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Red heard a soft knock on the door, and he opened it to find Maya standing outside. She had her head down and her hands laced together in front of her. “I know it’s late, but can we talk for a little bit?” she murmured.
“Of course.” Red stepped back to welcome her in, leading her to the bed and laying himself down. Tears soaked her ruffled cheek feathers, something he hadn’t noticed until she stepped out of the dim nighttime lighting in the corridor and into his quarters. “C’mere, Maya. What’s the matter? You look sad.”
“It’s just...” She choked back a sob and nestled herself in front of him. “I’ve been thinking about my parents a lot lately.”
“Aww, poor girl. What’s got you thinking about them? Do you want to talk about it?”
She nodded weakly, holding back tears. “I—it happened ten years ago this week.”
“Wow... ten years, huh? I’m sorry.” He remained silent for a moment. “Hey, I know it’s hard to deal with this kind of pain. Sometimes all that raw emotion just boils over, and all you want to do is cry. If that’s how you feel, I’m here for you.”
“Oh, Red...” She burst into tears and buried her face in his chest. “I miss them so much,” she sobbed.
“I know, baby. I’m listening.”
“I—I just wish I could hug Mom one more time, or go into town with Dad like we used to on the weekends, but I’ll never get to ever again. Why did they have to go so soon?” she sobbed. “They knew what’d happen to me without them, and they still left me! I’m so fucking mad at them! How could they do that to me?! Why was that asshole Kluex more important than their own children? It doesn’t make any sense!”
“I don’t know,” Red murmured, squeezing her tight and patting her on the back. Seeing her like this brought tears to his eyes, too, and although his first instinct was to hold his emotions in, he figured it’d help her feel less alone if he let himself share in her grief.
“I-I’m so afraid of being alone. I already lost my parents, and I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost you, too. I’m so worried something might happen to you, or you’ll decide I’m not enough for you, or... or...” She couldn’t bring herself to continue through the tears. “Please hold me, Red...”
He paused to pull the comforter over the two of them, bundling Maya up tight in his embrace. “Are you really that concerned that you might lose me?”
She nodded. “I think about it all the time. It scares me a lot.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.” He planted a tender kiss on her forehead. “I’m right here. I’ll hold onto you for as long as you want, and I won’t let go until you’re ready. Now, I want you to take deep breaths for me, okay? In... and out... nice and slow,” he murmured, slowing his own breathing to help her keep pace.
She followed his instructions, drawing a shivering breath and releasing it as smoothly as she could manage.
“Again. In... and out. You’re doing great.”
She inhaled again, a little steadier this time, and exhaled slowly.
“That’s it. Keep it up.”
Slowly but surely, her ragged sobs calmed. “Thank you,” she sniffled. “I’m sorry for being so clingy.”
“It’s okay,” Red whispered. “It’s understandable that you want to be close to me when you’re afraid of being alone. That’s your way of assuring yourself that you have someone to take care of you. I don’t mind. I think it’s kind of sweet.”
She nodded and sighed softly. “Still, I hate making you comfort me like this.”
“Hey, we’ve talked about this. You’re never ‘making’ me do anything. I’m taking care of you because I love you.”
“Yeah, but... I wish I could just cope on my own, you know? I feel like I should be able to, but here I am dragging someone else into the fight because I’m too weak to help myself.”
“Maya, Maya, Maya...,” Red chided her. “You’ve gotta stop being so hard on yourself. You’ve had such a rough life. You spent your formative years without your parents and ran away when you were still just a kid. Then you, a little four-foot-nine teenager, made it all the way through the Academy as one of the best mechanics in your wing. Then you had to go through the death of a friend and losing your entire livelihood, and you were only twenty-two.”
“So what?” she sniffled. “Why am I being such a little pussy now, then?”
“Don’t talk about yourself like that.” He nudged her beak upwards with his hand, guiding her to look him in the eye. “You were strong enough to survive all that, but nobody comes out of that much struggle without emotional wounds. You’re not just ‘being a pussy’ for no reason. You’re weak because you’re hurt.” He smoothed out her tousled, tear-soaked cheek feathers with his thumb. “Maybe it’s time to take a break and let someone help you heal. You can’t keep doing this to yourself forever. If you don’t let someone bear some of that weight for you, you might snap.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “B-but—”
“No buts. You need help. Don’t you trust me?”
“Aww, Red, of course I trust you...” She broke down and hugged him tight. “I just don’t wanna bring you down with me,” she sobbed.
“You won’t. I’ll be fine, I promise.” He squeezed her in his arms, murmuring right into her ear. “I’m willing to do it for you, so will you do it for me?”
She met his tearful gaze. “I-I don’t know if I can—”
“Please?” he begged in the saddest whimper he could muster. “Please, sweetheart? For me?”
She sighed and nodded weakly. “Okay,” she sniffled. “I will.”
“Do you promise?” Red asked pointedly.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I promise.”
“Are you sure?” He pushed her away a little, forcing her to look him in the eye. “You don’t sound very sure.”
“I’m sure.”
“I don’t believe you,” he said with a concerned scowl on his face. “Don’t just say that to shut me up. I need you to commit to it.”
She firmly nodded her head. “I’ll do it for you. I promise.”
“Good. I’m gonna hold you to that, but for now, just try and relax. Let your feelings out. That’s step one.” Red let her cry for a little while, rubbing her back as she sobbed into his chest. With time, she seemed to calm down, but no doubt this episode would’ve taken its toll on her. Besides, it was almost midnight, so it was long past time for bed. “This must be exhausting for you. Maybe we should settle down for the night. Are you comfortable?”
“Mm-hmm,” she whimpered, shuffling herself around under the covers and nuzzling her beak into his neck. As much as Red’s stern attitude made her uneasy, he was the only person she had, and she’d take any comfort she could get. Besides, she knew he meant well.
“Come here, sweetpea,” he whispered, pulling his vulnerable companion close. “I know you’ll stumble sometimes, and that’s okay. I don’t expect you to be perfect. All I ask is that you let me help you back up when you’re down.”
“I understand,” Maya murmured. “I promise I’ll do my best. It helps to know you’ll be there for me.”
“Always, my darling.” Red reached over to turn off the light. “Please, don’t be afraid to wake me if you need anything, even if you just wanna talk some more.” He planted a tender kiss on her crest. “Sleep well, Maya. I love you.”
"Thank you," she whispered. She nuzzled her beak into his chest and let out a sigh of contentment, and his familiar scent and his cozy warmth soothed her anxiety a little. "I love you too."