She had missed these quiet moments most of all.
She hadn't realized how long it had been since she'd stopped her constant running from the world, wasn't sure when she had forgotten how to let herself feel. Tucking the stake into her back pocket, she wrapped her arms around herself and enjoyed the chilly spattering of rain that lightly fell on her upturned face. She sighed, pleased. The rain caressed her features, smoothing out lines of worry, turning up the corners of her frown. Yes, she had missed this, longed for this tranquility. She repeated it in her mind again as if to convince herself.
She missed time to herself without people hovering over her or professing how horribly sorry they were. She was tired of them feeling sorry for her. The pain of being brought back from the dead, of being brutally ripped from Heaven, had dulled her senses until she feared that she was just a shell of who she had been before. But now, as she stood in the dark listening to the rain as it splashed gracefully against the surrounding tombstones, she felt something return to her. She felt a bit more peaceful. Maybe it was some kind of sick irony that she found comfort in graveyards. Maybe she just missed being dead.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up: her vampy-senses were tingling. She sighed heavily and pulled the stake from her pocket and whirled around, a bit clumsily since the heels of her boots had sunk into the wet earth.
It was him. Of course it was him. She slid the stake back into her pocket, eyes studying him as he approached. His blonde hair was mussed from the rain, free of the gel that usually slicked it back, and it curled wildly atop his head.
He eyed her warily, taking in her soaked hair and clothes, one eyebrow raised as only he could do. His eyes held no sign of pity, just curiosity, and she wished she had the strength and the courage to thank him. Instead, she smiled weakly at him and turned her head back to the clouds. There was a beat of semi-awkward silence as the rain fell in sheets around them.
She smelled the leather before he placed his duster over her shoulders; silently offering her the warmth that he knew his body was incapable of giving. The notion comforted her, made her heart break a little. She caught his hand, then, and he flinched at the action, expecting her to hurl insults or harsh words at him.
Instead, she positioned their hands so that their fingers were intertwined. She held his hand, summoning every shred of courage she could muster, desperately trying to keep from running away. She'd already been running long enough. She wanted to feel, she craved it, but at the same time it terrified her. She knew he was staring at her in awe, but she didn't dare open her eyes or even turn her face to him. She had been mistaken before about the concept of tranquility. This was peace. This was comfort.
The rain continued to fall, washing away her tears as they slowly escaped from eyes that stubbornly tried to hold them in. He moved closer to her and for one scant second she dared to crack her eyes open, watching him in her peripheral vision. He, too, had tilted his head back and was smiling into the rain.
She had missed him most of all.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
This is my first ever posted Spuffy Fanfic, so any feedback at all is appreciated. Any and all mistakes are my own, as I don't have a beta, haha.