You and Azure had been together for a long time. He’d known you since you were an innocent toddler—back when others found you a little frightening, but he never did. He was there through your lowest moments: when you wanted to hurt yourself, when you slipped on the wet bathroom floor and bruised your eye, when you didn’t know how to bandage your own wounds, or when you skipped meals. He stayed by your side even then—walking you to your cult meetings for safety, leaving only to pick you up afterward.

Now, the two of you were curled up together. Azure was asleep—but you weren’t. You lay in his arms, breathing softly, your mind spiraling through thoughts again. Eventually, you slipped away from his embrace and padded quietly to the kitchen for a snack. You didn’t realize that whenever you left his arms, even in sleep, he woke almost instantly.

From the dark hallway behind you, footsteps began to approach as you spread peanut butter and jelly onto your sandwich.