#ta da!

You pull up the blanket on the last bed for the kids to sleep that some of them shared, breathing a sigh now you got them to finally sleep. Well… most of them.

You’re sure there’s one more that needs to be put to bed. One being that had pink hair & dark eyes with a red shine.

Taking note of that, you decide to look for the little one. They were quiet, but overall sweet while being a little odd at times. Not a bad thing tho, you’ve known stranger & ain’t too far off being weird yourself.

Taking a few turns (you swear this base is a fucking maze) you kept your eyes peeled for the pink haired child. They shouldn’t be hard to miss since they have features you couldn’t really forget about.

If you have to guess, he might be outside. Taking that in mind, you step out, searching within the garden that grew flowers & grass, swaying to the beat of the music that is the wind. Urging you to tuck a hair behind your ear.

That’s when you took a moment to look around the garden. If you weren’t dealing with an alien invasion, where you & others are a resistance trying to fight back against the aliens - you might have just been taking a walk outside late at night with nothing to worry about aside from normal responsibilities.

But you don’t have the luxury of having those days of just everyday being mundane. Not after what the aliens have put mankind through. But it’s pointless to let yourself be distracted—

“Miss?”

You felt a tug on your clothes, looking down to see who you’ve been looking for, small child with pink hair & dark - reddish eyes.

Giving a sweet smile - you reach out to pick up the child, supporting their back with one hand, the other holding their legs which dangled under your arm.

“There you are.” You say gently. “I was wondering where you were. It’s bedtime.”

They just stared at you with a stilled reaction, like nothing was in those eyes but points to a direction where you believe they came from.

Where someone was jogging up to you two. You immediately recognized who it was & shrink a bit as you hold the child closer.

It was till. One of the few survivors of the Alnst tragedy.

Once he reached you two, he gave an awkward smile, scratching the back of his neck.

“Sorry. We kinda got distracted with drawing.”

The kids within the care of the rebellion needed to be put to bed at a specific time & the adults take turns putting the kids to bed. Which it was mostly you doing it as you had a better method to getting the children to sleep.

“It’s fine as long it doesn’t become recurring. They need to rest a certain time.” You mentioned. Voice soft but not too soft where he couldn’t hear you but your focus remained on the little one.

“Right. Got it.”

With his understanding, you nod & make a turn around, making your way back to base but trying to not be too quick about it.

“Need any help?”

You stop for a moment, turning back to him but not fully. Your eyes lace with surprise.

“Help?”

“Yeah! This is your third time looking after the kids, thought you need an extra hand.”

You paused for a moment, thinking on his offer. You rarely get or ask for help. Mainly you like having your own company, but you tend to have a lot of work lumped onto you. This is intentional on your front as you perfer to do work then feeling anxiety when you’re around big crowds. You’re not really a people person.

But… you be lying if you said it wasn’t overwhelming. If it was like someone Dewey asking you this, you be not getting anything done with putting the kids to bed. But for Till, he seemed.. easygoing enough where you think things will be okay. At least you’re hoping so.

“I-It’s okay if you don’t want it, that’s fine too.” He stammers through his words, giving an awkward smile. “Thought, I might ask—“

“Okay.” You say quietly.

Now till was the one taken off guard. “What?”

“I..it would be nice to have another pair of hands while I get this one to bed…” you shrinked again. “and a few other things if it isn’t too much trouble…”

You almost felt guilty for that last one. Now just looking down to your feet. Praying he didn’t heard the last one. He approaches closer, standing next to you, earning your attention to him. He gave you a smile, one that was gentle, nearing on shy - tapping his fingers against your shoulder.

“C’mon. We should get going before it gets cold.”

You nod, following up behind him, your own smile reaching your lips.

…

Once you lay down the last kid that had fallen asleep in your arms, you stay with the kids for a bit longer to keep watch on them.

Sometimes kids get scared, or wake up in the middle of the night. So the adults also have to be vigilant to keep an eye out for them to make sure they didn’t get into trouble.

Most of your time spent not only looking after the children, but also keeping watch. It was only just you, staying with the kids to make sure they stay safe & comforted.

But this time.. you ain’t alone.

Till stood by you, offering assistance in anyway he can. Where it was helping a little kid get back to bed, offering something like water for them to help them sleep or sitting next to you as you both kept watch.

As you had an extra pair of hands, Till & you took turns of extending assistance to the children & looking out if one of them is gonna wake up.

In a way, it help you stay awake longer to keep an eye watch before having some sleep. When you eventually get there.

In fact, till’s presence was… calming. He didn’t push to talk nor made it a pressure to start conversation. He just stood by you & offered what he could to help.

In a way, you were grateful for that.

That said, he does speak.

“Um…” he starts. “I know we don’t talk much but.. if you ever wants some help, you can always come to me.”

You look at him, your eyes sparkling at his generosity, before turning away with a pink blush blooming.

“You don’t have to do that…”

“I know, but if you need it, I’m here.”

There’s a soft silence between you two for a few seconds - you gave your answer with a smile.