Well, this certainly wasn't how Ruby had imagined her day going. At the very least, she'd expected herself and Penny to able to enjoy more than twenty minutes of their park date before it suddenly started pouring on them.

Personally, Ruby didn't mind the rain all that much. It reminded her of the occasional storms she would see back on Patch, and of trying to slip out of the house with Yang to play in the puddles when they were kids. Penny, on the other hand, was adamant that they needed to get somewhere dry before Ruby caught a cold. And so here they were, hiding underneath the awning of a closed ice cream stand, waiting for the rain to let up enough for them to leave.

"Y'know," Ruby said after about five minutes of staring out at the rain in silence. "We don't have to go. I kind of like the rain. Plus, we get the whole park to ourselves."

"But you might get sick!" Penny protested. She'd backed herself right up to the stand, as far away from the falling raindrops as she could possibly get.

"Isn't that a myth, though?" Ruby inquired. "Like, water can't actually make you sick, right?"

"Well, no, but being in the cold rain for extended periods of time can temporarily weaken your immune system." Penny replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh, c'mon Penny, that's such a small chance of me getting sick." Ruby insisted. "Isn't having some fun in the rain worth the risk?"

"Nothing is worth risking your health." Penny said seriously. She wrinkled her nose and added, "Besides, rain is gross."

"Okay, first of all, it's a cold, not the Black Death. I'd be fine in two days, tops." Ruby assured her. "Second of all, you bite your tongue!"

Penny gave her a confused look, but nevertheless, she poked the tip of her tongue out between her teeth and gently bit down on it.

"Figure of speech, Penny." Ruby chuckled, and Penny immediately released her tongue with a small 'oh'. "What I meant was, rain is awesome! How could you think it's gross?"

"I do not like it when my clothes get wet." Penny explained. "They get sticky."

"What if I let you borrow some of my clothes after?" Ruby asked. She grinned as Penny's face flushed. It was common knowledge among pretty much everyone they knew that Penny loved wearing Ruby's clothes and would take any opportunity to do so, but she always got flustered whenever anyone called her out on it.

"Can I wear your big sweater?" She requested softly.

"You really like that sweater, huh?" Ruby replied with a chuckle. Out of all her clothes, her oversized sweater was the one thing Penny asked to borrow the most. Sometimes she'd even swipe it when Ruby wasn't looking. "You can have the sweater for the rest of the day if you let me show you how fun the rain can be. And if you really don't like it, we can head back, okay?"

"Alright." Penny reluctantly agreed. "What did you have in mind?"

Ruby smirked and ducked out from underneath the awning, walking right into the huge puddle that had formed just beyond it. She shivered as cold water seeped into her shoes and pulled her hood up to keep the rain from messing up her hair too much.

"Ever been in a splash fight?" She asked. Penny shook her head and stayed where she was, waiting for an explanation. "Well, it's exactly what it sounds like. You just try and soak your friends as much as possible. Yang and I used to do it all the time as kids."

"How do you know who wins?" Penny inquired.

"There's not really a winner," Ruby replied. "It's just a fun way to spend a rainy day."

Penny considered this briefly, then slowly stepped out into the rain. She stood there for a moment, as if trying to get used to the sensation.

"Now try splashing me." Ruby prompted.

Penny glanced down at the water at her feet, then gently kicked some of it in Ruby's direction. A few drops spattered across Ruby's already wet shoes. In response, Ruby sent a real splash her way. Penny leapt back with a yelp as water struck her legs.

Ruby paused, thinking that perhaps this was too much to start with for someone who already disliked the rain. Just as she was about to open her mouth to ask if Penny wanted to stop, her girlfriend kicked out at the puddle again, much harder this time. The ensuing splash came up to her hips, soaking through her clothes in spots the rain hadn't quite been able to reach.

Ruby smirked and splashed again, and this time Penny let out a sound of delight as the water hit her. She dodged out of the way as Penny splashed at her one more time, leaving the puddle entirely.

"Having fun?" She asked.

"A little." Penny admitted with a small smile.

"Good." Ruby said as she dipped her toes back into the puddle. She kicked upward and sent a thin spray toward Penny's face, then turned to run before her girlfriend could retaliate. Behind her, she could hear Penny's quick footsteps giving chase.

"Come back here!" Penny shouted with a laugh. Ruby sped up, entirely leaping over another puddle in an attempt to outpace her.

Not even five seconds later, the sound of footsteps was replaced with a splash and a short shriek. Ruby, assuming Penny had slipped and fallen, stopped and turned around with the intention of helping her girlfriend up, but Penny was nowhere in sight.

"Firefly?" She called out cautiously, looking around. No response. "Penny, where'd you go?"

Realistically, there was no way Penny could have gotten out of sight that quickly, but a whole person didn't just vanish into thin air. She had to be around here somewhere. Ruby stepped forward, squinting through the rain, and realized that there were ripples moving along the surface of the puddle she'd jumped over. No way, she thought.

But then Penny's head broke the surface and she scrambled out, her eyes still wide with alarm.

"Oh my God, how deep was that thing?!" Ruby exclaimed, hurrying to help Penny to her feet.

"Nearly six feet." Penny replied, blinking water from her eyes. "I suppose that was a hole that the rain filled, rather than a real puddle."

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked sympathetically. She almost wanted to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of a person having fallen into a six-foot deep puddle, but making sure her girlfriend was alright took priority.

"Yes, I'm fine." Penny nodded, though she seemed more than a little uncomfortable. "But I think I would like to get somewhere dry now."

"Okay," Ruby gently pressed a kiss to Penny's cold cheek. "We'll head back to the Academy now, and you can have my big sweater."

Penny smiled at that, and Ruby put an arm around her shoulders as they began walking toward the park's entrance.

"Sorry today didn't go the way we were hoping." Ruby said as they walked. "But you had at least a little fun, right?"

"I did." Penny affirmed. "I still believe that rain is gross, but you made it more enjoyable."

"So enjoyable you'd be willing to try this again, maybe?" Ruby prompted with a tiny grin. "Possibly when we're better dressed for it?" She added, not at all pleased with the feeling of her soaked cape clinging to her back.

"Alright," Penny agreed. "We can try again next time it rains."

Ruby's grin widened and she pumped one fist into the air in a celebratory motion. If nothing else, she'd gotten her girlfriend to stop hating rain quite as much.

"Mission accomplished."