The sky over Fontaine was covered in an elegant gray, the kind that announces rain without any hurry. The city breathed calmly. For once, there were no missions, no reports, no investigations.

Just… a day off. A rarity.

“Clorindeee~”

Navia sang, stretching the last syllable as if that might make it easier to pull me out of my refuge of books and hot tea.

“What do you want?”

I replied without looking up.

“Want to go for a walk?”

“In the rain?”

“Precisely.”

She smiled as if she had just proposed the most brilliant plan in the universe.

“They say memories made in the rain last longer.”

I sighed. I knew I was going to lose.

Minutes later, we were walking through the cobblestone streets, Navia’s umbrella sheltering us both. The sky released a delicate drizzle, as if Fontaine itself wanted to give us a cinematic moment.

She had my arm tucked between hers, her cheek resting on my shoulder, her perfume blending with the scent of wet earth. It was so… comforting.

“Have I told you I like you more when you’re not armed to the teeth?”

She murmured.

“I am armed. You just don’t notice it.”

I replied.

“Hm, and your heart? Is that armed too?”

I turned to look at her. Her smile was soft, without hidden intent. Sincere.

“I don’t know if it still is.”

I whispered, averting my gaze.

“Since you showed up, everything feels… more exposed.”

Her grip tightened slightly. The umbrella tilted, letting a few raindrops reach us.

“Then I’ll protect whatever’s left of it,”

She said.

“Even if I have to face entire storms.”

We stopped beneath a leafless tree. The rain grew a little heavier, and the city blurred into silvery reflections.

“Do you know what else I want to protect?”

She asked, lowering the umbrella.

Before I could answer, her lips touched mine.

Soft. Warm. Just right. They weren’t trying to devour me like other times—only to say: I’m here. I’m with you.

My eyes closed without thinking. And for a moment, the world shrank to the sound of the rain and a heartbeat I couldn’t control.

We pulled back just slightly, our foreheads touching.

“Clorinde…”

She whispered.

“You make me want to be better, just to keep seeing you this close.”

My face warmed—and not because of the weather.

“You’re unbearably sweet,”

I muttered.

“And you’re unbearably easy to fluster,”

She laughed.

And even with the rain soaking us, even with tangled hair, even with my boots splashing at every step…

There was nowhere else in the world I’d rather be.

Because yes, my heart was no longer armed.

But for the first time, I wasn’t afraid.

Just excited.

And wrapped in the gentle warmth of her fingers intertwined with mine.