Rain
Author's note: Some spoilers and minor lemon!
Also – sadly, I don't own Naruto or any of the characters; that right belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Rain poured down as if the heavens opened up and were spilling the tears of a century. It darkened the bright orange spiked hair of the man who controlled the precipitation. Water ran down his tall, lean frame, yet he stood, stock-still, motionless, as if the liquid did not bother him at all.
Pein.
Konan shook her head, though the coned hat she wore to protect her from the elements made it difficult to do so. She hated being in the rain, feeling hundreds of cold drops soaking through her cloak and on her skin.
She never understood why Pein enjoyed the rain so much, how he could stand in a storm for hours, never moving, simply letting the droplets cascade down his body.
"Konan." Pein's voice, deep and calm, cut through the subtle sound that the rain made as it fell.
Konan joined the heavily pierced man where he stood, overlooking Amegakure on a precipice. "You shouldn't stay out here too long," she told him. "You'll get sick."
Pein seemed to ignore her and merely gazed out into the distance.
"Why do you care about what should happen to me?" he asked, several minutes later.
Konan blinked in surprise, having never been asked something of that nature by him. "Well…you lead Akatsuki," she answered, trying to maintain a level voice.
"So you would take over if need be."
Konan snuck a sideward glance at him. "And I haven't forgotten our childhood…Nagato."
She knew she had hit a sensitive spot, even though Pein tried to hide it: Ever so slightly, just barely discernable, his entire body went rigid, he frowned, and his Rinnegan eyes flashed.
"I told you never to call me by that name."
She looked up at him for a moment, but hurriedly cast her eyes to the ground. "I'm going back," she muttered, and turned in the direction of the base.
As Konan entered the Akatsuki hideout, she was surprised to see the very wet orange-haired man beside her.
Wordlessly, she handed him a towel, and went into her room to change. When she emerged, Pein was stubbornly holding the towel. Rainwater was dripping off the hems of his robe and onto the floor.
Konan sighed. Men and their pride, she thought.
"Will you at least let me dry you if you won't do it yourself?" she inquired.
He raised an orange eyebrow. "If you insist."
Konan followed Pein to his bedroom.
She took the towel and pulled off his forehead protector. Then, she ran her fingers through his sopping wet hair. Konan felt him relax, and she smiled. She slowly rubbed the top of his head dry, but jumped when she felt something on her thigh. Looking down, she noticed Pein's hand stroking her.
"Pein…how long have you…?"
Pein had never given any inclination that he cared very much for Konan.
"I have always loved you, Konan," he murmured. He turned around and knocked the towel out of her hand. "Yahiko loved you too…and I was always jealous when you spent more time with him…"
Pein chuckled; it was the first time Konan had heard him laugh in years.
"I was so childish," he went on. "My happiness depended on whether you spent time with me or not."
Konan smiled at him and picked up the towel. She took off his soaking cloak and shirt and continued to dry him without letting him know how deeply his words had touched her.
"Konan?"
She looked into his eyes, and gently placed her hands on his cold, bare chest. Konan felt hundreds of tiny goosebumps beneath her fingertips.
"Pein, you're frozen," she whispered.
He held her arms with cold hands. "I'm fine, Konan."
She was unconvinced; she could feel him shivering under her touch.
Konan went to his closet and threw him some dry clothes.
As he put them on, she told him he should lie in bed to warm up, and to her surprise, he obeyed her.
Konan climbed in as well, and pulled the covers around them.
"What…?"
She placed a finger against Pein's nearly blue lips. "You need to warm up," she told him seductively.
Konan leaned over and tenderly kissed his lips. She felt Pein respond: he put his arms around her and pulled her against his body. Though his lips felt numbed, they soon warmed as their kiss was filled with passion.
Pein's body began to heat up to regular temperature and Konan broke away.
"Feeling better?" she wondered, and made to move away.
"Don't think you're getting away this easily, Konan."
Before she could reply, Pein flipped over. Konan was now on her back and Pein was on top of her.
"Tonight, Konan," he breathed, "You are mine."
Konan covered her body with the sheets, eying her clothes, which she had hastily discarded and thrown on the floor as Pein had made love to her.
The orange-haired man was panting slightly, but when he spoke, his voice was quite steady.
"I love you, Konan."
She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his now warm chest. "I love you too," she finally admitted, after all those years together. "Nagato."
Pein's pierced face relaxed into a smile and held her close.
As Konan rested in his embrace, she realized the true beauty that Pein saw in the rain.