Caught in the Rain

A/N: So it's been raining cats and dogs here for the past few days and while listening to music and grading papers, this little story popped into my head.

The song that inspired this is "Caught in the Rain" by Revis.

I do not own Kaze No Stigma.

Kazuma hated the rain.

The gloomy, overcast sky reminded him too much of his current mood. As if feeding off the negative energy of his thoughts, the skies opened up and the rain fell harder than before. Lightning flashed in his eyes as he wandered the streets of Tokyo in the torrential downpour. Not a soul was in sight because unlike most people, he appeared not to have enough common sense to get out of the weather. He trudged along, grumbling about the water slowly seeping up his pant legs.

Mimicking his petulant attitude, the thunder growled with him. Any other day, he may have smirked at the small thought of the weather forming to his emotions. But instead, he lifted his eyes to the skies and just glared, the droplets of water falling onto his face. He sighed, turned up the collar on his favorite jean jacket and dug his hands deeper into his pockets, continuing to meander with no destination in mind.

His mind kept bringing him back to the reason that he was so irritated. Although it had only been a few days before, he still remembered it clearly. Hell, he had replayed it over and over in his mind, hoping that desensitization would keep his wayward thoughts at bay.

"Why do YOU care?" Ayano growled, effectively ending the glaring match that had occurred between the fire mage and the Contractor. "It's not like you do anything when we are out on missions anyways!"

When the wind user had found out that the Kannagi heiress had gone out alone to fight off a small horde of Youma, he was furious. He had come just in time to help save her –AGAIN- because she had been so focused on fighting one Youma that she had missed the one coming in for a lethal blow behind her.

He was seething with anger, the heat of his fury proving that despite everything, Kannagi blood ran deep within his veins. She could have been severely injured or worse, he shuttered to think, killed. How DARE she speak of partnership and then go off and act like the impulsively idiotic child that she was?

He had told her as much.

Ayano had stood shocked at his threatening glare and tried not to let the harsh words get to her.

"Why can't you treat me as an adult?" she had asked softly. For all intents and purposes, she was one, turning 19 a few months prior.

"When you start acting like one and think before you act. I'm tired of babysitting children!" His clipped words ignited again the anger in the young woman.

"I'm not a child!" She had yelled back.

"You may as well be, you helpless little girl." He snarled.

He then took off and left her standing in the middle of the field, the bruises on her body not nearly as painful as the twinge in her heart at his cruel words.

-
The words continued to play over and over like a broken record. He knew he had reacted irrationally and had said things simply to hurt her. He chided himself for allowing his temper to show. He had acted no better than the rest of the Kannagis, acting on impulse and saying whatever came to mind. It unnerved him that she was able to rattle him so much.

As if drawn by some invisible force, the young wind user found himself outside the gates of the Kannagi compound. Slowly, he opened the gate and walked in, making his way to the bridge by the pond. He watched as the heavy rain pelted the water, breaking the glassy surface with loud splashes.

"You may as well be, you helpless little girl."

He knew he should apologize for his behavior-and for ignoring the fire mage's calls over the passed few days. Just then, lightning flashed again and illuminated the house, his eyes drifting towards the window of the heiress to the clan's bedroom. Slowly, he walked forward as if in a trance and peered inside.

The curtains were open and he could see Ayano sitting on her bed, listening to music and reading a book. Her eyes roamed the page intensely, the emotions playing on her face. Her eyes widened slightly and she held the book closer to her face, apparently re-reading a section that interested her greatly. A soft pink began to tint her cheeks and a soft smile graced her lips. Kazuma chuckled quietly to himself at her reaction. He was pretty sure she had just read some juicy romance or whatever.

The scarlet haired beauty closed the book and lay down on the bed, smiling at the ceiling. The dreamy look on her face continued, causing Kazuma to begin to wonder just what she was thinking about. He frowned. He was sure he wasn't on her mind. Not after how he had acted. He braced himself for the oncoming storm. Deciding that he had watched her long enough, he tapped on the glass of the window to make his presence known.

Eyes widening, Ayano gasped and leapt from the bed quickly and planted her body towards the window, Enraiha already beginning to form. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the cause of the disruption of her peace. She walked towards the window and threw it open, glaring at him.

"What the hell do you want, Yagami?" She seethed.

Her anger began to dissipate, however, when she began to take in his pathetic looking form. He stood there soaked to the bone, the rain continuing to bombard him. His hair lay in haggard strands, causing the normally unruly brown hair to sag under the weight of the water. Water dripped off his bangs and into his eyes, making him look like a lost puppy.

His reply was so quiet she was almost sure he hadn't spoken at all.

"I came to apologize."

The two stared at each other for a few moments before Ayano realized that Kazuma was shivering, despite his best efforts to hide it.

"Idiot, why aren't you using your wind to keep the rain off of you?" she questioned, rather bluntly.

Kazuma began to open his mouth then closed it, thinking it better not to reply with another insensitive comment. After all, that is what had gotten him in this mess in the first place. Instead, he told the truth.

"Because I was hoping that when you saw a sorry looking drowned rat on your doorstep, that you would take pity on him and accept his apology."

Ayano scoffed and shook her head. True, she would take pity on him. He did look rather pathetic, standing in the rain, shivering and looking so forlorn. But she wasn't going to let him off the hook without a proper apology, one she believed would not be possible for him. She sighed and stepped away from the window.

"Fine," she said, stubbornly. "Come on in before you catch your death of cold." When he began to walk forward, she poked him in the chest, stopping him.

"But you are not tracking water all over my room. Go straight to the bathroom and take off those soaked clothes. I'll be back with something for you to change into."

He simply nodded and with that she pivoted and walked out of her room, shutting the door behind her.

Ten minutes later, she returned with some fresh clothes. She halted when she saw him standing in her room, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. He hadn't heard her walk in and was in the process of picking up the book she had left on her bed. Eyes widening, she marched over to him, swatted the book out of his hands and shoved the clothes in his now empty arms.

"Hey, I was reading that." He said.

"Don't touch my things. Besides, you wouldn't like it anyways." She mumbled.

Kazuma looked at the clothes in his hands, a pair of sweat pants and a dark blue shirt. He looked back at Ayano questioningly.

"They're Ren's, but after his growth spurt, they might fit you better than you'd think." She said, avoiding his gaze. When he made no effort to move, she huffed and shoved him back towards the bathroom.

"Dammit, Kazuma will you please go put on some pants?" she growled, blushing profusely.

"Really, is the notion of a half naked boy in your bedroom that unnerving to you, princess?" he whispered in her ear. He narrowly made it into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. He heard the telltale thud of something being thrown at the door, most likely aimed at his head. He chuckled and proceeded to change.

When he walked back out, Ayano was sitting with her back to him, looking out the window as the rain slid down the window, creating patterns on the glass. He walked over to the thrown object by the bathroom door-the book- and picked it up, placing in on her desk before leaning against it. He folded his arms and looked out the window as well.

Silence overtook the pair, the only sound coming from the storm outside. It was a good five minutes before either of them spoke.

"Well?" Ayano finally growled, breaking the silence. "Get on with it." When he didn't reply immediately, she shifted her body to face him.

"I'm sorry." She scoffed at his words, seeming so insincere in her ears. She sighed and looked down.

"You don't know just how….cruel your words can be, do you?" she said softly. She wrapped her arms around her legs and looked at the ground. She hugged herself harder, trying to keep her emotions from raging like the storm outside.

Kazuma pushed off the desk and knelt in front of her. When she wouldn't make eye contact, he grabbed her chin lightly and lifted her eyes to his. His heart broke a little at seeing the fragile looking girl before him, tears threatening to spill from those crimson eyes.

"I-I overreacted." He began. "I never should have said what I did. I'm so sorry for what I said to you. I was just so angry with you for not taking me with you. I swore an oath to protect you. And I can't do that if you're not with me."

She looked away, nodding her head. "I understand. I guess I don't make it easy for you to be my bodyguard, huh?" she asked, smiling softly.

"It's more than that, Ayano."

She looked up at him questioningly. His normally placid face was fighting a wave of emotions she had never seen before. Brown eyes bore into red intensely.

"I-I don't want to lose you. Every time we are out on a mission, I have a harder and harder time letting you do your thing. I NEED to be there to protect you."

"I'm not a helpless little girl, Kazuma. " She began. He flinched as she used his words against him. She continued, softer than before. "I need you to treat me as an equal, not some damsel in distress. I'm your partner."

He chuckled lightly, his smile finally meeting his eyes. He shook his head and looked into her eyes.

"You're right. You aren't helpless, just clueless." He replied.

At this, Ayano began to turn red with anger.

"What the hell does that me-" her words were cut off as Kazuma swiftly pressed his lips to hers. Her heart started pounding in her chest. She tried to push him off, her face and neck turning the color of her hair. In response, Kazuma pulled her closer to him with his hands on her cheeks and leaned in, deepening the kiss. Eventually, she stopped struggling and placed one hand on his chest and the other found its way into his still damp hair.

When they both came up for air, Kazuma picked the young heiress up in his arms and laid her on the bed. He climbed up and lay down next to her, brushing the hair out of her eyes. Ayano looked at him, the blush in her cheeks refusing to back down.

"I'm sorry I have been such a jerk to you." Kazuma began. "I'm not really good at this relationship thing."

Ayano gulped and blushed more. "Re-relationship?"

Kazuma looked at her and smiled softly. "Well, we could call it a partnership with benefits if you'd like." He replied, pulling her close to him, pecking her on the nose.

"So….you don't think I'm a child?" Ayano asked softly. Kazuma cleared his throat and said gruffly.

"Physically? Definitely not. But you do have the heart of a child. It's one of the things I love about you."

Ayano felt the blush making its way back up her neck. She looked him in the eyes and seeing the emotions that she never thought would be reflected back for her, she smiled.

"I love you, Kazuma." At this, Kazuma smiled, truly smiled a genuine grin and kissed her again.

They stayed that way; arms wrapped around one another until both fell asleep, the cadence of the rain outside creating a soft lullaby. Kazuma's last thought before drifting off to sleep was that maybe the rain wasn't so bad afterall.