"Cronus!" Kankri says in shock, grabbing the sheet off of his bed and quickly trying to cover up his naked chest. He looks over at his boyfriend with wide eyes that are brimming with tears.

"Kan?" Cronus asks in a panic, stepping into the room and approaching his boyfriend in worry.

"Go away!" The redhead yells shakily at his boyfriend, voice high due to attempting to hold back from crying. He clings tightly to the blanket in his arms, desperately trying to untangle it enough to hide the scars on his chest and arms from the gaze of the other man.

"No, Kan- Babe talk to me! Wvhat happened?!" Cronus steps closer to his boyfriend, staring at the parts of Kankri's arms that the other could not cover. Patches of his skin are raised and discolored, pale white and rough in uneven streaks across his arms moving up to his neck.

"Cronus," Kankri cries pathetically as he kneels to the ground, wrapping the blanket around himself in an attempt to hide the scars, "Don't- Cronus, please, you weren't suppose to-" Kankri chokes on his words, trying to avoid the eyes of his boyfriend.

Not listening to the other man, Cronus kneels in front of him. Unsure of what else to do, he pulls the smaller man into his lap and wraps his arms around him to hug him protectively. "Kan, angel face come on, please don't shut me out right nowv," he rushes out worriedly, shaking a bit as he holds the other teen in his arms, "I've got you."

"Cronus," The red head sobs, holding the blanket around himself tightly as he buries his face in his boyfriend's shoulder, "You weren't suppose to see. N-No one was suppose to see." The only people that have seen Kankri's burns are his younger brother and Porrim. Though he knew that Cronus would likely see them one day, he had hoped it would not be in such a sudden circumstance.

The older teen holds Kankri gently, giving the other a few minutes to calm down before asking, "What happened Kan?" His hand cards gently through the bright red of the other teen's hair, feeling the soft strands between his fingers.

The smaller teen takes a few deep breaths, making sure that he is prepared to speak before opening his mouth. "The car crash- When-," he takes another deep breath, finally wrapping one arm around Cronus to hug him back while using the other to hold his blanket around himself. "When I was little," he starts again, "My parents-"

"Eridan told me," Cronus says quietly, not wanting his boyfriend to have to talk about his parents dying if it would make him more upset.

Kankri sighs quietly, pressing a shaky kiss to Cronus's cheek lightly as he curls up against him more. "There- There was so much fire. I- I was going to tell you. I promise I was going to tell you I just- I didn't want you to see, Cronus. I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Cronus asks with a frown.

The brown eyed teen stays quiet for a moment before shrugging his shoulders slightly. Upon realizing that this is may not be an adequate answer, he sighs. "That you wouldn't like me anymore."

"Kankri, sweetheart, why wouldn't I like ya anymore?"

"Because," he shakes slightly, turning his head away a bit, "They're ugly. I'm ugly-"

"Stop that," Cronus says firmly with furrowed eyebrows, moving a hand to guide Kankri's face to look at him. "You aren't ugly, so don't say anything like that. You're gorgeous Kankri. How could you think that I wouldn't like you over this?" When his boyfriend does not respond, Cronus sighs and presses a soft kiss to the other man's lips. "Kankri," he says quietly, pressing his forehead to the other's and staring into his eyes, "I said I love you didn't I?"

The red headed teen stares at his boyfriend blankly for a moment, then wraps both of his arms around his neck to hug him closer. "Thank you, Cronus," he whispers quietly, "I love you too."

The two hold onto each other comfortably for a few minutes as they both calm down from their panic.

"Can I see?" Cronus says quietly, hesitating when he feels the other man tense up in his arms. "I don't have to," he continues, "I just-"

Kankri cuts Cronus off with a quick kiss to his lips. "Cronus, it's fine," he tells the other hesitantly, pushing away any doubt that he may feel. He wants to be able to trust Cronus with this, despite how difficult it is for him.

He takes a slow breath as he slides backwards out of Cronus's lap. He will not meet his boyfriend's eyes, staring at the wall across the room as he slowly lets the blanket fall from his shoulders.

Kankri's chest is fairly free of scars. There are a few patches across his shoulders and arms, but as the teen turns around, the other man sees where most of the scars are.

Cronus had seen these scars when he had opened the door earlier but now, up-close, he is able to get a better look at the white discolorations that scatter Kankri's back. The scars are spread over the majority of back, stretching over his skin in rough, light marks and trailing down his upper arms.

"I got lucky," Kankri says quietly, head tilted downward to face the carpeted floor. "If the flames had been any higher... Or if I had been in it longer, it could have been much worse." He tenses up as he feels Cronus touch his back. "Karkat was even luckier. I managed to keep him shielded from the flames while we got out."

Cronus's fingertips trace gently at the scarred flesh, feeling the uneven flesh against his own skin. He lets out a quiet sigh, leaning down to press his lips to one of the scars on the back of his boyfriend's shoulder. He pauses for a moment, listening for any form of protest from the hearing none, he presses a few more soft kisses along the scarred skin. "I love you," he says quietly, moving to press a kiss to Kankri's neck for a moment before pulling him closer and into his lap again.

"I love you too, Cronus," Kankri says quietly as he presses a kiss to his boyfriend's face. He remains silent for a very long time, simply finding comfort in the embrace of the larger man. "Cronus?" he murmurs against the other's shoulder, "Don't sleep on the couch."

"What?" Cronus asks in confusion, pulling away to look down at his boyfriend.

"Sleep in my bed with me tonight?" The freckled teen asks quietly, "I don't want to be alone right now."

Cronus nods and holds the other man close for a few more minutes before carefully lifting him up to carry him to his bed and laying him down gently.

"Wait- I have to put a shirt on-" Kankri begins with a stutter, only to be cut off by the other.

"Kan, it's fine. You don't have to cover up," he says with a frown. He then smiles softly, pulling off his own shirt and lying next to the other man. "This okay?" he asks as he moves one arm to wrap around the other man.

"Um, yes," Kankri says quietly. His face is red from watching Cronus remove his shirt and having him so close; regardless, he scoots closer to relax into the other man's arms before closing his eyes, ready to sleep.

Conus's arms wrap tighter around his boyfriend, holding him close. "Hey, Kan?"

"Hm?"

"Are you doing anything for Christmas?"

Kankri tilts his head back to look up at his boyfriend, confused at the seemingly random question. "No," he replies after thinking it over, "Kevin cannot make it home for the holidays, and Porrim's family is going out of town. What are you doing?" Kankri had thought that the two Ampora boys were planning on staying in their apartment for the break.

"Well, ya see," he begins, "We're goin' ta go spend about a week with our parents. Eridan's been beggin' mom to let you and Kar come along. She said it was fine, and my dad's not fightin' her on it."

A look of surprise passes over the smaller teens face. "We would not be intruding?"

"Of course not, angelface," Cronus says with a soft smile, "Besides, I need someone to keep me from goin' insane from being in the house with my parents that week."

"I'll ask my father," Kankri says, "I don't see why he would say no."

"Awesome," Cronus smiles, pressing yet another kiss to his boyfriend's lips, "I'll let my parents know."

WOW 35 chapters! Thank you so much for sticking with me for this long and for being so supportive of this story.

We're finally going to go see Cro's parents!

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you want to see in future chapters. (also share some CronKri headcanons with me? cuz ho boy do I love CronKri)