles at Leon. "He's coming back next month, right?"

He nods and she stands, the rain still falling down on her. It's light now, not the searing or scorching that it had been earlier. She wants to be in his arms, but will settle on memories until he returns. And when he returns, she will ask him to stay. She misses him too much for him to be away so much. She loves him.

"I love him."

"I know."