Lightning struck across the sky. Thunder roared in the distance. Big, fat droplets of water hit the roof and windows persistently. Wind blew harshly in the background.
The storm seemed to have no intention whatsoever of letting up anytime soon. But if there was one person in the world who truly couldn't care less about that, that person was Asakura Yoh. In fact, he was just preparing to take advantage of it in a way that only he could.
Some would call it an irrational, childish fear. Others a well-grounded phobia. Some would even go as far as saying it was hilarious and using it as blackmail material. But he was the only one who knew that Kyoyama Anna—popularly known as the Ice Queen—was afraid of lightening.
And fortunately for her, he would never use such information against her—he loved her too much to even think about harming her in any way.
That didn't mean he didn't enjoy using her weaknesses to his advantage every once in a while, though.
Padding down the corridor that led to her room, he recalled the first time he had witnessed her unusual predicament. He had been returning upstairs from the kitchen, where he had fetched himself a glass of water. It was the end of August and the storms were starting up. That particular night, the worst of them had unleashed over their city.
He was about to walk back into his room when a door down the hallway burst open, then slammed closed, and a clearly pissed Anna stormed in the direction of the stairs.
Maybe it could have been his doom at the time, but he had planted himself in her way, grabbed her upper arms, and stopped her from advancing any further. Amber eyes had glared up at him and her mouth had opened—no doubt to threaten him—but he had remained firm in his position.
As a reward, he was sure, lightening flashed across the sky, illuminating his room and both of them as they stood in the open doorway.
Anna froze in his arms and Yoh frowned down at her.
"Are you alright?" he had asked, skeptically.
"Yes," she had answered. But her voice was small and sounded chocked.
Then lightening struck again.
The rest was, as they said, history.
There was a gentle grin on his face as he came to a stop in front of her bedroom door, but there was no hesitation in his body language as he swiftly, yet silently, pushed it open.
Once inside, however, he was met with a sight he had not expected. She was fast asleep. She was lying on her back, the sheets covering her up to her waist, one hand lying over her stomach, the other onto the pillow, beside her head. Her usually perfect blonde hair was in complete disarray, spread all over the white sheets and her face, but she was breathing gently, steadily.
Realization dawned on him in an instant.
She was always working more than usual during this time of the year. She was smart, but she wanted to be perfect, so the finals always left her like this—exhausted.
With slow, soundless steps, he crossed the room to reach her, kneeling down on the futon, beside her. He smiled as he pushed the strands of hair that were covering her face away. She didn't even stir. He huffed an amused breath. He should have known that if the lightening didn't wake her up, nothing would.
Pulling back the covers, he squeezed in behind her and wrapped his strong arms around her small frame, cradling her to his chest. Another smile spread on his features as she shifted and cuddled into his embrace, unconsciously leaning towards his warmth.
One might think he was taking advantage of his position and knowledge, since it was clear that the girl didn't need him, and maybe he was, but the truth was that Yoh thought ahead and wanted to be there for her if she happened to wake up in the middle of the night and became scared. He wanted her to know that he was there for her, that he was there to love and protect her.
She was still having a hard time accepting the fact that someone out there cared enough about her to do that. So he resolved that he would prove it to her for as many times as was necessary until she understood and gathered the courage and the confidence to seek him out herself.
It may take time, he was aware of that, but patience was one of the things that Yoh Asakura would never lack.
A/N: I found this while I was going through my files the other day, and since I thought it was cute, I decided to finish it! I also found another uncompleted one-shot, so be on the look-out for that soon (I guess)!
Leave me some love! :)