An explosive crash echoed throughout the room and immediately Silver was awake. Instantly the room was awash in teal, the bed shot out from beneath him and pinned itself against the door; ornaments were crushed and gathered into a wrecking ball that floated before him as his golden eyes scanned for the opponent. Flinching at a flash of light outside his window Silver threw the orb, following the immediate smash wind and rain howled through the hole it left in its wake. Hearing the crash again Silver clenched his fist, the bedside table and lamp were pulled into the air; clattering against one another as they refused to fit comfortably in his grip. Silver jumped back from the window, back pressed against the far wall and his eyes locked on the shattered window. He now knew whatever was doing this wasn't in his room; it was outside. While he felt some immediate relief it was miniscule in comparison to the stress and tension surging through him, howling rain pelting his fur from the opening. Being outside meant it could be bigger, more dangerous than one person attacking him in his room. There was a jagged flash of light; cutting through the sky and a second later he heard another rumble. What were these attacks? Was it an energy beam? Was it causing earthquakes? Were the people okay? A thousand thoughts were streaming through his head, he feel his heart beat faster with each passing second.

A voice sounded from behind him, cutting over the rainfall and his thoughts. "Silver! Silver re-

"Blaze!" He threw the bed from the doorway, it shattered as it bounced along the ground, and immediately wrenched the door from its hinges, thrown into the room passed him; he shot out to help her… only to find her standing in his doorway; eyes closed and a hand to her head. "A-Are you okay, are you hurt?!" He was looking passed her, cyan light filled the hallway, the desk and lamp floated over their heads prepared to be used as a weapon. He was ready, if it had hurt Blaze that meant it must be strong, he couldn't let her get hurt any-

"Silver, look at me." His eyes snapped to her and both sets of golden eyes locked, she reached up and took his hands; slowly pulling him down to land. "Everything is fine. This is normal, are you okay?"

"Normal?" The teal began to fade from the room behind them but lingered in the hallway, his boots met with carpet. "But those noises and the lights, it's some kind of monster isn't it?" At the sound of another crash Silver flinched; eyes clamping shut and his gloves pulsing brightly. "H-How is that normal? Does it stop? D-Do we need to fight it to stop it?"

"Silver, Silver, look at me." His eyes pried open again, meeting with her pair. Her hands were holding his tightly, thumbs on the back of his palms and fingers wrapping around. "It's a weather, thunder and lightning, they're not common in this region but a storm has arrived, we don't need to fight it, it will leave with time. It's perfectly normal, you'll be safe as long as you are inside; now, more importantly, are you okay Silver?"

The energy faded almost completely, cabinet and lamp setting themselves on the ground. He flinched as another rumble sounded but forced his eyes back open; "I'm okay, I don't think I hurt myself. A-Are you okay?"

She sighed, finally closing her eyes and loosening her grip on his hands to hold more comfortably; "I am fine Silver, I was simply concerned that you weren't. Lightning can't hurt you in here, had you gone out there and flown around looking for it you would have been in more trouble. Lightning likes to root itself in metal." She indicated to his bracers, "Well you can't stay in the guest room, for tonight at least."

Realisation sparked in Silver's mind, he cringed but kept his gaze strong. "I'm sorry, it's… I kind of destroyed it. I panicked and… I-I'll try to fix it if you-

"It's fine Silver, it was going to be redecorated for you eventually regardless. Now we'll just move the date forward." There wasn't anger in her voice but there was certainly sharpness, a finality that told him not to argue despite how bad he felt. He only blinked when thunder struck this time.

"I'll help fix it, I-I'm sure my powers can be useful for that." Silver promised, "I guess I should set it up so I can sleep again, the mattress is probably okay. I'll see you in the morn-

He went to turn but Blaze's hands held tight, "Come with me. I'm not having you struggle in here, we'll just have to share my bed." She released his left hand but held tightly to the right, leading him down the hallway and toward her bedroom.

There was a conflict of emotions brewing within Silver, manifesting itself as a guilty frown painted in embarrassed red. He'd broken her things; he'd destroyed a room due to his misunderstanding and he'd certainly made trouble for her in the coming morning. She had to be angry, at least a little, in the dark it was hard to tell but her grip wasn't crushing; he was certain she was hiding it. But counteracting the guilt, over even the fear of this thunder and lightning, was a blossoming embarrassment. It wasn't as though they'd never shared the same bed before; in that city, they'd done so out of necessity to protect one another near every single time, but this was the first time since they'd reunited and it was over something so small in comparison to their own safety. She'd said this weather wasn't dangerous, that as long as they were inside they'd be untouched, he could sleep on the floor or even that broken bed but she was insisting they share. Was he being a burden? Undoubtedly, she'd been awakened and had to deal with his fear at some ungodly hour but, despite this, she had been stern yet gentle. She hadn't pounded his door and demanded he stop, she'd called out to him and took his hands; kindly eased him to the ground and talked him down.

He stumbled into her as she stopped, cringing as he pulled back; he'd been too deep in thought. "I-I'm sorry… n-not just for that. I woke you up and you're-

"Silver." Looking to her now, clearly readable the light of her open doorway, he could see her brows were furrowed but her ears weren't pinned back as was typical when she grew angry; her lips were formed into a small frown rather than a full-blown glower. "The fear you are feeling is completely understandable. Even if this situation is less dire than our past you are still my partner, I will look after you, as I know you will look after me. The only thing to be sorry for is this disrespect to our bond, your distress means far more to me than being awakened."

Before he could stumble over another apology she'd pulled him into the room, the door pulled shut behind him. Despite having been in the Sol dimension for a few weeks now, Blaze quickly acquiring the guest room so that he'd neither have to sleep rough or with Marine, he'd never actually been in here. It was certainly nice; her bed looked far too big for one person and had four tall wooden posts (one in each corner) for no clear reason. The floor was carpeted, the window large though the curtains were drawn; the rumble of thunder disturbed him but at least the flashes were obscured by the fabric and surrounding light. There was a giant bookshelf, lined with tomes he'd never even heard of, and a desk in the corner; the only part of the room with any mess. It was all quite normal but the colouration was… something. The guest room had been a mix of whites with purple accents but this room was entirely different; greys, silvers even, and teal covered everything from the walls to the duvet. All colours present on his person.

Looking to her he found she was turned away, her eyes fixed to a dresser in the right of the room, her ears pinned forward and a small redness visible on the edge of her muzzle. She dropped his hand, "It was like this before I remembered you, I just happen to like the colours. Nothing more, don't grow an ego."

Thunder rumbled in the long pause and prompted a small flinch, he really wasn't sure what to say or do; looking awkwardly to the bed… then to her, still looking away… then the walls. He could feel a heat on his face. "Sh-Should we just…?"

"Probably," She sighed, with a flick of a switch he became the only light source in the room, his teal glow bounced off the greys in the room and provided enough clarity to reach the bed. When lightning flashed the curtain wasn't enough to neutralise it; the accompanying bang caused his symbols to pulse bright as he raised his hands to his ears. She pulled back the covers, sat atop the bed and extended a hand to him. He took it, fingers to wrist, and lowered himself in beside her. He'd expected that they'd take opposite ends, the bed was huge after all, but as they pulled the covers around themselves he wasn't far from the edge but Blaze lay within elbows reach; turned away from him naturally. He was quite unsure where to put his hands, giant golden bracers still on his wrists, so he lay flat on back front; resting his hands beneath the covers on his legs in an attempt to block out the light. His back quills were uncomfortable, pushing down his back and slowly being crushed out of shape. This wasn't at all like their sleeping positions of prior days but he'd try to make it work.

Lightning struck outside; he braced for thunder, closing his eyes. Only seconds could have passed but it felt like minutes, he felt himself stop breathing. Only when he became certain it wouldn't happen did the thunder crack, the duvet shifted as his hands came up to his head. Blaze said his fear wasn't something to apologise for but he didn't want to keep her up, looking to her he now saw two great yellow disks looking back; he bit his tonged to stop himself apologising.

"Do you want to get closer?" She said it so bluntly, in the blue light her face incredibly difficult to read but there was a small smile on her face, ears slightly lowered.

He took a moment, thunder continued to rumble. "Y-Yeah." He turned onto his side, quills now hanging off the edge of the bed. He felt her move closer, arms wrapped around his ribs and hands pressed on his back that he returned by wrapping his right around her shoulder. She shifted a little, allowing his left hand to slip beneath her and meet with the right. It was immediately much warmer but this pose was far more memorable to Silver, the two had usually slept one of two ways; on opposite ends of whatever bed they shared or wrapped tightly around one another on the louder nights when monsters still stalked the streets. There was only one-

Silver felt a weight on his chest and the position was completed; Blaze had placed her head in his chest fur. He felt a smile grow on his face, pulling his arms in to hold her closer. His body relaxed, tenseness dissolving away. "Thank you Blaze."

"Mhm." She sounded through his fur, "It's just new to you Silver, but even if this doesn't pass I'll be here to help you. It's like how I was with heights."

Lightning sparked, thunder struck, but with her in his arms, he lay so much stiller. His brow furrowed, "You weren't afraid of heights in that city… were you? You were jumping off of skyscrapers, we flew together."

Her eyes flashed up at him, cutting through the blue light the pair were awash in. "No I wasn't, it was in this second life that I gained a fear of heights, but upon remembering you it vanished. I could fall from the highest mountains without a care as long as you're here with me, so I'll help you endure any storm."

Silver could feel his heart beating in his chest; his eyes clamped shut and arms drew in tight, pinning his partner to his chest. His chin lowered to rest atop her head. "I-I'm not letting you go again. Not now, not ever."

There must have been at least a minute of him just holding her to his chest, thunder and lightning sounded but prompted no reaction from him. Eventually, she spoke up; voice muffled in his chest. "As nice as this is Silver, I think… we might struggle to sleep like this."

Remembering that was the reason they were actually laying together Silver eased his grip, feeling quite embarrassed as she pulled away; even in this low light, he could tell she felt the same, ears pinned forward and refusing to meet his gaze. Blaze eventually yawned, fangs glinting in the teal as her mouth stretched wide, before her head lay more gently against his chest; she embraced the steady rise and fall. On reflex he to loosed a yawn too, his eyes dampened and he lowered his chin to top her forehead. "Goodnight Blaze."

"Goodnight Silver." Thunder would continue to sound but soon he'd be fast asleep, when held together like this he felt like nothing could be wrong; both back when they lay in those destroyed buildings and here.