Author's Note: Written for MEFlashFanWork on tumblr. The prompt for November was Rain... I give you a young, naive Sloan Shepard enjoying a rainstorm on Mindoir as she considers how perfect her future is going to be. Set a few months before the Batarian raid on her colony. I'm sorry. I guess ... Enjoy? - TLC
Let It Rain
It smelled like rain.
The windows of their prefab home were open and the breeze, warmed by the early spring sun, teased the curtains before brushing over Sloan's unblemished cheek. She set her book down and turned her face to the open window. A smile played on her lips. The scent of dinner drifted into the room. Lightning flashed overhead.
She stood quickly, the chair scraping the floor, before heading out to their covered porch. She pulled a chair under cover and sat, pulling her knees to her chest. She adjusted the skirt of her yellow sundress over her knees before she wrapped her arms around her legs. Her long dark chocolate hair spilled over her back in a gently curl. Her brilliant blue eyes reflected the storm as she watched it brewing overhead.
It didn't rain much on Mindoir, but when it did, it poured. She inhaled deeply. The scent of electricity danced and her skin tingled with the energy. She'd been showing signs of biotics for years, but her parents hesitated in contacting the authorities. She had the suspicion they'd take her away. Send her to some Alliance facility. Gargaron Station? Was that place even still open? She was fairly sure she'd heard something about an incident there.
She sighed, pushing the negative thoughts away. She didn't want to leave, and she didn't think it was necessary; she'd only shown a limited ability with no desire to develop it. She hadn't even told Caleb. She couldn't stop the smile that slipped over her lips or the blush that stained her cheeks as she thought about him. He had finished school the year before, and she had mere months left. She looked to the sky as the thunder rolled. He'd be finishing up his shift in the fields soon. He'd come see her on his way home, she knew.
She rested her chin on her knees and inhaled deeply, her body thrumming with the memory of their evening together. The way his farm rough hands had felt on her skin. The way the heat of his mouth had seared into her neck, her chest, everywhere. His emerald eyes had held her captive as he moved above her. She knew he'd been with girls before her, but that hadn't mattered. He was her first, and she knew she never wanted to be with anyone else, ever. He would be the only man to touch her. That thought made her grin. She'd found him – The One.
If she was honest, it wasn't completely pleasurable, but she hadn't expected her first time to be. It still felt, special. That was all she had hoped for. She pushed her hair behind her ear. She knew the next time would be better. She chewed her lip as she thought about being with him again, being with him forever. Once she finished school she knew they'd be married. It had been practically arranged since she was a child.
The first few raindrops fell and she closed her eyes and listened as they hit the roof. As the downpour grew stronger, the drumming of the drops on the metal housing soothed her. It had been a source of comfort ever since she could remember. A yelp cut through her tranquility and she nearly leapt to her feet as she saw Michael bounding around the corner. The following laugh as her little brother splashed through the mud as he ran through the yard to the porch let her settle back into her seat. He was fine.
In fact, he was grinning, covered in mud and his eyes shone with happiness. He reached the sanctuary of the porch and as his hand moved to open the door, Sloan shouted, "Nope!" he froze, hand out at the controls. "Mom will have a fit if you track that filth through the house. You stay there, I'll get you a towel," she instructed as she stood.
As she reached the door, she looked up, just in time to see Caleb heading along the road towards his house. He stopped in the rain and waved at her. She wasn't sure what made her do it. She knew he'd come to the porch but the moment she laid eyes on him she was overwhelmed with need. A hunger she didn't think she'd ever experienced before. She turned away from the house and bounded down the stairs and into the storm. Her young brother's calls lost in the rain as the fat, cold drops landed on her flushed skin.
Caleb was grinning when she met him. Her leap into his arms knocked him back a step, but his farm strong frame caught and held her. He spun her around as the rain soaked her clothes. His mouth found hers in a clumsy clash of slippery lips. He set her down, and kissed her. He tasted like honey and rain and home.
When she pulled back and found his gaze, a duplicate grin on his face, she knew there was nothing else she needed. She would cherish this moment, she knew. She'd hold on to the look in Caleb's eyes, the sound of her brother making gross noises from the porch, her parents shouting from inside the prefab – shouts about pneumonia and dinner and Stop teasing your sister! Your day will come, Michael! – and the cold spring rain.
She'd hold on to it forever, as long as she had them, she knew she could face anything Mindoir could throw at her.
