A Comforting Kiss
Jinja sat down on the cold grass looking at her Monsuno core as the others slept in moderate silence. She couldn't sleep a wink and it was all because of what happened the other day when she almost lost Charger in a horrible landslide. Dax and Beyal had to hold her back before she caused her fingertips to bleed from digging furiously through the fallen dirt and rock. Luckily she found Charger and proceeded to cry over his safe return but something kept bothering her that she couldn't understand.
"Is everything alright Jinja?" a familiar voice asked from behind, causing Jinja to jump and look around to find Beyal gazing down at her with concern. "You seem depressed since yesterday."
Jinja gave a deep sigh and shook her head. "No matter what I do I can't fall asleep. I've tried counting and humming but nothing works! I think yesterday really got to me..."
"When you almost lost Charger in the landslide." Beyal stated softly. Sitting down next to Jinja and comforting her with his presence. He knew what it was like to almost lose a Monsuno you loved to something horrible.
Jinja rubbed her thumb across Charger's core and her eyes began to tear up. "Oh Beyal, I don't know what I would've done if I lost Charger in that landslide."
"But you didn't. That's the important thing to remember Jinja, you shouldn't let this one incident haunt you forever. Take it from me...you don't want that burden on your shoulders." Beyal said with a surprising amount of empathy in his voice more than usual. He reached out and covered her hand on the ground gently with his own and gave her a smile.
Jinja could feel a blush rising to her cheeks as she felt the heat of Beyal's hand enveloping her entire body. His hands were soft and comforting, like they were made specifically to comfort her in her times of distress.
"I know I shouldn't let it bother me too much but...I just can't stand the thought of losing Charger. It's just too painful to imagine." Jinja confessed as she used the back of her free hand to wipe away a stray tear at the corner of her eye.
Beyal was silent or a moment and then he did something Jinja never thought he'd ever do. He lightly squeezed Jinja's hand as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. His lips were warm and her mind went blank as the realization hit her that Beyal was kissing her. When he leaned back he looked away embarrassed.
"Please don't be sad Jinja. I don't like seeing you so upset." Beyal said with a small voice crack. He got up and looked over his shoulder with a bright red face. "And please don't tell the others about...that."
Jinja sat there for a while after that, trying to calm herself down. If she couldn't fall asleep before then there was no way that she would be able to sleep after a kiss like that.