A/N: The time feels right to type this :D

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Summary: Suits and flowers for a very, very special person.


For Dear…

Storm clouds hovered over the city precariously with howling winds. The sound of raging thunder echoed through the clouds making its presence felt to the creatures below. With rain knocking on everybody's door, it didn't deter one girl in particular opening the door of her house, emerging with a red plastic umbrella in hand. The winds howled again, whipping up dirt on the ground and forcing trees to dance to its rhythm.

Open you dumb umbrella!

Hilary finally got her umbrella to open only to have it flipped inside out allowing raindrops the size of marbles rain down on her. She scowled fixing her umbrella then stuffing it into her bag. On a brighter not, at least she had her hoodie. Pulling on the orange waterproof hoodie, she made her way down the soaked streets against the wind. Of all the days she had to go tutor Tyson, it was today; the day where the rain gods decided to shower their human worshippers with buckets of rain.

She came to an abrupt stop by the corner looking left and right. With no vehicles in sight, she plowed her way through the rain battling the elements.

So far, so good.

Crossing more streets, Hilary finally reached Tyson's dojo. Approaching the dojo, she noticed a large car was parked in front as rain drops slipped off its glossy chassis. Unsure who it was, she slipped behind the corner. It didn't take long for Hilary to lock her eyes on a tall form of Tyson Granger…

"In a suit?" Hilary whispered. "What's the occasion?"

Her auburn eyes locked onto Tyson's hand holding a bouquet ranging from multicolored roses to small daises, wrapped beautifully in silver and white. She watched Tyson nod, perhaps to his grandfather. Saying goodbye, he opened the back door and entered, escaping the rain. With the red lights flashing from the rear, the car moved forward leaving Hilary questioning his destination.

"Is he going on a date when I personally sacrificed my time to tutor him?" she hissed. "Well Granger, this is the last straw!"

Quickly slipping into Tyson's dojo (after she made sure Grandpa was nowhere in sight), she made her way to a small wooden shed. Sliding the door to the right, she found his bike. Hilary quickly moved it to the front and hopped on, pursuing the black car. The situation did not help when the car turned a corner heading not toward downtown but toward the outskirts of the cloudy city. Biting her lip, she tried her best to catch up with the speeding vehicle but the elements were cruel; the winds pushed Hilary in the opposite direction ripping her hoodie off her head, exposing her to the rain.

The car took another turn down an empty street aligned with trees and tall, colorless walls. Lightning skidded across the skies forcing Hilary to peddle faster, hands gripped tightly on the handles. The last thing she wanted to be was a moving conducting rod. Yeah, no. The idea of becoming a lightning rod was not in today's agenda. The car disappeared around another corner and Hilary quickly followed it. Immediately slamming on the brakes, she almost collided in the large metallic monstrosity! God, why did it have to be parked so close to the corner? Shaking her head, she backed up a little and dismounted the bike.

Resuming spy mode, she concealed herself behind the corner with eyes peeled for Tyson. Wherever this was, she concluded this was one of the worse places for a date! Narrowing her eyes, the car door snapped open with Tyson stepping out with a black umbrella. Cradled in his arms was the same bouquet and another, more colorful bouquet. So, how special was this girl that she needed two bouquets? Well, it'll only be a matter of time before Hilary comes face to face with this girl!

Hilary waited for Tyson for be far head enough before it was safe to follow; the last thing she needed was for Tyson to turn around meeting eye to eye. Indeed, that would have been a very awkward situation. But then again, it was Tyson; he's as thick and dense as a slab of granite! Luckily, the winds died down enough for Hilary to pull out her umbrella from her shoulder bag. Snapping it open, she trailed behind Tyson as the rain masked her footsteps across grey cobblestones. Not once did Tyson turn around; he continued walking through the myriad of trees, clean cut lawn and through an opening with two pillars standing tall on either side.

With Tyson out of sight, Hilary ran toward one of the pillars with eyes locked upon a golden plaque, "Tyson," she whispered. "Why are you here?"

Knots suddenly formed in her stomach; he didn't come here to see some girl but rather, he came here to see somebody very special to him. Closing her umbrella, Hilary ignored the rain and continued through the lone path, snaking through patches of green lawn with altars withstanding the elements. She found Tyson standing in front of a small stone altar holding the flowers tightly against his chest. She softly tread carefully moving to a small tree and hid behind it.

"Hi mom, how are you?"

Hilary covered her mouth the moment she heard those words. The skies rumbled, sending another curtain of rain crashing against the earth. Hilary watched Tyson close the umbrella and tossed it to the side. He didn't mind getting wet; he needed the rain to shield the tears streaming down his cheeks. Crying was one of the things Tyson Granger hated to do. Crying was something he was never proud of doing in front of people, mainly friends but right now the rain was his friend; the skies cried with him, hiding his own tears.

Tyson's navy-blue bangs hid his eyes and Hilary couldn't stop feeling a pinch of guilty erupting from her heart; all those accusations when she knew nothing! God, how stupid could she be? The tell tale signs were all over the place. Biting her lower lip, she shook her head out of the thoughts focusing on Tyson. She listened to Tyson through the sounds of the rain and she could only make out so much. He suddenly shifted, bending down to the altar placing down the flowers.

"I brought you the flowers you love, mom. I hope you like them!"

Hilary watched Tyson smile, or what she assumed he was crying and smiling in the same time? Perhaps. Wiping the water from his eyes, he continued talking. Tyson told his mother about many things; the good, the bad, the ugly and the downright insane. Still, he continued to laugh, fighting against his tears. Hilary never knew; she never knew anything about Tyson's family until today. Feelings swelled within her, edging her on to comfort the teen. It pained her too much watching him stand there holding on to something that was about to break.

For another twenty minutes, she watched him with her own tears slipping down her cheek. She had no idea why she was crying but it felt right. Yeah, it felt right. Without even thinking, she silently moved, approaching the teen from behind.

"I never knew," he heard. "I never knew anything…"

Hilary stood there with her forehead pressed against his back biting her lip.

"To hear you say how much you try your best at everything… to hear you say how much you wanted to show her… To hear you say how much you missed her…"

Tyson remained silent, his eyes unmoved from the altar. Right now, he allowed the rain to speak for him, echoing his voice and thoughts.

"H-Hilary," his voice remained strong, sturdy yet fragile. "It's alright."

"I'm such a fool for not knowing anything!"

A smile appeared on Tyson's lips unknown to Hilary. "Well, now you'll know."

He stepped to the side, breaking what little physical contact they had. Hilary lifted up her head eyes moving from the beautiful water stained flowers, up the intricately carved stone altar and to a black and white picture of a beautiful woman. Her smile was as radiant as the sun and Hilary could feel her warmth, her unconditional love spreading across her body. The woman in the picture had her hair in a ponytail, just like Tyson and the rest of the Granger family.

"Yoshie Granger…" Hilary trailed off. Turning her attention to Tyson she said, "You have her eyes and her smile."

"Yeah, I know," Tyson grinned, taking in the compliments.

Hilary shook her head, "Same old, same old," she said moving her eyes back to the picture. "She's beautiful."

It was that moment things changed; Hilary heard Tyson sniff through the sounds of the rain. He hid his face, turning to the side. No, not now! Shaking her head, she knew it was useless for him to contain all his emotions when he was close to shattering into a thousand fragments. Tyson suddenly fell on his knees as raindrops slipped off his navy-haired bangs onto the flowers beneath. Hilary smiled, lowering her head hiding her tear stained cheeks. She got down on her knees slipping her arms around him without saying a word.

The rain brought out the best and the worst in people but today, it brought out so much more; feelings locked inside were revealed to someone special even if it meant masking their tears for it.