Morality was the first one to find out. Anxiety was usually pretty averse to contact; if Dad lay a hand on his shoulder sometimes Anxiety would flinch back, and sometimes he would move away from someone if they were just a bit too close. But other times, Morality had noticed, he would come forwards. He would almost lean into someones personal space, like he wanted a hug. But he always hesitated and held himself back, like he was afraid of rejection (but he should know by now that Dad would never say no to a hug.) Anxiety seemed to want contact most when he was at his lowest, however. When he was running on no sleep, when he was having a bad day, anything that made the dark boy feel worse than usual made him seek out human contact. But whenever somebody tried to give it to him, he;d flinch away. So for a long time, Morality didn't know what to do.

Until one time, late at night, they held a movie night.

****

Prince and Thomas were sitting on one couch together, Logic was resting in an arm chair and Morality and Anxiety were also sharing a couch. They were onto their third movie, it was very late, and Anxiety evidently hadn't been getting much sleep lately. The room was dark and warm, the only light coming from the TV. The volume was quiet and everyone was calm. Slowly, due to the comfortable couch, the warm atmosphere and his general exhaustion, Anxiety began to relax more and more against Morality, to the point where he was practically leaning on him. Dad raised a silent eyebrow as he watched the younger trait's eyelids droop then fly open again and again.

"You should try to sleep." He advised finally. Anxiety lifted his head off Dad's shoulder and blushed, seeming to only now realise what he;d been doing.

"M not tired." He mumbled, scowling. Morality just nodded; Anxiety was stubborn, he would only try to force himself to stay awake longer if Dad kept talking about it.

"Alright, kiddo." He smiled gently. Anxiety narrowed his eyes and studied his face, but Dad simply turned his gaze back to the TV screen.

It took only a few minutes for Anxiety's head to start resting on Morality's shoulder again.

****

By that point, however, Dad was once again absorbed in the movie. But Anxiety's hair was tickling his neck, so he absently reached over and brushed it out of the way. Anxiety sighed sleepily, but happily, which made Morality freeze and smile. He causally brushed the hair back again and again, and all the while felt Anxiety relax against him more and more. It became a subconscious rhythm after a few minutes; he would brush Anxiety's hair back or maybe play with a few strands of hair, and continue to watch the movie peacefully. By the time the movie finished and everyone decided it was time to stop and go to bed, Anxiety's breathing was slow and deep. He had fallen asleep. Morality smiled and simply teleported Anxiety to his own bed. But he made sure to remember that Anxiety liked having his hair played with.

****

Logic noticed next, although he didn't exactly act upon it. Although he was perhaps not the most attentive or perceptive towards emotion, patterns and actions were something he noticed. And when something changed, it was always brought to his attention. He noticed how ever since that night, when Anxiety was especially exhausted or on edge, Morality would make a point to sit close and casually run his hands through Anxiety's hair. Sometimes Anxiety would flinch or bat his hands away, but Dad would usually persist, and Logan noticed that if often made Anxiety more relaxed or at least slightly calmer. It was an interesting observation, and an activity that Logan was sure was fairly new. He decided, however, that is was not a topic he should approach Anxiety about; that could lead to Anxiety resisting more forcefully when Morality tried to play with his hair, which probably wasn't good because it evidently helped Anxiety.

But one day, when he found Anxiety huddled down in his hoodie, shaking with his hands clamped around his ears, Logic had an idea. He merely sat down beside his friend, and ran a hand through Anxiety's hair. His movements were slightly robotic and not very smooth, but they appeared to do the trick. While Anxiety flinched and resisted at first, the repetitive stroking seemed to help him calm down. Of course Logic went through the basic match your breathing to mine, as that was a routine that usually helped, but the addition of the hair playing seemed to make the attack pass quicker. He didn't bring it up again, and Anxiety never offered to speak about it, but it became a silent ritual whenever Anxiety needed help.

****

The last to notice was Prince. He was oblivious to most things that didn't directly involve him, so this was no surprise to anyone. In fact, he only noticed it when it happened directly in front of him! They were planning a video, Roman coming up with multiple wild ideas, Anxiety shooting them down again and again, with Morality and Logic throwing in their ideas and input as well. He noticed however that Anxiety seemed more emotionally charged than usual, his body language taut and protective, insults hissed and searing with heat. Prince wasn't offended, in fact he was slightly worried this would lead to an attack later on if Anxiety wasn't soothed.

"Cool it, Sunshine." Roman eventually said, as he tried to shoot down Prince's idea half way through the explanation. Anx damn near snarled at him! Prince frowned at the dark boy but decided to ignore him; he didn't know how to make Anxiety feel any better anyway, and he needed to focus on help Thomas' creative flow.

The problem was, Anxiety was obviously getting through to Thomas, which was making the process difficult. Eventually Roman heard a sigh, and flicked his gaze to Dad. Morality was leaving his usual place in the room and heading over to Anxiety, who had his hood covering his head and was glaring down at the carpet. Prince watched in astonishment as Morality, in one swift motion, swept Anxiety's hood back and began to gently run his fingers through his hair. Anxiety flinched and swatted his hands away, But Dad just sighed again and persisted. Anxiety scowled at him.

"Stop it!" He hissed, making Morality raise an eyebrow and lift his hand away after brushing the strands back one more time. What was even going on? Prince wondered. And then he saw Anxiety blink, his expression vulnerable for a split second as he looked at Morality, who smiled and shuffled closer, silently beginning to play with Anxiety's hair again.

"Um..." Roman trailed off, staring at the weird exchange. Anxiety scowled ferociously at him, but he was blushing.

"Shut your mouth, Princey!" He growled. Roman drew back, surprised, but saw Logan give him the don't talk anymore look. So for once he decided to take that advice. He kept shooting off ideas to Thomas, who seemed to be listening intently, but Prince couldn't help but look over at Morality and Anxiety a lot. And every time he did, Anxiety seemed to have relaxed a bit more. By the time Thomas decided they were done, Morality had an arm wrapped around Anxiety's shoulders and was still running his fingers through Anxiety's hair, occasionally lightly scratching with his fingertips. Roman was kind of stunned; Anxiety was usually so averse to touch and was usually incredibly hard to calm down when he got into moods like that, but Dad had calmed him down simply by playing with his hair. Prince, of course, wanted to try it.

****

So he did. He'd been lying on the floor in the lounge, doodling over a huge sheet of paper. It was something Roman did often; it helped him relax and let his creativity flow. He'd just started to colour in the swirls and designs when Anxiety stormed in, hoodie flipped up and expression dark. He stalked to the couch behind Prince and sat down heavily, arms crossed angrily over his chest and glaring at nothing and everything at once. He saw Prince raising an eyebrow at him and scowled menacingly.

"What do you want, Princess?" He spat. Roman blinked and stared at him. He desperately wanted to snap back, wanted to call Anxiety a name or demand to know what had got him into such a foul mood. But he imagine Logan frowning at him and giving him the don't talk look, so he shut his mouth and merely looked back to his drawing. Prince could practically feel Anxiety's anger and distress, but he wasn't sure what to do to help him relax. He couldn't exactly just stand up and start messing with Anxiety's hair, he'd probably get punched in the face. What else would relax Anxiety? What relaxed Roman? Prince pondered this idly for a few minutes as he continued to colour, before realising. Drawing and colouring made him feel better! Maybe it would help Anxiety too. Roman bit his lip in indecision; it might give him the chance to play with Anxiety's hair, but he'd never let anybody draw with him before. It was something special to Prince.

Oh well.

****

He slowly sat up and spun around, holding a pen out to Anxiety. It only took a second for Anxiety to realise Roman was looking at him, and he turned his glare onto the royal boy immediately. The scowl turned confused when he saw the pen.

"What do you want?" He asked again. Prince shrugged.

"Wanna help?" He asked innocently. Anxiety blinked in shock and drew back, studying Roman suspiciously.

"What? Are you serious?" He questioned. Prince nodded, making Anxiety frown.

"Why would you want me to help you colour in? You never let anyone help."

"Yeah, well, first time for everything, Sunshine." Roman couldn't help but retort. "Besides, you might be pretty good at it. It's a really big drawing so I'd get it done faster with help." He explained, making Anxiety look hesitantly at the offered pen. "And it's quite relaxing." Prince added slyly. Anxiety shot him a glare but sighed and grabbed the felt, popping the lid off and sitting on the floor besides Prince, who lay back down and continued shading in a blue swirl. He soon heard the quiet scritch scratch of Anxiety colouring his side of the paper, bringing life to the designs Roman had drawn.

****

Gradually the silence became comfortable and peaceful, each trait becoming absorbed and focused in colouring the lines and making the piece beautiful. After a while Anxiety broke the silence.

"So this is what you're doing every time I see you drawing? You're relaxing, calming down?" He asked curiously. Prince nodded.

"Yes, I suppose. It's also just a fun thing to do, and it lets me be creative and inspire Thomas." He explained. Anxiety nodded. "What helps you relax?" Roman asked quietly, making the dark boy shrug.

"Not much, I guess. This is surprisingly relaxing. Listening to music sometimes. I don't know."

"You know... sometimes I see Morality playing with your hair. I know that relaxes Thomas, does it help you?" Prince asked carefully. Anxiety looked up sharply, studying Roman's face and looking for any malicious intent. Prince just blinked at him, and Anxiety ducked his head again, staring at the drawing. He was blushing.

"Yeah, I guess so. It feels nice, it's soothing." He mumbled. Roman shrugged.

"Cool. Like this?" He asked, and before Anxiety had time to react Prince was running a hand through his hair, brushing the soft strands back gently and generally petting Anxiety's hair. Anxiety blushed, but forced himself not to wriggle away. After all, it did feel nice. It was soothing, and he distracted himself from thinking about it and becoming embarrassed about it by focusing on the art again. Prince just continued colouring with one hand, while absently stroking and twirling Anxiety's hair with the other.

****

In what seemed like no time, their hands bumped in the middle of the page and the drawing was completed. Roman took his hand away from where he was fiddling with Anxiety's hair and put the cap back on his pen, with Anxiety doing the same. The atmosphere in the room was very relaxed and peaceful, and when Prince held the drawing up to inspect it he had to admit it was one of his favourites so far. The designs on his side of the pages burst with colour, the loops and swirls full of vibrant hues, spirals of red, yellow, blue, green, and every other bright colour. This continued to the middle of the page, where suddenly his vibrant swirls crossed of and intertwined with darker shades. Sunflower yellow met the the deepest, regal purple, popping red looped around the darkest, most mysterious blue, green vines weaved between spirals of jet black and orange bloomed next to shimmering shades of grey. Past that, on Anxiety's side of the page, the same details and designs were coloured with deep, dark, elegant shades and hues. It all contrasted beautifully.

****

Roman turned and smiled at Anxiety, whose expression held the ghost of what could have been a smile. "This is a marvellous piece! I hate to admit it, but I concede that you did well." Prince told Anxiety, who smirked. "Just not as well as I did." Prince had to add, which made Anxiety roll his eyes and scoff.

"Whatever." He said drily. Roman smiled in amusement and gazed at the piece of art again.

"Would you like it?" He asked suddenly, making Anxiety draw back in surprise.

"Wait, what?"

"Do you ever listen? I asked if you wanted to drawing." Prince rolled his eyes.

"Oh, uh... don't you want it?" Anxiety asked in an unsure tone. Roman shrugged.

"I don't need it, and you assisted me in the creation of it, so you may as well have it." He said, and handed it to Anxiety. "Do as you wish with it."

"Thanks, Princey." Anxiety said sincerely, taking the drawing gently.

****

Ever since then, it became a habit for he and Prince to draw something together, and if Anxiety was in a seriously bad mood then Roman would wordlessly reach his hand out as Anxiety sat down besides him, and begin to play with his hair. Anxiety also went to Logic when he was having an attack a lot more now. Logan knew how to calm him down, and the repetitive petting of Anxiety's hair that he gave was soothing and reassuring in Anxiety's state of panic. Morality seemed to instinctively know when Anxiety needed comfort, and he never failed to give it, be it in the form of bad jokes, a hug or simply fiddling with Anxiety's hair.

In the end, it just drew them all a little closer together.