Kaoru

Haruhi pulled the drapes shut.

Grey clouds had been hanging over the city all afternoon, but the darkness that screamed thunderstorm had finally begun to set in. Her father wouldn't be home for several more hours so she set about her normal routine; closing the curtains to help muffle the sound, turning on all of the lights in the living room, and finding her favorite blanket that she uses to curl up in to ride out the storm.

The weatherman had been predicting this storm for days and now it was finally here. She couldn't help but feel kind of glad—at least it would come and go and then she wouldn't have to worry about the pending horrors anymore.

Haruhi flicked on the TV to one of the romantic comedies her father had recorded on the DVR. They weren't necessarily her top choice for entertainment, but they always made her feel calm when he wasn't around, probably because they reminded her of her dad so much.

At a silent part in the movie, Haruhi could make out the faint sound of rain tickling the roof of the apartment. So far so good. She didn't mind the rain. In fact, she welcomed rain. Peaceful rain, that it is.

Ten minutes later and the low rumbling started. She flinched, pulling her blanket closer out of sheer reflex. Another groan from the sky, only this time much louder. Clutching the remote in her hand as she buried her face in her arm, she turned the volume to it's max decibel without it doing damage to the speakers.

Another ten minutes and then the lights flicker precariously. Haruhi sat on her heels, holding her blanket taught around her face as she willed the lights to stay on. It worked for a minute, and then the TV shut off, the lights popped, and the room plunged into utter darkness.

Haruhi whimpered, willing herself to shrink into the couch. Now what was she going to do? The thunder was going to come back with a vengeance and this time she didn't have the TV to drown out her worries. If the power didn't come back on, it was going to be a long night.

She scoffed to herself, considering the thought. It was going to be a long night regardless, but it was going to be a hundred times worse without power.

The rain came down again in buckets, surely drenching anything that the light sprinkle of rain had left dry. With each passing crack of thunder, Haruhi forced her face farther into the cushion of the couch, balling her fists until her nails broke the skin of her palms.

Where was her dad? Why couldn't he be home now?

She prepared herself for another clap of thunder. It came, but this time in the sound of a fist at her door.

Haruhi floundered in place. Did her dad actually come home? Why wasn't he using his key?

"Haruhi!" She heard someone call her name from outside the door, though she couldn't recognize the voice from both the pounding rain and her distance from the door.

She stumbled through the dark, blinking her eyes wide in hopes of acquiring night vision as she stretched her arms out in front of her to keep from tripping. In a weird way, she was grateful for whoever was at the door, even if it wasn't her dad coming to rescue her. The task of trying to get to the door in the dark was keeping her mind off of the thunder.

"Hold on!" Haruhi called as she flipped the lock and the door swung open. She had thought it was wishful thinking for her dad to be home and she was right. In the flash of lightning, she could barely make out the figure in front of her. "Kaoru?"

The younger twin, fully drenched to the bone, pushed his way inside without responding and closed the door. Pushing back his soggy hood from his dripping red hair, Kaoru smiled. "Hey, Haruhi!"

She stared up at him, trying her best to focus on his face in the dark. It was nearly pitch black and she was mostly following the sound of his voice at this point. "What are you doing here?"

Kaoru stepped out of his shoes. "Why are all the lights off in here?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"The power got knocked out," she answered, feeling a bit dizzy. What was Kaoru doing here? And even more unnering, what was Kaoru doing here without Hikaru? "But you didn't answer my question."

Kaoru slipped out his cellphone and the home screen illuminated the otherwise black room. Haruhi had to rub her face to better adjust to the new blinding light. "Duh," Kaoru said like the answer was obvious. He held up a pair of shopping bags that she had not noticed previously. "I brought a survive the thunderstorm survival kit."

He beamed at her and Haruhi blinked up at him. "Wow. Thanks, Kaoru." She looked him up and down and frowned. "But if you're going to stay here, you're going to have to change into something dry. You can't be dripping wet on my couch."

Kaoru grinned mischievously in a way that Haruhi knew meant trouble. "You know," he purred, cupping her chin with his index finger, "you could always help me undress if you'd like."

She rolled her eyes. "If you're going to try and flirt with me, wait until you're dry, alright?"

Haruhi was relieved when the thunder held off long enough for her and Kaoru to get settled. She was lucky enough to find some of Ranka's old button downs and a pair of pajama bottoms that didn't look too feminine for Kaoru to wear. She ended up tossing his wet clothes into the bathtub.

"Put your shirt on, Kaoru," Haruhi grumbled when said boy strolled out of the bathroom in just the pajama bottoms, shirt slung over his shoulder. She tightened her blanket around her shoulders again when she heard a low rumble overhead.

Kaoru plopped down next to Haruhi at the short table in the living room. "Why?" he grinned mischievously. "Does it make you nervous?"

"Not any more nervous than usual," she retorted, purposefully averting her eyes from her friend's stomach. "But I did spend ten minutes rifling through my dad's stuff to find you a shirt without ruffles so you'd better wear it."

"Fine, fine." He slid the shirt over his head and Haruhi allowed herself a quick glance at him when he couldn't see her. She might not have any interest in him romantically, but he was still cute. "Okay," he said, poking his head through the shirt hole, "wanna see the goodies I brought?"

"Okay."

He set to pillaging one of the bags. The first thing he pulled out was hot chocolate mix. "For obvious reasons," he said with a pointed look. He then pulled out two notebooks, a package of markers, and a box of crayons. "I thought that coloring might help calm you down."

Haruhi quirked a brow. It was at least an interesting idea. But caught her attention more-so was the second bag that he had brought. "Okay, but what's with all of the candles?" She picked up one of the many candles for emphasis but Kaoru just shrugged.

"I thought it would be romantic?"

"You really are hopeless."

"Turns out it was a good purchase considering your power is out."

"Shut up."

She found a box of matches in a drawer in the kitchen and together she and Kaoru set up lit candles all around the living room. Once they finished, Kaoru sat her down at the table and set one of the notebooks in front of her along with the markers.

"Okay Haruhi," he crooned, taking the ends of her hair into his hands as he stood behind her. "What I want you to do it to draw what comes to mind when you hear the thunder."

"Are you kidding me?" She jerked her head back and stared up at his upside down smirk. "What's that supposed-"

A sudden roar outside made goosebumps jump out on her arms. Without thinking, Haruhi flung her arms around Kaoru's legs and hung on for dear life. She was waiting for the teasing, the self-degrading pat on the head, something.

Instead, Kaoru crouched down, unhooking her arms from his legs and leading them to his neck and shoulders where she clung to him again while the apartment continued to tremor. She hugged him hard, squeezing the back of his shirt in his hands. All the while, he cradled the back of her head and lower back until the booming stopped.

"K-kaoru?" she whispered tersely into her friend's shoulder. She wasn't quite sure of what to say. Nothing like this had ever happened with him and the red hot embarrassment was starting to poke out onto her face.

Kaoru leaned back on his heel so that he was looking down at her with the most sincere smile she had ever seen him have. Even in the dim candle light she could make out the gentleness on his face. "Okay, let's try this now."

He kept her close to his side as he urged her to color what she felt during her episode. She protested at first, but he had been insistent and even shoved a marker into her sweaty palm. "It's a type of therapy, Haruhi. Please just try it for me."

She groaned and against her better judgement, she decided to indulge him. First she picked up a grey marker and drew what looked somewhat like a cloud. She felt a little self-conscious about Kaoru watching her over her shoulder, but when she looked over at him, he was engrossed in his own drawing.

"I'm not watching," he said softly without looking at her.

"Okay."

Without any pressure, Haruhi found herself enjoying the task more than she thought. She scribbled colors on the paper and random shapes. When the thunder would crack again, Haruhi would clutch her blanket over her head and lean into Kaoru for comfort before eagerly continuing her picture once the onslaught of racket ceased.

"Finished." It was around midnight when she held her drawing up to the candle light for him to see.

He squinted at it skeptically. "I had no idea that thunderstorms made you think of dinosaurs fighting monster sharks."

"What?" Haruhi looked at her paper and laughed. She hadn't drawn anything other than random shapes and lines, but it had ended up looking eerily like he had described. "Wow. You're right."

Kaoru chuckled, leaning back on his palm. "You mean you weren't aiming for that?"

She shouldered into him, rolling her eyes. "I was just drawing what came to mind like you told me too." She stopped, looking at the low burning candle on the table. "It helped calm my nerves so thank you."

"Your welcome."

Haruhi stretched her arms over her head. Now that the rain had diminished to a quiet sprinkle and the thunder was gone, she decided it was time for bed. "Well, I'm going to hit the sack," she yawned, staggering to her feet. "You can sleep on the couch."

Kaoru's sweet smile morphed into one of his devilish ones he usually reserved for when he was being a nuisance with his brother. "You could always thank me by letting me sleep in your bed with you." He raised his eyebrows.

Haruhi cracked a grin, rolling her eyes. "You really are impossible. Put out the candles before you go to bed."

"Okay." Kaoru yawned, flopping backwards on the floor. "Goodnight, Haruhi."

"Sweet dreams, Kaoru."

She padded back down the narrow hall to the closet like bedroom that she called home. Once snugly wrapped beneath her covers, Haruhi noticed her phone flashing with several unread messages.

Haruhi!? Are you okay? The thunder is pretty loud

-Tamaki

Did you get my last text? I can come over if you want!

-Tamaki

Haruhi, you're really making daddy nervous!

-Tamaki

Please tell me Ranka is with you. I'd hate for you to be alone

-Tamaki

Haruhi exhaled deeply, thinking of the boy who was currently crashed out in her living room. She thought of how he brought her therapeutic crafts and how he let her cling to him when she needed support.

Don't worry, I wasn't alone, she typed back with a sleepy smile. I had Kaoru with me.

...

maybe Hunny and Mori will be next

8/27/16