The wind ran wildly outside, heavy rain intertwined to create a cocofony of a storm. The warehouse walls made it seem like it was far worse than reality, but although her ears played tricks on her, she could perfectly see the weather through the window.
Funny, if she ignored the wailing, it seemed almost peaceful under the rain. Then why did she want to close her eyes and listen...
"You seem pensive today." A gruffy voice comes along.
She turns to greet him. Taking a moment to gaze him up. It was their thing, speaking in silence with smiles and glances. If she took the opportunity to admire the way his shirt strained against the bulge of his arm or the angle of his chin, or his sharp eyes, or his soft lips... that was something else...
"Just... the weather's been crappy lately, uh..." She replies. Her actual answer serving nothing, or rather far less, than the prior silence.
Instead of commenting on it, Shadow-san plays along. "Indeed." He steps closer until they are side to side, both looking through the window.
It's a comfort of its own having him around, so close yet so far. Close enough to feel the heat of his skin radiating off of him. Yet far enough that the feeling of breaching that gap and actually touching him was just too massive at the moment.
She shivers. Walking around with a tank top during winter wasn't the best of ideas, but her warmer clothes were reserved for missions where she got to roll around in the snow. Besides, Shadow-san wore a simple t-shirt just fine.
"Are you cold?" He knows the answer to that. "I told you we should have bought winter clothes." It's not said in a condescending way. She knew the tone if that were the case. It was spoken softly as if he was sort of glad for the outcome. Ridiculous notion she knows but, who else could tell was Shadow-san was think by his face and tone of voice. Carmen was numero uno in that regard.
"You don't seem too broken up about it." She says cautiously.
He hums. "Well, yes..." He hesitates. That's a first.
He shuffles his feet and clears his throat. Then he steps closer, breaching that gap. Carmen’s breath hitches. "I run hot." She chokes. He steps back with a suspicions blush on his cheeks. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't be able to tell it was there.
"By that, I mean I am not as susceptible to the cold."
Carmen clears her throat to disguise her own blushing. She swallows down the urge to make an inappropriate joke. She assumes her previous position, hoping (praying) he does the same.
After just a little bit, he does.
Side by side, looking through the window with Shadow-san’s heat warming her up, she gathers the courage to close her eyes.
The sound is unbearable. She knows she's at the warehouse. She knows he's by her side. She feels his warmth crawling up her arm, like a furnace, like an anchor. But the storm she hears, the one she knows is not there when she opens her eyes and looks through the window, seems so big, so personal, so frightening.
"Do you wish to talk about it?"
His voice was quiet but close. It brought a different kind of heat to her face. She opens her eyes before she thinks of something else. Something else she'd like to hear that voice to do.
It takes a moment for her to remember he asked a question. Talk about it... sure.
"When I close my eyes, the storm sounds a lot worse than what we see right now." It sounds like nonsense, yet somehow, he gets it.
That makes her straighten up. The river water seemed fine, the wind wasn't blowing too strong there didn't seem to be any damage and the rain wasn't too heavy. Yet she also knew what he meant.
"I don't want to feel this way."
"That's fine." Two simple words. She looks up at him with glassy eyes.
"He's looking out the window. "Even if it seems small, a storm can be much bigger than we think. But if there is something I know about storms..." He looks at her then. "Is that they always pass." He looks through the window, she follows his gaze. Sure enough, the rain had stopped. She closed her eyes, and the sounds were gone.
"When?" She knows he can't answer that for her, but she asks it anyway.
She feels his heat grow closer, wrapping around her as his arm does. She fits perfectly against his side.
"I do not know. Give it time."
She looks to the window again and gaps.
"If you need my help, I will be here. But do not rush. When it is time, it will go away. Maybe not fully, but you will see..."
Peeking through the clouds, the rays of sun illuminating the dock, the floor was still wet, some drip drops of water stuck on the roof, and the grey coulds parting away slowly. But bellow all that, in between the warm light, a beautiful, delicate rainbow.
"When the rain stops, anything can happen."
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