It’s pouring rain. They’re both soaked to the skin but they have a long way to go yet before they get home.
They’re halfway across the bridge over the Miskatonic when John happens to glance off to the side, and then catches the railing. “Arthur, wait.”
Arthur freezes mid-step. Listening to John when he says ‘stop’ is a hard-learned survival mechanism. “What is it?”
“The view. I’ve never seen the city in the rain.”
The tension goes out of Arthur instantly with an unimpressed sound. With streams of water pouring off the brim of Arthur’s hat and dripping from the saturated corkscrew curls of his hair, John supposes he can’t blame him. Their coat is soaked through and their shoes are squelching. He must be cold, and horribly uncomfortable. But still…
He tugs on the railing, urging their body closer for a better look. Arthur follows after a second with a quiet sigh, and doesn’t interrupt John taking in the scene.
“The rain hazes out the city’s shapes into soft silhouettes against the evening,” John begins after a moment. “The lights of the buildings and the cars shine like stars through it. Their reflections in the water are broken into a million dancing sparkles in a velvet void with the ripples from the raindrops. The clouds are low. They capture the city’s light so that everything is limned in a faint glow, as if it were all illuminated from within.” He reaches out his hand, ignoring the water dripping from his fingertips. “It looks…soft. Welcoming. Alive.”
He feels the drop of Arthur’s shoulders, a night of irritation and discomfort unwinding from him at the picture John’s painted with his words. “You describe it beautifully,” he says softly.
There’s a melancholy note to his voice. John understands. “It is beautiful. I wanted you to see it too.”
With a heavier sigh than before, Arthur folds his arm on the rail to lean on it. “I do. The way you describe it…I remember what it looked like.” They both stare out at the scene for a moment. “Somewhere you don’t mind staying for a while?”
“No, Arthur. No, I don’t mind staying here.”