You got home a little later than expected, your workload piling up due to a labor shortage
Most of the lights were off, a sign you had come to know that meant that Kronii was huddled up in her room streaming or playing vidya
You took off your coat and stretched, then yawned
Today had been a bitch, but now you had the entire weekend to look forward to
Flicking on all the lights, you finally approached Kronii’s room, putting an ear to the door to make sure she wasn’t streaming
It didn’t sound like it, but something was off
There were no gwaks or the sound of a mouse scrolling through a webtoon
No sounds of her raging at a difficult section of a game or the telltale clangs and explosions from a mecha anime
Just a repeating voice, her voice, soft and muffled
A little confused and worried, you hurriedly opened the door to find her sitting on the edge of her bed, her face covered by her hands
The light from the hallway alerted her to your presence and she quickly rubbed at her eyes before rising to greet you
”O-oh Anon, you’re back.”
She looked disheveled
”Yeah, sorry about that, my boss had me stay late.” You spoke, noticing how she nervously hid her hands
You could tell something was off
”Everything ok?”
She tried her best to put on a happy face, but you could tell she wasn’t being truthful
”Yep, I’m fine.”
From the redness of her cheeks and the moisture around her eyes you could tell she had been crying
She quickly tried to hide the tear stains on her shirt but you’d already taken notice of them
”Kronii, I know somethings wrong.”
Her face scrunched a little and she began to slowly step away from you
”Please, tell me.”
Her voice was choked with nervousness, “I-I’m fine, I’m serious.”
No. You weren’t going to let her hide from you. You weren’t going to let her retreat into her shell of self loathing and despair
”I know you were crying. I want to help, please just tell me.”
You started walking towards her, one arm outstretched to bring her into a hug.
She was getting defensive, “I-It’s nothing. I mean it.”
You weren’t backing down
Her face went from nervousness to fear to sadness to anger in less than a second
”I told you it's nothing ok!”
”Kronii, please--”
”Just…just…just,” Tears began to well in her eyes as you backed her into the wall
”GET AWAY FROM ME!”
She shoved you hard with both arms, nearly causing you to lose your balance as you staggered back
You recovered quickly, marching back to pin her against the wall
”Please, don’t hide from me. I love you enough to tell somethings wrong, and it hurts to see you like this.”
The tears began to stream down her face as you put a hand on her shoulder, guiding her into a gentle but firm hug
She couldn’t take it anymore
She bawled her eyes out as she wailed into your chest, sobbing and sniffling as everything she had built up exploded out of her
”W-WHY ME!? WHAT DO I HAVE TO OFFER!? I’M JUST A FLAT STINKY LOSER WHO COULDN’T VOICE ACT EVEN IF MY LIFE DEPENDED ON IT! I FAIL AT EVERYTHING I TRY TO DO! I’M A FAILURE, A PATHETIC, UGLY, AND DISGUSTING FAILURE! NOBODY COULD EVER LOOK AT ME AND WANT TO LOVE ME! SO WHY!? WHY!? WHY DO YOU LOVE ME!? Why……why……”
Her tirade ended in a mixture of sobs and wails, collapsing against your chest as she held onto you for dear life
You hugged back, rocking her gently backing forth, quietly shushing her
”It's ok, it's ok. Just let it all out. Breathe in and breathe out.”
You listened to her breathing slowly return to as she finally stop shaking in your arms
”Why do I love you?” you asked as you stared down at the woman nuzzling your chest
”I love you because you’re more hardworking than you think. Because you’d never do anything to hurt me. Because of your cute gwaks and your adorable laugh. Because of your obsession with mecha and incessant reading of webtoons. Because you always try your best, even if that means failing, because you get better. I love you because of your flaws, not in spite of them. I love you for who you are, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
You gave her a little squeeze and watched as she turned her head to look straight into your eyes
You smiled, patting her head before you leaned down to give her a kiss on the forehead.
You stayed in each others arms for a little while longer until your stomach growled
You finally broke off of each other, giving her one last kiss before you stood up
The smile on her face made your heart melt
She was blushing, avoiding looking at your face
”I, um, forgot to get the groceries so all we have is some ramen..”
You ruffled her hair, “That’s fine.”
You did manage to find some leftover chicken and green onions in the fridge, adding them to cheap soup of MSG, broth, and noodles
You both relaxed on the couch, slurping away at your dinner under a warm blanket as you watched some Kamen Rider
Soon enough it was time for bed, and you had to carry the now snoring Kronii to your bedroom
Plopping her down on the bed, you adjusted the covers so they wrapped snugly around her before climbing in yourself, trying your best not to wake her
As you laid in bed, Kronii rolled over, laying on your chest as she stared deeply into your eyes
”I love you.”
”Love you too.”

t. techanon