Oneshots || Tyrus

La Tormenta

{tw: panic attacks}

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Thunder cracked through the air, shaking the house at its core. Rain flooded down from the sky, pelting the ground and the roof with its might.

Cyrus sank deep into his living room couch, urging his body to melt into the seating entity, desperate to disappear from this reality.

The room was launched into darkness as the air rumbled with ferocity. An ear splitting crash sounded from across the street as the low light of the room flickered out of existence.

Cyrus froze. He knew he should move, should try to reach his phone to call his parents or his inhaler to force his lungs to work once more. But he was paralyzed.

His phobia of thunderstorms was swallowing him whole and he was too petrified to stop it.

Icy tears stung his cheeks as he sucked in shallow breaths trying to pacify his screaming thoughts.

It felt as if the darkness was eating away at his soul, until a flash of rigid lightning illuminated the yard with a sickening glow.

And there stood a slender silhouette, just barely visible through the frame of his entryway's window.

Cyrus's eyes widened in horror as he caught sight of the towering figure on his porch. 

He tugged his rugged blanket up to his nose, breaking his paralysis in fear.

Keys jangled on the other side of the door, and a low voice spat out some select swears through the wood of the entrance. The door swung open vigorously as the mystery figure burst into the entryway, spinning their head back in forth rapidly in search.

"Cyrus?"

He sat frozen once more in fear, clutching his blanket for dear life.

"Oh god the lights...Cyrus, where are you?" The figure spoke, escalating their volume as they paced quickly into the foyer.

They spun on their heel and caught sight of the boy huddled up on the couch. Without hesitating, the shadowed figure surged forward, stumbling and almost falling as they ran towards him.

And that's when he snapped. Cyrus slammed his head into his knees, breathing in rapidly as if he were a vacuum trying to suck all of the air out of the room, wailing out pained cries and sobs.

"Cyrus no-"

The darkened figure sat down tenderly on the couch, placing his hands gently on the knees of the shaking boy.

"Cyrus it me. It's TJ. I woke up to the thunderstorm alert on my phone and I know it's late but I just had to come and make sure you were okay and thank god I did. I'm here bud. I'm not going anywhere."

He tentatively reached a hand up to run his fingers through the boy's knotted brown locks, pulling his head to his chest in the process. The smaller boy shook with sobs, choking on the air he so desperately tried to hold in.

"Shhh, it's okay, I've got you Cy. I've got you and I won't let go. Not now, not ever."

Cyrus hiccuped slightly, quickly resuming his cries, reaching his hands up and grasping onto TJ's rain soaked shirt, balling the fabric up in his grasp and pulling him closer in a strained attempt to find comfort.

"Hey, hey, hey. I'm here. I'm here okay? I'm right here."

TJ wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him onto his lap and closer to his chest, slowing his breath and rising and dropping his shoulders to the rhythm of his respiration to move Cyrus's body to do the same.

And there they sat in the darkness, just breathing.

Eventually, as the storm began to pass and the murderous splashes of rain turned to light patters on pavement, Cyrus's breathing began to slow, and he relaxed his muscles, collapsing into TJ's embrace. 

"There there, it's already moving away."

TJ held Cyrus close, rubbing his back with one hand and pressing circles into his head with the thumb of the other.

"That's it, just keep breathing like me, slow it down Cy. You're doing great, just keep going."

Cyrus sighed into his exhale, coughing and sputtering from the sudden change in oxygen intake.

"TJ, c-can you t-tell the st-story?"

"Of course Underdog."

He paused, giving his companion a reassuring squeeze before continuing.

"When I was little, and there were storms, I was scared too. My abuelita, you remember her right? She would sit with me through my panic, holding me in her arms like I have you here now. And every time it happened, she'd tell me over and over 'cariño, es solo la tormenta.' Do you remember what that means Cy?"

Cyrus exhaled into TJ's chest, calming down enough to look up at his rain misted face and crack a slight smile.

"Its only the storm."

TJ smiled tenderly, reaching a hand up to push the hair plastered to his companion's forehead in sweat off of his face.

"My love, it's only the storm."

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•A/N•
Here, have some purposeful angst. I wrote this during a thunderstorm, so hopefully the ~imagery~ is clear and present. Also four of the cast members noticed me today on various social medias and idk how to act anymore 🙃.