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A lone red eye gradually opened in the midst of that dark room, the second one merely flickering to life with scarlet light just like a lamp. A finger waved over his face as he scratched his chin lazily.

Another nightmare of his past had haunted him once again. This time, it was a manifestation of a memory that he experienced a few days ago, when he was having a fun picnic with his friends at the park.

The remnants of the dream were slowly fading away from his head, but the male Loid focused to recall the most important parts. The moment he was scoffed at to leave the ‘normal loids’ alone. The sensation of being pushed down and kicked around like trash. The sinking feeling in his stomach when a short-haired Loid with gorgeous violet eyes turned away from him, barely looking at his tear-stained eyes.

… His reaction was probably the clearest memories in his head. How he screeched into the skyline, splitting the sky into two. His animalistic growls that coerced him to pounce on every figure he could find and rip their guts out, blood and all. Nothing but red, red, red everywhere and-

“Mrmphh…”

Fukase had been cut off from his descent further into his mind by the sound of muffled groans, the sound originating from the person on his right. Turning his body sideways and aiding his balance with his elbow, he quietly gazed at the semi-asleep figure, her lying body shivering slightly as her skin felt the pinprick cold of their shared room. Her silky white hair ran down her neck and had spread itself across the pillow where her head laid, and the inscribed frown on her face was enough to indicate her discomfort.

“So… You had a nightmare too, huh?” He mumbled to himself, fully aware that he would not receive an answer. Still, his heart ached for the shaking girl, and with his free left hand, Fukase gripped the edge of their blanket that she had kicked off herself in the midst of her bad dream, gently bringing it up to her neck and tucking it under her arms, her shoulders, her neck to keep her warm.

Every time his charred fingers slipped in between her body and the mattress, he became envious that he could not feel the warmth of her hugs right now.

But when it came to her waist, instead of being ignored, Fukase soon found his arm being held by the drowsy girl. Accompanied by soft groans of aid, her grip on his rough, coarse arm tightened.

“Fukase… Don’t leave me… Stay…”

Though he widened his eyes at the prospect of her actually dreaming about her, his mind was still recovering from earlier. She’s lying. Just leave her alone.

“Fuka… Don’t… leave me alone… I’m… I’m scared-”

The agonized tone of her voice sounded unclear, but Fukase was certain of what he heard when she sleep-talked. The fact that she was scared. The fact that she wanted him to be with her.

The fact that despite who he was, she still wanted him.

As the only person who knew the truth behind Fukase’s smile, Flower had swore to never tell anyone about his secret. It was the least she could do anyway, since the redhead himself had helped him overcome his social anxiety and marginalization trauma from a few years ago. And perhaps that was exactly when they had fallen for each other.

To fall in love with someone is to enter a battlefield with nothing but a shield. But if both sides are amiable with each other, once you break down that shield, the strongest of bonds can be formed.

Fukase chuckled at the thought. Revealing his facade had been quite the ordeal a while back, and even now, it was inevitable for him to avoid thinking about it from time to time.

But… The difference was that he wasn’t the only one carrying the dark, heavy weight anymore. No,  now there was someone else too.

And so long as that person stayed with him, he would be eternally grateful of her bringing him back into the light.

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