You were sitting in your room, just trying to settle down for the night. You had a busy day, lots of missions, reports, meetings, cleaning up around the castle, all the normal stuff. So now that you had the opportunity to destress and relax, you were sure as hell gonna take it. You had changed into a pair of shorts a big comfy shirt, sprawled out on your bed, and proceeded to sink into the mattress. But just when you had gotten comfy, the lights began to flicker. You shot up off the bed and stared at the ceiling light worriedly. You HATED the dark. Kinda ironic, really, but you were terrified of it, how it seemed to swallow things into its inky blackness. The lights started to fizzle, and you quickly searched for something to light up the room if it did go out. After frantically searching and finding nothing, the light went out with an audible POP! And you were left in the seemingly never ending darkness. You knew the windows in the hallway, although small, would provide a little light, and with it, a little comfort. So you shuffled to the door, and opened it. You looked out and saw a small ray of light around the corner. It was pretty far away though, either creep to it or sprint. Not wanting to wake anyone, you chose to tiptoe your way to the light. You were cautious on the way, looking around in case something decided to jump out at you. Not looking in front of you, you walk full force into something solid. Thinking it's a wall, you reach out to push yourself from it and continue on your way. But instead of the cold marble of the wall, your hand meets what feels like fabric, like a. SHIRT. You quickly pull back, hoping it's not someone like Saïx, or worse, the Superior himself. You try slinking backwards, hoping to make a run for your room, but the figure in front of you grabs a hold of your arm, stopping you from escaping. "Hey, calm down _____, it's just me." Your eyes finally adjust to the darkness, and you recognize the person in front of you. "Xigbar, you scared me." You hear him let out a soft chuckle. "Hey, it's not my fault your blind as a bat." You puff out your cheecks, face turning pink. "Am not, dumb pirate." You hear a noise behind you in the hall, and you let out a small shreik, jumping closer to the man in front of you. You can feel yourself involuntarily shaking, and you look over to Xigbar, to see if he heard the noise. He looked, angry, frustrated, confused? You couldn't tell, but before you could figure it out he looks down to see you shaking. "Come on _____, let's get you somewhere warm, and with a little bit o' light." At the mere mention of light, you perked up and began walking. "Not that way," Xigbar said, grabbing your hand. He began leading you through hallways and passed other members rooms, until you reached one, which you assumed was his. He lead you inside and sat you down on the bed. He rummaged around in a small desk and pulled out a big candle and a couple matches. "I knew this'd come in handy. Here," he said, lighting the wik. "Hold this, I'm gonna go ask Axel if he has anything we can borrow." He handed you the candle and you relaxed in its warmth. He left the room, and a little while later, returned with a few more candles, and a small battery powered lantern. He turned the lantern on and lit the candles, placing them near the bed in various places. He sat on the bed next you, making the bed sink a bit, and making you fall onto his shoulder. "Better?" You nodded, shifting so you were comfortably leaning on his shoulder. "Do we know when the power will be back?" You asked tiredly. Xigbar sighed, moving his arm behind you, "Axel said sometime late tomorrow morning, so you might as well try to get some rest here." You nodded and moved to lay on the half of the bed closest to the wall. As he laid down next to you, you remembered you hadn't thanked him. "Thank you, Xigbar. Really, I appreciate it." He turned to you a bit surprised, but gave a small smile. "No problem, now get some rest, you worked hard today." He pulled a blanket on top of you, and you began to relax, listening to his steady breathing and the sounds of the castle. As you were almost asleep you felt a kiss on your forehead, and heard a simple "Goodnight, ____."
