Disclaimer: I own nothing

Astraphobia- an abnormal fear of thunder and lightning, a type of specific phobia.

The sky over Venice grew dark, and it was not the sign of the coming night. It was a foreshadowing of a storm, and judging by the thickness of the air, and almost black colour of the clouds, it seemed like it would be a big one. With thunder and lightning. Zhalia shivered a little at the thought. She hated storms. The noise, the sudden flash...

'Come on' she scolded herself in her mind 'you're not a child on the streets anymore. You're a grown woman, a seeker. You've seen Legendary Titans, saved the world twice, and once from some zombie guy. You have been a spy, and you've used and been hit by electric spells. And this doesn't even aim at you. Don't be childish'

"Is everything alright?" she hear by her ear. She looked up, and found herself looking into Dante's golden eyes. They were currently, lying on his bed, in his room. He was back from New York for a while now, and since the kids got school, and for that reason there was no missions, the two of them had the day for themselves. And decided to make the best for it, by being close, cuddle and talk. At some point, Dante has drifted off to sleep. No surprise there. After the Spiral War, there was a lot to do, so he was often working overnight looking through reports. But now it seemed, he's woken up. Probably because he felt her shiver. She smiled, trying her best to keep her composure.

"It's fine" she said "I just felt a little cold I guess"

He gave her a doubtful look, to which she replied with an even bigger smile. He really needn't to know, about her silly childish fears. Because that's all it was. Silly, childish fright.

"Are you sure?" he asked. She was about to reply, when suddenly, without a warning a loud crash interrupted her, followed by a flash of lightning. She couldn't help it. A loud yelp escaped her lips, and she closed her eyes tightly, instinctively drawing closer to Dante, and grabbing his shirt.

"Zhalia?" he asked, concerned.

"It's ok" she managed to draw out. There was a while of silence and...

"Are you scared of storms?" this wasn't even a question, he was simply stating a fact. An observation. She shook her head

"N-No" she said "it...it was just sudden you know? I'm fine. Honest"

She let go of his shirt, sending him another sheepish smile, and trying her best to relax. She would be ok. She would not let it show. But it seemed nature and fate had other plans for her, as another roar and flash of bright light, startled her. Causing her to whimper and curl up. She heard Dante sigh, and felt his chest rise under her as the air filled and then left his lungs. A second later, she felt his arm tighter around her waist, brining her closer, holding her. And then his another hand, found it's way to her hair, and started caressing it. going from the back of her head, to her spine. He kissed the top of her head. She again expected him to say something, but he kept silent. Only running his hand down her hair and back. And it worked. She found herself relaxing, her eyes were now closed normally, and her breathing evened out. Her fingers let go of his shirt. The outside world, the thunder and lightning, started to tune out, becoming more and more distant, as she slowly started to fall asleep...

A little oneshot/drabble. Liliumheart asked for it, based on HC from Emyy250 "Zhalia and Dante storm cuddling"