8D Hewkii + Macku = BEST. PAIRING. EVER.
And granted, they probably won't show up much (if at all) in Metru Uni, sadly, so I had to get my Hewkii/Macku out now. *shrugs* Cuz it's CUTE and FLUFFY and GAH.

Summary: She was drenched, cold, and grumpy. On the bright side, there was no way the day could get any worse.

Characters: Macku, Hewkii

Warnings: LOTS AND LOTS OF FLUFF. BEWARE.

Genre: Romance, I guess.

Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always highly appreciated.

#51—In the Rain

"There must be some misunderstanding! There must be some kind of mistake! I waited in the rain for hours—you were late." ("Misunderstanding" by Genesis)

"Aaaa-choo!"

Macku wiped her nose on the back of her hand. Great, now she had a cold. This better not affect her performance in the soccer tournament tomorrow.

She was waiting for a bus to take her from the soccer field to her street. And it had started to rain almost as soon as she got there. And of course there wasn't a bus shelter at said bus stop. Of course there was just a stupid bench and a little orange sign that read 'BUS STOP.' On the bright side, though, there was no way the day could get any worse.

"Scuse me."

Macku nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice behind her. She turned to see a boy about her age, wearing soaking wet sweats and soggy Nikes. Despite the fact that he was obviously soaked through, he had an easygoing grin on his face. "Is this bus going to the Ramada Inn?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, but it takes like half an hour."

His grin widened. "Awesome, thanks!" He stretched his back and stuck out his hand. "The name's Hewkii."

After hesitating briefly, she shook his hand. "Macku. You're not from around here, are you?"

Hewkii shook his head. "Nope, I'm from Po-Metru. I'm just here for a sports meet."

Obviously he'd never gotten (or absorbed) the 'don't give out personal information to strangers' lecture. Macku tilted her head. "The one at Central Fields?"

"Yeah, that one! How'd you know?"

"I'm in that too. I play soccer."

His eyes widened. "No way. Me too! Wait, there's no way you play soccer."

She gaped at him. What was that supposed to mean? Pretty much everyone she met was like "Oh definitely, I could tell," when she told them she played soccer. She had what her friend Gali called 'soccer legs,' meaning they were very muscular and not, well, 'pretty.' "What do you mean, 'there's no way you play soccer?'" she asked incredulously.

He flashed another easygoing grin at her. "You're too pretty! Pretty girls don't play soccer."

She couldn't see it, but she was sure her face had flushed bright red. Pretty! She'd never been called 'pretty' in her whole life! She was Macku Tsunami, everyone's little sister. Sure, she'd been called 'cute' a few times, but it was always a little sister or best friend cute, not a hey-you're-cute-want-to-go-out-sometime cute. And now this complete stranger was...flirting with her? Calling her pretty, even though she was drenched from standing in the rain? The apocalypse was nigh!

Now it was his turn to tilt his head. "What's the matter? You look like no one's ever called you pretty before!"

Macku turned away, fiddling with the ends of her short hair. "Uh, never mind. It's nothing."

Thankfully, the bus chose that moment to arrive. She was glad to get out of the rain, finally, and away from the awkwardness that Hewkii brought out in her.

Sadly, though, he followed her onto the bus. "Crummy weather, huh?" he said, shaking his hair. She couldn't help but laugh at the water that it sent flying everywhere. "There we go, a smile!" he crowed.

Most of the bus ride was spent with Hewkii trying to get Macku to talk to him, and Macku laughing at some of his more ridiculous jokes. Then the automated voice said, "Ramada Inn."

"Hey, awesome, there's actually a stop right in front of it?" Hewkii said, tugging the stop request cord. "Cool!"

Macku shook her head. What a weird guy.

He stood up. "So, I guess I'd better be going," he said. "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?"

Despite herself, Macku found herself nodding. "I...I'd like that."

He gave another grin and a fist pump. "Awesome! I'll see you then!" And he was gone.

The soccer player shook her head. What was that? She hadn't even cared that she'd been outside, getting (more) soaked in the rain, because she was with a guy she'd barely met. And he thought she was pretty. This was something to bring up with Gali and Hahli later—they were more versed in this stuff than she was.