Rain and wind crashing their way along the road, I was left fighting my way back towards the home. Face slick with rain and forced to squint against the oncoming torrent, the progress went painfully slow. With my familiar strong arms bracing my legs, I successfully struggled against the gale for quite the distance. Having Mia still frozen in her hug like embrace, had definitely added a bit of difficulty but it was also a welcome source of warmth to my cold body. With my heart pounding and ears burning hot, it was easy to forget how tired my arms were most likely getting. And so it had somewhat snuck up on me, having the low stamina warning start to flash before my eyes.

With the need to rest urgent, sitting at just five percent stamina, I scoured my surroundings through squinted eyes hoping to find a source of cover from the storm. Having seen very little with my eyes due to the near pitch black, I could at least be thankful that it was indeed dark out. Having somehow lucked out with an absence of the lightning, the trip so far had been much easier not having to contend with that source of vexation.

Starting to sit in the middle of the road I felt a strong tug, along the seam of my pants, and with a umbrella emoji received I let the eager familiar lead me to the side. With an impressive instinct for what I was thinking, Rumble led me towards the edge of the road and to section of broken fence. With the break having been caused by the side of some wooden construct, Rumble gently guided me down to below a section still impaled on the sole remaining fence post in the area. Rumble making sure to brace the section further, he was off to the side gathering additional bits of debris to secure our makeshift shelter.

I was finally able to lower Mia to the ground, but was kept from letting go by a soft tightening of her arms. And with a quiet whisper, I was persuaded to finish my rest in this still embarrassing position.

“Thank you, I am glad that you came.” Mia said into my chest.

“Ha, thanks for what? Chasing after the girl that I like?” I asked, pulling her face away just far enough to look her in the eyes.

And with her eyes not quite meeting mine she said, “I hope you do not hold the slap against me or that I kissed you so unexpectedly… It is just that I have been so confused.”

“Confused? Oh, I thought that…” I stammered out, having been caught off guard.

“No, not like that!” Mia quickly interjected, now staring me straight in the eyes. “I really like you! I just did not know how to approach the subject. I have always known the exact path or method to take in order to reach my goals. So when it came to confessing my feelings, I was quite baffled about how to proceed.”

Feeling the momentary tension release, I felt the relief spread throughout my tense body. “Oh, thank you.” I muttered to myself before giving Mia my response. “Honestly, I have been going through the same thing. When I look at you, I feel my ears and face start to heat, my heart races, and it honestly becomes hard to interact normally.”

With a small chuckle, her prior focus of fear nearly forgotten, Mia gave her reply. “You were worried about acting normal? I literally slapped you for apologizing during a misunderstanding.”

Sharing a laugh about the now absurd event we once again met each other's gaze, only to quickly look away in awkward embarrassment.

“Well Mia, I for one am pretty glad that you slapped me. So far the only downside has been being stuck outside in the rain, but even that is seeming pretty nice.” I said trying some charm.

“I guess so.” Mia replied, with a small smile.

Worried to ruin the mood and progress, we sat in silence, still in a loose embrace. As the minutes flew by, my thoughts lost in the moment, I was pulled back to reality with an alert informing me that my stamina was now full.

“Are you ready to continue Mia? My stamina is full again and it seems that the rain has entered a small lull. If you are up for it, we should get going again.”

With her face darkening from the previous blush, she gave a hard nod before renewing her hard grasp around me. So with her face burying into my chest I once again lifted her up, with assistance given by Rumble, and walked back out into the downpour.

Still fighting the wind, I launched myself into the task of reaching home once more with renewed vigor. So much so that a new icon was flashing above my stamina bar asking for my attention. And upon looking up the icon, I could help but to wear a bright smile.

So with my legs pumping against the wind, my eyes barely open against the rain, we made quick progress home. Having stopped only one additional time, to pick up my discarded jacket that Rumble had noticed on the side of the road hung up in a bush, we had made great time for the circumstances.

With a sigh of relief, I turned onto the path leading towards the shack. Finding the path exceptionally muddy and hazardous, I gently prodded Mia into walking with me instead of in such a precarious carry.

So hand in hand, we slowly made our way up the path and into the shack where we were greeted with a major wave of relief from the Peace Bloom. And quickly combining it with an additional source of light, I was able to leave Mia in the corner of the shack next to the calming flower.

Walking over to the forgotten dinner, I attempted to use the hearthstone. With no power left in the stone, I was forced to reheat our food using what little heat still radiated from the tool. And so that is how we ended our night, eating luke warm eggs while huddled in the corner of the shack bathed in a soft blue light. Happy and content without the worry of how to proceed, we both easily slept through the night.