Rain.

Lukas hated the rain.

He walked to his home after a long day of working on his office. He was close to finishing a story he'd been writing for a while. He liked where he was getting with the story, but if he stayed in that office any longer, he would've fallen asleep.

So here he was. Walking home alone. In the rain. Cold, annoying, loud, stupid rain.

It was late at night, and the moon was covered by the stupid, dark clouds in the sky. No stars to be seen, either. 

The only source of light was the lamps around the town, glowing a faint yellow. There was no light, no people. 

The only sound was the sound of water droplets hitting the ground. That darn sound boomed in Lukas's ears, sounding like an explosion to him. He growled, raising his hands to his ears to block out that cursed sound. 

He avoided any puddle he encountered, jumping over them or walking around them. 

He hadn't brought an umbrella so his hair flopped down to his forehead, blocking his vision. He pushed his hair away from his face, annoyed with that one stupid strand of hair that kept falling into it. 

His office was rather far away from his house, and he still wasn't half-way to his home. That thought made him more frustrated.

He stopped dead in his tracks, looking around for some kind of shelter. He walked into a dark alley. There was a small balcony on the left house, holding some pots of flowers and small trees. He had the idea to hide under it, not the best shelter, but definitely the best he'd find. He leaned against the wall and right under the balcony.

As soon as he stepped out of the rain, he felt a cold breeze hit him. He shivered, hugging himself for warmth. He felt cold. He didn't know how long the rain was going to last, but he knew he wasn't going to spend half-an-hour walking in it. 

He let out a shaky sigh, staring at the sky. He started spacing out, thinking about various things. Mostly about his book. His book was about two kids who went on a camping trip but got lost wandering around. It was a short book, mostly some kind of stress-relief, but it was simple and fun to read. 

A voice caught his attention, a voice too familiar to miss. God damn, he loved that voice. That beautiful, soft, calm voice always made all his grief wash away. Where did the grief go? It didn't matter as long as he could hear that voice. 

"Lukas?", Petra called, noticing Lukas's figure under the balcony. Lukas turned his head to look at Petra. She was holding an umbrella. She furrowed his brows at him—What was he doing out there? Lukas apparently understood her confusion, so he spoke. 

"I got out of work late.", He said, making a hand motion telling Petra to come over. She did, walking over to Lukas and leaning against the wall next to him. 

Unlike Lukas, Petra loved the rain. She loved the soft sound of droplets hitting the ground, she loved jumping in puddles, she loved being able to stay inside when it's raining; it made her feel cozy and warm. She loved feeling the droplets hit her body, she just loved everything about the rain.

Lukas knew this, so it wasn't any surprise that Petra was wondering in the rain in the middle of the night. They stayed in comfortable silence. Lukas took a moment to observe Petra. He liked—loved everything about her. From her freckles to her tough personality, her voice, her eyes, you name it!

"..'You want me to walk you home?", Petra asked him, breaking the silence. Lukas could feel his heart racing in his chest, ready to burst. A thin blush crept into his cheeks and he felt butterflies in his stomach. This girl was going to drive him crazy.

Not being able to speak, he nodded with a dumb smile. Petra grinned at him. She loved that dumb smile.

Lukas walked next to Petra. Petra held the umbrella firmly, not wanting a single droplet to get on Lukas; she knew he hated the rain.

Lukas felt weird. He hated the rain. The rain was probably in his Top 10 things he hated the most. But right now? He felt normal. Good, even. Petra was by his side, and that made him happy. His heart fluttered, making him feel light-headed. 

He scooted closer to Petra. He didn't mean to, his body just went for the closest heat source. Petra chuckled at him, raising a brow, "Are you cold?", she asked, putting an arm around Lukas's shoulders. 

Lukas laughed awkwardly as a response, gazing at the taller girl. "I guess.", he shrugged turning his gaze to the ground.

"Your house is pretty far away, right?", The red-head asked, stopping in her tracks.

"Yeah...", The blonde boy responded.

Petra smiled lightly, "That's okay. That just, uh...means I get to walk with you for longer?", she said, raising a brow at herself. Lukas giggled, walking forward with Petra walking next to him.

It was just them. Quiet, but not awkward. It was relaxing. Calm.

It felt like seconds, but they had arrived at Lukas's home.

They stood in front of the front door. Lukas gripped the doorknob, then turned back to Petra. 

"See ya tomorrow.", He said, giving her warm smile.

Petra grinned, "See ya, cat boy."

Before Lukas could say something, Petra ran off giggling. Lukas sighed, ending in a small chuckle. He went inside and threw himself onto the couch and covered himself in his blankets, feeling cozy and warm.

He fell asleep as he thought about Petra.

----

Yes, I know this is shorter than usual but I think we could all use some more simple one-shots without having to stress out too much about it.

-Hatsumi