Drizzle

It was a dreary, depressing Thursday afternoon—the sky was steel grey and water seeped from the clouds as if there were a million leaking faucets in the heavens. Lily Evans sat near the lake, doing little to prevent the small water droplets from soaking her through. She was consumed in thought—so consumed, in fact, that she didn't notice the noise of footsteps, sloshing their way towards her through the muddy grass.

"Lily?"

She turned, surprised. "Oh, James. I didn't hear you."

Silence fell once more, broken only by the soft trick, trick of the rain.

"Er—d'you suppose you should be out here in the rain?" James' face was slightly concerned and bemused.

"Do you think so?"

"Well—er—you could catch cold, is all."

Lily gave a faint smile. "No, I mean, do you really think that this is rain?"

James was taken aback by the strange question, Lily could tell.

"I fancy it as being more of a drizzle, you know?" She continued. "A drizzle's droplets are less than half a millimeter across in diameter, scientifically speaking. Rain is larger than that, see? I thought they looked rather small, but perhaps you're right and it is rain."

James grinned, seating himself gracefully on the mushy grass beside Lily. "Lily Evans, you're one of a kind. I reckon you're the only person I know who knows the scientific difference between rain and a drizzle."

She grinned. "What're you doing out here, anyway?"

"Oh, well, I left my gloves in one of the greenhouses. I forgot them there today, after herbology. I don't have class again until Monday, so I figured I'd better pick them up before they got lost or whatever."

"Where are these troublesome gloves, then?" Lily asked, looking James over with her eyebrows slightly raised.

"Ah," he smiled. "I was on my way to the greenhouse, you see, but then I became sidetracked by a head of flaming hair that I spotted over by the lake. I immediately made my way over to make sure that everything was all right."

Her eyes met his, and she said, "I'm fine, James. I just love the rain. It's so—so refreshing. There's nothing purer than rain, just falling from the sky." She paused, and looked at the cloudy sky thoughtfully. "It's beautiful, too. Maybe not when you just glance at it, but when you really absorb the naturalness—it sure is beautiful."

"Would it be completely clichéd if I agreed?" James said in a low voice, his eyes locked on Lily.

Her eyes flicked towards him. "James…"

He leaned towards her, slowly, hesitantly. "Tell me to stop, Lily, and I will," James whispered. She said nothing, and he closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against hers. Lily's hand flew to the back of James' head as she kissed him back. Droplets of water slipped down both their faces as they continued their kiss, and James brought his palm to the side of the redhead's face.

Lily broke away suddenly. "Wow, I—" Her hand brushed a few sodden strands of hair away from her eyes as she attempted to continue. "I—I—I've never kissed anyone in the rain before."

James stared at her intently, looking quite serious. "Lily…I thought we agreed this was a drizzle?"

She looked surprised for a moment, and then gave out a little chuckle as she leaned forward and her lips met his once more.

Review? I'd love to know what you thought. I thought it was kind of weak, especially the end, but maybe you all liked it.

(And please feel encouraged to point out the smallest, tiniest, most miniscule and diminutive mistakes to me, because I am kind of a mistake-perfectionist. )

Thank you,

kluvhp :)