art is by: 4ppo_juice (on instagram)
story background:
[Y/N]'s been in the digital world for about a month now and has a good relationship with everyone there, but always seemed to struggle with Kinger. He was the... less sane one out of the bunch, considering how he's older and alzheimers already caught up with the poor guy. But, today, they decided to try to strike a conversation with him.
(I DONT KNOW IF HE CAN READ OR NOT IT'S JUST A HEADCANNON OF MINE)
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[Y/N] stepped off the stage after they finished talking to some of the circus members, before noticing the pillow fort out int he middle of the room. This made [Y/N] smile, seeing as how the man inside wanted to be close to everyone else while also being in his own little bubble. They decided to walk close to the fort, holding an item behind their back.
Although [Y/N] wasn't close to Kinger and usually never talked to him (except for brief interactions, which leads to him shrieking when the memory wipe hits him randomly), they wanted to gift him with something and hoped to get closer with him. Or at least get on good terms with him. So, they got him a book about cool bug facts with the help of Caine! [Y/N] knew about how much Kinger enjoyed insects, the test though was if Kinger even remembered how to read.
They stood at the door of the fort and went to knock on the pillow door, only for Kinger to throw open the door and look up at [Y/N], then scream, then sigh in relief.
"Oh, it's just you! Sorry [Y/N]," Kinger's eyes darted side to side, scanning the room past [Y/N]'s legs.
"Ah.. it's quite alright." Despite feeling like their soul ascended, they relaxed quickly after and gave him a soft smile. "Can I come in?"
"Oh- uh- uhm.. a guest! Of course! Come in!" He said in excitement, sliding back into his little fort and making room for [Y/N]. "Apologies for the.. tightness. I, uh, I only have it big enough for me."
[Y/N] got onto their knees and crawled into the little fort, pushing he book under a blanket inside the fort to prevent Kinger from seeing it. They closed the fort door and waved a hand to Kinger, giving him a warm smile.
"I don't mind.. it's not a problem to me!" Oh but they felt awkward, since they were sitting with their shoulders touching. Especially when this is their first interaction after a long while.
They sat there in silence, before their head slowly turned to each other. To which, Kinger stared with wide eyes before letting out a loud yelp and shaking.
"AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" He blinked, jolting a little before sighing. "Oh, sorry [Y/N]. You startled me..."
[Y/N] stared with wide eyes, frozen in place at the random outburst before relaxing. They patted his shoulder, despite him flinching a little at this. They didn't know on what to really say, until a reminder popped into their head.
"I have a gift for you." [Y/N] announced, looking away then back. "Close your eyes."
Kinger covered his giant eyeballs with his hands after closing them and waited for the gift, assuming he was excited from his body vibrating. [Y/N] reached under the blanket and pulled out the big book, holding it tightly get steadily in their hands as they kept it held out for Kinger.
"Okay, now open!"
Kinger moved his hands away and opened his eyes, his eyes widening and his pupils expanding in size. There was a little shine to his eyes as he put his hands on the book, staring at the cover.
"An insect collection!" He cheered, bringing the book close to his face before setting it down on his lap, flipping it open and staring at the pages in awe.
[Y/N] smiled at this and chuckled, which caught Kinger's attention and he blushed a little in embarassment.
"Oh, right, uhm.. thank you." He bowed a little, his eyes squinting a little to signify he was smiling, despite lacking a mouth.
"You're welcome." [Y/N] said warmly, nodding to Kinger and turning their gaze to the book after.
They watched silently as Kinger stared at the pages, his fingers gently caressing the images of all the bugs and tracing it's body. He'd make quiet gasps when he turned the page to other images of the insects and sparkled with delight, pointing to the bugs excitedly. But, the more he flipped through and pointed st pictures, the more [Y/N] realized he wasn't reading. So, they asked for it in the nicest way possible.
"Can you read?" They blurted out, looking up at Kinger. He stared down at [Y/N] with wide eyes and let out a nervous mumble before shaking his head.
"I haven't picked up a book in years.."
"Well.." They pondered, staring st the book before looking back up at Kinger, "Do you want me to read it to you?"
Kinger's eyes widened and he quickly nodded, a sparkle in his eyes, "I'd love for you to.."
[Y/N] shifted around a little to get more comfortable beside Kinger, moving the book to lay halfway on both of their laps, that way they could share the book. They flipped through the pages until Kinger stopped them and gestured to a sentence, which [Y/N] read. They traced their finger under the sentences they read so that Kinger could keep up, despite not remembering how to read. He didn't seem to mind this, as he kept quiet and listened to what [Y/N] read with great interest.
On some occasions, Kinger would coo in amazement and sometimes add on to the bug facts with his own he learned awhile back. This made [Y/N] happy, since they were having a bonding moment with Kinger without him forgetting their name or being a jittering mess and screaming randomly.
((OFF TOPIC BUT HERES SOME NEAT BUG FACTS TO SET THE MOOD!!!!!))
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- Here's a fact about insects; Within its normal lifespan, an insect molds at least once. shedding off all four parts of its exoskeleton.
- One of the largest flying insects in the world The Hercules Beetle, also known as a rhinoceros beetle, has massive horns that add another four inches of length to its roughly 2.5 inch body.
- The water scorpion bug also known as a [neckphorapuber] ((IDK IF THIS IS THE CORRWCT TERM, I USED THE MICROPHONE OPTION AND RECORDED THESE FACTS FROM MY ECHO AND IT DIDNT REGISTER THE NAME PROPERLY)) has special abdominal tubes that act as snorkels to allow it to breathe under water, These tubes resemble those of a diver. It is a type of insect that can survive under water for extended periods of time by using special adaptations like these. This bug is a predator of other aquatic creatures and hunts by both stalking and ambushing its prey.
- When praying mantises are having sex, the female mantis kills the male mantis. How sweet!
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About.. 20 minutes had past of [Y/N] and Kinger reading through the bug facts (it was more like reading it to him like it was a bedtime story), [Y/N] let out a quiet yawn and rubbed one of their eyes with a hand, the other rested on the book. Kinger noticed that and didn't give it any thought before he slid his hand over and placed it on top of [Y/N]'s hand. The both of them froze and made eye contact, the both of them locked into a stare in silence.
But, Kinger let out a small yelp and pulled his hand back. "Sorry, sorry! Uh..what were we doing again?"
"It's okay.." [Y/N] held their hand out for Kinger and gave him a sweet smile, "We were reading bug facts. Do you want to continue?"
Kinger's eyes widened and darted between looking at [Y/N]'s face and hand, his body shaking nervously. He slowly picked up his hand before dropping it into their hand, which immediately killed his jitters and he relaxed, despite his eyes looking like he was tweaking out.
"Oh, uhm.. I'd love to continue, but I'm feeling a little tired.."
"Well, then we could take a nap. If.. you don't mind it, of course."
Kinger stared into [Y/N]'s eyes, his thumb tracing their nuckled slowly. He had this gentle look to him, which was new. Especially his voice, it was so soft and.. sooth?
"I dont mind."
[Y/N] nodded and gave Kinger a gentle smile, taking their hand away after. But that was just so they could close the book and set it to the side. While they did that, Kinger laid down on the floor and covered himself with the blanket. He'd be wrapped up like a burrito right now, but, he wanted to share.
When [Y/N] finished, they turned back to see that Kinger was already fast asleep, which made them smile and chuckle a little. They crawled over and laid down beside Kinger, letting our a quiet sigh as they faced their back to him... only for a hand to move around and wrap around their waist, another hand caressed their upper chest and held them close. ((NOT SEXUALLY)) Which made them blush profusely at the sudden touch. However, it was.. nice. It was kind of comforting.
Apparently, the touch was enough to put [Y/N] to sleep. So now the two of them laid in the floor of the pillow fort, cuddling and sleeping soundly. At one point, they moved around to where their foreheads were now touching, which lead to the two nuzzling heads. It was honestly a cute sight, and [Y/N] was proud that they had enough courage to talk to Kinger for once, cause now this was happening. Even if they weren't close, it was comfortable.
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BONUS:!!!!!!!!!!
When the two woke up, Kinger found himself laying on top of [Y/N]'s chest. And, being the old alzimers insane guy he is, screamed at the top of his lungs upon seeing the sight. He was quick to apologize though, and [Y/N] accepted the apology.
Then, they spent the rest of their day sitting in the pillow fort and reading over the book until [Y/N] forced they stopped, because; "I don't want to spoil the whole book for you!". When in reality, they just really wanted to come back and read the rest later, so rhat they spent more time together tomorrow and not the entire day today.
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1709 words!!