Rain
Rain… What an awful way to end an awful day.
Ryo sat on the back porch of Mia’s mansion, sipping a steamy cup of tea. The rain had started as a fine mist, spraying everything delicately with tiny droplets. Now, it was steadily beating down on the ground mercilessly. A find dust had begun to rise up from the parched earth. Ryo watched as the dust played with the steam floating up to meet the clouds above.
Suddenly, a warm cozy blanket covered his body, and slender arms enveloped him from behind. The familiar silky strands of hair caressed his cheek as an embrace was shared.
“Thought that you may need this. It’s cooling off quite a bit.” The voice said, lilting in the breeze.
Ryo stared up into the browns eyes of a very caring person staring back at him in warmth. She smiled motherly down on him and removed her embrace as she rested her elbows on the back of the chair.
“Thanks, Mia”. He whispered as he patted her hand.
“Are you okay?” Mia asked quietly.
Ryo shrugged, and buried himself deeper into the blanket.
“Are you still mad?”
“Is he?” Ryo fired back hotly.
Mia came around the chair, and sat on the cool concrete to face him, “I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything to me about it.”
“Probably because there isn’t anything left to say.” Ryo whispered as he sulked.
As Mia began to respond, a glee-filled yell fell upon their ears. The sight of Kento sliding across the rain soaked grass as if it were a water slide greeted their shocked faces. He slid a good 5-10 feet on his back, his arms and legs flailing outward. As he came to a halt, he jumped up and faced the porch in an Olympic style pose. Mud covered his clothes, and his face was splattered with droplets of dirt.
“Aw, yeah! I love-“ he began, but was cut off as another flailing body slammed into his legs, knocking him off balance.
As Kento fell forward into the muddy earth, his blue-haired assailant sprung up, equally dirty.
“You let your guard down too soon.” Rowen laughed confidently.
Kento looked towards Mia and Ryo, a sly smile on his face. Quick as a whip, Kento slung a handful of mud up at Rowen. Before he could react, the pile hit him square in the chest.
Rowen picked the clumps off of his soaked shirt and smirked, “Hmm. Seems I underestimated you. Or do I need to use smaller words for you to understand?”
To this, Kento tackled the archer around his waist and wrestled him to the ground.
Mia laughed out loud at the spectacle, and Ryo’s tiger blue eyes twinkled. The former leader shook his head at the two. Kento he would have expected to goof off like this, but Rowen? The rain had soaked the two to the bone, but they were still throwing mud and sliding around, howling with laughter and slinging handfuls of dirt at the other.
“Well, I guess he’s not mad anymore.” Mia whispered as she stood and dusted herself off.
Ryo watched as Kento called a truce from the ground. Rowen extended a hand and helped Kento to his feet with a smile. Ryo pulled the blanket closer to his body and watched as Rowen began to walk up to where he and Mia sat. Kento waved as he stepped in the opposite direction. Mia moaned out loud as Kento walked in through the double doors on the far side of the house.
“What?” Rowen asked as he took shelter under the porch.
“I’m afraid that Kento is going to-“
“AH! Kento, STOP!” came a yell from inside.
“Oh no,” Mia cried as she stepped inside the doors, “I’ll bring you a towel, Rowen.”
“Thanks.” Rowen said as he shook the out of his hair like a dog.
“No, thank you.”
“For what?” Rowen asked as he looked over at Ryo.
Ryo glared at him as he wiped the tiny water droplets off of his face.
“Oops. Sorry.” Rowen said with a smile.
The two sat quietly, listening to the chaos going on inside.
“Kento, quit it!”
“Come on, Sage. It’s only a little dirt!”
Rowen chuckled to himself, and looked over at Ryo. He quietly sipped at the tea in his hands, and blew the steam from the top. He was staring absently out at the rain, almost seeming that he wasn’t seeing Rowen in front of him.
Rowen sighed and leaned against the porch column, “You sure know how to hold a grudge, don’t you?”
Ryo stole a glance over at the tall archer, then quickly looked down at the cup in his hands, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Rowen scoffed, and looked up at the ceiling, “Ryo, you know that I had my reasons for doing what I did yesterday.”
Ryo turned sharply to answer back hotly, but the door opening beside them intruded. Mia stepped out with a towel, and handed it to Rowen.
“Thanks again, Mia.” Rowen said quietly as he unfolded it and wiped his face.
Mia nodded and began to walk back inside the door, but stopped when she saw the look on Ryo’s face.
“Do I need to stay out here and referee again?”
“No.” Ryo answered shortly.
“Yes. I’d rather speak to you than the brick wall in the blanket.” Rowen said as he began drying his hair.
“Then, dammit, Rowen, go away!” Ryo huffed, “You can be so damn annoying sometimes!”
“Fine with me.” Rowen said as he stood up from the post and walked towards the door.
“Fine.” Ryo shot back.
“Boys, stop it!” Mia cried as she stepped out of the door and shut it, “You guys need to clear the air between each other before you drive everyone crazy!”
Rowen stepped back from Mia and said, “How can I settle this?! He will not talk to me rationally!”
Ryo scoffed and looked away, shaking his head. Mia crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at him.
“I suggest that you two stay here and discuss this before coming inside. It’s causing everyone to wonder what’s going on, and I’m tired of explaining something that is THIS silly.”
“Silly? He snuck off yesterday to follow Robyn, knowing that she was leaving!”
Rowen looked down at Ryo, hurt crossing his features.
“And he didn’t tell us that he knew she was leaving until she was already gone!” Ryo continued, his cheeks turning red, and his eyes blazing.
Mia turned around, her hair whipping around her body, “Then discuss this with him, instead of making me the mediator!”
Mia stormed away, the slamming of the door announcing her departure. Rowen stared after her, and finally looked over at Ryo. He was once again looking out at the rain, now coming down harder than ever. Ryo could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He had been in plenty of arguments with Rowen before, but this almost seemed like pure betrayal.
“Look, I’m sorry.” A small voice cracked beside him, “Robyn meant a lot to all of us, but there wasn’t anything that I could do at the airport that would’ve changed her mind…” he ended with a sigh.
Ryo looked over at Rowen, once again leaning against the column, his head hanging low. His arms were crossed in front of his chest protectively, but he looked almost pitiful.
Ryo turned in the chair to face him, “I only wish that you would’ve told us that you knew she was going. We could’ve all went and tried to stop her.”
Rowen looked up at Ryo, and blinked a few times, trying to stop the tears from brimming over, “I did what I did for private reasons, Ryo. If I couldn’t bring her back, then no one could.”
Ryo stared at Rowen for a moment, unsure by what he meant. But then, seeing Rowen close to tears was something new. Ryo could only recall a few times that the Ronin had ever caved in to his emotions, but why would he now?
Suddenly, realization hit Ryo in the chest. He pictured in his head the few times that he’d seen Robyn and Rowen together. The way he’d stare at her for so long, it was almost as though he were trying to memorize every feature. The way he was so protective of the time that he’d have alone with her. All of the excuses that he would come up with so that he didn’t have to explain why he was taking Robyn off by herself. It could only mean…
Ryo sighed and sat up straighter in his chair, “Rowen, I’m sorry.”
Rowen furrowed his brows together, unsure by what this sudden apology was for. He locked his gaze for a few moments, and his eyes widened as he knew that Ryo had figured out what he had tried to hide from all of them.
“What happened?” Ryo asked quietly.
Rowen sighed and shifted from foot to foot, not sure of how to answer. He swiped his face with the damp towel and walked over to where Ryo sat. He crouched down in front of him, and began his difficult explanation.
“I knew that something was up. It seemed like she was trying to pull away from us for so long since graduation that I thought for sure she was going to try to run away. I went to Cye’s house that morning, and saw her leave and walk to the bus stop. I tailed to bus to the airport, and I knew that she was going to try to leave. So I decided that I had to go in and try to stop her, but I wasn’t sure how.”
Ryo watched intently, and nodded as Rowen continued.
“I’ve never been good with emotions. Hell, my parents are never together, so I don’t know anything of affection. I knew that I had to at least tell her how much she meant to me. I sat in the car a good fifteen minutes trying to figure out what I was going to say. Finally, I had it all planned out, and I went inside. But when I saw her sitting at the terminal waiting for her flight, I…”
A small silence ensued as Rowen tried to ward off his extreme sadness.
“You what?” Ryo asked as he got out of the chair and sat down beside of him.
Rowen scoffed and shrugged, “I chickened out. I was so worried that she didn’t share the same feelings and I’d make her run that much faster, I just couldn’t tell her that I’d… you know.”
Ryo nodded and smiled as Rowen flung his hand in the air, “So, what did you do?”
Rowen looked over at Ryo with twinkle in his eyes and a sly smile on his face, “I’d rather keep that between she and I.”
Rowen looked away as Ryo scoffed and gave his shoulder a push, “You dog.”
Rowen threw his hands up in the air and smiled, “Hey, I didn’t do anything illegal. It’s not like I pulled off my shirt and beat my chest like a Neanderthal demanding that she come back.”
Ryo laughed out loud at Rowen’s description, and patted his back. He knew that Rowen was not one to open up and share his feelings, so he felt privileged to hear of Rowen’s feelings for Robyn.
“I always had a feeling that something was going on between you two, but I didn’t want to say anything.”
“Which is why I didn’t give you a straight answer when you screamed at me in front of everybody.” Rowen added as he cleared his throat, “It’s embarrassing.”
Ryo cocked an eyebrow at Rowen, “What is? Falling in love?”
Rowen shrugged and pulled off a clump of dirt from his jeans, “No. It’s embarrassing that I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. I feel like I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life.”
Ryo took in a deep breath, and put an arm around Rowen’s shoulders, “Well, I’m sure that you’ll have another chance to tell her. Someday.”
Rowen patted Ryo’s knee, “Thanks, Ryo. I feel better now that I’ve gotten this off of my chest.”
They stared up at the dark rain clouds floating overhead, the rain beginning to lighten somewhat. After sitting for while under the protective canopy of the porch, the two decided that they needed to go inside and let everyone know that they had finally made up. Almost as if the weather were following the battle between them, a streak of sunshine filtered through the clouds. A brilliant rainbow wallpapered the dark clouds in the distance, almost promising Rowen that he would indeed have another chance with Robyn.