Luna had always enjoyed the rain. Whether it was listening to it fall while she was tucked safely up in bed, or whether she was caught in it without an umbrella and she felt it landing on her skin – she had always loved it. When she was younger, she could vaguely remember it raining in the summertime and she would join her mother outside to watch the rainbow form, amazed at the miracle that had formed right before their very eyes. Luna had tried to do this after her mother had died but it hadn't seemed as magical. She had not tried again and the rain hadn't seemed as wonderful to her as it did back then. She sat now on a collection of rocks not far from Shell Cottage and the rain had just started to fall. She looked up, blinking as the drops fell in her eyes and smiled faintly.
Her time at the Malfoy Manor however had changed her views slightly. Locked in a dungeon with little light and not knowing if your family and friends were okay will damage a person and when Luna was finally rescued and taken to Shell Cottage, it was as if she had just been born. Everything around her seemed to take on a new beauty and she was captivated by the smallest of things. The way the rain slid down the window was something she could watch for hours and Bill and Fleur were only too happy to let her when she did. They had no idea what she had been through and they weren't about to ask. Luna liked to be left alone however – she was used to it.
One thing she hadn't counted on was finding a friend in someone who, before their time at the Manor, she had never even spoken to. Dean Thomas had been a support system when she didn't even know she had needed one. While she had been trying to care for Mr. Ollivander and Griphook, Luna very easily forgot to look after herself and the cold nights in the Manor were usually spent with tears on her face as she remembered her father, her friends at Hogwarts – something she never thought she would even have to be able to miss – and most of all, she missed being free.
Luna liked to think that she was a strong person. She had put up with years of ridicule – though there was no reason for the bullying and she had always figured that it was jealousy that caused her peers to insult her – and going through that and her mother's death was something that didn't break her, it only seemed to build up her resistance to other heartbreaks. When she was captured by the Death Eaters and brought to the Manor, for the first few weeks she was her usual self. She knew, one day, that they would be rescued – they couldn't stay there forever, after all.
The day she realised they were going to be there for a long time was the worst day she spent in the Manor. There was nothing different about it – they spent the day the same way they always did and when Griphook and Mr. Ollivander went to bed and left Dean and Luna talking, it seemed to hit Luna all of a sudden.
"We're never going to get out of here, are we?" She said, her usually bright voice flat. Dean looked up, obviously surprised by the tone and gave her a half smile.
"I know we are, Luna. Trust me." He replied and took her hand, squeezing it tightly. She looked down at how pale her hand looked in his and squeezed it back. She wondered now if that had been when she had started to develop feelings for him but because there had been no Lovebugs in the air, something her father had told her was a clear sign that there was love blossoming, she had dismissed it.
From that night on, Dean would hold her hand each night as they lay down to sleep. There was nothing sensual about it – it was a simple gesture between friends and Luna didn't realise how much it helped her until the first night at Shell Cottage. They were sleeping in different rooms and as she lay in the single bed, staring up at the ceiling, she put her two hands together and tried to imagine that it was Dean who held them. When Harry, Ron and Hermione left, it was Dean who she spent her days with and they grew closer and closer which she was pleased about. She couldn't go back home where her father was, she couldn't go back to Hogwarts where her friends were so spending her time at Shell Cottage with Dean was something she both enjoyed and appreciated.
She was brought out of her reverie by a movement behind her. She didn't turn around to greet him and Dean took a seat next to hear, silent. They sat like that for what seemed like a long time but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. She felt something on her hand and looked down. Dean took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly. Looking up, she saw him smiling and she returned it, feeling impossibly happy in that moment.
"How are you, Luna?" He asked, his deep voice comforting. "Why are you sitting in the rain?" Luna looked around, and realised it was still raining and had started to fall heavier than it had when she had first come out here.
"I like the rain." She said simply and where other people may have questioned her sanity, Dean nodded, shuffling closer to her. She looked at the closing gap between them and smiled. "You don't have to sit in it though, I can understand if you want to go back inside where it's warm."
Dean looked into her face and smiled again. "I like sitting here with you. It's peaceful and after the last few months, peaceful is something I've been looking for."
They sat in silence, the rain falling steadily over them and Luna felt her clothes becoming damp. She found she didn't care and when the rain really started to pour down, she giggled. Dean looked over at her, alarmed before he grinned. Luna continued to laugh, the giggle developing into hysterics and before long she had tears streaming down her face, her breathing laboured due to her fits of laughter. Dean laughed along with her, though his was more of a chuckle and it was clear the only thing he found funny was the sight of Luna laughing so much.
After a minute Luna stopped, the tears still coming though she wasn't sure why. She turned to Dean and he gave her a funny look, as if unsure what to do next. She smiled at him once more, though her tears still fell down her face and he brought his hand up, wiping away her tears with his hand. Before she knew what was happening, he moved his head forward and his lips brushed hers. It was only for a second but Luna smiled into his lips, her eyes closing.
"Luna?" Dean said and she opened her eyes to see his face directly in front of hers. "I really care about you."
"Do you?" She said, her voice bright and he nodded. "I thought so. I care about you too." It was awkward but only for a moment as Dean leaned in and kissed her again, harder this time and she kissed him back, her arms snaking around his neck. Luna smiled once more into his lips; there was happiness to be found everywhere, no matter what is going on in the world. She opened one eye and was delighted to spot a Lovebug flying towards her, its wings batting like crazy as it headed for her and she closed her eyes, knowing she had found someone special.
I've never really written Luna or Dean properly before so I hope this isn't too bad. Review if you liked it! :)