The sky had been threatening rain since noon.
Aya noticed it first while sitting by the tall library windows, her chin resting on her hand as clouds slowly gathered outside. What had once been bright sunlight softened into gray, shadows stretching silently between shelves of books.
She looked down at her notes.
I should go now, she thought. Before it starts.
Just as she finished packing her bag, thunder rumbled low and distant.
When Aya stepped outside—
The rain came all at once.
Heavy. Sudden. Unforgiving.
Students screamed and laughed as they scattered, backpacks over their heads, shoes splashing through puddles. Aya jumped back beneath the library's stone awning, clutching her bag to her chest.
"Seriously?" she muttered.
Her dorm was too far. Running would only soak her completely.
She leaned against the wall, watching the rain fall like a curtain separating her from the world.
Then—
"Aya!"
She looked up.
Tristan jogged toward her, glasses slightly fogged, hair already damp. He stopped beneath the awning, breathing lightly, holding something above his head.
"You okay?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Yeah. I just got stuck."
He lifted his hand.
A small umbrella.
Aya stared at it.
"…Tristan," she said carefully, "that umbrella is very optimistic."
He laughed.
"Hey, it gets the job done."
Thunder cracked above them, louder this time.
"So," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "where are you headed?"
"My dorm," she replied. "But it's pretty far."
"That's actually… the same direction as mine."
Her heart jumped.
He hesitated for half a second.
"We could… share? If you want."
Aya looked at the rain.
Then at him.
"I'm warning you," she said softly. "Someone's going to get wet."
"That's okay," he said easily.
She nodded.
"Okay."
They stepped closer.
When he opened the umbrella, Aya had no choice but to stand right beside him—shoulders almost touching, their steps instinctively matching.
"Ready?" Tristan asked.
She nodded.
They walked into the rain together.
The world condensed to sound and sensation—rain pounding against the umbrella, splashing at their shoes. Cold drops crept onto Aya's sleeves, and she shivered.
"You cold?" Tristan asked.
"A little."
Without a word, he tilted the umbrella toward her.
Rain soaked his shoulder instead.
"Hey," she protested. "You're getting wet."
"It's fine."
"You're lying."
He smiled.
"Okay. Maybe a little. But I still don't mind."
Her chest tightened in a way she couldn't explain.
They walked slower than necessary.
Aya noticed everything—the smell of clean clothes, the way he adjusted his pace to hers, the quiet concentration on his face as he kept the umbrella steady.
Their shoulders brushed.
Her heartbeat stuttered.
Thunder boomed again, closer this time.
Aya startled and instinctively grabbed his arm.
"Oh—sorry!" she said, pulling away quickly.
"It's okay," Tristan said gently.
"You can hold on if you want."
She looked up.
He wasn't teasing.
Her fingers hovered before resting lightly against his sleeve again.
"Just… for balance," she whispered.
He nodded.
"Yeah."
The rain wrapped around them like a private world.
"Do you like the rain?" he asked.
Aya thought about it.
"I like it when I don't have to rush," she said.
"When I can just listen."
"Same," he replied.
"It slows everything down."
She smiled.
"That's very poetic for an engineering student."
He laughed quietly.
"Don't spread that."
They reached the covered walkway near the dorms far too soon.
Tristan closed the umbrella, shaking it once.
Aya glanced at him.
"You're soaked."
He shrugged.
"Worth it."
The word lingered between them.
"I mean—" he cleared his throat. "I didn't mind walking with you."
"Me neither," Aya said.
Rain continued pouring just beyond reach.
"Well," she said softly, adjusting her bag strap, "I should go."
"Yeah," he replied.
"I'll… see you tomorrow?"
She nodded.
"See you."
He hesitated.
"Aya?"
"Yes?"
"Next time," he said softly, "I'll bring a bigger umbrella."
Her smile came without thinking.
"I'll hold you to that."
They walked away in opposite directions.
But long after Aya closed her dorm door behind her, warmth still lingered in her chest.
Maybe it wasn't just rain.
Maybe it was the beginning of something neither of them knew how to name yet.