Chapter Text
The first instance in which Rain had ever met the ghoul that calls himself Dew was on the car ride to the new grounds in which he’d reside; a ministry located in the overworld.
He’d entered with a mask covering his appearance, its silver coverage gleaming into his eyes from the suns covered rays. The car wasn’t full, loaded with a person in the passengers seat, a driver who only faced forwards, and another ghoul, with the exact same mask he’d been forced to wear; sitting in the seat in the far back.
Rain could feel his heart thump against his chest. Never had he been good with first impressions nor was he good at starting up conversation.
Though, the ghoul faced the window after getting a glimpse of Rain still at the door, seemingly uninterested in sparking conversations or friendship.
And Rain could accept that.
So he sat in the empty row in front of the other, placing his folded hands upon his lap and resting his head against the ledge of the cars window, horns scratching slightly against the glass. The driver didn’t seem too happy when he heard the scream of the surface. Rain could only sheepishly whisper an apology from the depths of his breath, the grip on his icy fingers tightening as the door thumps to a close and the car begins moving again.
The radio played nothing. The outside was green and blank. The sky was gray and nothing seemed very pleasant at that very moment.
Rain could hear a silent yawn escape from the other ghouls mouth, loud enough to be heard in the empty void of silence that filled the vehicle. Rain felt a mix of emotions that he couldn’t pluck from one another.
He wondered if it would rain today, guessing from the gray skies that never changed. He knew enough about the overworld to know that rain had the best aftersmells one could imagine.
Petrichor.
Sometimes Rain wanted to change his name to petrichor, but petrichor was the beauty after rainfall. And Rain was nothing short of the opposite.
He lets out a small huff of disappointment, watching the sun peak out through the clouds. Nothing hurt more than expectations being shattered.
“It better not rain.”
Rain didn’t know what to be shocked about as he jolted his head from its laying position against the window; the newfound voice that’d swirled words around his head the second he heard it, or the fact that this ghoul was contradicting just what he’d been thinking about.
Rain took a second to respond, as he didn’t know if the words were directed to him or not. Of course they’re directed to him. He’s the only other person that’d respond right now.
“Is.. there a reason why?”
“It burns.”
The ghoul behind him had a voice of gold. It wasn’t perfect, its edges roughed out and chipped, but it was shiny and new. And Rain liked it.
“What do you mean?” Rain asks politely, his voice soft as if he were trying to avoid provoking anyone in the car. The other ghoul shuffles in their seat, probably slouching.
“Water burns me.”
And Rain, a water ghoul, didn’t know how to take that.
“A fire ghoul?” he asks to himself though, since there were multiple people in the car to hear him, there was bound to be an answer. “What a smarty pants. Yes, goofy, I am a fire ghoul.”
The tone swirled from sarcastic to blunt to something Rain couldn’t identify. Maybe it was a smile laced within the fire ghouls words, a sharp toothy one that’d make his stomach drop. Or maybe disappointment. Was it anger?
“I wanna assume you’re an air ghoul. Are you air? Say yes.”
Rain plays with his thin fingers, circling the knuckles and joints as the frigid skin contacts with one another. He could never create body heat and that’s what made him sad.
He opens his mouth and lets out a single word.
“Water.”
And instantly, he could feel the air change.
Rain was scared of what the fire ghoul would say; scared that this would change any possible friendships or alliances that the two could’ve had. Now rain was picking at the short claws he called his nails, anxious about the deafening silence eating at him bit by bit.
Until he heard a stifled laugh.
Was he going to make fun of him? Rain had already dealt with that enough in the underworld where all the ghouls did just that. He could handle it. But he didn’t know how long he’d be able to go before he reached the tip of his breaking point.
“I’d assume we’re going to hate each other.”
The light behind the clouds fades away, returning back to its spot behind the darkening clouds. Rain would feel relieved if he weren’t mentally panicking right now.
“I’m sorry?” he questions in what could only be defined as a mix of a whimper and an offended tone. The tip of his claw was almost picked off.
The fire ghoul, yet again, shuffles in his seat, and Rain begins to wonder what he’s doing if he has to move around that much. Maybe he’s a tail flicker and can’t keep his tail still. Or maybe he just can’t sit normally without moving every other minute. Rain could kind of relate to both of those statements.
“I said assume. But I have some hope that opposites will attract.”
And then the car stopped. Rain folds forwards, the nose of his mask colliding with his clothed knee. A red light shines brightly through the windshield and Rain immediately recognizes it as a stop light. Though he’s more focused on whatever the ghoul behind him was talking about.
“Pardon..??”
“Opposites-attract. Don’t you know what that means?”
Rain wanted to turn around and get another glimpse at the masked ghoul behind him again, spreading his legs a little farther out on the seat to fit his hands underneath his thighs, sandwiching the cold articles of his body with the cushion of the chair and his pant leg. It only creates the tiniest bit of heat and Rain’s back to being sad.
“I don’t. I don’t know much about those kinds of terms.”
The water ghoul feels like he can sense the smile that arose on the other ghouls face, returning to looking out his window again to occupy his busy mind. He almost presses his face against the glass when he sees a tiny droplet skid across the surface.
“Then we’re already at a good start, seeing as we’re as opposing as one can get with another.”
Rain didn’t know whether to take that as good or bad, the words escaping the others mouth a blur. Was this gonna turn into a lesson about Human terms he didn’t know?
Rain shoved everything aside anyways. Nothing mattered anymore, because Rain was watching as more droplets scratched against the wall of glass separating him from the newfound rainfall that had just begun. He can hear the muffled groan of the ghoul behind him, too lost in his own mind to hear anything else other than the tap that resounded against the windshield. What ruined it was the squeak of the windshield wipers as they rubbed away the water unevenly, leaving smudges that eventually were covered in droplets again.
“Did you lose your hearing? Water boy, wake the fuck up.”
Sound was coming back to Rain again, subtle tapping bumping against the chair piece that was there to support the head. Rain sighs and slightly turns his head where he sees the peak of the others horns, white and slightly dull.
“What?”
“I said my name’s Dew. I’m guessing your name is hearing problems.”
Scratch whatever Rain had said about this ghouls— Dew’s— voice earlier. It had easily grown to become annoying to him. Never had he gotten sick of a voice this easily.
“It’s Rain,” Rain responds with a tiny grimace on his features, “And sorry, but I couldn’t hear you.”
Dew made a gasp of artificial shock, and Rain could guess that he’d also dropped a hand in front of his mouth as well to make it dramatic.
“You couldn’t hear me?? Over what; the turn signal?” Dew’s words are blunt, and they kind of sting. Rain didn’t like the sass that came along with Dew, but this was all he had for the rest of this car ride, so he was going to man up and deal with it.
“I was just spaced out, please move on,” Rain replies, obviously aggravated. Who wouldn’t be when a thousand year ghoul was acting like a 7 year old human child.
Rain can hear Dew snicker lowly, ignoring it and going back to watching the rain droplets trickle down the glass. He got 5 minutes of freedom from the torture that was Dew’s never ending vocal cords before it started up again.
“What’s so nice about rain. I don’t see why you like it.”
If Rain’s face wasn’t covered by this mask, he’d be rubbing his temples to no end. When would this end. Why, of all ghouls to choose from, was Rain paired with Dew.
“Maybe if it didn’t melt you every time you went in it, you’d understand.”
Dew sneers. Rain curses at himself for snapping.
“Stop making it sound like I’m the Wicked Witch of the West.”
“The who??”
At this point, Rain had completely dropped the shy exterior he’d first posed. Of course, he would still use proper manners and be as polite as he could; he wasn’t a monster. But whatever Dew had put in his brain and voice made Rain go nuts and lose everything he’d had before. And not in the good way.
“You suck at this. Didn’t you ever read human books? Or can your brain only comprehend water.”
Rain stops his breathing for a second.
Human books. He remembers when they were found in the underworld where all the younger ghouls would gather around and read them together.
He was never invited.
And Rain knew that if he wasn’t invited, then it probably wasn’t best he go at all.
The ghouls wouldn’t want him there anyway.
“—like you have tinnitus in both ears and literally get it every other second. Should you get that checked?”
Rain knew he’d blanked out again because, once his thoughts were gathered up neatly again, he heard the sound of Dew talking. And it was like seeing the sun rise in the morning after pulling an all-nighter.
“What does “opposites-attract’ mean, Dew.”
If Rain wanted to hear Dew talk, he might as well be able to learn something from it. Because, by the looks of it, Dew had nearly nothing of importance to leave his mouth.
The fire ghoul went silent for a second. Maybe he was surprised that Rain was changing the subject so suddenly.
“It’s when someone is the exact opposite of another person and that helps them get along. Or something.”
Rain groans, “I don’t even know what opposite means.”
The water ghoul half expected Dew to laugh at his lack of human knowledge. Laugh that he never got to read human books like everyone else did. But instead, Dew clears his throat and, for once, says things that Rain actually cares about.
By the end of the ride, Rain knew more than he did before.
Dew had fallen asleep minutes after his explanation, giving Rain the much needed break he deserved. He couldn’t understand how the ghoul could fall asleep. Ghouls weren’t built to reach the requirements a human usually has, such as eating, drinking, or sleeping. So why was Dew able to do it so easily.
Maybe Rain would ask him about it later. But only if Dew didn’t annoy him more than he already has.
Dew was obviously special. He wasn’t like the ghouls that bossed Rain around back in the underworld nor was he nice like the popes he’d met back at previous ministries. He was strange. And Dew didn’t like it.
Dew hated it.
—
The moment they reached their destination, it was pouring. No amount of umbrella strength nor speed would save you from getting at least a little drenched. Rain wondered why it was coming down so hard, considering rolling down his window to poke a finger out and feel the collision of water against skin.
“Are you fucking kidding me.”
Oh. And Dew.
Dew had just woken up when he heard the threatening thumps of near to satan hail banging against the cars roof and windows. Never in his life as a ghoul had he ever heard rain as hard as this.
“You like rain, right?” Dew asks, tapping the ghouls shoulder with a tiny hint of a smile. Rain only huffs out loudly.
“I’m not being your umbrella.”
Dew curses under his breath, looking out the window and watching the drops that fell like bullets. If he went out there, he wouldn’t only burn to death, but he’d probably get impaled as well.
The driver finally turns in his seat, enough for Dew and Rain to see the outline of his eyelashes and nose.
“Please exit the vehicle and escort your way to the main hall of the Ministry.”
Dew felt his jaw drop ajar.
“Are you… insane? Maybe a little messed up in the head?”
“Dew..”
Rain was warning the other ghoul before things got aggressive. He was already unbuckling his seatbelt, ready to drag Dew out into the rain and run into the building already.
“No. At least let us wait this storm out, because you have to be actually coo coo to make me go out there just to die immediately.”
The driver doesn’t respond, continuing to look forward as he always had been. The person in the passenger seat opens their door and the whistle of cold air blows in, shivers running down Rains spine. He’d felt colder before, but it was still an unexpected sensation that left him frozen for a second.
The passenger seat person opens the backseat door to the van, letting raindroplets crash against the seats and walls. Rain hugs himself, even if he did miss the smell of rain and its chilling touch.
“Holy shit.” Is all Dew says as he crouches behind Rain’s seat, holding his hands above his head and rolling into himself. Rain couldn’t just let the storm move on like this until it ended, so he sits up from his seat. Immediately, he falls back down. His legs aren’t used to standing, not being stretched for the past maybe 4 hours or so.
He tried standing up again, holding the head piece of the chair as support and turning around the corner to grab the collar of Dew’s uniform. The fire ghoul looks up before immediately looking back down as a droplet collides with his exposed hand. Rain can see him sharply flinch at the contact.
“We need to get this over with, Dew,“ Rain insists, tugging on the collar of the ghoul’s outfit. But Dew didn’t move.
“Easy for you to say!”
For the first time, Dew’s voice cracks. Its shaky, and Rain understood that tone of voice all too well. The plea of desperation. The tone that showed vulnerability and weakness.
So Rain let go of the collar. He got up and left the van, wishing to enjoy the rain but instead sprinting to the doorway of the Ministry and banging his fist against the wooden doorway.
He can hear the squeak of something strange, as if it were being crushed underneath a heavy weight. Was that a tricycle??
Soon the door opens and Rain waits until who he assumes is his new papa invited him in. Rain doesn’t want to seem rude, listening to each word Cardinal has to say before bringing up the subject that’d been on his mind since he’d left the car.
“I need an umbrella, if you’d please, Papa.”
Much to his delight, he’s given what he asked for and immediately leaves to go to the van again, reaching the still open doorway and popping open the cover.
Soon, Dew doesn’t feel the prickle of water against his skin anymore, his arms shaking at his heads side. He looks up and see’s the hand Rain had outstretched for him to take. Hesitantly, he takes the hand.
He instantly retracts with a yelp.
The palm of Dew’s hand is on fire, burning past his skin and into his blood. It’s only a temporary burn, the pain fading after a few seconds, but it still hurt.
Was it because Rain had water on his fingers or because Rain was a literal water ghoul. Maybe it was both, who knows.
But Rain. He was trapped in utter awe. In contrast to what Dew had felt, Rain had finally felt that warmth that he craved every day. He felt the warmth flood through his hand and send waves of butterflies through his stomach. This is what he’s been searching for. This is the warmth he needed.
To bad it belonged to quite possibly one of the most talkative and aggravating ghouls in both the overworld and underworld.
“Dew, we need to get into the Ministry,” Rain chokes out, the heat leaving his body and being replaced with the insufferable coldness that always shrouds his body. Dew nods, rubbing his hands together but wincing. The palm that’d touched Rain’s was still sensitive to touch.
Eventually Dew gets out of the car and the two are running for the entrance. They watch from the door, Rain sopping wet and Dew not so much, as the van leaves right after they made it in.
Rain catches a glimpse of Dew’s hand as he continues to stare at the water that could’ve nearly murdered him. The hand was a faint pink, burning in the center the most. He felt horrible. He should’ve known his hands weren’t suitable for him to take.
“So, do you like Chinese takeout or…”
The two ghouls turn to look at Cardinal Copia, their new Papa, who sat low in an old, creaking tricycle. Rain sighs inwardly. He can’t believe this is who he’ll be residing with from now on.
“I’m down.”
Dew walks forward as if nothing had happened, waiting for Copia to lead the way with his vehicle before following after. Rain swears he saw Dew looking over his shoulder for a split second to see if he was coming. Yet, how could he enter this fine Ministry soaking wet and leaving a trail wherever he goes. That’s not what he was taught to do.
“Just come in, we have wet floor signs.”
Rain almost moves forwards, stopping himself when he sees the puddle beneath him forming larger. He can’t move. Not when he knows he’ll make a mess in a place that isn’t his.
Dew peaks out from the corner, groaning and rushing over to where Rain was contemplating.
He grabs the ghouls wrist, clothed by his sleeve and slightly wet. Rain can feel how much Dew wanted to let go; to stop the burning in his hand as he pulls Rain along.
But all Dew could do was get used to it.
The dinner table was strangely small. It was circular and could fit probably a max of 4 people, a chair on each side. It seemed this man never got many visits, seeing as Rain could literally see dust forming along the wooden top.
“We have a bigger dining area but, since the other ghouls have not shown up yet, I thought this would be nicer, yes?”
Rain nods but Dew stays silent. And it’s odd; off putting in a way. For the time Rain has known Dew, he understood that the fire ghoul never stopped talking no matter the subject nor the situation.
“We’re very sorry for intruding so drenched, Papa,” Rain starts, holding his head down and side eyeing Dew through his mask. The other ghoul was toying with a wooden chopstick, peeling off the wood that would most definitely gift him splinters in return.
“Don’t be, I understand,” Copia reasons, tapping a foot against the ground to fill the silence.
Rain, for whatever reason, felt uninvited.
The stares the two new ghouls recieved from the sister were… not something Rain nor Dew wanted to see ever in their lifetime.
Rain didn’t know, but the entire walk to their dormitories, he’d kept close to Dew. The eyes focusing on them in the deep hollows of the hallways were unnerving, a radiating heat bouncing off of Dew’s body that, in a way, calmed Rain down.
The walk is silent, rain pounding against the tinted windows and the click of their footsteps echoing through the nearly barren halls.
“Why do you know so little?”
Rain almost stops walking, slowing his pace a tiny bit to furrow his brows at Dew.
“Did you just call me dumb?”
Dew has the nerve to scoff.
“So little about the overworld.”
Rain didn’t know if he wanted to answer this honestly. Dew would probably make fun of him for the truth. Or spread it to the other ghouls that would arrive. They would harm him like the ghouls in the underworld had before. And then the overworld wouldn’t stay as sweet as he found it.
“I’m guessing we can pick any of the rooms available,” Rain says aloud, averting the topic quickly. He can hear Dew’s annoyed huff.
“Answer my question first,” Dew forces out, following the slowly quickening strides of the slightly taller ghoul. Rain bites his bottom lip, licking the cut in his chapped lips and savoring the taste of iron.
Rain couldn’t understand how Dew could be so persistent.
“I don’t want to. Now answer mine,” Rain responds, abruptly stopping in front of an unlocked door. He hears the thump of Dew’s thin tail smack against his leg, ignoring it and finding more interest in checking out the room.
It wasn’t huge, but it definitely fit the description of big. It had wide, silk curtain windows with a nice windowsill big enough to sit on. It had folded towels at a counter beside a bathroom that was probably half the size of the room. There were warmly lit scented candles standing on a bedside table.
And then Rain saw it.
A nice, freshly made bunkbed.
“Satan have mercy on me…” Rain moans in horror, covering his mask with his hands and rubbing his fingers against the smooth surfaces that should’ve been his face.
Dew, on the other hand, was pushing past him, calling top bunk. It seemed he’d completely forgotten their previous conversation, climbing the ladder of the bunk bed to flop atop the memory foam mattress and it’s fluffed pillows. A sigh of ecstasy leaves Dew’s lips, the car ride catching up to him and his increasingly painful neck cramp.
Rain made sure to check the rest of the dormitories to assure they all had the same setup. To his dismay, they all, in fact, did.
When he returned to his supposed dormitory, Dew was nearly passed out on the top bunk, feet dangling off the edge while the rest of him laid in an oddly uncomfortable looking position. Rain groans. Maybe he should just move to another room and hope no one joins him.
But then he saw the sister outside his room who had been passing by, waving her finger over to one of the empty rooms, and immediately slammed the door shut. He was better of with Dew than anyone else at the moment, sadly.
“So, are you gonna answer my question or not.”
Rain almost leaves the room again, repeating 10 times more that being here was better than anything else. He was seriously beginning to doubt that though.
“I said I didn’t want to, please just forget about it,” Rain says between teeth, wishing to rub his eyes of their fatigue. Instead he goes to check out the luxurious bathroom provided for him. Dew clicks his tongue, jumping down from the ladder of the bunk bed and following after him.
The mirror of the bathroom was huge, following across a whole wall along with 3 sinks and the most fancy toilet you could imagine. It had a bidet. Rain grimaces and moved on.
“5 people could fit in this shower,” Dew blurts out, standing with his hands behind his back in front of a jacuzzi sized shower. Rain gives him a furrowed look, leaving the ghoul to think of his thoughts by himself. It wasn’t long til Dew was chasing after him though.
Thunder sounds outside the building, the curtains of the window folded to give the room a nice view of the open fields flooded with rain water. Rain would’ve loved to just sit at the windowsill and watch the droplets fly by for hours.
Except he was sharing a room with Dew. And Dew believed in never giving Rain a break.
“I’m bored, let’s explore,” the fire ghoul whines, already heading for the door. Rain doesn’t move from his spot, opting to stare out the window instead. Dew waits at the door, hand resting on its knob, and Rain wonders as to why he hasn’t left yet.
“You really are deaf, huh? We need to get that checked up on,” Dew says frustratedly, speeding over to grab Rain by his clothed wrist and pulling him to the door. Rain stops midway, pulling himself from Dew’s grip. The ghoul stares at his empty hand for a second before looking up at Rain.
Rain finally makes eye contact with Dew for the first time, finding golden hues staring into his own red ones. He finally feels the hesitation he’d felt before, confidence closing in on itself and leaving Rain back to how he was before; anxious and quiet.
“I’m gonna stay here.”
It comes out as a whisper almost, quiet as a mouse. Rain can kind of see the confusion lacing Dew’s face, stomach dropping. Where had his voice gone? His attitude? His will to stand up against this short ghoul?
Dew falters in his once over demanding stance, stepping away from the door and instead laying a hand on his hip.
“Then we’ll go tomorrow.”
Rain would admit that he never expected to hear that response. He expected Dew to force him into going or mocking him of being lame. It was surprising to say the least to find that through Dew’s rough, teasing, and sometimes rude personality was acceptance and obligation. Rain would’ve never expected anything like that from someone like Dew. Yet he found it comforting.
Rain follows Dew with his eyes as he wanders further back into the room, sitting on one side of the windowsill and avoiding the sight of the rainfall pouring down their window. Instead, he chooses to hug a display pillow to his chest.
It takes Rain a few moments to regain himself, the image of the other ghouls golden eyes burnt into his memory. They were gorgeous, but Rain would never let that slip.
He eventually finds himself sitting on the other end of the windowsill, hunched up against the glass with his eyes trained on the dark skies pouring glory unto the lands.
“Can you tell me what you like about rain.”
Rain tenses in his position, fingers tapping against one another anxiously. Dew waits patiently for an answer and Rain considers asking him if he had a large range of mood swings. Instead, he lays his head against the wall behind him.
“What for?”
“If we’re gonna be bunkmates for however long we’re stuck here, then It’d be better to get to know you more now than later.”
And Rain finally found logic in his words for once.
The water ghoul nods his head slowly, agreeing with Dew to a point.
“Sure. I guess I like.. the smell?”
And Dew giggles a little at that. It irks Rain, makes him regret ever sharing anything in the first place. But Dew makes up for himself. He somehow always does.
“I’ve just never smelt rain. It has a smell?”
That got Rain excited.
“Uh, yeah it does. It’s like the earth hugging you but also like a monday morning. Does that make sense? People call it petrichor and sometimes I feel like just bottling it up so I can preserve it forever—“
As Rain rambles, he slowly begins to forget who he’s talking to. He forgets the thoughts about getting made fun of or being ignored. He forgets that he’s talking to a ghoul he just met today.
Dew listens to every word. Out of character is what Rain would think. But Dew actually loved hearing about what Rain had to say. The two truly were complete opposites; Rain, an aggressive and sarcastic fire ghoul that had wanted nothing to do with rain, and Rain, a soft hearted and anxious water ghoul that wanted everything to do with rain.
Eventually, Rain catches himself talking too much, covering his mouth and shrinking into himself. He rushes an apology, wanting to slap himself for letting go of himself. He begins to fear what Dew would think of him as he sits in silence. Would he call him a loud mouth? Or annoying?
Rain didn’t know what he would say. This was the only thing he seriously learned about the overworld. Maybe he sounded obsessive. Or freakish.
But Dew must not have thought any of those, as he tilts his head and leans forward a bit, asking why he stopped.
Rain could’ve sworn the world stopped as he stared at Dew from his opposite corner, pressing his knees into his chest and wringing his fingers around each other.
He couldn’t stop the smile that curled into his mouth, the first he’s had in a while. While Dew couldn’t see it, he could still see the obvious joy seeping out of Rain. So he smiles too, waiting patiently once more for Rain to continue.
And Rain hates it. He hates that he liked that look on him.
“I would continue.. but I have questions for you too,” Rain says, not as shy as he had been before. He felt comfortable enough to unfold from his tense position curled up in a corner.
Dew nods once, and Rain takes that as an invite to ask.
“Why do you ask me about rain so much?”
The answer seemed obvious to Rain once he truly thought about it. Could it be because it was literally his name. Or because he never read about it.
Rain didn’t know, so he waited and watched Dew tap a finger to his chin as if he were thinking. But Rain knew Dew already knew the answer to his question.
“I want to be able to enjoy it.”
And for once Rain liked the words that came out of Dew’s mouth. He liked the voice that associated with the fire ghoul.
And he hated that he did.