Eddie heard his small clock ticking from outside the bathroom, buttoning up his red pajama shirt. After the last button, he sighed and looked at himself in the mirror, frowning. "Dumb freckles, stupid hair, ugly eyes, ew..." he grabs his burlap mask, pulling it over his head. "That's better...! Haha~! I look like a professional grave keeper now!"
Eddie giggles, spinning around happily. His mind then focused on (Y/n), remembering what he had told her earlier today; he would stay with her while she sleeps, so that she isn't afraid.
He clasps his hands together, letting out an adoring sigh. "Ahh, I'm so happy she's beginning to trust me again...maybe I should apologize for being so rough with her..." Eddie lifted an eyebrow, thinking hard on the matter. "No, it's better for her just to forget about it. I'll apologize later when I get the chance...after all, a gentleman always takes very good care of a lady."
After his moment of triumph, he unlocked the bathroom door and skipped out into his bedroom, where (Y/n) sat alone on his bed. As much as he hated to admit it, Eddie really didn't like sharing. Telling people this made him feel selfish, but truly, he hated it. But with (Y/n)...
All of those feelings seemed to just fade away.
"(Y/n)," Eddie softly called out for her to alert that he was now present. "are you ready to get some sleep?"
(Y/n) lowered her head, her silky (h/c) hair blocked Eddie's sight of her worried expression. "Yeah..."
Eddie smiled a little, sitting down next to her. "I can tell you're uneasy."
(Y/n) turned to him, looking sad with a weak smile on her face. "No, I'm okay..."
"Nope!" Eddie grew close to her face. "That's not what those pretty eyes of yours are telling me!"
"A-Ah...!" (Y/n) grew flustered, backing away from the masked boy.
Eddie giggled sweetly, calming her. "Y'know, I'll definitely be here to protect you from all of the bad, scary, monsters! No one will hurt you!" (Y/n) watched as Eddie threw his hands into fists and punched the air. He honestly looked fit for his age, even if he was pretending to throw hands. "Like that! Just like that! Hiiiyaaaa!"
"Haha, you're very cute, Eddie." (Y/n) chuckled, resting her fingertips on her lips. Eddie's face went completely red underneath his mask. "You must be very brave to fight monsters."
"Yep!" Eddie triumphs, putting his hands on his hips and lifting his nose into the air. "I'm super brave! Nothing ever scares me!"
"Well...that makes sense...you are a grave keeper after all. They can't be easily scared while viewing the dead, right? Or seeing ghosts! That's so cool."
"C-Cool...? You think so...?" Eddie's eyes glitter with happiness as he gazed at the girl, only for her to nod. "Haha...! Yeah! Aren't I just the coolest?!"
As Eddie blabbered on about being a brave grave-keeper, (Y/n) began to realize how child-like he actually was. He loved praise and talking about the things he enjoys, while having no care in the world. (Y/n) envied how carefree he could be without any doubt about the future. If only she could be that optimistic.
"What about you, (Y/n)? What do you enjoy to do?" Eddie chirped, catching (Y/n) off guard.
"A-Ah..." she muttered. "I guess...I enjoy reading...and...uhm..."
"Don't be so nervous!" the sweet grave keeper bubbled, trying to give (Y/n) some confidence. "A beautiful girl like you must be very busy, right? You must have hundreds of boys who wanna be your boyfriend!"
"You're very sweet..." (Y/n) felt dumb for not being able to think of a better answer, but she was way too flustered to think of one.
Her rosy cheeks were enough to make Eddie happy. "Not as sweet as you, my dove! Oh, but I shouldn't be distracting you! Get some rest." (Y/n) was going to try and continue the conversation so that she wouldn't have to go to sleep, but Eddie was too clever for that nonsense.
"Eddie..."
"No, I already told you to go to sleep, (Y/n). Don't try and smooth talk me with that pretty voice of yours, haha~!" Eddie gushed, laying down some more pillows on the spare mattress that Gray gave him to sleep on for the time being.
"But...I really can't get any sleep..."
"(Y/n), you gotta! Absolutely, one hundred percent! You need your beauty sleep!"
"...Eddie..." (Y/n)'s voice grew softer and more desperate, which caught his attention. He turns to her, now seeing how scared she actually was. "I-I'm really...afraid..."
Eddie thought hard about it before letting out a small sigh. "Alright, (Y/n). If you're so scared then I'll tell you a story," Eddie sat down next to her, his eyes much softer and less childish than before. "you wanna hear a story, right?"
(Y/n) sniffled, feeling tears start to roll down her face. "I-I'm sorry for being such a baby...I-I'm really sorry..."
Eddie wipes her tears with his thumbs, shaking his head. "Don't apologize, (Y/n). It's okay to be scared. I understand everything." he then paused, his green eyes darkening as he thought of a story to tell her. "I have one. It's a bit sad, but it has a good ending."
(Y/n) nodded, laying down and shutting her eyes. Eddie imagined her in a coffin of flowers, causing his eyes to grow with obsession and insanity.
"Once...there was a little boy who had nothing of his own..." he began, his voice quiet and calming. "He lived in a very large family who had financial difficulties, so getting presents and such was merely a dream. That was until he met an angel..."
(Y/n) heard the serenity in his voice grow a bit off. Although it didn't frighten her, she felt a strange aura looming over her.
"Yes, a beautiful angel...with silky golden hair and big brown eyes. However, the boy knew no better than to treat her as a friend, an equal. Considering the boy's problem...the angel came every night to comfort him with her angelic voice. Eventually...the angel granted the boy's wish by allowing him to make her his and allowing him to escape his terrible homelife...and the boy lived on happy as could be."
Eddie sadly grinned underneath his mask, his eyes drifting onto the now sleeping girl beside him. Slowly, he lifted his hand and tucked the stray hair in her face behind her ear. "Goodnight, my angel..."
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
"(Y/n)...I'm scared...he'll hurt us...I don't want it to happen again...I don't want it to..."
(Y/n) held her little sibling close, resting her head on theirs. "It's okay. I'm right here. Just try to get some rest."
"What if he..."
"We'll be alright. He's asleep...he won't come up here. He won't hurt you."
"What about you...?"
"I'll stay up and keep watch for you. I'll make sure he doesn't hurt you." Her little sibling nodded as she covered them up, trying to relax. Before (Y/n) knew it, she heard footsteps coming up the creaky wooden steps. How she prayed it wasn't him again.
But prayers never seem to work in moments like these.
"Why couldn't he just stay asleep? Why?" she thought solemnly, quickly getting up and rushing into the hallway to keep him away from her little sibling as best as she could. If she could distract him, then no harm would come to the little one.
And that's all she cared about.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
Eddie woke up to the sound of (Y/n) gasping and snapping awake in mere seconds. She breathed heavily as she tried to make out her surroundings, but it was all too dark in the room to see. Eddie, being able to see pretty well in the dark, threw on his mask, turned on the lamp he had on his nightstand and turned his head towards the girl. "(Y/n)...?"
After (Y/n)'s realization that she was having a nightmare, her fear crumbled into complete despair as she began to cry. Eddie sat down on the mattress, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her in for a hug. "Shh, you're okay..."
(Y/n) choked back tears as she sleepily rested her head on his chest, feeling the smooth fabric of his pajamas against her skin. Eddie was pretty tired too, so didn't get flustered by this at all, even though he usually would.
"I-I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." she stammered, her voice wobbly. "I-I couldn't even...even...!"
"Shh, it's alright now. I'm right here protecting you from the scary monsters."
(Y/n) didn't want to go back asleep, but no matter how much her mind wanted to stay awake, her body wanted to go right back asleep in Eddie's embrace. He began to realize this, trying to lay her back down, but instead she continued to hold onto him. "Please...don't go..."
Eddie's mind went on a full loop as she said that. "Okay, I'll stay right here with you...I won't leave you alone...it's scary to be alone..."
So instead, the girl ended up falling asleep in his arms, despite Gray giving the grave-keeper a big talk about not sleeping with her. It wasn't like they were doing anything bad though, so he convinced himself that it was okay.
Slowly, he laid his head down on the pillows beside her and drifted off to sleep.