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“Hey! Flower boy!”
Kingsly’s ear twitched at the sudden noise, and he dropped the torn leaf he was inspecting. But he didn’t turn around, not until a hand grabbed his shoulder a little too roughly. It was the ranger, beet red and panting, looking downright furious…
“Did.. uh.. did something happen?” he offered meekly, to which the ranger almost growled.
“How the FUCK did you make it this far? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?!”
He looked around as if to find an answer, or anything familiar to him. But there was nothing, he wasn’t at the base. How did he make it this far?
“I…” don’t remember. He trailed off before he had the chance to embarrass himself further.
The ranger must not have expected an answer, or he had gotten tired of waiting for Kingsly to find his voice. Instead, he started walking, pulling Kingsly along with an uncomfortably tight grip on his wrist. He fought like hell to stay upright as he was dragged across unfamiliar terrain, struggling to catch up. Things were moving too quickly. They were moving too quickly. But he didn’t want to protest, not while the ranger barked out complaints of his own.
“I mean, come on! The one thing we asked you to do - stay at the base - you can’t even do that? What was so important you’d wanna risk your life to go out and see? There are still creatures out there!”
“I-I don’t–”
“Fucking hell, just spit it out, man!”
Kingsly bowed his head, refusing to speak another word. But despite his efforts to keep the ranger from getting any angrier, his silence only made him blow up more.
“Fine! Fuck! Keep your mouth shut then! It’s not like I ran all this way to come find you!”
His biting remarks began to blur together as they continued walking.
Knowing how mad the ranger had gotten, he feared the reactions he’d get from the captain, the cadet, Puddle…
He was used to this, the impatience, the anger, the shouting. His teachers never liked him that much, nor did his peers.. now the ranger was upset with him. But he didn’t mean to wander off, he really didn’t!
They turned another corner, pushed through dense shrubbery, and when they emerged, they were finally back at the base. But even by the safety of the ship, he couldn’t quite bring himself to feel relieved.
Almost immediately, the ranger left Kingsly’s side, running off to report to the captain. And so he was left there, still as a statue as he felt eyes on him, staring through him. His head felt foggy as he tried to process everything at once.
A voice broke through the fog, and he felt gentle hands holding him close.
“Kingsly! Oh honey… You’re not hurt, are you?”
“U-uh.. no, not hurt.”
He kept his eyes trained on the ground, expecting the same anger he got mere moments ago. But instead, those same hands squeezed his, and that same voice spoke a mere whisper, for no one but him to hear.
“Let’s go inside, okay?”
“Okay…”
They sat him down on his bunk, suits discarded, helmets sat on the bedside, lights dimmed to near darkness.
Away from all the others, Kingsly took in a deep breath, that hand still holding his. His eyes trailed up until he met the face it belonged to. Purple hair, sharp eyeliner, soft lips he had come to love. It was Puddle, giving him a look of concern despite their best attempts to keep calm.
“Oh Petal.. I-I’m sorry I caused a scene–”
They frowned, cupping his face in their hands. “Sorry? Honey, you have nothing to be sorry for. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“But he- the ranger, he was mad at me.”
“Well it wasn’t like you wanted to scare us. What was it you were looking for out there?”
“Uh… I don’t really remember.. I didn’t know I was outside the base at all, not until he found me.”
“Huh, that’s.. strange, dear. Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine, really! I just.. agh.. I think I oughta tell you this now.”
Puddle tilted their head with a hum. “What’s up, hun?”
Ah, now he had their attention. Kingsly cleared his throat, finding himself struggling to gather his thoughts.
They had been lovely to him up to this point, understanding and caring in a way he hadn’t known in years, but this was still a lot to dump on them. There was still the fear that they’d leave if he told them, that they’d look at him with pity as opposed to the adoring look he was used to. He shook his head, no, that wasn’t like them. He shouldn’t stress himself out like that.
“My brain just hasn’t been workin’ quite right.”
“Oh? How come?”
“Ah, it was quite a while ago, hard to remember. Sorry if this sounds silly.”
“Dear, this is clearly important to you. It’s okay, take your time.”
Puddle took a seat beside him, giving his hand a comforting squeeze. Okay, he can do this.
“Well… when I was real little, just a baby actually, I had a stroke. Mama didn’t find out until I was older, but there wasn’t really much we could do then.”
They nodded.
“S-so, uh, things don’t always work right. I’m awfully clumsy, I forget things, I get distracted… I think that’s why I wandered off.”
He didn’t like the quiet that followed. They were still, save for their thumb brushing over his knuckles. The shame hit him all at once, and he bit his thumb, mumbling under his breath.
“…Forget I said that. Shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Honey, no. I’m glad you felt comfortable telling me this. You know this isn’t your fault, right?”
“But- the ranger–”
“That ranger needs to get his head out of his ass!” Puddle snapped, faltering for a moment. “S-sorry dear. But I mean it, it’s not your fault.”
Their initial outburst startled a laugh out of him, but their sincerity was enough to make his eyes water.
“Aw, Petal… You really, really mean it?”
“Of course, honey. Because I love you for you, nothing’s gonna change that.”
Kingsly sniffled, barely managing to wrap an arm around them before tears started flowing.
“Oh baby.. come here.”
He buried his face in the warmth of their neck as they pulled him into their arms, a hand reaching up to cradle his head while the other rubbed slow circles on his back. Their embrace felt like home to him, warm and gentle, familiar. He looked up at them and knew he was safe. He could stay here forever, or at least just for tonight.
Puddle slowly rocked with Kingsly, the motion helping soothe him. And that was how they stayed, whispering sweet nothings in his ear as he cried it all out, for however many hours it would take to make him feel better.
He eventually calmed, and as his grip on them weakened, he yawned. The poor thing must have tired himself out. Ever so careful, Puddle lowered him to the bed, resting his head on the pillow.
“There you are, darling. You should rest, it’s been a long day.”
Kingsly still seemed unsure though. They brushed their fingers through his hair to ease his worries, giving him the sweetest smile they could muster.
“I’ll wake you up before dinner, I promise.”
He hummed, mumbling into the pillow, “‘kay, love you.”
“I love you too, sweetie. Sleep well.” they cooed, tucking the blanket in at his sides.
“Mh..”
Puddle chuckled in response, kissing his forehead as he drifted off to sleep. So peaceful, so sweet…
With that sorted, they turned away from their sleeping partner, making a swift and quiet exit.
They were going to give that damned ranger a piece of their mind.