Good morning, day, or evening to you, dear reader! Welcome to another set of drabbles. These ones are not themed for any specific event: instead, they are written as requests for my followers on Tumblr. (If you don't know, my blog there is only-lonely-stars.) Anybody can request a drabble by sending me an ask with a prompt (even if you don't have an account!). For this particular game, every prompt is a title. As such, I write the story around it, rather than the other way around.
If you would like me to write a drabble for you, send me an ask there! It's as easy as just a few clicks. For now, enjoy these drabbles! I'll be posting them as I post them on Tumblr.
Prompt: "Are you going to cry?" (Requested by fishybehavior on Tumblr)
The hero knelt, bowing the knee to a child much smaller than he. The child looked up at him, uncertain and red-eyed. He was a little boy of no more than eight, completely alone, seeming to be afraid.
The hero smiled at him. "Hello there, little one. Where is your family?"
The child sniffled. "I… I lost my mom. She was just here, b-but now she's gone. I don't know where she went..."
"I see." The hero placed a hand on the child's shoulder comfortingly. "Do you need help?"
The child sniffled more, nodding furiously. He scrubbed at his eyes. "I just want to find my mom."
"Okay. I will help you find her." The hero searched the child's face. "Are you going to cry?"
"N-no…" The boy scrubbed at his eyes again.
"Alright. It's okay if you do, just a little bit."
"Mommy said boys aren't supposed to cry… and that girls aren't either," the boy said through his sniffles. "She says crying doesn't fix problems."
"She's right," the hero began. As the child looked at him questioningly, he elaborated. "Crying doesn't fix it, but it helps you. It lets you calm down, if you let yourself cry, just a little bit. Doesn't crying make you feel better sometimes?"
The boy nodded, lip quivering. "I'm not supposed to cry much… Mom says tantrums are bad."
"They are, but a few tears are nothing like a tantrum. They let you stop feeling so stressed." The hero offered a hand. "You can cry a little bit, and then we can find your mother together. Does that sound alright to you?"
The boy took his hand, wiping away a few stray tears that were quickly replaced. "You can find her?"
"Yes. We can together."
The child managed a little smile. "Okay."