Monthly Bonus Content #4—An Echo of a Storm (Nate Spring Scenario Special) (Patreon)

The scent of lilac plumes into the air as fat raindrops burst the delicate purple buds. We run past the plants, taking only a second to enjoy the heady aroma, before dashing out of the rain into the dry safety of a shop’s alcove.

Nate shakes the wet from his leather jacket and peers out at the sheets of rain which act like a watery screen, obscuring our view of the rest of the Square. Not that there’s much to see at this time of night.

Everyone else has done the sensible thing and gone to sleep while the weather hammers against the buildings, while we struggle to even see the orange glow of lamplights as the rain masks everything in a damp, grey palette.

“So much for our balmy Spring night,” he remarks with a chuckle.

“Do you think Adam will let us off of patrol duty due to the weather?” I ask, glancing to Nate who purses his lips. I fold my arms and let my shoulders sag. “No, I didn’t think so either.”

“It’s not all bad,” he says.

I frown and glance to him. “We’re completely drenched and still have two hours left to go before we can head back. How is that not bad?”

He angles forward, resting his forearm on the wall beside my head to lean in even closer with a smile that sends a pleasant skitter through my body. “I would say the delightful sight of seeing you so wet is quite the opposite of ‘bad’.”

I chuckle, spreading my hand across his chest, the dampness of his t-shirt meaning I can feel the solid lines of his torso and the heat of his skin. “Are you trying to distract me from my duty?”

“Most definitely,” he purrs, his face nestling into the crook of my neck and kissing just below my ear. “We have to find some way to warm ourselves up.”

The strength leaves my hand as I let my fingers roam a little across his chest. “In the middle of the Square?”

“It wouldn’t exactly be my first choice.” His laughter vibrates against my skin and draws a breath from me. “But we have to take the moments as they are given to us—” His very smooth, tempting flirtation is sliced through by a flash of lightning.

Nate freezes in place, his body rigid, and I can feel the uneven thump of his heartbeat punch against my palm.

“Are you alright?” But my words can barely be heard over the roar of thunder which accompanies another blast of electric light which crackles across the midnight sky.

He swallows hard, leaning into me further, and I wonder for a moment if it’s a ploy to draw me in…until his body shudders with obvious panic. I wrap my arms around him on instinct, and his fingers grip me tightly, as though I’m the only thing keeping him standing.

“What’s the matter? What’s wrong?” I call over the battle of lightning and thunder that continues to rage in the sky. When he doesn’t reply, my voice turns tight with desperation. “Nate?!”

“Just…,” the word is almost a sobbed whisper in my ear, “please don’t let me go.”

I don’t. In fact, I draw him in further against me, both of us huddled into the stone alcove where the rain and storm can’t reach us.

His shoulders shudder with each ragged breath, and his muscles coil at each growl of thunder.

He says nothing.

And I have no idea what to say when he won’t tell me what’s wrong.

So, I hold him as tightly as I can, but nowhere near with the amount of desperation that his grasp has on me. I’m afraid if I let go, he might crumple to the ground.

The storm begins to fade slowly. The lightning becomes a faint flash over the stony skyline of the Square, and the thunder’s growl dies to more of a whimper with each passing minute.

“1…2…3…4—” Nate counts each beat between the flash and the whimper. When it reaches double-figures, his fingers relax their hold on me, and I take a deep breath. My pulse is now the one that’s erratic as Nate’s finds its calm rhythm once again.

When he draws away, he brushes some dark waves of hair back from his eyes and glances away, but I cup his cheek to draw his gaze back to meet mine.

“What was that about?” I ask, trying not to let my worry turn the question into a demand.

His smile quivers at the edges, apparently still not quite himself. “Nothing. I just wanted to take the opportunity to be as close as possible to you.” His lips firm into a much smoother smile now—almost as good a mask as Adam wears. “You know I always want that.”

A protest lingers on my tongue, but I bite it back. Whatever frightened him that badly obviously still has him shaken. Maybe there was something out there I couldn’t sense? Like with Murphy?

…But then why wouldn’t he tell me?

As the questions whirl in a confused mess in my mind, his fingers slip into mine, and he squeezes my hand.

“Come on. We better get back on patrol now the weather’s cleared.”

And just like that, he tugs me from the alcove, and we begin our task once again.

All throughout the rest of the night, he ensures to keep the topic of conversation as far away from the storm as possible…even with how much I pry.