Rating: K+, leaning a little towards T?

Words: 1187

The sudden downpour wasn't showing any signs of letting up, even ten minutes after it started. Iku and Dojo stood under the cover of a bus stop, still holding hands from when they rushed under it ten minutes ago. Neither had thought to bring an umbrella; the forecast had called for a low chance of rain, so they didn't think it would be necessary to carry around all day. Dojo scowled into the sheet of water falling from the sky, cursing the weatherman for being so inaccurate on the one day that week that was supposed to be good.

It was their day off, and the pair had decided to go on a date farther off base than usual so they wouldn't be interrupted- it was a general trend that something got in the way if they took a date too close to the library. It was the middle of the afternoon now, about 4pm, so they had gotten done most everything they had planned, but it was still disappointing to get caught in a gloomy downpour on an otherwise perfectly good day. Iku got all her grumbling out and presently they both just watched as the drops coated the world in gray. On the bright side, they were certainly getting their alone time, solitary under the bus stop. The only other people outside were the occasional random pedestrian, walking quickly huddled under umbrellas or rushing by without them. Iku couldn't be unhappy with Instructor Dojo holding her hand, so her usual capacity for complaining cut off sooner than usual. Dojo was too preoccupied with annoyance at the weather to notice.

Iku glanced sidelong at Instructor Dojo's profile, displaying his usual scowl. She reflected that it was unusual for him to not be completely prepared for a situation, and it was almost endearing. Even Dojo can make mistakes, sometimes. She thought about the Touma mission, and how it had been raining then like it was now. That was when she had recklessly stolen a kiss as Instructor Dojo faded from consciousness, only to turn and march back out into the rain, unable to know if he'd be okay. She still remembered how cold his lips had felt against hers, how the most reaction he could give was to go still in surprise. She trained her eyes on the ground again, embarrassed, and searched her mind for a new topic. Next to her, Instructor Dojo huffed a sigh (for the fourth or fifth time) and ran his free hand through his hair, still wet and flatter than usual. Iku couldn't stop a small smile as she watched the action out of the corner of her eye. His hair plastered back down to his face when he lowered his hand.

"Have you ever kissed in the rain?" Iku blurted out. She wasn't really asking out of curiosity about his romantic history, but as a subtle way of suggesting they do just that. He looked surprised for a second, keeping his gaze on the rain in front of them, then his brow furrowed.

"No? Bad weather isn't really romantic." He paused, then appended, "unless you're indoors, I guess."

Oh. So bad weather is romantic, as long as you're inside, away from it. It wasn't really relevant, but Iku filed this information away for later. She thought about it, and revised her strategy.

"We're kind of indoors, right?" Iku noted cheekily, pointing up at the shelter they stood under. Dojo didn't look convinced. "Just kidding…" Iku turned to face fully forward again, a little dejected. After a beat of awkward silence, Dojo turned, pulling her forward just slightly by their joined hands and pressing his lips to hers in one swift motion. It was over in a second, and he went right back to standing where he was before, staring at the rain and looking completely nonplussed. Iku froze in shock, taken off-guard by the sudden bold action, staring forward wide-eyed.

"We're in the rain, and we kissed," he concluded conversationally. "Now I have." Iku unfroze, whipping her head sideways to glare at him.

"Th-That's not-!" She stumbled over her words, still reeling. "You know what I meant! That wasn't in the rain!" Dojo pressed his lips together to hold back a smile. Iku pouted, sharply turning her head away to glare into the rain and hopefully make her burning cheeks less obvious. He let her sulk for a minute, trying in vain to reign in his amusement so as not to provoke her anger any further. Eventually, he gave up holding it in and huffed out a small laugh. Why the hell not?

Iku slid her eyes to the side, directing a peeved glance at him when he laughed, but he just stepped forward and tugged her with him. They moved out together into the downpour, startling Iku anew. The water soaked them both immediately, and as she turned to ask what the hell he was doing, he kissed her again, less chaste. It took Iku a bewildered moment to react, and Instructor Dojo brought his other hand to cup her cheek and move a few soaked strands of hair out of the way. She gripped his jacket with her free hand and sighed into the kiss as Dojo tilted his head just so. The rainwater ran in rivulets down their faces and over their lips where they met, but his lips were still warm and sensual against hers. Vaguely, Iku thought it felt like they were standing in a shower, feeling the rain hit her hair and clothes and falling over her skin. The water chilled her a little and dripped within her neckline, but the places where Dojo's hands and lips met were patches of sweet warmth. When Dojo pulled back slowly and lowered his hand from her face, his tongue darted out to lick some rainwater from her lips, making Iku shiver in response. She shuddered in a breath and opened her eyes, and Dojo pulled her quickly after him back under the bus stop's canopy and out of the rain.

They simultaneously began shaking out their free arms and wiping the excess water out of their hair, still not letting go of the hand they held between them. "Aww, man… now we're all wet again…" Dojo rapped her head playfully.

"It was your idea!" he admonished. Iku giggled, wiping a hand through her damp hair and then rubbing the back of her neck, feigning sheepishness without really feeling sorry at all for making the suggestion.

"You're right, it was." They were back to watching the rain fall, soft smiles mirroring each other. Iku didn't try to hide the warm glow she knew was showing in her cheeks.

"Well, now you can say you've kissed in the rain." As they watched, the downpour seemed to lighten up a little, and a patch of sky appeared in the gray blanket above them far off to their left. Iku's grin widened, and she pretended to rub her nose to cover it a little out of bashfulness. She squeezed his hand in quiet gratitude for indulging her.

"So can you."