A/n: XD this is sorta a continuation of "By These Hands Alone" I hope that by introducing this pairing more people will catch on. Oh yeah and I hope for lots and lots and lots of reviews XD I'm a hound! Oh yeah, and I just recently learned I was way off on the spelling of Rafael sorry XD.

The Storm

Lightning crashed out the window, sending a loud rumbling to Dartz's ear.

Silk sheets rustled softly as he sat up in his bed and glanced around the dark room.

Another crack of lightning illuminated the room for a second to reveal a tall form sitting on the bench in front of the window.

"Can't sleep?"

The soft voice startled Rafael and he looked up at the figure sitting nearly motionless before him.

"With all this lightning and thunder I felt uneasy."

A smile tugged at the corner of Dartz's lips for a moment but it was a sad one.

"Was it the island of the graveyard?"

Rafael stared at him for a moment and shook his head.

"It's a childish fear. When I was six my parents would take me into their bed whenever there was a storm because I was so afraid of the lightning. But Master Dartz...I hold nothing against you from that."

Dartz chuckled slightly as he ran his fingers through his loose hair.

"Why is it that you still insist upon calling me Master?"

Rafael wasn't sure how to answer that.

He really wasn't sure himself.

"I guess it's because I still feel like I owe you. I respect you more as an equal but...it feels wrong to just call you by your name."

They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments until Dartz spoke again.

"Rafael...why are you in my room? You have a window bench in your room."

There was a long silence before Rafael spoke.

"I guess I felt more comfortable with someone else in the room."

Dartz stood silently and sat next to him.

"We'll wait until the storm ends and go have breakfast."

Rafael looked at him oddly.

"Do you know what time it is?"

Dartz smiled.

"Five o two fifteen A.M. I always know what time it is."

More silence filled the room until Rafael smiled and reached out to take a few strands of aqua hair into his fingers.

"I like it better when you leave your hair down."

Dartz closed his eyes for a moment, suddenly looking worried.

"What would you do for me if I asked you?"

Rafael looked at him oddly for a moment.

"Anything I guess. Why?"

The look in Dartz's eyes at that moment sent a shiver through him as he remembered the same look from nearly two years ago when he was bent on world domination.

"You said you felt like you still owed me, would you say you were in love with me because you felt you had to?"

He smiled softly and shook his head.

"You should know better than that. I'm devoted to you but if I didn't feel like I loved you I wouldn't have said so. Now hush, the storm is almost over."

He nodded and pulled Rafael closer as they sat watching the flashes of light and listened to the nearly constant rumble.

As the storm broke, the sun began to beam through the trees again and Dartz smiled at the lightly dozing figure in his arms.

'I hope it storms a lot this summer. You sleep as long as you want...I'll just sit here and make sure your dreams are peaceful.'

As if he'd read his mind, Rafael smiled as he drifted into a deeper sleep.

Dartz draped his arm over Rafael's waist and closed his eyes as he leaned his head back.

'Every night...I hope it storms every night...'