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Betta132 - Soundwave tentacle headcanon — Description
Be still, be still, be still... don't jump, don't jump, it's okay. It's okay... it's only a storm, it's okay... just lightning and thunder. It's okay, it's okay, it's okay... nothing to hurt you, everything's okay... just... just hold still... don't let him see, he'll laugh. Be still.
Yima slid a hand under one of the leaves on his sides, tightly gripping the hilt of a small knife in an effort to calm himself down. He really didn't like thunderstorms... never had. But... he wanted to be dignified... he needed to act tough for Tiyo. He couldn't act scared... only small children were afraid of storms. He was not a small child.
It wasn't working, though. Yima kept twitching at every flash of lightning, and he'd gone incredibly tense all over as the storm had progressed.

Tiyo didn't mind storms at all, if he was out of them. Since they were in a smallish cave, the wind and rain weren't able to get to him. Therefore, the storm was actually rather nice... it was exciting! The thunder rumbled through his entire frame and rattled his ribcage in a pleasant manner. Though... something else was rattling. The budlike end of his staff was tucked up against his side, and he could feel it shake slightly at every major rumble of thunder, and what he assumed was every flash of lightning. Oh... Yima didn't like storms, it seemed.
Tiyo glanced back at his guard, then shuddered rather violently when a bolt of lightning hit somewhere near. It didn't hurt, but he could feel the electricity crackle up his spine, and it felt very strange. It wasn't unpleasant, but it did trigger a shiver whenever it happened... and that gave him an idea.
After a second to figure out the right tone, Tiyo spoke softly to Yima, purposefully making his voice shake a bit. "Yima? I-I'm not terribly fond of s-storms... m-may I c-come over there and hold you?" he whispered, turning around and trying to locate Yima. He already knew where the other was, but he was trying to act flustered...

Oh. Perfect excuse. "C-come here." Yima whispered, reaching out and gently pulling Tiyo over to him. Tucking himself up against the wall, he relaxed just a tiny bit at the contact, then squeaked slightly when he was tugged into Tiyo's lap.

Tiyo gently tucked the smaller being up against him, resting his chin gently on the top of Yima's head, then began to softly trace his fingertips over and around the leaves on Yima's back. "Mmm... thank you." he whispered, holding the other close and smiling softly as he felt Yima relax. There... I hoped this would work. Relax, my friend... you're safe.

Yima curled into Tiyo's frame and smiled softly, gladly accepting the petting. This was the perfect excuse... he got the contact he needed, but he didn't have to sacrifice his dignity.

And that was how it went for years. Whenever there was a storm, Tiyo would pretend to be nervous, and Yima would gladly cuddle him.
Tiyo was glad to put on the little charade... he liked the cuddling, and it kept his guard calm.
Yima never quite caught onto the fact that Tiyo actually liked storms. Well... not for several years. As for how he found out... (Note: this is years into the future)

Forget squeaking and jumping. Yima was one more lightning bolt away from crawling under the bed and crying. It didn't matter that they were inside a mountain, it didn't matter that nothing could get to him... the entire building was caught in the middle of a massive storm, and Yima was absolutely terrified. He was curled into a tiny ball in the center of a cot, rocking slightly and trying (and failing) to pull himself together. There's nothing wrong, there's nothing wrong, there's nothing wrong- it's just a storm, it's outside, it can't hurt me, I'm safe, I'm safe, I'm okay, I'm just fine- I SHOULDN'T BE THIS SCARED, there's nothing to hurt me, it's just a storm, it's okay- I don't understand why I'm this scared- somebody please help me...

Outside, Tiyo carefully took the doorknob in one hand, turning a soft smile on the Twi-Lek who'd taken him there. "My thanks..." the sage hummed, slowly opening the door, then slipped inside and closed it behind him. Using the staff to make sure he didn't run into anything, he made his way over to the bed, then paused and tilted his head when he heard a little whimpering noise. "Yima?"

Yima hadn't noticed Tiyo's arrival, he was facing away from the door. Yelping in shock, he whirled to stare at Tiyo, then gave a half-muffled cry of alarm when a crack of thunder rattled the room. Clapping both hands over his mouth, he sat up as straight as possible, desperately trying to muffle the involuntary sounds he kept making.

"Oh... Yima..." Tiyo sighed, climbing onto the bed and gently pulling Yima into his lap. "Come here..." he whispered, hugging the shaking little frame closer. "Why didn't you come find me?"

"I-I'm f-fine-" Yima started, then squeaked loudly when another bolt of lightning hit somewhere nearby. And... that was it. That was too much. Whimpering, he buried his face in the soft leaves on Tiyo's shoulder, clinging desperately to the larger being and trying to calm down.

"You aren't... that's alright, though. There's nothing wrong with being afraid... it's okay. Just close your eyes... I'm happy to be here until the storm is gone." the sage whispered, then tilted his head slightly when he felt an odd arrangement of scars under one of the large leaves on the other's back. "Hmm... Yima, do you remember why you're afraid of storms?" he asked softly, carefully running his fingertips along the scars. He'd noted these in passing a couple of times before, but he'd never closely inspected them... and, coupled with this obvious fear of the storm, he was starting to realize what they might mean.

"I d-don't know..." the guard whispered, then whimpered softly when the room shook again. "I-I'm s-sorry... I j-just-" pausing, he blinked, then slowly leaned back enough to look up at Tiyo. "W-why... w-why aren't you n-nervous?"

"Ah..." Oh, he's caught me. "Um... I've actually never been afraid of storms. I rather like them, actually... I like how the thunder feels. I've just been pretending so you would come and cuddle me, since I knew you wouldn't take comfort from me without an excuse. But never mind that... I think I've just found out why you're so nervous. These scars, here... I know what these mean. You were struck by lightning at some point, weren't you?" he asked, carefully stroking the scars to see how Yima might react. Maybe he could trigger a small memory or two...

"Y-you- w-what?" Yima blinked, staring up at Tiyo, then bit his lip and looked embarrassed. He'd been fooled all that time...
Wait, what about lightning? "I- n-no, I h-haven't been- w-what?"

"There are lightning marks on your lower back, and... let me check something." Tiyo whispered, gently running his hand down to inspect Yima's feet. "Marks here, too. These can't be caused by anything else... it's definite. These feel like old scars, too... perhaps you were very young? That might explain why you don't remember it... or, perhaps you could have been old enough to remember, but your mind blocked the memory out in an effort to keep you from being traumatized. Apparently it didn't quite work... but that's definitely a very good reason to be afraid, sweetie. You don't need to be ashamed." he whispered, then placed a hand firmly over the scars on Yima's back when he felt the other trying to wriggle away. "No. Let me hold you. You've done so much for me... I'm glad to do anything I can in return."

Yima blinked a couple of times, very surprised, then reached down to inspect his feet for himself. "Oh. I... n-never realized w-what those s-scars w-were... b-but... w-why a-am I al-live, then?" he asked, relaxing just a tiny bit as he was distracted by this.

"You don't have any vital organs between those two points... well, nothing technically vital. And, if you were young, that would make it easier for you to heal." Tiyo hummed, then reached down and felt around for a minute. Locating the edge of the cover, he gently tugged his unresisting guard over, then pulled the blankets up over them both and cuddled up against Yima. "Better?"

"Mhm. A-and... it h-helps t-that I know, I g-guess... I n-never understood w-why I w-was s-scared." Yima muttered, tucking himself up against Tiyo's frame, then squeaked again when another clap of thunder sounded. "Eeep- s-sorry..."

"It's okay... you can be afraid. Just cuddle me and try to relax, okay? And- here." he crooned, gently guiding Yima's hands to the two ear-like leaves on his head. "You can pet these... I know you like that."

Yima smiled slightly and began to stroke the soft, fuzzy leaves, visibly relaxing at the texture. He LOVED the texture of the leaves on Tiyo's frame... they just felt so nice to pet. Plus, he was starting to associate that texture with comfort... it was what he felt when he was close to Tiyo.
Though... shame was keeping him from relaxing any more. "I... I-I'm SAFE, I s-shouldn't be t-this- AH- t-this s-scared! I-I'm n-not a coward, I s-swear... I j-just-"

Tiyo gently gripped the leaves on Yima's back, tugging softly and trying to calm the now-tense-again creature in his lap. That last clap of thunder had been pretty close... no wonder Yima had jumped. "My strong little protector... my safety." he whispered, gently kneading and tugging on Yima's back-leaves in a mildly rough manner that he knew Yima tended to like. "You're brave... very brave. You charged a dragon once to protect me... I'd never accuse you of being a coward. You aren't... you just have a phobia. Phobias are instinctive fear, they aren't rational. You can't rationalize a phobia away, but a phobia doesn't make you a coward... it means you have good instincts. It's okay, Yima, it's alright... you don't need to worry. Just curl up here and do your best to relax. There's nothing wrong with that..."

Yima trembled slightly, then sighed and nuzzled his face into Tiyo's collarbone, trying to relax a bit. "J-just don't tell anyone..." he whispered, closing his eyes and attempting to not jump every time the thunder crashed.

"Never." Tiyo crooned, snuggling gently up against Yima, then purred softly and gently hooked a leg over Yima's. Flaring his leaves out, he covered as much of Yima's frame as possible in himself, trying to use the contact to calm his guard.

Yima didn't calm down until the storm left. When it was finally gone, he sat up, then scooted over to the edge of the bed and picked up a small box. "I, uh... tea?" he ventured, pulling a self-heating teapot out and setting it down on the nightstand. "I want something warm..."

"Mf..." Tiyo stirred slightly, apparently having been half-asleep, then twitched slightly and nodded. "Sounds good... are you alright?" he asked, sitting up and turning in Yima's general direction. Sort of. There were noises outside from the rain, and the noises were making it harder for him to figure out where people were.

"Fine. Just... gonna be kind of tired for a bit. I'm worn out." Yima sighed softly, turning the heated base of the teapot on and filling it with water from a canteen in the box. He then added a little metal ball full of herbs and holes, before fastening a lid firmly onto the teapot and hopping back onto the bed. Scooting over, he leaned up against Tiyo's frame, then whispered two little words to him. "Thank you..."