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Boxten sat up quickly with a loud yelp, hand clutched onto his shirt as his heart pounded in his chest, so loudly he could hear it in his ears. He panted as he tried desperately to calm himself down, fidgeting with his clothes and looking around his room to try and ground himself. Nothing seemed to work.
He was so distracted that he didn't hear his door open.
“Boxten, what is with all this noise at 3 in the-” Glisten stopped in the middle of Boxten’s room, realising it was a terrible time to walk in and start complaining at him. Boxten looked up at him, stared for a moment, before starting to cry. He quickly curled in on himself, covering his mouth with his hand to make as little noise as possible.
He was probably embarrassed, Glisten thought. It would be rude to just leave him like this, but at the same time, he got the hint that Boxten was less than happy that he was there. Maybe he should get Poppy, or someone else who's closer with him? That would be selfish - it was late, after all, and Glisten was the only one awake besides Shrimpo. Not that Shrimpo would want to help, he was far too busy beating the living daylight out of his punching bags. Loudly.
Glisten slowly approached Boxten’s bed, unsure of what he could actually do to help. He reached a hand out to him gently, putting it on his shoulder; Boxten turned to Glisten, hugging his legs tightly. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Boxten loosened his grip on Glisten, letting him sit down next to him.
He sniffled, wiping his eyes with his hand. Glisten looked around for something else, finding a tissue box and handing it to him. “Here.”
“Thanks…” Boxten messily pulled out a clump of tissues, using them to dry off his tears. “Um… sorry…”
“Oh, don't apologise, Boxy. You’ve not done anything wrong.” While Glisten wasn’t exactly happy about being awake at this time, for this, he could put that aside for an acquaintance in need. His complaints wouldn't do anything for the situation. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”
“I had a nightmare… I think Astro doesn't like me very much…” Boxten bit his nails, still nervous from everything that had happened. “I’m starting to not like him either…”
“Ugh, don't get me started on people we don't like, I’ll be going on all night.” Glisten smiled as he heard Boxten chuckle quietly. Usually, he would be smiling because he was doing something objectively good, and that kept up his image of perfection, but this felt deeper. He was more glad that Boxten was feeling better. “Have you spoken to Astro? Asked him to give you better dreams?”
“He’s not been taking much notice. He just kind of… ignores me.” Boxten sighed, beginning to feel frustrated. “I don't know what's so hard to understand. I don't like the dreams I’m getting. Why can't he just change them?”
“I understand how you feel. On being misunderstood, I mean.” Glisten disliked the place where the conversation was going. He was getting way too personal, but he also thought his perspective could be useful. “Some people are just so stuck on having one thought, or one opinion of someone, that they completely close themselves off to change.” He picked at his hands, looking away. “No matter what you do to make them think differently.”
Boxten nodded, surprised at the unusually insightful advice Glisten had given him. It was definitely fuelled by something personal - he didn't want Glisten to feel that way, especially not when he knew what it was like. “I think you’ve changed the way I see you a lot, just tonight alone.”
“Really?”
“You're a lot… nicer, than people say you are, and I mean that in a good way. Coming to help me, even though I woke you up? Nobody else here would do that for me. Not even Poppy.” Glisten felt his face warm up slightly at Boxten's words. Boxten wasn't just lying to make him feel better, this was genuine.
“You’re a real sweetheart, you know that?” Glisten laid back on Boxten's bed, the box hesitantly following behind him. “People don't acknowledge that about you enough. You're so kind to everyone, even people who make you anxious.” Boxten giggled, before mumbling a shy, “Thank you…”
They laid and talked for what felt like hours, eventually slipping into Glisten doing most of the talking, while Boxten happily listened to him, not that he minded. It was nice to have someone who was actually listening to what he was saying, paying attention and asking questions. Eventually, there was a gap in Glisten’s rambles, making him realise Boxten was oddly quiet and still.
He looked over slightly, seeing that the music box had fallen asleep to his ranting, letting out quiet snores with every breath. Glisten hummed, carefully pulling Boxten closer so he wouldn't wake him.
“Goodnight, Boxy.”