A/N: When it rains...


Chapter Six: Drizzles


Eve woke early, before the dawn. Gwaine sat on guard with a not so subtle frown on his face. She wondered what caused him to be so unlike his happy self.

Then a drop of rain landed on her forehead. She sat up. Gwaine didn't notice at first, too busy looking up at the trees. But as she began to shift closer to her own tree in an effort to stay dry, he glanced over at her.

"Morning!" Gwaine smiled. "Lovely weather, eh?"

Eve shrugged with a tiny smile. "I like the rain."

Gwaine stared at her. "Really?" He shifted over next to her and shrugged. He grew more serious. "How're your arms feeling?"

Her face grew red as she thought back to the night she tried to end her life. Gwaine must've noticed, because he put a hand on her shoulder.

He shot her a small smile of encouragement. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's just not something we want to repeat, right?"

"Right," she murmured quietly, head still down.

"C'mon. Let me see the cuts." The knight held out his hand. "It's time to change the bandages anyways. Might as well let the rain wash away all your problems?"

She nodded and handed him her wrists. Slowly he peeled away the first bandage, getting another one ready with his other hand. He shook his head with a smile as he looked at the cuts.

"You're lucky Merlin was here." He nodded. "Doesn't look too bad."

He wrapped it in a new bandage. Gwaine looked up when she didn't respond and smiled to himself. Eve had tilted her head back, letting the rain fall in her face and hair. As if she felt his gaze, she opened her eyes and faced him while he treated her second wrist.

"How did you learn to treat wounds like these?" Eve asked quietly.

"You know," Gwaine began slowly, "I lived on my own for a very long time. I worked alone, I traveled alone, so if I got injured, I treated myself… alone."

Eve looked at him sadly, "I'm sorry."

He shrugged but nodded. "Nothing like you've been through I'm sure. I mean, I got low sometimes. I never thought about killing myself, but at times I wished I could just die by someone else's hand." He frowned, memories flooding in. "But then I found Merlin, and Arthur I suppose." He chuckled to himself at that. "So, remember that. You have us. You don't have to treat yourself alone like I did."

She nodded. "Thank you for telling me all that. Really."

He nodded. "Now, I know you like the rain. How about we try waking these lazy bums and get going. They won't be happy though." Gwaine chuckled. "Especially Arthur."

Eve laughed lightly. "Alright."

Gwaine paused. "Why do you like the rain?"

"It's the sky crying. And the tears… they give life to everything." Eve looked around. "The rain doesn't discriminate. It just loves."

The knight looked at her and shook his head. "You have more goodness in you than you know, I think, Eve. Stick with us. You'll find out. I promise."