Those Small Raindrops

"The pitter-patter of the rainfall reminds me of all the times spent with you." His warm breath tickled her ear and she grinned.

She looked sideways as his arms encircled her and pulled her against him. She smiled as he rested his cheek against hers. Her eyes were trained on the large window in front of her, droplets of rain sticking to the clear glass. Today was their third anniversary and instead of going out somewhere, they had opted for staying inside instead, just the two of them.

"We did spend a lot of our time together soaked in the rain." She remembered the day she first laid eyes on him. At least, what she had initially thought was their first meeting.


Three years ago

It was a cloudy rainy day, one of those days in which her breath was visible in the cold air. Her hair was plastered to her face and she was completely drenched from top to bottom. The sweater that she wore that day offered little protection. She silently scolded herself for forgetting her coat at home. Her jeans clung to her legs like a second skin and she could even feel the water seeping through the soles of her shoes, soaking her socks.

Despite her appearance resembling that of a drowned rat, she stood there completely exposed to the rain, mesmerized. There, not ten meters away, stood a guy, holding an umbrella that rested in the crook of his neck. His face was upturned, towards the stormy grey sky. He seemed completely enchanted by the raindrops.

Suddenly, he lowered his head and his eyes met hers. His gaze intense.

Shocked by his sudden movement, she whirled around and hurried away, embarrassed that he had caught her staring at him.

Only when she returned to her small apartment, did her heartbeat slow down to its normal rate. Surrounded by the walls of her comforting home, she finally allowed her thoughts to wander back to him. In her mind she tried to remember every little thing about him.

He was tall. His tousled hair was as black as the umbrella he had been holding. Due to the distance and the rain that poured down upon them, she hadn't been able to decipher the colour of his eyes. Perhaps it was also because she turned around the second that he'd met her gaze. Dressed in a hoodie and a pair of dark jeans, he had looked intensely handsome and even somewhat familiar.

But that wasn't what had made her stop in her tracks to stare at him. It was the expression of wonder on his face as he gazed up at the sky.

Sighing, she shook her head, trying to make the image of him disappear. It was no use trying to remember someone she'd probably never see again.

Kicking off her soaked sneakers, she walked further into her apartment, through the living room and to her bedroom, in desperate need of dry clothes.

After she had changed into a pair of faded pyjamas, she took a white fluffy towel and dried her dripping hair. The long strands had since become entangled, and she combed through it with her fingers, trying to make it look more presentable.

A small knock sounded at her door, right then. She looked up and tiptoed to the end of her living room and stared at the front door. Since she wasn't expecting any company, she wasn't compelled to answer it. She waited until she heard the faintly retreating footsteps. It wasn't until it was completely silent that she dared to take a look. She opened the door centimetre by centimetre, and surveyed the hall. It was empty, save for the imprint of footsteps left on the once-white tiles. It wasn't until she completely opened the door that she noticed that there was a small note taped to her door with the handwritten message:

Thank you.

She looked down. Sitting right in front of the threshold was a neatly folded white handkerchief. Her eyes widened at the sight of it and her hand trembled as she reached down to pick it up. Her fingers traced the small pale pink petals on one of the corners that she had embroidered.

It was then that she remembered. That small moment that took place nearly a year ago.


She was sitting on the steps leading to a store, shielded away from the rain. The pitter-patter of the small drops had always managed to soothe her soul. She had forgotten her umbrella today and rather waited for the rain to stop before she returned home. She closed her eyes and revelled in the peacefulness of it all, breathing in the fresh scent of rain.

Her eyes fluttered open when she heard running footsteps approaching. She looked up just in time to see a drenched guy around her age rushing into the store situated behind her. Less than three minutes later, he returned, with a newly purchased umbrella in hand.

The rain was dripping from his raven locks, his hair curling slightly. He wiped his face with the sleeve of the thick navy sweater he was wearing, but it did little good.

Without thinking about it, she reached into the pocket of her coat and retrieved the handkerchief that she usually reserved for wiping her glasses whenever she happened to be wearing them. This particular handkerchief was new and still unused, so she held it out for him.

He met her gaze and slowly lowered his arm, his locks still dripping water.

"Use this instead." She said as she gave a small nod to the cloth in her hand.

He tilted his head slightly, a look of surprise on his face before his lean fingers reached out and accepted the white handkerchief. "Thank you." He spoke, his voice warm. He used it to dab his face dry.

"Keep it." She smiled as he made a move to return it to her. "You might find it useful for another rainy day."

His gaze lowered to the handkerchief clutched in his hand. "Someday, I'll return it to you."

She was about to tell him that it wouldn't be necessary, but stopped when she looked him in the eyes. She just nodded instead.

He smiled then, a small dimple appearing in his left cheek. Tucking the handkerchief in the pocket of his pants, he then removed the sleeve of his new umbrella and clicked it open. With a parting nod in her direction, he disappeared.


Struck with a wave of emotions, she shut her door and hurried down the steps of her apartment building, not caring that she wasn't dressed for the outside world. Flashes of memories flooded her and she recalled every single moment that she'd shared with him this past year. They'd always had been brief and seemingly insignificant, but they were anything but. She realized that now. As she bounded down the stairs, she spotted the slowly retreating back of the guy through the glass window.

He had his umbrella closed, clutched in one hand, and was letting the rain fall over him instead.

"Wait!" She called out onto the street as she pushed the door to the building open. Breathing heavily, her heart felt like it was about to burst.

He faltered mid-step and froze, his back suddenly rigid.

By now she was soaked once again. The concrete bricks punctured the soles of her bare feet as she slowly walked up to him.

He turned around then, and she could finally see the colour of his eyes. Emerald green. They were a beautiful emerald green.

"I had wondered how many times we had to meet for the first time before you finally remembered me." His tone was light, but there was an underlying emotion buried underneath that she detected. Uncertainty.

It broke her heart to see him like that. She slowly closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "I'm stupid." She told him, her voice slightly muffled for her face was pressed against his chest.

She heard the clatter of the umbrella hitting the concrete as his arms surrounded her in return, offering her warmth. His large body shielded her somewhat from the rain. They stayed locked in their embrace as the soft pitter-patter of the rain sounded around them.

"It's not you. Honestly. I just have trouble remembering meeting people... because I rarely look them in the face." It was a rather annoying facet of her inherent shyness. "But I remember." She told him, feeling like she never wanted to release him ever again. "I remember every single moment." The doors that he held open for her, the way he returned the small things that she accidentally let slip through her clumsy hands, the smiles he sent her way that she'd never realized were meant for her...

"I'm glad." He said as he released a shaky breath and squeezed her tighter against him, resting his cold cheek against the top of her head. "I'm so glad...,"

They spent the rest of that day huddled on her small couch, covered in blankets with each a mug of hot tea between their hands, getting to know each other better. She lent him her older brother's clothes and changed into something dry and comfortable herself.

The way he sneezed every couple of minutes endeared her heart and she couldn't help but feel grateful that he had somehow managed to enter her quiet life.


Present day

"Do you want to go outside, for old time's sake?" She asked as she turned to face him, staring into his stunning green eyes.

He smiled and that small dimple in his left cheek appeared, "Even though I love the rain, I'd rather not spend the rest of the day sneezing."

"I don't see why not, your sneezes are very adorable." She told him a-matter-of-factly as she playfully swiped the tip of his nose with her index finger.

He rested his forehead against hers, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement. "I'll take a rain check."

"I'll hold you to that." She managed to murmur before his soft lips covered hers. All thoughts of the rain disappeared and she was left revelling in the wonderful feeling of being in his arms and how her heart was about to burst from happiness and love while the rain softly pitter-pattered against the window.

fin.


A/N: The weather has been turning a bit more sombre lately and since Autumn has arrived, I was inspired to write this oneshot. Hopefully you'll enjoy it!