Kyoya had keys in hand before we reached the shiny silver vehicle. With a snap the locks were freed and he swept my door open. I thought I felt his hand on my back for just a moment as I bent to climb into the seat. Thunder rumbled louder just as he shut me in, and I felt myself starting to shiver. At some point Kyoya found his place behind the wheel and set the car rolling. One raindrop hit the windshield, followed by another and another until it was a steady drizzle. It was getting dark now, and the headlights illuminated a two-lane road that was largely deserted. Lightning flashed at odd intervals, sending me further inside myself. We turned onto a lane I thought I would have remembered because it was stunningly landscaped in maple trees spaced evenly along both sides. The trees fell away as the lane made a loop in front of what—through the rain-looked like an over-sized gingerbread house.
Rain fell in sheets as we slowed to a stop, idling before a three-car garage. Kyoya appeared to be using a remote to no effect. He tossed it down, cursing cheap batteries. He pulled around the circle again and turned the car off before the house.
"Wh-where are we?" I stuttered.
"At my family's cottage, of course." He regarded me solemnly. "We wouldn't have been able to reach the Pension ahead of the storm," he apologized.
"Oh." Beyond caring right now…
"Let's get you inside." I felt his hand grasp both sides of my head and he angled my face to be sure I was looking directly in his eyes. "Wait here while I unlock the door. I'll come back for you, okay?"
I nodded. Keys in hand again he was out the door and around the hood in no time, his long legs eating up the ground. It was hard to see through the deluge, but soon a light flooded out into the gloom. Hunching against the rain, he headed back to my door. It swung open as lightning flashed and thunder quickly followed. I jumped out and he wrapped an arm around me, attempting to cover my head with one side of his button down shirt. His elbow pushed me close against his chest and I huddled into him as we hurried toward the light.
Everything was hazy through my barely suppressed panic, but I was dimly aware of being escorted through a shadowy hallway, illuminated by the chandelier in the foyer. Arched entrances on either side of us opened onto dark rooms, and the hallway led toward double French doors on a distant rear wall. Through the clear panes I saw several quick flashes of lightning. The answering thunder was somewhat muffled by the house, but shocked me anyway.
We stepped into a long room that seemed to span the width of the house. With a hand to my back, Kyoya turned us away from the farmhouse-style kitchen on our left and led me to a plush velvet sofa facing the far wall. The space had a comfortable modern feel. Two plush couches made an L-shape around a fluffy white area rug, and unique lamps and colorful blown glass sculptures dotted eclectic end tables. Kyoya plucked a remote from one and waited for me to take a seat. He turned on a large flat screen television mounted on the wall I faced.
Offering me the remote, he suggested, "Why don't you find something to watch? Maybe take your mind off the weather."
"Okay," I said numbly. Some game show was on. The host wore a chicken outfit. I didn't see it. Didn't change the channel.
Kyoya walked toward the kitchen, stripping off his soaked button down. His voice carried to me. "I expected my sister to be home. Let me see if she left a note. Would you like something to drink or eat?"
Lightning flashed again through the picture windows. The storm was fully upon us now. I scrunched myself into the pillows of the sofa and pulled my legs up into a ball.
"Haruhi?" he called. I couldn't answer.
Lightning and thunder struck simultaneously somewhere close by. I yelped as the lights and TV flickered and winked out.
Footsteps approached, and another silver flash illuminated Kyoya's tall form before me. In a single smooth movement he slid one arm under my knees and wrapped the other around my hunched back to grip my waist, lifting me easily. He dropped into the space I had occupied and settled me on his lap. His arm at my back slid up to gently press my ear to his chest. His hand remained there, nestled in my damp hair.
I heard his voice rumbling through his chest. "Did you know there are many myths about the origin of lightning and thunder?" His cultured tone was like a soothing balm. "One legend tells of two deer that were banished to the heavens. Thunder is the sound of their hoof beats, and when they run across boulders, their hooves spark lightning." Warmth seeped through his light cotton shirt. His steady heartbeat calmed my fluttering nerves. "There are tribes that say lightning comes from a thunderbird. Lightning flashes from his bright feathers, and thunder comes from the sound of his mighty wings flapping." He pulled a hand from beneath my knees and rested it on my leg. He began running his thumb back and forth across my jeans in a comforting rhythm. I thought I felt the hint of a kiss on the crown of my head.
"My mother used to say thunderstorms are a cosmic light show." His chin swept over my head as he looked out the window behind me. My terror eased a fraction as the next booming noise came from further away. Brilliant flashes lit up the darkened room. "It is a magnificent spectacle," Kyoya reflected. "Makes it hard not to believe in a transcendent being. Not a mythical creature like Zeus or Raijin. Something… vast. A god bigger than our planet, or bigger than all the galaxies in our universe."
About the time he began expounding on the delicate balance of earth's atmosphere, I drifted off.