Puddle Ducks
{i don't mind, that I don't mind, no I don't mind the rain.}
The first time he sees her it's raining.
Great sheets of water are crashing against the ground, so thick and dark that Gray can barely see outside through the foggy window. Above him, the light flickers, shadows dancing across the walls briefly. They come back on a moment later, steadfast and reliable. He can't remember if he paid the electrical bill this month, but he supposes it doesn't really matter. At the end of April he won't be here. He's not sure where he's going yet—somewhere far and cold. Michigan, or maybe even London if he can find the money. Anywhere that isn't here.
He runs a clammy hand across the glass, smearing a streak across the pane and enabling himself to peer outside. There's nothing special to look at, just a wet sidewalk and a handful of dying lilies that Ultear helped him plant last spring. She never got to see them, but Gray doesn't think she would have cared. She never did like lilies much—always hated the smell. Gray never did know why she made him plant them, but he didn't question it. It was one of the only sisterly things she ever did for him, he wasn't about to let the moment pass.
Thunder rumbles in the distance, low and warning, and he knows that lightning is soon to follow. Laxus mentioned a storm earlier in the day, but Gray didn't think it would be this bad. He never did like the rain, despite what everyone else thought. In a way, he thinks he might hate it. Or, rather, he hates the way it makes him feel. Another rumble shakes the room, but he ignores it, far more interested in drawing flowers in the fog: big and looping and cartoonish.
Gray smiles at the tiny flowers, six of them standing in a row at the bottom of the window. Hesitating for only a moment, Gray reaches out with a careful hand, dotting a pair of eyes on each flower with a steady finger. A smile comes next, wide and "u" shaped.
Condensation drips from the right eye of one of the flowers, leaving a long, wet trail down the flower's face.
He rips his gaze away from the doodle, turning instead to the long smear across the window, only a thin layer of the fog creeping across the glass. He wipes it away regardless. When he finally looks back out at the sidewalk, there's a girl standing there, her back facing him.
Gray blinks, staring at the lonely figure. Her hair is as blue as her sundress, both of which he thinks are peculiar, but he doesn't dwell on them long. Red rain boots stretch up to her knees, a deep ruby with little yellow polka dots. Her arms are raised towards the sky and Gray is surprised to see she carries no umbrella, her wet hair hanging in wild, matted strands down her back.
She spins in a wild circle then, dancing almost carelessly across the slick ground, arms still raised towards the cloudy sky.
There's a flash of lightning and when Gray blinks she's gone.
His gaze drifts back to his smiling flowers.
{like a widow's heart, we fall apart, but never fade away.}
AN: Because it was raining today. Please be sure to leave a review and tell me if I should continue or not :)
