A/N #1: Posting this on my AO3 page (@LillyUnova) and fanfiction.net- (@YoshiUnova)

A/N #2: I apologize for the wait. Got no excuses besides the fact I had other books I'm currently working on. Well sit back and enjoy everyone!

Word count: 2383 words

________________________________________________________________________

"So how long have you been with Misaki?" The silence was finally broken after an hour of eating the golden brown turkey which stood as the centerpiece of the small oak table, Mahiro babbled in my direction flexing his chubby fingers wanting more of the delicious food. Amehiko looked up at the glasses wearing man quickly chewing his food in order to answer his question.

"Only three days." A bite of turkey followed by a sip of water filled Ame's mouth soon after as violet eyes met grey, he offered a small smile as to not come across as awkward. His eyes constantly darted between Usagi and Ame absorbing their differences and similarities.

"You look alot like Usagi back in highschool." Takahiro mused looking at the child observing everything from his school outfit to his violet eyes. It was true, it was almost like they were bonded biologically. Plus the school uniform definitely helped out with his case. Physically, dirty blonde hair and a pale complexion were the first two things that popped out at him helping differentiate the two.

"I heard there's going to be a thunderstorm today." Ame immediately turned his head to his father fear clouded his violet eyes. A thunderstorm? Oh god why?! Even the thought of the crash of thunder and the strike of a destructive lightning bolt caused a shiver to go up his spine.

His mother Misaki looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Is there something wrong Ame?" He asked. "I-I'm fine..." came his timid reply, fumbling with the silver fork in his hand. "I-is it going to rain?" The air around him turned thick making breathing a difficult task, his violet eyes bore holes into the large window behind them while he loosen the collar of his dress shirt. His heart sank into his shoes when Usagi confirmed that yes, a thunderstorm is likely. Anxiety coursed through his veins as his mind went to a dark place. Thoughts of him getting struck by lightning or the power going out raced each other to be at the forefront of his thoughts. His breathing and heart rate went through the roof as the room started spinning, he wrapped his arms around his churning stomach.

His brain didn't register a chair being pushed and soft footsteps padding behind him. Hands rubbed circles on his back cutting him out of the swirling world in front of him, his eyes went back into focus and his chest -very shakingly- moved up and down with every intake of oxygen. "What happened? You can tell me." His head rested on top of his small, thin arms, his breathing slowly coming back to normal but his stomach couldn't stop churning for whatever reason.

"I-I..." Once again, his breathing increased making it difficult to give an explanation. "T-thunder..storm" Was the only word that he pulled from his mouth. Misaki looked up at him confused before the realization hit him like a bus. Astraphobia: The classic fear of both thunder and lightning. Mahiro looked up at his mother then at the blonde, childlike naivety flashed through his eyes while both parents sat there wondering if they should speak up.

"Misaki what's the matter?" His brother inquired.

"He's scared of thunder and lightning." As he said that, his nimble fingers ran through his dirty blonde hair as a way to calm his shaking child. Soon enough, he slowly raised his head, a dull tense feeling dissolved into his muscles but the mild dizziness evaporated at the touch of his small warm hands.

Takahiro turned to his wife. "Doesn't his name mean rain? How ironic." A poor attempt of lightning the mood around the table but indeed it was ironic. When he first introduced himself, his thoughts wandered to the sight of the dark grey clouds and the droplets of the rain. The juxtaposition was perfect.

"Mommy told me a bedtime story about Grandpa almost being struck from lightning." Another lapse of silence. It was sad. She always told me to run to my room during a storm.." At the mention of his mother, salty tears welled up in his bright violet eyes as his thoughts turned from his Astraphobia to his mother's story.

1 year prior

"CLAP!" Another cold shiver went straight to his spine with the clap of lightning as 5 year old Ame rocked himself to a stressed ridden sleep. The soft pitter patter of the rain helped quell the dull throb of his head while the occasional roar of thunder only brought it back. It was like that of a pendulum.

A stream of light streamed into the room, his eyes dropped down to the floor seeing the bunny slippers of his mother Himari. "...M-mommy..." His throat constricted making it hard to convey his troubles. Himari's brows furrowed, her heart ached seeing her only son in pain.

"Honey what's the matter?" The bed dipped when his mother added weight by Himari sitting next to him, stroking his dirty blonde hair. "L-Lightning..." Another lapse of silence. "And thunder." The corner of his lips upturned against her stuttering son, a relevant memory about her father popping up from the deepest parts of her mind. "You know...I have a story for you. Maybe it will help you." His violet eyes stared up at his mother, a bright smile spread across his face. "Really?!" His mother's stories were like a shield against his fears and problems. "Tell me! Tell me!"

"This takes place when I was a young girl. Me and your grandfather were playing soccer before a storm." Violet eyes looked up at his mother, the pupils widened in surprise. "Why did you do that?!"

"We were about to head home." The comment went ignored. "When all of the sudden, rain poured down from the clouds and of course we made a beeline towards the car but grandad forgot his golf clubs and went back." Doe eyes struggled to stay open as it was midnight, every few seconds they would flutter shut before he forced them open.

"Did you know your name means rain?" A soft chuckle filled the air seeing those eyes filled with wonder. When the time came to name her newborn son, that memory rushed in while her and Daisuke -her deceased husband- compared the names they had thought up of at the time. Ironically, it started to pour and it all clicked in their heads. "I got a tummy ache and I rushed to your grandpa and pulled." She emphasized the action by pulling an imaginary arm. "And pulled him to the car. Not even two seconds later, a lightning bolt struck right where he would have been."

"..Is he okay? What happened to him?!" He was suddenly twice as attentive, a random rush of adrenaline surged through him. His mother chuckled at her son's sudden enthusiasm. "He's okay, he was just shooken up."

"So you learned a good lesson; always stay home during a thundersto-" Soft snores caught her attention, at the drop of a dime, Ame finally succumbed to his eyes desires and fell back into a peace filled sleep.

*****

Emerald eyes stared up at the child, unspoken concern swam through his eyes as his thoughts turned towards Ame's mother. Admittedly, it was a weird story to tell given the situation but it seemed to work. From what he was able to gather, thankfully, she wasn't a terrible person; just someone who was simply mourning. It warmed his heart as Ame was comfortable enough to tell one of the many bedtime stories his mother would share. But to Ame, he only saw both him and Usagi as strangers. No more. No less. He knew it was something beyond his control -hell they aren't even related!- but for some reason, it pained him knowing he couldn't control it.

His reverie was cut off by a small timid voice asking him to be excused from dinner. An unknown emotion flashed through his eyes -sadness? Fear? Who knows-. Ame silently wandered to his bedroom after both Misaki and Akihiko silently nodded. Emerald eyes drooped down towards the ground, thoughts started to circulate.

The silence was finally broken by his brother. "How about you talk to him Misaki." His eyes pivoted towards the grey eyed man, the corners of his mouth dropped to a frown as his eyes bore holes in the stairs; the silence was suffocating. "He must be scared or maybe he's homesick." Manami added as she grabbed a napkin from her purse, wiping Mahiro's mouth.

Taking a deep breath, he grabbed Akihiko's hand leading him upstairs with him, following the sounds of near silent whimpering coming from his makeshift bedroom. With each step they took, Misaki felt his heart clench in pain. If he was homesick then maybe he should kick it into high gear in finding his family or at least one of his legal guardians. It's the least he could do after all.

The whimpering decreased in volume with each step he took. "Ame?" He flinched upon hearing his name along with the door creaking open. His bloodshot eyes gazed up at the pair, shame swam through the orbs. Why cry? Now they'll surely poke and prod for answers as to why he was this way. He buried his face in the pillows feeling more tears well up.

"Ame what's the matter." Warm hands ran through his dirty blonde hair in an attempt to sooth whatever pain he felt. But it only caused him to wail harder because those hands were identical to his mother's -they even feel similar.- A muffled sob made its way out of his lips, the pillow absorbing his tears. He felt the bed dipped when both Misaki and Akihiko sat on the opposite sides of the bed. Misaki maneuvered Ame so he sat upright, extra tears cascaded down his chin to the sheets below. He felt Akihiko's hands rub circles on his back trying to soothe him.

He felt liberated from the harsh lump in his throat and the tense feeling that was situated in his bones went away feeling those soothing hands. "M-mommy..." He whispered, leaning his head on Misaki's arm. He wrapped him in a warm embrace, tears of his own threatened to spill over but he had to hold them in. He had to remain strong for him. He continued to hold him, a single tear poured down his cheek.

"We'll find her. Please don't cry." He repeated those words like a mantra. Not knowing what exactly to do, Ame returned the gesture, their roles had now switched. Those violet eyes that were once shining now took on a glimmer of shame seeing Misaki cry. It ate at him even more knowing it was because of him.

It was Akihiko who finally spoke up. "Why were you crying?"

His nimble fingers gripped the bedsheets as he took a deep breath to silence the crying. "You're like mommy." Bloodshot eyes widened in surprise, internally his heart fluttered. So am I like a second mother to him? He shook his head at the thought. 'I got to stop thinking this way.' The thought immediately brought his spirits down. 'It's only been 3 days and if I start pushing that idea will cause him to go back into his shell.' He opened the top drawer taking out a small tissue to blow the nasal excretion, against his better judgement and his wavering voice; he turned to the child and mumbled out "really?"

That surge of confidence that flowed through his body was exactly like it was all those years ago helped him speak. "You and mommy are really kind and make really good food." He turned to Akihiko with a soft smile. "And you're like daddy. Both are quiet but really nice." His expression changed from mild indifference to light happiness.

"We'll find them. For now, you should relax. Okay?" He held up his right pinky finger, wanting him to promise something. "No more tears, Okay?" His small pinky wrapped around it signifying their promise.

"Mahiro! Come back." Light flooded into the room and in came Mahiro, grinning from ear to ear waddling inside. Not a second later Takahiro rushed into the room, an awkward chuckle made its way out of his throat as he picked up the struggling child. Sensing the man's frustration, Ame held his hands out to the brown haired boy as he watched him happily waddled towards him, his arms held out. With a happy squeal, Ame lifted him up and sat him on his lap looking up at Takahiro with a soft smile.

He chuckled lightly, sauntering towards the bed. "He seems to take a liking to you." Mahiro agreed with a squeal looking at his uncle before returning his attention towards the child. His chubby hands played with his cheeks, his mouth and forehead babbling "Ame-nii!" over and over.

Manami walked inside, turning on the lights; the sight she was greeted with uplifted her spirits. "Mahiro, we have to go home now." Ame flinched in pain as Mahiro gripped at his chest wailing uncontrollably. He simply ran his fingers across Mahiro's brown hair like that of his mother, a soft smile played across his face. He stood up -Mahiro continued to cling to him like a magnet- handing him back to his parents, not before giving him a warm hug.

"Are you okay?" Misaki asked, his head leaned against the bedpost, his eyes drooping. Ame nodded in affirmation, softly yawning. "Good night." He ambled off into his makeshift bedroom. A soft smile made its way onto Misaki's face seeing him turn back his normal cheerful self.

"It's like we're a family. Don't you think?" He felt those cool hands that he had grown to love wrap around him. Misaki's cheeks supported a light hue. It was like he was reading his thoughts or something of the sort. Feather light kisses on his neck caused his body to burn up in a pleasant heat. He wanted to struggle but the combination of fatigue and arousal made him stay put. "Misaki.." he whispered, letting his hands fondle with his smooth chest.

He let out a small moan of pleasure as he was once again, swept away by the esteemed author.