oneshots | muke

• when the rain pours down

3rd person.

michael thought that rain was something beautiful. the way it sounded, the countless drops making pretty melodies on the streets with what seemed to have no ending. he loved the way it smelled, how it somehow made the grass and the trees feel more alive by spreading the scent. he also loved the way it felt on his skin, it was cold and made his limbs feel numb after a while but it was relaxing to him. he loved how the drops left trails on his face, on his arms and ran down his clothes. he could sit outside in the rain for hours, not caring if he would get sick the next day. it was the main thing he loved about living in england. it gave him rest on the inside, it made it feel like the entire world turned slower, the calmness overtaking his mind.

he tried to focus on his breathing as his fingers ran over the sides of his sunglasses which were in his lap, but it was hard. he kept telling himself to steady his breaths but they didn't stop coming out shakily, uncontrolled. it frustrated him because he had already been there for, as he assumed, about thirty minutes and he had yet not stopped crying. once in every while he heard people passing by, footsteps hurrying over the paths to probably their homes, a dry and warm place. in the very far distance he could hear the evening traffic forming a background sound, most of it drowned by the sound of the rain.

another advantage he had from the rain was that no one could see his tears, the warm salty drops mixing up perfectly with the cold ones from out of the sky. if only he could control his breathing and the shaky hiccups that kept leaving his throat, this stranger would maybe not have come up to him.

"are you alright?" michael heard the unfamiliar voice ask. he had already heard him coming up to him, footsteps more audible in the rain when all the paths are covered in puddles. he wasn't more than two metres away as he talked, and before michael knew it he noticed a weight sitting down next to him on the park bench. michael shrugged, not knowing what to say. he tried to wipe away the tears but they kept coming, they kept streaming down just like the unforgiving rain pouring down on both of them.

"hey," the boy said, shuffling a bit closer to michael as he put his hand on his back comfortingly. "it's okay, calm down. just try to breathe" he said softly. his deep voice did comfort michael slightly and it took all of his effort to breathe calmly but it was so hard. and even when the tears had stopped running he couldn't stop trembling from the cold, his body felt like ice to him.

"what's your name?" michael asked with a thick voice, kind of curious about this stranger. he wondered why this person cared, lots of people had walked by without even thinking about coming up to michael even though they saw him crying.

"luke," the deep voice spoke again. "what about you?" he asked as his hand disappeared from michael's back, who wondered why. which he soon realised as warmth fell over his shoulders, making its way to end the cold and warm him up.

"thank you. i'm michael," he said softly, not wanting his voice to crack. he pulled the jacket tighter around himself, savouring the warmth that still lingered in it. he sniffled but he was glad he wasn't full-on crying anymore. though the sky still was.

"why were you sitting here without a jacket or anything?" luke asked, worry clearly noticeable in his voice. he scooted even closer to michael as he placed his hands on the other boy's upper arms, rubbing them in an attempt to get him warm.

"the rain makes me calm," michael spoke, leaning into this stranger named luke. he thought luke smelled nice, it surprised him that he even liked it more than the scent of the rain. he laid his head down on the taller boy's broad shoulder, finally starting to get his breathing steady. it was strange to be this close with someone he didn't know but he didn't have the feeling that luke would mean him any harm. he felt comfortable and he didn't feel this way around most people.

"maybe next time you could better stay inside and listen to the rain with a blanket around yourself," luke said, sounding like a smile was on his face. michael smiled as he closed his eyes, nodding slowly. "why do you have sunglasses with you, by the way?" luke asked. "it's not the time of the year to sit on a park bench without a jacket and with sunglasses."

michael laughed to himself which confused luke. he looked to the side to see michael who was still staring ahead blankly, he hadn't looked him in the eyes yet.

"i can't see," michael explained. "i can't see the rain but i can feel it. i can smell it and hear it and i can breathe it in. it's kind of my escape from reality, you know?"

then it made sense to luke. he nodded understandingly, feeling supid afterwards because obviously michael couldn't see that he was nodding. "you're going to get sick though," he said. "why don't you come over to my place? it's only a block away and we'll get you warmed up."

"my parents always told me not to trust strangers," michael said, "how do i know if i can trust you?"

"i'm not a murderer or anything," luke replied, laughing. "i'm only eighteen, i like penguins."

michael laughed, he already liked this guy. "alright, i trust you," he said. he stood up but he still trembled a lot, which luke noticed because he held him closely as they both stood up.

"don't get up too quickly," luke advised him. "i don't want you to get dizzy or anything. you seem like you've been in the cold for a while."

michael nodded as he wrapped his arm around luke's waist. "lead the way."

they held each other and they both enjoyed the warmth they gave one another. the rain still hadn't calmed down a slightest bit but neither of them did really mind.

appriximately an hour later they were both wrapped in a blanket on luke's couch. michael's hair was wet but it was from the shower instead of the rain and he felt a lot warmer being inside. that might had been from the warm flat he was in but it could also had been from luke himself, the stranger who was being so nice for him. michael was laying half over luke's lap and had his face buried in the tall boy's neck, treasuring his scent because he thought it was more than lovely. he felt like he was at home more than when he was at his own home. luke's hand rubbed over michael's arm which caused him to have these little butterflies in his stomach.

"thank you," michael whispered, unsure of why this guy gave him these feelings but despite that beyond thankful for the way he had cared about him.

"you're welcome," luke assured the boy in his lap before he gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. at first he was worried if michael would think it was weird, but his doubt was completely washed away as michael smiled widely, snuggling up to luke even further. and both their hearts were beating just a bit faster than they normally would, smiling just a bit wider than they would have if they hadn't met each other in the rain.