A/N: Hihi, everyone! Here is a special request for SherryLock4869 (thank you for being patient while I wrote this). I wanted to do something special for the person to make the 100th vote on my story, and I thought of doing a request. So, here it is!
It took me a little while to think of what the reader could be afraid of. This one-shot is what I came up with.
I hope you like it!
____________________________________________________________
The day began like any other day. The skies were clear, and it seemed like it was going to be a nice day. You would meet up with the swim club before homeroom.
It wasn't too long after the opening ceremonies of the second year the club was together that you met the members of the team. You happened to be in Makoto and Haru's class.
____________________________________________________________
You were doodling in your notebook after lunch waiting for class to start. It never took you the whole lunch period to eat, so you often did art in a little sketchbook you always keep in your bag.
You were sketching out a poster for the art club, of which you are a member, when Makoto and Haru approached you.
"You draw (L/n)-chan?" When you looked up you saw the two oldest swim members. You blushed when you realized it was Makoto who talked to you.
You had formed a crush on him last year. From the roof, you could see the swimming pool, and you'd see them practicing. You would go up to the roof to draw when you didn't have club activities.
From the moment you saw him swim, you went up there to observe from afar. His swimming was amazing, and you could make out his smiling face every now and then. It was love at first sight.
Makoto was in a different class than yours back then, and you had heard rumors of how nice he was. So, from your observations you could tell the rumors were true. Who wouldn't like him right away?
You couldn't believe the boy you were crushing on knew your name. And he was talking to you.
"Y-yes," you answered shyly. "Um, I specialize in graphic design."
"That's really cool! What are you working on?"
"A poster for the art club to advertise it."
"You're drawing is really good," Haru complimented in his monotone voice.
"Thanks," you said while moving some of your (color) hair behind your ear. A light blush appeared on your visage.
"Would you be free to come to the pool this afternoon? We need a new flyer to try and get more members. Maybe you could help us?" Makoto asked politely.
"Um, sure. I don't have art club today."
"Great! We'll take you there after class." He smiled and headed back to his seat, Haru right behind him. Your heart beat faster at his smile, and you were sure your cheeks were beet red.
--------------------
So in the afternoon, Makoto and Haru took you to the pool to meet the others.
"Hey guys," Makoto greeted them with a wave.
"Mako-chan!" the blonde shouted with a big grin on his face. "Who's that with you?" he asked with a tilt of his head.
"H-hi. I'm (L/n) (F/n)."
"She's here to help us make a flyer," the brunette beside you explained.
"Ah, that's great! Have you made one before?"
"Have you seen the drama club flyer?"
"You made that?!" Nagisa's mouth hung open in surprise. You could only nod because of his outburst. "Then you definitely have to help us. With your skills, we'll be sure to get new members!" Nagisa raised his fist in the air.
And that is how you became friends with the swim club.
____________________________________________________________
Classes went by smoothly, and now you and the others were on the roof eating lunch. The conversation was mostly about the boys and not having balanced lunches. You tended to tune out the talking when it came to that.
You were staring off into the sky. In the distance, there were dark storm clouds brewing. "I hope it doesn't thunder," you muttered.
"Did you say something (F/n)-chan?" Makoto asked, who was sitting beside you.
"Not really." You didn't like bothering others with your problems.
"What do you have in your lunch (F/n)-senpai?" Gou asked you, peeking at your bento.
"Rice, (favorite meat or protein equivalent), an egg, and some strawberries." You showed the redhead what your lunch looked like. It was well balanced with the lower portion being half rice and half protein. Then the egg and strawberries made up the two smaller compartments.
"See, this is the kind of lunch you guys should be eating! With portions that fit your body types of course." Gou's evaluation of your lunch made you blush. "And you won't be able to keep your awesome muscles in top form." That made everyone form a sweat drop.
____________________________________________________________
The storm clouds rolled in just about the time for classes to end. Due to the impending storm, swim practice was cancelled. You had to stay in the classroom though for cleanup duties. You were the last one in there to sweep and make sure no one left anything.
The others had decided to wait for you to get done so you all could walk to the train station, and home, together. They were waiting by the front entrance.
Makoto had gone to the bathroom, and when he got back, he noticed you weren't there. "Where's (F/n)?"
"She's still in the classroom," Haru answered flatly. By this point, the thunderstorm had started and was in full swing.
"I'll go see if she's alright," and Makoto headed upstairs. "(F/n)?" he asked peeking into the classroom. You didn't answer.
He scanned the room and found you huddled in a back corner. Your knees were hugged close to your chest, and your face buried into them with your hands over your ears. When a peel of thunder struck, you shuddered.
Thunderstorms scared you, ever since you were a little girl. You were 8 at the time. Your parents had gone out to the store quickly, leaving you in the house by yourself. They figured you were old enough to be there on your own for just a few minutes. And you lived in a nice neighborhood.
It had stormed pretty badly that day. So much so, that the lights had gone out, making the house almost pitch black. It made you scream and you cowered on the living room couch.
With the house being dark, and you being alone, all the noises in your home were magnified. It would creak with strong winds, and it was like someone else was in the house, but you couldn't see them.
Ever since then, whenever you hear thunder, it reminds you of that day.
Makoto walked over to your huddled form and reached out to touch your arm. Just at that moment, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and thunder rumbled.
You bolted up and tackled the brunette in a hug. He stumbled backwards a second from the surprise. Makoto was able to catch himself before you both tumbled to the floor.
You started crying into his school blazer. You were so scared that you were alone again, even though the others had said they'd wait for you. An irrational fear will completely overtake you.
Makoto wrapped his arms around you and began rubbing your back. "It's going to be okay (F/n)," he said softly.
"It's going to be all right (N/n)."
He was comforting you much like your mother had that night.
The two of you stayed like that for a moment. When you calmed down some, you pulled away and looked up at him with tears still in your (color) eyes. "S-sorry," you said and wiped the tears from your face.
"It's okay. Why were you crouched in the corner?" he asked softly.
"I-I'm terrified of thunderstorms. I was alone a-at home when I was younger when one knocked o-out our power. I've been afraid ever since." You spoke between sobs. You were visibly shaking from fear.
Makoto didn't say anything for a moment and took his jacket off, placing it over your shoulders. "Do you want to sit?" he asked calmly.
You nodded and sat on the floor, back against the wall you were huddled at earlier. Makoto took the spot next to you. You snuggled into his jacket, and then leaned your head on his shoulder.
Another boom of thunder sounded, a little further than the last one, but it made you jump all the same.
"Is there anything I can do to make it easier?"
"T-talk to me," came your simple response.
"What about?"
"A-anything is f-fine. Just to distract me from the noise."
"Okay. Well, there's something you don't know about me. I'm afraid of something too. The ocean terrifies me," he began.
"What happened?" you asked genuinely curious.
"It happened when I was in grade school..." and Makoto continued to tell you what transpired. You listened in rapt attention.
At the end of his story, you felt empathy for the gentle giant. You liked him even more now that he had shared something so personal with you. It had distracted you from your own fear.
"Oh my gosh, Makoto-kun, I'm so sorry. How did you get over your fear of the water?"
"Swimming with Haru. When I'm swimming with friends, it all melts away. And now I'm mostly just wary of open water."
You took in what he said, and it made sense. With Makoto there, your fear of the thunderstorm just disappeared.
After a moment of silence between you two, Makoto spoke, "It looks like the storm has passed." He stood and moved in front of you. "Ready to go?" He had his hand outstretched to you like he does when helping Haru out of whatever form of water he's in. He had a gentle smile on his face.
You nodded and grabbed his hand. He helped you up and his hand was warm. It made you feel like he'd always be there for you.
You stood on your tiptoes and kissed the orca boy on the cheek. His cheeks broke out into a blush at the contact. When you pulled away you too had a blush. You smiled and told him, "Thank you."
He looked away shyly while scratching his cheek. "It was nothing...Say, (F/n)-chan..."
"Hm?"
"Do you want to maybe get a popsicle?" he asked, still looking away.
Your heart skipped a beat. Your crush was asking you out! "Sure." You gave him a closed-eyes smile.
-----
Extra:
Makoto had texted the others that they could go on home, but they didn't listen. Nagisa and Gou wanted to find out what was going on. Of course Rei got dragged along, and Haru just went with the flow. Rei mostly went to make sure Nagisa didn't get himself into trouble.
They had made it upstairs to the classroom just as you were talking with Makoto. Nagisa had opened the classroom door slightly so they could hear what was going on. They heard you confess to being scared of thunderstorms.
"I had no idea (F/n)-chan was afraid of thunder," Nagisa whispered.
"Me either. She never really lets us know about things like that," Gou whispered next.
"(F/n)-senpai doesn't want us to worry, so it's only reasonable she wouldn't tell us," Rei deduced as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Shh. More is happening," Gou shushed. They listened as Makoto told you the story of how he became afraid of water. Gou couldn't help but inwardly squeal when she heard you tell him sorry over what happened. The two of you could identify with one another on a more emotional level.
She shipped the two of you shortly after you started coming to watch practices after helping with making that flyer. The two of you were just too cute in her opinion.
Then it was Nagisa's turn to "fangirl," but he couldn't hold back his excitement when Makoto asked if you wanted to get a popsicle with him. "Way to go Mako-chan!" he yelled in a whisper. He knew Makoto had been waiting for the right time to ask you out. He had finally gotten over his fear of being rejected it seemed.
"Nagisa, shh!" Gou reprimanded in much the same manner. "They might hear you!"
"Let's go before we get found out," Rei suggested.
"Good idea Rei-chan," Nagisa agreed, nodding. And they left the two of you to officially be alone.
____________________________________________________________
A/N: This was actually quite fitting since there has recently been some thunderstorms where I live. I hope I was able to convey being afraid of thunderstorms.
Let me know what you think in a comment. If you liked it, please consider voting.
I am working on the next Rei one-shot. He gets a little jealous, so if there are any Rei-chan fans reading this, please look forward to it!
Till next time! =^-^=