Synopsis: You've always hated thunderstorms and Inazuma is full of them. On one particularly bad night, you try to calm yourself with a snack only to get caught by Thoma, who takes it upon himself to soothe you from the storm.

Theme(s): Fluff, Comfort.

Relationship: Can be seen as platonic or romantic.

Word Count: 2418

Enjoy! ;)

Thunderstorm

CRACK!

You shuddered and yanked the duvet over your head. It did little to block out the flash of white that followed. Even if you did, you couldn't stay hidden for long without it getting hot and stuffy. You had to peep out for a breath of fresh air. As soon as your eyes popped out, you were rewarded with your dark room flashing white again, making you hide back under the covers.

You really thought living in Inazuma would help you get used to thunderstorms, but somehow, it had made your fear worse. Though you were safe in bed in your stormproof house, every flash of lightning felt close. Too close. Like the Raiden Shogun herself had her beady eyes on you, waiting for the right time to strike the moment you let your guard down.

You tried to shake the thought from your mind. You tried to remind yourself you were safe. But the thunder boomed over your thoughts of reason and struck fear into your heart instead.

The worst part about it all wasn't your actual fear of the thunderstorm. It was the fear of what people might say if they found out you were afraid of them. You lived in Inazuma out of all places. It was practically famous for its thunderstorms. If anyone found out about your fear, if you didn't get kicked off the island, you would surely become a laughing stock for the rest of your life.

A loud BANG made you shriek and leap out of bed. You scrambled across on the floor. The lightning felt so close . . . You had to get out of here.

No. It wasn't that close. You were being so stupid . . .

But you couldn't stop yourself whimpering at the rumble of thunder.

Food.

You needed food.

Something to take your mind off the . . .

CRACK!

You ducked back down and could have slapped yourself for doing so. This was ridiculous. You tried to remind yourself:

"I'm safe."

"I'm safe."

"I'm safe . . ."

You were shaking as you weakly rose to your feet and brought yourself to the corridor. You dared not make a sound. You doubted anyone in the Kamisato Clan would hear you over the pound of rain and . . . you gulped . . . the crackle of thunder. But you still worried that one little creak of the wooden floors would expose you . . . and your fear . . .

You took a deep breath as you began shuffling down the hall. It was just one straight walk down ahead. You felt your way down by brushing the walls on either side- you were not turning on the light. Every once in a while, you were given a glimpse of your path down- a booming white glimpse that made you freeze where you were.

You should turn back. You didn't feel safe doing this.

No. You needed something (sweet/ savoury) to ease your mind. Maybe a drink to help you sleep better. You took a deep breath and marched your way down the hallway, straight to the kitchen. Opening the fridge gave you the first source of light that filled you with some form of ease.

You knew that you would owe the Kamisatos an apology for eating this amount of food. But you found yourself not caring as you began to fill your arms with snacks.

A grumble made you stiffen. The chill of the fridge made you shiver. You grabbed one last snack and decided that would do. The grumbling got louder . . . And then everything around you went white.

"Y/N! Hi!"

You screamed and ducked, wrapping your arms around the goodies. You dug your head into your stash as you heard a chuckle behind you. It was a friendly chuckle, one you immediately recognized- but it only added to your startled state.

"What was that for? It's just me!" Thoma laughed. You could hear his cheerful smile growing wider. Very slowly, you turned around to face him in the newly lit up kitchen. You'd completely forgotten about the armload of snacks.

Oops. You felt yourself blushing furiously as Thoma's eyes widened a little at all the food in your arms. You'd been caught red-handed.

"Midnight snack?" he eventually asked. He was trying not to judge, but you still felt it.

"What are you doing here?" While it was a frantic attempt to change the topic, you were genuinely curious. Why was he up so late? What was he doing here?

Your stomach dropped. Why did he have to catch you?

"I just finished the chores," said Thoma casually. "Was gonna grab a quick drink before bed."

Of course he'd only just finished the chores. You shuddered as you remembered that you were supposed to help him with them. But you had run away to the safety of your bedroom at the first rumble of thunder. And lied to Thoma that you were just tired. He had been too quick to tell you to take the rest you "needed" and insist that he could finish the chores himself.

Your heart crumbled for him. He was too good . . .

"Hey-" Thoma's sunny smile suddenly dropped a little. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" You shook your head to try and focus yourself. You were still a little bit startled. "Yeah, I'm fi- I'm okay!"

"You sure?" He was frowning. It made your stomach churn. Thoma only frowned when something was wrong. Sure enough, his eyes were fixed on your (probably frightened) face. His own face softened into a more concerned expression. "You look a bit frazzled . . ."

"No, really! I'm fine, thanks for asking!" You tried to cover it up with a shaky laugh. And then shuddered when Thoma cocked his head at you. You realized yourself that saying "I'm fine" translated into anything but. It certainly wasn't helped by your armful of food and shaky stance.

"I need to go . . ." You went to leave, but Thoma was taller and quicker and had empty hands to stop you with.

"Hold on." He said it gently, but with enough urgency to make you stop where you were. He hadn't grabbed you, he wasn't that pushy type, but still raised his hands in a way that blocked your path. He looked really worried now. You found yourself glancing down at the stash in your arms. It was beginning to feel a bit heavy. Or maybe you were looking down to avoid having Thoma scrutinize your face.

"What's wrong?"

His voice was so soft. You could see his hands searching for a way to raise your head without upsetting you. Your grip on the food tightened. You could feel a small lump growing in your throat.

Maybe you should just tell him. Maybe he would understand . . .

You live in Inazuma and you're afraid of thunderstorms. How could he possibly understand?

"Thoma, I . . ." You had to forcibly swallow back the lump in your throat. It hurt to do so. "I'd like to go back to my room please . . ."

BOOM!

You screamed as the room flashed even brighter, grabbing onto whatever was nearest you. You squeezed your eyes shut. All the food dropped to your feet but you didn't care. You pressed your face into what was against you, trying to block out the flashing lightning, clinging onto the softness in your hands. That last strike of lightning strike had felt so close, like it was coming for you . . . You whimpered as you waited for the thunder to fade away . . . All that was left was your soft snuffling that made you realize you were shaking.

"Y/N?"

Two soft warm hands took hold of your waist. You stiffened, slowly opening your eyes. It was slowly hitting you what you were holding onto . . . or more who you were holding onto. You shut your eyes again.

Please . . .

Please no . . .

You'd never live it down.

Another clap of thunder made you wince and cling onto your source of security even tighter. It suddenly shifted aside, slipping from your hands and making you stumble. Before you could fall, a strong arm wrapped around your shoulders and pulled you into the body behind you. You found yourself being marched out of the kitchen and down the corridor. A new storm was beginning to swam in your stomach.

"Thoma . . ."

"It's okay." His voice was barely above a whisper. His hand slid up and down your arm as he guided you back to your bedroom, towards your bed.

What was he doing?

Though you had no idea what was happening or going to happen, you managed to crawl onto the bed, surprised that Thoma let you. You lay on your stomach, burying your face into the pillow- partly to block out the lightning, but mainly to hide your red hot face from the man you could sense sitting down beside you.

He was going to stay with you, wasn't he?

Your mind screamed at the thought.

You could almost feel his warm body shuffling over by your side. The closer he got, the bigger the lump in your throat grew. He was being so kind to you . . . It made you feel almost ashamed. You could feel your body starting to tremble again. A soft touch on your back made you shudder. You whimpered, making Thoma pull his hand away.

"Y/N?"

The lump in your throat was almost choking you. Your eyes watered. Your breaths were beginning to grow short and shaky. You moaned as you sensed that warm hand hovering over you. Eventually, it landed on your shoulder and nudged you in towards the body beside you.

"Come here to me."

You moaned again and tried to resist. But Thoma was gentle in his perseverance.

"It'll make you feel better."

You didn't want to give in. And yet you allowed yourself to let Thoma pull you closer to him. One final flash of lightning and CRACK of thunder convinced you to leap into Thoma's arms. You burst into tears as you did so.

"Shhhh . . . It's okay, Y/N . . . it's okay. . ." You melted into into his warming embrace. You dug your head into his shoulder as he rested his cheek on your head. He made soothing circular motions along your back.

"Don't . . ." You spluttered on your sobs, making Thoma pause.

"You don't like that?"

"I mean-" You clung onto his jacket, rubbing your face off his shoulder. "Don't tell anyone that . . . " You winced as more tears began to stream from your cheeks. "I'm afraid of storms."

It hurt so much to admit. As you began to sob harder, you felt Thoma's embrace grow tighter and warmer. He continued to softly shush you as he slid a hand up your back and began to run his fingers through your hair. You felt so embarrassed being coddled like this.

And yet you clung onto Thoma even tighter, desperate for more.

"Y/N?"

Thoma's soft warm hand slid down your head towards your chin. He gave it a gentle, almost cautious push. You sniffed and braved a glance up at him. Two soft shimmering green eyes gazed compassionately down at you.

"There's no shame being scared."

You stared at Thoma as he gave you a soft small smile and stroked your cheek, drying away the tears.

"I mean it. It's okay to be afraid." His small smile grew a little. "The Raiden Shogun scares me a little too. She nearly took my Vision."

You shivered. He was making jokes. Making jokes about your fear . . . Thoma's face dropped a little.

"That wasn't very funny, was it?"

You shook your head. And rubbed your face against his chest, earning a murmur of "sorry" from Thoma. You sighed in response as he cradled your head in his hand.

"But seriously, Y/N . . . If you're that upset by thunderstorms . . . or if anything's troubling you, you should just come to me. I'm happy to look after you. Actually-" Thoma paused to take a deep breath.

"I had a feeling you were nervous earlier. I was kinda afraid to say anything in case I upset you." He let out a quiet, awkward little laugh. It made you furrow your eyebrows.

He was afraid to ask you . . .?

You stared up at Thoma in confusion. It earned another soft little chuckle from him. His comforting embrace tightened more.

"So," he began, sealing eye contact with you. His smile faded slightly. His gaze became almost pleading.

"Will you come to me if something's scaring you? Because . . ." He took a moment to swallow back something before continuing. "I'll protect you. I want to protect you. I don't want you to be afraid, or feel like you have to go through these things alone. I'm here for you. I always will be."

Your heart was pounding like there was a different kind of lightning storm going on in your chest.

"Y/N?" Thoma cupped your head in his hands. He rested his forehead on yours. "If you ever feel frightened . . . Promise me you'll come to me."

A small flicker gave you a glimpse at how close you were to him. A little crackle rumbled behind you. Your initial shiver was replaced with a soothing warmth.

"Do you promise, Y/N?"

You shut your eyes and slowly nodded.

"I promise."

You heard a soft warm sigh from him. You could sense the smile spreading across his face.

"Good . . ."

You relaxed into his chest as he lay himself down more on the bed, stroking your back and hair as you did so. You blinked slowly, feeling your body getting heavy.

"Thanks, Thoma . . ."

"Shhhh . . ." He rubbed his face off your hair. "You're safe now . . . I promise to protect you . . . I'll always be here . . . You're safe . . ."

You let yourself shut your eyes and snuggled up against Thoma's soft warm chest. He hummed a soothing song you recognized from Mondstadt. The softness of his voice soon blocked out the grumbles from outside, and even the pattering of rain became peaceful.

"Goodnight, Y/N," you heard Thoma whisper as you finally drifted off in his arms. You thought you felt him place a kiss on your head. You nuzzled your head off of him, soothed by the gentle thumping of his warm chest.

You were safe . . .

You were safe . . .

You were safe . . .

Well I hope you liked that! If you enjoyed the story, be sure to follow, fav and review! Friendly reminder that I will take requests for this as long as it's not too OOC. Anything that features our favourite wholesome boi being wholesome!

Anyways, I hope to see you then!