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Diego has been scared of Thunder for as long as he could remember.
It’s not really just thunder, he has to admit to that. It’s storms in general. High winds, rain, even just a small rumble of thunder can get him scared out of his mind. It’s not the loud noises that scare him, not really anyway, its the sheer power.
The way tornados can blow entire cities to the ground, and hurricanes can take out full countries or states without any way to stop it. The way lightning can hit a person and kill them without any fighting.
He can stop a punch, he can stop or avoid a gunman, but he can’t escape the rolling thunder above his head or the high winds taking umbrellas down the streets from random people’s hands. He can’t control it.
And really, that’s the scary part.
The forecast didn’t tell him this time, this time it planned a sneak attack. The storm comes from essentially nowhere when Luther, Klaus, and Diego are making cookies . A clap of thunder strong enough to shake something on the wall.
“Christ on a cracker!” Klaus yelps, dropping the bowl he had just grabbed from the cupboard. Thankfully it’s a plastic one so nothing breaks. Luther looks out the small window briefly to look outside before shrugging his shoulders. He turns back to the fridge and continues to pull out the ingredients. Diego though, his whole body becomes tense and he stares at the window as if something is going to jump through and get him. Klaus is mumbling about something that Diego can’t concentrate on as another sound of thunder crashes above them.
“Diego?”
Diego turns to the voice and sees Luther looking down at Diego’s hand in worry. Diego looks down and sees his hands clenched tightly on the countertop edge. Luther takes a step forward and hesitantly reaches forward letting his larger hand rest over Diego’s. Another thunder clap sounds over them and this time Diego physically jumps, closing his eyes tightly. He lets out a small whimper before he can stop it, and then brings his hands to his face, hiding himself away.
“Diego, hey, it’s oka-” Diego doesn’t listen to the voice as the wind outside gets louder and stronger and all he can think about is the roof coming off of the academy, or something flying through the window and stabbing one of them. He keeps his eyes covered as he walks backward, letting his back go to the wall farthest away from the window, and therefore farthest away from Luther and Klaus. Diego uncovers his eyes and looks up at them. Klaus is looking at him in worry now, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes bright. Diego remembers those looks from when they were kids, the fear he’d hold in his eyes whenever his siblings were hurt.
“I’m o- I’m oka- I’m-” Diego starts but he can’t get the words out. He wants to tell them he’s okay, he won’t die, he’s fine, but the words won’t come out. Luther hesitantly makes his way towards him and kneels in front of him. He puts his hands up as if he’s talking to a wounded animal.
“Diego, I need you to breathe,” Luther says, and that’s when Diego notices his breathing is all over the place. He tries to calm himself down and he unconsciously grabs one of Luther's hands. Luther doesn’t complain, on the contrary he holds tighter. He moves even closer and as soon as Diego is calmed down a bit, another sound of thunder goes on above them, the window lighting up brightly because of the lightning. Diego gasps loudly and surges forward, lett his arms wrap around Luther’s neck. Luther hugs him close, rubbing his hands up and down Diego’s back.
“I- I’m-”
“Hey, It’s okay, it’s alright,” Luther says, and then suddenly Klaus’ hand is on his shoulder. Diego must be really out of it to not notice his usually very loud brother coming closer.
The thunder doest stop ad everytime it happens he jumps instinctively into his (big) brother's arms, a sense of safety in them that he always wanted when they were younger but was too scared to ask for.
And Luther? Luther is whispering to him that everything will be okay, and for the first time in a long time… Diego believes him.