A Rainy Night
“Fluttershy? Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah… The thunder just scares me…” The meek girl in your arms huddles closer to you as a loud crash of thunder sounds out once again. The power had gone out a few moments ago, rendering drowning out the noise of the rain impossible. The entire room is dark, the only light being a single candle on the kitchen counter. The living room is considerably warmer now that there were no fans cooling you down. Besides the rain, and the occasional clash of thunder, it’s silent in the room. Well, Fluttershy’s nearly inaudible squeaks are still technically a noise.
It’s sad, really. She’s just as normal as everyone else. She goes about her days, doing her daily activities. But she’s just so afraid and so scared of the world and people around her. The thunder and rain were never really things that frightened you, and now is no exception. You try to be there, to help her along, but she’s still just so small in comparison to everything else around her. Not that it helps either that whenever she’s scared or upset she physically tries to make herself seem smaller.
You were there, however, and that’s how you ended up with her in your arms tonight. It’s been five years since she asked you out, very quietly, if I may add, and two years since you moved in with her. And now, the topic of marriage was beginning to surface.
“Do you wanna go to bed?” you ask, leaning close to her ear.
“No. I like it here better,” she whispers. Without saying a word, you kiss the top of her head. In recent times, Fluttershy had fully opened up to you. She could now ask you to do something with her without ending with ‘if you don’t mind.’ She could now tell you her secrets, her dreams and desires, her wants and needs, and her passions.
Readjusting yourself under her small body on the couch, you rest your head on the arm of the sofa, ready to fall asleep with her in your arms. She hugs you tightly. A sudden chill enters the house as a loud clash of thunder breaks the otherwise calm silence. Fluttershy jumps a foot and accidentally rolls out of your grasp. With a loud thud, she lands on the wooden floor. Your eyes wide, you roll of the couch and kneel down next to her. Your right hand under her head and your left arm hugging her stomach, you ask if she’s alright.
“Yes… I’m sorry…” Her quiet words show the fear and regret in her voice, as if she had sinned for being afraid.
“It’s alright. The thunder scared me too,” you say, hugging her. She had asked you many times not to lie to make her feel better, but this is so small and trivial, it can’t matter.
“It did?” she asks, her cheek on your chest. You nod and continue to hug her. The rain continues to pound against the small cottage and the wind continues to howl its creepy howl. Though rain and thunder doesn’t scare you, the low groan of the wind always made you feel a bit uneasy. Once again, now is no exception. Ever so slightly, you grip Fluttershy a little tighter. The draft that had entered the house hadn’t gone away; it had only gotten colder.
You love Fluttershy. That’s no secret. Not to her and not to yourself. But sometimes her constant fear of just about everything got on your nerves. Very rarely, however. But those slight feelings of annoyance whenever Fluttershy would jump a foot at her own reflection were still present, no matter how small they were. Normally, you could handle just about anything Fluttershy’s paranoia could throw at you. But once again, the feelings are still there. Why, when you brought up the mere topic of taking her to meet your parents, she had the same reaction someone else would have if they were asked to sneak across the border or something. The mind numbing fear in her eyes was ever present, and it was a full three months before it actually happened. But maybe after being with someone for years and years, it only makes sense to grow tired of them in some way, even if it’s a very small way. Fluttershy most likely had some sort of problem with you, be it large or small. Nobody’s perfect, as they say.
Other than any of that, there’s really nothing you can think of that brings her down for you. She’s perfect. No matter what flaws she may have, she’s the right one for you.
Only after she softly speaks your name do you realize a smile has spread across your face. You snap back into reality as Fluttershy looks up at you.
“I’m ready to go to bed,” she says quietly. You nod and let her out of your hug. She begins to stand up off the floor, but you put a hand on her shoulder. She looks over at you in subtle confusion and you shake your head. You place your right hand on her back and your left hand under her knees. You slowly crank your legs and stand up, Fluttershy’s 90-100 pounds in your arms. You’re a bit focused on not dropping her, but in your peripheral vision, you can see her smiling at you. She’s not that heavy for her age, and you’d even go so far as to say she’s a tad underweight, but that only helps you more now. As you pass through the kitchen, you lean over and blow out the candle, shrouding the first floor of the house in darkness. The stakes only rise for you not to drop her. If you so much as stub your toe, she’ll end up on the floor again, and this’ll all be for nothing. You continue the pattern of ‘right…. left… right… left’ as you come to a terrible realization.
Good lord…. There are twelve stairs you have to climb…
You look in hidden terror to the small flight of stairs leading up to the second story of the house. But a spark reignites the flame inside of you to keep going. This spark came in the form of a warm feeling on your shoulder. As you look down at the girl in your arms, you see that her eyes are closed in a gentle relaxation and her cheek is resting on your shoulder. A small smile is painted on her cheeks. It’s one of the cutest things… No. THE cutest thing that’s ever been in your arms. A smile spreads on your face as you hear her sigh in bliss.
She’s suddenly become much lighter. And those stairs are a problem for you no more.
The bed makes a soft creak as Fluttershy is laid upon it. A quiet, smooth rumble of thunder rolls outside the window as you lay next to her. Neither of you bother with the covers; it’s still quite warm in here. Your lover’s bright oceanic teal eyes pierce right through the darkness of the room. Her soft breathing cools your collarbone as you pull her into your embrace. A content sigh escapes her lips as her arms wrap around you.
The rain outside continues to beat against the house. The occasional lightning strike lights up the room through the open curtains, followed by either a loud clap or a soft roll of thunder. Either way, you feel Fluttershy’s grip tighten around you slightly. Your lips are met by warmth as you kiss her forehead. She softly speaks your name.
“Yes?” you whisper in her ear. She looks up at you and smiles, a faint blush on her cheeks.
“I love you,” she says, putting her forehead back on your chest, “I love you so much.”
Another smile creeps onto your face as you lower yourself. Now eye-level, you respond.
“I love you too. I always will.”
Once again, your lips are met by a familiar warmth.