OK, this already must seem like a very strange story. There's a very interesting history behind how this story came to be, and the context of which would be a very long tale to tell, but to put it simply...

This is from an AU of Cardfight! Vanguard in which Aichi and Misaki got sent to an inter-dimensional nexus that essentially sends people from different universes there. This is the setting of a crossover roleplay I'm part of, and this is set in that setting. It's in the future, long after they've gone home, and he and Misaki have started a life together.

Their experiences there did have effects on Aichi, specifically in the form of the things he's shown to struggle with in this fic.

There is a tiny reference to the Gundam EXA series in this fic, as Aichi befriended Leos Alloy from it. Calling this a crossover with Gundam is mostly just for the sake of being proper. Literally the only thing really Gundam-related is Leos's name.

Overall knowledge of the crossover roleplay and the Gundam EXA series are not needed to understand or enjoy this fic (especially since the nexus is mentioned in the story proper).

With that, I hope you enjoy the story!

POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNINGS: Night terrors (Not seen onscreen, but they're referred to notably and they are a major theme here. They are described a little, but not to the extent of seeing it in action in great detail), references to trauma (Not descriptive or referred to as such, and what caused the trauma is unexplored), and the idea of a three year old being near an electrical outlet unattended.

DISCLAIMER: Cardfight! Vanguard belongs to Bushiroad. Gundam EXA belongs to Sunrise Inc. and Bandai Namco. I do not stand to profit from this work in any way.

Mr. Aichi Sendou is a very busy man.

Upstairs in Card Capital, Aichi sits at a desk, dealing with some sort of paperwork that needs to be gotten out of the way. It's honestly a rather dull task, but he's not complaining. He's actually very busy a good amount of the time, and even just doing something like some boring paperwork on his day off is a nice, slow change. Today's the day of the week that Card Capital's closed as well, so Misaki's home too, taking care of their three year old son while he finishes this up.

Their son's name is Ryusei. He's very small, not unlike how Aichi was as a child. Aichi, as the boy's father, was naturally very nervous at first, seeing how small the kid was when he was born. Was he healthy? Was something wrong? Did he get cursed with Aichi's small stature? There were a lot of things that made him nervous when Ryusei was born, and he couldn't help but worry for him.

However, he seems to be developing nicely. Ryusei is actually very bright, grasping concepts fairly well already. Socialization is apparently rather difficult, but in other areas he's, as far as Aichi knows, doing great. Ryusei is Aichi's first (and perhaps only) child, and he wants to make sure the boy grows up healthy, strong, and happy. Even if he's a little small at this point, Aichi feels so much relief and joy at the idea of his little boy being so energetic and intelligent (Or perhaps the latter is just the biased lens of a father?).

Aichi can't help but smile a bit again, thinking of Ryusei. Honestly, he's just a little bundle of joy, and makes the hardest of days just a little easier to deal with. Whether it be his eagerness to play with his parents, all of the times he gets excited watching people cardfight in the store, or sitting in his parents' laps looking at their cards as they sort through their decks. Ryusei brightens both of his parents' lives, even if they can get rather exhausted.

While things are quite different from those hectic, chaotic days of the inter-dimensional nexus, it doesn't mean that the two parents can't be hit with some very frustrating and dreary days. It's been a long time since those days in the nexus. Contact isn't exactly feasible for him and Misaki, sadly. Dimensional travel isn't something they have the ability to do, and it's only that their friends can visit their dimension rather than being able to go out and check on everyone, themselves.

Those days were so many years ago now, but it still feels as though they were only yesterday.

Aichi recounts these memories quite often. The friends he made, the things he learned, the growth he gained… Those days ended up shaping more of him for the future than he had even realized at the time. So many things led to this future, and he wouldn't trade it for anything. For the most part, those memories he has brings him nothing but happiness. Even the bad ones tend to have a silver lining; the fact that it brought him closer to his friends, and helped him grow stronger.

But… not all of them bring that happiness and comfort. There are some… Some that he wishes would stop haunting him. Ones that make some nights sleepless, even to this day. Ones that make him sometimes feel like something's hanging over his shoulder, waiting to twist him into something else. Ones that make the world around him feel a little less bright during some of those bad days, bringing him down.

These memories… These are the ones that make him scream in the middle of the night.

They're memories that are so blurred to him now… Ones that he knows shouldn't haunt him at all. He was forgiven for those things long ago, and the memories of those events have faded to such a strong extent… Wouldn't that prevent them from haunting him so deeply? That he would be able to move on without fear…?

Apparently not.

He has night terrors and nightmares. The attacks are very intense. Misaki has figured out the pattern to the night terrors, at least. She wakes him up around fifteen minutes before they'd normally occur, just as recommended. Most of the time it works, but every so often it seems as though it fails to prevent it. After all, he has nightmares he wakes up from as well as legitimate night terrors.

It makes him feel guilty that Misaki goes out of her way to do it for him. She's his wife, and he loves her dearly. He knows that doing this does a number on her as well, needing to deal with it every night. It always amazes him how patient Misaki can be… Even though they've been together for over a decade now, he never ceases to be shocked by her consideration towards him…

Misaki assures him that it's fine each time he brings it up, and of course there's more than just his sake that Misaki's doing it. This reason is one that only makes him feel even guiltier about this entire struggle of his with those demented, locked away feelings and memories.

Ryusei has had the displeasure of waking up in the middle of the night, crying, because of Aichi's screaming. It doesn't happen all the time. Sometimes Ryusei sleeps deeply enough that he doesn't have to go through it… but others? Other times it's impossible for Misaki to get him to go back to sleep. Aichi can't do anything at that point either, as he's too heavily panicked from the haze over his senses. He has to struggle trying to get a grasp on reality once he's awake, and he pretty much gets stuck falling back asleep, exhausted.

It has actually reached the point that Ryusei can get nervous around Aichi, something that honestly breaks Aichi's heart. He scares his own son because of bad experiences and memories he can't seem to get to cease. It only makes his own feelings of the matter worse.

As of late, the attacks are growing more frequent. Perhaps it's the stress from his very busy project at work building up on him, perhaps it's that he's aware how much it scares his son, perhaps it's that he can see how tired Misaki can be while dealing with this…

This entire mess is causing strain on his family, and he doesn't know what to do.

...Oh. The paperwork is finally done. He's not sure how or when he did it, considering how deeply he was wrapped up in his own thoughts, worries, and fears. Not that he's complaining though, it means there's more time to spend with his family. At the very least, he can manage a smile at that…

However, his thoughts come to a screeching halt when he suddenly notices something appearing in the corner of his vision. He turns, and…

"Hmm? Ryusei?"

What do you know? Ryusei's right there holding… something covered in tissues? Naturally Aichi's perplexed, but he does his best to hide that confusion behind a smile.

Just seeing the child here is enough to help him forget about those terrible feelings going through his head, and he's thankful that the boy's approached him like this.

"What's that you're holding?"

Perhaps some parents would be frustrated with the wasted tissues, but Aichi's far more patient than that. He encourages Ryusei to experiment with things, and will gently tell him when he shouldn't do something. This is something he'll have to say in a few moments, after he gives the kid a chance to… do or say whatever it is he's wanting to do or say.

Ryusei is holding up the object, wrapped with tissues… He's not smiling right now, which is something that definitely catches Aichi's attention. Ryusei tends to be a bundle of energy when he's not scared, so seeing him be quiet like this is concerning.

Although… Aichi gets the sense that he's not scared. This quietness is a little different… Solemn…? It's definitely surreal, coming from the normally energetic little boy.

"P-Present..."

Aichi can't help but seem a bit more confused. A present…? What prompted this? He can't help but be curious, especially since Ryusei hasn't really ever tried to do something like this before. Still, he gets the smile back again, not wanting to give the poor kid the wrong message.

"A present? For me?"

Ryusei nods to this, still being rather quiet.

"Uh-huh… For Dad…!"

The kid does speak like that sometimes, not saying things such as 'you'... Speech like this isn't something he's grown out of yet, and he's prone to referring to people by their names or titles. This is something he'll eventually grow out of, from what Aichi has learned from consulting the internet and books about child development (As mentioned, Aichi once upon a time was very nervous for his son and crammed everything he could about children, their development, and how to raise them).

Still, Ryusei is apparently giving him a present? That's very odd. From what Aichi knows, kids don't tend to really start doing things like this until they're a bit older… Did something happen to prompt him to do this?

He can't turn down the poor boy's gift though, especially considering the fact that he went through the trouble of trying to 'wrap' it. It's no wonder the kid went for tissues, they're something he can easily get to without assistance. After all, they try to encourage him to blow his nose when needed...

"That's very sweet of you. Thank you, Ryusei…"

"Mmhmm…!"

Honestly, Aichi feels bad for his son apparently feeling the necessity to do this. After all, children aren't supposed to up and give their parents gifts like this. Parents are supposed to spoil the child! It's just so strange, and it feels as though it came out of nowhere.

Aichi rubs the boy's head with a smile, only gently ruffling his hair a bit. This is something he does with Ryusei. Perhaps he sort of picked it up from Leos's hair ruffling when they were younger, but Aichi supposes that it doesn't matter. Ryusei doesn't seem to have any problems with it, and has even tried to reach Aichi's hand and put it on his head under the circumstances it's actually possible.

Aichi's not sure if that type of behavior is considered normal for children, but at the very least he knows that Ryusei seems to like him doing that.

But enough of that… Aichi's been keeping Ryusei waiting long enough, and 'unwraps' the present carefully. It's probably nothing fragile, but Aichi still wants to be gentle with the gift he's being given. Ryusei apparently took far more consideration than he could have imagined for this… or at least as much consideration as a three year old boy could manage. At the very least, Aichi can show that same kind of respect and consideration while 'unwrapping' it.

What could it be? Honestly, Aichi has no idea what Ryusei could have up his sleeve for this. He's a small boy with such a small 'world' around him at this point… What could he have decided to give him? What could he have even gotten to give him?

Ryusei watches this, beginning to smile a little. His dad's already happy with it! He hasn't even seen what it is yet, and he's smiling and everything!

Eventually the gift is revealed, and Aichi blinks again. It's…

"...Eh? This is…"

...Ryusei's night light…? It's a rather small one, small enough that it could be obscured by the tissues and for Aichi to be unable to identify it until 'unwrapping' it.

The first thing that immediately comes to mind for Aichi is that Ryusei most likely unplugged the night light, himself. Ryusei is usually very good about listening to his parents, and he could have sworn that they got the outlets in Ryusei's room covered so he wouldn't mess with them. Even so, this is still very concerning. What if he did get to the outlet by himself?

"Ryusei, did you unplug this by yourself?"

Aichi asks that notably seriously, seeing as the kid could have been seriously hurt if he messed with the outlet. He doesn't mean to seem harsh, but he's being rather firm about it.

Ryusei's smile disappears, and he shakes his head rather quickly. His dad's unhappy now? He didn't do anything wrong…!

"N-No… Mommy helped…!"

He says that a bit nervously again. He doesn't want to get in trouble! Poor boy's seeming a bit upset now, and Aichi backpedals. Aichi didn't mean to hurt the little guy's feelings…

"O-Oh…"

Aichi's not prone to stuttering anymore, but it slipped out when he realized he upset his son. That's the last thing he wants to do, especially when his son is trying to be so generous…

Perhaps he was a little quick to get firm about that. He wanted to make one hundred percent positive that he was aware that it was dangerous for him to bother the outlets by himself, but perhaps his worry made him just a little too harsh towards the poor boy and his feelings… Aichi can't help but feel guilty, seeing how Ryusei's smile faded with that.

"I'm sorry, Ryusei, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings… It's just that I was very worried when the image of you trying to unplug this, yourself, came to mind… But if Mommy helped you, then it's OK."

He smiles a bit again, trying to let the poor boy know that it's perfectly OK if his mother was involved. Perhaps there's a chance Ryusei could be lying, but he wants to trust his son… and besides, he can check with Misaki later…

...But just what was on Misaki's mind when she did this…?

Ryusei is still looking nervous…

"...I-It's OK…?"

But his dad was just unhappy with him about it a minute ago… It's OK when Mommy's involved, but not if he did it? He doesn't entirely get it, but his dad doesn't talk like that often… He doesn't like it when his dad gets that more firm tone of voice because it makes him feel bad.

He's going to listen to his dad, and make sure he doesn't bother the outlets without either his mother or father with him, if only so he doesn't make his dad sound like that again.

Aichi nods with a soft smile on his face. He wants to assure Ryusei that it's all fine. After all, he was a good boy and talked to his mother before doing this, and he's not being punished for it. Being gentle with Ryusei is better than being overly harsh, after all. Aichi knows how it feels having people misunderstand him as a child, and he wants for Ryusei to have the chance to express himself without fear of being misunderstood.

"Yes, it's OK… I'm very sorry for misunderstanding."

Ryusei perks up a little again, and smiles. Dad's not mad at him! Yay!

"I-It's OK…!"

Dad said it's OK, and it's OK that his dad misunderstood, too! After all, he said he was sorry, and when you say you're sorry it means that you didn't mean to!

A simple understanding of how it works, but still an understanding.

Aichi's smile brightens a little more, thankful that his son is apparently forgiving. Perhaps he's a bit more empathetic for his age than some people would have expected…

...But there's something else that Aichi needs to ask about...

"What about your night light, Ryusei? You said that the dark scares you…"

Aichi knows full well that his son is afraid of the dark. He's not entirely sure when it began, but the poor boy would ask his mom to stay in his room with him (He loves his dad, but the night terrors and Aichi's screaming…). Misaki was fine trying to stay around long enough for the poor boy to feel safe enough in his room to fall asleep for a few days, but the two parents realized they needed to do something to help him feel better in his own room… It wasn't until they managed to get him to explain what it was that scared him to the best of his ability, that they figured out that a night light was the answer.

It has most certainly helped, and Ryusei has been sleeping much more soundly.

But for him to suddenly try to give Aichi his night light… It doesn't make any sense. Why would he do this? Get himself stuck in the dark, probably too afraid to go to sleep?

It isn't long before Ryusei speaks again.

"...Y-You won't be scared…!"

"...Eh?"

Aichi's honestly not sure where this came from. He thinks that Aichi won't be scared if he has the night light? And scared of what, for that matter?

Ryusei knows full well what an 'eh' means. When his dad does that, he ends up asking questions…

"I asked Mommy why you yell at nighttime, and she said it's because you're scared."

"...!"

Aichi's actually very notably taken off guard by that. He's giving Aichi the night light because of his night terrors…? Oh dear… Aichi's just causing more trouble with these night terrors…

He can imagine the conversation with Ryusei about that wouldn't be an easy one for Misaki to have with their son. After all, the circumstances that led to their intensity are ones that he silently hopes that his son will never have to know… or even worse, experience.

To get into detail not only would have been far too intense for Ryusei, but it's highly, highly, highly unlikely that it would have made much, if any, sense to the poor boy.

He's three. Three year olds have other, more simplistic, things to worry about. Things like being afraid of the dark. Those are the things that small children should have to deal with, not things such as twisted nightmares and dark memories...

Aichi's thoughts are broken through when Ryusei speaks up again, energy present in his voice with his following words:

"I get scared at nighttime too! The night light helps!"

Ah… So that explains it…

Ryusei feels that if Aichi has the night light, he'll be less scared at night. If he's less scared at night, then he won't scream. After all, the night light makes Ryusei feel better… He expects that it'll do the same for his dad.

Honestly, Aichi's very pleased that Ryusei actually thought about this and wanted to help him. Even if something like a night light won't help with the night terrors, it honestly means the world to Aichi that his son wants to do this.

"Ryusei…"

Oh, just looking at his son and how happy he is at the idea of his dad not being afraid at night… It makes it so hard to tell him that he can't take it…

"...Won't you be scared if I have your night light, and you don't?"

He asks this rather gently. After all, having the night light would mean that Ryusei wouldn't have it. That would surely mean that he'll be afraid, all alone in his room at night, right…?

Is Ryusei really OK with that…?

It actually doesn't take long for Ryusei to speak again. He still has energy, actually sounding… a little confident?

"If Dad's not scared, then I'm not! I'm gonna be like you and not be scared!"

Dad's one of the bravest people he knows! If Dad isn't scared at night, then he won't be either! He's going to be big and brave, just like his father is! He's going to try his absolute hardest to not be scared of the dark anymore!

"..."

Aichi just… he needs a second to collect his thoughts. He finds himself looking back at the night light, thinking to himself about all of this... What it means...

Ryusei is only three years old. Three years old, and he's already doing something so brave, sweet, and difficult.

Facing one's fears… It's hard. Aichi's aware of that, just as anyone else would be. Perhaps he's even more aware of it than many…

For Ryusei to come forward with this, trying not only to ease his father's fears, but to grow beyond his own… That's just so precious, and Aichi can't even begin to imagine how he could be blessed with such an amazing son.

However, as he's silent, simply staring at the night light in his hands as the weight of this occurs to him, Ryusei grows nervous. Why's his dad being so quiet? Did
Ryusei do something bad?

"...D-Dad…? Is it bad…?"

Aichi snaps out of his thoughts when he hears that, looking back at him, and… he just can't resist kneeling down, and hugging the boy. He's getting a bit emotional with all of this happening. It's something he can't hold back from, needing to express to his son how much it means to him.

Ryusei, meanwhile, is naturally kind of baffled by the sudden, tight hug. It's sending the kid so many weird, mixed messages he hasn't developed the ability to sort through yet. However, he's not complaining. Hugs are good!

"N-No, Ryusei. It's very, very good… You're very brave and kind..."

Another stutter escapes from his lips, just a tad overwhelmed by what all of this means to him. He's not really thinking as he says this. It may very well go over the small boy's head at this age, but the fact of the matter is that Aichi's just so, so happy and proud of his little boy. He can't stay quiet about that. His son's doing something so meaningful, something Aichi empathizes with very deeply.

Perhaps he's just very sensitive to that idea, but he can't help it. Facing fears is something Aichi knows very well...

"I'm so proud of you…"

It's natural that Ryusei doesn't really get why his dad's acting like this in response to what he had to say. What really matters is that his dad's not going to be scared anymore, that he did good, and that his dad is apparently really happy.

That's enough for Ryusei.

"You're gonna use the night light?"

His dad seemed like he didn't want to use it at first, but now he's super happy… That means he's going to use it, right?

Aichi can't help but chuckle a little when he hears that. Honestly, he can't say no after this. He pulls away from the hug, although he's still right there close and in front of him.

With a soft, but very warm smile, he nods.

"Yes, I will. I promise."

It's not going to stop the screaming he does at night… but if it'll make his son happy, he'll use that night light for as long as he likes. Considering Misaki seems to have agreed with this gesture of Ryusei's, she seems to be perfectly fine with the idea of a small light in their room every night from now on as well… or at least he hopes she is. Perhaps she expected this to go differently...

"...Thank you, Ryusei… We'll both be brave from now on, OK?"

Ryusei beams, and nods with a smile.

"Yeah!"

The two of them will be brave together, facing two different, yet very linked, fears.

Morning comes, and Aichi is just finishing up cooking breakfast for the family.

He naturally used the night light last night, even if he knew that it wouldn't make much difference in terms of how his nightmares and night terrors work… He promised he would use it, and he did. He wouldn't lie to Ryusei like that.

In fact… it was a rather nice night's sleep, for the first time in a long while. It wasn't perfect, of course. He's still drained from working so hard and the stress… but something about last night really was just a little better…

Although… Ryusei walks in from his room, seeming extra sleepy this morning. Aichi looks down towards him with a smile as starts getting the food all set up… Misaki's probably getting cleaned up, so it'll be a few more minutes before she's out here. For now, it's just him and Ryusei.

"Good morning, Ryusei... "

Ryusei mumbles what is probably a 'good morning'. Honestly, Aichi can't help but be very worried as he watches the kid seems to struggle staying awake while standing. Aichi knows how it is having a rough time waking up in the mornings, but this is worse… Ryusei shouldn't be waking up so very tired...

"Are you feeling all right…?"

Was the poor boy scared to death, and just tried to keep it to himself the whole night…? Aichi hopes not. He doesn't want Ryusei struggling because he has Ryusei's night light...

Ryusei is still very sleepy-seeming, but he does look up at his dad.

"...Didn't yell…"

Aichi blinks when Ryusei says that. 'Didn't yell'...? What is he-

Aichi stops, eyes widening as the realization creeps up on him. What Ryusei's saying… Is he saying that...

"Did you… stay awake that late…?!"

That… That can't be right. Aichi tucked him in bed, himself. He made sure the kid went to bed. Ryusei is three years old, so there's no way he was able to stay awake that late, right?!

"...Make sure… not scared…"

Ah, it's hard for the poor kid to talk while he's so tired… Aichi can't help but be shocked, and frankly very worried for the kid… After all, staying awake so late isn't healthy for a three year old like Ryusei. He needs all of the rest he can get, and it's concerning that Ryusei not only tried to stay up late, but actually managed to.

Aichi sighs a little, before speaking a bit more seriously than he was with a hint of firmness in his response.

"Ryusei… You shouldn't have stayed up so late like that..."

They're very lucky it's the weekend, otherwise this would have gone badly for preschool… Ryusei is so tired that he's not even able to properly apologize, either, sort of just leaning against his dad.

Aichi's expression softens a bit, knowing that he can't leave Ryusei like this. He is just too sleepy as he is right now, and it's only a matter of time he ends up conking out. Can he even eat breakfast with how tired he seems…?

So Aichi comes to a quick solution.

"...Come on, you need a little more sleep…"

There's no way the kid'll be able to function throughout the day if he doesn't sleep more… This isn't going to be a frequent thing, letting him sleep in, but for today…

...Aichi supposes it's all right. He'll talk to Misaki about this mishap later.

With that, Aichi makes sure the food's not going to burn or anything, gently picks up his sleepy son, and begins carrying him off to his room.

"...I'm very glad you weren't scared… and thank you..."

He says that, softly. He can't help but get a gentle smile about this whole thing. Ryusei wanted so desperately for Aichi to sleep well, that he tried so hard to stay up to make sure Aichi didn't scream that night. Granted, doing so wouldn't guarantee anything, but he's a small child. A mistake like that can be forgiven.

It even seems like being alone in his room at night didn't scare Ryusei at all. He was trying so hard to make sure Aichi would be all right that he didn't let himself be afraid. Aichi feels even more proud of his dear, sweet son just thinking of it.

Ryusei mumbles a bit, although it's completely incoherent. It seems as though he sort of drifts back to sleep while being carried to his room, relaxing as his dad holds him. His dad wasn't scared last night, and that's what really matters to him...

Things are going to be better for the family from now on. All three of them will sleep much better, unhindered by things such as fear...

Aichi's sure of it.

The mental image of this little scene of Aichi's son giving him a night light to try to help him be less "scared" at night while not understanding why Aichi would be screaming came across as a very sweet and kind of sad mental image.

I had to write it down. I actually didn't originally plan to share it, but I finally decided it might be worth sharing with people!

I honestly hope you all like it!