With the echoing sounds of thunder rolling in the sky, Emmy was momentarily shocked when she heard rapid knocks at the front door. Someone was actually visiting her? In THIS weather? Her eyes glanced at the clock that read "6:30 PM". The one window she had in her apartment was dark, barring the light reflected from the raindrops.

A man wearily stood at the doorway, with his outfit dyed dark and the remains of rain dripping from his hat to the ends of his chin. He did his best to calm his breaths, remembering he was in the presence of lady—a very special one at that. Noting her surprised gaze at him and his wet apparel, he offered a small smile.

"Good evening, my dear." His fingers tightened as he tipped his hat, for fear it may fly off.

"Professor! What in blazes are you doing out in this weather? There are hurricane force winds out there!"

"I-I heard the power went out in this district on the radio, I rushed over to…"

She urged on. "To?"

"To…er, personally give a puzzle to you. One to certainly pass the time in such an awful weather such as this."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she pieced his sentences together. "…You travelled in rain and 60 mph winds to give me a puzzle?"

He pulled his hat over his eyes. Saying it aloud, that sounded preposterous. It also wasn't a viable excuse considering how he started his original thought.

The brunette sighed with a grin spreading on her lips. "Pro… Hershel."

"Yes?" He perked up, cheeks aglow from her personally acknowledging him.

"You make a terrible liar when it comes things like this," she turned and started walking to the bathroom. "Come in, let's get you dried off."

—

"Alright, I've got water in the kettle for your tea. Here's some towels to dry off and a robe to wear in the meantime."

Shyly, he took the items from her. "Thank you again for all of this. Sorry to burden you."

"That's fine, don't worry about it! Just give me all your wet clothes and I'll put them in the dryer."

His dark eyes looked away in contemplation. He bit his lip, doing his best to rid himself those unwarranted thoughts. He must remain as gentlemanly as possible, after all.

"A-all of them?"

"Well, of course! You want to at least leave out of here warm and dry righ-" she trailed off then and there, coming to the same conclusion he did.

With the room now silent, Emmy stammered on. "I meant whatever you're comfortable with, you big goof!"

Relief, as well as mild embarrassment, washed through his features. "I see, ahaha… Thank you very much for your offer."

Once the tea was brought out, the top-hatted figure returned from the bathroom with damp clothes in hand.

"Here you are, sorry if I'm inconveniencing you."

"Not at all, I got it. Here, I got your earl grey all set," she waved over to the coffee table.

"Thank you very much, my dear," he took off his hat and placed it on a coat rack nearby before taking a seat.

Taking the tea cup in hand, he sampled the earl grey while watching her leave the room. The bitter, warm fluid did wonders as it traveled down his throat. The warmth spread through him and in moments, he felt much better. Although… his legs were still quite cold. The nightgown, probably just long enough to reach Emmy's knees in length, only reached to half of his thighs. By instinct, he closed his legs.

He hoped he didn't have any need to move around or bend over…

In moments, Emmy returned to join him on the couch with a concerned look on her face.

"I'll ask again, what were you doing out in this weather?"

Lowering his head in thought, he softly said, "To see you."

"Why?"

"As I said before, I heard the electricity went out for your district, so…I rushed over as quickly as possible out of concern."

Words formed in her mouth, but they were not audible.

"In retrospect, I suppose it wasn't a very good idea. Calling would have been the easiest and best alternative, but I wanted to see you," his hand ran through his damp, spiky hair in thought.

"Well, my apartment building suffered from that a lot until recently. The landlord decided on getting a generator so this place finally runs as it should. About time too," she rolled her eyes upon mentioning her conditions.

"I…see. Glad to know you're fine."

"I must ask though," her eyes glimmered suggestively as she chucked, "Let's say I did suffer from that blackout. What would you have done when you got here? Sit in the dark with me?"

For once, he didn't think things through. Normally there was a plan, a method to whatever he did. Here his plans, or rather lack thereof, fell flat. What would he do if she had a blackout? Would he sit with her until the power came back? Try to convince her to come with him back to his place? Both were hardly logical solutions.

"I…I don't know. To be frank, I only thought of being with you and making sure you were safe."

She turned away, thankful her hair covered her face. "You don't have to worry about me, you know. I've been through worse."

"Yes, I know you have. You're a very strong and independent woman; no doubt there at all. However, as a gentleman—well, significant other—I will worry over you. I care about you a lot."

There he felt it, a lingering kiss along the side of his neck. Each kiss sent chills down his spine until she finally reached up to his cheek.

"Thank you very much. I care a lot about you too."

Cacophony of thunder and wind continued outside, growing louder by the minute. The pair looked to each other.

She paused, "Looks like the weather won't be clearing anytime soon."

"I, er, don't suppose I can spend the night with you?"

"Well, honestly, you can stay as long as you want," she leaned her head onto his shoulder. "Plus, if we pile up, my bed might fit both of us."

His chest rose and fall with his mild laughter until he understood what she was implying. "…Oh."

Truth be told, he would not mind that prospect.