The rain had begun just as they were getting ready to go to bed. As she lay herself down, and got comfortable underneath the covers, Riko had gotten a glimpse at the dark and intimidating storm clouds visible outside the bedroom window. She'd tried to convince herself it wasn't going to be too bad, but the flash of bright lightning and the thunderous boom proved her wrong. She failed to suppress the pitiful whimper that escaped her as she shimmied further under her blanket.
Laying right next to the frightened damsel was none other than the self proclaimed fallen angel, Yoshiko. Yoshiko peeked over at Riko's anxious face and furrowed a brow. "You're not afraid of storms, are you Lily?"
"I-it only bothers me a little bit." Riko said with a huff. But with another crack of lightning it became clear it bothered her more than just a bit. The sound just about made Riko jump out of her skin. Yoshiko rolled her eyes and scooted closer to her girlfriend. She draped her arm around the shaken soul next to her, and smiled warmly.
"Don't worry my precious flower, no scary lightning or thunder will harm a hair on your pretty little head so long as the great Yohane is here." Saying stuff like that always made Yoshiko feel really cool. It made her feel even cooler when her girlfriend didn't shrug off her weird datenshi act and instead went along with it. Riko nodded slowly and moved closer into Yoshiko's comforting warmth. Riko immensely enjoyed cuddling with her girlfriend. And while it may not have completely put her at ease, it certainly helped her feel a tiny bit safer. Sadly however, not safe enough to make her drift into a peaceful slumber. Riko was having an incredibly hard time getting to sleep. Each and every lightning strike and sound of thunder sent chills down her spine.
She'd closed her eyes nearly thirty minutes prior in an attempt to fall asleep, but upon failing she sighed and opened her eyes. When her eyes opened up, she was surprised to find Yoshiko's beautiful pink eyes staring back at her. "You can't sleep either Yocchan?"
"I'm not falling asleep before you." Yoshiko quickly replied. "I wanna know you're all good before I do." At this, Riko couldn't help but blush. Yoshiko sometimes said just the sweetest things. Riko smiled and gave her girlfriend a little kiss on the nose.
"Thank you Yocchan." She said with a smile. Yoshiko simply smiled back and nodded, before pulling Riko closer to her body. A comforting gesture. Riko settled nicely up against Yoshiko's chest, taking comfort in the steady beating of her heart. As nice as it was though, it's not like it'd stop the thunderstorm, nor would it make Riko no longer afraid of thunderstorms. After another half hour or so of trembling and hugging onto Yoshiko whenever thunder sounded, Riko breathed a sigh of frustration. She pushed off the covers and went to get out of bed.
"Where are you going?" Yoshiko questioned after Riko. Riko didn't really answer, but it became clear what she was doing soon enough. She'd retrieved her phone from where it was charging on the other side of the room and began looking through the late night weather reports. "Ah, I see." Yoshiko said, peering over Riko's shoulder as she scrolled through all the night's weather related news.
"Maybe the storm will be over soon, and I'll just wait it out." That was of course, what the redhead had hoped for. But alas, it seemed the universe wasn't feeling too generous that night.
Turns out, the storm was likely to continue until early the next morning. Everyone was highly advised to stay indoors until it's end, and to avoid water, tall objects, and metal at all costs. Riko sighed in defeat, feeling a mix of disappointment and anxiety wash over her. "Hey, it'll be alright." Yoshiko spoke, running her fingers soothingly through Riko's hair. "We're nice and safe indoors, alright? Come on, let's get back to sleep."
Riko frowned and gave a quiet "Y-yea.. Alright." in response.
Yoshiko led her frightened girlfriend back the bed. As they were about to lay back down, a particularly loud blast of thunder roared. It shook the house, causing Riko to freeze where to she was and let out a whine. Yoshiko gave a deep breath and made her way over to where Riko stood shivering. The younger girl made her way behind Riko and gently wrapped her arms around her midsection, pulling Riko into a loving hug from behind. "Hey Lily?" She spoke quietly, with a special amount of care in her voice. Riko only nodded a gave a meek 'mhm?' in response.
"Have you always been like this? Have you always been so afraid every time a storm passed through? I can't imagine having to put up with that for so long."
"Y-yea." Riko replied. "It's definitely not the best feeling in the world."
Yoshiko nodded her head and continued to speak. "But you've managed to get past every storm up until this one, right? Cause you're my brave little flower, Lily." Yoshiko pulled away and took Riko's hand in her own. She walked them both over to the bed and began laying down. Riko followed her lead, slipping into the covers behind her girlfriend. "I'll be with you all night, so don't worry."
Riko was touched by Yoshiko's sincerity and care. She couldn't help herself as she leaned over and placed a warm kiss on Yoshiko's lips. It wasn't a long kiss, but it was an extremely heartfelt one. When she pulled away, both she and Yoshiko sported crimson cheeks. "Hey Yocchan?" Riko said, getting comfortable in bed.
"Yes, Lily?" Yoshiko breathed softly.
"I love you. You're my favorite fallen angel."
Yoshiko was overcome by the grin that forced it's way onto her face. She let out a goofy little laugh, as she rolled over next to Riko. "Thank you Lily, I love you too. You're my favorite little demon."
Riko lay in Yoshiko's arms. Once more allowing herself to cuddle up to the chuuni's chest and be enveloped by her girlfriend's soft breaths and gentle heartbeat. Yoshiko placed an arm around Riko's waist, making sure Riko would know she was protected under her loving embrace.
Naturally Riko wasn't able to immediately get to sleep. But after all Yoshiko had said, she did feel much better. Each time lightning flashed and thunder sounded she'd feel Yoshiko's reassuring grip. She decided to focus not on the sound of the storm, but rather on her lover's heartbeat. She began to count each thump, much like a child counting sheep. And as luck would have it, eventually all sounds began to disappear as the soft thumping of Yoshiko's heart lulled her to sleep.
"Goodnight Riko."
The last thing she heard that night before being pulled away to her dreams.