Wow it’s been 84 years, but I return with this self-indulgent nonsense! Did I crib a lot of notes from Ouran? Yes. Did this really resonate with me because I am absolutely scared of thunder? You bet. Does it matter than thunderstorms in Japan aren’t really a Thing because of their climate? Not even a little bit. I hope you enjoy!
~Admin Emma (Your Local Goblin)
Asahi
What had started as low rumblings before bed turned into cacophonous thunder that woke Asahi up from a dead sleep. That was no easy feat, given how heavily he slept, but thunder woke him easily. Not that he was afraid of thunder–far from it, actually–but he knew you were. The last time a storm had rolled through, he’d come home to find you shivering in the back of the closet with a pillow jammed around your head. That night was no exception.
“Hey,” he said, running his hand over the curve of your waist. You tensed under his touch, shrinking further under the covers. He wrapped a thick arm around your waist, holding you close. “Hey, ssh, It’s ok.”
“Asahi…” you whimpered, flinching when there was another flash of lightning. The thunder followed a few seconds after, loud and terrifying. It practically shook the entire house.
“Hey, hey,” Asahi soothed, pulling you a little closer. You buried your face in his chest, and he’d almost be embarrassed by the gesture if you weren’t so clearly afraid. He started rocking you gently, murmuring softly under his breath. “It’s going to be ok.”
This was a ritual for you. It was hard to see you so afraid, but he had things that scared him, too. He had totally irrational anxieties that turned him into a shaking, shivering, self-hating mess. You were always there to help him with those; so he would be there to help you with the thunder. He knew nothing he did that was rational would help. So he just allowed his presence to be enough, when it could be enough.
He would always protect you.
Bokuto
While he was no big fan of thunderstorms, he was more afraid of the power going out than anything else. His ADHD made his ears ring if it was totally silent, so if the power went out, he didn’t have his fan, and therefore he couldn’t sleep. So when a rare storm rolled through, he was instantly on high alert. He made sure his battery-powered white noise machine was charged, the candles and lighter were within easy reach, and the emergency supplies were where you’d left them last. You had leftover rice in the cooker, so if he got hungry he didn’t need power…
The storm rolled in so quickly, it didn’t take long for the thunder to roll over his head with a deafening crack. Up until that point, you’d been reading in the living room, bundled in one of his sweatshirts. You’d been pretty absorbed in your book, but the thunder yanked you right out of it. You were as alarmed as a sighthound catching movement in the bushes, and when the thunder cracked again, your eyes went wide.
Bokuto knew he had to get to work; “Hey, ____, I was thinking… I want you to show me that game. That crazy shooting RPG… Mass Effect?”
“You… you want to play Mass Effect?” You jumped when thunder cracked again, louder than before. But it was easier to get your attention again.
“Yeah! It looks fun! And you and Kuroo have that inside joke about ‘best store on the Citadel’ or whatever, and I want in!”
“Right…” you gulped when you saw the lightning flash again, but he held your attention. “Right now?”
“Yeah!” Bokuto said, exuberant and bright.
He wasn’t great at comforting. He wasn’t soft or gentle, he didn’t know how to hold you until you stopped being afraid. He was a man of action–a fixer. He needed to fix it. And he couldn’t fix an irrational fear.
But he could distract you, and make you feel loved and happy. And that was all he needed, really.
Noya
He came home from practice soaked to his skin, the sudden storm catching him by surprise. The apartment was dark, and the low hum of the AC unit was shockingly absent. The only sound was the driving rain outside. The power was out. You were nowhere to be seen.
“____?” Noya called, peeking into rooms as he searched. “____? You home?”
A flash of lightning, followed by an immediate crack of thunder. And then, he heard you. Just the tiniest whimper… you were in the bedroom. He should have known. He dropped his wet clothes into the laundry basket, scrubbed a towel over his hair quickly, and fished his phone out of his backpack. Thankfully, it didn’t get too wet. He plugged in his good headphones–the noise cancelling ones–and cracked the closet door. There you were, curled pathetically in the corner like a beaten dog.
He hated it. He hated that you were so scared, that he couldn’t be there for you. All he wanted was to make it go away. He stole the blanket from your bed and touched your knee. You practically leapt through the ceiling, your eyes darting nervously around before settling on him.
“Y-yuu…” Your voice shook, and you yelped when there was another crack of thunder.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” he said softly, whipping the blanket around your shoulders. He put the headphones over your ears, blasting your favorite playlist, and gathered you close. “It’s ok. I’m here.”
He rubbed your shoulder soothingly, feeling pleased with himself when you started relaxing into his side. He did this for you every time there was a storm. He didn’t even get that itch under his skin when he sat still for too long. This was too important to him. You were too important to him, and he didn’t want you to be scared anymore. He’d do anything…
An hour later, the power came back on, and you were fast asleep.
Ukai
He didn’t care about thunderstorms one way or the other; they came so rarely in Miyagi that he never really had to think about them. Okinawa, though… that was a different story. Many of the locals had warned him that day about a storm brewing just off the coast. Considering the big, ominous-looking clouds on the horizon, he’d taken it seriously. He was glad you’d packed your earplugs for the trip.
Sadly, the thunder was so loud and rain hit the window so hard it was near deafening, the ear plugs didn’t help. You’d tried to go to bed early, but the tension from the potential storm had kept you up. And now, with the rain and wind going full force, you were awake and likely not going to sleep any time soon.
He sighed, scratching at his hair as he climbed into bed with you. He snuck a hand under your shirt, rubbing soothing circles into your bare back; “Hey, it’s ok.”
You nodded, relaxing into his touch, but stiffening when lightning flashed again. He counted the seconds between the flash and the crack of thunder, and the storm was practically on top of the hotel. If he stared through the gauzy curtains, he could see thin cracks of light striking the sea. It would have been cool if you weren’t in his arms, shaking like a leaf.
He did the only thing he could do… the thing that you always said you liked. He sang to you. It was an old song, a traditional song his grandmother sang to him when he was young. It always soothed him, and despite the fact he wasn’t the most gifted singer in the world, you always seemed to love his singing voice. The first few times it had been embarrassing, but after years together, all self-consciousness about the roughness from years of smoking and his tone deafness and the way his voice cracked on higher notes had vanished. All he wanted was to make you feel loved.
After a time–he honestly lost track–your shaking stopped. He peered down to check on you. You weren’t asleep, but you were staring up at him with such naked affection in your eyes, his face flamed.
“Thanks, Keishin,” you said, brushing your fingers along his jaw in a way that made him shiver. “You always know what to do.”
He grinned, pressing gentle kisses to the corner of your mouth; “Anything for my future wife.”
I’M MELTING!!!! I, too, do not like thunder. I think storms are cool but they scare the crap out of me so I can totally relate. These were so, so, so SWEET Emma! You always knock it out of the park!
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