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Cleo was busy in the Shadow Castle, cleaning up the mess Ren had made when waking up that morning as he quickly left the building to reunite with the others.
The door knob turned, and Ren must have heard the noises Cleo was making inside, because he had his sword raised in front of him as opened the door.
“Who’s there? Make yourself known,” He said, his voice raised, but as soon as he saw Cleo he lowered his weapon, “Oh, it’s you, couldn't have told me beforehand now could you? Thought someone was stealing my stuff.”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, everything’s still there love,” Cleo responded, quickly shushing Ren’s worries right down the drain, “I was just cleaning the place for you, you left it in an absolute mess.”
“Thanks” He said as he sealed the door behind him and took of the heaviest of his knights attire to leave at the door. He didn't mind wearing it all day, but by the time he got home that stuff started to weigh heavy on him.
Once he was somewhat settled at home again he went to his chests, digging through them to look for a decent meal that would have to be their dinner.
After some searching he ended up with some bread, meat and even an extra bucket of milk, a meal which —for the fact it was one of the games— was quite a luxurious one.
As he shared the food with Cleo, as they both sat down on improvised seatings. When building his base he hadn't really bothered with actual seating, so sitting on a chest, crafting table or even a furnace would have to do for now.
They ate in silence, Cleo didn't have much to tell for her day, and for once in his life Ren didn't seem to feel like talking either.
Once they finished eating the two decided to get ready for the night, in other words, ready to go to bed. Cleo agreed to sleep over at Ren’s place this time, but they'd forgotten something at home, so left to get it.
When they returned Ren seemed to have finished his evening routine, because Cleo found him curled up in his bed. At first —as Cleo changed into their nightwear and put their hair in a braid— they didn't notice anything wrong.
It was only when they finished all of that, approaching the bed to snuggle up against their partner, that they noticed Ren was actually crying.
So they laid down next to Ren, wrapping their arms around him gently, a silent way of letting him know I’m here for you.
Ren unfolded his body just enough to turn in their arms and push his face against Cleo's shoulder. His dog ears were flat against his head and they could already feel the tears starting to soak through the thin fabric of their shirt.
“What's wrong love?” Cleo asked carefully as they let a hand gently go through Ren's hair. He didn't protest, so they took it as a sign to continue.
“It's confusing, how're you so certain?” He mumbles into their shoulder, Cleo really having to listen and pay attention to properly make out the words being said.
“Certain about what?” They answer, confused about what their partner is referring to.
“You're gender- that you're non-binary,” He sobs, heaving in a breath before continuing, “It’s obvious, you're so certain and you don't worry about what others think. How?”
Cleo chuckles, not judging, just rather amused by the assumptions being made, “I wish it was that easy, not caring about the opinion of others is a mindset of course, but being certain? That's something I'll never be.”
Ren looks up, right into Cleo's eyes with a surprised look on his face, ears perked in that same surprised, or confusion, they're not sure which one it is.
“Really?” He says in disbelief.
“Really,” Cleo answered confidently, “100% positive I'll never be, but what can we do? Just trust your gut, experiment with what makes you happy, and you'll find it eventually.”
“So you don't think I'm just lying to myself, and everyone, about being male?”
“No Ren, for as long as this makes you happy you're Ren, and if that turns out not true, then we'll talk again.” As they finished talking they carefully planted a kiss on Rens forehead.
He seemed to accept the response, because he started to calm down and instead just snuggled even closer against Cleo with his entire body.
“You're amazing, I love you,” Ren said with a yawn.
“I know, and I love you too.”
And with that the two fell asleep, confusing feelings would have to wait, right now was a time for a rest.