Dancing in the Rain

II.f

We'd made it halfway down the hallway, walking quickly to meet the wedding planner, when suddenly Maxon stilled next to me.

"America," he said, tugging lightly on my arm. "Look!"

I followed his gaze, curious to see what had him so interested. He was pointing at the window in the hall we were walking through. The window was covered with small droplets. It was raining. There must have been a random summer storm. A miracle, in my opinion.

I smiled. "It's raining," I said. I loved the rain. Living in Angeles, rain was so rare, and I reallly missed it. It was so beautiful, really. I loved the smell after it rained, how it made everything clean and fresh again. And of course, when I thought of rain, I was always brought back to the moment Maxon and I had shared under the rain together months ago.

Maxon must have been thinking the same thing, because he looked at me, his face bursting into a smile and a mischievous glint in his eyes. He grabbed my arm, running down the hall. I laughed, following him. "Maxon! What are we doing?" I asked. "What about the wedding planner?" To be honest, though, I didn't really care about meeting the wedding planner in this particular moment.

"The wedding planner can wait," Maxon said as we ran. "No time to start our date like the present." He led us up to the fourth floor, and into a large parlor that I recognized from before - from when we had gone up to the rooftop. I gasped as I suddenly realized that Maxon was taking me up there. "We're going to the roof?" I asked excitedly. He just smiled in return. "Follow me," he said.

We made our way up the steps as quickly as we could, coming to a door. Maxon undid the lock and swung the door open. Taking my hand, he led us out into the rain. Within seconds, my hair was wet around my shoulders and my dress was heavy with water. Maxon's hair was wet as well, and his suit had dark spots where the water had already soaked through. Locking eyes, we smiled at each other. Maxon gestured to our hands, still tightly grasping each other.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked me, much more confidently than the previous time we were up here.

I smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."

We began a slow waltz, barely moving. As the rain kept falling around us, we held each other, letting our bodies speak for us in ways our words couldn't. I felt the tensions and worries of the upcoming wedding and coronation fade away, and my body physically relaxed as I allowed myself to just be happy in this moment with my fiancé. I grinned to myself as the thought came to me. We were actually going to get married. And while the pressure of being queen was a lot, I knew that with Maxon by my side, everything would be okay.

I moved away so I could see Maxon's face, wanting to know what he was thinking. His eyes were bright and focused as he looked at me, and wordlessly he bent his head down to kiss me. And I knew that he was feeling what I was feeling in that moment - the comfort and excitement of being with the person we loved. The kiss ended too soon, and we stayed in each other's arms dancing for a while more. And while the silence was nice, I knew that there was something I had to say.

"Maxon?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes, my darling?" he asked as we swayed slowly.

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course you can."

"Okay," I said, giggling a little. I couldn't believe I was going to tell him this. But I felt like he deserved to know. Like we'd been discussing, it was important that we talked things through, not leaving small things to simmer over time. Not that what I had to say was necessarily bad, though. It was just something I suddenly felt like telling him.

So I moved closer to him, putting my lips to his ear. "It was here when I finally admitted to myself that I loved you," I whispered. I pulled him into an embrace, my head resting on his shoulder. "I think my heart had known for a while, but I was too scared to realize it. It wasn't until that date, when it was just you and me up here on the rooftop, dancing in the rain, that I didn't feel so scared anymore. It was like my mind finally understood my heart. But I decided not to tell you, because I wanted to keep it to myself. Now I realize how silly that was." I laughed a bit. I wonder what would have happened if I'd told you then, Maxon, I thought to myself.

"I sometimes wonder that too," Maxon said. Oops. I hadn't realized I'd said my last sentence out loud. Maxon, though, was seriously considering the question. "What would have happened if I'd proposed to you sooner?" he asked. "I wonder if we would still be together, or if the rebels would have drawn us apart."

At the thought, my arms around him tightened, and I sensed his unease in his posture. I didn't like imaging what would have happened if we hadn't fought so hard for each other, if we weren't here in each other's arms. "I'm so glad we found each other, and that we fought for each other," I whispered. "That despite all the obstacles we're here, together."

I could feel Maxon's smile. "Me too." He kissed me lightly on the temple. "And every time we're here, we'll be able to find each other again."

I smiled, daring to say the words I hadn't said the last time we were here together. But this time they weren't so scary. "I love you, Maxon Schreave."

"I love you too, my America." He tilted his head towards mine, and our lips met in another kiss.

By now our clothes were now sopping wet, but neither of us cared. We had each other, and that was enough to get us through whatever challenges we might face - as king and queen, husband and wife, and hopefully one day, as father and mother. But we didn't dwell on those problems now. Instead, we held each other as the rain kept falling, moving to the beat that only we could hear.

—

"They slow dance when it rains. I have no idea why, but every time the sky turns gray, you'll find them together...It's like no matter what happens, they can find themselves again there."   

- Eadlyn, The Crown