Sue me, I ship Skina more than I do anything else. It's my one and only OTP so far. This chapter is as lovey-dovey as this entire book will get... I think. There will be nothing ruder than a kiss, that I promise in advance. If you have a one shot request, send a little review and I'll see what I can do. I have no idea if this will actually get any views, but I could be surprised. Apologies if my characterisation seems off at any stage.

Shippers gonna ship. Haters gonna hate, but haters- go hate over there and sulk in the corner please. If you don't like, don't read. Simple. Shippers- enjoy :)


Guess We Gotta Share

The bad weather came out of nowhere. Even for London, storms didn't usually just appear with such heavy rainfall. Well, it did today. It was just their kind of fortune.

Mina Harker and Rodney Skinner were currently having to hurry back to the Nautilus. They didn't have an umbrella and Mina didn't even have a waterproof coat. She was going to end up being soaked through to the skin. She refused to voice her discomfort. There was no reason to. She wasn't a fragile woman and she didn't expect Skinner to have to go out of his way to help her. He was in an equally bad situation.

"Trust me to forget my gloves today," he muttered, looking up to the sky.
Skinner was already carrying a small stack of books which they had left the ship to buy. He kept them close to his chest and used his coat to keep them dry for her.

It meant he couldn't tuck his hands away in his pockets. Mina had tried to tell him he didn't have to carry them but he insisted. It wasn't as cold as it was wet at least. He didn't seem to mind helping her and the thief certainly seemed to be growing to enjoy her company. Perhaps carrying her books was the only excuse he could find to go with her.

They were still a good ten minutes away from the ship and it wasn't the kind of rain they could wait off as it ran its course. This would be in for the night; it just got heavier. The wind grew stronger, making it more vicious as it fell. Luckily, it fell against their backs- so it wasn't in their faces at least. They managed to hide temporarily under a doorway, to try to decide what to do next.

"Well this is cosy," Skinner grinned, inching a little closer to her. He wore only his hat and coat. But he had some of his greasepaint on to show the expression on his face. The occasional droplets of water had made their way onto his face but mostly it had washed a lot of it off the back of his head.

Mina sent him a warning glare as he tried his luck in getting closer once more. Skinner just chuckled. Mina knew he didn't fear those threats that much anymore. She was having to use them too frequently; he was getting too brave, well partially. When thunder crashed all around them, Skinner jumped in surprise, managing not to curse.

"Frightened of the thunder? Mina teased, trying to suppress a smile.

"No, I just didn't expect it," he defended lightly. There was an easy silence, filled with the muttering of the wind and rain. "Well, we can either share this doorway all day or we can run and try to dodge the raindrops. It's your call."
"We may as well go now before it gets even worse. After all, we're almost back now," Mina said.
"Come on then, I'll race you," he joked.

A blinding flash of sheet light in made them stop after their first step. The rain came down even heavier.

Skinner sighed and handed Mina back her books. She didn't understand what he was doing as he took of his coat. He had nothing else on; he certainly couldn't be too warm. He used his coat to keep both of them dry, holding it above their heads.
"Guess we're going to have to share," he grinned.
Mina smiled gently, knowing all he was doing was in a bid to win her affections. Though she didn't expect it, he was doing better than they both thought.

Mina held onto her books tightly, keeping them close to protect them from the rain. Skinner was keeping most of his leather coat over her and not himself. Mina inhaled through her nose as they hurried along. She could smell the musty worn leather from his coat which he had became so accustomed to wearing. She could smell the somewhat masculine soap on his body from his frequent cleaning routine. Pears; she liked she smell of that brand of soap. The rain created an equally earthy scent. It was one of those smells combined that she simply couldn't take a deep enough breath of.

Before she could stop herself, she felt herself lean towards him. Their walk slowed by a fraction. Mina immediately shook herself out of it and straightened up, noticing her stupid mistake. What was she doing?! She was going to end up giving him the wrong impression. She didn't love him… did she?

"We need to find a doorway, I think my arms gonna drop off," Skinner laughed, seemingly not minding what she had done. She hoped he had not noticed though she doubted it. The two sheltered under quite a large marble doorway. It was deep enough for them to face each other.

Skinner put his coat on. Mina watched him rub his arms, getting his circulation back to normal. "Well, we're almost back at least," he said, sighing onto his hands to warm them.
"Here," she said quietly, taking off her gloves and putting her hands on his. Her hands were warm enough to take some of the chill out of his own. Mina sighed softly: he was freezing. Skinner couldn't seem to bring himself to speak. He seemed fascinated by her gentle hands.

"Thank you for doing this," Mina said, referring to his coat.
Skinner grinned, "Anything I can do for a damsel in distress."
Mina raised an eyebrow. Skinner winked fearlessly with a smile tugging at his lips.

There was a moments pause. Mina found herself to be reluctant to let go of his hands. They looked at one another, reading their expressions. Skinner spotted a tiny bundle hair on her face and moved it away from her eye sheepishly. Mina smiled, a faint glow seemed to seep into her frame. There was that same devilish grin on his face and she could imagine the gleam in his eye. His act of a daring gentleman thief was slipping away… or was it? Because no matter how hard she tried to stop it, Mina could feel him stealing away her heart. Somehow she knew Skinner's acts of kindness were genuine.

What was it about this man that seemed so different to every other? His carefree attitude? His disregard for the rules of social classes... or was it the uplifting freedom she felt whenever she was with him? Because whenever Mina Harker was by Skinner's side, the barriers of being a woman just melted away. They became non-existent and she felt unrestrained. Skinner did not care for what was expected from her. She was free to be Mina, and not Mrs Harker, a respectable woman of higher class. It was a freedom she had never been able to have, barely even as a child. Yes… that was why she found herself falling for him. Not even Jonathan had given her such a feeling...

Skinner made the first move and began to lean in towards her, slowly closing his eyes. Mina couldn't help herself, she leaned forward to meet him. No one was nearby due to the rain. They were alone. She put a hand onto his chest, feeling the hastened beat behind it; the other stroked the side of his face. The high class lady had fallen for the infamous gentleman thief.

Their lips met tentatively just as the thunder sounded.

As they broke apart they found themselves unable to tear fully away from each other. There was no going back now. Skinner brought an arm around her back, pulling her close. He took off his hat with the other to hide them should there be any onlookers. Mina kissed him again, bringing both hands to his face, letting the freedom he brought to her take control. Her books fell to the floor.

Perhaps they would wait to see if the rain stopped after all.


Tah dah, hope you liked it. If you did can you leave me a little review please just so I know if I should put some more up, that would be fantastic. Thanks again. Bye!