Chapter Text
Red was never one to count his ducklings before they hatched. He'd had too many deals go sour, too many friendships and relationships he'd thought were solid that collapsed under the pressure of Underfell. He no longer believed in things like love at first sight, happily ever after, meant to be, or anything of that sort.
Trust, though, that can be earned. It's quantifiable through trials and tribulations, can be shown by keeping promises and secrets over time. Sure, he makes it hard on people, since he's notoriously slow to trust and skeptical to a fault, but it's possible. Barely, but possible.
So how the fuck you managed to squirrel past all his defenses and root yourself directly into his fucking soul, he has no clue. Edge had asked him what it was about you, and he couldn't say, simply stating he could just feel that you were good.
He tried not to fall in love too fast, if only for the sake of sparing himself the inevitable teasing. But it was difficult when you were just so damned cute with everything you did. He'll pretend to be awake at 3am if it means you can call him to gush about the end of the show you were binging on Netflix right now. He'll spend three hours learning how to fold an origami frog simply because he lied to impress you and you asked for one. He'll clean the whole house twice if he knows you're coming over, and then spend another 30 minutes strategically rearranging so it looks like he hadn't cleaned.
Long story short, he'll do anything for you. That includes not moving a goddamn inch right now, seeing as you had curled up against his side while watching the documentary he had picked and promptly fallen asleep. His arm was starting to tingle, but he couldn't care less, living exclusively on cloud nine.
He caught the raised eyebrow of his brother, and scowled at him.
"fuck off, boss," he hissed, as quietly as he could.
Edge hummed, tilting his head and smirking as he pulled out his phone.
"don't!" Red whisper-shouted, but Edge paid him no mind, slowly swiping his code in and holding it up. Red got quieter, miming to emphasize. "i'll fucking kill you!"
Edge only grinned, that sadistic, twisted smile he gets when he really had the upper hand, and Red glared at him as he heard the quiet shutter noise a few times.
Then, like the absolute asshat his brother is, he pocketed his phone and picked up a thick textbook from the table, holding it out in front of him.
"you'll be dead before it hits the fucking ground, little brother," he muttered, his voice strained by the whisper-shouting.
Pinkies lift.
"fuck you!"
Ring fingers.
Red raised his free hand and used his middle finger to draw across his throat and then flip Edge off.
And he dropped the book.
You jumped up like a startled cat, a small yelp as you landed right on top of Red, who flailed and tried to catch you. Edge snickered at the antics, making a tactical retreat.
"Ah, she awakes!" He said as he left the room. "Dinner is in five, don't cuddle too hard or you might dislocate something."
You turned a groggy look of confusion toward the doorway where he'd disappeared, and Red sighed, resigning himself to beating his brother's ass later.
Instead, he hooked one arm under your butt and hauled you closer, enjoying the soft squeak of surprise as he did.
"mornin', sweetheart. didja have good dreams?"
You giggled, leaning back and stretching so your shirt rode up just a tiny bit. "Well, they're always good when I'm around you. But it's much more fun to be awake, since I get to enjoy my time with you."
He snorted, pulling you back in to snuggle up beside him again.
"agreed, but uh, s'okay if you wanna sleep on me, too. i don't mind."
As you snuggled back in, he could feel his grin widening.
Yeah, trust comes tough for him, and he can't exactly explain why it didn't for you.
But he ain't exactly complaining.