Author Note: I have always loved this pairing. There was just so much synergy between Tomoya and Kyou. They just seem to fit together in my mind. For the many Nagisa supporters... I'm not saying Nagisa is a bad pick. No, she's a wonderful match for Tomoya, but I just happen to like Kyou x Tomoya better. Yes, there was a Kyou OVA made and there is the Kyou route in the visual novel, but I thought there could be more between the our dense, lazy/try-hard, blue haired protagonist and the loving, semi-violent, purple long-haired heroine. So, I decided to make this little oneshot. For those who have never watched the Kyou OVA for Clannad, watch it on youtube. It is only about half an hour.

This fanfic is my take on the rain scene in the OVA. It is about 12 minutes into the OVA. It would help put the scene in context if you watched until the start of the rain scene of the OVA.

Oh, and have Rainymood and Roaring Tides II playing on the side. It really sets the mood for this fic. :D

Enjoy!

Under the Pouring Rain

Prerequisites: (Just) Clannad Afterstory Episode 25 (until the Rain scene/12min mark)

BGM: Rainymood and Roaring Tides II

Disclaimer: I do not own any anime/manga elements.

The rain had come quickly. Dark, water-laden clouds had covered the sky within minutes and dropped their payload upon the earth. A lone soul stepped out from under a flowered trellis to bask in the torrential rainfall.

Kyou didn't mind the rain. It was cold, wet, and noisy, but she didn't care. Its cold numbed her heart, its droplets hid her tears, and its constant downpour dampened even her own thoughts. She welcomed its chilly embrace.

She had come out here to be out of the way. Out of the way of her sister and her... boyfriend. She had repeated that statement many times before. 'Her sister and her boyfriend. Her sister and her boyfriend. Her...'

She thought that she could get used to that thought. But, she couldn't.

She tried to feel happy for her sister. She really did. But despite how much Kyou smiled or how much she teased, it always hurt so much to know that he was her sister's boyfriend.

Tomoya.

That name had once instilled her with happy memories. Days of leisure and play. Days of laziness and truancy. And... Days of companionship and close intimacy.

Now, she only felt pain... and longing.

They were friends. Close friends. But, she wanted more. She wanted him to see her as more than a friend. A girl friend, maybe even a lover?

She had chances. Opportunities that had brushed her fingertips. But, she always refused to grasp them. How could she?

Her sister has had a crush on him ever since she met him.

As the older sister, she had an obligation, a responsibility, a duty to make sure her younger sister was happy. She couldn't bare to be the cause of her sister's tears.

So, she promised herself to throw away her love, hopes, and fairy tales. She promised herself that she would build her sister's happy ending. She would make sure that someday, her sister would be the one next to Tomoya.

She had forced him eat lunch with she and her sister, in hopes of her sister and him of becoming closer. She had made delicious bentos to help keep him motivated to come to the lunches. She had taught her sister how to cook to help her sister impress him. And, every action was a stab to her own heart.

Every lunch she had planned was one she wished that maybe she and Tomoya could eat together. Together and alone. But in reality, she had been the mediator for Ryou and Tomoya, helping them get used to talking to each other. It had worked too. Ryou and Tomoya could talk together easily without her now.

When she woke up at five AM to make the bentos for lunch, she had let herself daydream a little bit. She had imagined that she was making a bento to share with Tomoya and herself. Just Tomoya and herself. She had also imagined that he tell her how wonderful every piece was and ask her how she made them taste so divine. To this, she would have simply replied, "Because it's cooked with love."

And, teaching her sister to cook was both tiring and painful. Her sister had been a terrible cook. She had somehow managed to burn rice in a rice cooker. But, Kyou had persevered and had managed to teach her how to make edible food. With every improved attempt, she had felt her sister get closer to Tomoya. She wanted to be happy for her sister, but she could only feel the pain of knowing Tomoya was getting further and further away from herself.

She thought that by enduring the pain, the pain would eventually dull and her love would be forgotten. She thought it would eventually become another memory forgotten in the depths of her mind. But, it festered and engorged itself on every moment with him.

His kind smiles, light compliments, and even his jabs reminded her of how much she loved him. She let her mask of false happiness fall during those moments, allowing her true smile to show for a while. But, when he turned away and left her behind, she felt the loneliness kick in and her well-prepared facade slip back on her face. Any thought of pursuing him was shot down by the image of her sister's smiling face.

Ryou was happy.

Ever since Ryou and Tomoya started dating, Ryou has been glowing with sheer happiness. Every day, she came home with a slight hop in her step and a faint blush on her cheeks. She talked non-stop about him, gushing about how wonderful it was to be with him. Clearly a sign of being happily in love.

Kyou wouldn't dare interfere. She would bare it, and maybe someday, she would mo-

"Kyou,"

It couldn't be. Why now of all times? Turning around, she saw him.

Tomoya.

She could see the worry etched on his face. He asked,

"What's wrong?"

She tried to ward him off, telling him that nothing was wrong. He wasn't satisfied though. She deflected, mentioning his date with Ryou, hoping to change the topic.

He didn't take the bait.

He began walking closer to her. She had to stop him.

"Don't come closer. Don't come closer... Please."

She reminded him that he was Ryou's boyfriend, and that he should only worry about Ryou. He paused, but then continued to advance, saying,

"That has nothing to do with this. You'll catch a cold."

She had to stop him. She could already feel her emotions going out of control. She yelled,

"I said, Don't Come! You have to leave me alone!"

She felt her heart clench at her own words. Her heart wanted him. She weakly continued,

"Don't bother with me anymore..."

She wanted him.

He was startled, but reached his hand out to her. She dodged out of his grasp and tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her hand. She viciously wrenched her hand out of his grip and pushed off, hoping to run away, but he wrapped his arms around her.

She struggled against his embrace at first, but then just relaxed into it. She was tired. She was cold, wet, depressed and lonely. She wanted this. She wanted to be held. She clung to his grip, feeling the slight warmth that he managed to give off despite cold of the pouring rain.

Why was he so nice to her? Didn't he know how much it hurt for people to be close to what can never be theirs?

She couldn't stop the tears. Or her confession. She wanted him to know. She knew she would regret it, but she needed to tell him.

"Stop being kind to me. I'm an idiot...so if you act kind to me, I'll get the wrong idea.

I was afraid.

I was afraid to ask you out.

If I had asked you out and gotten rejected, we might not even have been able to stay friends. Even if I'd gotten to go out with you, Ryou would be sad. Then, it was best that I gave up. I thought that it would be the best for everyone!

Yet... now, I feel nothing but regret.

I'm such an idiot. It's something I chose, and yet..."

She couldn't continue. The heartbreak was killing her. She knew that what he would say. He would reject her. She knew this was going to happen if she tried. Things would never go back to times before. The times where she didn't worry about things like lov-

She felt Tomoya arms tighten around her. She heard him say, "Kyou, I-"

She noticed that she had unknowingly made a desperate attempt to steal him from Ryou. She had been crying alone under the pouring rain, a miserable image. One of the many things she knew about Tomoya was that he cared too much about others. Of course, he would try to say something to comfort her. She needed to stop him.

She reminded him,

"I'm Fujibayashi Kyou. I'm not Ryou."

Kyou's words silenced Tomoya. She tried to pull herself from his grasp, but Tomoya still held her fast. She struggled slightly, but found she didn't have the strength to break free. She decided to wait for him to let go. He would let go eventually. But as she settled, Tomoya turned her around, so she was facing him. While their amethyst and cobalt eyes met, he said,

"Kyou... even though that's true, I still care about you. You've always been... more than just a friend to me. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I promise you that I will not abandon you."

Kyou couldn't believe his words. He must be lying. He had to be lying. Someday, he and Ryou would be together, and she would be left behind. The two would be a happy couple and have a big family together. Tomoya and Ryou would get their happy ending. She was sure of it.

But, another thing she had learned about Tomoya was that he never lied to her when he looked straight at her. He would always look away or look past her when he attempted to lie. While looking into her eyes, he had confessed that he saw her as more than just friend. That meant that...

Somewhere in Tomoya's heart, there was a small wedge just for her.

She felt a glimmer of hope warm the depths of her heart. Despite how confused, guilty, regretful, wet, and tired she was, it was the best she had felt in long time. Following the emotions dripping out of her trampled heart, she wrapped her arms around Tomoya and buried her face into his sopping wet jacket. Wrapped in his intimate embrace, she felt the light of her hope grow. She was once again given a chance to embrace her dream. And this time, she was going to accept it.

Still, she had no idea what was going to happen from there on.

There may be a few promises broken.

There may be a few hearts shattered.

There may be a few tears shed.

But, perhaps in the end, everything will turn out okay.

And maybe... just maybe...

They could be together.

A/N: If you just enjoyed the angsty fluff, leave a nice review.

If you felt something was off (plot or grammar), leave a review telling me what was wrong.

But, my main question to the readers is, did i represent the female emotions well? Or was I being shallow, sexist, cliche, and/or etc.? I really want to know. :(

Anyways, thanks for reading my fic.

I'm adding a little music suggestion at the bottom of my chapters. This song is one of the top songs on my playlist right now:

Perfect Crime [Hanatan x Pokota]

*I do not own this :(

This song is just so FUN! I just feel ~so happy~ when listening to this. They're voices are just so in harmony with each other and the song is so fun sounding. On a side note, it kinda sounds like a Rick Roll.