Words Unspoken [Challenge AT]

Kronos wasn't fond of Tunic retreating back to her chair; the visage made the teenager feel talked down too, which was one of the better ways to push his buttons; at the same time, she was clearly making an effort to try and talk, so he pushed on as well. There was a familiar embarrassment in the Saiyan's eyes as they went over their next set of words, sandwiched between anger and misery. "It's not that you're weak, it's that I've gotta be strong enough to protect you--"

"--and everyone else. That's what being a superhero is about, Tuny...but I can't protect anyone! I try, but it never works out, and I keep getting worse and worse at it--but this isn't the fuckin' point!" Kronos growled to both Tunic and themselves, doing his best to get a grip on their self-loathing. "I call ya strong all the time. Of all people, I don't need to be told how strong you are, okay? But that doesn't make you invincible, because it sure as hell didn't for my parents. So don't blame me for trying to stop the past from rhyming."

For the first time, the Tuffle started to actively walk towards Tunic. "You are not weak. You are the furthest fuckin' thing from 'delicate'. But I cannot let you get hurt. Even if you were a stranger, I'd feel like shit from seeing what Komashitsu did to you--but you're not." He was now a few inches from Tunic, staring right into her eyes with a desperate, pleading expression. "Meeting ya at your courtyard is the literal best thing that's happened to me ever since I made the Teens. You're one of the few people in this universe that makes me feel less alone. I swear, when ya kissed me for the first time, the Earth could have exploded and I wouldn't have noticed--"

"--and when I saw the demon spider at your house, I almost shut down." With the memories flooding back into their thoughts, a small tear ran down the Saiyan's face, choking their voice with a series of sobs. "Do y-you know what that would've been like? You, dying for nothing because I wasn't fast enough? Losing the one person, the one fucking person that I care about because I wasn't strong enough to save them? All over again?. If you had died back there--if it had just been a little bit worse--"

At the thought of putting into words how he'd feel, Kronos finally lost their composure, burying his head in his jacket in a futile attempt to mask their sobbing. He felt sick to his stomach from revisiting these emotions, but if they were going to understand each other, this was something he needed to do. 'C'mon,' he thought. 'Just a little more, Krono.'

After a hefty amount of crying, he dried their eyes off their jacket, taking one last step towards Tunic before gently attempting to grab their hand. "...if you died back at the cultist attack, I'd have died too. Because..."

He took a deep breath, then another. Everything he'd ever known about how life worked told him that this was a mistake. Yet all it took was one last look at Tunic's eyes to disagree. If he backed away now--if he minced words to try and soften their tone--then he'd be a coward. And if there was anything, literally anything he could count on being good at, it was facing a challenge.