Work Text:
Midnight on the GranEssex, Kurabe was currently lying in bed, wide awake. For whatever reason, she couldn't sleep. Just then she heard a knock on her door.
"Who is it?" She called out.
"It's me, sensei."
Quickly, she got up and ran to the door, immediately opening it to see her student, Meta, standing there.
"Meta, what's the matter?” She asked, concern evident in her voice.
The youth looked embarrassed and was staring at the floor.
"...I had another nightmare."
Almost immediately, he was pulled into a hug.
"It's ok, Meta. What was it about? If you don’t mind telling me, of course."
"It was about the hivemind. I dreamt about the worst-case scenario..." He said, feeling sick just talking about it.
Her hug tightened. "Don't worry, Meta. It won't happen. I'll make sure it doesn't happen ever."
"I believe you, sensei. It’s just... I can't help but worry."
"And that's understandable. I'm sure Mercury feels the same way as well. However, just remember, your mentor knows a hivemind's greatest weakness."
"Which is what exactly? Is it your ice?"
"Yes. They hate ice, even more than normal Limets."
Meta looked at Kurabe with innocent eyes. "Sensei, how do you deal with so many terrifying creatures and still remain so strong?"
"Because I have a lot of people supporting me. The biggest secret to my strength is to not deal with such horrifying things alone, Meta." She gazed at him in a comforting way. "Just remember that you're never alone. You have me, you have Mercury, you have Tam, and you have everyone else on this ship supporting you."
Meta nodded and hugged her as hard as he could. "Can I stay with you for the rest of the night?"
She gave a small smile. "Of course, Meta."
As she closed the door to her room and began carrying her student to bed, she heard a question from him.
"Sensei, is there anything you are afraid of?"
She blinked for a moment. "I'm quite scared of a lot of things, actually. There are big things like losing my family and being betrayed by someone I care about and there's small things like using salt in a recipe that calls for only sugar and cockroaches. When I was your age, I was afraid of the dark as well, so I always slept with a nightlight."
The major fears weren't surprising, but one fear stood out.
"You’re afraid of the dark?"
The woman felt her cheeks redden even more than normal at that sudden question.
"Well, not now I- I’m...y-yes. It's not something that's commonly known about me, actually."
Her student seemed to look at her in curiosity. His mentor sighed and decided to elaborate.
"...I think I told you this already, but I was born on a planet covered in eternal darkness and in that darkness lurked terrible monsters. I had to run from shelter to shelter because I was afraid that I would get attacked and eaten by a monster."
She then looked to a light on her dresser that was emitting a soft and comforting red glow.
"You probably haven't noticed, but I always keep that on when I'm asleep."
Meta, in fact, did not notice it before.
"Then, I have another reason to stay here. I'll keep you safe, sensei."
Kurabe gave a smile. "Well, thank you, Meta."
She then returned to her bed, laying her student underneath the covers before joining him.
"Sensei, I promise I'll become strong enough to defeat your fears." He said, a look of determination in his eyes.
"I greatly appreciate that and will look forward to it." She whispered, wrapping him close in a hug. Then she let out a slight chuckle. "Though I wish you would let me hug you like this in public."
"Sensei!"
Kurabe laughed as she saw her student’s face flushing red. "Then again, I suppose not being able to do it whenever I want makes moments like this more special."
Meta pouted for a brief moment, which turned to a small smile before he snuggled closer to his mentor. Normally, it would probably be surprising to see this behavior from someone like him, but after having a nightmare as horrible as he did, he didn't care. All he wanted right now was to be close to his mentor.
"You know, Meta, you can sleep in here whenever you want. You don't even need to ask me."
"...even if I don't have a nightmare?"
"Whenever you want." She repeated.
The youth's cheeks reddened even more.
"I appreciate it, sensei, but... what about the other students? Do you think they'll make fun of me if they find out?"
"Why should you care about what they think? If they give you trouble, you have my permission to stand up for yourself, but you really shouldn't concern yourself with thoughts like that."
"I know, but..."
"Meta." He felt her embrace tighten.
"...I'll try not to worry about it, sensei."
"Good. You have more important things to worry about. Like getting to sleep."
"Ok..." He uttered, burying himself closer to her.
There was a moment of silence.
"Sensei, I hate to ask so much of you, but... is it fine if you sing that lullaby you use to sing to me when I was younger...?"
Kurabe smiled. "I don't mind one bit, Meta."
"Are you sure?" Meta asked nervously. His mentor quietly stroked his head, still hugging him close.
"Positive."
"Thank you." He responded, closing his eyes.
Upon feeling him snuggle once more, his mentor gently cleared her throat and began to sing softly, continuing to stroke his head as she did. While Kurabe was normally embarrassed about people hearing her sing, she wasn't afraid to do it when it was just her and Meta. Eventually, he fell asleep and Kurabe joined him soon after, her grasp on him never loosening.
"Sweet dreams, my little knight."