I don't own the Tales of Arcadia franchise.


Mary glanced at the rain pouring out the window, and then at the young woman curled in a fetal position on the couch. Sighing, Mary grabbed her keys. Oh, the things she did for love.

Mary didn't drive that often because her shared condo was close to her work and the grocery store that she could ride her bike. It meant she could save money on gas. However, the short trip from the front door led to her long hair being plastered against her back and her socks being soaked. She groaned as she started the engine and saw that in addition to the errand she was running, she needed to get gas. Great. Even more standing in the rain. She was tempted to go back to the condo so she could change, but then she'd never leave home. She was tempted to leave her car filling while she went into the mini-mart at the gas station. However, the chocolate they had there wasn't as nice, and some odd feeling of paranoia made her reluctant to leave her car alone. Thankfully the pump was covered, so she wasn't getting rained on as she waited. It was still cold, though. Mary's hand drifted to her pocket to pull out her phone. Maybe she could check her instagram while she waited. It would be a nice distraction from the cold and the wet.

The gas pump shut off.

Mary, despite all the weirdness in Arcadia, did not have magic powers, so she couldn't say if the raindrops could feel her glaring at them.

If the grocery store got mad at the amount of water that trailed behind her, then they should contact the city about not having a temporary river outside their store. Mary grabbed five different chocolate bars and tried not to let her hair drip onto them as she went to go get some soup. She was so taking a shower when she got home. Stupid rain.

Mary took a moment to wring out her hair before unlocking the door. "Hey," she said in a soothing voice. "Have the pain meds kicked in yet?"

Shannon moved from her fetal position for what seemed like the first time in the last half hour. "No," she said halfheartedly. Her eyes were unfocused. Whether it was from pain or from the fact that her glasses were three feet from her face, Mary couldn't tell.

Mary walked over to her and handed her the bag of chocolate bars. "Got these for you. I'm going to go get changed into something dry; do you want to watch a movie afterwards? Or that one Australian crime drama?"

"That sounds nice."

Mary allowed herself one last look at her girlfriend before heading to change into something warmer. Oh, the things she did for love.