Jack went into the living room and the familiar scene played out before him. Lys busy at the computer. Sometimes playing, other times she was studying how to use the machine better or watching some streamer plying their trade. Something about the look of determination on her muzzle told him that none of it was fun. A wise man once said that all work and no play made Jack a dull boy and he worried that Lys might be headed for a similar fate. Meanwhile, a surprise shower tapped against the roof and windows. The wheels turned in his head.

“You want to go out?”

The kobold didn’t even look up. “I need to keep working on this.”

“You’ve been working on it for several days straight now. Every time I wake up or come home from work you’re at this thing.”

She shrugged, eyes glued to the monitor. “I need to know what I’m doing if I want to be good at this and trick people into giving me money.” The last few words had a desperate tone to them.

“You’re taking this way too seriously, it’ll still be here when we get back. Let’s go out for a bit.”

“Isn’t it raining?”

“Yeah, I thought you liked the rain.”

Her snout scrunched up and her face drooped before melting back into that determined gaze and that was the only answer he got. Jack wasn’t a fan of using force, but he knew a recipe for burnout when he saw one. He went to the closet and took out her raincoat, shiny and red. Lys stayed so glued to the action on the screen she didn’t notice until he draped it over the front.

“Hey!”

“A week ago you’d have been happy to get outside, why the sudden change?”

She yanked her raincoat off the monitor, causing it to tip forward. Jack held his breath and Lys gasped, reaching out to stop it from falling. Placing it back carefully she turned her narrowed gaze towards her mate. “You could have broken it,” she said in a panic.

“You’re the one who ripped it off of there.” His choice of words made her look the coat over inch after inch to make sure she hadn’t put a tear in it with her claws. Satisfied in finding none, she went back to glaring at him. “Why are you trying to force me to go outside?”

“I’m not forcing you. All I want is for you to take some time to relax. Why are you so afraid of the outdoors all of a sudden?”

The raincoat crinkled in her claws and she cast a worried look towards the front door. “Jack…” She started to say something else, but ended in a sigh. “Alright.” The streamer-in-training pushed herself up off the chair and donned her raincoat over her denim shorts and black shirt. Jack fetched his own jacket and slipped on his shoes, pondering if pressing her was the right thing to do. She looked so obsessed with that damned computer that it couldn’t be healthy, or so he figured. He went back out to see his mate pacing back and forth in front of the door, tugging at the edges of her raincoat.

“Ready?”

She nodded with all the resignation of a condemned convict and the front door opened to the brisk afternoon; the wind pushed a fine mist into their faces. A wet sheen coated the entire complex and the scent of moisture, petrichor, and fall leaves crept into their senses. He took a step forward, hoping that she’d loosen up after a bit of time outside, but Lys stood in the doorway, the tips of her teeth bared in tense expression. “What is wrong?” he asked, growing frustrated.

She peered out into the open like she’d never been outside in her life. Watching the clouds like she were trying to spot each raindrop as it fell to the ground so she could map out where to stand. “How far are we going?”

“Far as you want. If people want to get upset, let them.”

The green kobold checked her raincoat, testing the buttons and pulling it tight around her before stepping out. Jack closed the door behind them and locked it before they went down the steps. The rain soaked wood creaked beneath them and he suspected that one day they might give out altogether, but today wasn’t that day and his dream of retiring on lawsuit money remained a dream. No one else to be seen which suited him fine. He figured they’d take a block or two and maybe stop by the convenience store since neither of them had been there in awhile and they seemed to hit it off there (belligerent drunk notwithstanding). Lys walked alongside, sending up droplets of rain out of the puddles as her toeclaws scraped the parking lot.

“Should really cut some holes for those,” he said, looking at the strange shape her head made with the hood up.

“No way, I’m not doing anything to damage my coat, besides it’d probably leak down onto my head.” She shook herself a few times like it’d already happened.

“Think I could get rich making a clothing line for kobolds?”

“Only if you can get kobolds money to spend first.”

“Yeah…that might be a problem.”

A steady stream of droplets fell as they went down the street. Trees above swayed with the breeze as the rain forced the browning leaves to fight for their place. A good assortment already littered the wet sidewalk like a brown carpet rolled out for the two of them. A sticky carpet, Lys had to stop and shake the stubborn ones off of her bare feet. “Yuck, so what is this about?”

“What do you mean?”

She tucked her claws into her pockets. “Why are we out here?”

“I wanted you to get away from the computer for a while and relax. What in the world is wrong?”

The green kobold looked down, letting the hood fall over her face. Her tail flicked from side to side and she let out a low growl.

“Is this about Rodil?” he asked.

“No.” She went past him, heading further down the street to the first crosswalk. Jack couldn’t figure it out and she wasn't forthcoming either. He’d like to have taken in the view of her standing at the intersection, really just a red raincoat with a tail and a set of clawed feet tapping impatiently, but it was the tapping that made him move. He pushed the button, the light changed with little fanfare and they went.

“I like the rain and I like being out.” She made it sound like she preferred anything else but rain or the outdoors. Tense and stilted much like her walk. Her tail moved in stiff swings and she kept brushing the rain off her coat. “But I don’t like being forced.”

“I didn’t force you, do you want to go home?”

Again that down turned look in her eye. “No. I like being out here with you, it’s just.”

“Just? What is it?”

“Nothing,” she sighed. “Nothing is bothering me, let’s keep going.” The kobold brushed past him with labored steps, each time she lifted her legs higher and brought them down slower. If she was in one of her moods there’d be no reasoning with her until she calmed down. A few cars waited at the next intersection. A silver SUV at the edge of the crossing, the occupants began nudging one another and pointing out in their direction. The two of them, used to the attention, found a friendly smile and wave was enough to put people at ease, or send them on their way. The front passenger laughed and whipped out her phone for a quick photo which had also become a common thing. How many social sites the two had wound up on at this rate?

The light changed, the onlookers made their turn, and the two of them crossed another rainy street. “Throw me a bone here,” Jack said.

She cocked her head to the side.

“For someone who isn’t bothered you look pretty bothered.”

Lys rubbed her claws together a few times. “I want to do good with this streamer stuff.”

“Nothing wrong with that, but you need to remember that most people don’t make very much, if anything.”

“I need to not be most people then.” She shuddered for a moment. “I need to be worth it. I need to be better than those other people.”

“Worth it?” he asked, but he got no response and she went on ahead, but her walk looked labored like it bothered her far more than she let on. Perfectionism and comparisons were a toxic brew, one often downed with the hope that the other party would get sick. But he’d drunk from that cup enough times to know that the only person poisoned was himself. Jack stared at the sidewalk, trying to figure out the right thing to say. All the intense computer sessions made sense now and she’d grow to hate it long before she ever got her first viewer at this rate. He looked up from his musing to see he was alone, turning back around he saw Lys huddled over, almost curled up into a ball. Water went everywhere as he rushed back, disregarding every puddle. He knelt down over her. “Are you alright?”

The kobold let out a groan, but she forced a smile at him. “L-Lys likes the rain, but when it gets cold it doesn’t like me.”

It didn’t feel all that cold to him, colder than it had been, but not enough to send him to the ground. Not that he was a kobold. Jack picked her up carefully, but with an unamused look on his face. “Sheesh, you are cold. Why didn’t you say anything?”

She pressed herself into him. “I-I can handle some c-cold.”

“Yeah, you’re really handling it. You’re shaking. Were you this cold the last time we went out in the rain?” He picked up the pace towards home.

“A little. Stop worrying about me.”

 Shaking his head, he jaywalked back across the street to the sound of honking horns, what a sight it must have looked, carrying a red raincoat with clawed feet sticking out of one end, bridal style. “I wish you wouldn’t do this tough kobold act. If something is bothering you let me know.”

“I’ve survived winter before without your h-help.”

He glared at her. “You don’t have to ‘survive’ anymore. What, do you think I’m going to get mad or something?”

“You seem mad now.”

“Only because you didn’t say anything. Should I just let you lay there and freeze?” He sighed and crossed another street. “After all this time, you won’t let me in.”

“N-no, that isn’t it at all. I just don’t want you spending any more of your money on me.”

He paused under a pair of thick trees, their leaves were turning, but stable enough to keep the rain off. Jack adjusted his grip and looked into those yellow eyes of hers. “If you’re my mate, or wife, or whatever you want to call it then it’s my pleasure, no, it’s my privilege to provide for you. So are you, or aren’t you?” The falling rain striking the pavement, leaves, and a nearby trash can filled in the space between them. He expected her to either feel hurt or angry, but she kept on staring at him, unchanging.

“Hmm?” he asked.

And then she looked away, into her hood. “It’s…hard to ask for help, even from someone close. Lys said before that everyone is supposed to provide. You have to be strong or you won’t make it.”

He laughed slightly. “Sweet, you’ve contributed so much to me, you don’t even know.” Finally noticing that he’d stopped to talk, he picked up the pace again. His arms began to ache, but something about it felt good. “I stopped smoking, you keep the place clean, you’re a damn good cook. And do I really need to mention the “slave kobold” costume?”

She placed a claw over her face, trying to hide a smile. “No, but—“

“But?”

“It isn’t enough.”

A stiff breeze brushed past, forcing the rain into his face. Lys gasped with shock from the cold and Jack’s brisk walk turned into a jog. “What do you mean it isn’t enough?” He asked between breaths. Sidestepping a pothole, he ended up ankle high in an even bigger puddle and the water began soaking into his socks.

Lys tried to look, but all she could really watch was Jack’s expression turn sour. “I want to pay you back for everything you’ve done.”

“Haven’t you been listening? You already have and this isn’t a loan. Jesus, that’s cold.” The sound of water squishing out of his shoes accompanied every step. “Lys, if there’s anything I want from you it’s for you to be happy.” Jack watched several cars whip past at the intersection and one amused looking fellow on the other side waiting to cross. Even from here he could see the big grin on his face. The light changed and Jack stepped off the sidewalk.

Unable to resist, the man pointed to Lys. “Where did you get that?”

“Found her in my trunk and she followed me home,” Jack said, not skipping a beat. The guy went on his way, laughing. The smile on Jack’s face lasted right until he looked down at the kobold in his arms again.

“Ha ha. Put me down, I’ll walk the rest of the way.”

“No, you won’t. I’m carrying you home and don’t pretend you don’t enjoy it.”

She looked on ahead and sniffed loudly. “I guess I do. Fine then, onward and don’t bounce so much.” She pointed a claw forward and adopted such a look of smug superiority on her scaly muzzle he almost felt humbled.

“Yes, mistress and tomorrow we’ll see about getting you some warmer clothes.” He gave her a knowing look. Oh, how she tried to protest without saying a word, but he stared her down and she gave up with a nod.

“Yes, very good, but what about my feet?”

“I don’t know, what do kobolds usually do about it?”

“Wrap ourselves up in whatever we can find and try not to go out in the cold.”

“That doesn’t sound very warm.” Jack stepped into the parking lot and autopilot turned on, he went for the mailboxes instead of the steps. “If I have to learn how to make shoes myself I will, I’ve already become a pretty decent tailor, how hard could it be?”

“I-it’s going to take more than just making a hole in something.”

He sneered. “I’m gonna make a hole in something alright.”

“Too late, I already have t-two.”

“Such a nasty little thing you are.” He stared at the mailboxes before realizing it couldn’t have possibly come in the time they were gone. “What am I doing?”

“S-staring at the mailboxes while L-Lys slowly freezes to death, but it’s okay, at least I’ll die i-in your arms.” She batted her eyes at him though she really did look miserable.

“Think you’ll last till I make it up the stairs?”

“I’ll try.” She lifted a claw to her head in dramatic fashion. “And hurry, it really is cold.”

Jack took a deep breath and dashed up the steps. His arms burned from carrying her the whole way and now he felt winded. “Alright, think you can manage now?” He set her down beside the door and the memories of that first night came flooding back. The mental image of a battered kobold leaning against the wall while he fumbled for his key in the dark. Certainly not love at first sight, second perhaps, but not first. Maybe that’s how it is when two broken people find each other and make one another complete.

“Jack? Are you going to keep staring at me or open the door?” She gave a shaky laugh.

 “Oh, yeah, the door…” The key slipped inside and the knob turned. A burst of warm air rushed out like a mother’s embrace to meet them. Lys stepped inside and immediately tossed the raincoat off, not even bothering to put it up. The kobold balled herself up onto the couch and started looking around for a blanket. Not bothering to close the door he grabbed one out of the bedroom, dumping it on top of her.

“Hey.” A muffled sound came from under the sheet.

He closed the door and put away the wet raincoat. “Want me to fix up something warm to drink? Coffee? Chocolate?”

She thought about it, but shook her head. “Stomach is a little upset.”

Jack took a seat next to her and grabbed her up into his arms. “Guess I’ll just have to warm you with my body.”

“Yes, do that.” She nuzzled into him. “Almost worth freezing to death.”

He sucked in a breath as she pressed her scaly snout under his neck, how much longer could she have gone before it became dangerous? “I wish you had told me it was too damn cold out for you.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “If I had told you at the start that I didn’t want to go you’d have gotten upset at me.”

“Only if you didn’t say why.”

“No, all it would take is me not wanting to go and you’d be upset, like you are now.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Yes, you would.”

“No, I wouldn’t”

“Yes, you would.”

“No, I…I think we still have a lot to learn about each other.”

“Lys is sorry she gave you so much trouble.”

“You didn’t give me that much trouble.”

“Yes, I did.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did.”

“No, you…” her hot breath brushed his shoulder as she snickered. “Ass. How about a hot shower then?”

Her eyes lit up. “That sounds really, really good. Are you offering?”

“Are you asking?”

“Maybe. Get the water running and we’ll see."