September 2, 1977

David tossed and turned under his covers. It was dark out, and he didn't like the thunder. At seven years old he knew that the thunder wasn't anything to be scared of. Ororo, who watched him sometimes when his parents were busy now that Annie was gone, went around holding it in her hands. It wasn't a big deal.

He rolled onto his stomach and gripped his pillow as another bolt lit up the sky. He bit his lip, wishing that he could go and find his mother and father. They would always hold him when he was scared, let him sleep in their bed if he had nightmares. It was a perfect safe haven. All he had to do was go down the hall.

Now he couldn't do that. They were gone to some conference or another, and they had been gone for almost a week. He wasn't completely sure why. They had called a lot, but it wasn't the same. They said that they would be back the next morning. David had counted the days. The clock told him that it was still too early though.

David buried his face even further as the thunder continued. The pillow muffled his whimpers. He wished the thunder would stop soon. He wished even more that his parents would come home early. He didn't like that they were gone. He didn't understand why they had to go in the first place. David never understood when his parents had to leave. It didn't happen often, and it had never been more than a day. It was why their new absence made him so scared.

A noise from outside made him stiffen. He clutched his pillow tighter and his eyes went to the door. David couldn't imagine who was up now. Everyone else was asleep. He wished that he could go to sleep too.

The footsteps stopped outside his door. David sat up, clutching his pillow to his chest. He could see the shadows moving, and he considered crying out. Sean and Terry were down the hall. They would hear. Sean and Terry might have better voices for screaming, but he knew he could wake them up.

The door opened. He relaxed immediately.

"Why are you up Kurt?" he asked.

Kurt looked up at him with wide golden eyes. One of his hands was up near his mouth so that he could suck on his fingers. His other hand cuddled a big teddy bear close to him while his tail swished lazily behind him.

His brother's fingers left his mouth.

"Scawed," he said.

David frowned. His three-year-old brother had developed a slight lisp, and he had a tendency to murmur quietly instead of talking loudly. Despite everything, he had little trouble understanding his brother.

"What, of the thunder?" he asked.

Kurt nodded.

"Want mama. Want daddy," he said.

"They're not here," David said.

"Want them," Kurt said.

"Don't look at me: I'm not hiding them," David said.

Kurt didn't say anything. David wondered what to say as another bolt of thunder lit up the night. Kurt whimpered and buried his face in his teddy bear. David clutched his pillow, but the sight of his brother cowering with his teddy bear undid him.

He slid out of his bed, swallowing and leaving his pillow behind. David walked up to Kurt and put his hands on his shoulders. Kurt peeked up from over his teddy bear.

"I've got you," David said.

Kurt nodded, still clutching his teddy bear. David looked around the room for inspiration on what to say next. Suddenly it all felt too stifling, as though the room was trying to enhance the thunder that echoed across the night.

"Let's get out of here," he said.

Kurt gave him a confused look. David reached out and grabbed his brother's wrist. He knew that Kurt's fingers would be sticky: he didn't know how long his brother had been sucking on his fingers. David didn't want to get all sticky.

"Come on," he said.

He pulled his brother down the hallway. Kurt didn't resist. He heard Kurt's tail swishing over the top of the carpet. David had always thought that Kurt's tail was far too long for him. His brother didn't quite have control over it yet, so sometimes it would flip out unexpectedly. The tip was becoming sharp, so David had taken great care to avoid it. His mother had begun talking about padding it out.

They took the stairs slowly. The steps were still a little big for Kurt. David had seen his mother holding both of Kurt's hands, helping him go up and down the steps. David could just remember her doing the same for him when he was little. It was a good memory.

Together they made their way to the kitchen. They walked past the library as another flash of thunder lit up the room. David threw himself behind the wall just as his brother buried his face in his shoulder, his hands clutching at David's arm.

David stared at him for a moment. His brother had come to him for protection. He hesitated, and then hugged him.

"It's just thunder," he said, hoping he sounded braver than he felt, "Ororo does it all the time."

Kurt looked up at him, his golden eyes still frightened.

"Just thunder," he said, "Now come on."

His brother didn't say anything. David finished leading Kurt into the kitchen. He shook Kurt's hand off his arm. Immediately Kurt's sticky fingers shot out and wrapped around his hand.

"No," Kurt said.

"Ew," David said, looking at his brother's sticky fingers, "Gross. Let go."

"No," Kurt said.

"Let go," David said.

Tears welled in Kurt's eyes. David sighed. His brother cried a lot. He always did it really quietly though, so David had to watch carefully to see when he started. If he wasn't paying attention he wouldn't catch it.

"Give me two seconds," David said, "Then you can hold my hand all you want, okay?"

Kurt stared at him for a moment, and then let go. David grabbed the edge of the kitchen counter and pulled himself up. His foot swung for a moment before he found purchase on the cabinet handle. He pushed up from it and scrambled onto the counter.

He reached upwards. His fingertips brushed the top of the cabinet. David jumped up slightly and grabbed the edge of the package he knew was there. He continued to inch it towards him until half of it was hanging over the top of the cabinet.

David boosted himself up a final time before he grabbed the package of oreos. He put it onto the countertop and then wiggled himself down again. One boost later he picked up the oreos and tucked them under his arm.

"They think I don't know where they are," David said.

He jumped down, his feet hitting the tile. Kurt reached out and grabbed his hand. David sighed. He would have to give up the hope that his hand wouldn't be covered with his brother's spit.

"Come on," he said.

He led Kurt into the library. David put the package of oreos onto the sofa and pulled himself up. Kurt was still clutching his hand, so it was a bit more difficult. He had the feeling that he wouldn't be able to convince Kurt to let go again.

When they were both on the sofa he opened the package.

"Have as many as you want," David said, "You won't get into trouble. I won't tell."

Kurt hesitated before grabbing two oreos. He stuffed them into his mouth, his sharp fangs biting them into little bits. Cookie crumbs sprayed all over the front of his pajamas. David grinned and picked up an oreo with his free hand. He picked his apart, licking up the icing before popping both cookie halves into his mouth.

There was another flash of thunder. Kurt drew into himself. David was starting to feel annoyed with the thunder now.

"It's just stupid thunder," David said, "It's not gonna hurt you."

Kurt just peered over the top of his teddy bear.

"I'm not gonna let it," David said.

The words came out of his mouth before he knew what he was saying. Kurt blinked at him. David was as surprised as he was, but he wasn't going to take anything back.

"You're my brother, and thunder doesn't hurt my brother," David said.

Kurt smiled from behind his teddy bear. There was another flash and he looked around.

"We don't have to go back upstairs," David said.

He picked up another oreo. He considered taking it apart, but decided instead to just eat it whole. He put his arm around Kurt's shoulder. His brother was so small. He'd been as small for as long as David could remember. He wondered if he'd ever get big.

He'd wondered the same thing when his mother had held Kurt the first night he'd seen him. David had been so excited. His mother had told him that he couldn't just order up a brother. Then, soon after, Kurt had appeared. He supposed that his parents had just wanted to surprise him.

Nonetheless, he had a brother now. A small one who had come to him in the middle of a thunderstorm.

"The sofa's comfy," David said, "We can sleep right here."

Kurt's smile widened.

"Glad I came," he said.

David smiled back.

"Don't be scared to," he said.

He grabbed a throw from the other side of the sofa and put it over himself and Kurt. He took the package of oreos away and moved them to the other side of the sofa.

"Go to sleep Kurt," David said, "I won't let anything happen."

"Moira, you look tired," Charles said, "The bags can wait until later."

Moira nodded and shut the trunk of the car. Together they walked from the garage to the Institute. The ground was wet, and she could only assume that it had been raining when they were gone.

"How are you feeling?" Moira asked.

"Tired, but I think we made some good progress at the convention," he said, "I was pleased to see so many new candidates, and I heard some very constructive arguments."

He smiled.

"It was nice to have you all to myself for a little while too," he said.

She smiled too, but she felt like she was about to keel over.

"It was nice," she said, "But I did miss being home."

"Me too," Charles said.

Moira unlocked the door and walked into the entryway of the Institute. It was six in the morning. She had barely slept on the plane ride back. She didn't think that Charles had slept very well either.

"We've never been gone for this long," she said.

"You called about every five minutes," Charles said.

"If I hadn't called, then you would have," Moira said.

Charles smiled. He reached out and grasped her hand.

"They're fine," he said.

Moira was about to respond when she heard a small shuffling noise from the library. She walked over, keeping slow so Charles could continue to hold her hand, and peered inside.

David and Kurt were on the sofa, snuggled under a throw. Kurt's hand was stuffed into his mouth, a small bead of drool dripping from his lips. She could see Kurt's teddy bear was with him too, and the throw was covered with oreo crumbs. He was resting his head on his brother's shoulder.

She put a hand in front of her mouth, smiling and feeling tears in her eyes.

"You're right Charles," she said, "They were fine."

She stifled her laughter.

"Well, besides the stomachaches they're going to have when they wake up," Moira said.