❝ɪ'ʟʟ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴ.❞

╰──➤ 𝘿𝙀𝘼𝘿 𝙀𝙉𝘾𝙊𝙐𝙍𝘼𝙂𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙉𝙏

"Kuni... Are you okay?" 

"Does it look like I'm okay?!"

The boy sat down beside him on the floor beside the bed, "...Do you wanna talk about it?"

Tears streamed down Kunikuzushi's face and his eyes were red. He gritted his teeth, trying to stop and keep his remaining strength, but he couldn't. Not at a time like that.

"I... I saw it coming," he whimpered, hugging his knees to his chest. "I don't know why I'm so upset. It's stupid, forget it."

"It's not stupid,"  the other boy replied, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "This is a totally normal reaction."

"Not for me," Kunikuzushi mumbled bitterly, turning his head away to hide his face. "He's gonna leave and never come back."

"I'm sure he wouldn't do that... Would he?"

"I heard him talking about it," Kunikuzushi sighed, sniffling quietly. "He's moving out of the country. I don't think he plans on visiting."

"Oh..." The boy glanced down, wondering how to comfort him in such a bleak situation. He decided not to say much, only resting his head on Kunikuzushi's shoulder. 

"I'm here."

Scaramouche woke from his slumber with a raging headache, causing him to groan as he sat up. He reached up and touched his hand to his temple, cringing at the pain. Realizing it was still dark outside, he sighed. He grabbed his phone off his nightstand and checked the time. 3:05 am.

He noticed a notification for a message that you sent. He clicked on it and read over it, seeing that it was sent only a few minutes prior.

"Why is she up so late...?" He muttered.

Y/n📸💕
Hey, are you up?

Me
Yeah but why are you awake??

Y/n📸💕
Can't sleep. You should be sleeping too tho

Me
I was

Y/n📸💕
Oh, did I wake you up??? I'm sorry-

Me
No, I just had a bad dream. Anyway, what did you message me for??

Y/n📸💕

Me
...Okay ig. About what?

Y/n📸💕
Nothing in particular. Can we call?

He was a bit worried he'd speak too loud and someone would hear, but he did really want to hear your voice. Maybe it would help him mentally relax after such an awful memory being brought up.

Me
Sure, but I can't talk rlly loud

Y/n📸💕
That's fine, I should be quiet too

「 Y/n📸💕is calling 」

He pressed 'accept' and spoke first, "Hey."

"Hey," you exhaled. "Thanks for letting me call you."

"...You know you can call at any time, right?"

"I can?" Your face lit up on the other side of the phone, and he could hear it in your voice.

He smiled subconsciously, "Yeah. That doesn't mean you can start waking me up in the middle of the night, though."

"Well, I wasn't going to, but now that you mention it..."

"Do not."

You giggled quietly, covering your mouth to muffle the noise, "I won't, don't worry. But how are you doing?"

"I'm fine, why?"

"You said you had a bad dream," you mentioned. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine. It was just a dream."

"You don't sound too convincing. And I wasn't just asking about the nightmare. Stress and anxiety increase risk of nightmares, so I was wondering if something happened."

"You sound like google."

"I- I don't sound like google, you're just weird."

"Sure, sure. Nothing happened, though, it was all the usual," he chuckled.

"Isn't the usual stressful enough?" You queried.

"Sometimes. I've been feeling better since I started taking care of that brat."

"You're just calling him a brat to be mean now, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

You rolled your eyes, though you weren't actually annoyed, "Whatever. So I guess he hasn't been too much trouble?"

"Not really, but I'd probably be annoyed with him if I were the one making him meals."

"Yeah, you're welcome," you replied.

"Speaking of that, I feel like I should start cooking for him."

"Wh- You just said that'd annoy you. And you've only been watching him for a week," you pointed out.

"I know, but making food like that every day makes you stress even more, right? You seriously need to stop biting off more than you can chew."

"...Who are you and what have you done with Scaramouche?" You asked. "Since when did you start giving me advice on relaxing?"

"Since just now. It's not that profound, Y/n, you should already know your limits."

"I do, but I have to push past them," you stated. "I'll be okay, seriously."

"Y/n, you'll be hallucinating from sleep deprivation if you keep this up," he sighed.

"Sounds like you're worrying about me."

"I am."

You felt butterflies in your stomach for a fleeting moment when he said that, "I appreciate it."

"But you're not going to listen to me."

"Totally would if I could," you responded. "Unfortunately, though, I have bills to pay and Ajax is a useless piece of shit."

Despite your voice being low, the aggression in your tone surprised him. Then again... You weren't wrong. He didn't enjoy hearing you talk about your brother in that manner, though; it reminded him of how his parents fought and spoke badly of one another.

"Wow, that's pretty aggressive for you."

"To be honest, he's lucky I'm not willing to kick him out," you mumbled, your voice taking a sad turn. "I'm probably gonna have to sell my camera, though..."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, along with a bunch of other stuff. I feel bad, having to give away so many of Teucer's toys, but it's better to have a house, y'know?"

He held his phone up to his ear and laid down on his back, staring up at the ceiling while he listened to you. He liked the sound of your voice, especially so close to him, but he wished you didn't have to go through so much stress. It wasn't right for anyone, let alone someone so young.

"My grades have been dropping, too. I got a C in History and Mr. Zhongli asked me if I was alright," you continued. "Everything is just a lot right now. Ah, sorry for ranting."

"You can keep going."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah. I'll listen."

"...Thanks."

♕︎❯────「♕︎」────❮♕︎

"Are you coming back late again?" Makoto asked quietly.

"Just like last week, Makoto," Scaramouche rolled his eyes.

"Do you have to...? Mom is starting to question if you're really babysitting."

"That's too bad."

"I really don't like being alone with her for so long-"

He quickly interrupted her, "Makoto, I think I need a break from her more than you do. I've never left you alone with her for that long before, have I?"

"Not really..."

"Exactly. Let me have this one thing, please."

"Okay... But she's getting more aggravated lately, so don't be surprised if she starts screaming at you when you come home," she warned.

"Got it. Bye."

He left for school with a hint of guilt in his heart, though it didn't show on his face. He thought back to the previous night and smiled. You'd fallen asleep to his voice easily, as if it were meant to be a lullaby. He only noticed after ten minutes with no responses to what he was saying, and when he listened closely, he could hear your soft breathing. Unfortunately, the connection through the call didn't last for the entire night, so you didn't get to wake up with him. Oh well.

When he arrived at school, he noticed that you weren't there yet. That wasn't too unusual, but you still hadn't arrived ten minutes into class. By the time homeroom was over, there was no sign of you, so he pulled out his phone and called you.

"Hello...?"

"Hey, where the hell are you? Are you okay?" He demanded.

"I'm at home...?" You murmured, wondering why he'd ask such a question. Then you looked at the time from your phone and realized. "Oh."

"'Oh'?"

"Fuck," you hissed as you bolted upright, causing your headache to worsen. "Ow..."

"What happened?" Scaramouche asked.

"I woke up with a really bad headache, so I went back to sleep," you sighed, your low energy not allowing you to panic outwardly. "Oh god, I might be getting sick... Shit!"

"What?"

"I'll try to get to school soon," you said, jumping out of bed despite the pain.

"What? No, don't come to school," he replied, slipping through the crowds of students as they attended their next classes. "If you're sick, you need to rest."

"But-"

"Just listen to me on this one, please."

"...Fine, but only because you said please."