Dust trailed careful touches across Horror’s cheekbone as he stared into that bloated eyelight with a sort of admiration only he could procure. It left the larger fairy somewhat flustered, his cheeks flushed a pretty red, though he dared not look away. He couldn’t.
It was summer, and though the permafrost of Error’s land kept the ground blanketed in white, along the southern border there were specks of green peeking through the thinning layer of snow. Horror was appreciative of the colder climate, but he felt joy at seeing his little mate bask in the sunlight during noon. Dust always looked quite adorable when he laid upon the rocks like a flattened pancake.
Horror grinned at the mental image, and Dust flushed prettily and finally looked away. He instead looked at Horror’s skull, and the tips of his fingers gently stroked the edges of it. Horror sighed and closed his sockets, enjoying the sensation.
“Your tiara,” said Dust. “Where is it?”
“S’mwhere down below the… mountain halls.”
“Do you want me to look for it?”
Horror’s sockets snapped open, his eyelight now a staring pinprick.
“No."
“I can go inside without being seen. I can—”
“No!” Horror shouted this time but immediately regretted it. Dust hadn’t flinched but his eyelights had noticeably shrunk, just a tiny bit, but it was enough to make Horror whine and pull Dust closer; cradling him to his chest. “’m sorry… I… I don’t want you to go there. It’s… You could be…” He growled in irritation at his struggles of speaking during stress, but he couldn’t help it. The thought of Dust potentially ending up trapped like he had… He held him a little tighter. “I don’t want to lose you. Can’t… stand the thought of it.”
Dust remained still for just a minute before cuddling closer to the gentle giant. He closed his sockets and began to softly and quietly purr. It had an immediate effect as Horror’s arms lessened their faint tremor, and his shoulders relaxed.
“I can ask someone else.”
“… Who?”
“An idiot.”
“… snrk,” Horror snorted and kissed the top of Dust’s skull. “Love you, dust bunny.”
Dust’s purr increased by a single decibel. “Love you too.”
── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ──
“You want me to… wait what?”
“You heard me.”
Cross would never admit it out loud, but the petite summer fairy had a way of sending a chill down his spine no troll or any other fiend could possibly hope to do. Just the way his eyelights bore right through him made his wings lower in submission. They noticeably quivered, too.
Cross cleared his throat.
“What does it look like?”