Mono + Six Afterstory || Little Nightmares II

Nine

     Six pulled her hand back after a moment so she could hold onto the bowl more safely, and also because she was shivering, probably freezing from of how wet she was. "Yeah. You looked so cool." She smiled at him subtly and then motioned with her head for him to follow her, leading him back to the room they were staying in. Once they were back, she put the bowl down with shaky arms and stumbled onto her knees, dripping with water.

     Mono sat next to her with concerned eyes and rubbed her back supportively. "Why don't you take those wet clothes off?" He suggested, removing his coat and also his shirt, which he then held out to Six. "Here, you can wear it. We'll let your clothes dry and then we can leave." He made a sound plan, and although she seemed reluctant, she nodded and stood up, removing her shirt and skirt. Afterwards, she took Mono's shirt from his extended hand and slipped it on, then rushing towards her raincoat and putting it on as well.
     After Six was comfortable in some dry clothes, the boy put his coat back on, though it was damp, and took Six's wet attributes to the staircase, hanging them neatly over the railings so they could dry more quickly. Once he was back inside the room with Six, he slowly approached her since she looked upset.

     "I just wanted to take care of you, but you ended up having to help me again..." She silently spoke, squeezing in her skinny arms the Nome that had finally given her a chance. He only hoped that she wasn't squeezing too hard.

"Six...please don't worry about that. It's not a point system or anything. We're friends, so of course I'll help you. Just because you couldn't help me yet doesn't mean I like you any less." He sat down next to the girl and wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her closer so she didn't feel so guilty.

"I figured you would say that, but still...I wanna help you, too." She frowned and sighed, though she ended up resting her head against Mono regardless of how disappointed she was, loosely holding the Nome now that she was relaxed. It looked up at both of them curiously, eventually returning a hug with its tiny arms. "Can we keep them? They're so cute." She suddenly spoke again, causing Mono to chuckle and gently pet the creature's head.

He ended up not answering because he figured Six would just do whatever she wanted anyway. And besides, he had a lot on his mind since he'd been left with so much time to think while she was out 'collecting water.' He wanted to catch her up on his ideas while she was relatively calm. "Hey, Six, I know you feel bad about the teacher's daughter, but... I honestly think Ms. Anne already knew about her death. She had portraits covered on the wall in that piano room. It completely slipped my mind earlier, but maybe one was of her husband and the other was for her daughter. I dunno... I just figured it might make you feel better if I told you." He rambled about his instinct, but she didn't react much at all. He was concerned for a moment until he realized she was nodding off. He had forgotten until now that she probably didn't sleep well last night because of that painful position she was in.
Without saying another word, he smiled and slowly lowered himself onto his back, keeping Six in his arm so she would stay asleep. She was basically in a fetal position, but with her head on his chest and the Nome still in her grasp. While Mono didn't feel tired enough to sleep, he stayed quiet so he didn't disturb her peace.

___

After an hour or so, Six squirmed and moved away from Mono slightly, which gave him the freedom to move around. He decided to hydrate using the water she had gotten for him, and then he just waited.
She didn't wake up until a few hours later. It was a bit after noon. Her clothes weren't completely dry, but they were almost there, so Mono went ahead and brought them back before she awoke.
When she finally lifted herself up and stretched her body, the Nome was waiting by her side, just staring at her adorably. "You know, you guys kinda look like pie crust." She spoke groggily, holding her stomach as she imagined different pastries she wished she could enjoy. "You probably don't taste like pie." She added a minute later, glancing over at Mono, who was doing something with his hands, practicing with his powers. It took her a second to notice that the bowl she had brought in was floating in the air because of him.
"Woah, that's so cool." She crawled over to Mono and clung to his shoulder, but as soon as she moved him, the distraction caused him to let go of the bowl in mid-air. Thankfully before it fell on his head, Six caught it with the help of her quick reflexes. When she looked back at Mono, she saw that he was a blushing mess and hiding his face. "What's wrong? Do you still have a fever?" She asked curiously as she put the bowl on the ground, then leaning closer towards Mono's face to get a better look.

"Y-You just surprised me is all... I was so deep in thought that I didn't see you come over." He explained himself frantically, so stressed that he tried to calm his heartbeat by taking slow, deep breaths. Eventually, he was able to look up at Six, but he was seeing for the first time how close she was to him, which caused him to jump back a bit in embarrassment. She was being completely stoic so he had no idea what to make of her mood. "Uh, Six... D-Did you sleep well?" He tried to change the subject so he didn't feel cornered, and he felt otherworldly relief when the girl huffed out a sigh in frustration.

"Okay, I guess." She replied, unimpressed at his attempt to small-talk. After a minute of silence, she gripped onto Mono's coat and looked down at her hands thoughtfully, eventually speaking once again. "Y'know, it's funny... We went through so much trying to get back here because of my music box, but I haven't thought about it this whole time." She loosened her grip on the fabric and then looked back into Mono's eyes. "It's gotta be...because of you. I don't think I need it anymore, since I have you." She was just talking to herself, but Mono still felt his heart thumping loudly inside his chest.

The more he thought about it, Six hadn't gone to get her music box. She was being serious. He didn't know what to say. His mind was racing with those words 'since I have you' and what they meant. Did she have feelings for him, was this a confession? Or was she just realizing how comfortable she felt around him? He swallowed nervously and put his hands on her shoulders, slowly pulling her into an embrace; it spoke a thousand words that he couldn't, and although Six seemed reluctant, she hugged him back passionately, snickering at his formality, his constant need to be reassured by her actions. It was endearing how much of a baby he was.