Work Text:
Tenma Saki—known for being a bubbly girl with a vibrant personality. The kind of girl who could put a smile on anyone’s face, who could melt anyone’s heart with her charm and kindness. She herself always walks around with her own grin and a never wavering energy. People around her would say she’s their little ball of sunshine, lighting up the room with her presence.
However, even the sun needs to go. The night comes, forcing the sun to rest. And even further, sometimes the clouds come to hide the sun away.
Tonight is just one example of that.
Saki was in her bedroom, laying awake. Usually, at this time of night, she would already be asleep, resting for the upcoming day. But no, there was currently a heavy thunderstorm outside. The thunder boomed and shook the house; the lightning flashed brightly, lighting up her entire room for a split second; and the heavy rain strikes her windows with a forceful hand.
Saki didn’t quite like the rain to begin with, and now with this storm, that dislike has been exacerbated further—she’s even fearful now.
Rainy days trigger bad memories. Memories of being stuck in the hospital, of being alone all those years. It reminds her of all the time she lost, and of all the things she missed out on. The look in her family’s eyes when she didn’t get better; the despairing look that Ichika would try to hide from her. The guilt she felt at not even knowing that their friend group had even split up….
“All these bad feelings…all because of some stupid storm,” She internally berates herself.
Tears prick the corner of her eyes as these thoughts uncontrollably fill her mind, tormenting her, dragging her back into those wretched days of loneliness and isolation…She cries out as the thunder and lightning continue to shake the house.
“I can’t be alone right now.”
And through all the years, who was there almost every single day? Who did whatever they could to make her happy? Who trudged all the way from home, maybe even getting hurt in the process, to bring her things to make her happy?
None other than her older brother, Tenma Tsukasa. And right now, she needs her brother.
Saki gets out of her bed, covering her ears to block out the thunder, squinting her eyes to block out the lightning. Some tears fall down her face, making it a little hard to see. Thankfully, she knows her own house like the back of her hand, and she makes it to Tsukasa’s room despite her blurry vision.
She knocks on the door gently but firmly. Tsukasa is a heavy sleeper already; will he even hear the knock over the raging weather?
“Onii-chan?” She calls out, knocking on the door again. At that moment, a loud boom sounds, the ground under her quakes violently, causing her to yelp in fear.
She forgoes the knocking, instead, she just opens the door cautiously. Tsukasa is still sleeping somehow, but upon further inspection, he’s wearing some of those noise-cancelling headphones. How he’s still asleep with how much the house has been shaking is a mystery though…maybe he just finds it relaxing?
Anyways, Saki approaches the bed, instinctively tip-toeing across the floor.
“Onii-chan…wake up,” Saki whispers again, even if she knows he can’t hear her. She begins shaking his shoulder gently, trying to wake him up. Now that her ears are uncovered, everything feels so much louder, it’s too overwhelming.
Fortunately, her actions seem to do the trick…
“Hnnngh…huh….? Saki….? Are you okay…?” Tsukasa questions sleepily, he sits up and takes off his headphones, the roaring of the storm hitting his ears.
“Oh…I see,” He thinks.
“Can I sleep in here tonight?” Saki asks hopefully, her voice cracking a little bit. “I don’t want to be alone again…”
And despite the chaos around them, Tsukasa gives her a warm smile.
“Of course, come here, Saki,” Tsukasa encourages, lifting up the covers, making room for her to climb in. He opens his arms wide. Saki immediately dives into them, to which he wraps them securely around her. She can’t help but cry into his shoulder, completely overwhelmed by the rattling noises and unwanted memories. Tsukasa holds her closer, gently stroking her hair, attempting to calm her down. “It’s okay, I’m here, it’ll be okay.”
Then suddenly, he gets an idea. Grabbing his noise-cancelling headphones, he places them on her ears. Saki looks at him with wide eyes.
“Onii-chan, no…I can’t take these. You need them to sleep.”
Saki begins to take them off, but Tsukasa stops her, giving her an assuring smile. Though, he pulls one of the speakers to the side.
“I’ll be okay. You need them more than me right now, don’t worry! A Star such as myself can brave a treacherous storm such as this!” He boasts.
That alone is enough to make Saki chuckle a little bit, a small smile on her face. There are no more arguments as Saki leans into him, hugging him close. The soothing music that plays, as well as Tsukasa’s presence, is enough to ward away those unwelcomed thoughts and feelings; and eventually, she is able to sleep.
Tsukasa smiles down at her as she sleeps, happy that she has found some peace tonight. He won’t lie, he probably won’t be sleeping anytime soon. He’ll probably be up until they have to get ready for school in a few hours; and he’ll probably struggle to stay awake in his classes, resorting to taking a nap during lunchtime.
But that’s okay. Tsukasa would do it every single day if it meant that Saki was okay.
He relaxes back into the mattress, pulling Saki even closer, placing a kiss on her forehead.
“Goodnight Saki…Your big brother will always be here for you.”