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When Theo is born again the first thing he notices is how bright it is, the sun peeking out after the rain and bathing the world in its warm light. The rainbow next to him is a world of colors that always amaze him, no matter how many times he sees them
Corey has always been the prettiest of the rainbows. Theo knows it’s because of the special bond he has with the sun, Mason. The two always shine a little brighter when they’re together. Theo is happy that his rebirth happened near them.
See the life of a cloud is short, or long, depending on how you think about it. He can float along for weeks, providing a little shade or rain when he feels like it. He admits that he likes to rain on people, but only the people he thinks deserves it. After a while of floating he’ll start do dissipate until eventually he disappears altogether, only to reappear again as a freshly born cloud. Sometimes he’ll come back in the same spot, sometimes not. It’s like that for all clouds.
Even with his long existence he’s still coming across new things he’s never experienced before, including the appearance of a cloud named Liam on the other end of his rainbow. Theo knows if he could breathe he surely would have forgot how the moment he heard Liam laugh. It’s unlike anything he’s ever heard.
All Theo knows is that he needs to be close to the little cloud with the happy laughter on the other end of the rainbow. His sister tells him he’s crazy, clouds aren’t meant to care about such things. They’re meant to hang in the sky and look pretty, sometimes darkening enough to provide rain.
Theo doesn’t care. Sure, he enjoys raining down on the people below him in random intervals, listening to the way they complain and mutter things like “Florida,” before going back about their day. But that’s not important. What is important is getting to Liam.
Along the way he runs into Derek, one of his fellow clouds. He too is on his way in search of another cloud. When Theo hears him say that he’s in love with a cloud named Stiles Theo knows that must be what he’s feeling. It makes him feel less alone. Apparently Derek and Stiles got separated when they dissipated and got reborn. Derek’s been trying to find a way back to him ever since.
Theo feels the same rush of excitement he always gets when he hears the little clouds voice, a lot closer than it’s ever been.
“Are you sure you want to do this Liam?” Mason, the sun, is asking. “You barely know this cloud.”
“I know, but I want to. I hear him talking sometimes and his voice... I need to meet him. Besides, you know him. That’s good enough.”
There’s disapproval in Masons voice when he speaks, “I do. He likes to rain on people for fun Liam. For fun. You get sad whenever you rain on people. I don’t see how this could work.”
There’s a moment of silence before Liam speaks again, “We can balance each other out.”
“Or you’d just be a storm, like Derek and Stiles sometimes are.”
“Storms can be beautiful too,” Theo finds himself saying, realizing too late they hadn’t even been talking to him.
“Oh,” Liam breathes, “Theo. You’re close.”
“I am,” Theo says, “I’m coming to you Liam.”
There’s excitement in Liam’s voice when he speaks, “You are?”
“Yeah,” Theo says, “I am. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Me either,” Liam says, his voice drifting closer, “How close are you?”
“I don’t know,” Theo says, “but I can’t be that much further.”
“Is Stiles there?” Derek asks.
“He is,” Liam says, “He’s just over…”
“Derek?” Stiles’ voice sounds suddenly, “You’re back.”
“I am,” Derek says, “And I’m on my way to you.”
“I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Stiles says, “When you dissipated and didn’t appear next to me I got worried.”
“I know,” Derek says, “But I’m almost there.”
“That means you’re close, Theo,” Liam says.
Theo’s sure if he had a heart it would be beating out of his chest right now. The thought of seeing Liam finally making him giddy with excitement.
Suddenly there’s a blur of white floating past and into Derek as he lets out a relieved, “Stiles.”
Theo hardly pays any attention to it. All Theo can focus on is the cloud in front of him. He’s even more beautiful than Theo imagined he would be. He floats closer to Theo and Theo can’t help but do the same.
“Hey,” Liam says.
“Hey,” Theo replies, suddenly unsure what to say to him now that he has him here.
“Seriously?’ Mason says, “You two went through all that effort and all you can say is hey?”
“Give them a moment,” Corey says, “meeting your other half can be overwhelming, you know that.”
“True,” Mason says, “It’s good to see you Corey.”
“You too,” Corey tells him, “it’s been awhile since the last storm. I’ve missed you.”
“You two can only see each other when it storms?” Liam asks.
Mason sounds sad when he answers, “Yeah. Downside of being a sun in love with a rainbow.”
“But it’s worth it when we do get to see each other,” Corey tells him, “but it’s starting to clear up and I’m starting to fade.”
“Got it covered,” Derek says, then he and Stiles comes together, their clouds darkening as rain starts to pelt down on the unsuspecting people below.
They only rain for a short time but it’s enough for Corey’s colors to start to brighten, “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” Derek says, “I know what it's like you to have to be separated from your other half.”
“So as long as us clouds make it rain you two can see each other?” Liam asks.
“Yes,” Mason tells him, “But only when I’m out and you’re around me.”
“Okay,” Liam says, sounding pleased, “I think we can do that.”
“Yeah I can think of someone I’d like to rain on,” Theo says.
“Of course you can,” Mason says, and he doesn’t sound pleased.
“He only rains on people that deserve it,” Liam says, “Don’t you?”
“I do,” Theo says, “It’s just unfortunate that so many people do.”
“See? He does it for the greater good. And that’s why I love him.”
“Liam, you’ve barely known him for a week,” Mason tells him.
“And that’s long enough for me,” Liam says, “I don’t need to know anymore.”
Theo floats closer to Liam, his gaze on the ground to where a car is speeding down the highway, going far too fast. He knows who it is. He’s seen her before, heard her nasty words. She kills people for fun, but worst of all just yesterday she said that Liam looked like a whale. He just can’t let it go.
“Do you see her?” Theo asks.
“Yes,” Liam says, sounding upset, “Her name is Tamora. She said something mean about me yesterday.”
“I know,” Theo mutters, “And that’s why she deserves a lot more than just rain.”
“She does,” Derek agrees.
“It’s bad enough she hurts people. Now she’s insulting Liam? Come on Derek, it’s time to make it hail,”
Derek floats closer, along with Stiles, “I think we can make that happen, don’t you Stiles?”
“I’m in,” Stiles says.
Together they stand close, the sky darkening as around them other clouds join in. Mason grumbles and slips behind them all as Corey disappears. Theo feels satisfaction as hail starts falling to the ground, pounding against the car and the pavement.
“Shit,” Tamora mutters, “Where did this come from?”
There’s a screech of tires as she rounds a corner too fast, followed by a loud bang as she hits the metal railing overlooking a cliff. They keep pouring hail down as she groans and gets out of the car. She moves into the road, waving her hands and trying to get someone to stop. There’s another screech of tires as a semi-truck rounds the corner, swerving all over the road. Tamora doesn’t have time to move out of the way before the truck plows into her.
“Gross,” Liam says, “That was worse than I was expecting.”
Theo can’t disagree. They all break apart, their colors lighting across the sky. Soon Mason is reappearing, Corey right along with him.
“You know if there was jail up here you all would be in it,” Mason says.
“She deserved it,” Theo says.
“That’s not for you to decide Theo,” Mason says, “I can’t have this behavior, not if you want to be with Liam.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Theo asks.
“It means that you better straighten up or the next time you dissipate, you might not make it back,” Mason tells him, his voice holding a warning.
There’s a collective gasp from the people around them. There have only been a few clouds that have dissipated and not returned. No one really knows why, but apparently Mason does and he knows how to make it happen.
“You can’t do that,” Liam says, “I won’t let you.”
“Liam,” Mason says, sounding tired.
“Don’t Liam me. I might be young but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I know enough to know Theo is good, and he deserves a lot better than to have you threatening him like that. And you know he’s my other half and how painful it is to be separated.”
“I just want what’s best for you,” Mason tells him.
“And that’s Theo,” Liam says, floating closer to Theo. “You’re just going to have to accept that.”
“Maybe it’s best you do,” Corey tells him, always the voice of reason.
“Fine,” Mason says, “Just be careful.”
“Come on,” Liam says, starting to float away.
Theo floats along next to him, wondering where Liam could be taking him. They stop over some mountains next to the ocean. Theo finds himself watching the water crash against the shore and not for the first time finds himself wondering what it must feel like. People seem to like it, even the times they’re complaining about it being cold. That doesn’t stop them from getting in and trying it.
“I’ve had a lot of lives,” Theo tells him, “but none of them can ever compare to this one. At least not yet.”
“Why not?” Liam asks.
“Because I get to spend it with you,” Theo says, moving his gaze to the cloud next to him.
“I want to spend all my lives with you,” Liam says.
“Me too,” Theo says, his words coming out soft and fond.
“Sometimes I wish we were human,” Liam tells him.
“Why is that?”
“Because if we were I could kiss you right now,” Liam says.
Theo moves closer until they’re touching, feeling his wisps tangle with Liam’s, “That would be nice, but this is nice too.”
“It is,” Liam agrees, floating closer to him.
That night their clouds come together as one, signifying their bond, and a storm rages across the sky. It was as beautiful as Theo imagined it would be.