Justprompts: Lightning storm
Prompt photo
Desmond winced a little as he heard the rolling rumble of thunder. He knew that, at the age of twenty-three, it was a bit childish to still be frightened of thunderstorms, but he couldn't help it. They just made him feel uneasy. He winced again as he saw a quick flash of light outside the window, and then the rumble came again, louder this time.
He decided it was probably a good idea to shut down his computer, so he quickly saved his work and shut everything off, going so far as to get down underneath his desk and unplug the surge protector from the wall. That computer was his livelihood, the very essence of his being. He wasn't going to run the risk of lightning zapping it and frying everything inside it.
He sighed and drummed his fingers against the edge of his desk. Across from his desk was a large picture window and he watched the raindrops splatter against the glass. He didn't mind the rain so much; honestly, it had a habit of putting him to sleep. Throw in thunder and lightning with the rain and, well, it was a whole other ball game. He winced, his body tensing, as he watched a tendril of electricity cut across the sky outside his window. He squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating the clap of thunder. It was much louder than he expected, rattling the very foundation of the house, and he sprang up from his chair.
He briskly walked out of his study, pulling the door closed behind him. Heading into the living room, he flopped down beside his twin brother, Jude, on the couch. Slouching down, he placed his bare feet against the edge of the coffee table and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to look nonchalant.
Jude glanced up from the leather journal he was writing in, a bemused expression on his face. Des shot a quick scowl at his twin, silently daring the other man to make a remark. Jude just chuckled, turning his attention back to his songwriting. Des licked his lips and his eyes darted around the living room, falling on the window. The curtains were drawn back, giving the brothers a good view of the storm that raged on outside. It was dark, well past ten o'clock, but thanks to the street lamps, Des could make out the sight of the trees being whipped around by the wind. He audibly gulped as another forked bolt of lightning snaked down from the sky. He jumped at the sound of a loud crack that definitely was not thunder. The loud crack was followed by an equally loud crash as the massive oak tree in their front yard fell over.
"Holy shit!" Des' eyes widened as he threw a look at his brother, who looked equally shocked. "Did you see that? Lightning just struck that tree! Cracked it right in half!"
"Yeah, Des, I saw." Jude muttered as he set his journal and pen aside and then got to his feet, walking over to the window. "Oh my god, it missed the house by, like, this much." He held his forefinger and thumb mere centimeters apart, and then glanced back over his shoulder. "Des?" He frowned deeply when he saw that his brother no longer sat on the couch, and he moved away from the window. "Des?"
He started walking through the house, searching for where his brother could've gone, and he finally found him in his bedroom, a blanket-covered lump in the middle of his bed. He chuckled softly and moved over to the bed, sitting down on the edge. "Des, it's okay. You goof, there's nothing to be afraid of; the lightning hit the tree, not the house, and the tree missed the house and our cars when it fell."
"Don't care." came the muffled reply. "Could've easily hit the house. I hate lightning."
Jude snorted a little and nudged his brother over so that he could stretch out on the bed. "You know you don't hate lightning, not really. You go gaga over pictures of it. I mean, c'mon, you're constantly buying prints of lightning."
"Yeah, pictures are one thing. The real thing? Not so fun!" Des muttered.
"You're such a dork." Jude said, chuckling. "You know that, right?"
Des reluctantly pushed the covers back away from his head, tilting his face up so that he could breathe. He kept the blankets clutched tightly against his chin and scowled at Jude. "Whatever." he grumbled, shifting on the bed and turning on his side, his back to Jude.
Jude chuckled and turned on his side, propping himself up on his elbow and leaning over Des to place a soft kiss to his hair. "I still love ya though, dorkiness and all." he muttered before lying down beside his twin.
Des smiled and closed his eyes, relaxing a little. It was probably stupid, Jude was only four minutes older, but he'd always made Des feel safe. He barely flinched when the next lightning crash and thunder rumble happened, listening instead to the sounds of the rain beating down on the roof. It didn't take long before he was drifting off to sleep.
One corner of Jude's mouth curled upward as he noticed the change in Des' breathing, the way that it fell into a rhythm, and he chuckled, snuggling up to his brother and falling asleep as well.