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“will?”
wilbur woke up to warm breath tickling his cheek. opening his eyes, he was greeted by the familiar sight of his significant other, alex, sitting up in bed next to him. wilbur squinted in the low light of their bedroom and lifted up his head, frowning as he saw the time as a little past one am.
“what is it?” he asked.
“i was wondering if you were awake.”
“why would i be awake at one am?” wilbur raised an eyebrow. “you woke me up on purpose, didn’t you?”
alex grinned sheepishly. “maybe.”
wilbur sighed, rubbing his eyes and releasing a yawn. “what for?”
“to tell you that i love you.”
“no, really. why?”
alex flashed a nervous smile and reached for wilbur's hand. wilbur was about to say something when lightning lit up their bedroom, the harsh glow illuminating their faces. alex stiffened and tentatively wrapped his pinky finger around wilbur's thumb.
“alex?” wilbur questioned. “you’re scared of lightning?”
alex shook his head. “no.”
then the thunder resonated from the sky, with such intensity that wilbur felt his eardrums vibrate. alex's hand whimpered under his touch and wilbur turned to look at him with a smirk creeping across his face.
“it’s the thunder,” alex said once the sound had momentarily ceased. “i may or may not have a slight fear of thunder.”
wilbur chuckled.
“don’t you dare laugh at me, wilbur soot.” wilbur could hear the pout in alex's voice.
“astraphobia.”
“what?”
“the extreme fear of thunder and lightning.”
alex shuffled closer to wilbur, resting his head against his boyfriend’s chest. “mine’s a slight fear, though, so it doesn’t really count.”
before wilbur could respond, the room went bright once again. a;ex latched onto wilbur's arm and wilbur subconsciously started to pat his head in an attempt to calm him.
as the thunder echoed, alex buried his face in wilbur's shoulder, breathing in the warm smell of his chest. it was a mixture of roses and the ocean, a tender, soothing scent that relaxed alex, grounding him to the present.
“you’re okay,” wilbur whispered as he ran his fingers through alex's hair. “i love you. you’re okay.”
alex sniffed and moved closer to wilbur. “i think- i think that you patting my head worked. it was soft. or something.”
wilbur continued to pat alex. “i didn’t know you were scared of thunder,” he said after a while.
“i thought you’d laugh if i told you. and you did.”
“it was cute.” wilbur leaned over to stroke alex's face. “it was endearing.”
“it’s embarrassing, that’s what it is. ever since i was young, i’ve always hated thunder. it just- it feels like the end of the world. i know that it doesn’t make sense and that it’s stupid, but-”
wilbur silenced him with a gentle kiss and around them, the world melted. the roaring thunder was gone; all alex could hear was their synchronized heartbeats, the background rhythm for the delicate melody that was their love. when they pulled apart, it was silent for a few intimate moments, both of them staring into the other’s eyes, not wanting to look away.
wilbur exhaled and lay back down in bed, pulling the duvet up to his chin.
“alex?”
“yeah?”
“you can always wake me up if there’s a thunderstorm. so that i can pat your head.”
alex playfully poked him in the ribs. “stop that, will. but seriously, you’d do that for me? ”
“you said it feels like the end of the world, right?”
alex nodded, placing his chin on wilbur's arm.
“well, then. i think i’d like to be there with you. for the end of the world.”