A/N: This is actually a beefed-up version of a Red x Elh story I wrote years ago when Solatorobo was first released in America. I posted on my Deviantart but never got around to posting it on here. Looks like I finally got around to doing so!
"Thanks again for the help, you three. I appreciate it!" Quebec, the old hunter and friend of Red thanked Red, Elh, and Chocolat. Red had just finished unloading the final box for a shipment that Quebec ordered. They were docked at Airedale for the rest of the afternoon and night after helping Quebec with his shipment.
"It's the least we could do, Quebec!" Red replied.
"Ya know, you three are what all hunters should strive to be." Quebec nodded his head.
"Aw sheesh, you're gonna give all of us swollen heads." Red chuckled and sweat-dropped. As the three crew members began walking back to the docks where the Asmodeus rested, Quebec stopped them. "Oh, by the way, I was listening to the news earlier. They're saying that a storm is gonna be passing through the area tonight. You three better hard-anchor the ship so you don't get knocked around inside."
"Oh? A storm? Thanks for the heads up, Quebec!" Chocolat chimed. Elh's face degraded at the announcement. Red's sensitive Caninu ears began picking up a sudden heavy breathing emanating from Elh. Red turned to see Elh frozen, her expression not faltering.
"Elh? Elh, are you okay?" Red asked worriedly. Elh snapped out of her small trance and look at Red and blinked.
"Umm…y-yes, I'm fine." Elh took a deep breath and exhaled through her tiny Felineko nostrils.
"Well, okay…you didn't look fine…" Red double-checked.
"No, really, I'm fine." She gave a fake, reassuring smile. She didn't want Red nor Chocolat to worry about her little fear. Finally, they all said their goodbyes to Quebec and walked back to the Asmodeus.
-LATER THAT NIGHT-
"Gah!" Red exclaimed quietly as he was violently rocked by the storm outside and once again being woken up. "Why'd you forget to hard-anchor the Asmodeus, Chocolat?" Red muttered to himself and shook his head. He sat up in his bed and scratched his head as he looked to the two different beds that were occupied by his two sleeping companions to see if they were okay. It was dark but the frequent flashes of lightning helped his eyes. Chocolat was fast asleep from Red's view. Red turned to Elh who seemed to keep tossing and turning in her bed.
"Is she having a bad dream? Hope she's alright." Red thought to himself, concerned for the well-being of the Felineko girl. A bright flash of lightning illuminated the entire cabin again, followed by a foundation-shaking clap of thunder. Red jumped slightly from the sudden and intense wrath of the storm. He also saw Elh jolt a little bit while Chocolat just kept sleeping soundly.
"Man, that girl can sleep." Red thought, swearing he heard snoring coming from his little sister. He decided to do the same; try to catch some Z's. He looked at Elh again just to make sure she was okay. Assuring that she looked alright, Red laid his head back down on the plush pillow and let his mind drift. About ten minutes later, he felt someone poking on his arm.
"Red?" the female voice whispered. Red could tell right away that it was Elh. Red sat up and looked to his right to see Elh standing over him. She was wearing her usual pajamas; everything looked find except for one thing: Elh was sniffing and her voice was quivering. Red was immediately concerned for Elh, hoping that she wasn't hurt. After all, she's his best friend…right?
"Elh, are you alright? Are you hurt?" Red asked extremely concerned.
"No, I'm not hurt. I'm…" Her voice trailed off. Another clap of thunder caused her to stifle a scream and cover her ears. "I'm…sc-scared…afraid of…*sniff*…thunderstorms." Elh replied. Red could tell she was beyond frightened. He had seen her freak out around insects, stand up to enemies far more powerful than her using her paladin abilities, and even helped Red save the whole world, but thunderstorms? Thunderstorms were her weakness? He could tell it was too much for her. Far too much. It must've been some sort of pathological fear from childhood. With the constant flashes of lightning, he could see that tears were pouring from her eyes and down her cheeks, soaking her velvety, periwinkle fur in the process.
"So THAT'S why you stiffened up and began panting earlier. You were afraid of the storm that Quebec mentioned, right?" Red queried. Elh confirmed by nodding silently, wiping her tears with her arm.
"Can I…*sniff*…can I…crawl into bed with you?" Elh realized the words that escaped her mouth, and a light-pink blush made its entrance on their cheeks. Red's eyes widened. Them? Sleeping together? Wouldn't it be awkward? However, there's no way he could see the frail Felineko girl cry like she was. He couldn't turn her down; she was so terrified and she needed comfort.
"Um…S…Sure, go ahead." Red could feel butterflies swarming his stomach as she climbed into the empty spot next to Red.
"Th…Thank you…Red." Elh whispered as they both laid their heads on the pillow. For now, they stayed separated. They could see each other's silhouettes outlined against the frequent snaps of room-engulfing lightning. After about 3 minutes of silence, thunder, and slow breathing, the silence was sliced.
"So…you feeling any better?" Red whispered softly.
"A little…but it sounds like you're just trying to reclaim your bed and get me out of it." She slightly pouted.
"N-no! I'm not." Red raised his voice a tad bit.
"Oh? So you DO want me to stay in the bed?" Elh smirked.
"W-what? W-well, just to help you calm down, I-I mean…" Red couldn't find the correct words. He was just fumbling catches at this point. A blast of thunder caused Elh to softly shriek and involuntarily wrap her arms around Red's body. She was shivering as if she had just arrived from Coolant, except this was a fear shiver. After she calmed down, she opened her clenched eyes to the sight and feel of a pajama-covered Caninu body. She looked up to see a grinning Red looking down at her. He decided to take a risk with his words. He decided to take a risk with his words.
"Cute." He chuckled. Normally, Elh would slap him or something, but she was too tired to do anything. Instead, she maintained where she was and kept her arms wrapped around him. Suddenly, Red found himself slowly reaching around Elh's miniscule body and pulling her close to him. She was slightly taken back by the returning gesture, but found herself accepting it by burying her head into his warm chest. To her, it was like being enveloped by a warm cocoon—a warm, hybrid, world-saving cocoon. Red's cheeks began to flush a deeper red. Another bang of thunder erupted outside and Elh whimpered.
"It's okay, Elh. It's okay. I'm here." Red spoke softly as he gingerly grabbed Elh's paw and began to slowly stroke it with his thumb. Elh finally began to fully relax. She was amazed at how Red could always make her feel better. Every time there was trouble brewing, she always felt so safe with Red. He would always protect her and always be there for her, no matter where she was. She softly cooed and buried her head deeper into his tender chest. She relaxed even more by pressing her ear against the center of his chest and listening to his soft, steady heartbeat. It was almost hard to believe that same heart was created in a laboratory. Red's blush became to a deeper hue of red.
"Red?" Elh whispered.
"Yes, Elh?" Red whispered as well.
"Thank you." Elh replied.
"For what?" Red inquired.
"For always being there for me. For looking out for my well-being. For just being you." She leaned up to Red and kissed him softly on the cheek. Red's face could've been considered a rose at this point considering the shade of the blush on his face. Red tried to speak a word. Any word. At least one word, but he founds words weren't enough. He leaned down, and kissed Elh tenderly on her cheek.
"You're very welcome." Red replied.
"And Red?"
"Yeah, Elh?"
"Remember…that simulation Merveille ran on us?" She averted her gaze in shyness.
"I still don't remember what we did in the simulation, but yeah, I remember doing the simulation. What about it? Are ya finally gonna tell me what happened in there?" Red had been wondering what happened in the simulation since Elh somehow knew.
"Well…here's…what I was I was going to tell you…I…" Elh squeaked. She tried to finish what she was going to say, but it got caught in her throat like a hairball. Red suddenly remembered. It hit him like a train. He was defending her from bugs. After he killed the bugs, Elh began pouring her emotions, telling how she couldn't feel emotions until she met Red. He even remembered what they were going to tell each other. Red cupped his paw on Elh's cheek and pressed his lips against hers, letting the tenderness multiply tenfold. A smile grew in his kiss.
"I love ya, too! I always will!"