A/N: A Little Dabble after watching something.
Sea in the Sky
Rain. It fell hard during this time of year. Always did. Forecasts after forecast of torrential rain with only small moments of clarity and sunlight. Everyone looked forward for those moments of blue sky. For many, the majority of the day was dreary and foreboding, an aggravation that stifled any positivity for the day. Not him. He loved the rain.
The feel of the water cascading down his body, the weight of his clothes grounded him in a way that few things could. It washed across his face, his entire being soaked. All around him, umbrellas clashed and moved with their owners. Briefcases, purses, school bags and clothes nestled on top of the heads of many. They rushed around him, their pace a whirlwind. He calmly walked, his strides slower than normal. All it took was a few seconds after leaving his office building to be drenched by the rain.
As a youth, he never really experienced such a calming sensation provided by nature. All sunshine and heat, never changing. Now, the once summer breeze had become a cooling caress. The water plastering his hair to his face. A brand-new world, a remade one, brought with it new experiences. He smiled as he walked down the street, the people around him rushing to evade the wet consequences.
Oh God, the consequences.
The guard in the lobby gave him the stink eye, so did the janitor he walked past and the passengers on the elevator. A puddle formed everywhere he stood, earning him disapproving looks. His apprehension increased. The consequences of returning home as he was, after taking his sweet time in the rain, would be dire, as per tradition.
The squishy sounds of his shoes, the wet rustle of his suit followed him as Shinji made his way down the hall, only to stop at his apartment door.
Oh God, the consequences. Key to door, unlock, and a deep breath.
"I'm-"
A bombardment of assorted towels hit him square in the face, nearly knocking him over. Asuka Langley Shikinami stared at him with an annoyed expression, an unused umbrella in her hand.
"Every Year, we go through the exact same thing. Every year." She said, waving the umbrella. "It pours and your dumb brain goes 'Hey! Let's take the nearly hour and a half walk back home' never mind the public alarm system saying to watch out for floods."
"I like the rain." The shrug he made was what made Asuka's annoyance turn to indignation.
She stomped towards him. "You Idiot." She dropped the umbrella and began drying his hair and face. "You come home like this every year, and you get sick. Then you have to take some days off from work and I have to do the same and take care of you. Can't you think of anyone other than yourself? Do you like me feeding you, is that it?"
A yearly tradition.
Shinji laughed. Asuka smiled.
A mundane problem in a mundane world. Their world.
Two days later, Shinji was buried under a mass of sheets and pillows. His nose red and his throat aching. Asuka sat by his bed side, a bowl of soup in her hand, and an exasperated look on her face. She tried hard not to stuff the spoon down his throat. The rain pelted the bedroom window. Shinji expressed a desire to step outside, Asuka answered back with a flick to his forehead. Then, the rain stopped. The light of the sun brightened the room. Asuka shined in the daylight. She grounded him in a way few things could. A moment that he wished lasted forever.
It didn't.
When the rain returned, it didn't stop. An endless rain had come, the moments of clarity had vanished. Within a couple of years, Tokyo would be flooded. Large areas under a growing tide. Many where force to relocated. They were part of that demographic.
"I don't know how, but I'm willing to bet this ring you gave me that this is somehow your fault." Asuka said, placing another box of personal items into their car. This would be the third time they were forced to move in the last year.
All Shinji could do under her sideways glare, was to give her a sad glor.