Aaaaaaaaaaaah. -hides under pillow-
(disclaimer- I don't own. defense- aaaaaaaaah. apology for the long rain-related monologue in the beginning- eek.)
--
It wasn't raining this morning.
It had been drizzling, yes, but not hard. Just so that a dulling silence fell across the park. It was good weather for a pair of rain boots and an umbrella. Which was just what I had.
Now it was raining.
I stood under a tree at the edge of the park, umbrella held close as though the metal pole itself could keep the rain off, watching the puddles accumulate into lakes. My plan was to stay there until the rain stopped- I have nothing against rain, only the part where once I'm done having fun in the rain, it's cold and wet until I get home. And I had to walk home.
So I stood, hugging the umbrella.
A sharp rustling and a deafening rush of wind later, it became apparent that the weather didn't plan on clearing up. The tree was no longer offering the scant protection it's leaves provided, and the wind was pulling the rain under my umbrella.
Too fast. I angled my umbrella against the wind, and scurried from under the tree.
Down the street, the pitter-patter of my feet in the expanding puddles and the dull plunking of rain against my ineffective umbrella making up my soundtrack. Turn right here, and then keep on going.
A particularly violent burst of wind took my umbrella right out of my hand. A torrent of water hit my back. Apparently my umbrella had been somewhat effective after all. By the time I had my umbrella back in my hands, I was too soaked to need it, and folded it away so I couldn't betray me again.
I trudged onwards.
With each step, I felt colder, and the wind felted a little less bearable. What else to do, I stepped into the nearest shelter I could find.
And found it already occupied.
A garden shed, one of the old ones that you don't expect anyone actually uses, one that had been sitting by the side of the road as long as I could remember. It wasn't particularly pretty, nor was in particularly comfortable, but it looked dry, and if anything, out of the wind and battering rain.
Upon looking up from the study of my feet, and a glance noted that I wasn't the only one with a liking for dryer dwellings, I almost stopped to find somewhere else. But it only took a few more raindrops to make up my mind. And so I ducked into the shed.
Things were very... still... in the shed. Outside I could see the storm raging, and I could hear it, but it wasn't in the shed, and I was.
"Stephanie?"
I jumped, having not expected to be recognized. Come to think of it, I hadn't taken a decent look at the previous inhabitance of the shed.
"Gaara?"
"You're soaking wet."
"So're you." And so he was.
"That's true."
"I didn't expect to see you here," I said, and he shrugged.
"I didn't expect it to rain so hard."
"Me neither," I replied. The conversation paused to let in the drumming of the rain against the shed.
"Where were you going?" I asked.
"Nowhere in particular. I just wanted to be out of the house, it's Temari's 'time of the month'."
I grinned. "Ah, females, we're far too easily upset."
He muttered an agreement. Then sighed. "It's so cold."
"Generally what happens when it rains."
"The rain's ok. I just don't like being out in storms like this."
"Hence the shed?"
"Hence the shed."
The meaningless conversation stopped, and we stared out into the streaming air. I wondered how much longer it would rain. Not that I disliked Gaara's company, just that a lack of conversational topic can result in long, awkward silences.
And, as expected, Rachel ran by in a large electric blue raincoat and yelled about preventing gay babies through the downpour.
"That was weird," Came the comment from next to me, and I nodded.
"It was definitely weird." I grinned. He grinned back. And I don't remember who started it, but we were laughing. For some stupid reason, it was hilarious.
"It's... it's not going to stop raining, is it," I said through shortened breath. He shook his head.
"I really doubt it."
"Cold out there."
"It's cold in here, too."
I poked my head out of the wind shelter, and felt my hair whip into my face. "Well," I said, wiping the hair plastered to my cheeks out of my eyes. "We're already soaked. Want to go on a walk in the rain?"
He shrugged, still smiling. "Why not?"
We didn't go inside until our fingers were numb, and our shoulders shaking from the wind and rain. The storm kept raging outside, even though we were wrapped up in blankets with mugs of hot apple cider, drenched coats and puddle boots removed. It felt like it had been raining forever. Hard to believe it hadn't been raining this morning.
--
well, there you have it.
the prompt was 'you're trapped in a very, very strong rainstorm and have to take cover in a garden shed with Gaara'. not something I would generally object to.
I don't particularly like the writing in this one. it bothers me.
something you should know- every time there is an awkward silence, a gay baby is born. Rachel is a gay baby preventer, and runs by in awkward silences and yells 'GAY BABY PREVENTION!'. it's fun to insert randomly into fan fictions.
feel free to review. next week- the Akatsuki Olympics. includes synchronized sitting, and hippopoTAmoose wrangling. should be fun xD