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Mind had no idea how this had happened. One day, he woke up, and Heart had changed.
Their relationship was improving and their communication with each other was as well. They’d still tease each other or bicker occasionally, but it was more friendly than it had been. Mind liked it.
Heart hadn’t actually changed. No, he was still the same as he had always been. The only difference was he had made attempts to understand Mind’s point of view more often. Heart was still the same, Mind kept telling himself that.
But one morning, Soul and Mind were chatting in the kitchen as they tried to wake themselves up, Mind with a coffee and Soul with a monster. Heart walked in, rubbing the sleep away under his blindfold. Heart shouldn’t have been up this early, he’d usually sleep for another hour or so before joining the other two, yet here he was, still in the simple faded T-shirt and shorts he used as pajamas. His hair was a mess too.
He yawned and then sniffed the air. “You guys got coffee? Gimme.” There was a tired grin on his face as he felt around the top cabinets. He grabbed a mug from up there and held it out.
Soul reached for the coffee pot first, but Mind, for a reason that wasn’t clear to even himself, grabbed it first. He poured the coffee into Heart’s mug before setting it back into the coffee maker. “Thank you.” Heart felt around and grabbed creamer and sugar off the counter, putting some into his coffee.
“Sorry,” He started before he took a sip of his coffee, holding the mug with both hands. “I just get nervous handling the coffee pot since…” He took a hand off the mug and gestured to his eyes.
Soul noticed what Mind had done for Heart. He gave him a confused and slightly surprised look. One that said ‘You’re not usually like this.’ Mind glanced at him but decided not to respond in any way. “It’s… no problem at all, really,” Mind replied.
“Shouldn’t be for you ,” Heart joked, “ You’re the one who caused it.”
Soul had forgotten about what Mind had done and laughed loudly. Mind rolled his eyes, smirking a little bit. “Yeah, yeah.”
“You owe me a little coffee in the mornings,” He added. “It’s the least you could do.”
“You’re just asking for a fight now,” Mind replied. Heart put a hand to his chest and gasped.
“Am not! I can’t believe you think I’d do such a thing!” He yelled in mock dismay. “And to think we were friends!”
Mind couldn’t hold back a chuckle at that. “Oh, you’re so dramatic.”
Heart simply laughed.
Something changed that morning. Something about Heart, something about Mind, something about the space between them had shifted ever so slightly. Mind couldn’t have been the only one to notice that, could he? The sudden warm, tense feeling in his chest and the smile spreading across his face, incapable of being held back. Heart had to feel it too, right?
Another example of the change: A few days later, Mind was lounging on their couch, reading. He hadn’t even heard Heart approach until Heart suddenly leaned over the side and hung his head down at him.
“What’re you reading?” He asked, as if he was not currently inches above Mind with his hair dangling in Mind’s face.
“Okay, first of all,” Mind started, using one hair to move Heart’s hair behind his shoulders. Some strands still dangled down but… Mind wasn’t going to tuck it behind Heart’s ear. “Get your hair out of my face. Second, how’d you even know I was reading?”
“Well, you were being really quiet – The kind of calm quiet you sound like when you’re relaxed.” Heart got off the back of the couch, walking around and sitting next to Mind. “And I heard you turning the page.”
Mind stared at Heart, who just stared ahead with a content smile on his face. “You… Know what I sound like? When I’m relaxed?”
“Oh, yeah! It’s how I tell who’s near me.”
Mind nodded, thinking.
Heart continued. “And how they’re feeling most of the time. Like, when you’re pissed, you start to breathe really heavily through your nose and sigh a lot.” Heart pointed to his nose for emphasis.
Mind smiled, sitting up. “Really? I hadn’t even noticed I do that.”
“And when you’re happy,” Heart leaned on Mind’s shoulder. “You talk a lot softer than normal. It’s subtle, but it’s there.”
Mind’s smile fell and the warm tension in his chest returned, stronger now. He nodded again. He should change the subject. “You, uh, wanted to know what I was reading about?”
“Oh, yeah!” Heart replied, still leaning on Mind’s shoulder. He shifted, making himself more comfortable. “If you don’t mind.”
Mind started to describe the book he was reading to Heart, but his thoughts lingered on what Heart had talked about. He did that with everyone, he told himself, but the fact he had taken the time to actually notice those little details about Mind – those details that Mind hadn’t even noticed himself – made him feel different. Again, something had shifted ever so slightly about them.
That scared Mind a little bit… No, concerned him. Things didn’t scare Mind. But… Their relationship had already changed so much in such little time. He didn’t know if it could handle changing more. He barely even knew what was going on between the two of them.
God, Mind hated not knowing things.
“Are you alright?” Soul asked, throwing Mind out of his thoughts.
It was late, and Mind was laying in his bed staring up at the ceiling. Soul stood in the doorway, staring at him. Mind sat up and looked at him. “Huh?”
“I asked if you’re alright. You’ve been staring up at the ceiling, completely silent and wide awake, for the past…” Soul glanced at the ticking clock in Mind’s room. “Hour? I believe?”
“I’m… fine.”
Soul looked at him, utterly unconvinced. Mind sighed and gestured Soul over. Soul walked up to the bed and sat himself down at the end of it. Mind was not the one to willingly share how he felt, but he needed to talk to someone about this and he could not talk to Heart.
Well, out with it. “I’m worried about Heart and I’s relationship.”
“Oh god,” Soul pinched the bridge of his nose. “ Please don’t tell me you two are gonna go back to fighting again .”
“No, no, at least I don’t think so.” Mind made his hands into fists and squeezed, looking away from Soul and down to the ground. “You know I’m not great with emotions. I need some advice.”
Mind glanced at Soul. His eyebrows were raised in a mix of surprise and intrigue. Soul waited for him to continue.
“I, uh… For the past few days, every time Heart and I talk, every time we spend time together, every time we’re even near each other, I get this… warm feeling.” He gestures towards his chest. “Everything in here tenses up and I can barely breathe.”
He looked back at Soul. Soul was just sitting there, eyes wide, before he nodded. “Oh. Okay. Wow, uh…”
Mind grew worried. That reaction wasn’t a good sign. This wasn’t a normal thing. Something was wrong. Something about Mind was wrong.
Soul clasped him on the shoulder. “Would you like to figure this out for yourself? Or do you want me to tell you what’s going on?”
Mind sighed. “Please, I’m so… So confused. I need to know what’s going on.”
“You’ve got feelings for Heart.”
Mind thought for a second. Well, yeah, of course he had feelings for Heart. For one, he wasn’t an emotionless robotic freak like Heart had thought he was. And had Soul even heard what he said? Of course he had feelings about him, every time they were near each other, he got a weird feeling in his chest. He just said that. Unless… Soul meant something else? What could that mean? He wasn’t–
Oh.
Oh no.
“And that’s my cue to leave.” Soul stood up from the bed, dusted himself off, and made his way to the door like he hadn’t just sent Mind spiraling into a crisis. “G’night. See ya.”
Oh, fuck.