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When it rained on the island, it rained.
Not infrequent drizzles that came and went in short bursts like the rain back in England; literal buckets that went on for days until the sandy banks became miniature paddling pools and the entire beach was a bog. The worst of it came at night. Thunder rolled, the wind howled and inside the dark shelter of the cave the littleuns would tremble and shriek whenever a bolt of lightning flashed in the distance, followed by another thunderous roar.
The storms back home were lullabies compared to this. Without the safety and comfort of their beds, the smallest of the boys would lie awake all night in fear of the weather and the Beast. By the time morning drew in, they were so tired they could barely lift a finger, let alone go hunting for food.
Ralph seemed to be the only one unfazed by it all. Bizarrely, the rumbling of thunder and hammering of raindrops somehow made the wet, cramped space of the cave feel somewhat cosy. Unlike the others, he never had a problem falling asleep — which usually landed him with the responsibility of finding breakfast the next morning, as he was the only one who could keep his eyes open long enough to catch anything.
One particularly rough night, when the storm was at its fiercest, Ralph was awoken by something tugging at his shoulder. He brushed it away on instinct; after two months of being stranded, he was used to the odd lizard or beetle attempting to weave its way under his clothes, and somehow his body reacted even when near comatose. But the scrabbling continued, harder and harder. And then someone's lips were at his ear, breathing in hot air.
'Chief? Hey Chief, wake up.'
Ralph's heavy lids struggled open, only half conscious of the blurred figure squatting in front of him; a few rapid blinks and his vision leaped back into place. ‘Percival? What is it? Are we under attack?'
'No. I can't sleep.’ Replied the small boy, nibbling his bottom lip anxiously as another rumble of thunder sounded from outside. 'Can I stay here with you?'
Ralph briefly turned over, ensuring the others were a reasonable distance away so as not to make what little space they had even more crowded. 'Well, alright. But don't make a habit of this, I need my sleep too.'
'Chief? Hey Chief!'
Ralph awoke with a start this time, his brown eyes comically wide. ‘What? What is it? SamnEric? What's wrong, who died?'
'We can't sleep.’ Replied Sam. 'We were almost asleep-'
'-but then we heard something-' continued Eric.
'-and we thought it might be the beast but-'
'-we couldn't tell because it was too dark, so-'
'-can we sleep here with you?' They finished off together.
Ralph gave a long, jaded sigh.
Percival seemed to have forgotten their agreement about personal space and had curled up to the older boy's chest, snoring softly into the filthy material of his old school blouse. Ralph shuffled over a fraction to give SamnEric room to sleep comfortably -- and immediately regretted his decision as he felt the pair flop all their body weight onto his ribs.
'Now don't make a habit of this.' He said as firmly as he could muster, though it was a waste of time because the two of them were already asleep.
'Oi, Ralph!'
'What now?' Ralph growled, eyes still shut.
'We can't sleep.'
Ralph sat up reluctantly, just able to make out several little heads in the darkness. 'Alright, alright. How many of you?'
The first littleun turned and began counting the heads quietly. ‘About nine.'
'Oh, bugger me-'
A mighty clap on thunder was met with an unflattering chorus of screams and the littleuns huddled together even tighter, miraculously without breaking any bones.
'Shut up, you'll wake the others!' Ralph hissed. 'Fine, you can sleep here. But don't make a habit of this!'
'Ralph?'
Ralph groaned at the sound of his name, opening one sleep-deprived eye.
He was surrounded by littleuns, giving him the uncanny resemblance of a mother cat who'd had too many kittens. Simon, Piggy and the rest of the choir boys had assembled in a perfect oval around he and his new litter, their teeth chattering like pennies in a money box.
'We're cold.’ Said Simon, as if it wasn't at all obvious. 'Can we--?'
Ralph gave a slow, frustrated nod of the head, not bothering to shuffle any more. 'But don't make a habit of…’
He had barely finished his sentence before he dozed off again.
'…Ralph?'
‘Hells bells!' Ralph snarled, eyes flying open, 'what do you lot have against the concept of a good night's slee-?'
His voice died off when he saw who it was, mouth hanging open as he drank in the sight of Jack's ever deepening frown. 'What are you doing here?'
The choir boy shifted awkwardly on his knees, looking embarrassed. He was shaking.
'Jack, are you okay?'
'I'm fine.' Replied the red-head sharply.
'You don't look fine. You're scared aren't you?'
'No!'
'You're trembling.'
'I'm cold.'
Another confounded burst of thunder and Jack gave an uncharacteristic squeak, throwing his hands over his ears. The sides of Ralph's mouth twitched with the urge to laugh -- but he righted himself when he saw tears on Jack's face, which were quickly wiped away.
'Jack? Jack, come here.'
He nudged Percival over so he could hold out his arms, and Jack quickly nestled himself into them. 'I'm here. It's okay, it's just a storm. Do you want to sleep here?'
No reply, though he felt Jack nod against his shoulder. A bit more shuffling, and soon Jack was curled up comfortably to the blond, the heat of their tired bodies protecting them from the harsh chill of the cave.
Jack's blue eyes hovered around the littleuns piled on top of each other and he managed a soft, though somewhat weary snigger. ‘You look like a cat that's had too many kittens.'
'Yeah, yeah, hilarious.’ Grumbled Ralph, stretching out in the little room he had left. ‘And by the way, don't make a habit of--'
He didn't have time to finish as he felt two arms wrap themselves around him and cuddle him closer, a pair of soft lips hovering at his temple and leaving a gentle kiss.
'Thanks, Ralph.'
Ralph rolled his eyes, though his mouth twisted into a smile that he didn't realise was there; he turned his head, bumped their noses together and examined Jack's long lashes until he went back to sleep again.
'Ralph?'
Ralph didn't stir. Jack's breath was still flushed against the crook of his neck and he feared that if he opened his eyes, it would all turn out to have been a dream. He didn't acknowledge the figure crouched in the darkness, trembling at the sound of the rain.
'Ralph?' It called again. 'Can I-?'
'Yes, Roger. Now go to sleep.'
He heard movement and the sound of Roger resting himself gently next to Simon.
Ralph mumbled with his eyes still shut, 'but don't make a habit of...oh, sod it.'