Hell's Queen

Reaper

I was peacefully napping on the couch when something basically pounced on me!

My eyes snapped open, my mouth curved in a snarl to growl at what had done such an act while I was sleeping, when... When I saw the mysterious skeleton clinging to me...

He looked sick, like he was cold, but sweating as though it was warm... His breathing were coming out in pants and gasps, like he had ran a marathon... And tears were thickly falling from both of his sockets despite one of them being hidden... He just looked so scared... So terrified... Shaking horribly...

"After." I called to him.

He looked up at me, the tears slowly stopping, his breathing becoming stable. His cheeks even became a red color from him blushing... The one thing that didn't change was that scared, hopeless look he had... It broke my twisted soul to see it...

I didn't like it at all...

"After," I called again, cupping his left cheek while wiping away some of the tears that fell from his exposed eye. "why are you crying?"

My questioned seemed to have made him even more upset, tears clouding his eye, his breathing picked up again and he buried his head into my chest... He was shaking again.

I didn't know what to do... Seeing him look so weak worried me... What happened while I was sleeping to cause him to act like this!

It didn't matter... I had to do something!

I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer to me, holding him tightly as though something was going to try and rip him away from me.

He just seemed to have gotten worse... I had to do something, anything!

"Hey, After, why didn't the skeleton go to the Halloween party?" No answer. "He had no body to go with." No response... Maybe another joke? "How do skeletons call their friends?" I waited... But he didn't give an answer... "On the telelbone!" I gave a desperate chuckle, and he gave one back!

I felt a bit of myself relax a little.

I started to rub circles in his back, I've seen mothers and a few fathers do this to crying children... It usually works.

"I dug up a worm for fishing. It's the end of the line for him." A weak chuckle left him. "I'd tell you a chemistry joke, but I know I wouldn't get a reaction."

Geno laughed into my cloak, sniffling softly.

"W-What do y-you call a-a s-sad bird?" He murmured, shyly looking up at me.

"What?" I smiled softly at him, still rubbing his back.

"A-A bl-bluebird..." He blinked slowly. He might be getting tired. "What do you call a very rude bird?"

The small skeleton yawned into my chest, his body relaxing more as I held him closer to me.

"What?" I relaxed more as he smiled at me.

"A mockingbird."

We both gave soft chuckles at that. He closed his eye, seemingly enjoying his time in my arms.

"Oh? So you're playing with bird puns now? Well toucan play that game."

More giggles left him, his eye staying closed.

"Are you feeling better?" I whispered, gently placing a hand on his cheek.

He nodded slowly.

"Was it a bad dream?" My thumb ran underneath his socket, his body lightly shivering.

"I... I don't know..." He opened his eye carefully, like he was afraid that when its open, he wouldn't like what he sees. "I..."

He looked so hopeless... So tired, and dead... His eyelight was so dull and shaky, barely even being formed at all!

"Do you want to talk about it, or do you want to go to sleep?" I kept my voice soft, I didn't want to see him cry again.

Tears filled his eye as he started sniffling again.

"Chara..." My soul stopped for a moment. Was the brat here? Did the brat make him cry like this! "I heard her... I didn't want to... I-I had to... Sh-She... She wasn't well..."

Geno pressed his head into my chest once more, back to crying his eyes-eye out.

I gulped lightly, wrapping both of my arms around him. He cared for her... He cared for Chara, even now... Even now that she's dead and a Demon, he still cares for her...

He's too good for this world.