AN: I'm back from my vacation!
Those within the Stein household couldn't help but silently curse at those who had hurt Bendy. (In Sammy's case, the cursing wasn't silent in the slightest but being part toon meant that any attempt at cussing was immediately censored with random cartoon noises. This of course just frustrated Sammy making curse, even more, leading to long streams of cartoon noises before Sammy tired himself out.) Bendy had been doing so well in his recovery, becoming confident in even the dark elements of his personality. But after being nearly killed by the mob over a week ago, there was a lot of regression in the toon's progress.
Oh sure, the little Ink Demon tried his very best to act like he wasn't affected by what happened, but he wasn't fooling any of his friends or family. His smiles were less genuine, he wasn't nearly as open or energetic, and he was once again spending a lot of time alone in his room. The neighborhood kids told them of how he would warily watch the adults nearby and that he would stick close to one of them whenever an adult got close. It broke the family's hearts to see Bendy like this, but there didn't seem to be much they could do other than continually assure the demon they loved him and were there for him.
Alice paced quietly outside of Bendy's room, wondering whether it was a good idea for her to talk to the devil or not. It had been sadly obvious that Bendy was very uncomfortable whenever he was around her. The little angel didn't hold it against the demon, of course, being a partially holy being would, of course, make him nervous after being ambushed in a church and nearly killed by sacred objects. But Bendy was her brother and she didn't want to spend the rest of their lives with him flinching away from her touch as if she'd burn him.
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves she opened Bendy's door and went inside. Bendy was sitting on his bed, holding an open book though it was obvious he wasn't reading it. Ink Blot was sitting between his horns, sleeping with her tail flicking occasionally. Boris was also there sleeping with little Z's floating above his head. He was partially curled around Bendy, one arm draped over the demon like he was holding a teddy bear. Boris had become pretty protective of the little Ink Demon, staying close to his side whenever he could.
Bendy looked up as Alice came in, setting his book down as the angel sat on the edge of the bed, making sure there was enough room between them for the demon to feel comfortable. Alice didn't say anything at first and several minutes passed by in awkward silence.
"I'm sorry Alice," Bendy whispered, looking away from the angel in shame. "I know I've hurt your feelings a lot recently… and I'm trying to stop…"
"Bendy… Bendy…" Alice cut in softly, getting him to stop his apology. She wanted desperately to hug him and let him know it was alright, but she knew that would only do more harm than good at the moment. "I'm not mad at you… I could never be mad at you for something like what you're going through. If anyone deserves my wrath it would be the ones that hurt you so badly. Bendy… I just want to help you… You've helped me so much in the past… I just want to do the same for you…"
"I… I don't know how you can…" Bendy replied softly. "You can't help the fact that you have a slightly holy aura. You've always felt a bit warmer than the others to me because of that. It's never bothered me before… but now… I just remember the energy of the church and holy water melting me… I… I don't know how long it'll take me to get over that…"
"It's alright Bendy…" Alice assured, ignoring the tear running down her cheek. "I understand… I just want you to know I love you, Bendy… you and Boris and even the Butcher Gang have become like brothers to me. I will always be here for all of you as you guys have been here for me… I'll wait as long as you need for you to feel comfortable around me again… I promise…"
Alice began to get up when Bendy called for her to wait. She looked back at Bendy to see the demon slowly and hesitatingly reaching for her. Alice made sure not to move, letting Bendy get closer at his own pace. Slowly, Bendy moved his hand towards Alice's. When he touched her, he initially drew back slightly at feeling the warmth of holy energy. Taking a deep breath, Bendy once again touched her, laying his hand on top of hers. Alice watched with a combination of happiness and concern at Bendy working to overcome his fear, for she could see how hard this was for Bendy.
It was several more minutes finally calmed down enough for Alice to feel confident enough to slowly turn her hand over so she could Bendy's hand as well. She smiled softly at Bendy who gave her a small smile back. Suddenly Boris, who had woken up at some point without them noticing, scooped up the other two toons into a hug. Bendy and Alice both squeaked in surprise at the sudden close contact with both the wolf and each other. Boris then gave each of them a happy lick, making Alice's hair look ridiculous and causing Ink Blot to meow in protest. The demon and angel looked at each other for a moment before bursting out in giggles.
Boris' tail wagged happily at seeing the two others finally relaxed around each and the toons all began to have fun. They told stories and jokes, played games and chased each other around. Their loud laughter brought smiles to those in the rest of the house. While everyone knew that Bendy would still need time to recover from this latest setback, seeing and hearing the demon and angel once again comfortable around each other gave everyone hope. No matter what happened, and what obstacles they faced, together they would always be able to overcome whatever was thrown their way.