#ANYWAYS ENJOY THE RESULT OF MY REIGNITED BRAINROT

[shoutmonishere]

Vulnerable

So as it turns out, Taiki prefers to keeps his own problems to himself.

Shoutmon so happens to find this out.

Aka, analyzed Taiki too hard i wrote a short fic about it, which is just the much better version of this

Note: takes place somewhere in Hunters' timeline.

~~~

Shoutmon woke up confused, to muffled hiccups and sobs so late into the night.

And figuring out who it belonged to is just as disbeliefing.

"Taiki? Taiki, you alright?" He called out raspily from within the Xros Loader.

The sounds he heard earlier had quickly ceased before he is left to hang in silence- with what he believes to his partner's own shaky breath?

Before it could stretch on any longer than it should, he hears something shift around.

"Yeah, im alright." His partner replied. From the sound of his voice, he's definitely trying to put on a smiling voice.

It would have been convincing if only his voice weren't already quivering.

"I- uh, so happened to have heard some stuff. Was that you?"

Silence.

"Did... Did somethin' happen?"

More silence.

"Taiki?"

....

Ugh, that's it.

After a moment of even more silence, Shoutmon now engulfed by the Xros Loader's familiar, bright light, then forcefully pulls himself right out of it.

When he opened his eyes, he finds himself within the comfort of Taiki's bedroom, somewhere near foot of his bed.

The room is reasonably dark, but in spite of that, the gentle moonlight that peeked from the curtained window was more than enough to help him adjust.

It didn't take long for the king to lock eyes with his general's.

The boy was hunched, legs hugged close to his chest, tears still running down his already puffed eyes.

"S-sorry," He apologized hoarsely, now wiping at his tears. "Did i wake you up?"

"Taiki wh- that's besides the point!" The dragon whisper shouts. "Taiki, what happened?!"

"Shoutmon, i-it's okay."

"What happened."

"It's nothing."

"Taiki."

The brunette averted his eyes, contemplation washing up in his face briefly. Ruminating whether answering would be of any merit.

He then exhales, and then hugged himself tighter, further burying his face deeper into his arms and knees.

"I... i had a nightmare." He admitted meekly.

"A nightmare?"

"Mhm."

"Oh. Uh, what's it 'bout?"

Another look of contemplation.

"It was... about you."

"Uh huh, and...?"

"You.... Died. Again."

"Oh."

Right. He'd died, didn't he?

He'd almost forgotten how death was in the Human World, how heavy it's impact was for those who lost, how permanent it is compared to the Digital World.

"Taiki-" Shoutmon mumbled, his expression softening.

"It's- it's kinda dumb, i know." The boy managed to blubber out as he began curling in on himself more, avoiding eye contact.

"What!? No, dont apologize for that!" Shoutmon clambered up onto the bed. "If it got ya all teary eyed, then that shit ain't stupid!"

Atleast the dragon's usual vulgarity is able to get an amused snort out of the human.

"How long has it been going?"

"What?"

"The nightmares?"

"... A year ago, i think." He managed to croak out. "A while after you and everyone went back to your world."

"Have ya... mentioned this to anyone?"

"..... No. I- i told you, it's dumb."

"Taiki it ain't dumb-"

"It's dumb because you're okay!" He cried out, his voice barely holding itself together at this point.

"You're alive, you're not hurt anymore, i know that." The boy sobbed, now tugging at his hair. "But for some reason i just- i just keep worrying over nothing."

"Even if that were the case, that doesn't make it any less haunting, doesn't it?"

Taiki gazed at him for a moment before shaking his head 'no'.

"I- Look, Taiki." Shoutmon sighed as he sat in front of the him. "You're a tough guy, someone that cares a lot, that people could rely one. I've seen that first hand, and so have others."

"And we all appreciate that." He grins fondly. "We really do."

"However, that doesn't mean you need to carry your burdens alone." The dragon then gently places a hand on his shoulder.

"As Xros Heart, you've relied on us when it comes to the Bagra Army. And now that they're gone, you could still rely on us, but not only as your army or comrades, but as your friends."

"We've already had the fate of our world's placed on our shoulders," Shoutmon smiles as he reached to ruffle his hair. "So what does it matter when it's now your brain being mean to you?"

Taiki stared at him dumbfoundedly before breaking into a hearty laugh, covering his face with his arms.

"W-when did you start getting this wise?" Taiki chuckled, peering out at the dragon. "I thought you're no good at that?"

"Eh, i'unno." He shrugged as he pulls his hand out of the boy's hair. "I suppose that's what being king does to ya." And in response Taiki laughed a little harder.

"But i really meant what i said, okay?" The dragon reminded. "If there's somethin' bugging you, we've got your back. Im sure Akari, Zenjirou, and the others share that sentiment too."

Taiki could only nod in confirmation as he sniffled and rubbed at his eyes, finally letting himself unfurl from his position.

Then suddenly, the boy reached out and hugged him. "Thank you." He muttered tearily.

And naturally of course, he hugged him back. "No problem."