Warning: this fic contains violence, blood, and injury.
"I'm coming for you!" It's a threat. A promise. One that Rain fully intends to keep. She's been ordered to terminate, and she'll be damned if she doesn't follow through on her orders.
Plus, it's personal now. There's no way she's going to let Alice (Rain has learned her name) best her.
"Good luck with that," Alice says. Her face is infuriatingly unreadable, and her voice is strangely detached.
Then, for a second time, multiple pairs of rotting hands manage to drag Rain back below the ice.
When she barely, just barely manages to wrench herself free again, when she gets her head back above the surface, she finds a chopper in the process of taking off.
They're already getting away. Alice is getting away. It's fine.
There's a sharp tug on Rain's leg. She digs her fingers into the snow, desperately attempting to find proper purchase. She's unable to. She rakes straight through it, and her grip slips back to the edges of the hole. The frigidness of the sea has rendered her so numb that if the zombies are continuing to bite her, she can't tell.
"Get the fuck offa me!" Her words are broken up by her body forcing her to hack up the water she took in. There's blood there, too, and it pisses her off more than anything. With renewed strength, Rain twists her upper body so her arms are parallel with the narrowest parts of the gap, uses her elbows on either side to better anchor herself, and repeatedly slams the heel of her boot into the creatures grabbing at her.
Once more, they release her, and she successfully gets herself out.
She's sopping wet, continuing to cough and sputter, shaking harder than she ever has before (is it because of the cold?), bleeding profusely, and missing literal chunks, but she's alive.
The undead begin their attempts to climb out as well, slowed down because they're all fighting to be first.
Incredibly unsteady, Rain rises to her feet and reboards the now-empty submarine. Those suckers can stay out there. She needs time to heal. Given not only the introduction of the T-virus into her system but also the severity of her injuries, probably a lot of it as well. After making her way down to the bunks, she rips off her sodden clothes and gear, attempts to dry herself using one of the thin blankets, then promptly collapses onto a cot.
The next few days—she thinks it's days, anyway. It's difficult to tell—are primarily spent in that same spot. Because the Las Plagas infected her before the virus did, it won't bond with it the way it bonded with the very same zombies that attempted to eat her. While it slowly works on closing the wounds, the parasite also tries to fight off the virus.
It, surprisingly, does so with a bit of success. It manages to stop it from progressing, but it can't fully reject it, leaving Rain stuck in a state of intense feverishness, repeatedly dipping in and out of consciousness.
When the darkness takes over, the black will occasionally bleed into greys speckled with reds and whites.
Sleek, metallic grey walls and lab equipment.
Dull, dingy grey concrete floors, grates, and pipes.
Four equal slices of red and white making up a familiar logo that's plastered all around.
White lab coats, stained red with gore.
A red-handled axe in a white-knuckle grip.
A red dress.
Blue-green eyes...
Short blonde—no, brown hair framing a face that's now burned into her memory...
Rain is certain that she didn't know Alice before she escaped Umbrella Prime and started causing trouble, but the Alice she sees in her mind's eye is often so clear. So vivid. Like she's more than a figment of Rain's fever dreams.
For the thousandth time, she feels herself slipping away, then finds herself back out in the snow. Some blond jackass is trying to swing at her. Rain quickly stops his arm with her own before clocking him in the jaw. When the blow causes him to stagger, she takes the opportunity to kick him as hard as she can. He slams into the side of the sub, landing in a limp pile on the ground.
Something red, something hard quickly enters Rain's field of vision, smashing directly into her face. Her head snaps back from the impact, but it doesn't hurt as much as it ought to.
A dumbass with a beard stands there, stunned. He quickly raises the fire extinguisher again, but Rain yanks it from his grasp and copies his initial strike. He drops, knocked out cold. Rain tosses the makeshift weapon aside.
Before she even has the opportunity to think about properly finishing him off, about ten rounds slam into the back of her bulletproof vest.
She turns.
Alice is there, aiming a Colt right between her eyes. Rain brings her hand up and pushes the barrel away. "I'm not dead yet."
The other woman's stoic face breaks into a toothy, relieved smile. She leans in. "I could kiss you, you bitch!"
"What's stopping you?" Rain closes the rest of the distance between them, letting her eyes slip shut as her lips connect with the other woman's.
A bright, blinding white consumes the darkness.
Alice is picking herself back up, unwilling to throw in the towel.
Rain just grins, shaking her head. She's amused more than anything. "You can't kill me."
"I don't need to."
The ice beneath Rain's feet breaks. She plunges into the water.
"I won't. Rain, please get up."
"You have no choice!" With how tightly Rain's clenching her fists, her nails are digging quite painfully into her skin. She bows down, presenting the back of her neck to the blade Alice is wielding. "Do it."
"No..."
"Just do it now! What's stopping you?!"
Hesitantly, Alice raises the axe up and swings it.
Rain twists around, seizing the handle and stopping it prematurely. She forces it upward again and slams her open palm into Alice's sternum with all her might. There's an audible crack. Alice lets out a sort of breathless, choking gasp as she collapses.
The snow melts away.
"'Level ten threat' my ass," Rain mutters. She sticks out a hand. "Are you holding back on me? You better not be. I'm not pulling my punches."
"I can tell," Alice remarks, accepting the offer to be helped up. Rain doesn't immediately let go once she's upright.
"Give me your all this time."
"No. I can't."
"Why the fuck not? It's just insulting at this point. I can take it. What's stopping you?"
Alice doesn't reply, instead choosing to stare at the ground, then at her with an indecipherable expression.
"Spit it out. And quit looking at me like that!"
Rain knows it's not the first time Alice has given her that face. She won't cut it out. Won't answer.
They spar again.
No, they fight. Rain wins.
Alice isn't dead yet, but she will be soon. Rain begins to approach.
Then, she wakes up. The submarine is dark. She's disoriented. All her wounds are closed, but she's no less ill.
There's hardly even an opportunity to form a fresh, coherent thought before she experiences a small jolt. It's similar to the kind you get when you go to touch a doorknob, and static decides to give you a little zap, but it's directly inside her skull.
...She feels as though something in her brain just... died. As in, gave out and stopped working like the shitty, busted communication equipment near the control room. A fog she never even realized was in her brain dissipates. Everything is clearer, but emptier.
The already fuzzy details of the bunks around her fade entirely.
She and Alice are sparring.
They're fighting.
They're sparring. Alice pins her against the wall, and they're making out—
Rain groans.
Again, she stirs. And this time, she finally feels as though her strength has returned. She slowly sits up, pushing a hand through her hair.
(Not only is the sickness gone, but the subtle thrumming throughout her body that the Las Plagas gave her has vanished as well. Huh.)
She...
She needs a goddamn shower.
Rain drags herself down to one of the single-stall showers and gets herself properly cleaned up. Her uniform is ruined, but she manages to find the majority of a fresh one in one of the lockers. She throws it on and salvages what gear she can from her old one.
Now, she has to think about her next move. Piloting a military submarine by herself isn't exactly an option.
Alice and those two guys left that SnowCat behind, didn't they? Rain vaguely remembers seeing its shape jutting out of the ground when the chopper took off.
...But the sub tipped it over.
Rain may not be able to get the submarine very far on her own, but she can definitely move it enough to right that SnowCat. She starts heading for the controls and gets ready to leave.
To search.
To make good on her promise.
(On the floor of the vehicle, Rain finds a necklace with a teardrop-shaped amber stone hanging from it. She kinda doubts the blond jackass or bearded dumbass would wear it, and the chain is too long for it to have been the kid's. Is it Alice's? Rain shoves it into her utility pouch and climbs into the front seat.)
She drives until the vast expanse of snow is far behind her.
Eventually, she finds a new radio because her dip into the ocean ruined her last one, and that radio starts to pick up a broadcast. The second she hears the slightly husky voice that's delivering the message, she yanks it straight off her belt and properly listens in.
It's Alice. Alice, talking about a safe haven for any potential survivors. Alice, giving fucking coordinates out in the ocean to head to.
Rain starts wondering how quickly she can get herself to a dock and steal a boat.
The answer is one day. It takes one day to get herself out on the water and an additional three to get herself down to her destination: The Arcadia.
It's quite a large vessel. Rain manages to attach the end of her grappling hook to the outermost railing and gets herself aboard.
Further down the deck, she can make out two figures. One heads inside. The other stays behind.
With practiced ease, Rain sneaks her way over to the lone individual. It's some blonde kid. Probably about nineteen.
Rain unholsters her pistol as she stands upright, locking an arm around the stranger's neck. As one would expect, she goes to scream, but the cool metal of a gun pressing against her temple is enough to stop her short.
"Keep quiet," Rain orders. "I'm here to see Alice. You know her?"
The girl quickly shakes her head no.
"You do, don't you? Here's what I expect: You get her and tell her to come out here. Let her know that I wanna have a little chat. And neither of you better bring anybody else along, because I don't give a shit who they are. I will put a bullet through their skull. I just wanna see her. You got that?"
Grudgingly, the girl nods. Rain releases her.
"Good. Get a move on."
K-Mart doesn't need to be told not to linger. She quickly makes her way back inside, eager to get away. She finally thought things were calming down! What the hell? Why does this woman have beef with Alice?
...Well. Maybe that's a stupid question. A lot of people have had their shit rocked by Alice, but after everything that's happened, most of them should be dead. Or undead, eradication via the antivirus she released still pending.
K-Mart didn't get a particularly great look at the woman's clothes, but she saw the black overcoat, which immediately made her think of those Umbrella goons.
She finds Alice sitting with Luther and Claire in the mess hall, reading while they idly chat. K-Mart calls her name, attempting to look nonchalant while gesturing for her to come over.
As Alice approaches, it's clear to her that something is off. She furrows her brows and asks, "What's wrong?"
K-Mart relays what the woman told her, making sure to mention the coat. Alice isn't sure what to think, but she immediately feels her guard fully snapping up and her mind racing with possibilities. She spares a quick glance over her shoulder. Luther and Claire are still preoccupied.
Her hand finds the gun strapped to her thigh. Even now, she scarcely removes it. Good thing, it sounds like. "Okay. I'll go see what the deal is. If I'm not back in fifteen, tell the others." She starts hurriedly down the corridor.
"Be careful," K-Mart says.
Alice has never been particularly good at that. That doesn't stop her from sending her a nod of acknowledgment in an attempt to put her a bit more at ease, though.
"Alright, who's left?"
"Alice!"
Alice hears her before she sees her. She can't believe it, and there's a small part of her that's not as upset about this predicament as she ought to be
Just as she crosses the threshold onto the deck, an arm catches the wrist of the hand holding her firearm, forcing it up.
BLAM! A shot is fired into the sky.
Alice twists, attempting to pry herself free, but the grip is like iron. The attacker stays latched on, turning with her. Alice tries to elbow, to kick, to do anything that will make them relent, but they continue to wrestle her for her weapon.
They find themselves facing her front, and Alice drives her knee into their gut. In return, they drive their fist into hers, knocking the wind straight out of her. Alice doubles over slightly, allowing the attacker to force her arm in an outward half-circle and wrench her gun away.
Both stagger back, putting some distance between them. Alice straightens up to get a proper look at the person and is met with a face that's now familiar three times over: Rain's. Rain, standing there with her dark hair and the tail of her Umbrella-issued overcoat flowing slightly in the breeze.
"Long time no see." She holds up Alice's pistol. "You won't be needing this." She throws it over the side of the boat.
"What do you want?" Alice asks.
"To kill you," Rain answers bluntly. She must know Alice's next thought because she unholsters her own gun and tosses it into the ocean as well. Then, she begins to advance on her. Alice takes a fighting stance.
The playing field is more even this time around. Although Rain's strength is no longer bone-crushing, she's still stronger than Alice. She made sure that she would be. Alice, however, is much faster, and without the element of surprise, the biggest challenge ends up simply being hitting her.
Rain blocks most of what she can't dodge, which is more than she'd like, and she knows her arms are gonna be bruised as hell later. But she makes sure she won't be the only one black and blue. When she can land a blow, she makes it count.
CRACK! Rain delivers a hard right hook to Alice's face. Blood sprays out of her nose.
CRACK! A left hook. This one knocks Alice completely off-kilter. She does a sort of half-spin before landing harshly.
Rain takes a moment to wipe the red streaming from her own nose onto her sleeve, watching as Alice begins trying to pick herself back up. Rain doesn't let her make too much progress before she slams a foot down between her shoulder blades, pressing her into the deck.
It's time to end this. Rain pulls out the folding knife she had tucked into the side of her boot.
"All heart. You haven't changed a bit." That sarcastic remark has repeatedly wormed its way into her brain since she first heard it, and it's started doing so even more frequently thanks to her strange dreams, which didn't end with her fever.
Right now, she thinks, I'll show you exactly how much heart I've got. She pops the blade, and—
And...
She doesn't do anything. She doesn't do anything. She can't. What's stopping her?
She's spent all this time looking.
She's put all this effort in.
Her target is right here, and Rain can't find it in herself to do anything more than lift her weapon up before letting it sink down to its initial position at her side.
Alice throws her foot off, and Rain doesn't even bother with trying to stop her.
That's when the sound of people rapidly approaching becomes audible, and Alice realizes that fifteen minutes must have already passed. Some of the others are showing up. Claire, Chris, Luther, Jill... They're all armed.
"Don't open fire!"
The four come to a confused stop.
Alice rises. Rain knows that she notices the knife, even if she doesn't let her gaze leave the barrels trained on her.
The blade slips from her fingers. It lands on the floor with a clatter.
As she begrudgingly surrenders, she's so unbelievably pissed at herself.
Valentine gets her restrained. She doesn't resist, doesn't listen to whatever discussion is beginning to take place between Alice's friends or whoeverthefuck.
After being stripped of all her weapons, Rain is taken down to one of the ship's holding cells by a woman in a red leather jacket and some meathead. She's locked away unceremoniously, and they leave. Rain presses her hands against the glass of her new cell and watches them walk away, trying to figure out what just went wrong.
...
Days pass. Rain still doesn't know the answer.
Okay, she does. But even with it, things make no more sense than they did before.
...
Rain paces, restless. She's starting to think in circles.
A door opens nearby. She stops. There's no way for her to really tell, but it seems kinda early for someone to be dropping off food. She strains her ears, and the footfalls sound too light to be the guy who normally stops by for that.
"You having fun in here?"
Alice. Rain scowls as she comes into view, offering no response.
"Not in that mood to talk, huh?" Alice grabs a small stool occupying a nearby corner, dragging it closer before sitting. "That's fine. I've got plenty of time to wait."
Rain raises an eyebrow in challenge. Alice mirrors her.
About an hour goes by. Despite Alice's attempts to engage with her, Rain keeps her mouth shut and doesn't say a single word.
Alice leaves. Rain figures that's the end of that.
Except it's not. Alice returns the next day.
As well as the day after that.
And the day after that. It quickly turns into a regular thing.
"It's not like you to keep so quiet." There it is again. The casual implication that Alice knows her better than she actually does. "Are you still embarrassed by this whole debacle? Is that why you've become so shy all of a sudden?"
"Fuck off."
The corner of her lips ticks up at that. "It's okay. Getting captured... It happens to the best of us. Though, I will say I'm surprised that you didn't put up more of a fight." It's not a question, but she's clearly looking for answers.
Rain acts as if she didn't hear her at all. "I don't get you."
"I don't get you, either. But I'm trying to."
"You're crazy."
Alice just keeps smiling.
And so, it continues to happen like clockwork. The others clearly don't understand either, and Alice offers them no explanation, just continues her daily journey down to the holding cells. If she doesn't find Rain in the middle of doing pushups or some other exercise, then she's staring blankly at the wall.
"Abernathy," she greets. She won't always humor Alice, but after her initial crack, she has started speaking a bit. Probably because there isn't much else for her to do.
"Melendez Ocampo."
The leg Rain is idly swinging over the edge of her cot stills. "Ocampo," she echoes, then huffs out a bare-bones laugh and resumes her movements. "Not sure where you're sourcing your info from, but it's just Melendez. Don't even know any Ocampos."
Huh.
Alice takes her usual spot.
With every visit, she thinks how interesting—and so strange—it is how this Rain is so very similar, but also so very different to the first Rain she came to know. For every two or three traits they share, Alice will notice one that they don't.
Both sit with their legs spread and a slight slouch.
Neither can keep their hands still. When they crack their knuckles, they'll do each finger individually rather than all at once.
But when this Rain smiles, she always shows teeth, whereas the first rarely would.
This Rain... she's harsher. Colder. But there's a glimmer of something there, something Alice is certain wasn't there before, something giving her hope that Rain isn't a lost cause. Alice is clinging to it in a way she hasn't in years because things are finally changing for the better, and...
And she can't handle the thought of losing her again.
The next time Alice drops by, she doesn't show up empty-handed. "Here." She opens the small slot on the cell door and tosses an object in. Rain catches it with ease.
It's a simple rubber ball. A red one, which reminds her of that stupid dress she keeps seeing. She hits her with an unamused expression. "Do I look like a fucking dog to you?"
"You look like someone whose boredom is about to drive her up the wall and whom I can't trust to have very many things."
Rain is quiet for a moment, then scoffs. "Y'know, if you don't plan on ever letting me out, I'd prefer that you just have me killed."
Alice shakes her head. "I'll release you. Once I'm certain you won't assault anyone on this ship, that is."
Rain stares at her from beneath her brows, then repeats, "I'd prefer that you just have me killed."
That earns her an eye roll. "Don't be so dramatic. I'm sure you're capable of playing nice." Alice sits and leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Besides, there's no reason for you to keep fighting with us. There's no Umbrella. Not anymore. You're out of a job."
Rain immediately straightens up, but then, to her own surprise, realizes she doesn't care all that much. There's no voice in her head telling her she ought to, either. "Been busy, huh?" She blows a strand of hair out of her face. "It doesn't matter. I didn't come here because of them, anyway."
That reaction seems to take Alice slightly aback. "You only came here because you wanted to take me down, then?"
"I told you I'd find you again while you were trying to take me down. Sure, I take my orders seriously, but did you really think that was all I had in mind when I said that?"
"I didn't... I mean, all the way... I can't believe you..." Alice cuts herself off again and huffs. "God, I can't believe you're here at all. I thought you were dead."
"Yeah, obviously. But like I said... You can't kill me."
An almost bitter smile briefly works its way onto Alice's face. Rain isn't sure how to interpret it.
"Maybe I can't. Maybe I've never been able to. Not on purpose, anyway."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"And it seems like you can't kill me either. You had the opportunity, but you didn't take it. Why? That was what you wanted."
Rain shrugs her shoulders and remains silent for the rest of Alice's stay.
As Alice is leaving, she faintly hears the ball bounce off the plexiglass.
"You like to read?"
"Huh?"
"Do you like to read?" Alice repeats. "I've started taking books here and there when we make supply stops. I could give you a few."
Rain stops tossing the ball back and forth between her hands. Seems like she's hardly put it down over the past couple of weeks. She ought to have an immediate answer to that question, but now that she's been asked it, she realizes that she isn't sure. It's odd. Especially when it also slowly occurs to her that she can't even name a single book she's picked up. Like, ever. She knows she's read things before, she just can't remember what they were or if she enjoyed them. "...I couldn't tell you."
Alice hums with a mysterious sense of understanding. "I'll drop some off."
She does so the day after, stopping by much later than usual because she was helping Claire with some minor maintenance for the ship.
Right as Alice enters the holding cells, she hears Rain's voice say her name.
Alice is about to respond, but as she grows closer, she realizes that Rain isn't actually speaking to her.
Well, she is, but she's lying almost face down on her cot and clearly asleep.
Alice quietly moves to stand closer to her cell, curiosity lighting a flame in her chest. She waits to see if Rain will say more.
"...Yeah... S'nice..." Rain turns onto her side. "Don't know... You're so..." She trails off entirely.
So...?
A minute passes. A few minutes. Aside from a bit of light snoring, Rain is quiet. Alice is slightly disappointed to not be able to hear the end of her sentence.
She turns to leave, figuring that she'll have to come back around later.
"Spence...?"
But then, hearing that makes her pause a second time.
Spence? Spence? It's been so long since she's heard that name.
"Yeah, gonna be straight with you... Guy makes me wanna puke..."
Alice tries not to. She really does, but she can't help it. She snorts at that.
Rain bolts upright at the sound, impulsively reaching for, what Alice assumes, would be a knife or gun if she were allowed to have one. When her hand finds nothing, she seems to remember where she is. Her hard expression softens ever so slightly at the sight of Alice, but quickly snaps back into place with more intensity than before.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up," Alice apologizes. She hesitates before adding, "You talk in your sleep. Are you aware of that?"
Judging by the way Rain stiffens in response, the answer is no. Alice wants more details about her dream but decides to ignore the most poignant question. She already knows Rain's response would mirror what hers would be if the roles were flipped, which would be to avoid answering. "You know someone named Spence?"
After a bit of scrutinizing, Rain relaxes. "Yeah. Used to. He was part of the same squadron as me. The one led by Valentine, but either you or that traitor you were hanging around with shot him dead." She sniffs loudly, then says, "No great loss, if you ask me. Why? You familiar with him?"
"No, but I was married to a Spence a long time ago."
"What happened to him?"
"He left me and my friends for dead, so I cut his head off when I caught up to him later."
Surprise flits across Rain's features. She opens her mouth to reply, then closes it. "I'll add that to the list of reasons why I don't understand how I'm still here."
Because I want you to be, Alice thinks. "Anyway, I brought these for you." She holds up two battered pulp fiction novels.
Rain takes a second to process the sudden subject change. "Ah."
Alice opens the slot on the cell door and sticks them through. Rain takes them. A beat passes. She gestures vaguely with the novels, her gaze firmly locked on the covers. "Uh. Thanks."
"No problem." Alice grabs her stool.
"I thought you only liked nonfiction," Claire comments during the next supply stop. They have all the necessities loaded up, and now she's just watching Alice dig through pulp fiction titles sitting in the remains of a broken store display.
"I pick up other things too," Alice tells her, even though she has little intention of reading them for herself.
She's pleased to find Rain dog-earing the page of one she decided to bring back from that trip when she pays her next visit. "Kinda early today, huh? I think. Hard to tell."
"I guess it is."
"You ever get sick of coming down here?"
"No, why? Getting tired of seeing my face?"
"No. Guess I don't get it, though. I mean, I don't think you've ever missed a day since you've started."
"Maybe I just really enjoy talking to you. Have you ever considered that?"
Rain makes an incredulous sound. "You're not too awful to hold a conversation with, either."
"Wow, thanks. You sure know how to get a girl flustered."
"I try." The reply is flatly delivered. She shifts a bit, turning to properly face Alice. "Hey. Actually, I—" She dips her head down. "I feel like words don't mean too much, though I'm not sure what else I can give you from in here... I, uh, I want you to know that I'm sorry. For all the hell I helped give you back in Umbrella Prime and trying to..." She drags her finger across her throat.
Despite the questionable delivery of all that, Alice truly thinks that Rain means it. She seems like the type of person who wouldn't bother to hand out fake apologies. If she weren't sincerely regretful, she wouldn't care enough to try and conciliate somebody with one, nor give whatever she did a second thought.
Alice nods. "Yeah. I appreciate hearing that."
She doesn't stop by the next day.
Or that day after that.
(Rain finds herself in a piss-poor mood. It's not because of that, though. It's not.)
(Alice spends a long time shut up in her room, thinking.)
Another morning comes. The sun is beginning to peak over the horizon, swallowing the final remnants of night. The entrance to the holding cells opens. The approaching footsteps Rain hears are filled with purpose.
"I'm going to let you out," Alice stops right in front of the glass, "on one condition: I want you to apologize."
Rain raises her eyebrows and gives her a blank look. What? What the fuck is happening?
"To K-Mart—"
"Who?" she cuts in.
"The kid," Alice places extra emphasis on the second word, "that you made come get me and terrified by threatening with a gun. Second, Luther." She's given another confused face, so she elaborates. "He's the one you gave a concussion with a fire extinguisher."
"He tried to give me one first."
"Rain—"
"Not that it makes a difference since there's no way I'm doing that."
"You would rather stay locked up in here?"
"Yeah, actually, I would."
"You're more stubborn than I am. Come on. This is getting off easy. Essentially a slap on the wrist. Not even that. Plus, you've already given me one."
"That's different."
And thus, Alice's earlier assumptions are proven true. "Do it for me?"
"Do you seriously think that's going to work on me?"
"They're important to me, Rain. Like you are." That makes Rain's eyes dart to meet hers. "Luther is a good friend of mine, and K-Mart is basically one of my daughters. I don't enjoy seeing them hurt or scared. If you're out, I want them to be assured that you're no longer a threat."
A long stretch of silence passes.
Rain groans. "Fine."
Alice swipes the key card through the electronic door lock. The door pops open, and she takes hold of the handle, partially blocking the exit.
Rain stops beside her. "You're fucking crazy."
"So I've been told."
Rain lets Alice lead her around so she can get this over with. She thinks that if J.D. and Carlos could see her now, she'd never hear the end of it. Hell, Matt would probably give her shit too.
Not for the first time, she wonders about the hold Alice seems to have gotten on her.
Before she knows it, they're in a mess hall, and that bearded dumbass—Luther is seated at a table in front of her.
"Hey. Weird seeing you here. What's happening?"
"I, uh..." Rain clears her throat. This shit feels so humiliating. At least he's the only person in here aside from Alice. "I wanted to, uh, come here. And say, uh... y'know. Sorry. For," she makes a limp gesture with her hand, "kicking your ass that one time."
Luther holds her gaze as he takes a long sip of his instant coffee. Then, he turns to Alice. "Wow. That was like pulling teeth. How much convincing did it take for you to get that outta her?"
"Surprisingly, not as much as you'd expect."
Rain can feel her eye twitch.
"Thanks for your apology. I forgive you." Luther puts on a serious voice and makes a big show of putting a hand on her arm while speaking.
"Yeah, great." She quickly shrugs his touch off. "You can take me to the kid now."
Her talk with K-Mart is even rougher. The kid laughs and tells her to be careful not to strain herself too hard.
Rain wishes Alice would've just had her killed.
As they leave, Alice squeezes Rain's shoulder. Rain decides to let her hand remain there. "Alright, let me help you find a new room. One that unlocks from the inside and isn't see-through. You can nurse your bruised ego in there."
She only offers a grunt in response.
...
...
...
Days pass. Alice finds Rain out on the deck. Wordlessly, she joins her.
For a long while, they sit in silence. Alice closes her eyes and lets the warm breeze roll over them.
"I wasn't sure what stopped me."
"Hm?" She glances over, finding Rain staring at the area where they fought all those months ago.
Rain repeats herself, then tells her, "I'll be honest, I still don't. Not entirely. I only know it's you. When I had you there, it was like I had showed up to visit..." she struggles to find the right words, "an old friend. One I was pretty sure I hated, but when I finally saw them face-to-face, I realized I didn't. Not as much as I thought I did, anyway. I don't know. There was something about you, though. At some point, it turned into me... liking you, I guess?"
"You guess?" Alice questions, her tone bordering on teasing.
"Mhm. Might even go so far as to call it fond now. I know I'm not meant to feel this way about you, but I do."
Her fingers slowly inch closer to where the other woman's hand is placed, tentatively resting on top of it. "I could say the same in regards to you."