The Palace Balcony · Mid-Summer

It began as a whisper—clouds curling over the horizon like soft gray silk, the scent of petrichor creeping into the air. You stood barefoot on the marble balcony, arms resting on the railing, watching the sky shift from gold to storm.

The wind lifted your hair, carrying with it a strange stillness. A kind of quiet that belongs only to storms or secrets.

And then it came. Heavy, sudden rain—like the heavens had broken open just for you.

You didn’t run. You stayed, arms out, letting the cold water drench your nightdress, plastering the silk to your skin. You tilted your head back and breathed it in, eyes fluttering closed. Alone with the sky.

Until—

“Are you insane?!”

Her voice cracked through the downpour.

You opened your eyes to see Oscar—wild and soaked, hair unbound, shirt sticking to every line of her frame. She had no coat, no shoes, just fire in her eyes and frantic energy in every step as she rushed toward you.

She grabbed your wrist and tugged you beneath the awning, where shadows pooled like ink.

“What were you thinking?” she panted, water dripping from her chin. “You’ll catch cold—”

“I’m fine,” you whispered, blinking through the mist. “It was just... pretty.”

Oscar stared at you—your lashes wet, your lips parted, your cheeks flushed from the cold.

And then she kissed you.

Messy. Desperate. Real.

No grace, no ceremony. Just lips crashing into yours, her hands on either side of your face, holding you like the world might collapse if she didn’t.

You gasped against her mouth. She didn’t stop.

“I ran through the entire palace,” she breathed against your lips, voice shaky. “I thought I’d lost you. Don’t ever—ever—leave me standing in the rain again.”

“I wasn’t leaving you,” you murmured, fingers curling around the soaked fabric at her chest.

“You looked like a ghost,” she said, kissing your temple. “And I can’t love a ghost—I need you here.”

Thunder rumbled far off. You pressed your forehead to hers, your breath mingling.

“I’m here,” you whispered.

Oscar kissed you again, slower this time. Her arms wrapped around you, shielding you from the chill. And in that quiet space between heartbeats and raindrops, nothing else existed.

Just you. Just her. And the rain—falling, falling, falling.