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Red crossed his arms and smirked at his work. Everything was lined up perfectly with descriptive labels and lists of pro-and-cons for each option. This should help his noodle boy. Even if Red Son would never admit it out loud (and even struggled to admit it to himself), MK would get a little challenging to keep up with some of the time when he specifically got like this.
And he’d been like this for just about two weeks now.
And Red Son had other things he wanted to do besides his husband every waking hour. Luckily, he seemed to have finally gone to sleep, so he was able to put this together. Considering it was past noon and MK was still in bed, Red assumed his mood was balanced now. Which was even better.
He heard the footsteps outside the door before it opened so he turned around with a proud grin. “Noodle Boy! I, RED SON, have set before you an incredible opportunity! You can rank these tools I have laid here at your own discretion and then you will have an easy system to decide which is most suitable to you when your brain is so wired you can’t think for yourself!”
There was no response so Red crossed his arms and nodded his head. “I see that you are speechless. Do not fret, my love! You may take your time to make your decision and I will allow the thanks and praise to come whenever you are able.”
Still no response. Red Son started to worry. He furrowed his brows as he took a closer look at the one standing in the doorway. He was rubbing his bare arms as though he were cold and looking down and away as though he were upset by something. His hair was also still down.
“…Noodle Boy…?”
MK tensed before slowly walking towards him. Red’s eyes widened when he was grabbed in an abnormally weak hug. Though, even with as weak as the hug itself was, the grip on his shirt was strong,
“Whoa, what happened to you?”
MK shook his head but kept it buried in his chest. At least he finally spoke up. “I’m sorry you have to put up with me all the time.” That…certainly wasn’t right. “Thank you for being so stubborn. I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t and left me all alone.”
“Why would I ever do that to you? What’s going on? This isn’t like you. Normally these roles are reversed.”
MK whimpered. “I’m sorry. I’m just really cold. I won’t cling to you anymore if that’s upsetting you.”
Before the other could move, Red Son jumped into action, wrapping his own arms tightly around him. “I can warm you up. You know that all you have to do is ask about it.” He frowned when he noticed something off. “You don’t feel cold to me, though.”
There was another whimper and the unmistakable feeling of tears on him. Red clicked his tongue and then finally felt the gears in his head kick in. “This isn’t a physical thing, is it?”
“It feels like it is…”
He hummed at the wording which implied that even MK could acknowledge his statement as true. “Don’t worry.” He pet his hair back. “I’ll keep you warm. Come sit with me.”
He hesitantly pulled MK off of him, still holding onto his hand, and gently guided him to their living room where he set them both down by the fire he lit. From there he let MK cling to him and cuddle with him and use him for warmth and comfort anyway he deemed fit.
After letting him take a nap, Red figured it would be beneficial to them both to press for more information. “Is this that other side of your moods you mentioned before? You’ve had a crash?”
MK nodded and grumbled. “Yeah. Probably. Feels super heavy. And like there’s rocks in my stomach.”
Red shifted. “Do you need some warm soup?”
A strange sound answered him. It seemed like it was a laugh, but it felt off. Like the sort of sound Red would never expect from MK. His laughs were always light, like wind chimes ringing in his ears completely in tune with one another. This was harsh and bitter.
“No, that won’t help at all. Just let me sleep it off. I’ll be fine.”
“Can’t you tell me something I can do for you? I’ll do anything you need. I’ll warm the whole house up. I’ll cook you anything you want. Just say the word and -“
“Shut up.”
Red’s breath hitched and he did what he asked. For only a second. “No. No I won’t. I want to help you. I promised I would be here to help you through everything so that’s what I’m going to do.”
He finally did stop talking when he noticed that the one he was trying to comfort was crying again. He couldn’t help a loud, aggravated groan at the whole situation. Why wasn’t MK letting him in?
“It’s so cold. It’s cold and heavy and I want to be excited and happy that you’re cuddling with me like this but I can’t. I just can’t be happy right now. I’m so tired.” He ended his rant with a whimper. “I’m sorry.”
It took a long few moments of quiet contemplation. Red Son had to think back to those embarrassing times when he was the one in need of comfort and he soon felt ridiculous for never figuring out one fact before now.
“Don’t worry. I’ll hold you. I might not be able to help you through everything, but I can love you through everything.”