Work Text:
Colt plays with the ribbon on the packet nervously. It’s nighttime in the Ramshackle dorm. He walks towards a tree at the far side of the dorm, a blanket slung about his shoulders to keep out the cold. he sees a tall figure with horns, he smiles a little “hey, Tsunotarou” Malleus and turn to see Colt, he smiles a little but then frowns a little as if he could immediately sense something is wrong.
He seems to be tense, his bags under his eyes are more noticeable
“Hello, Child of man, what brings you here? Were you unable to sleep?”
Colt shakes his head. “No, I have a lot on my mind, but I’m here to give you this.”
Malleus blinks at Colt, surprised. A gift? For him?
“I baked some cheesecake cookies this afternoon. I have some that I want to give to my friends, and these are for you,” Colt says, giving him the small bundle.
Malleus can't help but smiles gently. Does he see him as a friend? His heart flutters.
“Thank you, Child of man”
“It’s no problem, honestly. I had a stressful day, and baking helps, so it’s fine.” Colt says as he looks up. “The sky seems peaceful now. It kind of reminds me of those times where Angus and I would go to a hill In the park and just stargazed, he would start to point at the stars and would ask me about the constellations”
Malleus is well aware of Angus, Colt’s little brother, and he honestly feels sympathy towards Colt, “Your little brother sounds like a very curious child.”
Colt chuckles slightly and his grin widens. “He is. He’s usually very imaginative, there are times he would try to drag me everywhere, like the park where he thinks he may see a little wisp, he would play with his friend like he is a pirate he would climb up the slide and make it his pirate ship and would pretend to fight a Kraken, He is so energetic and would help me with many things at the house, like baking, clean the house hehe and even help me with the groceries. Honestly, he is a very good kid...I couldn’t ask for a better brother...” He rambles on about his little brother and then he trails off as tears starting to fall.
Malleus looks at him, worried. "Are you ok?"
Colt touches his cheeks, starts to wipe away the tears, which end up being useless as more tears start to pour out. "I'm so sorry....I’m fine…” he laughs but it comes out bitter “haha…I can’t stop crying...but I’m..." Colt, unable to take it anymore, starts to cry into his arms, his blanket dropped to the ground. Malleus, not knowing what to do, decides to hold Colt close.
"It's alright, let it out," Malleus whispers, trying to comfort him as best as he can.
"I miss him...I miss him so much..." Colt sobs out as he hugs Malleus.
Malleus doesn't know what to do, but the sight of Colt crying hurts his heart. He can't do much other than hugging him and whispering encouraging words to help him calm down while Colt lets out all of his stress and sadness. After what feels like an hour, Colt finally settles down, let go of Malleus which he felt oddly cold when Colt pulls away and wipes away his tears. He looks at Malleus, who is still holding him close.
“I’m sorry that you have to see me like this, but I can’t help but start to worry, he’s the only one I have...” Colt says looking down and Malleus shakes his head
“It’s alright for you to feel like that. If I were to had a sibling I think I too, would feel worried and stressed”
Colt smiles a little. “I wish you could meet him someday, no doubt he would be ecstatic to meet you.”
Malleus looks at him. “Truly? Won’t he be afraid of me?”
Colt chuckles a bit, making Malleus’s stomach do a flip.
“He won’t. I’m sure he would be very curious about your horns, probably asked if he could touch it.”
Malleus chuckles a bit. The two continue to talk more until Colt starts to yawn.
“Sorry. It looks like sleep is catching up to me.”
Malleus nods “I shall accompany you to your dorm.”
He couldn’t explain why, but he starts to feel like he needs to protect this human. The two walk and talk a bit more, Malleus notices that they're hands are intertwine while Colt seems oblivious, probably of how tired he was but Malleus kept silent enjoying their hands holding until they're at the front of the door to Colt’s dorm.
“You know, despite my meltdown, I had fun talking to you. Sorry I kind of ruined the mood.” Colt says, looking at him and Malleus shakes his head and smiles
“It’s alright, I had fun talking with you too,” Malleus says.
Colt smiles. “I hope you have a good night and like the cookies.”
Malleus smiles, then does something unexpected to both of them. He hugs Colt and says, “If you feel stressed or down, I‘m always open to listening to you”
He quickly let go and disappears, leaving Colt at the dorm surprise as he feels himself start to blush. He may have a little trouble sleeping again.