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“Hey, are you okay?”
Sugiura’s breath caught in his throat as thunder cracked, a streak of lightning flashing outside the window as rain slammed into the glass, and the lights flickered. He tore his eyes away from the storm outside to look at Higashi, who was leaning through the doorway behind him, eyebrows pulled together in concern.
“Yeah,” he replied, voice hoarse as it broke on the word, clearing his throat quickly. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine.” He wasn’t fine, of course, but there wasn’t really a good way to say No, actually, I’m afraid of the dark and I don’t like how bad this storm is getting, so he just didn’t. Higashi shrugged and vanished again, back to setting up the microphones in the main room.
It would’ve been easier if Yagami or Kaito were here, Sugiura thought with a nervous breath, counting the seconds between rolls of thunder and bolts of lightning. Yagami had figured it out back when they were chasing the Mole, when Sugiura made a fool of himself complaining about how dark every room was in the secret lab; Kaito knew, because anything Yagami knew made its way to Kaito eventually. But he was pretty sure nobody had told Higashi - and he didn’t really want Higashi knowing either, if he could help it. Sugiura had always appreciated the prickly kindness Higashi had shown him, valued the maybe-friendship they were starting to step into, and it wasn’t like being scared of the dark was a trait people looked for in potential friends.
Another flash of lightning, brighter than the last. He restarted his count with a sigh. One, two, three, f-
An ear-splitting crash of thunder, lightning searing past his eyes, and as Sugiura blinked the fading image of it out of his eyes, the lights flickered a final time and shut off.
The lights were out.
The lights were out the lights were out the lights were out the lights -
A high-pitched sound echoed in the room, constant even under the steady rumble of thunder, and Sugiura could barely hear footsteps thudding on the floor towards him, a muffled curse as Higashi ran into the doorframe before finally making it into the room.
“Hey, hey - “ Higashi was kneeling in front of him now, he knew, could place him just by the sound of his voice, and Sugiura reached out frantically, shaking hands stretching until he brushed the front of Higashi’s shirt. He latched on, white-knuckled grip pulling Higashi closer, and slowly started to realize the sound he kept hearing was him, keening high and frantic in his throat. No wonder Higashi looked so panicked in the brief flashes of lightning. “Sugiura, what’s wrong? Please - “
“Dark,” he choked out, clinging to Higashi’s jacket and trying to swallow his panic. “It’s dark, the lights - “
“Oh.” Sugiura couldn’t place Higashi’s tone, couldn’t tell what he was thinking under the words, and his breath started to come faster again. “Oh, don’t - it’s okay, Sugiura, I promise - “
“No,” and it came out close to a sob, his face hot with shame at the sound of it. How much of a loser could he be, crying in front of someone else about how scared he was, just because it was a little dark? Higashi would leave, would get tired of putting up with him and leave him here, alone in this building and nobody else knew where he was -
“You have to calm down, Sugiura, you’re gonna pass out.” Higashi dragged him closer, one hand clumsy on the back of his head, pressing Sugiura’s face to his neck as he wrapped an arm around his back. “I don’t - I don’t know what to do,” he whispered, sounding almost helpless, and Sugiura’s back heaved under his touch. “Can you, um - if you close your eyes, is that kind of dark better?” Dark where he couldn’t see was bad enough, but dark where he couldn’t see even if he was looking, couldn’t tell what was out there - “Okay, okay, you don’t have to, but - “ Another crack of lightning and Sugiura was crawling onto his lap, keeping his face buried in Higashi’s neck and throwing his arms around his chest, clinging to him. Higashi wheezed briefly before adjusting to his grip, shifting the hand on Sugiura’s head to start combing through his hair. “Does being close to me help?”
“Yes,” he croaked, knowing his face was wet against Higashi, praying he couldn’t feel it. “Yes.”
“Okay.” Higashi took a deep breath, shifting under him slightly. “Good, that’s a start. So you’ll stay here until it stops raining.”
“Lights - “
“Yeah,” and his voice was so gentle that Sugiura's breath caught and he hiccuped around a sob, shuddering when Higashi held him tighter for a moment. “Yeah, until the lights are back.” Sugiura nodded, curling closer to him, eyes still wide open and staring into nothing.
He didn’t know how long they stayed like that, Higashi wrapped around him and stroking his hair, arm a steady presence on his back, tightening every time thunder rumbled and Sugiura shivered. When the lights came back on, it was almost a shock - he’d forgotten how quickly the feeling would fade, the unrelenting panic just vanishing as soon as he could see again, and how soon after it the embarrassment would start to set in.
“Uh.” He sat up, slipping back from Higashi and scrubbing at his cheeks with a sleeve, huffing when it came away damp. “Sorry. I know it's - sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” Sugiura couldn’t meet his eyes, staring at his own knees instead, and Higashi sighed. “We all have shit that sets us off, alright? You don’t have anything to apologize for.”
“It’s stupid,” Sugiura insisted, feeling his throat starting to grow right again, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. “It’s so fucking - it’s embarrassing, Higashi, and I shouldn’t be fucking useless any time it’s a little bit dark.”
“You’re not useless.” Higashi huffed out a frustrated breath when Sugiura laughed, short and bitter. “You’re not. You work hard, and you do a lot for everyone around you. Just because you might also need someone else to do something for you doesn’t mean you’re useless.”
Sugiura sniffled, rubbing a hand under his eyes and staring at Higashi. He looked tired in the dim apartment lighting, the shadows under his eyes just dark enough to not be hidden by his sunglasses, and his hand was still limp by his side where it had fallen when Sugiura moved away. How often did they do things for Higashi, he wondered, searching his memory and coming up blank. Higashi always came through for them, even if it meant a gun pointed at his head, and all they’d managed to do for him in return was make a mess in his arcade every so often. The least he could do was listen to what he was saying.
“Sugiura - “
“I’m afraid of the dark,” he interrupted, inching closer to Higashi’s hand. “I don’t like when I can’t see what’s around me, and I start to get really panicky.” Higashi sighed a little when Sugiura pressed up against his side, bringing his hand up to cup the back of Sugiura’s head, warm and gentle. “Sitting with people helps me a lot,” Sugiura continued, closing his eyes and relaxing into the touch. He hummed softly when Higashi reached an arm out to pull him closer, turning Sugiura’s face back into his neck and rubbing between his shoulders. “So thank you. For helping me.”
“You’re welcome.” Higashi’s voice was very soft in his ear, the hand on his back soothing even as the storm continued to rage outside. “Are you feeling better?”
“A little.” They sat quietly for a few more minutes, Sugiura’s eyes starting to grow heavy as the thunder finally grew more distant, the lightning flashing less and less. “Thanks, Higashi.” He closed his eyes with a soft sigh when Higashi didn’t reply, just pulled him closer for a moment and kept rubbing his back, humming every so often until Sugiura was almost boneless leaning against him. “We should do the surveillance,” he finally murmured, voice low and sleep-soft against Higashi’s chest. “It’s not too late.”
“The power outage fried the equipment.” Higashi laughed a little when Sugiura groaned. “Besides, I don’t think they’re making it to their rendezvous in this storm. I already texted Kaito, and he said that Yagami said we can just try again tomorrow.”
“‘Kay.” He yawned. “You okay if I nap?”
“Yeah, go ahead. That took a lot out of you, I bet.” Sugiura hummed in agreement, yawning again as he curled closer, the slow motion of Higashi’s hand easing him into sleep. “Sleep well.”
Higashi didn’t mention it the next day, quiet even when he saw Sugiura glancing nervously at the sky as Yagami arrived with a new set of surveillance equipment. “Sorry to ask you to do this all over again, but we really do need the evidence.” Yagami set down the last case with a tired breath, standing to stretch his back. “And sorry for the bust last night. They should be back on track today, though, rain or not.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks for the hand carrying stuff in.” Sugiura nodded in agreement - he’d rushed to help Yagami, trying to save Higashi the trouble, but the extra set of hands was still nice - and Yagami left with one last apology, off to his own night of work elsewhere in town.
“Saw you looking at the sky again,” Higashi said from behind him, voice low and even. “Just so you know - in my bag, there’s a flashlight and a candle. If the power goes out again, I’m going to grab them, then I’ll come right to you. Okay?”
“You don't have to - “ Sugiura’s face was hot again, the thought that Higashi had gone to the trouble of buying things to help filling him with an emotion he couldn’t name, but Higashi just shook his head.
“Yeah, but I want to. So did you want to set up the camera or the microphones?”
When the lights flickered again that night from the steady rain and wind gusting against the windows, Higashi got up without a word and lit the candle, setting it on the table before moving back to his spot by the cameras. Sugiura stared at it for a moment, letting his breath even out in his chest before turning back to the microphones. Even if the power went out - even if he was stuck in the dark again - he had a light, and he had Higashi, and that would be enough.