#do you have any idea how many times i had to stop and stim whilst drawing this

[smol-tired-binch-blog]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE CHARACTER EVER!!!!!

I wanted to draw him in a pretty princess dress so he can be a true 24-Hour Cinderella <3

[thecatprince]

Brave

Read on AO3

Relationships: Prinxiety

Summary:  After the events of the day, Roman and Virgil hang out (more like freak out) and confess some feelings.

Warnings: Slight spoilers for the new Sanders Asides episode.

----

Roman looked at Virgil, his green eyes shining in a way Virgil had never seen before, his face practically glowing with the sheer amount of joy he felt. Virgil looked back at him, his eyeshadow turning a glittery purple, a huge smile on his face and his cheeks flushed with adrenaline. They had done it! They had actually done it! After hours of deliberation, anxiety and self-doubt, Thomas had finally talked to Nico, and it had gone better than any of them could have expected. He had gotten Nico’s number, and they had even texted a couple of times. Roman was over the moon, almost bursting with excitement, bouncing up and down where he stood. Virgil could tell there were so many things he was refraining from saying at that moment.

Virgil looked over at Thomas, who had finally managed to settle on the couch and looked quite a bit calmer since they had come back home. His pacing and hand flapping and talking to Nico (and of course calling Joan immediately and telling them everything) had helped in settling the overwhelming adrenaline and joy that they had experienced since they had gotten home. Virgil looked back at Roman, who was still clearly hyped up with emotions, and took his hand, sinking them both into Roman’s room.

The moment they got there, Roman leapt at Virgil, picked him up, and spun him around. Virgil could barely process what was happening before Roman had put him back down and was dancing in his spot. Virgil laughed, Roman’s energy feeding into his. He could feel his hands moving as he stimmed and squealed, a thrill of adrenaline rushing through him. Virgil calmed down a small bit as he moved, getting his emotions out, and he just stood there, watching Roman. Roman looked so happy, smiling brighter than Virgil had seen him in, well, ever. Roman’s green eyes were shining, his brown hair was falling slightly in his face and his cheeks were a soft red. Virgil hardly noticed he was staring until Roman looked back at him, his face practically glowing with joy. Virgil looked down, his eyeshadow fading a bit into a black with the slight embarrassment he felt at being caught staring like that, but Roman just moved forward and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly.

Virgil usually hated hugs, usually hated physical contact of any kind, but something about the fact that it was Roman touching him, Roman hugging him, made it bearable. More than bearable. Ever since they had become closer and started hanging out more and more, Virgil had found himself started to look forward to the little touches that Roman always gave him; a hand on his arm, leaning up against him, gentle nudges when he teased him, all of the little things. Virgil loved those touches. It filled him with a soft, warm feeling, gave him a feeling of comfort, made him feel safe and wanted. And now Roman was hugging him, pulling him close to his chest, lifting him off his feet slightly with how tight the hug was, and Virgil never wanted to let go. He wrapped his arms tightly around Roman’s chest, breathing the familiar scent that was Roman, feeling safe, comfortable, elated and something else he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Roman was the first to let go, and the moment he did Virgil found himself craving the warmth of his embrace.

Roman stepped back, facing Virgil, still buzzing with excitement. “We did it! We did it! You did it! Virgil, that was amazing! I can’t believe we did it! He gave us his number! We have texted him! This is it! Virgil WE DID IT!”

Virgil laughed at Roman’s yelling, still reeling slightly from the events of the day. They had done it! Virgil had done it! Roman put his hand on Virgil’s shoulder and Virgil could feel his face heat up. Roman looked at him with an expression Virgil hadn’t seen before.

“Thank you, Virgil, for everything. No one has ever done anything like that before. That was really brave.” Roman’s voice had a certain fondness that made Virgil’s heart flutter slightly in his chest. This close proximity wasn’t helping. And there was that word again, brave. Roman thought he was brave. Roman, who put bravery and chivalry above everything else, who was always going on about being a hero, who was constantly going on about courage and slaying the villains, had called him brave. Twice.

“It was no problem, really-“

“Seriously, Virgil, what you did back there, it meant more to me than you could ever imagine. I know it was hard for you to do that, and I am eternally grateful for it. You are braver than me. I was ready to give up. But can I just ask, why?”

Virgil gave a small smile. “Because you were sad. You been so hurt lately, and I couldn’t let this be another thing that caused you pain. You deserve happiness, Roman, and if what I did made you even the slightest bit happy, then I would do it again and again. What you want matters, and you wanted this. And so did I.”

Roman was looking back at Virgil with a look that Virgil couldn’t quite identify on his face. He looked shocked and touched, and overwhelmingly grateful, but there was something there that Virgil didn’t recognise.

“You did it… for me?” Roman said, his voice an almost whisper. Virgil nodded, smiling gently up at Roman, who now looked like he was taking in information he had never expected.

“Yes, Roman, I did it for you,” Virgil said, looking gently at Roman’s face. His lips were slightly parted and his hair was slightly messy from his dancing… and there was that feeling again. That soft, warm feeling that stemmed from his chest and spread across his body. It made his heart flutter slightly, and his body feel light. It was the way Thomas felt whenever he had seen his previous boyfriends, that soft warm feeling, and similar to the way he felt today, when he saw Nico. And suddenly, Virgil realised what he was feeling. Love.

He loved Roman. He loved his dramatic-ness, his teasing, his love of theatre, his smile, the way he looked when he was just completely and utterly happy and the way he always seemed to make Virgil smile. He loved everything about Roman, from the constant Disney references and nicknames to the way he always seemed to find a way to cheer Virgil up. He loved Roman. Roman, who had spent years teasing and hating him, but still tried to make him feel welcome when he needed it most. Roman, who tried to be nice and accepting every moment afterwards. Roman, who had used their joint love of Disney to try and become better friends with him. Roman, who put in effort to be nicer and bond with Virgil. Roman, who, when he broke down after Janus’ acceptance and removed himself from the company of the others sides, still sought solace in Virgil’s company. Roman, who Virgil had comforted for many long nights afterwards. Roman, who loved deeply and had great passions, but still flinched whenever anyone said those three words. Roman, who would slay a dragon for the ones he loved, but struggled to take breaks when he was working on ideas. Roman, who worked himself to the bone whilst thinking of new ideas, and never thought highly of himself, but who Virgil loved, more than anything in this world. Roman, who was dramatic and over the top and plainly ridiculous at time, but who always had the best intentions. And Virgil loved him.

He must have been staring because Roman was giving him a funny look. His brows were furrowed slightly, his lips were pulled into a gentle smile, his green eyes seemed to twinkle with gentle amusement and his cheeks were flushed. Virgil had the strongest urge to kiss him.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked. He didn’t mean to say it aloud, but it just came out. He could feel his anxiety building rapidly and now he ruined it and gosh why did he say it of course Roman didn’t want to kiss him he didn’t even think Roman liked him like at and oh my gosh he had ruined everything.

“Oh my gosh I am so sorry I didn’t mean to say that it’s ok if you don’t I’m just –”

He was cut off by a pair of lips against his. They were soft and gentle and from the moment they touched his, Virgil felt like the world had stopped spinning. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, but they were easily the best few seconds of his life. Roman pulled away, and looked at Virgil, eyes sparkling and face a deep red.

“Yes, you can,” Roman said, his voice full of tenderness. Virgil moved forward and pressed his lips against Roman’s, kissing him gently. Roman responded, moving his lips against Virgil’s, resting his hands on Virgil’s neck and threading his fingers through Virgil’s hair. Kissing Roman was better than Virgil could ever imagine. Roman was sweet and soft and gentle and the kiss filled Virgil with complete and utter joy and love. That warm feeling in his chest spread to the rest of his body, and as the kiss deepened the feeling grew stronger. Eventually, when air became an issue, they broke apart, breathing heavily, lips slightly swollen. Virgil felt exhilarated and slightly light headed. He had just kissed Roman! And Roman had kissed back!

“Your eyeshadow, it’s purple again,” Roman murmured, cupping Virgil’s cheek with his hand and rubbing his thumb gently over the glittery purple eyeshadow.

“I guess that’s because I’m happy,” Virgil responded. It was true, he was incredibly happy, but he was more than happy. He was over the moon, exhilarated, still reeling from the excess adrenaline caused by the events of the day and the kiss. He still couldn’t get over the fact that he had actually kissed Roman!

Roman gave a huff of laughter, pressing a kiss to Virgil’s forehead and pulling him closer. Virgil could feel Roman’s heartbeat through his shirt, and as the two of them stood there, swaying gently as they hugged, Virgil felt a calm warmth spread through his body, and he knew as long Roman was there, he would be ok.

--

Thank you for reading!! Comments are greatly appreciated!!

[wallwriterstuff]

Am I allowed to place in a request for Mr svelte tracker boi Demetri? I need my greek boi fix. 😅😂 My stimming (due to my slight autism and anxiety) has been kinda bad lately and I was wondering if you could do some headcanons on how he would be with a reader who has that going on? (For example, some of my stimming signs are restless, uncontrollable finger twitches sometimes, and sudden limb movements and facial twitches I can't control 😅) Thanks! Also, sorry if this is too touchy a subject!🙈

You most certainly are allowed and I cannot express how hard I fangirled when I realised it was you in my ask box. I played it very cool but just know I was dying inside from the moment I saw your username come up XD 

TW: Mentions of anxiety and sensory overload. If that’s a little personal to you please be cautious about reading this one!

I’m incapable of writing short things it seems so it’s another long one.

Self-stimulating behaviour, known more commonly as stimming, usually involves repetitive movements and/or sounds. Though it is most often associated with autism (I know when I first saw the word stimming that was where my mind immediately went to) everybody stims in some way, shape or form to relieve stress, tension, anxiety, boredom etc. Some ways are less noticeable than others such as nail biting or finger tapping, while others can be more obvious and disruptive to your social/daily life like licking certain objects or scratching at skin.

I learned all this from doing a bit of reading before taking on this request and if you want to know more then the link to the article I read is right -----> HERE <------ ! It’s informed my ideas for this headcanon request and though I’m open to discussions about the topic to help educate myself and anyone else who wishes to learn more, what I will not tolerate is any sort of hate or discrimination based on the links to developmental disorders and mental illness that stimming has. This blog has and always will be a safe space for anyone and everyone and a little respect for one another will help keep it that way. Be kind folks!

So without further ado, how would Demetri react to you stimming I wonder?

Part 1: Headcanons below the Keep Reading Line Part 2: Teeth (fic) Part 3: Control (fic) 

·         He honestly wouldn’t really notice for a while because, well, humans aren’t exactly designed to be as flawless as vampires

·         Impromptu nosebleeds, migraines, sneezes…they’re just glitches in a faulty system so why is the way your leg just bounced up off of the floor while your sitting any different to those other equally as involuntary things

·         He’s struggling right now to, after all he just met his very human mate and it’s quite overwhelming for him to have to adapt to all these new feelings and situations he finds himself in, but he deals because he can

·         Some days, you just…can’t

·         Getting attacked by a man with some bizarre fascination with your neck is bad enough but being whisked away by strangers is somehow even worse. At least in the first scenario once it’s over it’s over, now you’re just living an anxious person’s nightmare in a new place full of new people

·         Volterra was beautiful, but it wasn’t home. No cosy apartment, no neighbours cat to feed, no monotonous shifts at work…

·         Actually, most of the time you’re left utterly alone to navigate an unfamiliar castle, and the times you aren’t alone is when there’s a man claiming to be your eternal lover in front of you

·         Try to convince me this man doesn’t rip the band aid off and profess his love for you with dramatic flair just TRY

·         Your days are filled with endless boredom where you’re doing nothing at all until someone checks on you, and then fight or flight kicks in because oh HELLO Mr Vampire guard are you here to give me lunch or kill me?

 ·         Demetri had thought that perhaps you were okay with that, since you hadn’t really outwardly reacted beyond the way your cheek twitched up into a smirk once or twice as he spoke. Hell, you’d even winked at him…right?

·         You did that a lot so he really genuinely thought that maybe you were just trying to flirt with him, build a relationship with him. Your constant little winks and the way your fingers twitched when he was nearby, like you so desperately wanted to reach out to him…

·         It took a few weeks before he realised how wrong he was

·         You’d reached for a sip of water and your arm had just whipped outward from your body

          + You’d absolutely drenched him with your entire glass of water and could only stare in abject horror wondering what the supposed vampire would do next, since you’d interrupted him rather smugly detailing his plans for your first date

·         Silence

·         There was just silence

·         It only made your anxiety worse and the muscles in your face just spasmed without your permission and - god did you just smirk at him again, oh no        

         + “I’m glad one of us finds this amusing. If you did not like the idea there were other ways to tell me so.”

 ·         You almost want to cry from sheer embarrassment at this point because the date really had sounded like it could be fun and now you’d just straight up thrown water in his face like he’d insulted you in the worst way imaginable

·         So you come clean and tell him about your stimming

·         He’s really worried at first because autism? Anxiety he’s heard of but autism sounds very dangerous, are you dying? You’re probably dying. He’s going to lose his mate –

·         Another involuntary finger twitch from you forces him to calm down because your anxious enough without his worrying on top, so he kind of brushes it off and makes no big deal out of it

·         Squeezes your hand and kisses your forehead to try and reassure you all is forgiven, even if he does have to go change a very expensive looking designer shirt and god you’re so sorry

·         Of course, that kind of makes it worse for you because anxiety brain is activated and your 99.9999% sure he’s actually furious with you still and has only pretended to forget it while he’s plotting his revenge

·         You see him late at night when you struggle to fall and stay asleep, reading in the low lamplight at his desk across the room, his laptop propped open and a notebook before him but you’re too scared still to ask what it is he’s reading so intently (probably good suggestions on places to bury your body welp)

·         It’s a complete surprise to you therefore when he does take you out on that date he promised you not two weeks later

 ·         He’s chosen a nice overcast day so he’s in the least conspicuous clothing he owns

            + Demetri’s least conspicuous clothes still consist of the most chic and expensive brands you know of and he sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the quaint little market stalls he’s brought you to see

·         Despite the gloomy weather the people of Volterra are out in full force though, swarming the market stalls and chattering and laughing as flashes of gold and silver from jewelry hit your eyes, bright coloured fabrics following

·         It’s all just too much

·         There’s people everywhere and so much noise, so many colours and lights and people brushing past you…

·         Your fingers clench tight around his, his hand immersed in a glove to keep his freezing skin from chilling you too much

·         He squeezes back lightly, eyes shifting to glance down at you with the kindest smile on his lips

         + “Keep squeezing my hand whilst we find somewhere quieter to stand.”

·         Your fingers seemed to take turns pressing into his rock solid skin, an odd sort of comfort coming from the fact you know you can press down hard and he won’t so much as register the sensation, and Demetri squeezes back, just firm enough he knows you can feel the pressure of his palm on yours

·         He takes you to a quiet little side road where the noise is much more faded and there is so much free space around you you feel like you can finally breathe again

·         He still hasn’t stopped squeezing your hand, taking turns with you as you take some steady breaths and try to focus your senses a bit, one thing you can feel, two things you can see, three you can smell...

 ·         “I hope you can forgive me, I did not expect the market to be so busy today with the weather like this.”

·         His apology takes you completely by surprise because how would he even know you struggled with crowds? You barely know each other?

·         Seeing your surprise Demetri rather sheepishly admits as to what exactly he’s been reading all those nights you’ve seen him at his desk, and you’re a little overwhelmed to realise he’s been reading about you

·         Medical journals, mummyblogs, charity websites and more, if it had any information about autism and stimming he’s browsed through it and taken copious amounts of notes, observing you religiously to see what might be relevant to you and how he can help ·         +  “I read somewhere you self-stimulate to calm yourself when you are anxious or your senses feel overwhelmed, is that what happened?”                                    “Well, yes, actually, I…I…”

            “And did it help? Taking you away from the source of stress and letting you squeeze my hand like that?”

·         It had actually, you felt much calmer and Demetri’s obvious acceptance and willingness to help you manage your stimming and anxiety today were one of the first little moments you fell in love with him, looking back on it 

·         He didn’t stop there either. Together you sat down and made a list of all the things that you found most often triggered your stimming, and all of the things that brought you joy so he could figure out things to avoid and things you might like for your future dates

·         Within hours of arriving home you’d gotten a whole new daily routine set up so you weren’t left to languish and wonder what was going to happen next

·         Three days later an express shipment of your favourite smelling scented candles arrived alongside a Bluetooth speaker, supplies Demetri insisted were necessary for nice calming baths on the days your anxiety was playing up

·         He started doing mindfulness practices with you in the evenings

·         He never touched the volume controls for his laptop, speaker or TV, leaving it to you to control the volume so you could set it to a level you were comfortable with, and he religiously policed the noise on his floor to           + “Where are you going? The movie just started…”                                                    “To tell Felix to turn his music down.”               “You’re vampiring again Metri, I can’t even hear that.”

·         When he signed you up for Yoga and meditation classes at a centre in town you drew the line and told him he was going overboard, but bless him he had tried

·         Overall he’s a solid 15/10 for effort, even if some ideas are still experimental - you’re enjoying the deep pressure massages a lot though – and he sometimes goes a bit mother-hen trying to get you out of situations he thinks you’ll struggle with, when actually you’re coping just fine today

·         You love him dearly for it

[moving-blogs-dm-for-new-one]

SO....fanfic. This is just the one I just wrote which is basically 100 headcanons wrapped in a trenchcoat, so....yeah

Reblogs >> Likes!!!

Edit: Forgot to mention this is loosely based on someone elses hc of Benrey loving metal music, but I cant remember who it was so if someone finds me the post I can pop credit in!!! ❤️

Benrey never understood feelings all too well. It loved the sweetvoice immensely; it was like a little code only it and its friends knew, and no one else could tell. It didn't like feeling vulnerable like that. It prefered it that way.

When they finally got out of Black Mesa following the Renosance Cascade, it took a massive special interest to human music. It started out slow; it would listen to music in it's spare time, flicking through artists and albums and more before it finally settled on a genre it felt it loved. Metal.

There was a special kind of power about metal, it thought. There were so many emotions in it, but it wasn't sappy. It wasn't vulnerable. It wasn't anything more or less than it needed to be. It just was. It was powerful without softness; it was feeling in all the right ways. Benrey listened to it almost constantly; nodding along to it's favourite bands whether at work or home or any place else. It didn't need to sleep much, if at all, so it would plug in its headphones over long nights and shut its eyes, and that was close enough, it thought.

Slowly, over time, it got more and more into it, "purchasing" (Tommy tells Gordon not to ask) instruments and getting super passionate about it. It starts making and recording its own music, but for the first while, it's only the instruments.

Gordon and Tommy come home one day and hear this heavy, thrumming guitar, and the most powerful soul music bursting out of Benrey's room. They crack open the door and Benrey is fucking BUSTING out its heart into this song, headphones on and head-banging and biting its lip as it plays the guitar with every bit of energy it has. It sounds amazing. Neither of them have ever seen Benrey look so....alive. Tommy cries.

Sometimes Tommy and Gordon like to tell it they're going out, just so they can hear it sing again.

Benrey writes more songs based on it's feelings. It names songs after colours; none of its fans know what they mean, and many theories swirl, but the science team understands. That's what's important to Benrey.

When it's upset, instead of pestering and causing problems now, it goes to its room and writes. It pounds on the drums, rocks the guitar, sometimes screams its feelings out into the mic until it feels better. It begins pushing its negative feelings into its music. It's like a special kind of therapy made just for Benrey.

At this point, it doesn't know any of its friends can hear it singing at home. One day it's rocking out to a song it wrote; it's not the first love song Gordon's heard it write, but it is the most emotional. Gordon finds parts of it rather familiar, in a way he can't place. This time, for reasons he doesn't know, he steps into the room.

Benrey finishes the song, somehow without noticing he's there, and manages to switch the mic off before sweetvoice bubbles out. Big, thick bubbles of pink and blue float into the air, and it's turned away from Gordon, hands clenched in it's shirt, shoulders hunched.

"What does that one mean...?" It's a soft question from him, but it makes it whip around, clearly mortified. Gordon swears he sees it blush, but it could be a trick of the light; Benrey's room had terrible lighting. More pink and blue bubbles out, seemingly without it's control, and it coughs, looking away. It doesn't say. It's not ready yet. Gordon watches it for a minute, quiet.

"Can I hear you sing more?" Benrey does it's absolute best to hold the explosion of pink bubbles and nods. Gordon doesn't pester on his other question. Not now. He understands. He finds he understands Benrey a lot better, lately. He smiles.

It starts becoming pretty popular, and eventually gets a decent following. The science team is delighted and proud, showing up to its small shows and helping pay for things when needed. They all cheer it on at shows so hard it has to fight back sweetvoice, and eventually it starts to laugh more at dinners, genuinely smile more when they're together. It seems happier. Music really is its therapy.

Gordon is talking to Tommy one day, absentmindedly. The two will sometimes just ramble to each other about whatever's on their minds; neither one minds, they both like to talk as much as listen. He mentions the pink and blue, an afterthought, but the way Tommy's head whips around tells him it's more important than he'd assumed. Tommy questions him further, and eventually smiles, obviously delighted.

"What?" Gordon questions, confused. "What is it, T? What's it mean?" They laugh, giving him a toothy grin and staring for a moment, seemingly deciding whether or not to tell. The pitiful look Gordon is giving them makes them laugh again, but they crack.

"I told you, Gordon, they're all rhymes!" Gordon sits for a moment, and Tommy tries their best not to laugh at him as he visibly tries to puzzle it out. Sunkist nudges them and they sigh, deciding to take pity on their friend.

"Pink to blue means I love you, Gordon." Gordon snaps up right, the gears visibly turning in his head. His face explodes in red, and he stutters, clearly disbelieving. Tommy shakes their head, sighing.

"You're both so oblivious. You know it writes those songs for you, right?" Gordon sits back on his haunches and thinks about that. And he thinks. And thinks.

He doesn't stop thinking about it for the next week, actually.

He lays up at night listening to Benrey quietly put lyrics together through his wall. He listens during the day to it play as he does his work; he hums along to tunes he knows in the shower, and he finds his fingers drumming in time with Benrey even when he's away. And he realizes it's not the music, so much, that hasn't stopped pervading his mind.

Gordon makes his decision.

Benrey has a show that coming weekend, the biggest one it's played so far. It's clearly nervous, hands constantly wringing in its shirt and semi trimmed claws picking at its fingers in a way that is both nauseating and adorable to Gordon. He finds his way backstage before the show, clears his throat to announce his arrival.

Benrey looks over, a small bubble of grey popping out of its mouth, and Gordon makes the split second decision to wrap it up in his arms. It stiffens, but relaxes much faster than either of them probably anticipated. They both idley note that this is their first hug whilst sober as Benrey tucks its face into his shoulder, breathing deeply. Gordon rubs its back gently with his prosthetic arm, taking a deep breath.

"You can do this, Ben." Benrey swallows thick and hard at the nickname, and Gordon continues.

"We believe in you." Gordon pulls back, and if he saw a shimmer over its eyes, he doesn't mention it. It nods, and gives Gordon the most stupidly dazzling grin, and Gordon has no idea how he didn't notice sooner. He leaves to join the crowd in a daze, whereas Benrey walks onto the stage with an heir of confidence it's friends have never seen. They've never been so proud.

The show is an absolute hit; the crowd is screaming, the pit is bursting, Benrey looks amazing in the spotlights, Gordon notes. It's head is thrown back, a grin on its face as it belts out its songs, and Gordon finds himself doing more staring than cheering this time. Tommy playfully nudges him in the ribs; he laughs and nudges them back. They give him a knowing smile, and he prays the shitty lighting in the crowd hides his blush.

The science team nearly pounce it after the show. Coomer is wearing at least three t-shirts from the small shop outside and chattering excitedly; Bubby feigns indifference, as usual, but they're smiling softly and they're wearing a shirt too. Tommy is stimming uncontrollably, hands flapping as they hop from foot to foot, and Darnold is delightedly laughing along with Coomer's chattering, complimenting Benrey on it's show. Even Forzen is there, a massive toothy grin on his face as he playfully digs his cousin in the ribs, obviously proud.

Despite the attention, Benrey's eyes drift up to Gordon's through their friends. Gordon smiles at him in a soft way, and Benrey feels like it might melt on the spot. It steps forwards past their gathered friends, who step aside, and Darnold, Tommy and Coomer waste no time very un-subtlely whispering to each other about it.

"Hey Ben," Gordon greets as it approaches, and they grin at each other.

"Sup, Gordos." Gordon laughs, rolling his eyes, but it's in more of a playful way than an annoyed way, now. He holds out his arms and Benrey wastes no time stepping into them, and they choose to ignore the noises coming from their friends. They look at each other for a moment before cracking into giddy laughter, foreheads bumping together. Gordon opens his eyes and finds Benrey already looking at him. They stare for a moment as Gordon builds his confidence, hands slightly shaking, and his still-flesh hand feels clammy and gross. He hopes Benrey doesn't notice.

"So…" Gordon starts, and Benrey snorts, but doesn't interupt. Gordon takes another deep breath.

"I know what pink to blue means now." Benrey's eyes widen, and it has the thought to turn and yell at it's friends, but the way Gordon laughs dazzles it out of the thought for a moment.

"And, y'know what Ben?" Benrey feels like it's swimming through the air, trying to keep focus on Gordon.

"What?" It asks, almost breathlessly. Gordon gives this nervous, shy kind of smile, and Benrey thinks it might explode.

"I love you too."

And that was the first time they kissed. The science team has never been more proud.

Benrey is glad it got into music.