When the Rain Clears ✓

Nine

                    "Then why cut me off? Why kill yourself?" Leo reached out to grab hold of her hand in a hesitant and gentle manner. She allowed herself to relax against the hold despite her mind and heart racing.

What.

"What?" she stared at him, baffled. "I'm...No matter how bad of a life it was, I never ended it."

"Cloud," he gave her a look as though he didn't fully believe her.

She was being a hypocrite, she realised, looking into Leo's eyes. There she was telling Rain to confront Phayu yet she could barely do the same with Leo. She gulped. Oh. She was going to regret everything.

"I'm sick, Leo. I died because of it in my last life, too."

"What?" This time it was him who was left speechless. He tightened his hold on her hand, a clear look of contemplating plastered on his face. "Then did you cut me off..."

"I didn't. It was my father. He-he wasn't the best person to be around growing up. And when he found out I was pregnant after my mom outed me when I asked her for help, he got angry."

He grew pale, not liking the newfound information and where the story was leading.

"He smashed the phone to pieces and locked me up for two days," she let out a bitter laugh of what had conspired in her previous life. "I left the moment the door was unlocked and I knew he passed out drunk. I managed to find a place, though. Small but cheap. And a job that was looking for temporary workers. But then...I had a miscarriage. Doctor said it was because I had a weak body and had too much stress. But after a couple of tests, and my blood test coming back with a less than ideal result one after another, I was diagnosed with leukaemia."

Cloud watched as Leo's face scrunched up before his head fell low. His shoulder began to shake and she knew.

"Don't cry, Leo."

"Shit. I'm horrible. I...not only did I leave you alone, but I left you pregnant. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should've been there. I should've booked the flight back the moment we lost contact. I-fuck. I'm sorry."

She tugged her hand away and pulled him into an awkward position hug due to the IV being attached to one arm. Her head rested on the crook of his neck as he re-positioned himself and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry for saying I love you," he muffled into her hair. "For making all those promises yet not trying hard enough."

"Don't say that," Cloud found herself getting teary. "You did your best. We both did."

"Give me a chance to make it right, to make us work then," Leo begged, his eyes boring into hers. "I'll keep my promises this time. I swear. So, please-one more chance."

"Leo..."

"I love you, I love you so damn much that it hurts to breathe when I think about not being next to you. I could barely survive the first time and second time, Cloud, I don't think I will survive a third time. Not when I know you didn't leave me because you lost feelings."

"I..." She looked at the man before her and saw a sincerity, one so similar to when he first asked her out, but this time with so much more rawness and deeper love. Despite all the guilt, and the fear she felt, she let out a wobbly and hesitant smile. "Yeah, okay. One more chance."

                   "Rain, stop," Phayu begged, refusing to let the latter out of his grasp. Embracing him from the back, he waited until Rain stopped struggling against his hold. Once the boy stopped and remained motionless, no longer fighting against him, Phayu allowed his lips to travel across Rain's neck slightly.

"I remember, Rain. I remember everything," he admitted. "And I know you remember, too."

"So what if I do?" Rain refuted harshly. "We can't be together, Phi. It's not good."

"You love me still, don't you?" Phayu asked, pulling back from the embrace but guiding his hands so that they rested on Rain's arms as he made the latter turn to face him. His eyes glazed over Rain's glossy ones, hoping for a sign that, yes, the younger one still loved him.

"I...I do. I love you so much it hurts," Rain admitted. "But I'm nothing more than trouble for you, Phi."

Phayu smiled, cupping Rain's face. "Now, you know that's not true."

"It is. I-you died because of me," Rain let his head tilt slightly into the hold, hating how he chased the feel of Phayu's hand, and the way his fingers moved in a soft and comforting motion.

"I died because of a mixture of things, but none being your fault. I was the one that decided to ride a motorcycle in the heavy rain instead of taking the car, I was the one that was speeding in such a bad condition, and the other driver was the one that decided to run a red light. It could've been prevented, yes, but it could have also happened on any other day, too. Life is unpredictable that way, Rain. Don't beat yourself up for something that you had no way of knowing was going to happen." 

"Is it really okay for me to be by your side?" Rain asked. Phayu smiled fondly, pulling him into a hug, "That's all I need in life."

Rain returned the hug. Despite still wanting to run away and thinking that Phayu deserves someone better, he thought about what was said and concluded that maybe, just maybe, he could give it one more try. Perhaps Phayu will realise their relationship was too much of a risk sooner or later, or perhaps he would find someone better, but Rain wanted to just...let it run its course. He wanted to enjoy whatever time they had together, before it was too late and he was once again shrouded with pain.

'I'm sorry for being selfish,' Rain thought, burying his face into Phayu's shoulders. 

                 Cloud decided to start the treatment, much to Rain and Sky's relief. And perhaps it was due to the presence of Leo, but she had seemed to improve a lot more compared to the previous months. Seeing them together made Rain swell up with pure joy at how genuinely at peace she was. Sure he and Cloud loved each other, but the love she had - has for Leo was clearly much more different and deeper; like his love for Phayu. She didn't look so dazed and hopeless as she would often look here and there as she once did. And Rain was thankful for that.

Of course the new found rekindled relationship between Cloud and Leo, and him and Phayu (not that anyone knew they were lovers in a different timeline, too) was something that others in their life needed time to adjust to.

It had taken some extra time for Sky to adjust to the fact that his two best friends not only broke up, but got into new relationships not long after, but he came around. Slightly. There was still some tension between him, Leo, and Phayu at times.

It amused Cloud quite a bit to see how much Leo tried to appease Sky and make him open up to him more. Whereas it seemed like Prapai was the one trying to make Sky open up to his best friend. 

Life was heading in a more healing direction though. And while Rain had a lot he still needed to work on (mentally), he knew he would make it out okay with the help of his friends, family, and lover.

He was going to be okay. 

They were going to be okay.  

(A/N: I'm sorry if it seems so rushed. There's a lot going on in life right now and I can barely find the time to write, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging. This is essentially the last chapter, but worry not, I do plan to write another chapter or so with some fluff.)