Summary: Home alone with a thunderstorm raging overhead, Yuichiro prays for a savior.

Rainy Lullaby

Rain and hail crashed and rattled against the windows of the house, which shuddered to its very core. Lost and alone, the maelstrom outside showed no signs of stopping as Yuichiro trembled in the corner of his bedroom, his fingers clamped over his ears like suction cups, eyes shut to block out the flashes of light and the clouds bellowing obscenities in the wind. With each bolt of lightning and crash of thunder, Yuichiro felt his body overcome by another wave of shakiness, his spirit shrunken into something almost nonexistent.

Help me! Someone, please, help me! his mind screamed, fingers and eyelids tightening, but it was all to no avail. No one else was home. Even if he did cry out, no one would hear him. Though the storm continued to whirl against the sides of the house, Yuu stood from his corner and ambled slowly down the stairs, all the while his hands over his ears. By the time he reached the living room, flipped on the TV, tears were running down his face. Unblinking, Yuu watched the screen, struggling to ignore the lightning, thunder, and rain punishing the outside – even as the lightning bleached everything white.

Every crack of thunder threatened to send Yuichiro over the edge, into an even deeper state of anxiety, but he kept his eyes glued to the screen, processing the information spat out a thousand times and a thousand times again, memorizing every word, as if his life depended on it.

The storm continued on.

~A few hours later~

Careening down the road through rain and sleet, Mikaela drove home with great haste. Damn Ferid for keeping me so long! he cursed, glaring at the time on the clock of his car dash. I should have been home hours ago to make sure Yuu is all right!

Mikaela threw the keys in the car and slammed the door shut the moment he pulled in, barely remembering to close the garage door as he dashed into the house, praying Yuichiro was sound asleep by now. The lightning and thunder had stopped a few hours ago, but that didn't make the sight Mikaela found when he walked into the living room any less terrifying.

Yuichiro was curled up on the couch under many blankets, his eyes transfixed to the TV screen which was blaring loud, – some talk show shrieking nonsense about fruits and diet tricks. Mouth opened slightly, Yuu's lips trembling, his teeth clenched against them. Yuu barely looked at Mika when he entered the room; the look on his face told Mikaela that he was already somewhere else, and had been for hours.

"Yuu!" Mika cried the moment his throat unclogged enough of his sobs to speak. Yuu is afraid of thunderstorms?! He rushed forward and clasped his hands around Yuu's shoulders, bending down so he was between Yuichiro and the TV screen. Mika shook him gently. "Yuu, I'm so sorry for not coming home straight away. But I'm here now! Everything's going to be fine!"

Yuichiro blinked his unseeing, green eyes; tears slipped down the side of his face as he did. His lips parted ever-so-slightly as he murmured Mikaela's name.

"That's right, I'm here!" Mika said. An onrush of guilt shot throughout his entire body, seeing the state Yuichiro was in, but he saw this as a perfect opportunity to get closer to Yuu. Mika draped one arm around Yuichiro, bringing him to face him as he sat on the couch. Yuichiro's arms shot out of his blankets to cling to Mika's as Mikaela kicked off his shoes and then settled down beside Yuichiro. Yuu watched Mika's graceful movements as he reached over to take the TV remote from behind Yuu and turned the TV system off. Trapped in darkness again, Mika could feel Yuu trembling to the patter of the rain, grip tightening on his arms.

"You don't have to be afraid now," Mikaela whispered. Yuichiro's only response was in the shakiness of his body as he wrapped his arms around Mikaela, which was more than enough for Mikaela to know that he appreciated his presence. Tenderly, Mika weaved his fingers through Yuichiro's hair as he sobbed against his chest, shushing quietly and speaking soothingly. "It's okay, Yuu. You're safe here, in my arms. I'll protect you from anything that tries to hurt you..."

The sound of rain was still prominent against the side of the house, and Yuu held onto Mikaela more tightly. Although Mikaela hated seeing Yuu, strong and defiant Yuu, who was always raring for a fight against those who were unjust, he felt a rush of euphoria at being able to be there to comfort him in his time of need. Glad that Yuichiro felt comfortable enough around him to show his weak side.

After a time, all the while the rain unrelenting, Yuichiro spoke softly, "Mika... I... I'm sorry..."

He sounded more lucid when he spoke this time. His apology startled Mikaela. "For what, Yuu?" Mika asked, breathless and utterly shocked.

"For freaking out like this over something as small as a rainstorm... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be such a drama queen..." He chuckled a little at the "drama queen" part, especially since Mika sometimes liked to joke about Yuu being his "precious princess," but Mikaela leaned back, pulling away from their embrace, searching Yuu for something. Seeing the concern on Mikaela's face, Yuichiro blinked. "What it is?"

"Why would you be sorry for something you can't control, Yuu?"

Yuu didn't know why, but his ears grew hot at the sincerely troubled tone of Mikaela's voice. "Because it's annoying, isn't it?" Yuu asked. "Having to put your duties on hold because of me... I know that you have more important things to be doing."

Mika shook his head side to side. "Of course not, Yuu. There's nothing more important than your wellbeing... than both of us. Nothing in the world could stop me from coming to rescue you when you cry for help." With an embarrassed bow of his head, Mika added sheepishly, "Besides, it was you who saved me first."

A faint crack of thunder emitted from the distance, loud enough to be heard over the rain. Riveted on the window, Mika could feel Yuu's breathing increase and entire body tense from the noise. "C'mon," Mika said, lifting himself from the couch and nudging Yuu's elbows to get him to join. Though Yuichiro stood up, his knees buckled underneath him when another wave of lightning and thunder banged and boomed unexpectedly on the outside. Yuu almost fell on the ground when Mika scooped him up in his arms, blankets and all. Yuichiro continued to hold onto Mika, embarrassed but not complaining, as Mika carried him up the stairs, to the room he had left hours before when the rain had first started, neither of them saying a word.

Carefully, Mikaela placed Yuichiro on the bed, who grabbed onto Mika's shirt, terrified when Mika turned away, thinking he might leave him alone again. "D-don't leave," he breathed, eyes wide. "Mika, please..."

Mikaela had been going to change into something more commodious, but seeing the utter fear in Yuu's face, he murmured, "Okay, I won't..." Mika crawled onto the bed with Yuichiro and slipped underneath the covers beside him, positioning the blankets around them as they pressed their foreheads together. Yuichiro's wild green eyes stared into Mika's calm blue ones.

Mika began to hum, softly at first, a tune both of them recognized from when they were young: one of the many that used to play on the radio around Christmas time named "Silver Bells," at a time before everything had fallen apart. Yuu's eyes grew heavy to the lull of Mikaela's voice in the background of the rain. Eventually, Mika leaned forward, planting a kiss on Yuichiro's nose as he continued to sing.

~The next morning~

Yuichiro was the one who woke up first. One arm slung sloppily across him, Mika breathing loudly in Yuu's ear with his cheek pressed against the pillow right behind him, stirring his hair with every breath.

Yuichiro listened to the songbirds outside the window for a while before he climbed out of bed. When Yuu opened the window, the sparkling surfaces of the earth, grass, and trees shined from the storm last night. A small gust of wind whistled past the raven tufts of hair around his ears as he took in the tranquility of the scene.

"Oh, Yuu, you're already awake," Mikaela muttered. He yawned and stretched as he sat up on the bed. Once focused on the room, Mika asked, "How are you feeling?"

Yuichiro thought the answer should be obvious with him up and about at the window. In spite of the warmth blossoming in his chest from Mikaela's worry last night, Yuu crossed his arms and scoffed, "Of course I'm feeling better, idiot. I would have bounced back without your help anyway. You just caught me in a weak moment is all; you should feel happy that I allowed you to comfort me."

Mikaela grinned at him and laughed, a gesture that Yuichiro allowed to fill him right up. "Right, Yuu, I should have known," Mika chuckled.

As he stood to join Yuu by the window, Yuichiro's heart pounded in his chest, having Mikaela so close. Why are the days after the storm always the most beautiful?

This was a prompt I found on Tumblr~ I've never really written something for someone before, so I hope you enjoyed it! It's mostly an AU, but I tried to depict it in a world where Mikaela has run away with Yuu but still has to report in to the vampires occasionally... Of course you could take it as a modern AU as well; I don't really care either way. (I would love to see vampire Mikaela drive a car though.)

Please don't forget to tell me what you thought of the story! Thanks for the read!