Rainfall
Kirika stood by the open window, watching the rain pour down outside.
Her eyes scanned the darkened skies before drifting to the splash of
drops on the windowsill. In the distance, lightning flashed,
momentarily lighting up the clouds. She had barely counted to two
before thunder rocked the world, rattling the window panes.
“That one was nearby.”
Mireille’s voice touched her ears as the thunder was receding, and a
hand came to rest gently on her shoulder. Kirika covered her
partner’s fingers with her own, but she made no move answer, or close
the window. There was some sort of inexplicable power to the
experience. A part of her just didn’t want to shut out the storm.
Granted, it was only a thundershower, and not even a big one at that,
but she watched helplessly as drop after drop followed its unerring
course to the earth. Tentatively, Kirika stuck her free hand out the
window, letting the weather coat it with wetness. The rain was cold,
but not uncomfortably so. It was kind of pleasant actually, clearing
away the sticky humidity of summer heat.
For a moment, all was silent again, save for the sounds of rain and
the constant patter of strikes across the roof. Mireille and Kirika
held their breaths as another flash of appeared in the sky. This
time, it was a full ten seconds before the distant rumble of thunder
reached them.
“The curtains are getting wet.” Mireille whispered reluctantly,
breaking the mood and bringing them back to reality.
Slowly, Kirika drew her hand inside and sealed up the window, muting
the fury outside. With the glass between herself and the storm,
nature seemed a lot less menacing all of a sudden. Still, the two of
them stood there a while longer, as the storm played itself out.
Unconsciously, Kirika brought her wet hand up to her face, breathing
in the scent of the rain.
“Did you ever want to play in the rain, Mireille?”
The blonde pulled Kirika closer to her, smiling into her dark hair.
“Yes, I used to always want to play in the rain, but no one would ever
let me. Mother always told me I would get sick if I did. Then when I
came here with Uncle Claude, I remember one time I asked him if I
could go out and play while it was raining. Of course he let me. He
thought it would cheer me up. So I went out and ran around in the
rain, getting completely soaked. I came back after a while, all wet
and cold, but Uncle Claude had a fire waiting, and hot cocoa, and I
really did feel better, because I could forget everything for a few
minutes. And when I finally did come back inside, there was warmth
and sweets, and I felt happy for the first time since coming to
France, even if I was in bed with pneumonia for a week after that.”
“I’m sorry I made you sad.” Kirika muttered, her eyes never leaving
the window.
“It was a long time ago.”
“Do you… Do you blame me? For your family?”
“No.” Mireille answered immediately, tightening her hold on her
partner.
“But you think about it.” Kirika whispered at the floor, her hair
falling over her eyes.
“I can’t help it.”
The younger girl lapsed into silence once more, unsure of how to
respond. Instead, she closed her eyes, keeping the tears from
spilling out. For a few moments, the world stood perfectly still, and
there was only the quiet breathing of Mireille behind her, accompanied
by the steady drumming of raindrops.
She was acutely aware of the arms draped over her shoulders, and the
warm hands reaching for hers. A sigh escaped her lips as a questing
hand grasped her cold one, the one that had been wet. Unconsciously,
her fingers squeezed Mireille’s, looking for more of the warmth. The
blonde obliged, pressing the length of their arms together as she
nudged Kirika towards the door.
“Come play in the rain with me.”
~[ ]~
From their perch on the roof, they watched the drops pelt the street
below. Water rained down around them, onto them, soaking their hair
and clothes. Kirika shivered lightly from the cold, but Mireille only
wrapped herself tighter around the girl. Freeing a hand, the blonde
carefully cleared the dark hair from Kirika’s eyes, brushing away the
damp bangs.
“It’s pretty isn’t it?”
Kirika nodded silently.
“Even though it’s chilly, and we’re wet, and I know we’re going to be
sick after, it’s still nice to be out here.”
Kirika only nodded again.
“Let’s not just stand here and brood.” Mireille maneuvered her
partner over to a nearby puddle before taking a leap into it, spraying
cold water over Kirika’s already drenched legs. The Japanese girl
gaped at her. Gingerly, Mireille squished her feet in her shoes
before splashing Kirika again and running to the other end of the
roof, laughing all the way.
Without hesitation, Kirika sprinted after her, having caught onto the
game. When Mireille turned back to look for her companion, she was
greeted by a gentle shove that sent her sprawling into another puddle.
“That wasn’t fair.” Undignified, she proceeded to pull Kirika down on
top of her and sit her younger partner in the puddle as well.
“Why not?” Kirika asked, pressing close to the blonde, suddenly
hungry for the warmth of her body again.
“Because I only splashed you. There was no pushing or shoving
involved.”
“And who made these rules?”
Mireille was about to answer, but her eyes caught Kirika’s, and just
as quickly, her reply escaped her. The distance between them closed,
bringing their noses only millimeters apart. The blonde shifted
closer still, and Kirika’s eyes closed themselves.
Water ran in rivulets through her hair and down her face. The wind
chilled her through the sopping clothes, but she was kissing Mireille,
and that mouth was so very warm. Even without looking, their hands
found each other, and Kirika traced up the bare arms until she was
clinging to Mireille’s shoulders. For their part, Mireille’s hands
had found their way to Kirika’s waist, and they lifted the younger
girl into the blonde’s lap.
When they finally stopped for air, Kirika buried her face in
Mireille’s neck, smiling against the smooth skin. She shivered,
partly from the cold, but mostly from the sensation of a tongue
wrapping itself around her earlobe. She tightened her hold on her
partner.
“Don’t ever ask me to leave, Mireille.”
Gently, Mireille ran a hand through Kirika’s dripping hair and kissed
her scalp. “I’m not asking you to leave. I like that you’re here
with me.”
Unwilling to leave it at that, the dark-haired girl continued.
“Because if I had to give this all up, if I had to just walk away and
never come back, I... I don’t think I could do that.”
The blonde pulled back until they were nose to nose, and they could
see each other again. “Thank you.” Mireille whispered, hoping that
the rain hid her tears. But if it weren’t for the tears obscuring her
vision, she would have seen that Kirika was crying as well.
Their lips met again as lightning burst from the sky. And as the
thunder rolled over them, neither heard, their ears tuned only to the
sound of blood rushing through their heads and the beating of their
partner’s heart. They lay twined in each other’s arms, against a
backdrop of lightly falling rain, until the sun peeked through the
clouds and lit the world once more.
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