Hopper1, Houtaro, etc. | Kamen Rider Gotchard

Houtaro blinked himself awake, the dark of his bedroom replacing the dark from his dreams - or rather, his memories.

He sat up in bed, muscles tense, listening instinctively for the voices of his friends, human and Chemy. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal, realizing belatedly that it was the middle of the night.

But I did hear something, Houtaro thought. But... if it hadn't been something from a nightmare, what had woken him up?

Slowly, carefully, he got up out of his bed, feeling for the stack of rescued Chemy cards, only to feel the stirrings of panic when two of them weren't there.

The cards for the two Chemies closest to him, as a matter of fact. And sure, Hopper1 really didn't like its card, but where could Steamliner be-?

Feeling his heartbeat practically in his throat, the next two minutes felt like an eternity.

But, once he crept into the bathroom, he heard rustling behind the shower curtain. And, given he'd already seen the door to his mother's room was closed, that lead him to one hopeful conclusion...!

"Hopper1? Steamliner?" he asked, in his quietest voice. Briefly, he caught a glimpse of familiar antennae peeking up from underneath the curtain, only for them to duck back down.

Fear giving way to bafflement, he walked a few more steps forward. "Guys? What's wrong?"

Parting the curtain, the sight that greeted him left him at a momentary loss for words: both Chemies were out of their cards - it never became less strange to see Steamliner smaller than Hopper1, nevermind that apparently the train was used to the alternate form - and it was like they were two cats, snuggling close to each other for comfort.

It didn't take much putting together to guess what could have driven them to this, even with the parts of it that didn't make sense; after all, if he had been shaken by the recent events in the Ouroboros Realm - the battle with Geryon, and his abuse of the Chemies - then why wouldn't the Chemies be upset?

And yet - "Why didn't you wake me up, you two? I wouldn't have minded..."

Or, simply because he had helped them, charging back into the fight again and again, no matter the toll on his body, they hadn't wanted to interrupt his rest.

Still: "Come on, let's get you back to bed. You could at least let me give you a blanket!"

Both Chemies only made token noises of protest, but it seemed they were too tired to really put up a fuss. Holding them close - one grasshopper, one toy train - Houtaro quietly retreated to his room, making a little nest-space for his friends on the bed.

Sliding back in after them, he smiled reassuringly. "We'll all be okay. I promise."

"Steeeeaam."
"Hop-pa-1!"