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Jiang Cheng jerks awake from a deep and dreamless sleep and lies absolutely still as he attempts to regulate his heart rate and breathing. He looks around his room, but it’s too dark to see if there is anything out of the ordinary. He’s about to dismiss it as a random sensation when he breathes deeply and registers the scent of ozone and feels the change in pressure. He has half a second to prepare before a crack of thunder like an explosion shakes the house and the skies open up.
“Mother fucker!” he yelps. He lets loose a further string of curses that are drowned out by rolling thunder like a tank threatening to flatten Jiang Manor. Flashes of lightning fill the room with blinding light. Jiang Cheng’s heart rate soars, pulse nearly choking him. He scrambles up and scoots up the bed until he’s got his back in the corner. He pulls his knees to his chest and tucks his head down, hands clamped over his ears. He knows this will pass, he knows it, but he can’t stop the tears, can’t fight down the rising tide of panic that threatens to suffocate him.
A small, cold hand lands on his knee, and Jiang Cheng jerks back again, smacking his head on the wall behind him. When his vision clears, he registers Huaisang’s pale, worried face. Fucking fuck! He forgot Huaisang had slept over, but another explosive crack of thunder drives any further thoughts from his mind, and terror takes over. He only dimly registers Huaisang as he grabs one of Jiang Cheng’s pillows. He sits beside Jiang Cheng on the bed, back to the wall, and keeps Jiang Cheng between himself and the safe bulk of wall. He puts the pillow in his lap and tugs at Jiang Cheng until his head rests on the pillow, his back to Huaisang. Huaisang pulls a quilt up over Jiang Cheng, covering everything but his mouth and nose. He offers one hand to Jiang Cheng, who clings to it like a buoy, and firmly strokes Jiang Cheng’s back with his other hand, keeping up a steady rhythm that Jiang Cheng focuses on over the erratic engine of the storm.
After an eternity cowering against Huaisang, Jiang Cheng finally relaxes as the thunder subsides to the faintest rumble, like car tires on a distant road. He sits up and shrinks against the wall.
“Don’t tell,” he rasps, wiping his face. He can’t bring himself to even look at Huaisang, but that small, cold hand finds its way into his again.
“Of course I won’t, A-Cheng.” Huaisang scoots closer to him and worms an arm around Jiang Cheng. He rests his head against Jiang Cheng’s shoulder.
“It’s so fucking stupid,” Jiang Cheng hisses. “I’m sixteen! I’m a cultivator! I’m supposed to wield Zidian one day! I can’t be afraid of thunderstorms! I just can’t! I can’t be so weak!”
Huaisang doesn’t say anything for a while. He rubs his cheek against Jiang Cheng’s arm a few times.
“How can you even stand to be near me?” Jiang Cheng asks as tears threaten to fall again. “How can you be friends with someone who’s so pathetic?”
“I don’t think you’re pathetic, A-Cheng.” Huaisang squeezes him tightly. “Zidian’s scary sometimes, especially when Madame Yu is angry, but you’re meant to be able to control a spiritual weapon.” He slings Jiang Cheng’s arm around him and huddles closer. “Like how da-ge is working with Xichen-ge to make Baxia behave. But you can’t control thunder and lightning. Not for any meaningful time, and that’s scary.”
“But I’m gonna be a sect leader, Huaisang. Sect leaders shouldn’t be afraid of anything!” Anguish threatens to overwhelm him, but then Huaisang laughs. “What? Don’t make fun of me!”
“I’m not, Cheng-Cheng, I swear I’m not, but that’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard you say in ages!”
“Shut up, no it’s not.”
“It is, though!” Huaisang clings even harder. “Da-ge says if you’re not afraid, then you’ll do something stupid, and stupid things are what gets cultivators killed. Fear is normal. We fight against scary shit all the time! We have to learn to deal with it, that’s all.”
“What if I can’t?”
“Have you ever tried?”
“No! I can’t tell anyone, and you promised not to tell anyone!”
“Jiang Wanyin.” Huaisang sighs, but he doesn’t let go. “I’ll help you. Secretly, I promise.” He shifts to look over at Jiang Cheng. “Do you want me to sleep up here with you tonight?”
Jiang Cheng’s face heats up. They’ve only recently shifted from friends into boyfriends, but they haven’t done … much.
“Just sleep,” Huaisang says when he guesses the reason behind Jiang Cheng’s hesitancy. Jiang Cheng heaves a sigh of relief and nods. “Okay. Come on, get comfy. I’m gonna just get a glass of water, okay?”
“Okay.” Jiang Cheng shakes out the quilt and other blankets and stretches out along the wall as Huaisang goes into the bathroom and gets some water. He tenses when Huaisang stretches out beside him but relaxes as Huaisang turns to his side and rests his hand on Jiang Cheng’s chest. Jiang Cheng covers the hand with his own.
“Go to sleep,” Huaisang says. “I’ll be right here with you.”