"Storms are expected to continue throughout the night after what happened just off the coast of..." The TV reporter continued on as thunder sounded out over the constant sound of the rain. It had started in the afternoon, before they had gotten out of school. Both of them were wearing their pajamas as they sat in the living room reading manga. In her hands, Yuuko had a boys-love manga (of course) while Hideyoshi was reading a shoujo manga he had gotten on their last visit to the bookstore. She didn't question his choice of manga, simply ignoring it as her manga came to a romantic point.

"Hey, sis," Hideyoshi started speaking before being cut off by another crack of thunder, something that made him jump. Yuuko didn't look at him as he continued. "can I sleep with you tonight?"

That's what she figured he would ask. Ever since he was little, he had always disliked the thunder and lightning. She didn't care to bother asking him why he was afraid of it, it was none of her concern. There were things he was scared of and things she was scared of, like snakes (poisonous ones). But a difference between them was that she wouldn't hesitate to face her fear (in the form of killing the snake). Hideyoshi, on the other hand, always came running to her when there was a thunderstorm going on.

"Fine." Yuuko sighed, knowing that if she refused him he would sleep right outside her door until he couldn't stand it there any longer and sneak into her room, placing a futon right beside her bed and staying there until morning. Even through she is a light sleeper, she was just too used to him to wake up; and since he got up earlier than her, she could never catch him when he did it. For all she knew, he could be sleeping in her room every single night.

"Thank you, sis." Hideyoshi told her, giving her a soft, happy smile. Most of the time he would always keep on his mostly unexpressionless mask, but he sometimes took it off in front of her to reveal how truly happy he was.

She loved it whenever he did that.

It was bedtime now, Yuuko giving a small sigh when she realized she wouldn't have her bed all to herself. But still, she didn't mind it too much; it had been a while since the two of them had shared a bed, and the extra warmth he always brought with him was quite enjoyable during the colder times of the year. It didn't matter to her that he was a boy, he is her brother after all.

Despite him having been the one to ask, Yuuko was practically pushing him forward as she forced him to be the first one into the bed, Hideyoshi pretty much falling down on it. "Stay on your side, alright?" She asked him as she went to set the alarm clock, making sure to set it at Hideyoshi's time instead of her own.

"Yeah..." Hideyoshi muttered in response as he wondered why he had gotten pushed down onto her bed, but he quickly found the covers to be quite inviting as he pulled them up to his shoulders. "Goodnight, sis." He told Yuuko as he snuggled his head into the pillow.

"Goodnight, Hideyoshi." Yuuko told him, giving her brother a soft smile before lying down on her bed, also pulling the covers up over her. Her back was turned to Hideyoshi who faced her, and she could feel some of his body heat radiating off of him. And with that feeling at her back, she began to allow herself to lose herself in her thoughts and daydreams.

Before she could get farther into a daydream she had quickly snatched onto, a loud clap of thunder sounded out which not only made the house seem to rock a little, but also made Hideyoshi to suddenly jump forward. His hands were at her back, clasping the fabric of her nightshirt. Yuuko had known this was going to happen; did she like it? No, not really... Well, maybe a bit of both? Even through she always liked times like this where she felt tougher than her brother, she also felt slightly annoyed by his actions.

Or it could just have been that he had interrupted one of her Yaoi fantasies.

"Sis," Hideyoshi began, his voice slightly soft with only a slight, barely noticeable ting of being shaky. "thank you." He told her, his breath falling against her neck as he spoke to her. Hideyoshi knew he had already told her "thank you" before, but he was wanting to say it again because of the comfort she was providing him with. The thunder still made him jump, but just being here with his sister so close at his side erased all the fear that came with the loud thunder.

Yuuko's annoyance fled at his heart-filled words, her eyes opening as she glanced back at Hideyoshi who did not move to get back on his side of the bed. A question surfaced in her mind, and her mouth was already opening to ask it without much thought. "Hideyoshi, why are you afraid of thunder?"

Hideyoshi's eyes opened and met her own as he loosened his grip on her shirt. He didn't know how to respond to her question because he didn't know the answer; being afraid of thunder had always been with him, no matter what since the very beginning. "I don't know, sis..." He whispered softly as he tried to think of why he was afraid of it. As he thought about it, he was reminded that there was a time when he was barely afraid of it. Going further, he found an answer within his most dearly-held memories. "but, maybe... it's because, whenever there were these loud thunderstorms when we were kids, you were always there with me in the bed we shared." A small smile formed on his lips as he continued to reminiscence about those times. "You always... told me not to be afraid as you kept your hand clasped around my own, looking into my eyes as you repeated it: 'don't be afraid'."

Hideyoshi released his grip as Yuuko rolled over onto her other side, her eyes keeping focus with his own as she turned her whole body to face him. "And you're afraid of it now... because I'm not always there with you?"

"I suppose that's the reason." Hideyoshi told her, a light blush coming across his face.

Yuuko smiled at him, a soft and warm one as she took ahold of his hand with her own. "Well, Hideyoshi, I'm here with you now." She leaned forward, raising her head to kiss him on the forehead. "So don't be afraid."

After that, despite the occasional roar of thunder, Hideyoshi slept peacefully with Yuuko's hand around his own.

Just like when they were children.