[Gift] [prompt] swingin' in the rain

Ivory was on a mission. 

Vale had the perfect tree in their yard to attach a rope swing to, and Ivory had the perfect excuse to finally make it happen now that Vale was inside napping before dinner.

She'd snuck the supplies over to their cute little cottage a couple weeks ago when she'd first had the idea. It'd been fairly easy to hide the lengths of rope and the sturdy planks they'd brought up on a shelf until the time was right! Though it was hard for her to be sure, she didn't believe they'd noticed the supplies... or if they had, they hadn't let anything slip. 

Only one of the final knots she'd need to tie the swing to its assigned branch was done when the trouble started… a low rumble in the distance accompanied by a sudden darkening of the skies. 

Ivory stared up at the sky, frowned, and redoubled her efforts. 

By the time she'd managed to tie off the third knot – a complex series of very secure loops – the wind was whistling intently through the leaves above her. She chewed intently at the corner of her lip as she worked to tie the fourth and only paused once to flinch when she felt the first raindrop hit her skin. 

Moments later, the second hit.

The sky above her was a tempestuous gray darkening further by the second. Above her, the clouds she could see through the tree above her appeared to have an almost green cast to them… though she wasn't sure how much of that was her imagination.

She pulled herself up off the ground just in time to feel a damp leaf hit her face. A teeny screech erupted from her mouth despite her best efforts to contain it.

Her eyebrows furrowed. Just a little more to do!

She'd already selected the exact branch that the rope swing was going to dangle from, and it didn't take long for her to scamper up the broad tree trunk and out along the branch to get the rope dangling precisely how she wanted it. Intermittent gusts of wind swayed the tree she'd wrapped her legs around even as raindrops continued to pelt her.

One half of the swing had been fully secured to the branch and the second was well on its way when it happened.

The front door of Vale's cottage opened.

Ivory mumbled something profane under her breath. 

Staff in hand, Vale made their way outside and squinted around.

Ivory hunched close to the branch, working as quickly as her hands would let her while still making sure she was doing a thorough job. Her eyes flicked back and forth between her best friend and her project. 

"Ivory? Are you still here?" Fighting their instincts to call out to their friend was made much more difficult by her realization that Vale was getting soaked on the porch! Outside of the shelter the leaves were providing Ivory in her perch, the rain was very thoroughly coming down now. Even the back of Ivory's shirt was beginning to get uncomfortably wet. Vale hadn't even brought an umbrella…

Luckily it took barely any time at all for Ivory to finish tying the second knot after refocusing all of her attentions onto it. She began gnawing at the corner of her lips, hot iron flooding into her mouth.

Done!

A triumphant grin spread across her face as she examined the swing's perfect attachment to its new home. It swang wildly in the storm – she worried it'd get damaged and hauled its ropes back up, looping it around the branch to halve their length so it'd swing less energetically.

Achoo!

She hadn't noticed the pair of eyes fondly watching her until the high-pitched sneeze caught her attention.

"Vale!" she exclaimed as soon as their eyes locked, simultaneously embarassed and pleased. "I was hoping you wouldn't see this until it was sunny…" 

Her best friend Vale beamed up at her, bangs dripping water into their eyes. "You didn't have to do this!" they said, eyes twinkling.

"I wanted to," came Ivory's easy response as she scampered back down the tree. Her feet hit the ground with a wet squelch, startling both of them into peals of laughter. She dashed towards her friend while they were distracted and scooped Vale up – their laugh turned into a squeak of protest that lasted until Ivory dumped them on their couch. She shook her head back and forth in hopes of shaking out some of the rain that'd accumulated in her locs, then flopped backwards onto her favorite chair. "How was your nap?"

"Much needed. I'm feeling a lot better now! Bummed it's raining, though…" 

Another grin crept onto Ivory's face. "I think I can fix that. I've got some plans for dinner I think you'll love…"