Author's Note: I wrote this back in 2009, but completely forgot I'd ever done so because it was sitting under a different filename on my flash drive and I only just found it while looking for something else. I am not the brightest crayon in the box.

A LITTLE FALL OF RAIN

"Wow, it is coming down in BUCKETS out there!" Johanna rested her hands on the windowsill and leaned forward so far that her nose was almost against the glass. A rumble of thunder made the window rattle slightly, and Abel glanced up from his book at the sound.

"Hmm? Oh yes... it's supposed to rain all day." He sighed. "That makes three days now. Pity... I'd been looking forward to our trip to the market."

"Who says we can't go?" she asked in surprise, turning around to look at him. "It's just a little rain, it's not like we're going to melt. Besides, that's what umbrellas are for."

"Just a little rain?" he repeated, pointing toward the window. "You tell me that it's coming down in buckets and then say it's just a little rain?"

"Well, it's not like a typhoon or anything," she replied. "And at least I'm not stuck wearing a skirt and heels. Come on, Abel, I'm going stir crazy in here, we've been cooped up for two whole days already!"

Abel's resolve wavered at that. While he did enjoy his creature comforts, like staying warm and dry, he could sympathize with Johanna's frustration at the enforced inactivity. His expression must have given him away because she promptly began wheedling, "Oh, please... come on, you know you want to go..." She widened her eyes, clasped her hands to her chest as if in prayer, and gave him her most pleading look, but the effect was ruined by Abel laughing at her.

"Knock it off, Johanna, you're never going to pull off the wide-eyed innocent look."

"It works for Esther, so no harm in trying," she retorted, blushing slightly and dropping the affectation, and he gave a mock sigh.

"Fine, we'll go. Go get your umbrella."

Fortunately for them, the local vendors had also decided to brave the weather, and with umbrellas over their heads to protect them from the worst of the rain, the two happily wandered up and down the aisles of carts, chatting with the stall owners and picking up a few things here and there.

Just before they were about to head back, while Abel was trying to decide whether he wanted to buy apples or pears for a snack, he heard Johanna give a yelp and saw her umbrella snatched out of her hand by a sudden gust of wind. She made a grab for the handle and missed, and it was quickly blown beyond her reach up onto a nearby balcony.

"ARGH!" she shouted, coming to stand beneath the balcony and jumping up to try and reach it to fetch her umbrella, but it was too high up, even for Abel to reach. In moments, she was soaked, and she sighed and walked back to Abel.

"Damn... now I'll have to buy another one."

"You can share mine in the meantime," he offered, then went slightly red. "Well, it is big enough to cover us both."

Johanna looked up at his umbrella while braiding her wet hair to keep it out of her face. "Barely."

"Well, if you carry that bag, I'll carry this one and the umbrella."

"That won't work."

"Yes it will." He slid the bag's handles so they rested in the crook of his left elbow, took the umbrella in his left hand, and wrapped his right arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer to him. "See?"

This time Johanna went slightly red, but made no comment as she slid her left arm around his waist, and the two of them began walking back to the Vatican. The whole way home, neither of them said a word, and the only sounds were their footsteps on the cobblestones, and the whisper of the falling rain.