Mono + Six Afterstory || Little Nightmares II

Eight

(A/N: just a warning, there will be spoilers for the mobile prequel Very Little Nightmares in this chapter. Enjoy!)

     Mono woke up after a good night of sleep; he didn't have any long nightmares, just one short one. He felt pretty cold and raspy, though, as if he had been running around on a freezing winter day. When he opened his eyes, he was confused at the surface his head was on, and then he realized it was Six's lap when he saw the skirt material. He didn't notice until he pulled away that she had kept her hand over his shoulder, and that she was still asleep...in a really uncomfortable position. She was bent over but still sitting up. He wondered if she had taken care of him even while he was asleep.
     Although he was glad she was sleeping a lot, he didn't want her to hurt her neck or back sitting in such a weird way, so he gently shook her. To his surprise, she awoke with a gasp, likely because she was worried about sensory things that felt different. When she looked over at him, she seemed relieved.

     "Sorry. I didn't even notice you moved..." She fiddled with her fingers awkwardly as she apologized, though Mono didn't think she even needed to explain herself. He shook his head as if refusing her apology and then combed back some of her hair with his fingers.

     "Are you feeling okay? Like, your back—" He asked urgently, causing Six to look at him with awestruck eyes and stop reacting anxiously.

     She grabbed his hand from her head and interlocked their fingers together, offering a faint blush and a small nod to answer him simply. "You looked like you were scared, so I moved you." She tried to get away with answering the question by changing the subject, but Mono just continued staring at her with his intense eyes until she replied again. "I'm fine. I was more worried about you." She finally complied, frowning as she used her other hand to feel his forehead. He looked sweaty, so naturally she was concerned.
     When she pulled her hand off, she moved it to his cheek, and then his neck. "I can't tell if you have a fever, but you're burning up." She seemed worried at first, but then furrowed her eyebrows. "I told you so last night, didn't I? You were having so much fun embarrassing me, too." She spoke with a cunning smile, wanting Mono to understand what she was implying.

     "If you say I'm hot then I probably do have a fever, because I've felt cold for a while." He ignored her teasing and supported her belief, which was pretty much confirmed. He didn't feel sick or anything, just weak. He hoped this was because of his exhausted powers and not because of his wound, because an infection would be atrociously difficult to cure with the condition of the world being the way it was.

Six had her laugh, but she ended up feeling guilty about her cockiness after Mono admitted to actually not feeling great. She moved away from him and grabbed his shirt, then helping him put it back on so he was at least a little warmer. "As much as I want to get the he-" she cut herself off, likely because she was close to cursing, and then resumed with better phrasing, "As much as I want to leave this place...it's not a good idea to be outside when you're sick. We should stay another day, or at least until you feel better." She suggested calmly, smoothing out his messy bed hair to entertain herself.

Mono looked up at Six as she became occupied with his hair, silently admiring her mannerisms. This is how he knew she was a selfless person. She wanted to leave this place even before they met, but now she was sacrificing her chances in order to take care of him. And she was already censoring herself for him, too. He didn't know what to say to express his gratitude for her thoughtfulness, and so he settled for a hug instead, pulling the girl into his arms and squeezing gently. He rested his head on her shoulder sheepishly, and eventually she started petting him and comforting him like a puppy.

     Six didn't seem to mind hugging him, but it went on longer than she'd expected—about five minutes to be exact—and she was getting strangely anxious. "You know, for someone who constantly talks about wanting to protect their best friend, you're like...a huge baby." She sighed impatiently, but regardless of how she felt, she just held Mono even tighter for a moment, and then finally pulled away. "You're gonna be okay. No use crying over burnt down houses...or however the saying goes." She patted his shoulders reassuringly, trying to pump him up so he wasn't as gloomy.