Chapter Text
Heart awoke to almost-silence, once again. The house was still and dark. The only sound was an ambient thumping, coming from the Heart, of course. A sound you could only hear in absolute silence.
The moon shone through a crack in the curtains, a thin strip of light brightening a corner of the otherwise pitch dark room. The door was cracked open, but it was too dark to see the hallway, and Heart normally couldn’t see anything beyond the doorway anyways. Heart sat on his bed, staring at the illuminated corner as a subtle melancholy washed over him. His chest twinged.
It was a ritual, at this point. A moment alone in the dark, a moment of vacant depression. A feeling of emptiness settled in his chest, rooting itself throughout his body. His heart throbbed in pain. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He wished he wasn’t here. That he didn’t have to feel this way anymore.
He wished that he wasn’t alone.
That was, until he heard the door creak. He didn’t even look to see who it was, probably Mind or Soul coming to tell him to go back to bed or–
Cluck.
Oh.
He looked over the edge of his bed to see Darrell looking up at him, readying himself to jump up on the bed. Heart gave a small ‘oof’ as Darrell boosted himself up into Heart’s chest. He cooed as he got comfortable and curled up next to Heart.
Heart started petting him, his face breaking out into a small smile.
“How’d you even get in the house, bud?” He asked Darrell idly, “Soul bring you in? Or did you finally figure out how to work the door?”
Darrell stayed silent, of course, as he slipped into a light sleep as Heart stroked his feathers.
Maybe being here wasn’t so bad.