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Joaquin woke up with a jolt to a loud boom. He couldn't tell what it was…until it happened again. Thunder. He looked outside his window and there it was…𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮. When more thunder cracked, he jumped.
He liked to consider himself 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨. He's been through a lot of crap and came out of it alive. War? No problem. He could dodge missiles and fly around enemies like it's a regular day, But if he had to choose a fear…storms. They were loud, they could be dangerous.
He hates them. He always has. The thunder is loud, cracking like a whip through the air. The rain feels heavy, like a million little drums. The lightning was bright, as sharp as a knife. It was terrible and terrifying.
Joaquin was lucky. Or at least that's what he thought. Sam hadn't yet made him fly through a storm in the falcon suit and he was thankful for that, he never had to do it in the air force. The storms posed a risk to the aircrafts, so they were ordered to steer clear of them. He was fine with that.
He tensed up when more thunder boomed. His breath picked up and he sat up.
“I'm ok…I'm fine…” Joaquin mumbled.
He was in fact not fine. When more thunder boomed, the rain seemed to get louder.
He could feel his heart beating against his chest, the sound of the rain echoed in the room and his head. It was 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨. He wanted it to 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱. But it wouldn't it in my got 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘳. He tried to convince himself that everything was ok that he was fine. But he wasn't fine.
More thunder sounded, loud as the hooves of a million horses. Then lighting, illuminating his room before it plummeted back into darkness. He brought his legs up to his chest, covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't breath, it felt like he was underwater, he clawed at his chest, trying to draw in some air.
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Sam was startled awake by the sound of thunder. He sat up and looked outside his window, great. It was storming.
With a sigh he laid back down. While he wasn't scared of storms, he certainly wasn't a fan. Especially during missions, he's flown through one before. It wasn't fun.
He was about to go back to sleep when he heard a faint noise. At first he couldn't tell what it was, it was as quiet as a mouse. Then he heard it again. It was a sob and it was coming from the direction of Joaquin's room…
Immediately, he bolted up and got out of bed, walking out of his room and down the hallway to Joaquin's room.
He hesitantly knocked on the door. Nothing. He knocked again…still nothing. With a sigh, Sam opened the door and was distraught at the sight he saw.
Joaquin, sitting on his bed, knees pulled up to his chest and hands clamped over his ears. His breathing was heavy and his eyes were screwed shut.
“Joaquin…?” Sam called out.
When the man didn't answer he walked over to the bed, it dipped under his weight.
“Joaquin.” He tried again.
And this time, the younger man looked up at him with surprise.
“Sam…?”
He mumbled in a heartbreaking tone, tear streaks on his cheeks.
Sam sighed, “What's wrong? Why are you crying?”
“It's stupid…”
“Joaquin…” Sam gave him a pointed look.
“It…the…the storm…” He finally got out.
“The storms scaring you?”
“Told you it was stupid…”
“Hey now…don't say that, it's ok to be afraid of storms.
“...yeah?”
Sam nodded. “Yeah…do you want me to stay?”
After thinking, Joaquin hesitantly nodded. “Yeah…”
“Alright, lay back down.” He instructed.
Joaquin followed his order and laid back down, pleasantly surprised when Sam laid down next to him.
He wanted to move closer but was a little anxious, so he stayed where he was. That was until Sam wrapped an arm around him, bringing his other hand up to Joaquin's head to run his fingers through his hair.
Slowly, he moved over. Curling up next to Sam.
“...Thanks…” He mumbled.
“Anytime…”
As more thunder boomed, he tensed up.
Sam's grip tightened. “It's ok…it won't hurt you…”
Joaquin's face was slightly red from embarrassment.
He tried to focus on Sam's breathing rather than the storm, it was slow. Steady. Like waves on a calm shore.
The room lit up again, he flinched, burying his face in Sam's chest.
The older man didn't say anything, just held him a little tighter.
“You're shaking.” He said.
“Sorry…”
“Nothing to be sorry for…”
A couple minutes passed in silence. Then more thunder.
“Feels like it's never gonna end…” Joaquin mumbled.
“It will. And I'll be here after it does.” Sam said.
Joaquin hesitated. “You…you really don't mind?”
“Not at all.” Sam smiled.
Thunder boomed yet again, but this time he didn't flinch as hard.
“See? You're already braver.”
“That's just because you're here.”
Sam froze for a second, then he smiled, resuming the motion of his fingers in Joaquin's hair.
“Sam…?”
“Yeah?”
“Don't…don't go away…mk?”
“I won't. I'll always be here for you.”
Joaquin nodded faintly, snuggling closer.
Another crack of thunder hit, louder this time, rattling the windows. He flinched, hard, bumping into Sam.
“Sorry…” He whispered.
“Hey, it's ok,” Sam said softly. “You don't have to apologize for being scared.”
Joaquin swallowed. “It just…it seems stupid.
“It's not stupid.” He continued running his fingers through Joaquin's hair. “Fear doesn't care how stupid it may seem. It's just there…but that doesn't mean you have to deal with it alone.”
That hit Joaquin 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥. No one has really told him that before, not really. It was always to ‘man up’ and ‘stop being so scared!’
“What…What if I don't know how to ask for help?”
“Then I'll help you anyways.”
And he believed that.
“...Sam?” He asked, voice hesitant.
“Yeah?”
“L…love you…” He mumbled.
Sam froze. “I love you too kid.”
They both fell asleep like that. Happy and content.