Author's Note: My fanfics are kinda becoming similar because I'm still exploring the same subjects, but I do like the subjects, so here we are.

Disclaimer: Don't own Arcane, unfortunately.

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In the first few weeks after he had taken her in, Jinx would display many sleeping problems. She would avoid going to bed for as long as she could, tossing and turning for hours when she did fall into her new bed, now floors above her previous one. Silco knew because he would hear her restless fidgeting, or worse, cry. She pushed off sleep for as long as her body could withstand, with disasterous results to her basic ability to function the next morning.

Silco could relate - he too recalled how haunting and daunting that simple act had become for him - and for that reason he willed her to conquer her demons and suffer for the least amount of time. A strange fact in and on itself; adversity was what built them stronger than the rest, hardships that he had faced were what had shaped him to rise above with a purpose. But looking at this child and witnessing her suffering ached him someplace where his soul ought've been.

Which was why he didn't even consider sending Jinx away the first time she creeped into his bedroom (not without startling him - Silco had his own demons), too wary to ask if she could try to sleep there but also desperate enough to attempt the feat in the first place. When the girl curled up next to him under the covers, Silco could feel her ease like an invisible burden had been lifted from her small shoulders, her breathing a sigh of relief and exhaustion. Her tears then had been silent and Silco only knew they were there because it had once been him in her place, with no one to seek the simplest form of safety with. He hadn't known if she was awake or asleep when she nestled against his chest, her arm securing him in place and close to her. Not fully knowing how to return the gesture, he had tried to not move to not disturb her. Eventually, he would learn to return it properly by simply mimicking her.

As she grew up, Jinx's anxiety didn't mitigate and only gained new shapes and colours, but her safety and support remained the same, that need of reassurance in its purest form of physical contact, a hug, a presence, that he would do anything to make sure she had. Every new thing was enough to make Jinx fall into a spiral of worry and paranoia that she fought hard against but always felt like she lost against, despite the fact she was actually stronger than any of her fears. Silco was relieved she didn't hesitate anymore to seek his help or just his presence, crawling into his side in bed regardless of the fact she was not a child anymore and now a teeanger. Neither of them felt or considered boundaries should be placed when that had always been a wordless form of affection Jinx craved and Silco learned how to give despite his own limitations.

Even though he knew she would perform admirably, they would talk about her worries whenever Jinx felt so overwhelmed by her doubts she would get physically sick and her insomnia peaked. They'd walk through the steps she knew she had to take, through the realistic concerns and the ones made monsters by paranoia, exorcising her fears. Other times, Jinx would be quiet, just relishing in the fact that shapeless burden still lifted off her shoulders whenever she tried to sleep there.

The next day, Jinx would always complete her missions without fault or failure, proving she could overcome the worse of what her mind attempted to through at her. She would smile and cheer and hop, and Silco would feel a sense of pride that nothing ever could quite compare.

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the end

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Author's Note: Thanks for reading.