Clay liked the rain. He wasn't sure what it was about the rain; maybe it was the sound, or perhaps the feel of the drops on his skin. He liked soft rains, not the rough downpours that came in autumn. That was like having small rocks dropped on you from the sky. But today was a spring rain, almost like mist. He walked slowly, no need to hurry. He heaved a deep sigh, not a depressed sigh or a disappointed sigh, a content sigh, one of those sighs you only sigh when everything's perfect.
He stopped in the garden and tilted his head to the pale gray sky. It was late in the afternoon but if you didn't already know you wouldn't be able to tell. Clay sat quietly on a wet stone bench. He quickly felt the water soak through his pants, but he didn't care. Nobody was around to see and nobody was around to give a damn about it. He looked at the vibrant tiger lilies bent under the weight of the water droplets on their petals. One of the drops began to slowly roll off of the petal. Clay reached out his hand and caught it before it hit the ground. Letting the water casually roll down his fingers and down to the ground, Clay looked at the bright purple orchids; dark blue morning glories complimented the lilies very well. Everything in nature blended nicely into one great beautiful being. Clay sighed another sigh, another content sigh.
Raimundo liked the rain, too. Well, not really the rain so much as the smell after the rain. A clean smell like the Earth was fresh and new. It gave him a spiritually complete feeling that evidently was only supposed to come from meditation. Rai couldn't stand meditation; he needed to be out with the world to "obtain a feeling of inner peace" as Master Fung always said. Just another of his cheesy sayings. Raimundo couldn't get that peace trapped in a musty old smelling temple, so walking in the rain when no one else was out and connected his soul with the nature. He usually ended up in the garden; the colors of the flora always put in at ease, and he could be alone.
But he wasn't alone.
When Raimundo entered the garden, he saw Clay sitting on a bench examining a lily. Rai looked at his friend. They'd been friends for years. Raimundo took a deep breath and coughed quietly. Clay's head snapped up and he looked at the Brazilian. "Howdy Rai." Clay slid over on the bench. "Come sit down." He patted the space beside him. Rai walked rather slowly through the misty rain. He sat slowly by his friend and team partner. Clay resumed looking at everything from the flowers to the sky to his own shoes. Raimundo stared at Clay, shaking slightly in the cool air.
He had barely changed over the years that Clay had been his friend. He had the same face, same hat, same eyes, and same rather large arms. Big, strong arms. Arms that could protect him and hold him. Wait, why was he thinking this? Clay got up. Raimundo rose with him; he suddenly didn't want to be alone anymore.
Clay started walking again. Raimundo followed him keeping in stride. It felt kind of awkward. He stole a glance at his friend. Their eyes met for a split second and he promptly looked away, blushing.
He had really nice eyes. Why had Raimundo never noticed them before? Probably too busy focusing on Kimiko. But Kimiko wasn't here right now. It was just him and Clay. His eyes always appeared so blank when you first looked at them, but after a while, you began to see the things that he had seen: two friends betray him, repeated butt kicking of a certain Goth kid, wrestling pigs, riding bulls, bear hugs….everything. You saw Clay. Clay and nothing else. You saw made Clay….Clay.
Rai looked puzzled, but at the same time amazed and in total awe of something. Clay opened his mouth to ask what the something was when the mist turned to a cold torrential downpour right over their heads. Clay made a noise of surprise and began running for the awning of the courtyard. It took Raimundo a few seconds to come out of his musings and realize the weather change. Once he did, he sprinted after Clay at the awning. The Texan was wringing the water out of his hat. Rai noticed that he wasn't very wet. Only then he felt the weight of his own soaked robe on his shoulders. He shook the water out of his hair which then hung down in his face as he tried to strain the moisture out of his clothes. Raimundo eventually gave up on drying his clothes and wrapped his arms around his slim torso, shivering violently.
Clay wrung a small amount of rain water out of his robe and looked to Raimundo who was dripping wet. His hair clung to his forehead, and Clay could hear his teeth chatter. He hugged himself and shook. Rai still appeared lost in his own little Railand, so Clay didn't say anything. A few minutes passed, Clay inched closer to his still shaking friend. They were now less than a foot apart. The Texan came a little closer and brought himself behind seemingly unnoticing Raimundo.
Raimundo was completely aware of his friend's movements but he didn't acknowledge Clay. He remained still. Even when he was out of Rai's sight, the Brazilian didn't turn his head.
Clay stood behind his friend listening to his teeth chatter and watching him shiver. Clay swallowed a bit a wrapped his arms around his smaller companion. He felt Rai's body tense up and he gasped a bit in surprise, but soon he relaxed.
Raimundo felt Clay's body heat surge through him. He stopped shaking and his teeth ceased chattering. He stood quietly for two whole minutes savoring the moment before craning his head up to his friend's face. Clay looked down at him and their eyes met, but this time it wasn't awkward. Rai wanted to say something but he didn't know what to say and he didn't want to ruin the moment.
Clay removed one of his arms from around Raimundo's body and brushed the brunette's hair from his forehead. He returned the arm and softly bent his head until his lips met those of his best friend.
For the third time that day, Raimundo shook, but this time, it wasn't from the cold. He shook in joy and ecstasy at the kiss. When it was over, he rested his head on Clay's chest and spoke two words, "Thank you." And Clay sighed for the third time that day. But it wasn't a depressed sigh, or a disappointed sigh, or a content sigh. It's the kind of sigh that you only sigh if you're in love.