Chapter Text
It was painfully apparent all evening just how down Rain was feeling, but to his family’s credit none of them mentioned it.
Phantom clearly wanted to, judging from the half-curious, half-sympathetic glances they kept sending him and the way they seemed to be trying to strategically catch him alone. Aurora seemed to sense that Rain wanted to be left alone to drift through the evening unbothered though, and did an admirable job at keeping Phantom distracted. Rain really needed to get to know her better, he thought; he could really see himself loving her as a future sister-in-law, and thought his own friends might get along well with her too.
Rain knew he would end up talking to Phantom about everything with Dew at some point. They had always had that kind of closeness as siblings, especially in their teenage years as they both started figuring out who they were, but he also knew how excited they were for their first Christmas with Aurora. He didn’t want to ruin the holiday for them or the rest of his family by making everything about all him, and he’d had enough sympathy from all of them about the Phil situation already. He didn’t particularly fancy any questions about how quickly he’d moved on from his first and only long term relationship either.
Rain drifted through their normal Christmas Eve traditions only half present, the rest of his mind firmly planted in front of the desk where he had last seen Dew back at the Hearthside Inn. Instead of the soundtrack to the oh-so-familiar children’s movie playing on the clunking old VCR player, he heard Dew’s disinterest and rejection echo in his ears.
A traitorous part of him tried to imagine how things would look if Dew were here with him too though, how he would fit into the shifting dynamic of Rain’s family. Would he leap at joining in with the siblings’ more childish traditions as Aurora was gleefully doing? Or would he be happier to hover on the outskirts and observe at first, waiting for Rain to carve out a space for him?
He had never had the experience of bringing anyone home for the holidays before, with Phil always turning down his invitations and never extending a reciprocal one of his own. Had he not foolishly spilled his feelings for Dew to him he even could have seen himself inviting him over, just as a friend, but it was to late for even that now.
Rain shook his head to dislodge the ideas. Just yesterday he would have dismissed them altogether as wishful thinking, but now he knew that they were truly an impossibility that he shouldn’t let himself dream of, they seemed keen to stick around. Dew had wormed his way into his head so thoroughly in such a short space of time, he had to try and cut those thoughts off before they dug themselves in any deeper.
Eventually there came an end to the family festivities, with everyone but him drifting happily off to bed while he was left to settle in on the couch for the scant hours of sleep he would be able to snatch.
“We’ll have your bed set back up for you by next year Rain,” his mother had promised before she left, “hopefully things’ll have settled down for you by then as well. I don’t like to think of you so blue on Christmas!”
“I’m sure they will, Mum.” Rain smiled weakly as she pulled him down to press a goodnight kiss to his forehead. “G’night.”
“Night night, Darling.”
Rain had to push himself to get through Christmas Day. As expected he had not slept well on the sofa and the sleep he had managed to get had been plagued with dreams of Dewdrop. On the day of the year when he was meant to be the happiest, he found himself totally miserable.
He had gotten ahead of himself, and in doing so had totally ruined his fresh start. Rain hadn’t found friends waiting for him here, his sibling was going to leave again soon, and the thought of truly moving back in with his parents after over a decade out from under their roof was mortifying. No, he had to get away from this small town again and the huge mistake he had already made here.
It wasn’t like there was nothing for him back in the city after all; his relationship might have fallen apart but Rain had had a life outside of Phil. Maybe he had been too hasty in throwing it all away. Rain missed Cirrus and Cumulus more than he thought he would do too, maybe even Aether as well.
Moving back there was probably for the best.
He was sure now that his dramatic exit had been an overreaction. Rain could move to a different district, closer to the people he knew and loved. Maybe he could even beg for his old job back, citing emotional distress or burnout or something. As much as he might have hated his job he had been good at it, Rain knew that much.
Things didn’t have to be picture perfect, he didn’t need to always look like he had his life together like he had thought before, Rain saw that now. Throwing in the towel on everything after one setback wasn’t a sensible choice. Rain thought – hoped – that what he had before, minus the cheating ex, would be enough. His stint back home had been ill-advised, his sudden and intense feelings for an old crush just further proof that what he needed was a vacation, not a full life reset.
Still, none of his realisations made him feel any better in the moment. Rain was only able to pick at his Christmas dinner, not finding he had much appetite for the meal he spent the rest of the year looking forward to. Similarly, he spent the rest of the day in a daze, forcing himself to act as naturally as he could although he doubted that he truly convinced anyone.
By late afternoon, with the sun already set once more and the clock hitting a full twenty-four hours since Rain had had his heart shattered for the second time in as many weeks, he was ready for the day to be over.
Then there was a knock at the door.
Rain barely heard it over the noisy chatter of his family, thinking at first that it was just the wind blowing a branch against a window. Then the noise came again, louder and more insistent this time. He wandered out into the hallway, not waiting for anyone else to pull themselves away from their revelry and conversation. He couldn’t immediately make out who it was silhouetted in the frosted glass so he pulled the door open with very little hesitation.
There, beneath the canopy of fairy lights adorning Rain’s porch, was Dewdrop.
The look on his face was one of slight shock; he had clearly not expected to see Rain there in front of him so suddenly. In front of his mouth was a slight puff of condensation, the frigid night air keeping a record of the small gasp he let out. As his expression wore off though he began to look more uncertain, full of the same nervous tension Rain now felt drench him. Beneath all of that though there was a determined set to his jaw.
“Hi.” He said quietly. “I hope it’s okay that I’m here.”
“Yeah…” Rain’s voice answered for him automatically but slightly uncertainly, the rest of him still getting over the surprise at seeing the man he had spent the last day expecting to never see again, under the impression that he must hate him now. “Sorry, I’m just a bit surprised to see you. Let me grab a coat.”
Taking the moment of stepping back into the house to pull himself together, Rain pinched himself just to make sure this wasn’t a complete creation of his imagination. When he turned back to the door though, Dew was still there. Rain closed it behind himself before anyone could complain about the cold draught he was letting in and looked down at the object of all his current desires and fears from his top step.
“I’m sorry for what I said earlier.” Rain started. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, you can just forget—”
“No, I’m sorry.” Dew interrupted. “I’m sorry for yesterday, for how I responded. You were being so sincere, but I panicked and pushed you away and I’m sorry for that. I meant it when I said I’ve loved this Christmas more than any other, please don’t let me have made things awkward between us.”
“It’s alright,” Rain said slowly, not liking the idea that Dew had been beating himself up when it was entirely his fault for bringing up his feelings so soon in the first place. “I’m leaving soon, anyway.”
“What? Leaving?” Dew looked panicked, but Rain couldn’t think why.
“Yeah don’t worry, I’m going back to the city, I’ll stay with friends for a while. You won’t have to put up with me for much longer.”
Cumulus and Cirrus would be happy to have him stay while he got settled again, Rain knew, even if he hadn’t actually informed them of any of the previous day’s events either last night or today when they had both texted him Merry Christmas. He didn’t want to go through the whole postmortem of everything with Dew just yet, not when they had been so excited for him.
“What if…” Dew looked down at his snow-encrusted boots for a moment before levelling Rain with as even a gaze as he had ever been on the receiving end of. “What if I want to put up with you, though?”
Rain was completely confused by what he meant. It must have shown on his face because Dew barked out a nervous laugh as he continued.
“C’mon, I thought you were the one to believe in Christmas miracles!” His face softened. “You’ve changed this Scrooge, and it didn’t even take any ghosts haunting me. You’ve shown me the true meaning of Christmas and all that.”
Rain took a step down towards him, no longer creating such a crazy height difference between them. He could hardly believe what he was hearing, and dared not hope it meant what every fibre of his being wished it did.
“So, what is your meaning of Christmas, then?”
“It’s you.” Dew answered with pure sincerity.
“What?”
“You’re Christmas, to me now. I’ve done nothing, for so many years, just waiting for the next day, next month, next year. but you live in the moment.” Dew laughed again, a carefree sound that carried like music on the frosty air. “You think it’s worth putting up a tree even if it’ll come down in a week, just because! I’ve never known anyone like you before, Rain.”
Aside from a small gasp of his own slipping out unbidden Rain stayed quiet, not daring to disturb Dew lest he stop saying words Rain could scarcely believe were real.
“I’ve been so stuck in my routine for years now that I’d stopped imagining good things could ever happen to me, and then you showed up. You looked so fragile that first day, like a stiff breeze would send you running. But you stayed, even though I was in a foul mood and was such a dick to you.”
“It’s not like I had much choice.” Rain couldn’t help himself from pointing out.
“But you were so nice, even after that!” Dew shook his head in wonderment. “As soon as I recognised you I knew I was fucked. It’s been so many years since I threw away my chance with you, but you clearly recognised me and you were still trying to be friendly even after I’d pushed you away then too. I thought it was too good to be true.”
“It has been ten years.” Rain smiled wryly, even though he had also found himself thrown back into his teenage shoes too many times since being back.
“When you don’t do much in all those years, they all kinda blend into one.” Dew spoke with some regret even though he smiled indulgently.
“Wait,” Rain didn’t want to interrupt him again, not when Dew was saying such nice things after all, but he couldn’t stop himself, “what do you mean you threw away your chance? You turned me down, remember?”
“And I was a total fool to. I was doing what I thought others wanted me to do. I was scared. Same as I was yesterday.” Dew set his shoulders back with determination again. “But this time I’m doing what I should have done ten years ago and I’m chasing after you before you can leave.
“I’m telling you I’m an idiot and I’m terrified and I don’t know how to recognise a good thing until it’s already out of reach. I’m asking you not to go back to the city just yet and to give me a chance, even if I couldn’t say it when you asked. I lo– I really really like you, Rain. I just hope you like me enough to let me try to show you just how much I do?”
The world seemed to slow down around Rain as Dew’s words really sank in. Against every odd, Dewdrop really did feel the same way about him. It was almost too good to be true and yet here he was, real and on his doorstep and staring at him with his round eyes full of pleading and openness. Part of Rain wanted to gush at Dew and tell him everything he had been suppressing, let him know that however much he may like Rain, Rain undoubtedly felt the same way ten times over. Yet equally he had said his piece yesterday, what else was there that Dew needed to hear?
“Okay.” He said, the single word so small and yet carrying so much weight. “And I really, really do.”
Dew’s eyes lit up bright enough to rival the Christmas lights above him and Rain thought his hopeful smile could cure him of all his lingering dejection and uncertainty. He was so beautiful like this, pink-cheeked from the cold and glittering under a rainbow of twinkling bulbs. It felt like a miracle that Rain was finally allowed to truly think such things. Certainly his own face was probably mirroring Dew’s expression right now, judging from the growing ache in his smiling cheeks.
“I’ve, um, just got one more question then.” Dew sounded slightly uncertain once more, even though his smile didn’t falter.
“Go on.”
“Can I kiss you?”
“Of course you can.” Rain could tell he was grinning like an idiot now, and yet he didn’t care.
Dew stepped forward, his frozen hand first lingering on Rain’s cheek until he nodded almost imperceptibly, and then his lips were on Rain’s and it was as though the New Year’s fireworks were going off around them. It was like every kiss Rain had seen in the movies and thought was just wishful thinking, no matter how short and chaste it actually was. Dew’s lips were absolutely freezing against his own, yet his breath when he pulled back was warm.
“I’ve been thinking about that for a decade.” He whispered into the milometers of air between them.
“So’ve I.” Rain breathed back, before leaning in to kiss him again.
This second kiss wasn’t perfect, not by any means. It was awkward and stumbling, both of them smiling too wide to really call it anything other than messy, and yet to Rain, it was everything he could have wanted. Here he was with the man who had danced in and out of his thoughts for so long until Rain really got to know him, after which he had taken up permanent residence in his mind. Rain had been mourning his loss already all day, dreading what his life would be like back in the big city without a Dewdrop to distract and try to make smile, but now he never had to think that again.
They only pulled apart when Dew, still chilled to the bone from how he had apparently walked through the snow to get here, began to shiver in Rain’s arms.
“Do you want to come in?” Rain asked, not even considering what his family might say at the presence of a sudden guest.
“You sure?” Dew asked uncertainly, glancing at the brightly lit window behind Rain where the silhouettes of several bodies were visible. “I don’t want to intrude on your famil—”
“Come on.” Rain reached out and grabbed his hand, Dew’s gloveless fingers as cold as ice.
As Dew followed him inside, Rain could hardly believe that the very scenario he had just been lamenting the impossibility of was coming true. Here Dew was, inside his family home, on Christmas. He knew he should maybe feel apprehension introducing him to his family, especially when he knew they had attributed his dour mood all day to his recent breakup, and yet he felt nothing but certainty.
That being said, he didn’t particularly want to share Dewdrop right now.
Rain could tell from the sudden drop in volume that this family were more than just intrigued about what had clearly been going on outside and who the person was in their house. He saw Phantom’s head pop out and then quickly disappear again from the lounge door, shortly followed by the high-pitched sound of Aurora chastising them for interrupting. Phantom had known about Dew back in the day, so he didn’t doubt that they had already put the pieces together from a single glance and worked out who this mystery man was.
Rain realised then that he was proud he had Dew home with him to gossip about with his sibling later, not just because he was a very beautiful man, but because he couldn’t wait to be able to share hushed conversations loaded with sweetness and affection about Dew, just as Phantom had with him shortly after he first met Aurora.
He giggled to himself as he led Dew up to the unplastered mess that was his old bedroom where he knew they would be undisturbed to chat in peace. Thankfully the room wasn’t totally empty as it was still storing a lot of his old things for now, so he pulled Dew down onto the novelty oversized beanbag in the corner.
“Chic.” Dew chuckled, poking at it as he wriggled to get comfortable on its lumpy contents. “I’m guessing if i hadn’t been an idiot back in high school I’d have memories of us making out on this?”
“Probably, yeah.” Rain winced slightly at the thought that this must seem to Dew like he was fully reenacting an old fantasy, but it thankfully didn’t seem to bother him. “I did used to have a bed in here too, obviously.”
“A bed, hmm?” Dew teased. “Very forward of you.”
“Oh, shut up.” Rain poked him in the ribs.
They briefly descended into play-fighting and giggling after that, which eventually became another kiss that they only pulled away from when they both became breathless. When they did manage to calm down it was Dew who started talking first, clearly having more to say than he had gotten around to saying on the snowy doorstep.
“I knew you were special, you know, even as teenagers.”
“Really?” Rain wrinkled his nose, clearly sceptical. “Why’d you say no when I asked you out then?”
“Can I blame being young and dumb?” Dew shook his head at himself. “I dunno, I didn’t really have a great opinion of myself back then, I was loud and crass to cover it up and you were so quiet and shy and nice… I didn’t think I deserved you.”
He laughed coldly, looking away.
“It didn’t help that I was trying to impress my friends that night. Swiss is the only one I still talk to, the rest of them kinda sucked, actually. Clearly that plan backfired though. I thought they’d laugh at me dating a younger student, especially since you weren’t in the ‘popular’ crowd or anything y’know? But then they still called me stupid though for turning down ‘a pretty face’ like you. Said I’d missed an easy in.”
Rain still remembered that night well. Dew had been sat on the table itself, chunky boots dangling off the edge. He and his cronies were clearly the kings of the establishment for the night, but he had never imagined that Dew could have been uncomfortable with the situation. He supposed it made sense now though; the man sat next to him was hardly someone who gave off centre of attention energy. High school was a cut-throat place no matter how popular one appeared, Rain supposed.
“I didn’t know people thought that about me.” Rain said quietly.
“I don’t think they even knew who you were, but I hate that I let them say or even think a word about you.” Dew looked back at Rain now, eyes burning with conviction. “I hate I didn’t stand up for you then, didn’t chase after you like I wanted to. Their comments really were kinda gross, but I only realised that too late to do anything about it.”
He reached out for Rain’s hand, clearly needing some reassurance to keep talking. Rain was more than ready to be that support, especially hearing how Dew had regretted not being the same for him for so long.
“I held onto that guilt for a long time, but then… You were still so nice to me when you first got here, even though you clearly recognised me! You hadn’t held onto a grudge or anything, and you were still polite even though I was spectacularly rude to you! Your kindness makes me feel even a little bit worthy of you, at last.”
Rain didn’t really know what to say to that, but luckily Dew kept talking so he didn’t have to think how to reply.
“I really was so awful to you when you checked in that night. It wasn’t just work stuff, especially once I realised it was you. I felt all those regrets from years ago come rushing back, all the ideas I’d had for ages afterwards about how things might have been different, better, if I’d told the guys I was with where to shove their opinions and just said yes.”
“Things would’ve been really different.” Rain hummed. He could hardly believe that he had featured in Dew’s thoughts just as heavily as he had in his, if not more so. “Why did you reject me again yesterday though if you’d felt that way about me before?”
“I’ll regret doing that, making you think I didn’t like you back for even a single extra day, for the rest of my life.” Dew vowed. “I don’t really know what I was thinking. I’d been feeling everything like you had over the last few days but I thought you were just being you, just being nice, and it was me misreading it. I hadn’t allowed myself to believe that you felt it to, that what was there between us could be real. I was just so confused, like my mind was playing tricks or that I had read everything wrong or misheard you, so I pushed you away.”
“I knew at the time that I shouldn’t have said anything then, I should have waited.” Rain mused aloud. “I could tell you were busy or stressed or something. I should have picked a better time.”
“I did sort of think that you were Swiss and Mountain at first,” Dew allowed with a small smile, “they were meant to check out for a few days over Christmas and I was expecting you to be them. I did panic a little when I saw you since I’d been trying not to think about you all day, but that doesn’t excuse that I let you think, for even a second, that I didn’t like you back just as much if not more.”
“At least we got here in the end.” Rain hummed, enjoying the warm feeling of Dew beside him more than he could say.
“We did.” Dew sounded so happy that if he were a cat, Rain would have expected him to start purring.
The silence that filled the time after Dew was done unloading everything he had been wanting to say was a pleasant one, interrupted only by the quiet sounds of festivities coming up through the floor.
“I don’t think this is too soon, by the way.” Clearly Dew wasn’t finished, Rain thought. As serious as the conversation had been, he hoped Dew would feel comfortable enough with him chatter away like this all the time. “After your last relationship, I mean. It definitely doesn’t bother me, at least. I feel like I’ve waited ten years for you.”
Rain wanted to kiss him again, so he did.
Minutes could have passed or hours while they hid away in his old bedroom on the lumpy beanbag, but Rain didn’t think he cared. It was only when the noise downstairs began to quiet once more that he realised they should probably make a move to leave now for the night, or be trapped in here for several more hours while his family buzzed around the staircase and landing heading to bed.
“I’d ask if you want to stay, but my room is the lounge right now and I’m already taking up all of the only decent sofa…”
“Wanna go back to the hotel?” Dew offered, catching onto what Rain was implying.
“Please.”
Rain had to fight to keep his eyes on the road as he drove them back as opposed to just staring in amazement at the sight of Dew in the passenger seat beside him. he could hardly believe that this was real. This had to be his best Christmas present ever, he thought to himself.
“We should probably…” Dew gestured in two directions at his rooms and up at Rain’s as they arrived back at the Hearthside Inn.
“Probably.” Rain allowed.
“I don’t want to.” Dew continued, clearly stalling for time. “But the sensible part of me that’s left says—”
“Don’t worry Dew, I understand.” Rain smiled, sensing a familiar spiralling thought process. “I agree. See you in the morning though, yeah? Pancakes?”
“You got it.” Dew grinned. “I can’t wait.”
Rain was so smitten with him already that it hurt his chest slightly.
“So, uh, goodnight.” He said quietly, his own feet suddenly reluctant to move.
“Night.” Dew matched his low volume. “Hang on, wait a moment!”
He darted to close the small distance between them once more, before pressing a final peck of a kiss to Rain’s surprised lips.
“Now it’s a good night.” He smiled. Oh, Rain was so fucked. “Sleep well, Rain!”
With that Dew disappeared behind the desk, leaving Rain stood in front of it just as he had done the day before. This time though, the circumstances were the complete opposite.
Rain sighed, certain he sounded like a lovesick fool. If he was being honest with himself that was exactly what he was. Feeling like he was walking on air, he finally allowed his feet to carry him upstairs to his room.
He was far too keyed up to sleep, but since it was Christmas he couldn’t revert to his instinctual response of calling his friends. Instead, he sent them a text full of cryptic talk about news, and went to try and calm his racing mind in the shower.
Many minutes later, he stepped out of the steam-filled room later to the sound of his phone loudly vibrating on the nightstand.
“Hello? Lus?”
“About time! What’s this big news you have to tell us then?!” The voice cried down the line, no greeting needed. “On a totally unrelated note I’m sure, how did yesterday go?”
Oh right. He hadn’t even told them about the disaster that had been the previous day yet. That didn’t matter anymore though, not after this evening.
“Yesterday went terribly!” He said cheerfully. “But I’ll tell you about that another time, what matters is that me and Dew are a thing now!”
The screaming from the phone did nothing to make him think that he would be sleeping any time soon.
Rain did his best to fill them in on everything important from the last few hours, but eventually Cumulus asked the inevitable question he was also wondering about.
“So is he gonna come back to the city with you? When can we meet him?”
“I… I don’t think I’m coming back.” Rain said tentatively. “We’ll stay here, I think.”
“What the fuck?”
That was not quite the reaction he had hoped for, Rain supposed. He knew deep down that they had always hoped he would return to the city, keen to support him in going home for as long as it seemed like a temporary reset but always expecting him to come back.
“What Lulu meant to say is that we’re happy for you and we can’t wait to come and visit!” Cirrus said sternly. “Seriously Rain, we’re delighted you’re happy! Not that we won’t still miss you terribly, of course.”
“I know. I’m really gonna miss you guys too…” Truly, the pair of them had always been the thing Rain was most sorry to leave behind. “But I think this is the right thing to do, even though it’s like, super crazy early days with Dew.”
“Well, we do know what it’s like to be completely head over heels in an instant, don’t we Love?”
“Yeah, I suppose we do.” Cumulus sighed. “But if you think you’re getting out of telling us every detail about Lover Boy, you’re sorely mistaken!”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Rain smiled. “You’ll have a hard time shutting me up, I’m sure.”
They spoke on lighter topics for a little while longer, Rain asking how their Christmas had been, how their families were, and all the things he had been too caught up in his own drama to wonder about before. When they did eventually hang up, Rain saw that alongside the fifteen missed calls from them, presumably coming through while he was in the shower, there was an unread message from Phantom. Oops, Rain thought. He had rather run off without explaining. Opening it though, he saw nothing but a string of emojis that made him think they maybe weren’t that upset about him leaving at all. If anything they seemed to be more of an encouragement. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow, Rain texted back.
While he was on his phone he also sent Aether another Merry Christmas, as well as extending an open invitation for him to come and visit any time he wanted to use his glut of saved vacation days.
Finally, Rain had the idea to text Dew one more goodnight, even though they had parted barely an hour previously. That was when he realised he didn’t even have his phone number. How could he know so many small details about Dew’s inner doubts, know how his lips tasted, and yet not know his number? He would have to ask tomorrow, Rain thought as he rolled into bed with a laugh. It wasn’t like it was urgent; they had forever now, after all.
Rain saw ahead of him a future he finally felt happy with. At last, he could let go of the apathy he had clung to and allowed to become a comfort blanket, instead finding a love for life he hadn’t known in many years. He saw in Dew not just a silly crush from years passed, and definitely not perfection, but he could see a willingness to grow together. He didn’t desire to have the same picket fence life as others may want or expect them to aspire to, but instead he could see the path along which they could forge their own way in life.
Here, in his small hometown in the countryside, he had everything he could ask for regardless of the man who had made him realise it was possible. No longer would he have to while away the years in the concrete forest of the city, instead he could reconnect with the very trees that had inspired his career path as a child. His burgeoning relationship with Dewdrop would be the fertilizer to keep him going through the changes that would surely follow, and he could only hope that Dew would also grow and flourish in the ways he wanted to now he had Rain to encourage him.
In the days following Christmas but before the turn of the new year Dew had written to the hotel owners, stating that he had finally found someone willing to pick up his extra hours. With two people working at the Hearthside Inn, Dew would finally have the time to dedicate to interests outside its old walls. While Rain found a new lease of life in the forestry and conservation network just outside of the town, he also took immense joy from seeing Dew finally have the time to think about what he wanted from the world.
He had enrolled in a baking course. Rain had been overjoyed for him, already anticipating the endless treats his new boyfriend would surely bring home to the hotel. He hadn’t expected Dew to pick up an entirely new and unprecedented love of the craft as much as he had though, to the point where after only a few short months Dew was seriously considering pursuing baking as his full time job. It made Rain happier than he could have imagined to see Dew so fulfilled by his new endeavour, and with his own new career it wasn’t long before they were both seriously discussing moving on from the Hearthside Inn.
They would be sad to let the place go with no idea if it would even keep running after they left, but it had grown in popularity with their stewardship so they had to hope it would thrive under new management. The place surely held some kind of magic, Rain had to think, and it was about time someone else benefited from it as he and Dew had.
However bleak the circumstances leading up to his decision to leave the city had been, Rain knew that the best choice he had made in recent years had been coming home for Christmas.