This was a request for my buddy, PunkRoseBlitz. The OC is Luce Valentine, who belongs to Rose. I don't own Dance Central or Oblio and the other characters mentioned.

It's taken me a long time figuring this out and, with a little help from her, I finally got this over and done with.

The brief sound of a ringtone was abruptly cut off. "Hello?" a voice asked, waiting for an answer from the other end of the line. It came, urgent and brisk. "Oblio? It's Claire. I have to ask you a favor. It's Luce, she's caught the cold again, and because I need to run some errands, could you–"

"Come over and take care of her while you're gone?" interrupted the young man who held the phone. "Yes," breathed Claire. Oblio nodded. "I'll be there in about... ten minutes," he predicted. He could have sworn he heard a relieved sigh from Claire. "Thank you. She's coming down with a fever too, and it doesn't look good, so I hope you get here quick," she said before hanging up.

A fever, thought Oblio. Worried for his friend, he shook his head in an attempt to get his hair out of his eyes. On his head went his helmet, and he swiftly mounted his bike. The familiar sound of the starting engine broke the silence in which he could only hear the steady pound of blood in his ears. He followed the trails, his mind calculating the distance and time it would take to arrive.

He couldn't say why he was so worried, but Luce was his friend, right? Swallowing tensely, Oblio kept his eyes set on the road before him. Faintly, he recalled the last time Luce had succumbed to the sickness. It had taken all her strength and a long time to recover. A fever could only make things worse. Trying to banish the dark thoughts from his head, Oblio spun his wheels faster and faster. Still, he was distracted. After what felt like both forever and an instance, somehow Oblio found himself slowing down. Before he could comprehend anything, he parked his bike near Luce's mansion.

Claire was already at the door. When she noticed his arrival, she beamed and a reassured grin spread across her face. Oblio greeted her curtly, and then shot towards Luce's room. Claire followed him, and then Oblio opened the door quietly.

Luce was laying down on her bed. She was breathing heavily and one of her hands was placed on her forehead. When Oblio walked inside hesitantly, her usually gentle eyes sparked a faint, sickening glow that triggered a sort of pity in the blue-haired Asian. "Oblio?" Luce rasped weakly. He rushed to her side. "Shh. Don't talk," he pleaded.

"But there's so much I need to say..." she trailed off. Those words perked him up a bit, but Oblio chose not to question her further. "Here, let me get you your medicine," he offered. Turning to Claire, he saw Luce's bodyguard with her mouth opened to say something. "You remember where the medicine and thermometer is, right?" she eventually asked the bluenette.

"Kitchen cabinet," he replied simply. Claire nodded, and excused herself to finish the errands. After a while, Oblio tailed her down the stairs to get to the kitchen. Luce didn't say anything from her room.

Claire took her leave, saying a brief "Goodbye." Oblio waved, then opened the cabinet, instantly revealing numerous little bottles. He located the correct bottle and grabbed the thermometer as well. After closing the cabinet, he also took a clean glass and filled it with water of middling temperature. When he dashed back upstairs, he saw Luce, who had not moved at all from when he had left her.

When he stepped inside, she merely turned her head towards him. She didn't speak, obviously because Oblio had asked her not to. If he hadn't, perhaps she would have been speaking a lot then and there. Instead, she rolled into a sitting position, but the way she moved was enough to prove her fever's strong effect on her.

After checking he temperature and finding it rather high, Oblio worriedly looked at Luce. "Here," Oblio murmured, handing her the glass. She accepted it with a grateful but forced smile.

Before Luce could sip up all the water, Oblio took the medicine bottle cap off with a slight pop. He shook out two pills and held them out to her. She took them along with another gulp of refreshing water. "Thanks, Oblio." This time, she didn't sound as rough as she did before, which calmed Oblio, knowing the fact that she was going to be fine. "You're welcome," he answered shortly.

She looked down at her hands, which were clasped together nearly. "I'm sorry," she said. Oblio gazed at her. "Don't be." He shook his head, and that made her smile a bit. But then the smile faded and she exhaled a long-overdue sigh. "It's just that... I feel so weak sometimes, and without my mother, I-I..." she stammered. Oblio knew that this was a result of her fever. "Luce." He said her name. "Don't worry, everything's going to be fine."

Oblio placed a hand on her shoulder. She cringed, but made no attempt to push him away. "I'm just sorry. Not to Claire, not to my friends, but to you." Her statement caught Oblio off guard, and yet he didn't say anything in fear of provoking his friend's feelings. "Just... I'm just a burden, aren't I?" she asked, her tone close to a sob. "Hush now," Oblio chided, "you know you're not. You've made yourself useful plenty of times."

"But..." she faltered.

"You know you're arguing with yourself. You're not a burden. Quite the opposite, in fact." Oblio let his gaze sweep over her figure. He kept encouraging his friend.

She refused to listen. "I don't think I'm fit to be in a crew with you..." she faltered. Oblio felt a pang, then wondered what Luce was fretting over. It certainly wasn't the cold nor the fever, it was something else. But he covered his feelings behind a mask of compassion and told her, "But you are. Remember that first dance-off we had? I'm pretty sure you've made up for those one hundred points, haven't you?"

Her frown lightened a bit. "I guess I have... thanks, Oblio."

The bluenette gripped her shoulder gently. "Consider the honor yours."

"Oblio..." Luce murmured. Her eyes seemed to gain a little more spirit than before. Oblio felt a slight relief at that. Then he caught himself and cleared his throat. "I'll see you later, okay? You need to get some sleep," he suggested. Luce nodded, and Oblio closed her door behind him.

It wasn't true that Luce would require any sleep, but it would do good for her. It was Oblio that needed to cool his head down. He was experiencing odd emotions after what Luce had said. Not fit to be in a crew with me... a burden... a burden on me, was that what she was trying to say?

Finally getting the picture, Oblio felt a bit of amusement at his own oblivion. And then he dug further into his own thoughts. Clenching his hands rightly, digging his nails into his sweaty palm, he took in another deep breath and forced himself not to look back at Luce's closed door.

She obviously had feelings for him, but did he have feelings for her?

He backtracked his thoughts towards when Claire had called. The worry that he felt was... rather excessive. If it was another dancer in Luce's place, perhaps he wouldn't have acted so urgently, would he? And even when they had first met... Somehow, Oblio felt something from her; something that differed her from everyone else. He kept the experience close to him. Even now, he could detect that feeling.

As for what this feeling was...

Oblio smiled. He would ask her once her head was clearer.

And so the patient, persistent bluenette waited, hoping that Luce took his advice and rested while he tried to get his mind sorted out. All he did was sit around and, once he'd had enough about himself, he tried entertaining himself by replaying poetry in his head. His choice was a poem in particular, written by the one and only Katherine Valentine; Luce's deceased mother. He had always admired her works, and now they helped him calm the nervous breakdown he was going through.

Of course, not even that could drag his mind away from his worries. Having been ycleped by Claire to keep an eye on Luce meant he couldn't just sit and let time pass by while she could be passing out. When he finally looked at a nearby clock, he was taken aback by the time that had passed by while he was dwelling. The Asian dancer sighed; somehow, when he put his chin on his hand and sat down, hours could go on completely unnoticed.

He steadied himself with a breath; easing his racing heart wasn't so easy. It was beating as fast as when it had been on his way to the mansion, possibly much faster.

When he finally calmed down, Oblio braved upstairs to find Luce again. She looked to be better. "Oblio," she greeted. Her voice was stronger than last time. The bluenette laid a hand on her forehead. She hummed at the touch. Oblio remembered that she had once said something about it being cold and comforting. And, visibly, she remembered it too.

"I think I'm feeling better... but not that well to dance..."

Oblio suddenly came up with a quote by Rilke, one that he wished he could recite to her now:

Extinguish my eyes, I'll go on seeing you.

Seal my ears, I'll go on hearing you.

And without feet I can make my way to you,

without a mouth I can swear your name.

Break off my arms, I'll take hold of you

with my heart as with a hand.

Stop my heart, and my brain will start to beat.

And if you consume my brain with fire,

I'll feel you burn in every drop of my blood.

Instead, he quoted a shorter one to Luce. "But your solitude will be a support and a home for you, even in the midst of very unfamiliar circumstances, and from it you will find all your paths." His voice shook, but in a good way. It had been a while since he had conveyed any works of poetic art. Luce smiled fondly, knowing his pleasure of words. "Thanks, Oblio."

He looked at her. She did appear better now, so he decided to question her. But how was he supposed to do it, exactly? For a guy like him, it was odd for him to say, "What you said earlier..." as a beginning of a sentence. He awkwardly stumbled ahead.

"What did you mean by you being a burden on me?" he asked carefully. Luce froze. She directed her eyes downwards, and Oblio noticed a tender shade of red painted across her cheeks. Without making eye contact, she stammered, "I – I don't know if I should say it, but..."

"Hmm?" Oblio didn't say any words, in case it would make her more nervous than he was. The bluenette himself was feeling like a wreck at the moment. His defenses were down.

"It's just that..." Luce studied her fingernails, still refusing to make eye contact. "Ever since we've been in a crew together, I felt something I've never felt in my life... all this time, I never took interest in guys. Besides Angel and Mo, because they are my closest friends, I'm not interest in dating. Until you came in the picture, I thought I would be asexual for the rest of my life."

Oblio just barely managed to keep his jaw from dropping. He shifted uncertainly, then pushed some of Luce's hair behind her ear gently. It was the gesture that finally made her look up and fix their stare into one. Her brown eyes, which were so distant and dark-rimmed before, were now bright and alert. Enigmatic hazel orbs. Once again, Oblio said her name. "Luce... it drags at my heart to say this, but I should have told you long ago, I suppose. I felt the same too."

Rain began to pour, and the steady pound of it on the roofs made both dancers look through the room window. Beady raindrops dotted the translucent glass.

She smiled. "A great poet once said that rain was a way to soothe one's heart." The rain continued to fall, droplets of silver decorating the scene outside.

Now Oblio felt touched. "And who might that poet be?"

She snuggled closer to him. "You."

If he were to be honest, Oblio did remember the time he told her that. He realized that it had been rather bold of Luce to remember the experience, when it had occurred when so many things reminded her of her mother.

At the same time, he was surprised. Luce hadn't shown that much closeness to him before; then again, the way she acted around him was rather strange at times. Usually, she was different in her way of talking when Oblio was approaching her. She would turn around, and the moment she saw him she would falter, or shuffle her feet and look down.

Well, there are so many mere and little details that show you the most.

Oblio leaned forward, slow but no longer cautious. Every other time he was near her, he would be careful as a fox, paying attention to what he was putting himself into. Now, he felt more confidence.

There she was, with those bright, friendly eyes, expectantly looking at him. For a moment Oblio was again lost in the worlds hidden within then; then she blinked, letting him know she was ready.

With that, he looped his arm around her neck. Following this movement, she wrapped her arm around him too. Their heads moved closer and closer, as if they were moving to the beat of the rain. The bluenette bent over, and so did Luce.

Not a moment of hesitation later, he was by her side again and they were practically nose-to-nose. For a short moment, their noses almost bumped into each other, before Luce leaned to one side, and that was when they kissed.

The touch of her lips was so soft, so gentle; just like her personality, they were sweet and loving.

For, according to Rilke, Love consists of this: two solitudes that meet, protect and greet each other. That's love: Two lonely persons keep each other safe and touch each other and talk to each other.

Oblio let his angelic dancer deepen the kiss, and for a moment he heard her purr contentedly. It was like she had taken him heavenward, where all the dreams were a reverie that lasted for seconds, but felt like forever. Like a basket of flowers, the kisses they shared were full of love. Even if some of those flowers dried up in the sun, more would grow in their place.

Because rain wasn't all that bad, was it?

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And that's the end of another romance one-shot. Luce and Oblio ftw!

Guess what I love most about this story? Glitch's freakin' name doesn't have a feature here :D I'm getting a bit sick of his name written all over, it's like a slap in the face. Now to get back to Evanescent...

It actually took a long while for me to figure out the whole 'Rain' theme, I was inspired by a chapter in Dancing Diamond in which Oblio said that rain was rather soothing, and that he preferred to let Luce hold the umbrella.

You don't have to be PunkRoseBlitz to tell me your opinion on this :P reviews would be nice!