Chapter Text
It's another restless night for Rudo. Nothing new. Nothing he hasn't been through hundreds of times.
What is new is the gentle rap on his door right as he's about to give up and leave to wander the halls. Again.
"Hello?" he calls, unsure of what to expect.
It could be Riyo looking to bother him, or Zanka hoping he's up to train. Enjin has come by a few nights in the past just to see if he was feeling okay, apparently sometimes his tossing can be heard clear across the hallway. It could even just be August being...weird.
But it's none of those.
"Rudo? You were already awake, right?" comes the small voice as the door creeps open, familiar, but Rudo's never heard it sound like this before. Guita's head pops in once there's room and her face confirms what he thought he heard in her voice.
"I was..." Rudo sits up in his bed, gesturing to Guita that she can come in.
"I had a nightmare..." Guita enters, closing the door most of the way behind her, but a sliver of light from the hallway still shines in from the crack as she shuffles in carefully, coming to Rudo's bedside without touching his bed.
"I guessed...do you need something?"
Guita plays with the claws on her onesie, not looking at Rudo, "I thought you'd be awake, and...I don't wanna be alone right now..."
Rudo's concern breaks for a moment, glaring, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Guita jumps, and Rudo mentally kicks himself for yelling at her.
He knows she's...different. That he needs to be nicer to her.
"Sorry..." Rudo moves over in his bed, gesturing Guita to join him, "Don't make a habit of it, but you can stay in here tonight."
Guita's face lights back up as she quickly takes the invitation, cuddling as close as possible to Rudo before he even has a chance to adjust to another person in his bed.
Rudo sighs, pulling the blanket over both of them and laying down. Guita gets comfortable using Rudo as a pillow, curled on his chest like an animal more than a kid, and passes out nearly instantly.
Rudo, on the other hand, lays awake.
He listens to his friend breathing, watches her shift in her sleep, and feels her heart beat from just how close they are right now.
"At least you're comfortable..." he mumbles, putting a hand on her hooded head gently.
"Thanks, Rudo, you're a good big brother..."
Rudo tenses, his mouth opening and closing a few times without anything coming out.
By the time he finds his voice to ask what she meant he's cut off by snoring.
"Whatever..."
Rudo chooses to try and sleep for now, instead.
Rudo wakes up in a panic, ready to hit whoever or whatever is pulling Guita away from him, only stopping when his eyes clear enough to see Bro holding her.
"Thank you, Rudo," is all he says, leaving with Guita.