The rain came with all the power of a battle. The lightning and thunder fought for dominance in the sky, putting on a show against the dark velvet backdrop of clouds. Heavy sheets of rain drenched the house, filling the yard with deep puddles and creating a river out of the gravel drive. Bo kept indoors, watching the unfolding of the rain's mighty pummeling from behind glass. Bouts of heavy wind made everything creak, giving the house a whole new atmosphere. She could barely sleep at night for all the groaning and creaking of wood. It made for grumpy mornings, where she sulked in the bedroom, regretting the times she'd hoped for rain.

At around noon that day, the Beast found her curled on her bed with a book on her lap. He paused in the doorway, taking in the sight of her pouting lips and dreary eyes.

"You're bored," he said. There was no question, as it was plain to see.

"I'm thankful for the rain, but I also hate it," she replied, stretching her legs and arms.

The Beast was quiet for a moment, and Bo began to try and read the next chapter of her book once again. Her mind kept wandering back to the camp, and how everyone would be laughing as they cooled off in the rain. Her book felt like a long lecture in comparison to that, but she needed something to keep her mind off the searing sadness that accompanied thoughts of home.

When the Beast spoke again, Bo startled. She'd nearly forgotten he was still in the room. "I have something that we can do," he said. "We'll redecorate your room."

Bo raised an eyebrow, but the Beast was already whirling around to stalk down the hallway, and she had to slam her book closed and run after him to keep up. He led her down to the front hall, and disappeared for a moment to summon one of the robots. It appeared around the corner a moment later.

"Yes, sir?" It was Dent. He didn't act at all like he hadn't seen Bo in a long time, and she felt hurt despite herself. Perhaps it was too much to expect a robot to have any feelings of loyalty.

The Beast gave him orders to fetch a coat from the storage closet, and he floated off a moment later to obey.

"So we're going to decorate my room, but I need a coat for it?" she asked, half-laughing.

"We're going outdoors," was the simple reply.

Dent reappeared a moment later with a long brown coat dangling in its grasp. The Beast took it and dismissed Dent, before turning to offer the garment to Bo. She slid into it cautiously. The slick fabric of the coat felt light, and Bo flipped up the hood to cover her hair and face. It was large and bulky, but she could tell it would keep her dry. Back at the camp, they'd had a few rain coats, but nothing of this good quality. Getting wet wasn't normally a problem out there in the dust fields.

The wind and rain lashed against Bo when the Beast opened the front door. There was no hiding from the water as it soaked everything in its path. Bo was thankful for the coat, even though she already felt dribbles running down her neck and chest. The Beast seemed completely at ease walking through the rain with only his shirt to protect him. It was chilly, yet he acted as if it were a normal stroll across the greens.

Bo wondered where they were going as she followed him down the path and around the house. Whatever he wanted to fetch to decorate her room with, she couldn't see how it would still be serviceable after all this rain. He seemed determined, though, and walked without a single hesitation. Wherever they were going, he knew exactly where it was.

Being only a few feet behind him, Bo could see the muscles in his shoulders moving under his soaked shirt as he swung his arms. The faint glow of his skin seemed to spread to his shirt, lending an even more unearthly air to him. A shiver ran down Bo's spine and she quickly cut her glance away as heat rushed to her cheeks.

A moment later and Bo looked up to see that they had entered the garden and were approaching a small hut, half hidden in a cluster of hedges. It was circular in shape, and made of mossy stones. Three windows stood in its wall, curved but made of dark wood that looked soft from years of exposure. Bo waited as the Beast opened the door and stepped inside, beckoning to her to follow. As soon as she entered, the sound of the rain lessened. It beat the wood shingled roof, but was just a gentle buzz inside the hut.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, looking around. There was no way he could have anything stashed away in the circular room that might be used for decorating. There were leaks in the roof and everything was covered in water. Little puddles formed on the floor, making hollow sounds of splashing as drips fell into them. Little shelves ran along the walls, but they only held gardening tools. Nothing that she might want to put in her room.

"I needed these," the Beast said, reaching behind Bo to pick up a pair of rusted shears and a basket that was kept safe from the damp under an oilcloth. Bo stepped out of his way, but by then he already had what he needed and was headed back for the door. She followed him, trying not to notice how the heat of his body still lingered in the spot where he'd been standing.

They walked to the rose garden. She hadn't been there in so long, that the bloom startled her once again with their beauty. The colors jumped off the flowers in the rainy haze, and they seemed almost to burst with petals and fragrance. The Beast walked among them, clipping off different blooms as he passed them. He'd handed Bo the basket, and then began to hand back the roses. She filled the basket with them, careful of the thorns. It took them only ten minutes to have the basket mounded over the top.

The last bloom the Beast cut was of the deepest red, like pooled blood. The Beast held it out, half-turning to face her. Their fingers collided on the stem, both holding it in that frozen moment. Bo glanced up at his face, staring into those brown eyes. He stared at her, that same stare she'd grown used to, and now she found that she couldn't stop staring back.

One of them must have finally broken the trance, as Bo suddenly found herself falling into line behind the Beast once more. She held the basket close, trying to remember what home felt like as they walked through the rain back to the house.

Once inside, they went upstairs. At first they did an awkward shuffling, not quite sure of each other. They kept silent as they worked, and the Service-Matons didn't add anything to the conversation when they brought extra supplies like twine and nails into the room. Taking some of the twine, Bo strung roses between the posts of her bed, and the Beast pointed out a few spots that might benefit from a bloom.

"What about over here?" he asked, placing a purple rose on the mantel over the door. Bo raised her eyebrows and snorted.

"And the award for the worst taste ever goes to you," she said, walking over and straining on her tiptoes to try and get the rose down. The Beast gave her a look and she ignored him as she tried a little jump, but was still too short to reach the top of the door. She cursed her height, especially when the Beast easily reached up and plucked it down.

"If you know so much, where do you want it?" he asked, waving it over her head. She narrowed her eyes, refusing to try and grab it from him. She knew he would just moved it further out her reach. She'd had that trick played on her one too many times by Aston to fall for it again.

"Put it by the windows," she said, pointing to the two frames that surrounded the french doors. She grabbed the basket and took it to show him what she meant. She bunched the roses up in little bundles, tied with the twine, and set them down on the window sill. She held out her hand for the Beast's flower and she tied a small bow around it. She placed it carefully across the handles of the french doors, right where she'd see it when she opened her eyes first thing in the morning.

The room slowly took shape. The flowers draped across every surface she could find in her under-furnished room, and she dangled bunches from various lengths of string along the wall near the door. With the loose petals that had gathered in the bottom of the basket, she made a little nest in a small box and placed it near her bed. Their musky scent filled the air near her pillows, perfect to fall asleep to.

It was the most beautiful redecoration of a room she could think of. No other girl could claim to have real roses surrounding her at night, and Bo felt a thrill as she realized that these blooms really existed and had not become yet another casualty of the war that had taken so much. Though she knew these particular roses would in a few days' time, she still stepped back and let the magic of the flowers fill her veins.

"Gorgeous," the Beast said, startling Bo from her reverie. She glanced back at him.

"Thank you," she said, even though she knew that she shouldn't be thanking the creature that was her captor.

The Beast smiled, so briefly that she almost missed it. "Your room matches you now."

Bo didn't know what to say.