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"A-Sang?! Are you awake?"
To the sudden amazement of the older boy, a sad and helpless face appeared beside the headboard of his bed in the midst of the darkness of the orphanage room.
Recovering from his fright, with his hand resting on his heart, Nie HuaiSang replied:
"A-Ning... You can't just show up like that!"
"Shh... the others are still sleeping", the little boy pouted and scolded him, but his grandeur was undone as a screeching thunder took over the place. Little Wen Ning clutched his teddy bear tightly as he crouched under Nie HuaiSang's bed.
The older boy felt that, although he also feared the noise of thunder, he should set an example and watch over his friend in a protective way.
"Here. A-Ning, I'll let you sleep with me tonight.", he pulled his sheet and left an empty space on the bed for the other to lie down.
"But... The others will tease me, call me a baby, and hit me for being so lazy...", Wen Ning started to wipe away the tears that were forming in his eyes and Nie HuaiSang felt he could catch him in his lap to lull and promise protection to that baby. But that was out of the question. Although Wen Ning was 5 years old and Nie HuaiSang was almost 10, they were practically the same height.
"If they do that again we'll call my brother for help and they'll run away."
The not-so-little Nie MingJue knew how to be pretty scary when he wanted to be. He was protective of all the boys younger than him, often causing Nie HuaiSang to throw a tantrum at being left out.
Wen Ning then jumped under the covers after a big flash, he knew what was coming. He clung to the bear and Nie HuaiSang to him; both held their breath looking at the sudden light through the window of the third floor where they were.
When the noise took over, Wen Ning whimpered again and the elder tried to calm him down by gently stroking his head.
"It's just an ugly noise. It won't hurt you, okay? And I'm here for you."
The other boys, at most, just tossed and turned in their beds too deeply to be scared. Nie HuaiSang wondered how much energy they had to spend messing around in order not to wake up during those stormy nights.
"S-Sorry... A-Sang."
"What is it, dear? Whatever it is, there's no need to apologize. I told you, you're my best friend, I'll always be there for you and nothing's going to change that."
"What if A-Sang or A-Ning is adopted? And taken away? And Wen Ning is left without siblings?"
"I don't know... but I don't think so, they can't separate us from our brothers... that would be... too bad.", Nie HuaiSang concluded sadly.
"I wanted a-Jie now... Why can't she sleep with us?"
"You know, because of that ridiculous separation of girls and boys. But your sister is here, in her room, and will always find you to take care of you."
"I wanted to take lessons from the older ones... but the kids say I'm stupid."
Nie HuaiSang couldn't bear that someone was able to make that little angel nestled in his arms cry.
"Who said that? I'll make them swallow the multiplication table if I have to, but no one can treat you like that, understand?”
"I c-can't talk... they're going to hurt me..."
"Not if I hurt them first."
Nie HuaiSang would sometimes speak with a face that was too dark for a child, which in turn scared Wen Ning.
"I'll have my brother take care of this! Nobody messes with my A-Ning and gets away with it!"
"I-I don't like violence, even A-Sang said it's bad."
"That's why you must learn to confront violence before it gets worse.", Nie HuaiSang completed his lesson with a momentary air of superiority, but Wen Ning still couldn't understand the meaning of the sentence, and he was too tired to care.
"...Promise you won't let the evil sound get A-Ning?"
The sleepy little being curled up now, pressing the teddy bear in the middle while hugging his friend tightly, as if he really feared being captured from the comfort of that embrace.
"I promise, A-Ning. I won't let anything bad take you away from me! We'll be together for life."
"When I grow up... I want to live with you, a-jie, your da-ge, and a-Ying... we're going to be a happy family. And... there's going to be a lot of kids with us... We're going to love them..."
Nie HuaiSang no longer understood what that weak voice was saying, he just laughed and after giving a little kiss on the top of the younger's head, he said:
"We are already a happy family! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
✦ ✧➹ ✧ ✦
25 years later.
The heavy rain was present for most of the day, providing a slight relief during bedtime for the younger ones. However, as soon as the clock marked the time when it was about to make the passage from one day to the next, heavy drops were present and a series of strong flashes took over the night sky.
"Scared?", Wen Ning asked, interrupting his reading by the light of a bedside lamp as the eldest threw himself on the bed, quickly approaching him without stopping to stare at the window of the double bedroom.
"The one who used to be scared by that was you... I'm just worried about the children...", Nie HuaiSang replied without much confidence in his voice, which broke even more when he heard the thunder. He shuddered along.
"That was just because I was caught off guard.", he soon tried to justify himself.
In this context, it was Wen Ning who had to snuggle him in his lap and tell him that everything would be fine. Nie HuaiSang was worried as it had only been a week since the adopted children arrived at the house to live with them. He was afraid that they still didn't have enough confidence to communicate with them, or that they would reject them.
Wen Ning smiled, hugging Nie HuaiSang to him and placing a kiss on his head.
"Damn it, it feels like the world is collapsing.", Nie HuaiSang leaned over Wen Ning kissing his lips as he spoke "It makes me want to not let go of you."
"Well... Looks like someone else had a similar idea..." At first, Nie HuaiSang didn't understand why his husband blushed and started pushing him away, trying to get him to lie down behaving like before. That's when he looked towards the door and quickly returned to his side of the bed.
"E-Excuse me...", the little boy who was still holding the doorknob spoke first. "We wanted to know, would you let us sleep here?"
"No... we had agreed to show our fear and wait for them to suggest protection.", the older girl tried to correct the younger one's speech.
"I don't understand anything you say. And don't go with that, you were scared too!"
"Aunt Qing explained how the sound of thunder is formed, it's a completely natural sound phenomenon, there's no need to be afraid of these things and..."
Another sound that seemed to shake the house filled the room.
"... But it's still scary", the other girl added.
"Yes, he looks like uncle MingJue when he's angry.", the boy commented, and the three children ended up laughing.
Meanwhile, Nie HuaiSang watched the whole thing smiling without being able to say anything.
"Of course you can sleep here, the bed is big enough.", as soon as Wen Ning gently gave permission, the two younger ones ran to the bed, each hugging one of their parents. The older girl stood at the door still reluctantly.
"A-Lin? Aren't you coming?"
"I... I don't. I'm too old to be sleeping with the elderly like a scared little baby."
"Then why did you scream just now in the room?", the younger sister asked.
"Me? I don't remember that!"
"He even tried to climb into the closet, he looked like Uncle WuXian that day when he saw a dog playing in the street and ran to the nearest tree.", the boy started laughing remembering the scene, but the girl took it personally.
Another loud thunder. She seemed to fight against his will, maybe she was too proud. She was slowly backing out of the room. Nie HuaiSang decided to get out of bed and go to her, kneeling beside her, looking into her eyes.
"You're smart, but you can always learn more... You know, when I was your age, I used to protect Wen Ning on stormy nights. But the truth was, I was just as afraid as he was, I only played brave so that he felt better. I realized that when I had to sleep without him during a storm shortly after he was adopted, it was scary."
"And there's no way to end it?"
"Perhaps the fear never completely goes away, but we can feel safe being close to the people who are important to us. It is not a weakness to let someone take care of us, one day we will be able to return the favor."
Nie HuaiSang then opened his arms to the girl. She dropped a teddy bear that would give her the courage to try going alone all the way back to her room. But why do that when she could welcome the affection her father was trying to give her?
"Thank you, father.", she replied after hugging Nie HuaiSang. He picked her up in his arms, taking her close to the rest of the family.
"They're already asleep.", Wen Ning said of the two children cuddled over him.
"It's still hard for me... Calling you parents... But I'm happy to have a family... And to have my brothers with me.", the girl said and tightened her embrace on Nie HuaiSang who patted her tenderly until she felt protected enough to fall asleep.
After a few minutes the room was dark and rather silent considering the light rain that was still running outside those walls. At one end of the bed was Wen Ning and at the other Nie HuaiSang, their eyes had become accustomed to the darkness and they could have their own comfort before joining the younger ones in the dream world.
Nie HuaiSang smiled softly.
"What is it?", Wen Ning asked.
"You've fulfilled your childhood dream."
"And you do not?"
"A-Ning has always been my biggest dream. I promised I would always be by your side. And I don't regret it a single day. I'm happy."
Due to the necessary distance that the two kept, Wen Ning could only smile tenderly and raise his hand to his mouth, blowing a kiss in the direction of Nie HuaiSang, who returned the gesture with amusement.
That innocent love that had developed into a passion continued to be shared in the form of another love. They were no longer the orphans protected by their older siblings, but the protective parents of their own children. Getting to that result wasn't so simple, but they never stopped believing in that love. Finally the storm passed, the planting strengthened and the time for harvest arrived.