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Fool In The Rain	By : TheFairyWithBoots Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Led Zeppelin Views: 3 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, nor is any disrespect intended to any of the real people mentioned in this fic. I wrote this for my own entertainment as well as for others. This is my last fic in the Zeppelin fandom for a very long time.

Chapter List
- 1-Fool In The Rain
- 1
1981
I watched as the rain poured down over the streets as I sat in my seat in my favorite coffee shop. I was gripping my ceramic mug, the heat that would normally be unbearable keeping me grounded in reality.
He was supposed to be showing up any minute now. I had called him and asked him to meet me at the café. A part of me was dreading seeing him again, knowing very well that this would be the last time. I was expecting him to grovel and beg for me not to leave, but I had gotten all of the crying out of my system. I wasn't going to be swayed by his puckered face or crocodile tears.
I saw the tall figure approaching the coffee shop with a large black umbrella. It was hard to see the distinct features through the downpour of rain, but I would recognize his tall, lean figure from anywhere. 
We had not seen each other in nearly a year, the last time we had spoken was at John's funeral. Our fling had been on and off for the past 9 years. I had told myself that we would be together, that we would be the reason that the other did not have to spend their lives alone. He had promised me the same thing as he held me in his arms after one of many passionate encounters. The hushed "I love yous" he had uttered to me between the sheets...
Robert entered the café, shaking the droplets from his umbrella out before setting it down on the umbrella stand near the entrance. I sat by my window seat, watching him silently as he flashed his beautiful smile at the barista, charming everyone he came in contact with as he usually did. I thought about how many times that same smile had caused me to melt into a puddle at his feet.
His blue eyes scanned the cafe before his eyes landed on me. His hair was a bit shorter than it was the last time I saw him, making him look more mature. He made his way over to my table, leaning over to plant a kiss on my cheek before sitting down across from me.
"Hello, darling," he said as if greeting a long-term lover rather than a fling whom he had not bothered to see in nearly a year. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Hey, Robert," I said as the barista approached the table to take Robert's order.
"Just a tea, thanks love," he said with a smile. He made himself comfortable, the warmth of the cafe a stark contrast to the cold tempest that I felt raging inside of me. "So, how have you been doing since we last spoke?"
I shrugged. "Fine. I'm going to be opening up my art gallery in London."
His face lit up. "That's great, love. I always loved your paintings."
I leaned forward, trying to make conversation so that this wouldn't hurt as much. "What about you? Have you been thinking of getting back into music after Led Zeppelin broke up?" Led Zeppelin had broken up the year before; there was no way they were going to continue without John.
Robert smiled in thanks when the barista brought him his tea. "I have, as a matter of fact. I'm currently recording a solo album. I already have a new band together."
I smiled softly. Despite my resignation from our relationship, I really was happy to see him doing so well especially so shortly after his best friend's death. 
He must have finally noticed my quiet and sombre demeanor because the smile faded slightly as he took a sip of his tea and set the cup back in its saucer.
"So, are you going to tell me why you've called me here?"
I nodded, averting my eyes to the black liquid that was still hot in my ceramic mug. "Yeah... it's about our, uh... relationship. And the fact that we haven't spoken since Bonzo's funeral."
Robert looked a little guilty. "I'm really sorry, love. It's been a hard year, and I'm just now getting things back together. For the longest time, I didn't even want to touch an instrument because how could I without my best friend by my side-" I listened to him ramble on endlessly about all the reasons he hadn't reached out. I didn't necessarily blame him for it. I knew how hard things had been for him; Bonzo was my friend too. 
He rambled on off topic, talking about the new house he had bought, and how maybe I could come and stay with him. Whether he meant for a one night stand or to live with him long-term, I didn't know. I didn't let him finish for me to find out.
"I, uh... won't be coming over to your place anymore," I told him. Not that I had in God knows how long. 
"Oh?" He sipped his tea, still oblivious to what I was about to tell him. "Then maybe I can come over to yours." He gave me a wink and a smirk that was meant to be seductive. Oh, how I would have melted before if I had not gone through the internal hell of making this decision. 
I shake my head. "No, Robert..."
For the first time that evening, his eyes met with mine and I saw the light that he had arrived with slowly dim as the seed of doubt was planted in his head. His brow furrowed as he tried to understand. "What are you saying?"
I took a deep breath, deciding to give the cleanest, quickest break that I could. "I'm saying that... I'm tired, Robert. I've been tired for the past couple of years. And I don't want to be strung along while you're out screwing God knows who. I think... we should end... whatever it is we have."
The expression he gave me hurt far worse than any amount of groveling or tears could have. It was a look that haunted me; a look of numb shock on his face and wounded hurt in his eyes.
It was a look I had hoped to never have to see again. The look I had seen on his face at John's funeral.
"You're breaking up with me?"
"It's not like we've spoken in the last year anyway."
"I know, and I'm sorry-" I refused to look him in the eyes when I heard his voice crack. I could not let myself cry. Not when I've already gone through so much emotional torment to get to this point. "We've been together for nearly a decade... are you really going to throw all of that away?"
I stared into my mug, the coffee now becoming lukewarm. I sipped it to keep from trembling. I could feel every memory of us together flash before him as he tried to process what I was saying.
Now that the coffee was not as hot, I finished it in a few sips.
Robert was staring into his cup of tea numbly as if what I had said gave him a sense of whiplash. My heart ached in my chest as I thought about how he was possibly going through all of the motions of the emotional tempest that I have gone through these past few months. But I knew that this was necessary. I could not keep chasing him around in circles, hoping that he was finally ready to commit only for him to wander off and get into bed with someone else.
I paid for both of our drinks before standing up and grabbing my raincoat. I look down at Robert, who is still staring blankly into his teacup, his expression stoic but his eyes wounded.
"I really do wish you the best in life, Robert," I say softly before heading out the door, pulling the hood of my raincoat up to prevent my head from getting soaked.
I thought I could see him standing in the doorway of the café as if to yell over the sound of the rain but I couldn't be sure due to the heavy downpour. Regardless, I didn't turn completely around to see, as I was already making my way down the steps into the subway.
~~
Robert lost track of time as he sat there staring at the dregs in his teacup, the numb shock of her words still resonating deep within him. He knew how much his behavior over the years must have been affecting her, but he didn't think it would actually come back and bite him in the arse.
She was finally sick of him.
His first instinct was to chase after her, to beg her to give him another chance. He would promise to change for her, and be faithful to only her.
He ran out into the rain, too numb to even think about grabbing the umbrella that he left at the entrance of the café. He was immediately doused in the heavy downpour of rain, his blond curls drenched. He didn't care about this at the moment. He was focused on finding her through the mist of the storm, calling out her name as if he could drown out the cacophony of the heavy downpour.
He kept thinking that he could see her through the rain or maybe hear her voice. But when he turned in the direction in which he thought he heard her, she was gone.
He finally realized that he was running through a storm to find her, and that she was already gone. It felt like there was a solid wall of water separating them at this point, and attempting to go and try to find her would be equivalent to trying to swim across an ocean in the middle of a hurricane.
Robert finally made his way back to the café, feeling as if he had lost yet another person so dear to him in his life. The warmth of the café enveloped him; a contrast he didn't realize until he got out of the rain. His hair stuck to his head, and the barista was looking at him as if he had lost his mind.
"You... forgot your umbrella, sir."
Robert stared at his umbrella that she held in her hands as if he were waking up from a dream. "You're right... I came back here for it. Thank you." He took the umbrella and sat down at one of the tables to at least give his hair time to dry before he went back out into the rain and risked catching pneumonia.
He stared out the window as the other side of the street was invisible through the sheet of water. As the shock of the situation finally wore off, he remembered her face and the sound of her laughter, and how he would never feel her warm body beside him in his bed ever again.
He didn't realize the tears had begun until the sharp sting in his eyes and the hotness on his cheeks that were a sharp contrast to the coldness in which he had just come out of.
He propped his elbows up on the table, burying his head in his hands and he attempted to collect himself.
He didn't realize the barista was standing next to him until he heard the soft sound of tea pouring into the ceramic teacup. He looked up, and she gave him a look of pity as she set the cup and saucer in front of him.
"This one is on the house..."
He would have said "thank you" but he didn't trust himself to speak without sobbing. He took a sip of the tea and felt himself be thawed out from the inside.
He continued to stare out the window, hoping that he might see her walking back towards the shop, but eventually accepted with a deep sense of dread that she wouldn't.
As he warmed himself with the tea, he thought about how he was going to come back from this. He knew he never truly would. He had loved this woman for nearly a decade. He could never forget about her and the promises they had made. But the only thing he could do now was survive and move on, just like she had decided to do.
- 1
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Fool In The Rain