Title: Rainy Days
Author: Tonya Disclaimer: No own. No sue. Just the usuals.
Rating: G
A/N: It's angst! It's fluff! It's flangst!…Or anuff. I prefer flangst.
Summary: Once upon a time, she had never cared for rain.

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Luna retrieved her warm cup of tea and strolled through the silent flat, the only sound coming from the thunder rumbling outside. Sipping from her drink, she made her way to the window in her bedroom, staring out at the rain coming down.

Once upon a time, she had never cared for rain.

Rainy days always seemed to come during those times when having a warm sun in the sky would have been painfully ironic. As if the heavens knew what events were taking place at that exact moment in time, the skies tended to pour on the days when the rain could easily be mistaken for or hide tears.

It rained on the day her mother died.

Luna only remembered this because on any other summer day she would have been outside chasing butterflies or searching for possible tracks from the elusive Crumple-Horned Snorkack. But that day, she had awoken to a depressingly gray sky, and as she had hovered in the back door--silently wishing the clouds away-- her mother had advised her to give up her hopes of playing outside for the day as the weather did not seem forgiving.

On any other day, she would have been outside until her father came home from his office. He would have patted her on the head and asked her about her adventures for the day, and then he would have gone inside to greet her mother with a hug and a kiss as was their routine. On any other day, she would have never bounced downstairs to the kitchen just in time to see her mother's spell go horribly wrong. And on any other day, her father wouldn't have come home to find his daughter sitting quietly in a corner of the kitchen, knees pulled up to her chest and her chin resting in the crook.

It rained on the day of the second war.

Luna remembered standing on the Hogwarts ground, rain pouring down over her and her fellow students who had stayed behind to fight alongside Harry. Her clothes had been soaked through, and her hair had clung to the back of her neck uncomfortably, but at the time, she had paid no mind to it. She had been more concerned about the green-eyed boy who stood before them, raindrops dripping off the ends of his unruly hair and bouncing off the lenses of glasses. He had stood before them, offering them words of encouragement and thanks, and though he did not seem so at the time, Luna had imagined that on the inside he had been terrified. He was, after all, the Boy Who Lived, and unfortunately, to be one that can live, one must also be one that can die.

But that rainy day had not seen the end of the infamous Harry Potter. In the end, Voldemort had been defeated. In the end, the second war had finally come to a close, and there had only been a handful of casualties on the side of good. In the end, the most Harry had come away with was a horrible case of pneumonia from fighting in the downpour.

It rained on the day they lost someone close to them.

Luna remembered lying in bed that night, his warm body wrapped protectively around hers. He had only returned home a few hours prior, looking as worn down as she had seen him in days. The life of an Auror. Long days, even longer nights. The knocking had sounded throughout the flat, and Luna had wished that whoever it was would simply go away until morning because Harry needed his rest. He had not stirred beside her, and as the thunder rumbled outside, she had carefully removed herself from his embrace to answer the door.

She had cinched her terry robe of moon and stars tightly around her waist as she had pulled the door open to be greeted by a rain-soaked Blaise Zabini. She had always feared those moments when an Auror that was not Harry would show up on her doorstep, but with him safe and warm in their bed, her fears had been for someone else that night. She had listened intently, silently, as Blaise had reported to her that Ronald had not returned from the latest mission. Blaise had offered his condolences--having become a good friend to both Harry and her after the ties of house unity where broken upon graduation--and had even offered to tell Harry the news himself. But Luna had declined the offer, had thanked Blaise for coming to let them know, and had bid him a goodnight.

That night, Luna had sat up on the couch until morning. Until Harry had stumbled out of the bedroom, still half-asleep, and kissed her on the top of the head and asked what she was doing up so early.

Once upon a time, she had never cared for rain.

But sometimes things could change.

It rained on the day of their first kiss.

It had been the last day before the holidays began. Luna had returned from the Astronomy tower where she normally spent most of her time daydreaming as she overlooked the school grounds. The clouds had been warning of rain all evening, and she had barely made it back to the castle before the downpour had begun. She had stood just outside the doors of the castle, watching the rain come down, when she had noticed a figure tearing across the grass in her direction. Only when the figure had drawn closer did she realize it was Harry Potter.

They had formed some sort of friendship after his fifth year, her fourth. She had written to him over that summer before their return to Hogwarts, and they had corresponded regularly throughout those warm summer months. Upon their return, they had taken to greeting each other on many occasions in the hallway, and other than Ginny, he had seemed to be the only one willing to have a full conversation with her.

Drenched and with his reliable Firebolt in tow, he had joined her under the dry safety of the castle overhanging. He had laughed a bit and shook his head to get rid of some of the water, and she had remarked that he reminded her of a shaggy dog after a bath. They had laughed together and had discussed their respective holidays--she would be spending it with her father in Denmark, he with the Weasleys at the Burrow. They had talked until the rain had almost subsided, finally deciding it'd be best to head in before Filch made his nightly patrols through the hallways. They had wished each other a good holiday, and without much thought on her actions, Luna had hugged him. As she had pulled away, she had meant to land a quick kiss on his cheek, but being thrown by the hug, Harry had moved and so had her target.

Luna had then managed to kiss him on the lips.

It had been quick and accidental, but it had stunned both of them nonetheless. He had blushed fiercely, and she could only imagine that her own pale skin reflected the same. It had taken a moment for either of them to find the ability to speak, but Harry had finally found his voice first. He had offered her a soft reassuring smile, wished her a goodnight, and had kissed her on the cheek before disappearing through the castle doors.

It rained on the day he proposed to her.

They had been walking through muggle London, browsing through the little shops since everything muggle never lost its exciting appeal to Luna. The rain had come unannounced that day. The sun had been in the sky one moment, and then the next, clouds had rolled in and the heavens had parted. Surprised by the sudden onslaught of rain, Harry had quickly pulled off his jacket and covered both of their heads with it until they were under the awning of a closed cafe, finally shielded from the rain.

Squeezed under the awning with a few other people who had been unprepared for a rainy day, they had stood close together and watched the rain fall. Luna had teased him for being the cause of the horrible weather because he had made a comment previously about it being a gorgeous day. He had scoffed at her as he lingered behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

They had stood in comfortable silence, watching the rain, before he finally leaned his head closer to hers and whispered two simple words in her ear. Marry me. In that moment, everything had seemed to have come to a standstill. Everything but her heart which pounded wildly against her ribcage. She had turned to him, her eyes filled with shock, with uncertainty that she had heard him right. But the warm smile on his face had told her that she had heard him properly, and she had returned the smile happily. And with an even more simple "yes", she had kissed him.

Once upon a time, she had never cared for rain.

Luna sipped from her cooling cup of tea as she watched the rain finally begin to die off. She smiled slightly, her eyes never leaving the window, as she heard the familiar click of the door to their flat opening.

"Lu, you home?"

Her smile only brightened at his voice, and she finally tore her eyes from the window to peer over her shoulder at the doorway to the bedroom.

"Back here, Harry."

He soon appeared, shrugging off his robes and tossing them unceremoniously into the lounger in the corner of the room. He smiled warmly as he approached her. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Luna shrugged her slender shoulders. "Just watching the rain."

Harry stepped up to her, closing the gap between them as he gently placed his hand at the nape of her neck and pulled her to him for a kiss. Luna smiled against his lips, the warm sense of familiarity and security rushing over her just from him being there with her. She finally pulled with a quiet laugh, brushing the ends of his damp hair away from his forehead.

"What?" he asked in a curious tone as she looked up at him.

"Nothing," she simply replied with a smile and kissed him again.

Once upon a time, she had never cared for rain.