Title: Thunderstorm.

Summary: Mihashi is deathly afraid of thunderstorms: How could he not tell Abe about this?!

Character(s): Mihashi Ren, Abe Takaya, Tajima Yūichirō.

Pairing(s): AbeMiha.


"Ah, what a nice night!" Mihashi Ren rested his elbows against the sill of his open window and gazed up at the moon, which was full and bright in the clear night sky. The pitcher was home along, his mother out on a girls night with a couple other mothers from the team, and he was just getting ready to go to bed, pausing to admire the beautiful full moon that hung low in the sky above Japan.

He gave a contented sigh and rested his chin in his hand. He loved clear nights like this when the moon was out and all the stars were visible. Since Mihashi—although he would never admit this—wasn't fond of thunderstorms, it was a relief to see that the night was completely clear, with no hint of clouds or rain.

Feeling himself yawn, Mihashi laughed and stretched, pushing himself away from the window. "Guess it's time for bed!" He happily got into his pajamas and rolled into bed. He was so relaxed, happy, and worn out from practice earlier that day that he was asleep before he could even cover himself with a blanket.


It wasn't the cold that woke him. No, Mihashi noticed that last. It wasn't even the bright flash of lightning that illuminated his room like a spotlight. It was, instead, the loud boom of thunder that seemed to shake the very earth underneath him, jolting him out of his pleasant dream of baseball and into the cold reality; a thunderstorm.

There was a blissful moment of half-awake dreariness when Mihashi wasn't afraid, but then another boom shook the world, and he felt a spike of cold fear driven into his heart. He was completely bare, not protected by anything but his loose tank-top and shorts, and he was too frozen with fear to move a muscle.

How could this be? The night was clear when he went to sleep. When had this storm started brewing?

A wild howl of the wind and another crack of thunder made Mihashi whimper, and he realized with a start that his window was still open, his floor soaked with water, and branches from the tree outside brushing against the edges, threatening to creep inside.

Mihashi knew he couldn't leave it open. The faint thought that remained in the back of his head was that Abe and his mother would kill him if he caught a cold from leaving a window open during a storm. Unsteadily, he got to his feet, his whole body shaking like a leaf, cold sweat trickling down his neck.

He made it to the window somehow and was reaching out to close it with a trembling hand when another crack of thunder sounded, so loud it seemed to reverberate in Mihashi's ears. He yelped, feeling tears stream down his face, which was now wet from the rain pouring through the still-open window.

Still shaking uncontrollably, he managed to shut it, but as soon as it had been latched, thunder came once again, even louder than before, sounding like a rampaging beast about to tear up the earth. Mihashi let out a panicked cry and stumbled as he ran for his bed, tripping and landing head-first on the floor. He dragged himself the last foot, half-pulling himself up before another flash of lightning and boom of thunder came, degrading him to a sobbing, terrified heap.

He barely managed to reach for the phone on his nightstand, another flash of lightning blinding him. His fingers closed around it; he managed to dial a number and held the phone to his ear with a shaking hand. It rang once, twice, three times. No thunder. A click. A tired voice asking something.


Abe heard the ringing first, insistent and annoying; too annoying to ignore. With a tired, annoyed sigh, he fumbled for his phone in the half-dark, eventually finding it with the help of a flash of lightning (when had that started?). He squinted at the caller ID in confusion before answering. "Mihashi? Why are you calling me so late?"

"A-A-Ab-be..." Mihashi's voice was a strangled mess of tears and panic, and Abe immediately jolted upright in bed, feeling at once concerned and alarmed. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"T-t-th-thu-th-thu—" Before Mihashi could stutter out the rest of the word, thunder boomed from outside, seeming like an angry god yelling from the heavens. Abe heard Mihashi cry out on the other end of the line and asked, panicked, "Mihashi? Mihashi, are you okay?"

The boy didn't answer, and a second later, the line cut, leaving Abe listening to a dial tone. He cursed and threw off his blankets, stumbling in the dark to find his clothes. "That idiot. He better not be hurt." He cursed again, more creatively this time. "Knowing him he probably slipped and fell on something!"

He stumbled down the stairs and pulled on his shoes at the door, dialing a number on his phone as he slipped out into the rain and got on his bike. He held the phone to his ear with one hand as he rode towards Mihashi's house, squinting to see through the dark cloak of the rain. The phone rang a few times before someone answered, sounding tired. "Yeah?"

"Tajima, where is Mihashi?" Abe demanded harshly.

"Um... his house?" Tajima asked in confusion. The cleanup yawned. "Probably hiding somewhere."

"Hiding?" Abe demanded, turning down a side street that would lead him to Mihashi's house faster. "Why?"

"That kid's freakin' terrified of thunder," Tajima said sympathetically. "Must suck right now, especially since his mom's out all night and he's home alone. But why do you a—"

Abe hung up on him and put his phone away with an angry growl. That idiot. Why didn't he tell me he was afraid of thunder?! And why did he say he was fine by himself? He should've told me! He continued angrily ranting to himself until he reached Mihashi's house and skidded to a halt, throwing his bike on its side in the muddy grass.

The front door was locked, but Abe quickly unearthed the spare key from under the mat and let himself in, kicking off his soaking shoes and making his way up the stairs towards Mihashi's room. Thunder shook the house, and the dark hallway was eerily illuminated by flashes of bright white lightning. Abe made it to Mihashi's room and pushed open the door, ready to yell at his pitcher for not telling him about this.

But the words dried up in his throat when he saw the poor boy curled up in the fetal position on the floor by the bed, rocking back and forth and sobbing. Abe was shocked seeing him like this. Sure, the boy cried all the time, but nothing like this. These were tears of pure fear, and he was shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Abe made his way towards him carefully, feeling a sudden wave of calm. He knelt beside him and gently reached out a hand. "Hey, Mihashi..." The boy jumped and shied away from him, shoulders shaking with loud sobs. Abe tried again, successfully resting his hands against Mihashi's narrow shoulders. He's trembling so badly... "Ren."

Mihashi started hearing his name and finally looked up at Abe, his amber eyes still leaking tears. He tried to say something, but no sound came out. His face crumpled again and with another loud sob, he sunk forward, collapsing against Abe's chest. Pushing aside his moment of shock, the catcher wrapped his arms around him, pulling Mihashi clean into his lap, holding him like a child.

"Shh, it's alright," he soothed the crying boy, not caring how out of character he was being. "Ren, it's alright, it's just a little thunder. You're safe."

Mihashi hugged him, his thin arms shaking. He shook his head against Abe's shirt, unable to say anything as thunder continued to rumble outside. Gradually, though, his shaking lessened, and his breathing grew evener. After a while, Abe carefully picked him up, surprised at how light he was. (He'd have to drill him about his weight again later.)

He set the pitcher down carefully, tucking the blankets around him, and turned to retrieve his phone from the ground, where he had apparently dropped it in panic, as it now lay in two pieces. But Mihashi grabbed his sleeve, startling him. He looked back to find those beautiful amber eyes brimming with tears again. "Takaya"—his whispered name shocked him—"please... don't leave me. Please... stay..."

"I—" Abe struggled to speak, feeling his throat suddenly close up. He coughed to clear it and knelt by Mihashi's bed. "I won't leave you. I promise." Taking a deep breath, making up his mind, he abandoned the phone and pulled back the covers to crawl in next to Mihashi. He thought the boy would shy away, but instead, he pressed close to him. Abe could feel the warmth from his shaking body and wrapped his arms around him as he had done before, refusing to be embarrassed.

He buried his nose in his pitcher's hair and closed his eyes. "I'll protect you," he mumbled, the warmth from Mihashi's closeness and the wool blanket making him drowsy again. "You don't have to be afraid... ever again..." With that last, exhausted proclamation, the two boys fell asleep, curled close together, their combined heartbeats drowning out any sound the thunder could've made.