Work Text:
It's late at night.
Shadow Milk was lying down in his bed, alongside Pure Vanilla. Soft snores filled the small space of their shared room. Pure Vanilla was asleep, but Shadow Milk was not. He was lost in his thoughts, staring down at his arms. Suddenly, a loud thud came from somewhere in the castle. It was most likely the staff cleaning around the place, but it was loud enough to rouse Pure Vanilla from his slumber, and loud enough to pull Shadow Milk from his thoughts to snap his head toward the door.
"What are you doing awake, bluebird?", Pure Vanilla mumbles, his voice still rough from sleep. Shadow Milk turns over to Pure Vanilla, who is now sitting up and looking over at him. "Oh– um, nothing.", he replies. Pure Vanilla shifts a bit closer, then he moves his hand to Shadow Milk's shoulder. "Talk to me, what's wrong?", he asks. Shadow Milk shifts further away from Pure Vanilla, watching as Pure Vanilla's hand slips off his shoulder before tilting his head down to look at his arms again, staring down at the scars that look back at him.
Pure Vanilla follows his gaze, and then speaks again: "Shadow Milk, I'm here for you, okay? You don't have to do that anymore.". Pure Vanilla's fingers graze over the healing scars, lifting Shadow Milk's wrist to his face and kissing it gently before kissing all the way down his arm slowly, then trailing upward toward his face. When he reaches his face, they stare at each other for a few moments.
They both lean their foreheads against each other, closing their eyes and just living in the moment. Pure Vanilla pulls away for a second, before placing a soft kiss on Shadow Milk's forehead, then laying another gentle kiss on his eyelid. Shadow Milk's breath hitches, then a slow tear slides down his cheek, and Pure Vanilla wipes it away. "You don't have to suffer alone, okay? I will always be there for you.", Pure Vanilla says softly. Shadow Milk whispers, "What if I want to be alone..? Or what if I deserve to be alone..". Pure Vanilla replies immediately, "You don't deserve to be alone. You deserve someone who cares, someone who will listen and love you always, remember that always.". Shadow Milk shudders, before snuggling close to Pure Vanilla.
A few minutes later, they are both lying down next to each other, Shadow Milk's face pressed between the crook of Pure Vanilla's neck. Pure Vanilla strokes the others' hair till Shadow Milk falls asleep, his breath evening out into soft puffs. Pure Vanilla sighs before closing his eyes as well, the couple drifting off into a deep slumber.