Gruffi traced his finger along all the scars Tummi had on his body.

He went through ones that were more recent and ones that were old. Tummi kept his eyes away from meeting his eyes; he didn't want to see the look on his face seeing everything he'd done to himself. His heart pounded, feeling anxious and ashamed. Every second that passed by, he dreaded Gruffi scolding him for every cut he inflicted on himself more and more now that he could see most of them.

So far he said nothing, though Tummi didn't know if that was supposed to make him feel relieved or feel worse. Gruffi's finger eventually ended up onto his faintest yet visible scar out of them all. Admittedly, if he had to be honest, it was also his worst one. He closed his eyes as he tried to keep his breathing normal. Gruffi's thumb kept going back and forth from one end of the scar to the other.

"This was the first one, wasn't it?"

Tummi moved his head quick enough to meet Gruffi's eyes. He was sincere and he seemed more worried than aggravated. Tummi looked away as he nodded. Gruffi cupped one part of his face and gently made Tummi look at him again. He pulled him closer and their foreheads touched.

"Why do you hurt yourself like this, Tums?"

That was a tough question for Tummi to respond to. There were too many reasons for him to give a short and simple answer. It was even harder to give one when he didn't know what exactly started it all without blurring it with other reasons. He couldn't give him no answers though, he needed to say something so he wouldn't get irritated from him not responding. Tummi put his hand onto Gruffi's and opened his mouth.

"It's okay." Gruffi reassured before Tummi could say anything. "Take your time."

"But I don't wanna waste your time-"

"You won't waste my time, Tummi. You're what's important right now, even if we're here until we fall asleep."

Tummi smiled sadly; he still felt guilty he was taking time out of Gruffi's day, much more so that he could be doing something other than be there with him, but for the most part he felt relieved.

He could go on about his problems and feel like someone cared enough to hear them.