Afraid of the Dark

"Lights out!" The Dolorosa walked around, making sure the standard sleeping procedures had followed. It was Porrim's wriggling day, and the Dolorosa made sure no one was left uninvited. With their rather large hive, there was almost enough room for everyone. Almost. Cronus Ampora had arrived later than any of the other guests, ("I'm fashionably late, Chief!") and so, was being forced to bunk. Kankri, being the horribly nice fellow he is, had decided that he would let someone bunk with him when he first arrived. This situation worked perfectly, because nobody wanted to have Ampora bunk with them.

Sighing, Kankri laid out the blanket that was provided. Cronus had claimed the human bed, refusing to share. This was greatly triggering to Kankri, and he was still lecturing Cronus when the Dolorosa came by. Complying to her demand, Kankri walked over and turned out the lights

"Goodnight, Cronus," Kankri said before settling himself on the blanket. Kankri saw the celing light up as he stared at it. Glancing over to Cronus, he saw that Cronus had taken out his hand-held device and, by the sound of it, was trolling someone.

"Cronus, excuse me if my words are triggering, but Madam Dolorosa requested for the lights to be turned off. By that reasoning, I am most positive she means all lights, including your hand-held device," Kankri said to Cronus. It may have just been the light, but it looked like Cronus had grown a bit paler than usual.

"But Chief! It's not hurting anyone! I just really need to talk to Meenah, alright!?" Cronus said, somewhat frantically. He hoped Kankri didn't notice his quickened speech.

"Is there something wrong? I'm sorry if I triggered you, Cronus," Kankri apologized, wondering what was wrong, "I'm sure Meenah will forgive you, due to the current situation."

"Yeah, thanks Chief. But it wasn't you that 'triggered' me," Cronus said, saying the last sentence a bit quieter.

"What triggered you, Cronus?" Kankri inquired curiously. He usually wans't one to be curious, but maybe he could help the sea-dweller. "Maybe I could help you," Kankri added quickly.

"Well, you see, Chief, I, ah..., well, I...." Cronus trailed off, obviously embarrassed, purple tint appearing on his cheeks. He fidgeted, not too keen on answering anytime soon.

"Cronus.....?" Kankri prompted. He knew this could be triggering, but he also knew Cronus didn't like his warnings, or his lecturing.

"I- ," Cronus swallowed, stuttering slightly, "I-I'm afraid of the dark..." he said rather softly. This was quite unlike the Cronus Kankri knew, the Cronus that was loud, often teasing. Kankri realized the darkness must be triggering Cronus greatly. This must be the reason why he had gotten on his hand-held device! Yes, he could have very well been trolling Meenah, but he had used it for light all the same.

Kankri thought of what to do. He wanted to make Cronus feel better. But what could he do? Suddenly, an idea came to him. This situation was different, of course, but Kankri had noticed that whenever Mituna felt bad, Latula would embrace him. This seemed to make Mituna feel much better, but would it work on Kankri's sea-dwelling friend? Well, one can't assume that they were friends. Kankri did not want to trigger Cronus anymore, even if it was just in his rambling thinkpan.

"Cronus," Kankri began, "I would like to try something, to see if it has the same effects. Trigger warning: possible unwanted contact, unexplained affection." Kankri tried, but he couldn't stop stating trigger warnings, as he did not want Cronus to become more triggered. As he was speaking, Kankri stood up and made his way over to the bed where Cronus was sitting nervously. He had never embraced someone before, and did not know exactly how to act, but Latula did it freely, even when he lectured her about her displays of public affection.

Kankri stiffly put his arms around Cronus, then relaxed a bit more. He hugged Cronus tightly, trying to make him feel better. Cronus was both surprised and grateful for this affection, and it showed with the growing tint on his cheeks. He slowly put his arms around Kankri, hugging just as tightly. This was unexpected, and caused Kankri's cheeks to redden slightly.

"Cronus?" Kankri questioned, unsure of what to do.

"Thanks, Kankri," Cronus said quietly, "This helps a lot."

This was certainly a rare occurrence. Someone appreciated his help? And this someone was Cronus? Kankri was flabbergasted. He smiled.

"You're welcome, Cronus, but we should get some sleep now, or try to, at least," Kankri said, starting to pull away slightly. Cronus reluctantly let go, and Kankri started to walk back over to his spot on the floor.

"Wait, Kankri, before you lie down, I have a question."

"Yes?"

"Isn't the floor an uncomfortable place to sleep?"

"I wouldn't say that, but there are some things that are more comfortable."

"Would a bed be more comfortable?"

"I suppose it would, Cronus."

"Would you like to sleep in bed with me?"

Kankri was taken aback.

"You- You wouldn't mind? It wouldn't trigger you?"

"Not at all. In fact, I think it would help my triggers."

Kankri was surprised. He slowly walked back over and laid down next to Cronus. As soon as he was comfortable, Cronus turned off his hand-held device. It was quite dark, but Cronus felt better with Kankri beside him.

"Uh, Chief, if you wouldn't mind, can you, uh, can you hug me? It, uh, it really helped me cope with my trigger," Cronus stuttered out.

"Of course, Cronus," Kankri replied, smiling in the dark. He reached his arms out, fingertips brushing against ripped sleeves. He wrapped his arms around the sea-dweller, pulling him close.

"Thanks, Kankri."

"You're welcome, Cronus."