Pluviophile : a lover of rain, someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days.

"I had guessed that bit.

I looked down at my watch to find that it was already half past nine.

"I swear, if I had known I'd have dropped you straight at the dorm-" he rambled.

"Zephyr, it's not your fault. Neither of us knew that there'd be a storm coming up." I said calmly.

Then I suddenly realized what it meant. He probably saw my kind of panicked expression and quickly added," I'm sorry but we just have five other rooms but don't worry, you can take the bed. I'll take the couch,"

I looked at the large bed in the center of the room and then at the couch. The couch was comfortable looking but then again Zephyr was really tall.

I took a deep breath,"No, it's fine. I don't want to kick you out of your own bed"

"No, really, it's fine. I don't want to make you uncomfortable. Moreover, the couch can be converted to a bed so it's totally fine." He said sincerely.

"Really? So you're not going to fall out of it in the middle of the night?"

"Of course," He smiled,"Some times I accidentally sleep there too."

I nodded.

"The washroom's there if you want to use it. And I'll bring you clothes." He said hurriedly and walked towards his closet and handed me a pair of black tshirt and sweatpants.

"It going to be a bit big, but this is actually the smallest I have,"

I thanked him and went into the washroom. After taking a quick shower, I put on the clothes and looked in the mirror.

To say I looked like a clown was an understatement, I was no extremely thin girl but the shirt was literally hanging down my shoulders and the sweatpants had to be rolled several times.

I sighed and slowly opened the door and peeked outside to find that there was no one outside.

Grinning to myself, I stepped out of the washroom.

I noticed that the tv was already switched on and the large couch was equipped with all sorts of blankets that looked super soft . The coffee table next to it was already filled with all kinds of snacks and drinks.

Of course he had all different kinds of things to eat.

I wouldn't be surprised if he had a secret room filled with different kinds chocolates and desserts.

Someone coughed behind me and I turned to see Zephyr standing right next to me with a rather weird look in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah," he muttered, the tips of his ear a bright red color.

The corner of my lip tilted up involuntarily.

A flash of lightning lit up the room and I looked at the ceiling to find that the rain had intensified and I could see the tall trees swaying in the wind.

"You want me to close ceiling?" He asked, gently holding my wrist almost absentmindedly as he looked up at the ceiling too.

"No, it's rather beautiful," I murmured.

He smiled,"I think so too, that's why I made the ceilings transparent."

"But you can close it?" I asked, surprised.

He nodded,"Yeah, want to see?"

I nodded.

He walked towards the nightstand next to his bed and held up a tiny remote, grinning as if he couldn't believe he'd actually found it.

Darn it.

Why was he so adorable?

"You just have to press this button, here try it," he thrusted the remote towards me and I pressed it. Gasping, when a shield emerged from out of nowhere and completely covered it.

Zephyr laughed as if my delight made him happy too.

"This is amazing," I mumbled as I watched it open again.

"It is, isn't it?" He grinned as I smiled back.

Okay, this was getting a bit awkward.

I quickly turned towards the table and pretended to examine the books scattered across it.

I spied a few acrylic and various kinds of paint by the corner as if he had forgotten totally about it.

"You paint?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, looking strangely shy

"Can I see one of your paintings someday?" I asked before I could stop myself.

It happened a lot with him, me not being able to control myself and blurting out things before I could stop myself.

He nodded,"Sure, I'm working on one right now so I'll show you once it's over."

I smiled,"So does everyone's room have the same layout?"

"God no, we all have very different looking rooms." He said just as he sat down on the couch. He patted the seat next to him and I plopped down net to him with the grace of a newborn fawn and mindlessly fiddled with my pen.

We both sat in comfortable silence and watched as a lightning light up the sky again,

"Do you always carry it with you?" He suddenly asked.

"Hm?" I raised my brow at him.

"That pen?"

I looked at the sleek metal surface,"Mostly." I said and handed it to him as he continued to watch it curiously.

"I've seen nothing like this before," he murmured as his fingers trailed the letters that was engraved on the smooth surface.

Inis vitae sed non amoris

"It's Latin?" He tilted his head at me.

I nodded and swallowed as I gazed at the storm outside.

"Fuck," he said suddenly and I snapped my head to see him touching the shiny nib with wide eyes,

"Careful," I mumbled.

"It's too sharp to be just a pen,"

I hid my smile at his excited face,"Yeah, it can be sort of used as a knife too,"

His looked like a kid who ate ten packet of Oreos and two pastries.

Or maybe he actually did, it was Zephyr after all.

"So the nib? It won't break?" He asked.

"No."

"So if I throw it at that glass, it won't break?"

"You sure the glass can handle it?"

"That glass can withstand a storm, I'm pretty sure it can withstand a pen/dagger."

"Really? You want to bet?" I smirked.

"Oh, it's on, sweetheart. Loser cooks breakfast tomorrow."

"That's too easy,"

"Fine, what do you want?"

I grinned slowly, baring my teeth at him. He swallowed and discreetly scooted away from me,"I don't like that smile, I don't like that smile at all."

"Please, it's not going to be that bad,"

"Oh, I bet it's bad. Really bad," he sighed.

"Are you going to throw it or stall some more?" I grinned.

"Fine," he paused as he raised the pen ,"Are you sure it's not going to break,"

I grabbed the pen from his hand and threw it as hard as I could at the window.

Zeph flinched and let out a very unmanly squeak.

I walked towards the window and picked up my pen and held it up for him to see.

"No way," he breathed taking the pen in his hands and examining the surface.

Not a single scratch.

"And I won,"

He shook his head," What are you going to make me do?" He sighed

"I'll tell you tomorrow, how about we watch a movie?"

He grinned,"Ofcourse, my darling. Whatever you want,"

I shook my head at his corny line.

"What do you want to watch?" I asked as I got comfortable on the couch and threw a blanket over me,

"I don't know, you have an preferences?" He asked, reaching for the remote.

"Not really," I muttered

"Then how about this, we'll play the first movie that pops up as recommendation,"

"Okay,"

I sighed and leaned back as Zephyr handed me a bowl of caramel popcorn

"Do you always have so many snacks in your room?" I asked curiously

"Hey! Don't judge," He said with mock hurt

"Not judging," I said half heartedly

I'm definitely judging.

We both turned towards the tv and stared at the recommendation.

The Babadook

"You think this is good?" I asked

"Not sure, I've never seen it," he paused,"I don't really like horror,"

"Me too," I mumbled.

"Think we should change it?"

"Let's give it a go, it can't be that bad right?"

"Famous last words," he quipped.

___________

It was bad. Very bad.

"You okay there, darling?"

"I don't think so," I breathed.

"Yeah me neither. I'm so fucking traumatized, I don't think I'll ever go to the basement ever again," he was still staring wide eyed at the screen.

At some point during the movie we had huddled together as close as possible and Groot had come to lay down at our feet.

He let out a tiny bark and tilted his head, I could almost feel his dark puppy eyes silently judging us.

"Hey! Don't judge Groot, don't forget the fact that you're scared of birds. That too tiny ones," Zeph muttered.

He still continued to silently judge us.

"Uh, wanna try to sleep?" I asked hesitantly.

"I don't think I'll be able to but I'll try," he sighed and rubbed his eyes.

I got up and cleared the table as he converted the couch . And he was right the couch was large enough for him to sleep comfortably. He walked to the bed and picked one of the many pillows scattered across the bed.

"Go on, you can sleep on the bed," he smiled," Groot go to bed, it's past your bedtime, bud." He murmured as he picked up his puppy, kissing the top of his head and placed him on his bed before covering him in a fuzzy blanket.

Aw.

Quickly shaking my head, I climbed into the bed and pulled the blanket to my neck.

Wow. His bed is incredibly soft , probably made from expensive wool or something like that.

I looked up and stared at the tiny droplets of rain pelting the ceiling and smiled.

For the first time in many, many years I did not feel lonely. I felt safe and warm.

And I had Zephyr to thank for it.

"Iris?" He asked softly

"Yeah?"

"I hope the Babadook isn't hiding under the bed, darling."

And just like that I all fuzzy feelings vanished and I scowled at him as he grinned back sheepishly from the couch.

____________

I woke up to the sound of rain pelting on the ceiling, the room dark.

But judging by the sound of it, the storm had indeed passed

Rubbing my eyes, I stumbled towards the general direction of the washroom. Splashing some water on my face, I stared at my reflection.

Why did my bathroom look so different?

Oh.

Wait. The storm.

I blinked at my reflection and silently cursed.

This is how I look in front of my crush?! Barefaced and messy hair, not to mention the puffy eyes.

My crush? Since when?

Quickly shaking that thought out of my head, I soundlessly closed the door behind me and glanced at the man still sleeping peacefully on the couch/bed.

His full lips were parted as he softly breathed, his messy curly all over his forehead.

He was so beautiful that it honestly hurt when I looked at him. My hand involuntarily reached out and brushed the hair back from his forehead before I could control myself.

I froze when his hand suddenly grabbed my wrist and just about melted when he smiled in his sleep before softly kissing my palm.

And went right back to sleep.

I stumbled away from him, my face flushing and I could feel tingles where he had kissed my palm.

This boy was going to be the death of me.

Before I did anything more stupid like kiss his forehead or something, I rushed out of the room and closed the door behind me quietly.

Feeling something furry by my ankles I glanced down to find Groot rubbing his body all over me affectionately.

Like father like son.

Smiling, I kneeled down and kissed his forehead and a few minutes of belly rubs later I made my way towards the kitchen, Groot trailing behind me.

Grey stood by refrigerator, chugging water. He smiled as soon as

he noticed me,"Zach still sleeping?"

"Yeah,"

"Of course, not even an earthquake can wake up that one." He laughed and that's when I noticed that he was wearing scrubs.

"Oh, are you leaving?" I asked.

"Yeah, the rest of the guys already left," he replied as he placed the bottle of water back in the fridge.

"Is Zach going to be late? Should I go wake him?"

"Oh, there's no need. He just completed his night shifts yesterday morning,"

And he spent almost the day with me and even cooked. Also he gave up his bed. For me.

Damnit, I hated feeling so guilty.

"I'll see you around, Melantha. Have a nice day!" He said as he walked out the kitchen

"You too," I smiled.

And now there was no one in this house. Except me and Zephyr.

Maybe I could make him breakfast. I couldn't make any of his fancy Mexican breakfast dishes but I could make a mean churro pancake and some orange flavored hot chocolate would taste amazing in this weather.

Quickly taking out all the ingredients, I set to work and soon the kitchen smelt like churros and chocolate.

A perfect combination.

Stacking the pancakes one on top of the other, I drizzled some melted dark chocolate over them and poured my hot chocolate chips into a large glass and in a separate bowl, I kept the marshmallows.

Placing them all in a tray, I carefully walked towards Zephyr's room and gently kept it on his table.

The man was still sleeping, looking all beautiful and adorable.

Yeah, not going there.

Then I quickly filled Groot's bowl with some dog food I'd found in the pantry and some water.

Looking outside, I found that it was only drizzling.

Maybe I shouldn't overstay.

He was clearly exhausted and I'm pretty sure that if I stayed over then he'd definitely cook me lunch and honestly, he needed his rest.

Grabbing my bag, I fished a notebook out of it and tore a page and wrote a quick note and kept it by the tray.

As I was walking towards the door, Groot rammed into me and sat on my feet, looking up at me with those adorable eyes.

"Aw, I'll be back baby," I whispered, patting his fluffy head.

He let out the cutest whimper.

Ugh. My heart.

"Keep an eye on your dad, yeah?" I kissed his forehead and walked out without looking back at the person sprawled across the couch who was starting to become more and more important to me.

________

Hey guys!!!

I know it's been sooo long since I posted and honestly it was kinda hard writing again after such a long break,

So how do you guys feel about this chapter?

XxAelinAsh