*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧—chapter five: rainy days

1996

THERE IS POUNDING AGAINST THE WINDOWS AS RAIN FALLS FROM THE SKY. The heavy drops of water pelt the glass and drum against the rooftop. Caio is sitting by the window in his bedroom, staring outside. Sure, it may be gloomy and gross weather, but the boy doesn't care. He loves the rain.

The six-year-old leans against the windowsill, his elbows propped up on it, his chin resting in his palms. He watches some of the rain drops trickle slowly down the window, imagining they were racing to see which would be the first to reach the bottom. A smile then tugs at the corners of his lips as a thought crosses his mind. A happy memory.

It was raining. Ayrton and Caio are currently outside.

Ayrton is standing outside on the driveway, his eyes closed as the droplets of rain pelt his face and soak his clothes, dripping from his hair and running down his face. The Rain Master was in his element. Whenever he was racing and it rained, say goodbye to your hopes and dreams. He was a master of the art of racing in the rain. They didn't call him the Rain Master for nothing.

Lightning flashes and thunder rumbles in the distance. Caio's eyes widen and he backs up into the garage, hiding behind the wall. "Papai..." he calls out, his voice wavering. The weather terrified him. Thunder was too loud for him to handle, and seeing lightning just made it all worse.

"It's okay, filho," Ayrton reassures, a sympathetic look on his face as he walks back over to the garage. Caio peeks out from behind the wall, staring at the man soaked with rain water. He beckons his son over with a wave of his hand. "Cumprimente a chuva como um velho amigo," he says, letting him know there was nothing to be afraid of, hoping this would reassure him.

Caio nods slowly, taking Ayrton's hand as he leads him out of the garage. He trusted him. As soon as he's out in the open, Ayrton walks over to a puddle and stomps in it, sending water splashing. Caio hesitates, not wanting to get his shoes and socks wet, as if that mattered—they were already soaked anyway. Jumping in rain puddles did look fun, though...

He gives into the temptation. Running over to the puddle that his father is standing in, Caio joins him in jumping in the water. The water sprays Ayrton's legs and gets in his shoes, but he doesn't care. A laugh leaves the man's lips as Caio stomps his feet, sending water flying in every direction. The boy grins as he glances up at his father.

Maybe the rain isn't so bad after all.

With a sigh, Caio gets up from his spot on the floor and makes his way out of his room. He was bored and had nothing else to do.

He and his cousins were the only ones in the house at the moment, as Viviane, Neyde, and Milton had made a quick run to the grocery store and would be back within the next half hour or so, and Leonardo was at the neighbors' helping them fix their car.

Bruno, Bianca, and Paula are all seated on the couch watching the television. They were watching some cartoon that Caio didn't know the name of. Surely they were distracted enough that they wouldn't notice if he went outside, right?

"Primo."

Oops.

Caio stops in his tracks as he reaches the end of the hallway. His eyes widen as if he's been caught red handed and he glances over to the living room to see Bruno leaning over the back of the couch, tossing something in the air. A tennis ball. But he wasn't looking at the ball as he throws it up into the air. He's looking directly at Caio.

"Don't even think about it." A knowing look is on the older boy's face.

"But—"

"You'll catch a cold."

Caio groans.

"C'mere. Sit with us in the meantime."

Caio obliges, taking a seat in between Bruno and Paula on the couch, Bianca scooting over to make space. The four of them sit in silence from this point on. The only sounds being the characters from the TV show talking and the thumping of the ball ricocheting off of the wall as Bruno is now sitting up and bouncing it off the wall.

"Bruno, can you stop that? It's getting annoying," Bianca says, glancing at him.

Bruno sighs, catching the ball one last time before setting it down in the basket in the coffee table.

"I'm bored. You're bored. They're bored," Caio mumbles as he glances between each of his cousins. "Bruno, I wanna go karting."

"Caio."

"I know," Caio sighs. "We can't. We're not allowed."

The silence continues again. Though, eventually, the adults return. Leonardo is the first back into the house. He greets the kids before heading straight to the shower. When the others get back, Bruno and Bianca decide to help them lut away the groceries.

Dinner was made soon after. And the rest of the night was peaceful and quiet.

author's note
a bit of a shorter chapter.
it's kind of a filler but not
really

also not a lot of angst this
chapter!! everyone thank
me for not breaking your
hearts this time <33

will caio be rain master 2.0?
probably not! there's gonna
be a funny plot line i have for
this, though. just you wait

06.13.24