Together at The Edge of a Universe

✨Chapter 53 - why would it hurt me?

Black Hole P.O.V:

Sun hits me in the face as I groan and roll over. I sigh, pulling Tree into my arms. The light of their phone screen making me squint.

"Good morning love." Tree says softly, placing their phone down and turning over to look at me. "Morning..." I yawn, kissing their forehead. They chuckle, place a hand on my cheek.

"Thank you for...comforting me last night." They sigh, leaning into my chest. I give a tired smile in return.

YOU COULD HAVE DONE BETTER. THEY'RE JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE THEY NEED YOU TO HELP THEM. THEY DON'T ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT YOU.

"Of course, I love you." I whisper, running a hand through their hair. They give a soft sigh, slowly scooting away.

"We should get up..." Tree groans, sitting up slowly. I nod, hopping out of bed with them. "You think Cherry Jr. is up?"

"Probably not." they chuckle, stretching as they begin to walk out of the room. I feel my leg ache, no clue what that's about but hey, people get achy bones all the time.

"Time to go and get ready for the dayyy..." Tree whispers in a sing song voice. I smile, I love seeing them happy.

"I was thinking we could go over to Remote's house today!" They smile, getting some pots out of the cabinets. I tilt my head, "How come?"

They smile, "I want you to be able to make better bonds with my friends! Plus you seem closest to Remote. And I don't want you near Pen unattended." I laugh, "How come?"

"He would rope you into burning a house down." They smirk, cracking an egg into the pan. I roll my eyes, "Whatever you say."

Jr. walks in slowly, blanket still in hand as it dragged across the floor. They rub their eyes tiredly, hopping into the seat next to me. "Good morning." I say, taking the coffee that Tree placed on the table for me.

"...morning..." They mumble, laying their head on the table. I sip my coffee and pat their head. "You okay, bub?"

They give a tired nod, Tree places a plate of eggs in front of them. "Is he okay?" They ask, handing me a bowl of strawberry smoothie. I nod, "Just a bit tired I suppose."

They shrug, "Okay."

We eat in silence, Jr. occasionally falling asleep at the table, Tree having to wake them up again. "Maybe you should head to bed again...did you not sleep well last night?" I ask, patting their back. They give a small groan, "I heard Tree yell last night and it woke me up. I was scared..." They whisper, looking over at me.

YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULTYOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT

YOU SCARED THEM. SCARED THEM. YOU MADE THEM AFRAID.

Tree chokes on his coffee, "Wh-...what did you hear?" they ask. CJ, looks up at him. "Not much, I heard you shout, then you guys were kind of muffled..."

"Sorry you had to hear that Jr..." I say softly, patting their hair. They shrug, "It's fine..."

"You can come over to our room at anytime if you can't sleep." Tree says, eating a bit of food. I nod, "Anytime you need."

"Anyways, we should get going." Tree sighs, changing the subject. Jr.'s head snaps up, "Where are we going?"

"To Remote's house." I tell them, their face lights up ever so slightly. "Yayyyy..." He smiles, laying his head on the table again.