Arron and Trexx

Chapter 31

Third person pov

That night Arron seemed to be particularly on edge, even with Asuma and the rest of the team gone. She sat at the end of Shikamaru's bed, staring at the wall with her knees drawn up to her chest. Shikamaru sat at the other end, staring at her with evident concern. Trexx stood next to him, both of them not sure what to do or what to say to the girl. She seemed extremely shaken up.

"Arron," Shikamaru cleared his throat slightly, "are you okay?"

She turned around to look at him, and Shikamaru was sad to see that she was crying. "They tried to take me away." She whispered, wiping at her eyes. Her legs uncurled themselves, hanging limply over the side of the bed as she stared down at her shaking hands. Shikamaru sighed. He just wanted Arron to feel better. He didn't know how to make that happen.

"Arron, come here for a moment." Shikamaru urged. She looked over at him, her eyes stormy and sad. Nonetheless, she did do as she was told, crawling across the bed until she was right in front of Shikamaru. The boy sat up a little straighter, looking down at Arron, who looked more saddened than he'd ever seen her in the last week or so. 

"It's going to be okay, Arron. Really. He wasn't trying to take you away. He's your god father, and he missed you." He assured her, grabbing her hands and squeezing them to reassure her. "Didn't you notice how he didn't try and force you to come anyway?"

Arron looked down slightly before she leaned forward. Shikamaru tensed briefly as she wrapped her arms around him, her face buried in his chest. Clearly Shikamaru's words hadn't helped in the least, because she was crying again. Awkwardly, Shikamaru patted her back, looking to Trexx for help. The beast snorted. As if he knew anything about humans.

"I was scared." She breathed, barely loud enough for Shikamaru to hear. But it broke his heart. He could hear how genuine she was. Arron had been shaken by the experience, just as she was by most anything, but this was a whole other level. She had really thought Asuma was going to taken her away. She'd really felt in danger.

"It's okay, Arron. I won't let anything happen to you." Shikamaru hugged her back, rubbing her back and stroking her hair. "It's all okay. I've got you, okay? Nobody is going to take you while I'm around." Shikamaru assured as Arron slowly began to relax, curling up in his lap. Trexx stared at them, wondering when they were going to feed him next.

Arron closed her eyes and listened to the steady thump of Shikamaru's heart. He was warm in a comforting sort of way that made her feel protected. It washed away all the worries she had about being taken away. She had complete faith in Shikamaru. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. He truly cared about her well being, just as much as she cared about his. She was going to be okay as long as he was here. She just had to follow his lead was all.

Shikamaru was amazed at how much Arron had grown on him. He was just as attached to her as she was to him, and he had absolutely no problem with that. He cared deeply for Arron. He could even say he loved her on some level. Underneath all the fear she had, she was a funny, and nice person. She was witty, and could be sarcastic. There was such a big personality under there, and it was just waiting to burst out. Shikamaru couldn't wait for it to really make an appearance.

"Shikamaru." Arron spoke. Shikamaru looked down at her. She was staring right up at him, and she smiled. He loved it when she smiled. Her smiles were so rare, but never were they fake. "I love you."

Shikamaru froze. Arron simply laid her head against his chest again, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Shikamaru, eyes wide and cheeks pink, turned to Trexx. The beast, who'd been trying to eat a lamp, froze upon being caught, slowly shoving the remainder of it into his face, which lacked a mouth. He seemed to just absorb stuff instead of actually eating.

"I..." Shikamaru blinked a few times, and he found himself smiling a little. "I love you too, Arron."