A/N: This is more brotherly love than slash, but eh. It satisfied my needs. ^-^
A bright flash of lightning illuminated the octopus' room in a blueish glow, and a loud clap of thunder followed soon after. The starless sky outside was barely seen because of the pelting rain. Squidward walked into his room, a cup of tea in one tentacle, and a magazine in the other. He set the tea down on the nightstand and the magazine on the bed as he walked over to the window to observe the storm outside. The currents were moving faster than he had seen in a long time, and the thunder shook his house and shattered his ear drums every time it struck.
He tread back over to his bed and got under the covers comfortably. He opened his magazine and took a sip of tea. Hearing how loud the rain was pelting against the window, and how horrible a storm this looked, he thought to himself, "Any minute now. He's going to call. Any second.." He glowered to himself at the thought.
As if on cue, the shell phone on his bedside table began to ring. He sighed before continuing, "Having a good evening, Spongebob?" He asked sarcastically.
"S-Squidward...c-can I please come o-over...?" The shaky voice spoke on the other end.
Squidward rolled his eyes. "Spongebob, you call me and ask the same damn question every time there's a thunder storm."
"I know...but...i-it feels like it's s-shaking my house and-"
Trying to avoid a pointless ramble, Squidward quickly interjected. "Fine. You can come over. Just-"
Before he could finish, he heard the line go dead abruptly. No less than 30 seconds later, there was a frantic pounding at the door that sounded like an open-window maniac trying to get in. Squidward calmly walked down the stairs to open the door. He sighed and rolled his eyes before he turned the knob. "Spongebob, calm down, for Neptune's sake."
He opened the door and was pushed to the side by the sponge as he quickly ran inside and slammed, and locked, the door behind him. He was then almost tackled to the floor by the sponge, who was soaking wet from the rain outside. Squidward peeled him off of his waist. "Sponge, you're ok. You're inside now." He said dryly.
Spongebob came back to him, taking the cloth of his night shirt in his hands tightly. He hands shook as he looked up at him with fearful eyes. "Oh, it was terrifying, Squidward! I thought I was never going to make it all the way to your house!" He said, voice stuttering.
"Yeah, ten feet must have been quite the haul." Squidward muttered sarcastically.
"I...I thought I was gonna get struck by lightning or something, or blown away with the winds.." He made waving hand gestures to demonstrate. "Or that my house was gonna be uprooted from the ground!"
"Yeah, yeah. Can you take a breath for two sec-"
"And I was gonna go over to Patrick's because I didn't want to bother you because I know how much you hate it when I do.." He said, voice becoming faster and faster as he spoke. "But then I remembered that he was out of town with his parents, so that's when I called you and I ran over here as fast as I could and-"
Squidward's eyes glazed over as Spongebob rambled on, and he looked up at the ceiling with an expression that said, 'Dear Neptune, help me..'.
"...And I saw on the weather channel that there was a whirlpool passing by in the east, so I got kinda-"
Squidward clapped a tentacle over the sponge's mouth and sighed wearily. "I get it, sport. Now could you take a deep breath and go back to your pineapple so I can go to bed?" He began to head for the stairs.
He immediately felt the little, yellow fingers tighten around his legs, pulling him back. Spongebob looked up at him with a frightened expression. "I can't go back, Squidward! It's too scary to be there alone!"
Squidward looked down at the clinging sponge and raised a brow. "So? Don't you have your snail there with you?"
"He's away at the vet's for a check up.." Spongebob mumbled. "S-so, can I stay here?"
Squidward tried to get his foot free, but Spongebob's grip was impossible to get off. "Spongebob, you're being a baby. It's just a thunderstorm."
"Ohhh, Squiddy, please?" He begged, grasping the cephalopod's tentacles even harder.
"No! I'm going to bed.." He tried to take a step forward to get up the stairs, but Spongebob pulled him back. He glared at him. "Spongebob, let go!"
"Only if you let me stay here!"
"I said, NO."
"Just for the night?"
"NO!"
"...Fifteen minutes...?" He asked in a whisper.
Squidward slapped his forehead and muttered to himself. "Am I gonna have to pry you off of my legs and drag you back to that pineapple?"
Spongebob shook his head rapidly, but still clung to Squidward's legs. He looked up at him and his bottom lip began to quiver. He whimpered like a puppy and his pupils grew wide.
"What are you..." He then folded his tentacles. "No. Nope. I'm not getting sucked into this." He turned his head away.
Spongebob whimpered even more and nuzzled his head into Squidward's legs. "Please...?" He asked in a over the top baby tone.
Squidward shook his head. "That face doesn't work outside the bedroom, Spongebob." He said plainly, trying to turn away even further so that he couldn't even see him from the corner of his eye.
More whining, sniffling, and even a few tears beginning to dribble on the side of his leg.
"Goddamnit, Spongebob, grow up!" He forcefully pried Spongebob off his legs and held the shaking figure in front of his face. "It's just rain."
"With thunder...and...lightning and wind...!" Spongebob protested, shivering.
Squidward groaned loudly and put Spongebob on the ground, grabbing his scrawny little arm and leading him to the door. "I can't take this anymore. I'm going to show you how childish this fear is!" He yelled. "I'm taking you outside!"
"No...!" Spongebob lept away in fear, but Squidward grabbed him by the legs and continued to drag him. He dug into the floor to try to escape, making little ruts because of how deep he was digging, but to no avail.
Squidward opened the door and dragged Spongebob with him. He placed the sponge in front of the doorway, and the two looked at the rain falling down fiercely from the dark, almost black, clouds above. Squidward gestured a tentacle in front of him. "See? It's just RAIN."
There was a bright flash and then a loud clap of thunder soon after, even somewhat startling Squidward. Spongebob, however, had a bit of a hammier reaction. He now clung to Squidward's torso, trembling in fear. "C-close the door, Squidward...! Before we get electrocuted!"
Squidward rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine. Don't believe me?" He pulled Spongebob away and, annoyed beyond belief, stepped outside into the rain.
Spongebob gasped. "Squidward, no! C-come back before you get hurt!" He warned from the doorway.
"Ooh, look at me! I'm out in the rain." Squidward muttered sarcastically as he continued to walk further. "This is terrifying."
"P-please, Squidward, come back!" Spongebob yelled, clinging onto the frame of the door in fear as he watched the octopus continue to walk away.
When Squidward reached the edge of the road near his mailbox, he stopped and turned to face Spongebob. Lightening struck few miles behind him, followed by another clap of thunder. "Oh, look how far out I've gone. I do hope that I won't get struck by lightning as I place my tentacle on this METAL mailbox." He smirked as he did exactly that.
Spongebob tore at the spongy flesh on his head as he watched in peril. "SQUIDWARD, STOP!" He begged, now close to breaking down as tears filled his eyes. "P-PLEASE COME BACK!"
"I'm not moving an inch, Squarepants." He raised a brow as he then proceeded to hop on top of the metal mailbox, standing tall, making it much easier for him to get struck. "You're just gonna have to come get me."
Spongebob's eyes were wide with fear and a feeling of helplessness. "B-but, the storm..."
"Well, then if you're not coming out here, I guess I'll just wait patiently for the lightning to come for me." He got a devious smile, and pulled out a long metal stick. "Time to test out this metal rod." He raised it high into the air with one tentacle. "Hope you don't mind."
Spongebob cracked at the sight of this. Without even thinking, he raced outside towards Squidward at full speed. Before he knew it, Squidward was tackled to the ground by Spongebob, who was now panting heavily on top of him, eyes ablaze with fear. Squidward cackled, proud of his success.
"I-it's not funny, Squidward...!" Spongebob said, every muscle in his body shaking as he still had the octopus pinned to the ground. He formed a slight glare.
"Well, it got you out into the rain, didn't it?" Squidward asked, raising a brow and smiling a bit.
Spongebob stopped and looked all around him. As the rain fell onto him and beside him, he noticed how tranquil it had become. The rain was almost...melodic. He got off of Squidward's body and took a moment to observe his surroundings. A little clap of thunder sounded, but he didn't budge, mesmerized.
Squidward got up to stand beside him and he took in the surroundings as well. Mostly he looked at the sponge's shining blue pupils as he looked around. "Well?" He asked, folding his tentacles.
"It's...not that scary..." Spongebob murmured as he looked around. "It's...peaceful..."
"Oh, what do you know?" Squidward said, smirking wildly at the sponge. "I was right after all."
As Spongebob stood there, he felt the patter of the rain on his spongy skin. He giggled. "That tickles..!" He said happily.
A rain drop then fell into one of the pores on his head and he quickly began jumping around the front yard, trying to catch the rain in the holes on his body, twisting in all different directions to do so. He laughed heartily as he did.
After a while of watching Spongebob play around, he sighed and went to go tap him on the shoulder. "Alright, Spongebob, I think I'm gonna go back to-"
"Oh! Squidward!" Spongebob cried as he whipped around to face the octopus. "Play with me! This is so much fun!"
"Uhh, thanks, but I don't really-"
He was cut off by Spongebob suddenly gripping his tentacles in his hands and beginning to spin around in the rain in a circle. He laughed loudly as he did, spinning Squidward around with him. Although, he wasn't really playing along, so he was mostly being dragged awkwardly in a circular motion.
"Sponge...bob...!" He cried as he was jerked around. "Stop...before...you...pull...my...arms...out!" He begged as he began to slam against the sand on the ground.
"Just spin with me, Squiddy!" Spongebob cried, not paying any attention to his request.
Squidward struggled to get up and tried to pull his tentacles free of the sponge's grasp. He finally managed to get his tentacles out of his grasp, but he quickly ricocheted backward from the force of Spongebob's spinning and slammed into the stake of the metal mailbox.
Opening his eyes and groaning from the pain, he heard Spongebob laughing loudly in the distance. He saw that he had landed near the pathway that led to the Easter Island Head. He was on his back.
Rubbing his head, which was now bruised from the impact, he walked over to where Spongebob was laying. He glared at him. "What the hell was that about?" He demanded as he stood over the sponge.
Spongebob just giggled louder as he stared up at Squidward. "Hi, Squidward!" He gave a little wave. "That was fun, wasn't it?"
"If you call getting a possible concussion fun, then I guess it was." He narrowed his eyes as he rubbed his throbbing skull. "Are you ready to go home now?" He folded his arms.
Spongebob wasn't paying attention to him. He was staring up at the sky as the rain fell down on him, entranced. Rain began to completely soak through his pants and shirt.
"Did you hear me?" Squidward asked impatiently, snapping his tentacle in front of the sponge's glazed eyes.
Spongebob finally looked up at him and smiled. "Sorry, Squidward. I was just looking up at the rain." His pupils dilated. "It's so..." He searched for a word to use. "It's so placid." He murmured smiling up at the octopus.
Squidward let out a chuckle. "I'm surprised you even know what that word means." He said.
"I learned it from you, remember?" Spongebob said. He then pat the sand next to him. "Come lay down next to me."
Squidward looked down at the soaking wet sand that would most likely stain his beloved night shirt in disgust. "Ehh, I don't know.."
"Come on, Squidward! It's so pretty from this angle." He rested both of his arms behind his head in relaxation.
Squidward sighed in defeat. "Fine." He mumbled as he got down on his knees and lay down next to the sponge. He looked over at Spongebob after a few minutes of silence. "I don't see what's so special about this."
Spongebob glanced at his for a moment. "You have to look up, Squidward!" He said.
He groaned and reluctantly complied. Looking up at the dark sky, he felt the cold, refreshing tears hit his face. He didn't expect it, but before long he was completely entranced at the sight. He watched the rain come down in all directions, and the peaceful stir of the current slightly sway them in different directions at times. There was no thunder or lightning anymore. Just the tranquil sound of the rain pattering down, on him and beside him.
He felt a warm feeling touch his tentacle. He glanced to the side to see that Spongebob was now holding his tentacle. Feeling his stare, Spongebob glanced over at him as well, smiling lovingly. He inched closer to Squidward's side and leaned against him.
Looking back up at the sky, Spongebob's warmth radiating around him, he began to search for a meaning throughout these many drops of rain. He tried to interpret them. And why he was so entranced with their beauty.
He had heard Spongebob say something while he was taking the time to look up at the sky, so he turned his head to stare at him. "What did you say?" He asked.
"I said, that I don't think I'm scared of storms anymore." He said, smiling happily.
Squidward cracked a smile. "Well, good. Now you won't have to invade my home every time there's a thunderstorm." He turned to look back up at the sky.
Spongebob looked at him in confusion. "You don't like it when I'm over your house?" He asked warily.
Squidward shook his head. "That's not what I meant." He said, mentally slapping himself. One false word, and Spongebob would interpret it to a completely different meaning. "Mostly I'm just happy you're over that stupid phobia."
Spongebob nodded. "Me too." He leaned further into Squidward's torso. "Do you like the rain, Squidward?"
He took a moment to think about this. "I suppose, as long as it's not ruining my day." He said.
"I meant the rain right now." Spongebob said. "With me." He smiled sheepishly.
Squidward sighed in contempt."Enough with the romantic crap, Spongebob.." He murmured. He hated the sappy moments in their relationship. He wasn't exactly the 'romantic' type.
Spongebob squeezed his tentacle. "Come on, Squidward..." He trickled his fingers up the cephalopod's arm.
He rolled his eyes."Yes, Spongebob, this is absolutely thrilling." He said in a mocking tone. He dropped this attitude and patted the sponge on the head. "To be honest...it's pretty relaxing."
"Mhm..." Spongebob murmured, staring back up at the dark sky once again.
After a while of silence, and just taking the time to enjoy the scenery above them, Spongebob poked Squidward's side lightly. "Hey, Squid?"
"What."
"Do you wanna go back inside now? I know you said you wanted to.."
Squidward looked above him at the surprisingly beautiful scene of the falling rain, and the sponge next to him, who was snuggled into his side and holding his tentacle. He sighed and unwrapped his tentacle from Spongebob's hand and put it around him, pulling him slightly closer. "We can stay a little longer." He said, smiling slightly.
Spongebob looked at him lovingly before he wrapped both of his hands around Squidward's torso and pulled close. Feeling the warmth of his neighbor, Squidward breathed out contently, and put his free tentacle behind his head and relaxed himself as they both returned their gaze to the sky above them.