About a week had passed since Winslow and Beef formally met. They had gotten use to each other's presence and quirks by now. At least for the most part.

For one thing, Beef knew that for however much Winslow seemed to like talking with him he also preferred to spend a majority of his time writing and playing his music. Not that he minded. As a matter of fact he enjoyed listening to Winslow play while he went about his routine.

There were other little things he'd noticed as well. Like how at the mention of Thursday Winslow would visibly flinch or tense up. Or how he would hear the sound of a doorknob jiggling every so often where ever Winslow was at the time. Or how on edge Winslow was whenever there were some dark clouds overhead.

Beef was pretty curious as to the reason behind these quirks of Winslow's, but he knew better than to pry. The man was very introverted and a bit odd, even by Beef's standards. There must be a reason behind it, probably something that Winslow didn't look on in a positive light.

Beef was occupying his early afternoon by exercising his voice. Just because he didn't have a show didn't mean he was going to let his talent go to waste being cooped up here. He had already taken a look at his horoscope for the day and applied a little astrological symbol to his cheek accordingly. He fully believed that it would help bring about positive vibes. Or at the very least it looked cute.

The pattering of rain against the roof and his window made him stop singing for a moment. He hadn't been paying attention to what the weather looked like, but just a glance out his window showed that it was pouring out there. He really didn't mind except for remembering how weather like this seemed to affect Winslow. He frowned and went to his door peering out into the hallway to see if he could spot the lanky man. He glanced around as he walked down the hall to the large staircase, "Winslow?" That the door of Winslow's room was open, but it didn't look like he was in there.

A low roll of thunder echoed softly through the mansion and Beef bit his thumb becoming more concerned by the other man's absence. Beef went down the stairs and continued his search. It was in moments like this where he wasn't so thrilled with how big this place was.

Winslow stood in the corner of the instrument room with his eye shut tight. He had his cape wrapped snuggly around him like some kind of shield against the deep set anxiety the storm brought on. He hadn't even noticed its presence until the rain started to tap against the window. He had considered making himself go back to his room, but that was a dark place even with the light on. That certainly wouldn't help. Plus he couldn't quite get his legs to carry him anywhere. The fact that he was in a place where past trauma had occurred was making his fear ten times worse.

He tried to take deep breaths and remind himself that he was in a well lit room and the storm wasn't that bad. It was just some heavy rain, the thunder didn't even sound that clo-

Winslow didn't get to finish his reassuring thought as lightning flashed outside followed swiftly by a boom of thunder that he felt through the walls he was pressed against. He jolted and immediately slid down the wall till he was sitting on the floor. He pulled his legs in wrapping his cape completely around himself and buried his face in his knees. His heart hammered against his chest and his breathing came in quick, shallow breaths.

Beef jumped a bit himself at the loud crack of thunder. He headed to the last room where he figured Winslow would likely be. "Winslow?" he stepped inside the music room and glanced around not seeing him in here either. He sighed and was about to turn around and look somewhere else when he noticed a bit of movement from beside the sofa. He creased his eyebrows walking over to find the dark figure balled up in the corner. "Winslow." he knelt down in front of him.

Winslow vaguely recognized the presence of Beef in the room, but was too caught up in his own mind to react to him. He heard him say his name again, this time right in front of him, and raised his head a bit to look at the man with his good eye. He noticed a look of concern on his face and actually found himself relaxing slightly. He wasn't alone in here. He wasn't trapped. He wasn't in danger.

"Are you alright?" Beef saw how the form before him trembled ever so slightly and how Winslow's eye shifted around like he was trying to keep an eye on everything at once.

Winslow swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded slowly. He'd be fine, he just had to remind himself that the storm was just a storm. He was alright. His last experience involving a storm meant nothing now.

Beef frowned a bit, he wasn't buying the silent reply. People who were curled up tightly in a corner looking like a kicked puppy weren't usually that okay. "Is the storm scaring you that bad?" there was no judgement or mocking in his tone. Just concern.

"I'm fine, Beef. I just-" another sharp crack of thunder cut Winslow off once again. This time the lights throughout the mansion were snuffed out leaving everything in darkness. Winslow froze and scanned the empty void around him. He practically held his breath as his heart pounded even faster. This reminded him far too much of when he was locked up in the studio writing music day and night for Swan. Being trapped in there and utterly alone, no concept of how much time had passed. He hadn't fully realized how much he had hated that time frame until it was pulled to the forefront of his thoughts.

Beef blinked trying to get his eyes to adjust to the dark. He lightly bit his lip hearing Winslow's shallow, hoarse breathing and knowing how terrible this must be to him. "Winslow." he very slowly reached his hand out until he felt Winslow's leather clad arm and gently squeezed it. "It's okay. The power just went out, it should come back on soon." he hoped this would be the case for Winslow's sake. "How 'bout we find some light, hm?"

Winslow so appreciated the soft tone Beef was using with him right now. It pulled him out of his thoughts for a moment. He shuttered and let out the breath he had been subconsciously holding. "...I have...candles. In my room." candles had been his only source of light while rewriting Faust in the recording studio. The warm flame they held was oddly comforting to him then and now.

Beef nodded, "Okay." He stood up and guided Winslow up with him so he would know where he was. He could feel how Winslow squeezed his hand as he lead him along. If this wasn't such a traumatic thing for him Beef would've thought it was adorable.

Winslow forced himself to focus on just breathing while he followed Beef's lead. The physical contact helped remind him that he wasn't locked up somewhere. He wasn't going to be drugged or have a brick wall encase him in a small space.

However, the next echoing boom of thunder and lightning promptly shattered any small amount of reassurance Winslow was grasping onto. He shrieked and hunched over as he covered his head with his arms instinctively.

If the thunder hadn't caused Beef to jump then Winslow's robotic shriek certainly had. He put a hand on his chest to calm his heart and turned to look at Winslow. A quick flash of lightning lit the hall up enough for him to see the cowering man. He furrowed his eyebrows feeling quite sympathetic for Winslow and whatever horrifying things must be tormenting him. He knew the jest of what he must have experienced from what Winslow had told him. But he was sure that he hadn't been told every detail.

Beef moved over to Winslow and put a hand on either of his shoulders carefully pulling him into a, hopefully, comforting embrace.

Winslow snapped his eye open feeling Beef hug him. He turned his head to get a better look at Beef, but only felt his curls brush against his jaw and left cheek. He opened his mouth a bit unsure of what to say or do. The warmth and strength of Beef's arms surrounding him brought a certain level of comfort and reassurance he hadn't had in a very long time. It was...unexpected to say the least. He slowly placed his palms flat against Beef's back.

Beef stayed like this until he noticed a difference in Winslow's breathing. Once it seemed like he had calmed ever so slightly he pulled back, but kept the lean man within arm's length. "Little better?"

Winslow tried to see Beef's face in the dark, he was tempted to just nod but he knew Beef wouldn't be able to see that. "...Yes." His voice box briefly lit up the small space in front of him and he saw Beef give a proud smile. He felt his hand slide down his arm to hold his own.

"Let's get those candles." Beef continued leading Winslow up the stairs and down the hall into his room. Once they entered the equally dark room he released Winslow's hand for a moment to search for the candles he spoke of.

Winslow froze in place at the loss of contact. He scanned the room trying to pick up on the slightest of motion to let him know where the other was.

"Where do you keep 'em?" Beef caught the leg of a desk with his foot and muttered a choice word that was too soft for Winslow to hear.

Winslow turned his head in the direction Beef's voice came from. "Closet." he had to keep himself from slipping back into his memories right now. He listened to the sound of Beef opening the closet door and rummaging around until he heard a triumphant exclamation.

"Ah ha!" Beef emerged, more cautiously, from the closet with a case of pillar candles. He felt his way back over to the desk and set a few on it before lighting them. Once there was a soft light spreading throughout the room he turned to Winslow putting his hands on his hips. "Better?"

As soon as Beef lit the first candle Winslow relaxed quite a bit. He was still on edge, but it helped immensely. He looked at Beef, now that he could actually see him, and nodded. "Better."