ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ɢᴏʟᴅ ʀᴇɪɢɴ.

          ❝Take all the time you would like.                      I have nowhere to go.

                                 We can sleep.❞

          “Please.” That was all I needed to say for me to feel justified in continuing to plunge into that ever-welcoming cesspool of whatever was nagging me. Everything had just been so horribly overwhelming. So much shit to happen in such a small amount of time. Of course it happens to me. Always did. Patterns always remaining. Always fucking with me.           At least Monomane was a big part of these patterns. She was there when needed. Always. I just didn’t reach out enough. It was an easy fix, but of course it wasn’t. Never was.

          ❝I would sleep beside you, then.           So you would not get nightmares.

                     Do you need to sleep now?❞

          “Just. Time to relax. With you.” Deflation. Everything felt limp. “Sleep would be nice.”

          ❝… Has it calmed down a little?                              Are you resting?❞

          I just kept close to her; gently brushed her forehead and exhaled. Deflating.           “About as calm as it’ll get until I find out how to fall asleep for about a year.” New record set for regretting something I said. Holy shit. “But--I...dammit. Shouldn’t have said that. I worry you enough as is.”

      With eager movements, the mimic rose to grab the    desired blanket before returning to his side. Nestling    down next to the boy, plugging the blanket and turning    it on to a comfortable temperature, she breathed in    contentment while resting her head against his shoulder.

          ❝It has been a while since you came to visit.                            Has work been busy?❞

          I snuggle up to her without hesitation, hoping I didn’t get myself in too deep with this whole warmth thing. Worth it either way, I guess.           “...Just been, uh--going through rough shit is all. Should’ve told you more.”

          “That’d be great. Two heat sources.”

          “Good.” Another peck. “...’S fucking cold out.”

     A gentle swat of her hand, softly slapping his hand    from poking her face once again.

          “Alright, I’ll stop embarrassing you.” Cue a quick little peck. Less embarrassing, right?

          ❝E-Embarrassing!❞

          Pokes again.

                        Her voice was cut off, silenced by his hand against her cheek, followed by his lips upon her own. Overdue seemed like an understatement, a rush of heat to her heart as her hands grip his arms. The mimic hardly would have cared had she died of oxygen deprivation had it meant that she could remain as close to him as possible. A heavy exhale upon release, ivory tones heavily flushed before a hand raises to cover her mouth with a diverted gaze.

          ❝… F-Fine… J-Just fine… T-Though I am… Much better now.❞

          “Same.” A very poetic response, I know. I couldn’t really think of much else to do; I grabbed her hand instead of thinking. It felt nice. Yet another little piece of happiness I’d forgotten about.           “Haven’t really been talking with that many people.”

“Boredom sounds a whole lot better than what I’ve been up to.” More terrorism, a demon, ghosts, friends being hospitalized, PTSD issues returning with a vengeance…

It’s been a rough time.

“Did you catch anything new?”

“I think you saw my Lileep.” Pause. “That’s about it.”

“It’s not just youuuu. I haven’t seen a LOT of friends in a while, so, um…” So yeah, gonna grab whoever comes back again and never let go.

“I’m in the same boat, though.” ...Lots of hugs. Maybe a kiss to the cheek. Probably. “Barely been able to escape boredom these days.”

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Pouuuuut. “Gosh, I missed you, you know. YOU’RE NEVER AROUND, GEEZ.” First Colm and then Xan. All her friends are abandoning her, it seems.

“You can just call me, you know.” As could I with her, but hypocrisies weren’t the concern. The concern was my absolute lack of enjoyable human contact in the past forever.

┠ ▏▔🌟▔▕ ┫

               The mimic giggles, lighthearted and earnest. Feelings that hadn’t fallen to the wayside bubble and stain cheeks with crimson. Her dearest person had come to her side.

                     ❝I have missed you terribly, also, Xan.❞

          “I--kinda figured.” And hoped, but that’s another issue. After taking a few breaths to calm myself, I brushed her cheek with my finger and went in for an infuriatingly overdue kiss.           It’s funny; I’d almost forgotten what heaven felt like until she reminded me. I might have taken a little too long in that particular kiss, but I pulled off once I realized how long I was taking.           “How’ve you been?”