"Hey, kaidou?" you ask one night, out of the blue, before your mind can tell you it's a mistake, You were currently being Swaddled up in kaidou's gentle arms.

"Yes, Y/n?" he asks sweetly, glancing down to look at you in his arms, raw honey was dripping from his voice. It'd be soothing if you weren't feeling so frigid inside, dread piling. "Something wrong? You look pale! Are– are you alright? You aren't getting sick, are you? No, we can't have that, you need to stay strong and healthy!"

You take a quivering breath. "Why do you love me?" you ask him in a rush of frenzied doubt, obscuring your face in the fabric of kaidou's blue cotton shirt.

kaidou replies without hesitance. It's as if he had been prepared for the question, his answer on standby, awaiting your signal. "Now, what kind of silly sort of question is that? There are more reasons to love you," his hand reaches up, soft and gentle, to move the fabric in your face and boop you right on the nose, "than there are stars in the sky! We'll be here all day if I have to recite them all." He cups your cheek, soft as ever. You look into his eyes on instinct, the vulnerability of the situation digging into your skin. "Which I will"

You pull away from his touch, doubtful. "No, no, that's alright. It's just– I dunno, I'm me and you– You're amazing, kind and sweet a-and you're perfect and I'm– I-I'm still just me, and, and I'm not good enough, don't deserve–"  Your throat burns at the thoughts bombarding your mind, clouding your consciousness in dreadful what-ifs and buts and horrible, swirling, swarming thoughts. Kaidou's hand drifting up to your shoulder doesn't help to push it all away, him pulling you upright into a seated position.

"Y/n" you hear him say– or repeat himself? you're unsure– all too distantly as if he's yelling it from another room when in actuality he's whispering right next to you. "Y/n, love, you need to breathe."

You have to force yourself to concentrate on the words being spoken to you, manually comprehending them and telling your lungs to inhale a heaping gulp of oxygen, then exhale out, letting your shoulders fall with the motion. Inhale, exhale, in, out, in, out...

"There you go, good, good," kaidou whispers beside you, quieter than you've ever heard his usual boisterous voice before. He surrounds you in a hug, pulling your head to his chest and squeezing you just tightly enough to help ground yourself. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset, never. It's okay, you're alright, Y/n, you're safe here with me."

It takes...an embarrassingly long moment for you to regain yourself, comforted in the arms of such a warm person. When you feel your breath isn't so labored and your hands are significantly less shaky, you pull away.

"It's not your fault, Kaidou," you eventually say, albeit a bit too late. "I didn't mean to worry you, just, y'know," you laugh, a light, forced chuckle that holds no amusement, "inner, uh, inner demons."

kaidou hummed, "We all have some of those"

You let out a humorless chuckle "y-yeah I guess so"

"Well, that's not important!"  kaidou quickly dismisses, clasping his hands together in front of him. "What's more important is making you feel better! C'mon, let's lay back down."  kaidou guides you back into the blankets, pulling you snuggly against his chest again. You can feel the faint beat of his heart. 

"Let's see....Things I love about you..."

You startle, your eyes drifting upward to meet his. "You're still on about this?"

"Of course! It's important you need to know just how perfect you are! You deserve everything in the whole wide world!"

You bury your face against him. "...oh."

"Well, first off, you're nice!  when I was a new student at pk academy, I remember that you were the first person to approach me, You even asked if we could be friends! Oh! And and and! You give me those little cheek kisses whenever you see me– Oh, those are my favorite!"

"I didn't know you liked them so much."

"Yes, I do" kaidou exclaimed nervously, "They make me all warm – And then there's the way you smile whenever you see me! You just– You look happy and I just, I think, 'That's me they're smiling at. I'm the one making them so happy,' and it just makes me feel just as happy as you! 'Cause I love you that much!"

"Kaidou, I– This is too much–"

"No, Y/n, I need you to listen to me,"  kaidou interrupts with surprising seriousness in his tone, pulling you away just enough for him to look at you. "I– I know you're having your doubts, and that's okay! Totally fine, it's natural. We all have rainy days, But– But you need to tell me because I Can't help if I don't know, Because I love you very much! To the moon and back!"

He pauses, his hands jutting out of the blanket and splaying out above him as if demonstrating. "Farther than that, even! To, uh– to Jupiter and back! Yes, yes, that much! And that'll never, ever change, no matter how you feel. Okay, Y/n? I love you"

You quickly attempt to obscure your face, afraid he'll see just how burning hot it has become. "Oh," you respond, lacking in all the words he makes up after a long-winded rant like that. About you. About how much he cares, how much he loves you and how happy you make him. You don't think anything you could come up with would be a proper response.

"You don't have to say anything, not to worry,"  kaidou reassures you as if he can read your mind"Just needed you to know." His arms tighten around you, holding you tightly and safely against him. It's so pleasant.

"...hey, kaidou?" you ask after a long, peaceful moment, not even deigning to open your eyes.

"Yes, Y/n?"

You smile. "I love you to Jupiter and back, too."