Saving Prince Charming

broken.

Anxiety was aware enough to know that he was being taken somewhere. And aware enough, after that, to register that he was curled on a very plush carpeted floor instead of a harsh wooden one.

He hadn’t ever felt carpet this soft before… except in one place…

It was rather comforting, really…

Wait.

This wasn’t right.

His eyes snapped open, and the first thing he saw was black. Black carpet. And when he looked up, he saw what looked to be the night sky, and roiling storm clouds.

Oh no.

Logic no.

His mind snapped into focus. Logic. He had to find Logic. He rose up from his curled position on his floor (yes, his floor, because he knew where they were oh god)—

There he was, a few feet from him, collapsed in on himself and sobbing and utterly utterly silent.

“Logic…”

Anxiety leapt into action, dropping to his knees by his side. He was turned away from him, and trembling, shaking in time with his sobs. His eyes were completely unfocused, not like he could see from them anyway what with the water pouring from them—

“Logic? Okay, okay, Logic, look at me. Is it okay if I touch you? Logic?”

He wasn’t responding. He didn’t even seem as if he could hear Anxiety at all, he just continued to stare off at the wall, eyes miles away. And Anx had never seen him like this, he was usually the sharp one, the clear-headed one, he was the one that usually helped him through this, what was he supposed to do—

He took a deep breath. Two. Three.

Okay. He could handle this.

And normally he would never ever resort to this, but. Desperate times. So, without his permission, he took Logic into his lap, sighing in relief when he felt his muscles relaxing slightly instead of tensing.

And Anxiety had no idea what would help Logic in this situation, only what Logic would do for him, what would work if he were the one lying on the floor completely consumed by the drowning feeling, that feeling he could barely describe. But right now, that had to be enough. It just had to be. It wasn’t as if he could ask Logic for help, Logic, the trait who was struggling to just breathe and exist at the moment.

So he did the best he could with how heavy his chest felt, with how much it felt like something was tearing at his heart, ripping it to unrecognizable shreds. He murmured comforting words, attempting [failing] to control the quiver in his voice as he spoke.

Logic, without thinking, leaned into him, finally starting to at least hear Anxiety's words. The smoky dullness in his eyes created by the fires residing in his stomach and his chest were beginning to recede, suggesting that maybe Anxiety’s soothing words were starting to take effect. After a few minutes (an eternity) of this, some clarity returned to the intellectual’s eyes.

“That’s right, you’re okay now. We’re okay, we’re fine. You’re gonna be okay, you’re doing so well.” Anxiety continued to whisper, gently pulling more and more light from the deep recesses of Logic’s mind, guiding it to his widened eyes.

And Logic finally finally started to respond, nodding as his breaths became more controlled, more even, as his vision cleared.

The dark clouds blocking the view of the beautiful night’s sky began to shrink off to the corners of the room.

"You're doing so good, you've got this, you've got this," Anxiety kept saying, over and over.

And at last. At last he seemed to become aware of his surroundings, began to question his surroundings. There was a dim curiosity in him, and though it was a candlelight as opposed to his usual crown fire’s worth, Anxiety was going to take what he could get.

As Logic began to drowsily examine their surroundings, he was mostly greeted by the color black. Black carpet, black walls (or, were they grey…?); but he was also greeted by the unfamiliar feeling associated with a place one had never visited before. And his thoughts may be a tad fuzzy at the moment, but given these facts, he had an inkling of where they might be.

Anx sighed in relief, letting out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.

“Hey – hey, there you are. Welcome back, you did so well.”

The strained smile on his lips was easily seen through, like a mask that had been worn thin, but his eyes were the true indicator of how worried he truly was.

Logic nodded, forcing a few steadying breaths before he went to speak, knowing (and silently thanking) that Anxiety could read his lips.

Are you okay?

He had never felt so out of control before, especially when he was so used to this… situation being reversed. So he had to make sure Anxiety was okay too, just to assure himself.

Anxiety paused to consider.

"…Yeah, I'm fine. I should be asking you that," he gave off a mirthless chuckle, and the relief coloring his voice was poignant. He just held Logic closer, getting a simple nod in response.

Yeah, I'm okay now, but...

But he didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to …talk… about it. And besides, his curiosity was getting the better of him.

Logic picked up more details as he looked around this time. Everything was black or monochrome somehow, which didn't much surprise him, what with where he thought (no, knew) he was. The only color he did see was the small collection of onesies in the corner, and surprisingly, the ceiling. It looked like a real-time display of the Milky Way galaxy, with occasional comets shooting past.

Is… is this your room?

Anxiety flinched. He had known that question was coming, and he hadn't even been asked the ever-important one of 'how did we get here?' yet, but it was only a matter of time.

"Yeah, it is." He sighed, looking up to the sight above them. There were a few storm clouds rolling at the edges, but they seemed calm enough for now. Good.

It wasn’t like they could rain on them, as the ceiling was only a visual thing, but that meant their moods truly were recovering. He turned his attention back to Logic.

I usually can't find this place when I'm calm.

He gazed at the ceiling, a little amazed (though he'd never admit it) at how creatively he'd decorated his room. Logic never would have dreamed up something like a ceiling that seemed to reflect the circumstances. It was ingenious, really.

“No, you wouldn't have. I had hoped you would never find this room, to be honest.”

Logic frowned.

Why not? It's rather nice in here, nicer than I thought it'd be.

Logic didn’t even seem to catch the half-insult in his words, but that was okay. Anxiety didn't notice anyways, as he was already lost in melancholic thought.

Anxiety squeezed his eyes shut, wishing upon the stars above them that he could just shrink into nothingness, that he would never have to have this conversation, that he’d never ever have to voice the words he was about to speak, especially to Logic.

But when had wishing ever helped him?

“Because... because, well…” he swallowed around the dryness in his throat.

“Because you can't find it unless you've truly felt despair. Unless you've truly felt worthless, unless…”

Unless you’ve been broken.

((A huge thank you to Allthefandomsgamer for his help writing this chapter!!! We've got a new coauthor in town, kiddos, and he's awesome))