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daydreamgoddess14 · 4 months ago

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The Ties that Bind - Chapter 1

*Chapter 1 written ahead of season 4 launching, this has been in my head a while ago, so it's amazing to find a scattering of similarities! Though as this will become romantic, it's obviously completely separate from any existing and future storylines.*

River decides, finally, that David needs some help at home, so sets about employing someone to do just that without really thinking of the consequences.

River Cartwright / Original female character (Seren is named, but feel free to insert yourself should you wish).

Masterlist

Chapter 1

River was late, of course. He'd tried to get out earlier, but he'd had to break up a fight between Louisa and Shirley. A full-on argument that had nearly escalated into physical violence and all because they were both stupidly stubborn. They’d patched things up when Shirley slid a cup of coffee onto Louisa’s desk along with the last of the Jaffa Cakes. They’d mumbled apologies and were laughing like nothing had happened when he’d ducked out. He tried not to dwell on his own stubbornness as he drove. He was already dealing with his lateness, and that was enough for right now. There was a small beat-up car parked alongside his grandfather's when he arrived, and the owner was nowhere to be seen, which meant she must have ventured inside. That was far from ideal. He hadn't had much time to broach the delicate subject with his grandfather, but he already knew from past attempts that it wouldn't be well received. The doctor had made the suggestion this time, though, that had to count for something? David had, of course, scoffed at the idea, but then two days later nearly burned the kitchen down whilst cooking dinner. Again. River was at his limit. With work so unpredictable, he couldn't be there when David needed him, and something had to change. He’d been loath to admit it, but then the doctor had passed the number to him, and he figured it was worth a try.

She'd answered on the second ring, bright and breezy.

“Hi, hello?”

“Are you… are you the person offering in-home support?” He asked hurriedly, as if his grandfather would overhear him despite the distance between them.

“No, Poppy, not the icing just yet, sweetheart. Sorry, yes, that's me. I'm just with a family at the moment. It's my last day so we're making cakes.”

“Cakes? I didn't know that was part of what you do?”

“Well it depends on the family, really. I've been looking after Poppy's mum, while she recovers from an operation, so this time it's been school runs, helping with homework, general domestic work. My last family before this one I was looking after an elderly couple, cooking, cleaning, administering medicines. My duties are often different depending on the people. I used to just sit and read aloud to one lady.”

“Oh.” He said quietly.

“You're new to this?” She guessed. “That's OK, why don't you let me know your circumstances?”

And so here he was, about to be in trouble on all fronts. His grandfather would hate that he was hiring help, and the woman he hired was about to bear the brunt of David's temper and his rapidly deteriorating mind, so of course, she’d end up hating River for that. He braced himself for a frosty welcome. He opened the old oak door with a soft click, trying not to insert himself immediately into the argument which was… not occurring? He moved quietly through the downstairs of the house, following the sounds from the library.

“And now, my dear, you see I have you in check.” His grandfather said, River could hear the smile in his voice. “We also have company at last. Come on in, my boy.” Rumbled. He peered around the door to see a teapot and three cups laid out on the table with two in use, and his grandfather sat across from a woman with the chessboard between them. “This young lady is from the book club at the local library. She’s trying to get me to sign up!” A frown crossed River’s face.

“Well actually,” the woman began,

“Sounds great, grandad. And you're… teaching her to play chess?” River interrupted.

“Exactly that. It's a curious game of logic and passion, everyone should learn it.” David replied gleefully.

“If I could just have a word, Mr Cartwright?” The woman spoke up again.

“Yes?” Both Cartwright gentlemen answered before River took the lead,

“Yes, of course.”

“Always turned by a pretty girl,” David rolled his eyes.

“Thanks for that, Grandad,” he muttered. “I'll put some more tea on?”

“Good man.” David settled back at the table and reviewed the chess board. “Don't go far, young lady, there's still a lot to learn.” The woman followed River to the kitchen where he braced his hands on the countertop with his head down.

“I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry I'm late.”

“Nice to meet you. I'm Seren.” She offered her hand, and he shook it.

“Yes, yeah, sorry, that too - nice to meet you, please, call me River. He thinks you're from the library?”

“I did introduce myself, we started talking about books, so I think he must have mixed the conversation up a little. It's no harm, but we should let him know why I'm really here?”

“And we will, for sure, I just… he's… the Old Bastard isn’t going to be happy about this, so I need to do it in the right way. Names and faces are getting harder for him. I’ve lost count how many times he’s nearly burned this kitchen down. He sleeps with a gun by his bed for fucks sake. Sorry.” Seren stayed silent and he prayed to any deity he could think of that she wouldn’t walk out.

“It's best not to prolong the lie, it'll cause more confusion later on. If it helps, I have a lot of experience with this, I’m not scared of the outbursts and moments of confusion and I’ll be right here to remind him of that during his times of clarity.”

“I get that, I do,” he stopped, looking out at the garden. “I don't know how to do this.” He admitted sadly. Seren joined him at the window.

“No one does.” She said softly. “I recommend we start with keeping it very simple, very factual. Explain that you're worried and you think having someone close by will help put your mind at rest.” He nodded in agreement.

“Can't promise it'll go well?”

“I know you can't. Unfortunately, neither can I.” She reasoned. She let him lead the way back to the library where David was still plotting his next move.

“Grandad? I think there's been a mix up. I thought we could do with some help around the house, this is Seren. I’ve asked her to look in on you, maybe make a bit of dinner a few evenings a week.”

“A babysitter?” David’s previously amenable demeanour was gone in an instant.

“No, not… not a babysitter at all. Just some extra help, some company for you?” River held up his hands in surrender.

“Young lady, get out of my house,” David demanded sternly.

“Stay, please Seren.” River implored. The woman looked genuinely torn.

“Let me give you both some space,” she concluded, turning to River. “I’ll be in the kitchen.” He nodded gratefully, the relief that she wasn’t leaving the house entirely was clear to see.

“Grandad, please?” River pleaded once they were alone. The elder Cartwright ignored him, turning his attention to the chessboard again. “I’m worried about you. Fires in the kitchen? A gun by your bed?”

“They’re always watching, we must remain vigilant.” His grandfather said quietly. River dragged a hand down his face.

“No one is watching you.”

“How would you know? Over with the rejects, out of the loop and fussing over parking tickets and unpaid licence fees.” River felt the blow. He’d worked so hard, or as hard as was allowed at Slough House, to prove to David that he was still a capable Agent. Someone who did have a future with the service. His grandfather had never doubted the Stanstead stitch up, in fact it was more proof to him that they were trying hard to erase the Cartwright name, but there was still an unspoken assumption that River could have and should have done more. River felt the pressure of it every day in the offhand comments his grandfather made. And those were only getting more frequent with David’s declining mental capabilities.

“You’re right. I don’t know,” River was forced to admit. “But the thought of you here alone terrifies me and I need you to understand why I’m doing this.”

“I won’t pay her.”

“I will.”

“I won’t speak with her or engage with her while she’s here.”

“Fine, I’ll let her know.”

“I don’t like this, River.”

“I know you don’t. But it’s happening. I’m sorry, but… I can’t take no for an answer on this. I’m giving her a key to come and go as she needs to. Speak to her or don’t, she’ll make sure you have food, she’ll collect your medications, she’ll be here whether you agree or not.”

“I think it’s time you left, don’t you?” David concluded, completing the chess game he’d ultimately ended up playing with himself. River placed a hand on the old man’s shoulder and gave a light squeeze.

“I’ll be back in a few days,” he promised. He found Seren in the kitchen, as promised, her head deep in the fridge. She pulled out a few items and threw them into the open bin she’d pulled closer.

“Something stinks in here. I’m just getting rid of anything out of date and I’ll refill it tomorrow.” She told him, grimacing at the smell from the salad drawer. From a quick glance, he could see that the teapot and cups had been washed, the table was clear of clutter and crumbs and the grimey window had been pushed open to let in the last of the day’s sun. He released a long sigh he hadn’t realised he’d been holding in.

“Thank you,” he began, not really knowing what to say. She’d done more in the ten minutes she’d been left alone than David had managed for the last six months or more. He took a key from his pocket, along with his wallet, and started counting out a few twenty pound notes. She closed the fridge and turned back to face him.

“The seal is gone on the fridge door. I’ll get a new one and fit it in the next few days.” She scribbled on a notepad he hadn’t spotted on the table, the makings of a to do list. He could already see clean windows and food shop on the list. He took out another twenty quid.

“This is all the cash I have on me right now,” he explained, holding it out. She took the notes from him, kept twenty and passed the rest back to him.

“This covers the shopping. We’ll work out the rest later.”

“He won’t give you a penny-”

“I know, and that’s fine. I can handle this.”

“He’s going to be mad at you when he’s with it enough to know what’s going on, and he’s going to be mad at you when he hasn’t got a clue who you are or what’s going on.”

“So he’s going to be mad at me. I’ll get over it.” She assured him. He stared at the woman in front of him, a smear of dust on her forehead and her hands on her hips. His grandfather’s comments rang in his ear; always turned by a pretty girl. River sighed.

“Are you sure?”

“Let me do my job, Mr Cartwright.” She told him, taking up her notepad and the key. “I’ll be over in the morning with some shopping, I’ll batch cook some meals and start some household stuff. I’ll keep out of his way unless he needs me for something.” And then she was gone, only the scent of her perfume remaining.

It became a ridiculous dance. More often than not, River would arrive in the early evening a couple of times a week to find Seren in one room and David in another. He would go between the two trying to determine whether it had been a good day, a bad day or just a day. By the end of the first week, River was convinced Seren hated him for dragging her into his mess. David wasn't speaking to either of them unless it was to shout at them (separately of course). Eventually River was somewhat forgiven enough that David would at least speak to him but he knew that the same could not be said for Seren. River found himself half dreading and half looking forward to his visits. His grandfather essentially ignored Seren which made for an unwelcoming atmosphere but she'd quickly become the highlight of his day.

“Is that for me?” She asked one month into the role. She'd been standing on a windowsill when he arrived, cleaning what she declared to be the final window. He'd set about making dinner and trying to convince David to at least be cordial. She came down a short time later, gathering up her book, phone, notepad and anything else she intended to take with her to find that River had three meals plated up.

“If you'd like to stay? Thought it might be nice?”

“Nice?” She looked behind her to check that David wasn't in earshot, “River, I have spent a month being ignored when he's lucid and shouted and screamed at when he's not. I've cooked, cleaned and fixed things. In that time he has not spoken a single nice word to me, and that's absolutely fine, that's his choice. But I'm sorry, I don't intend to stay a little longer because you've cooked.” He looked aghast.

“I'm sorry. It was selfish to think that you might want to stay.”

“No, it's… it's not selfish. It was thoughtful of you, thank you. I just can't stick around. I'm not wanted here, that's been made clear. I just want to do my job and go home and drown in the bath.” Images which would likely earn him a black eye filled River's mind.

“Leave the girl alone River, let her go home.” David said entering the kitchen. Seren took a big step back, River hadn’t realised how closely they'd been standing.

“Goodnight.” She mumbled and headed out the back door.

Seren rested her head against the steering wheel of her car. For six long weeks she’d been David Cartwright’s metaphorical punching bag. Unwilling to tolerate her presence when he was lucid, he was angry and rude, and then in moments when his memories and mind were not his own, the outbursts were worse. She wasn’t sure which of his personalities she preferred, neither were remotely nice to her. She’d transformed the house, fixed multiple broken household items - the fridge, the floorboard she kept tripping on in the hallway, the plug socket she’d been horrified to see sparks coming out of when she used it. Fortunately it had been a socket David hadn’t bothered using, if he had, she was fairly sure the house would have burned to the ground long ago. The fridge was stocked with easy to heat up meals and snacks, and every single surface and window had been cleaned. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she roused herself to retrieve it. River’s name displayed on the caller I.D.

“Hey, how did it go today?” He asked as soon as she answered. She sighed heavily,

“Yeah, fine. Same as usual.”

“Are you sure? Are you ok?”

“I’m sure.” She said firmly. They fell into silence.

“You’re lying, aren’t you?” He asked. She stayed silent and swallowed thickly, her shaky breath giving away the tears that rolled down her cheeks. “Seren, I don’t… is there anything else I can do?” He begged.

“No. We’ll get there, it’s just taking some time. I’m fine, really.” She brushed the tears away, angry with herself for letting the situation get to her, angry with the Cartwright’s for being so stubborn.

“I’ll be there tomorrow.” He promised. She hung up without saying goodbye.

The next morning she let herself into the house as usual. She called out and made her way to the sitting room to offer a cup of tea, as she had every morning and as he’d ignored every morning. David met her in the hallway, a pistol in his hand pointing directly at her. Her hands went up immediately and she searched his face for whether or not he recognised her.

“Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my house?” He demanded.

“David, it’s Seren, I’ve been helping out for a few weeks? Cooking, making sure you’re taking your medication and stuff like that?” She spoke softly and tried desperately to keep the tremor from her voice and tried to bring down the tension.

“I don’t know you. I don’t want you here.”

“I know, I know. Believe me, that’s an ongoing battle for another time. Can we put the gun down, David, please?” She pleaded. She knew that he was still physically fairly healthy, strong enough to slam doors in her face and throw the odd mug of tea across the room when he so wished. He was at least as tall as River which meant he towered over her by nearly a whole foot. The gun shook in his hand and she began to fear that rather than pull the trigger on purpose, he would do it by accident. She backed up slowly, towards the foot of the stairs and as soon as she had space between them, she ran for the only room she knew had a lock on the door. Age on her side, she slammed the bathroom door as he reached the top step. She pushed the lock into place and dropped down away from the door, crawling under the sink. Her phone was still in the back pocket of her jeans so she dragged it out and dialled the number that had last called her.

“River, he's just pulled a gun on me. I thought you were making shit up before but he has a fucking gun!”

“Shit, shit. Is he… himself?”

“No, he has no idea who I am.” The bathroom door rocked on its hinges as David banged on it, causing Seren to scream down the phone.

“I’m on my way.”

“I need to call the police.”

“No, please, please don’t do that. I’ll be there in an hour. Less than. Stay down, keep the door locked.” He begged and hung up before she could argue. The door stopped shaking. She waited quietly,

“Get out of there before I shoot through the lock!” He bellowed, banging the door again. Seren flinched, hugging her knees. She knew full well it would take longer than an hour unless he broke every single speed limit on the way. Seren was eyeing up the window and trying to work out if she could manage the jump without breaking anything when the door banged again.

“Shit!” David called out, clearly in pain.

“David? Are you ok? What happened?” She asked as gently as she could, crawling back towards the door. She knelt in front of it and listened for movement on the other side. There was nothing but silence. “Shit, shit, shit.” She cursed, there was no decision to make, she knew what she needed to do but still dreaded it. She reached up to slide back the lock and opened the door a crack. David sat in the hallway, leaning against the wall with a bloodied hand in his lap. He looked up at the daylight spilling into the space and saw the tears on her face and the fear in her eyes. “What happened David?” She whispered.

“Oh. Oh my dear girl, I’m not sure,” he sounded confused and scared, no longer imprisoned by his mind, he recognised her. “Seren, I’m not sure what happened.” He admitted. She fell to her knees in relief at hearing him use her name. She moved close to sit by him and gently reached for his hand. A small cut ran from the side of his little finger down towards his palm, nothing serious but with all the banging and commotion it had bled probably a little more than a normal hand injury. He suddenly felt so frail to her and it was heartbreaking.

“It’s ok, I’m here now. I’ll help you get that sorted.” She said softly, carefully and kindly taking his hand.

When River appeared 57 minutes later, he had not expected to see Seren and his grandfather enjoying tea and lemon cake in the kitchen. Since the day he'd introduced them he hadn’t once seen them in the same room.

“River, what are you doing here? Should you not be at work?” David asked. River’s eyebrows landed somewhere in his hairline and it took a look at Seren and the barely visible shake of her head for him to recover. He noted the bandage on David's hand.

“Had some time to spare, thought I'd drop in.”

“Never missing out on cake, I see. Seren brought this from the bakery.”

“We can have a walk there tomorrow, if you like? Get something nice for lunch?”

“Now that does sound an excellent idea.” David smiled.

“D'you hurt your hand?” River asked.

“Aye, caught it on a loose hook by the bathroom door. Gave Seren quite a scare when she came out of there.” He explained.

“I'll bet.” River took his time sitting down, using the time to appraise Seren and the scene before him. He could see she'd been crying. She offered a small nod, acknowledgement that she was OK, but the sigh indicated that there was definitely a conversation to be had.

“Why don't I take the tea to the sitting room? You can catch up while I finish cleaning up upstairs. Go ahead Mr C, make yourself comfortable.” She helped him up from the table, he was clearly exhausted by his exertion of the morning. She piled up a tray which River returned for once his grandfather was settled.

“Well?” He asked impatiently.

“Well River, your lovely Pops pulled a gun on me at the front door and ordered me out of the house. I managed to hide in the bathroom where I called you and you begged me not to call the police. I think he scared himself when he cut his hand. It brought him back from,” her hand waved in the air above her head, “wherever. I think he scared himself enough to realise that I might actually be here to help.”

“And the gun?” She passed by him in the narrow space between the table and the counter and opened the freezer, pulling out the handgun.

“Didn’t know where else to put it that neither of us would use it.” She shrugged. “Anything like that happens again, and I'm gone, got it?” River nodded, suddenly grateful that he hadn't come across a crime scene. Even more grateful that Seren hadn't walked out and left them.

Chapter 2

#river cartwright/reader #river cartwright/ofc #river cartwright fanfic #rivercartwright/ofc #river cartwright #river cartwright/you #river cartwright / original female character #jack lowden #slowhorsesfanfiction #slow horses

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halogenrobotics · 10 months ago

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Birthday Burrow

This story was again not written by me, it was written by the amazing EclipsingJelly036. Please check out his amazing youtube channel to see some more of his amazing works of art!

https://www.youtube.com/@eclipsingjelly9572

TW: Nightmare and panic attack. If you would like to skip these parts, stop reading where the "XXX" appears and scroll down to where it appears again

Read on AO3!

The Pizzaplex’s Atrium was decorated with a horde of balloons canopying the ceiling, as the room’s wave of lights shone like lasers, piercing darkness midair. The floors were coated in confetti, upbeat music playing in the background. Vanessa strolled through the center holding a parcel in her hands, looking for the nearest route to the party room.

She passed a few mop bots cleaning outside the Atrium. Holograms of the star animatronics formed into shape on the show stage, as Vanessa exited the room. As she entered the lobby, her eyes gazed at how empty the place was, just like she had planned. Tonight was a special night. It had to be perfect.

Vanessa looked at her watch with concern, reminding herself that she was early. The party room’s door handle was soon in her reach. Shrugging off any hints of waiting, she entered, noticing a young boy in a party hat.

He was playing on his Fazwatch, too busy to notice Vanessa coming in. Typical. Vanessa smiled, thinking of something quick to say, as the young boy’s eyes narrowed on his watch’s screen. Vanessa took a deep breath and proceeded.

“Happy Birthday Gregory!” Vanessa put on the biggest smile you could ever see. This strength of joy captured Gregory the instant her voice reached his ears. He jolted up, half surprised and yet a smile broke on his face.

“Vanessa! You came!” The young birthday kid ran over and hugged Vanessa tightly, clearly happy to see her. Vanessa handed him the parcel after he finally let go. Gregory placed his present on the table, right next to the cake. Vanessa’s hand flew to her back pocket, remembering her cue.

Gregory planted ten candles into his delicious cake. The frosting cream thickness rests on the chocolate layers of goodness. Vanessa noticed two cherries plucked and placed beside the cake’s plate. Oh right, he hated those. Vanessa laughed in her head, finding this amusing.

But nothing could take her attention away by how overjoyed and excited Gregory was feeling. His eyes flexed on Vanessa with a mirroring smile. Vanessa was living in her moment. Gregory had trusted her after all that had happened, and now she was here, on his most important day.

She flicked her lighter on, and set the candles alight. The candles calmly spread into sparks.

“Whoa….” Gregory’s jaw dropped. He had been quite the brains with tech, but this was new to him. He had seen tons of kids get their birthdays celebrated like this, but these candles were something that felt fresh, perfect for his big day.

Vanessa lowered the lights of the room by placing her finger on a switch panel until the area was dark enough for the candles to appear like small fireworks. The blue and green neon lighting still showed, but it would have to do. Vanessa looked at the boy with caring eyes, and she started to sing Happy Birthday. Such a simple song that everyone knew by instinct, and yet, she could tell Gregory really treasured this moment. It had been so long, if not forever, since he last remembered a similar event such as this.

As Vanessa finished singing, she noticed the young boy giving her the same meaningful look when he watched the animatronics performing on stage. You did it! You’re his star! Vanessa cheered in her head.

“Make a wish, my little knight” Vanessa said tenderly, her voice reaching into the boy’s heart.

Gregory stared at the candles happily. I wonder, new fazwatch? An arcade machine? Butters? Vanessa giggled in her mind as she wondered where she got that last thought from. Gregory proceeded to say his wish.

“I wish…” Gregory’s pursed lips neared the candles as his eyes closed. “That this party would last forever.”

He blew the candles, Vanessa completely moved by his birthday wish. The room was now darkened. But Vanessa could still see the cake and the knife. She carefully reached for the knife and walked to the light's control switch. She flickered the brightness back on, but as she did, she felt an anchor’s weight in her head.

She could feel her head bent forward in a split second. As if something had snapped within.

“Mom, are you ok?” Greg had noticed something was off.

Vanessa pulled herself together, trying to forget the surge of what she just felt. Somehow Gregory’s words were trying to stay as the only reasoning on her mind. She slowly turned around. Gregory’s smile had been replaced by a curious, concerned expression. Vanessa sighed in relief, it was probably nothing. She took one step to the table. Her foot caused a split second blackout as it hit the floor. The lights went back on instantly. Vanessa nervously froze, slowly looking around. She could have sworn she saw it happen. Gregory didn’t seem to notice. The kid’s eyes fixated on Vanessa.

Come on, just cut the cake. Don’t mess this up! Vanessa blinked in her thoughts. She took another step. Nothing happened. She took two more steps. Still nothing.

“Is everything ok?” Gregory started to look worried.

Great, now look at what you did. Vanessa made it to the table to continue the party. “Yes Gregory, nothing could be better.”

As she held the knife just over the cake, she caught the glance of herself in the mirror wall of the party room. Everything looked normal. Gregory was still waiting for her to slice the cake.

“Here goes,” Vanessa resumed her joyful smile.

“Wait,” Gregory paused. Vanessa stood still. The birthday kid smirked and moved her knife over to where the cake had the most cream. “That’s better,” he grinned, licking his lips with delight.

Vanessa giggled. She sunk the knife deep into the cake. A wave of shock struck her head, as she stepped back in a rapid jolt. The feeling was so sudden, she nearly had struck herself with the knife. Her fingers were clutching on the knife as though her life depended on it. Her nerves clicked at the sudden emotional surge. Vanessa swore she could hear screaming in her head. A loud, sharp, piercing scream. Her hands held to the sides of her head as she tried to bear with the noise, the knife dangerously close to her cheek.

The screaming stopped. Vanessa flinched and shivered. What is going on?! Her nose caught the scent of a strong odor. Wait is that- The strong stench of blood was present. Vanessa noticed the knife she held had vanished from her grasp. Her fingers were drenched in what could only be fresh blood. Her uniform was also stained with crimson splats. Vanessa was horrified at the sudden change of the room. The balloons popped, the floors trashed, and the table was making her vision blur. The cake stood on the table perfectly, the knife already buried in. But wait, what was that red liquid dripping from the utensil’s handle?

Vanessa touched the handle, the same horrible smell reaching her nose again. The cake started to shift and warp. The illusion continued to unfold, as Vanessa gazed in fear. She was too afraid to blink or scream. The warping of the cake vanished. The delightful treat had been warped out of existence, with the real result now in view. The knife was still plunged in something. A child’s lifeless body!

Nothing prepared Vanessa for this sight. She let out a terrified scream, seeing Gregory face-planted on the table, blood leaking into a pool below. His party hat was still intact with the knife buried deep into his back.

A whisper among the scene grew into an evil undertone of a familiar voice. Vanessa could feel it crawling into her ears.

“Now his happy day can be forever——“ the voice of Vanny mocked her. “You did excellent!” Vanny said, her voice curling into a glitchy roar.

————————————————————-/

Vanessa shot straight out of bed, her eyes widened as she gasped. The view of everything she saw faded. The Pizzaplex, the blood, Gregory. All faded away in a flash of a second. She felt like she had been snatched from an awful reality and tossed back into her home. The screams were replaced by the cries of her alarm tab ringing.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! 6AM

Vaness dropped her heavy hand on the snooze option. She leaned back on her pillow and sighed. Her eyelids caved in, trying to relax her mind with blindness. Her hand rested on her forehead, as she slowly turned to face her alarm clock. She caught the blurry sight of a photo frame next to it. Vanessa yawned as her breathing resumed to normal. The picture grew sharper and clearer to make out. Vanessa paused, noticing it showed Gregory and her playing at an ice cream shack.

Vanessa let out a tired sigh of relief. “Just a dream…” She gazed at her blank white ceiling. It was time to start the day.

She slowly got up and went to the bathroom sink. The water tap ran as she lazily brushed her teeth, giving her reflection the rather bored stare. The mirror stared back as expected. Vanessa took a gulp from her rinse glass and spat into the sink. With a soft yawn, she stretched her hands in the air and walked slowly as if she was carrying a bag of bricks.

She reached the kitchen and turned on the stove. She got out two bowls, poured some cereal. Vanessa propped open the fridge door, sounding a clink of glass as it shook the whole containment. Her hands grabbed a few eggs, some bacon, and a jug of cold milk. Her head turned to see Gregory’s room door still closed. The dining table was littered with crayon drawings. Vanessa remembered last night that she and Gregory had played Pictionary. He eventually fell asleep and Vanessa had to be the one to carry him and place him in bed.

The popping sound of fried eggs threw Vanessa out of her thoughts, making her focus more on cooking rather than her daydreams. She quickly packed his lunch with a tupperware box, before wrapping it in a paper bag. Gregory was asleep longer than usual. Vanessa turned off the stove and walked back to her room to check the time. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to wake him up herself.

6:39pm. It read. I’ll give him five minutes. She told herself. Vanessa scrolled through her phone as she returned to the kitchen. She checked her messages. Nothing from Luis yet. You talked to him last evening, give him a break girl. She chuckled to herself, texting a “good morning”. Vanessa moved on to her phone’s calendar. There was a notice showing up.

Vanessa smiled as she checked it. “Oh! Gregory’s birthday is in a week” she told herself. She tipped the jug of milk into the two bowls. They grow up so fast. It felt like it was only days since she had taken the responsibility as his legal guard-

“Wait a minute…” Vanessa then came to a conclusion with her thoughts. Her arm felt stuck like stone, still pouring the milk. Gregory’s birthday is in a week! She checked her phone again. The calendar wasn’t lying. It really was a week! Oh no! I haven’t gotten him a gift! Vanessa’s eyes fell on her hand’s posture. She quickly lifted up the jug, the cereal bowl nearly overflowing with milk.

She felt the urge to double check her wardrobe, despite already knowing there was nothing in it for Gregory. Her instincts had simply taken over in response to the panic consuming her excitement. Gregory’s door flew open. Vanessa’s foot tripped at this instant, catching herself before she could fall by the kitchen counter.

“Good morning,” Gregory looked at her tiredly. Already dressed in his uniform, Gregory walked to the kitchen table, completely oblivious to Vanessa’s stammered position. Thinking fast, Vanessa slid the bowl closer to Gregory. “I made you breakfast.”

Instead, the young boy took the bowl that had less milk. Vanessa didn’t blame him. FazCrunch cereal always tasted better the more dry it was, at least that’s what Greg said. “Thanks mom,” Gregory chimed. He was starting to notice something about Vanessa. She looked like she was thinking hard. Gregory ate a spoonful of cereal before he spotted her holding her phone.

“Don’t tell me,” he guessed, munching his cereal. “You’re nervous because Luis hasn’t replied yet.”

"Uh…yeah…” Vanessa pulled herself together. It was part of the reason, though it wasn't completely right.

“Mom?” Gregory called out. Vanessa clicked back out of her thoughts. She really needed to stop doing that. “Yes yes, it’s hard to text him sometimes.” She sighed, continuing off topic. “Like, it feels like forever when he doesn’t text back.”

Gregory laughed as he shook his head. “He’ll reply I’m sure,” The kid finished his cereal. What was it with lovers always being so nervous around each other? Gregory just didn’t get it. Why be so afraid to even text if you already are close to that person?

Vanessa could hear the bus arriving outside. Before she could say a word, Gregory had already grabbed his backpack and tied his shoelaces. He was outside in seconds. Vanessa suddenly darted after him, he had forgotten his packed lunch.

Outside, Vanessa called out. “Wait Gregory! You forgot your lunch!” The bright yellow school vehicle had halted with an air’s hiss.

The bus doors swung open, Gregory had just enough time to look back and see Vanessa unzip his backpack and place his lunch inside.

“Almost forgot your lunch, sweetie,” Vanessa reassured as she zipped the bag up. A few kids on the bus planted their faces at the windows, amused at Gregory.

“Mom, you’re embarrassing me…” Gregory’s face turned a tint reddish. She definitely wasn’t gonna hug him now, she knew better than to do that in front of his friends.

“Have a great day at school Greg,” Vanessa gave him a rather awkward pat on the shoulder, trying not to shoot the kids on the bus a serious stare. Gregory returned her smile and waved goodbye as he boarded the bus.

The vehicle started to move as the doors closed. As the bus drove into the distance, Vanessa stood by the porch and waved. She was left to watch Gregory drift further and further away, until she couldn’t see him. Gregory was her son by heart. I need to get him a present. He’s counting on me. This will be the best birthday ever! Vanessa vowed in her warm heart.

A quick buzz in her hand drew her eyes back to her phone. A text reply from Luis had arrived at last. Her face beamed brightly. She tapped on her phone as she made her way back inside, excited and nervous as ever. For Gregory and Luis. This week was gonna be fun, she hoped.

——————————————————-

Vanessa sat on the couch with a clouded head. Her thumbs tapped a reply to Luis as she went on her usual routine of asking how he was. The replies she received were taking awhile, Luis was working on something at this time.

As she waited, her eyes dipped down, thinking what she could get him. It had to be special. It had to be something she hadn’t already given him. But what could that be?

The ideas that would usually pool out in Vanessa’s head had turned into a blank canvas. No matter how hard she thought, she wasn’t getting anywhere besides the casual gifts that anyone would get as a regular treat. Gregory’s birthday was more than that to her. He deserved the best, and only the best.

Her eyes fell on the crayon drawings Gregory had left behind again. This time she picked one of them up and inspected it closely. She felt like she was running around a maze with no prize. She needed a lead. A clue. Something that would point the way to help her decide.

The drawing was mainly scribbles adding up to the overall abstracted picture: A giant spaghetti of wires and metal having the head of a metalic bear fighting a space cadet. The next drawing showed him and Freddy on what appeared to be a rocket-shaped coaster. Vanessa looked in awe at the boy’s creativity. She took the next drawing, halting in her search. This last drawing had herself in it! She recognised the blonde hair and security uniform she wore. She was embracing Gregory in the drawing.

“Oh my…” Vanessa felt the warmth in her heart. She felt so touched by how Gregory saw her. She was his mom, sure. But this said it all the more with a deeper meaning. These drawings were a part of his life. And Gregory had placed her in it. Vanessa got up and folded the drawing. Somehow she felt she would need it to find the perfect present.

The door to Gregory’s room was wide open. She calmly walked inside, seeing the child’s decorative room. Most of the things here were space themed. Glowing stars on the walls, a rocket shaped bed, alien figures and space toy guns. There were also a ton of plushies from the Pizzaplex. Expired coupons, drawing notepads, Faz action figurines. “So he likes space and adventure,” Vanessa noted.

She finally caught the Pizzaplex poster hanging behind the door. Glamrock Freddy was shown handing out balloons and presents. This sparked an idea. The animatronics had spent around enough time with Gregory as she did. He visited them three times a week to hangout while she worked. They may have an idea of what to get him right?

She sat back on her couch and flipped her phone to the side. She was gonna do a video call. She had contacts with each of the animatronics personally. They all had devices in their personal rooms. She scrolled through her list of options. She tried reaching Glamrock Freddy. If anyone knew Gregory like the back of their hand, it was Freddy.

The call rang repeatedly. There was no answer. “Freddy must be on his routine shift,” Vanessa reasoned. She tried asking someone else. The screen flashed a green loading screen. Her call was answered. She heard a noise of wreckage as the screen came to show an alligator’s jaw with a smug voice answering. “Yo, wassup?” Monty answered, his claws pulling down his shades as he focussed on Vanessa.

“Hello Monty, “ Vanessa replied. “I was just checking to see if you had planned anything special for the weekend.”

“Heh, ain’t much going on for this punk,” Monty flexed his biceps, showing off his strength. His fists clenched with spiked knuckles.

Monty’s head turned around to peak as if he was making sure he was alone in the room. Vanessa looked in confusion. “Except for that lil guy’s birthday.” He muttered quietly.

“You knew?” Vanessa chirped, keeping her voice low as his. Monty rolled his eyes. “Of course, that lil guy had to enter his details to get the VIP Pass here in the Pizzaplex. Unfortunately, the others picked up on this too. It was my idea to get him a gift,” Monty bragged about his knowledge.

“Roxanne thinks she can get him a cooler gift than me,” He gritted his teeth, and laughed out loud. “She’s gonna lose big time!”

Monty flexed his muscles and grabbed a large present from off screen, placing it down for Vanessa to see. “Nothin gonna beat this!” He huffed, whatever that thing was, it made him exhaust his joints just to bring it into view. “A chainsaw always crashes down the party,” He bragged again.

Vanessa’s eyes widened. “A chainsaw?!”

Monty suddenly gulped, remembering who he was talking to. His tough voice now replaced with a defensive tone. Vanessa frowned. “It’s not what you think, I mean uh,” Monty grudged as he scratched his chin.

“He’s just a kid Monty!” Vanessa told with a worried voice, her face painted with concern.

“I know, I know,” Monty heaved his hands as he backed off. “I was just kidding,” he chuckled. “Like I would actually give him something twice his weight,” Monty’s tail jumped up and down, landing on the package. The hardware machine inside turned on and shredded the wrapping to bits. The chain saw halted with a sharp jolt as it dug into his tail.

“Whoops,” Monty’s glasses swapped up as Vanessa raised an eyebrow. “Hehe new plan.”

“Nothing sharp alright?” Vanessa frowned.

“You’re no fun,” Monty joked while giving her a rock and roll pose with his fingers. “But alright. I’m still gonna beat Roxanne anyways!” Monty roared in confidence.

“I heard that!” Yelled a female groan from outside Monty’s room.

Monty gulped again. “Gotta go bye!” He punched the end call button literally, and his voice disconnected. Vanessa was left at a static screen. She sighed and tried to dial Freddy again. But there was still no answer, much to her avail. She dialed the next contact on her list.

Her call was answered. “Oh hey Vanessa,” A wolf in a red crop top appeared on-screen, folding her arms and smirking. “Finally figured out it was your boy’s birthday?”

Vanessa nodded, feeling a little heavy. “I just can’t believe I didn’t notice until today. Would you be able to help suggest a gift I could get Gregory?”

Roxanne peeked at the cam, reading Vanessa’s face. She tapped her curled claws and pulled out a wrapped red gift. “I’ve hosted many VIP birthdays before, and all presents share one thing in common.”

Vanessa was about to ask before Roxanne continued. “They all have to be something the child can relate to. Something familiar but also something new. But the best presents always mean something special to both the giver and the receiver.”

“But-“ Vanessa was about to ask. Roxanne smirked. “If I told you exactly what gift you should get him, then it wouldn’t be “your” gift to him.”

“I guess you’re right…” Vanessa admitted, not feeling any better.

“You’ll figure it out I’m sure,” Roxanne smiled, hoping to see Vanessa’s face brighten. “Thanks Roxanne,” She replied.

“As for Monty, well-,” Roxanne placed her red present aside, and sprayed perfume on it to give an extra scent. “He's gonna lose ha!”

Roxanne placed her hands on the sides of hips and threw her hair back in the pose, saying her iconic line. “I’m the best!”

“Tell me that when you eat hot peppers when I win!” Monty yelled from afar.

“Shut up Monty!” Roxanne barked in a growl. Vanessa was confused but laughed a bit, it was just that amusing. She said bye to Roxanne and ended the call.

Freddy still wasn’t picking up. “Leave a message Superstar.” Vanessa looked blankly at her phone. Glamrock Chica’s name appeared as the final option. Vanessa was in such a mood she completely forgot about the animatronic that had the best ties with her. She dialed without another thought.

Glamrock Chica’s room was littered. Empty pizza boxes everywhere. Torn parcel wraps, popped balloons, splats of cheese stained the floor. It looked like the leftovers of 30 birthday parties. Vanessa heard a cluck, Chica’s head coming into view. She squawked as she was trying to stuff something inside a box. “Pizza!” She yelled.

“Um hey Chica?” Vanessa cracked a smile and waved. Glamrock Chica cocked her head, before springing up out of her squat.

“Vanessa! Hi bestie!!” Chica left behind whatever she was doing and raced to the front screen. “Sorry I didn’t notice you earlier. I was erm…busy,” Chica chuckled, wiping off her littered beak as she did a peace sign with her fingers.

“I just wanted to check if you could help me with something. You see, it’s Gregory’s birthday and-“ Chica cut her off. “You forgot?!”

Vanessa winced but nodded. Chica shook her head. “Haven’t you learned anything from the times we hung out?”

“Always eat pizza?” Vanessa quoted. Glamrock Chica shot back an annoyed yet admitting look. “Aside from that,” Chica chuckled, folding her arms. “I may not be the brightest, but I always remember the birthdays of everyone that’s close to me.”

Just then, a staff bot came in, holding a tray of fresh pizza. Chica’s jaw hung as her primitive instincts kicked in. “Pizza!!!!” She yelled, having her arms outstretched with grabby fingers. The staff bot dropped the tray and ran, leaving Chica to get her reward. Her beak pulled the food apart as Vanessa waited the right time to ask. “I still don’t know what to get him…”

“Get him pizza,” chirped Glamrock Chica, biting into her food again. Vanessa raised her eyebrow again, still unable to tell if she was joking after all these months. “You can’t be serious.”

“What?” Chica pecked and wiped her mouth. “No birthday is complete without food! A party needs a cake!”

“A cake?! Oh I didn’t think of that!” Vanessa added that to her list. Everyone was so focused on getting a gift that no one even brought up cake.

“Duh, sometimes I wonder how you got that security guard role,” Chica playfully joked around, tearing open a wrapped box and gobbled whatever was inside.

“Thanks Chica!” Vanessa said, cheering a bit, happy she had a clear goal for one of the things needed for the party.

Chica suddenly gulped, realizing she had cheese all over her beak as she held torn wrappers. “Oh no I did it again,” Chica squawked at herself with laughter.

Vanessa was about to ask what gift she should get. But she paused, perhaps remembering what Roxanne said. This was for her as Gregory’s mom to figure out. It wouldn't be special if Chica just gave her the answer.

The doors burst open, a jolly yet panicked figure stepped in. He wore jester boots, jingly bells, and a gold and red striped outfit. His face resembled the Sun. “Chica there you are!! The main stage is madness! Freddy needs your help to join him on his encore right this instant!” The Daycare Attendant brought the news.

Chica yawned and stuffed her face with another pizza. “Do I really have to?”

“You must hurry! Some of the kids started throwing pizza at-“ Sun the Daycare Attendant tried to explain.

“PIZZA!!!!” Chica flung out the door instantly, completely forgetting about the call and Sun. Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! Those words rung in her head in a loop.

Sun then noticed the room. “Oh no no!” He grabbed a broom and looked around the whole place. “What a mess! Clean up, clean up!”

Vanessa felt like saying hi, as Sun didn’t even notice the call was still streaming her face. But the constant stressed look in Sun’s face just told her now was not the time. She gave a silent wave at Sun, wishing him luck. The call ended.

Ok so we need a birthday cake, but…I still need to think of a gift……

She looked back at her text messages. She had missed a few replies from Luis. He was free now, asking if she wanted to go out somewhere. Vanessa wondered at her phone, but chose that it was now or never. She dialed Luis.

“Yo Ness, how are you?” answered Luis’ gentle tone.

“Luis oh thank God!” Vanessa sighed in relief. “I’m not doing too well. I just realized Gregory’s birthday is in a week. But I haven’t gotten the cake or a gift ready for him. I really need help to pick a present for him…”

“I see, maybe we could go to the mall this afternoon?,” Luis offered, hearing Vanessa’s sensitive voice. She needed him the most right now. How could he refuse? “I could pick you up around your house in half an hour!”

Vanessa felt her heavy breath speak tenderly. She always somehow did that by instinct everytime she felt bad. “That would be nice… but I don’t want to interrupt your plans.” Vanessa expressed her concerns, wanting to make sure she wasn’t bothering him.

“You don't need to worry about interrupting anything, Ness,” Luis confirmed with a caring smirk. “I’m not doing anything, so I'm free all day.” Luis heard Vanessa sigh happily on the other end of the phone. It made him happy whenever he could help his girlfriend. “I’ll be right over there.” Luis said.

——————————————————

Vanessa got what she needed ready, her wallet was packed in her handbag. She banded up her hair in a knot, checking her phone repeatedly. As she was dressed for the mall, topped in a leather jacket, she exited the door. A gust of fresh wind greeted her face. Luis’s car had pulled over by the walkway, sounding a friendly horn.

Vanessa reached her side of the car door and got in. She gave Luis a quick kiss on the cheek before putting on her seatbelt. Luis’ eyes beamed at his girlfriend, thinking just how lucky he was to have her.

“How was work?” Vanessa asked.

“Work was-good,” Luis nearly forgot everything that happened prior. Same response every time she kisses you. Luis’ admitted to himself. Why couldn’t he be more engaging, he wondered sometimes.

“Did you have lunch yet?” Luis continued, noticing there was something about Vanessa’s face that he wasn’t too sure. Her smile felt forced. Just a mask that hid her true emotions. He was on the money about that.

“Oh uh..” Vanessa had no time to think about lunch. She had been so preoccupied, it felt like time was flying faster than she could cooperate. “I had breakfast,” she replied in a folded tone.

“You must be hungry Ness,” Luis looked at her sweetly. Her eyes didn’t seem to hold that sparkle he was familiar with. She looked tired, beat up, thinking so hard on what to do next.

“I’ll be fine,” she said flatly. She was clearly upset about something. Maybe she didn’t get much good sleep? Luis decided to ask.

Touching his foot on the pedal, the car drove off towards the mall. At least he still remembered how to drive, Luis chuckled in his head.

“How was your morning?” He asked.

“Terrible…” Vanessa sunk into her chair.

“That bad, really?” Luis looked at her for a moment as he drove onwards.

“Everyone remembered to get him a gift. Everyone except me….” Vanessa hummed. “Like, I’m supposed to be the one responsible for Gregory. I’m his mom, and yet-“ Vanessa closed her eyes and sighed. “I should have remembered. All this is making me question myself if I’m just not good enough to be his caretaker.” Vanessa felt her eyes water, but she held back the tears.

“Oh Ness….” Luis let the brakes slow down the ride so he could talk to her without much distractions. It was a narrow straight road through the hillside to the mall. It wasn’t too busy on the streets. “It could happen to anyone. The best of us,” Luis tried.

“Even Chica remembered. Chica of all people!” Vanessa commented. This was just a low point that she felt was the deepest she could go.

Luis opened his mouth to object but then closed it, recalling Chica’s primitive mentality . “Ok yeah that’s really bad but … .you remembered now right? Isn’t this why we are here, driving to the mall? It’s one thing to forget, sure, but you didn’t just give up back then. The instant you found out, what did you do?”

“I…well,” Vanessa thought back to earlier. “I tried finding out what he may like, and I contacted his Glamrock friends for help.”

“That’s already more than determined of you,” Luis complimented. “That shows you want to make sure that Gregory will have a great birthday.”

Vanessa’s face lit up a bit as Luis continued. “And you still are making the effort, we are shopping for his cake and gift.” Luis added hope. “A week is longer than it sounds Ness-“

Luis slowed down the car and reversed parked into a corner. The mall peaked over them like a mountain, bright as glitter, and stairs leading to its wondrous entrance. It wasn’t the Pizzaplex, but it will have to do. Luis placed his hand on Vanessa’s. “And I’ll help you find the perfect gift, whatever it takes.”

Vanessa threw a hug to Luis, embracing him tightly. “Thank you Luis,” she whispered.

The couple got out of the car. Vanessa felt lighter. Talking to Luis in the long run always lifted the anchor off her shoulders. He was a good listener, and Vanessa loved that about him. The mall’s entrance doors spun like a carousel, lights flashing to lure curious eyes to its warm welcome. Any kid would drag their parents to enter such a marvelous location where it seemed it had everything.

“Ready to do some shopping?” Luis spoke in an excited tone, offering Vanessa his hand, as they stepped through the rotating doors.

“Let’s do this.” Vanessa nodded, now feeling confidence quench her dread. She took Luis’ hand and walked with him. I’ll make this the best birthday for you Greg. She promised.

The store was lit and packed with hundreds of people. Kids ran around excitedly, running to the hottest toy displays. Vanessa noticed there were quite a variety of families wherever she looked. It felt warm to see how happy everyone was, if this wasn’t a surprise, she would have brought Gregory too. That’s what Gregory felt like to her, he was part of her family.

Vanessa and Luis stopped by the bakery. The cakes on display made her tummy rumble. So sweet and tasty they looked, she could spend hours imagining herself eating everything.

“Does Gregory have a favorite flavor?” Luis asked.

“Hmm…” Vanessa recalled back as she hummed. She had mostly bought Gregory ice-cream popsicles of either caramel and chocolate. But which one did he say was his favorite?

“Strawberry?” Luis guessed, partly trying to spark something in Vanessa that might help her remember.

“That’s your favorite flavor,” Vanessa teased, nudging Luis with her elbow playfully. He laughed and nodded.

“Ah chocolate,” Vanessa remembered. “He loves chocolate a lot.”

She selected a cake that had suddenly arrived on scene. It was a milk chocolate layered cake with a hardened Freddy head chocolate shell on the top. It still had some decorations to make it suited for a party, but Vanessa felt like this was fate. This was the perfect cake right before her. She noted the additions she wanted.

“Would it be able to fit in your fridge?” Luis raised a question.

“I don’t think so,” Vanessa turned to Luis. “Gregory might also take a peak in the fridge if he gets hungry at night.”

Luis thought about it. “Hey Ness?”

“Ya?” Vanessa wondered what he would suggest next.

“I could take the cake to my house?” Luis offered. “Y’know keep it ready until the big day?”

“Oh Luis, that's a wonderful idea!” Vanessa lit, before she folded her arms playfully. “No sneaking bites from it, k?” She toyed in her cop voice.

“Would I get arrested?” Luis flirted back.

“I’ll shoot you,” Vanessa smirked jokingly.

“No promises,” Luis continued, receiving a sharp glare from his girlfriend. “I mean yes ‘officer’.” He gleefully replied, they both laughed. The cake’s decorations would be ready in half an hour. Vanessa had made sure she picked the extra frosting and lettering on the cake, followed by the spark candles. This left plenty of time to search for his gift.

The two continued deeper into the mall’s wide array of stores. Luis started to see coloured eggs and Lily flowers scaling the walls and floors of scenery. Kids were getting their faces painted, wearing bunny headbands and shaking egg-shaped maracas.

“I didn’t even know Easter was around the corner,” Luis commented.

Vanessa looked where he was looking. The theme really stuck to her mind. Easter was just days away. This mall was prepped up ahead of schedule, not wanting to miss out on the Easter Spirit. Vanessa was mixed in this instance, she felt joyed to see everyone having a good time, but there was uncertainty she felt within. Unease. But why?

“I never asked much about how things are between you and Gregory,” came Luis' voice. “How would you say you both get with each other? He’s not a handful right?”

“Well,” Vanessa thought back and smiled. “He’s the sweetest boy. He’s so smart too. Always planning his weekend. Gregory often draws me in his cute art pictures with Glamrock Freddy.”

“Aw that’s nice. So he’s used to you being his parent?” Luis implied.

“You could say that. He also dreams of joining me at work. Gregory wants to be just like me. He loves tech and games, so it’s not surprising why he admires my work as a fun job.” Vanessa flashed back.

“He sounds like he’ll have fun beta testing like you. Silver Parasol could always have talented gamers like him around,” Luis pointed out, putting his arm around Vanessa.

She leaned on his shoulder. “I wished they’d let us work the same work shifts…”

“Aw Ness, I wish that too,” Luis tried to think what it could be like. “We both would distract each other though,” He grinned sarcastically.

“Shut up,” Vanessa giggled, giving a friendly punch to Luis’ arm.

“Ow! Ness-“ Luis frowned tightly.

“Oh sorry! I didn’t mean-“ Vanessa swore she didn’t throw a hard punch. Luis was hurt?! How could she? Her terrified shock was suddenly cut off by Luis laughing at her. “Gotcha!” he said. Vanessa flushed her cheeks red at his antics.

“Luis, don't scare me like that!” She punched his shoulder again, harder this time. Luis shuffled and rubbed his arm. “Ok that one hurt a lil,” he chuckled. She rolled her eyes. “But would it really be good if he joined us at work when he grows up?”

“You said it yourself right? He’s good at games and enjoys it. Being good at something and loving it as your life makes it the dream job,” Luis paraphrased.

“It’s just, well,” Vanessa held her hands behind her back as she stretched, she often did this when she felt stressed about something. “I’m not too keen on letting him tryout for a job there..”

“Oh why not?” Luis asked. “The pay’s good too. The hours eh, manageable.”

“Whenever someone is doing good at their job there, they often get promoted to test the latest games. Gregory might do too well… and it won’t be long before they start to use him to test VR games as part of his work.” Vanessa explained in a voice that was growing softer, her arm holding her opposite elbow.

“What’s wrong with-“ Luis’ cut off his voice before he could finish, noticing Vanessa having herself in a stressful position. “Oh…right… you don’t want him around those types of games do you?”

“No…not after what happened to me,” Vanessa’s tone was hushed but audible enough to nearly sound pitiful. “I haven’t touched a VR game since the day I was freed.”

“What did it feel like…y’know, being controlled and all that?” Luis spoke calmly as he placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to piece together a part of her past that she didn’t talk much about in detail.

“It felt like I was locked in a box. Trapped in a room without a key…a burrow with no light. I felt lost and scared….” Vanessa’s face grew saddened. “I can’t go back to playing VR…I can’t let that happen to me or Gregory.”

Vanessa continued. “Whenever he asks me if he could play a VR game, I tell him no. I feel terrible whenever I do. I mean It’s not like he did anything wrong… ” She turned to Luis, looking him in the eyes. “That’s more to the reason why I have to make it up to him with this birthday present.”

Luis said nothing at first, taking in the amount of emotion Vanessa was putting into her whole plan for Gregory. Dammit Luis, you just had to ask her that…look now she’s clearly upset.. “Gregory is very lucky to have a caring mother like you. Never forget that,” Luis very much wanted to hug Vanessa. But he didn’t know if now was the right time.

“Do you think there could be a gift that Gregory would be happy with that isn’t a VR game?” She sniffed as she singled out those words.

“Hey, don’t give up hope,” Luis spoke in a warm voice. “This mall is huge, we just need to keep looking. Now you said Gregory liked games , right?”

Vanessa nodded. Luis followed up. “Then that’s where we should start searching. It doesn’t have to be a VR game. I just happen to know the best gaming stores around here. The mall doesn’t close until ten.”

Vanessa breathed and nodded again as she lifted her head. “You’re right. There’s still time.”

“More than enough,” Luis offered her his hand again. “We can circle back here to pick up the cake once we buy a gift.”

Vanessa’s face curved into a small smile, taking Luis’ hand.

——————————————————-

The games store had its neon lights on with the stock spread wide across the giant display cases and shelves stored inside. It wasn’t too busy as Luis remembered, but that would just make it easier to find what they were looking for. Whatever it was. Vanessa looked at the store’s name from outside. “This has to be the right place.” She whispered to herself.

“Damn it,” Luis nudged her, getting her attention to a promotion sign. 30% off all products. Final offer before closing today until next month! “Seems today is the last day this store’s gonna be open.”

Vanessa looked at her watch. “They close at 9pm. That leaves us 3 hours. Let’s split up. I’ll search from this aisle. You start searching from that side.” Vanessa pointed towards the opposite end. “We’ll cover more of the store faster this way.”

“On it,” Luis agreed.

Vanessa checked out the console aisle. Loads of controllers hung on display. Some were as old as the retro arcades while others seem to be crafted from a sci-fi world. A mix of old and new devices. This store had everything it seemed. She stepped into the first row that featured playable games. Gregory did have a console at home.

She looked under the Adventure and Space section. Her mind had to work harder to recall what games Gregory already had. He collected so many over the months that she started to worry if she accidentally got something he already had.

Freddy in Space VII, Carnival Quest, Into Madness, Help Wanted 2, Revenge of the Blob.

“He’s beaten all of these games…” Vanessa’s heart sank. There’s nothing new for his favorite theme. But maybe I could search other categories, I mean, he could love something new?

Vanessa strolled past the Space themed shelf, noticing the abundance of games under Fazbear Ent’s name. There were also Silver Parasol brands, but they were the needles in a haystack when it came to attention grabbing to the likes of Fazbear’s.

Vanessa reached the Collectibles category. Not surprisingly, she found that most of them had already been played by Gregory. Vanessa continued walking onwards. There was always something new in the world of gaming. She just needed to look in the right place.

She approached the Latest! aisle. This category was flashy, with marked prices at every turn. This was supposed to be the hottest sales in town, and the store was capitalizing on its promotions. Vanessa’s eyes lit and she smiled widely for the first time in this store. Gregory didn’t own a single game in this whole shelf.

Fnaf World The Return, Fruity Maze 3D, Playhunt, Terisma, Roxy Racers, Pizza Fest, Spend The Night-

Vanessa’s excitement disappeared with a crushing wave of realization. Just as rapidly as her hopes had soared, they plummeted faster than anticipated. All of these games…they were exclusive to the VR platforms…

Vanessa felt acid in her stomach. Why…why did it have to be like this…? Her hand reached out to one of the games, picking it up for a closer look. A fun experience for all families to enjoy! Her eyes folded in despair, remembering all those times she kept Gregory from playing VR. All of this to keep him safe. But who was she really keeping safe with this? Gregory or herself?

Vanessa could feel tears beginning to form from behind her sockets. She put back the game and walked away, wandering into the next category of games. She felt completely distraught.

The Joy of Creation, Cherophobia, Bunny Call360, CASE, Jnr’s, The Hare, Plushtrap Chaser, Eclipse Hunt, Nightmare Circus-

Vanessa blinked. She had wandered into the Horror category. She had never been a fan of it, but she never really feared it. But she couldn’t help but feel that something was making her uneasy. She continued to walk, trying to narrow her vision away from the parting shelves as she strolled. Her sight felt claustrophobic, the appearances of bunny mascot horror themed games coming into view the further down the aisle she walked. It made sense, Easter was only around the corner, so of course they would make horror games based around the holiday…

Vanessa halted in her tracks, some of the covers starting to take the shape of something familiar. Something she had burrowed in long ago. She was hallucinating, feeling ill. She wanted to walk away, but the further she went, the more Easter themed horror she came across. It felt like the eyes of the covers were staring at her. Why was she seeing red eyes?

Vanessa grimaced and sped up to reach the end of this “rabbit hole.” It felt twisted, a shoved reminder of something she wanted to forget. I need to breathe. Vanessa headed for the exit. She needed fresh air.

Vanessa made it out, feeling her vision grow heavy. It was at that moment she saw it.

Not too far across the lit hall, danced an animal mascot. Its white fluffy ears flopped and flipped as the figure took a bow and skidded to the nearest child. It held a basket of wrapped chocolate eggs, passing over one of the treats to a young boy. Another child noticed the mascot and ran towards it. The bunny suit waved flamboyantly, doing a few bendy movements. The choreography made it seem like the mascot had no bones, fluently synced like water. It handed a young girl another one of its eggs. Vanessa could only stare in horror as she imagined the bunny’s face staring straight back at her.

She was beginning to hallucinate again. Red eyes. Red glowing eyes pierced her heart as though they were daggers. It’s mouth now a toothy grin as it pulled its arm towards its mouth to a shushing gesture. Blood flashes.

Are you having fun yet?!

Vanessa couldn’t take it any longer. The weight of her exploding guilt now made her head feel heavy. A tear snaked down her cheek as she collapsed on the ground. The fall didn’t hurt as much as her thoughts. Her legs felt numb like jelly. She couldn’t muster the strength to help herself.

“Vanessa?” Luis called from afar, noticing her leave as the lobby door closed. Something was not right. She wouldn’t just leave like that.

Luis stacked whatever he had gathered behind and went after her. Hang on Vanessa. Whatever it is, I'm coming! Luis rushed, feeling he had to know what was up. He noticed merely the mascot smiling at him and waving flamboyantly. Oh no…I think I know what might have startled her!

“Vanessa,” Luis assisted his girlfriend by supporting her arm around his neck. “Are you hurt?” Vanessa remained silent, her face upset and wrecked with tears. A few people were starting to notice both of them on the floor. Luis quickly helped her up. “Vanessa, let's talk somewhere quieter, away from everyone.” Luis whispered.

The pair slowly got up and walked to the lobby doors, leaving the commotion they made a mystery to onlookers.

Luis and Vanessa found a quiet corner by the back stairway. The trail led on to the underground parking lot. Vanessa leaned against the rails as they stopped walking. Luis was more worried as she sobbed, her sleeves soaked with tears. “Vanessa, what’s making you feel like this?” Luis approached, taking out his handkerchief.

Vanessa shook her head and sniffed. Leaning further back with a loose grip on the rails. “It was that mascot wasn’t it,” Luis slowly put his words together. Vanessa responded with a brief nod. Luis had known she was never happy about what she did in the past. But he didn’t realize it broke her this badly. Until now.

As he tried to wipe her cheeks, Vanessa wrapped her arms around him tightly and cried again, Luis could feel his shoulder drenched. Her cheeks, which were usually warm, were just cold. “Vanessa…”

“I’m sorry Luis…” She spoke in a fragile voice. She loosened her hug on him, hearing Luis gasp very quietly in relief. “I just can’t leave it behind…”

“Leave what behind?” Luis placed his hand on her back to comfort her. Vanessa clinged onto his arm. She had a tough grip that felt like iron. Luis simply didn’t back down. Now wasn’t the time for him to act weak. He needed to help her, not make her panic more. He couldn’t imagine what was going through her mind.

Vanessa went back to her mutual silence. “Vanessa, whatever it is that’s hurting you….we can solve it….together…like we always have…”

She continued to remain silent for the time being. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Vanessa slowly looked up as the minute went by. “I feel like I shouldn’t involve you in this…” She told Luis blankly, the emptiness in her voice siphoning her dread. She had bottled this feeling up that she could no longer hide it again.

“Everyone is doing perfect without me. I just can’t seem to forget what happened all those months back. I’ve always tried to act like it’s been ok, but nothing really feels like that.” Vanessa sipped in another breath of air as she proceeded. “Thinking about you and Gregory helped me out many times before. But I keep circling back to the past. Our very own relationship somehow keeps making me think about the past.”

Luis held a thought about what she said. Vanessa wasn’t finished just yet. “Gregory was able to move on. He doesn’t see me as the monster I was. Even you didn’t hold on to that fact. But I did. And I feel like I’m holding both of you down from moving forward. It’s all my fault…” Vanessa’s eyes pooled out salty tears.

“But you didn’t kill those kids. It was that glitch. You told me yourself-“ Luis objected.

“I still was the vessel. I’m not a murderer, but that doesn’t mean I deserved what I have right now either. I feel like I don’t fit in, “ Vanessa cried, her blonde hair messed in shambles. “I feel there’s always something wrong with myself. When I was Gregory’s age, I never was brought up in a good family. I never had a proper childhood..and now it’s making me ask myself if I’m always the problem. Everything feels like it’s my fault.”

“But Ness,” Luis comforted, “It was you who started this little family. It was all you. After you were freed, you accepted my idea to get some coffee together, remember?”

“And?” Vanessa sniffed, wondering where Luis was going with this.

“And that only was possible because you said yes. You opened up to me about what happened to you. And then you felt you wanted to make it up to Gregory and adopted him. You, Ness, are the core of this family. You’ll always have a place in our hearts.” Luis spoke warmly. “You don’t have to feel bad about the past…”

“But it’s my past that made me like this…” Vanessa pointed out. “Now I realized why it was so hard for me to pick a gift for Gregory. It wasn’t because I couldn’t find what he wanted. It’s because I knew what he wanted deep down. But I buried that idea because I was afraid. I was afraid of his wish that reminded me of something from my past. I’ve been so selfish…”

“These things take time to heal Ness,” Luis gave her the biggest, warmest hug as he said this. “Tell me, before all this. Before the glitch and fear. What were you like?”

“Well…” Vanessa flashed back, trying to recall further past her dreaded experience. “I was all alone. No one to look after me. I was just out for number one.” The thought of Luis meeting her for the first time came to the picture in her head. “I don’t think I cared much about my colleagues back then…I had nothing to share with”

Vanessa sobbed. “I’m sorry…”

“Ness, don’t you feel like you’ve come a long way? Your past may have not been your proudest pet of your life, but, would you say you’ve changed?”

“I…well..I guess…” Vanessa replied halfheartedly, unsure what he was going to state next.

“You’re a mom to Gregory. Despite the stress the responsibility of his care would bring, you felt like he needed it. You put aside your goals and shared a life with him. And with me…” Luis brought it up. “You gave me a chance and allowed me to be part of your family. And how do we make you feel in return?”

“You make me feel…” Vanessa held her tongue before she spoke. She could only think of one answer. It was so obvious to her, that it came out smoothly. “Happy…you both make me feel happy..”

“And you deserve to be happy.” Luis boldly reminded Vanessa. “There’s nothing to be scared of. I’m here for you in your life. And so will Gregory. No matter how long it takes, we won’t leave you behind. That’s what makes us your family.”

Vanessa shed another tear along her cheek. But this wasn’t a tear of regret or sadness. She could feel that hint of hopeful joy sprout back up from inside. It was like Luis’ words had made her realize the very thing she was missing the whole time. Everyone knew the real her. Her true self would care for her family and would be loved by those she cherished. Somehow Vanessa no longer felt like the threat. Luis made his point clear. None of the good things she had right now would have happened had it not been for her selfless actions. Why be afraid of the past if her future was so much more?

Vanessa looked Luis in the eyes. “Thank you Luis..for reminding me.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The pair had a long evening. Luis and Vanessa were strapped in seat belts as he drove her home. Vanessa held Gregory’s gift in her arms, all nicely wrapped up. The cake was in the back, steadily secured.

I won’t be afraid of the past anymore. Vanessa thought as she stared out the car window. The woodland trees running by as the moon poked its face to join the clouds in the starry sky. Gregory, I love you my son. And I want you to be happy as you have made me. Vanessa’s fingers patted the wrapped gift. And I believe that you’re gonna love what we have for you. I know I’ve said many things about this before. But now it’s time for the future. You’re my future Gregory. And I want to be there with you every step of the way. I never got the wish to be happy in my childhood. So let me make yours come true…

Vanessa thought about how everything had unfolded as Luis drove into her neighborhood. Her worries had completely faded as of now. The excitement was all that was left in her heart.

Her house appeared in the view as Luis’ car slowed down. Her doorstep faced the driveway as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “I’ll take the cake to my house until the party as we agreed, right?” Luis double checked.

Vanessa nodded and smiled. She felt her hand reach out to grasp Luis’ arm. “Hey also..”

“Yeah?” Luis realized his eyes were locked deeply at his girlfriend’s line of sight. Something else was happening. Vanessa’s face was getting closer, Luis felt himself freeze. It took him completely by surprise. He felt Vanessa’s soft lips brush against his. The pair closed their eyes as they shared the kiss.

Vanessa slowly pulled away after a while. Her cheeks were gushing pink. There was nothing more to say. Words weren’t enough to beat the compassion she had just been shown. She slowly got out of the car, present tucked in her arm. Luis still felt speechless. No way! That was… wow! Was I dreaming?

Vanessa mirrored Luis’s gleeful smile and waved. Luis waved back, eventually driving off. He glanced back using his side mirror to see Vanessa enter her house. It’d been a long night.

Tomorrow is another day…

“I’ll see you again Ness,” Luis replied to himself as he safely drove home.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The alarm rang.

Vanessa slowly peaked at the greeting sunlight as her head sunk deeper into her pillow. She pressed the snooze button and slowly sloughed up. Today’s the big day!

It felt funny, to pretend like it was an ordinary morning when Gregory awoke. Same schedule as usual. He got ready for school and boarded the bus. Not suspecting anything. He doesn’t know- Vanessa giggled to herself, proud of how everything was coming together. She spent the whole afternoon texting Luis, making sure everything was in place. This feels new. There wasn’t a feeling of stress present. She no longer had a drive to achieve perfection. She knew that she was enough. No, more than enough. Gregory was going to enjoy this.

Soon enough as school ended, Luis picked up both Vanessa and Gregory. The child’s bored out face suddenly glowed with a cheered smile as he noticed that Luis was driving towards the Pizzaplex.

“Oh, are we gonna hang around the arcade?” Gregory asked, peaking his face at the window.

“Mhm, I think you deserve a well-earned treat for studying so hard.” Vanessa said with a merry voice. Gregory shot his arm in the air with energy. “Alright! Let’s go!” He exclaimed blissfully.

As Luis parked, Vanessa and Greg hopped out with Luis behind. Luis was about to open the trunk before his hand came to an abrupt stop. He turned to Vanessa, realizing Gregory was watching him.

Vanessa’s instincts clicked, she nudged Gregory playfully and took off. “Race you to the entrance!”

“Hey no fair!” Gregory raced after her. “Last one’s a lazy mop bot!”

Luis laughed softly and slowly popped the trunk open, taking the cake and gift with him. Now that he’s distracted, that’s my cue.

Gregory and Vanessa burst through the doors at full speed. Everyone else had already gathered at the lobby. Roxxanne and Monty continuously shot stares at each other, before they saw Gregory had entered the scene. He raced straight into a hug of Glamrock Freddy. “Back for more fun superstar?”

“I sure am!” Gregory punched the air again, clicking his heels. He caught a glimpse of Glamrock Chica wiping her stained beak as she yelled “Pizza!” repeatedly. The Daycare Attendant was following her lead, cleaning up torn wrapping paper and cheese stains after her. Sun cocked his head towards Gregory, reacting as fast as he could to dump the trash in the nearest bin. He awkwardly skipped to waving at Gregory, who waved back without suspicion.

“So which game are we gonna play first?” Gregory called out eagerly.

Roxanne was about to suggest something before Monty pushed her aside to interrupt. “Gator Creek!” He roared with pride.

“Gator Creek is for toddlers,” Roxanne mockingly objected. “Howl Mayhem is a good one if you want to show you’re the best,” she shrugged her hair and flexed her arm.

“How about we let Gregory pick?” Freddy suggested, pointing his finger as the idea sprung up his circuits. Gregory tapped his finger in his chin, wondering how he was gonna choose out of the hundreds of arcade games. Chica stumbled right back on the scene, fumbling as she squawked “Pizza!” again.

“Good idea,” Gregory remembered. “Let’s head to the Pizzam machine!” Gregory sprinted, leaving Roxanne and Monty speechless at Chica. “HOW?!!” They both asked, wondering why everyone listens to Chica.

It didn’t take long for Monty and Roxanne to go after Gregory. They didn’t want to miss competing again. Vanessa walked to Chica, noticing that she was in a dizzy stance.

“Pizza!” She squealed, almost as if she was resisting a powerful urge within her.

“Chica what happened?” Vanessa inspected her bestie, looking very worried. Chica’s eyes twitched heavily, her beak hung open and snapped shut.

“Chica couldn’t find much of a gift to get for Gregory,” Freddy explained. “So she tried wrapping the one she liked that she knew she could give him.”

“Pizza…” Chica interrupted weakly, placing her hand on Vanessa’s arm, resting on the floor as her eyes jiggled in her sockets.

“Unfortunately she kept ripping open her gifts of pizza due to her having quite an appetite. So she tried hiding tons of wrapped pizza from herself all around the Pizzaplex and attempted to stay on…diet,” Glamrock Freddy shook his head pitifully.

“Oh my, you must be starving,” Vanessa helped Chica up. She really was fighting off her instincts to not eat. But she could easily have snapped into full hungry mode at any moment. Vanessa walked her to the party room. “Freddy, help me keep Gregory occupied. Me and Chica will set up the surprise with Luis.”

“You can count on me Vanessa,” Freddy flashed a “rock and roll” hand gesture, before going after Gregory.

Chica weakly pointed towards a ticket booth. “I’ve hidden….. my last gift in there…. I need to stay away from it until the time is right…”

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” Vanessa hummed. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you fixed.”

“Wait for me! I want to help too!” Sun danced after them in an altered state.

“I have an idea,” Vanessa looked at Sun in relief.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The Pizzam Machine spat out a stream of tickets as the bright words of “New Best'' flashed at the draw-dropped faces of Roxy and Monty. Gregory jumped up and down energetically. He basked in his victory as the name GGY took the top spot of the high score leaderboard.

“We uh,” Roxanne and Monty looked at the floor, swallowing their pride ever so bluntly. “We went easy on you,” they both commented in sync.

“Sure you did,” Gregory blew his hair and collected his winnings. “Now should we chill at the VIP Party Room?”

“NO!!!!” Roxy and Monty exclaimed, taking Gregory by surprise.

“Uh what I mean is-“ Roxy thought hard, scratching her paw against her chin.

“There’s so much else to do!” Monty raised his finger, nudging Roxanne.

“Right right,” Roxanne nudged back, giving an annoyed yet silent stare at Monty. “Freddy, what’s the latest addition to the Pizzaplex’s arcade?”

Glamrock Freddy stared blankly as his system searched for the latest intel. He then robotically stood tall and pointed his finger up before explaining. “The Fazer Blast has received numerous updates in the past week from-“ Freddy went on to ramble about every specific detail. Closing his eyes fashionably as he explained with a glamorous smile.

Gosh this is turning into a lecture….. Monty listened boredly to Freddy’s tutorial guide, realizing Roxy is already racing Gregory to the Fazer Blast. “Hey wait up!” Monty Gator took off.

“-coin consumables each sold separately , if you have a VIP voucher you may play modes like Zombie Mode and Frenzy, discounts apply-“ Freddy opened his eyes, finally realizing he was talking to no one. “Oh-“

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Luis stacked all the gifts by the other Glamrocks on the side table. The cake sat in the center. He noticed a scuffling voice as Glamrock Chica was helping herself to an endless supply of slushie in the next room. Sun was multitasking between hanging the decorations and mopping up excess slush leaks coming from the other room. He looked exhausted but determined to keep up with the max process.

Vanessa took another deep breath and blew the last balloon, tying its knot. Luis hung up a Happy Birthday banner and strung it to the corner poles of the room.

“Ok let’s see….balloons?” Vanessa eyed her list.

“Check,” Luis presented.

“Cake and presents?” She called out.

“Done.” Luis replied

“Food?” She asked, looking worried.

Both Luis and Ness turned to see the table of snacks and delicacies unspoiled and untouched, causing the pair to sigh in relief. Sun scrambled back to Glamrock Chica’s room as his jester heels clicked, causing him to fall over. Before Vanessa could react, Sun shot his hands straight in front of him to counter his fall, his palms cushioned the floor, tipping his entire body into a forward somersault. He spun flamboyantly in an almost similar fashion to a looney tune cartoon. Sun landed right back on his feet and proceeded to grab the mop before the mess would grow.

Glamrock Chica sat there under the slush machine, her beak widened to intake more fizzy liquids, causing it to spill on her room floor. Her eyes suggested she was lost in another world. Sun shook his head, once the machine runs out, it’s gonna be hopeless. Sun looked at the food table nervously as he mopped.

Vanessa heard her phone buzzing. She answered her call. “Freddy?” She could hear laser beam sound effects in the background.

“Gregory is about to head back once we finish this round. Is everything ready?” Freddy’s voice beeped in.

“Yes yes, the party is set,” Vanessa hushed in an affirming voice. “No more stalling. Thank you Freddy.”

The call ended quickly. Vanessa looked at the Daycare Attended working hard to clean up Chica’s leftover spillings. “Sun, are you able to keep this up until Gregory arrives?”

Sun spun and rotated his head like a wheel before nodding, keeping his ever stained smile. “Just a lil longer,” Luis encouraged, “You’re doing great!”

Vanessa shut the binders on the window panels to make sure no one could see what they were up to from outside. She and Luis prepped up confetti blasters and faced the doubled doors. Any moment right now, Gregory would be in for the big surprise!

Seconds ticked by, they could hear the slightest footsteps of a child sprint across the carpeted hall followed by multiple metallic foot stomps parading after.

“I win!” Gregory shouted at the top of his lungs as he burst through the double doors as sudden as a Jack-in-a-Box. He felt alive, springing forward as the champion of the race. His victory call was instantly interrupted.

Gregory was frozen with shock as his jaw started to hang open. The surprise wasted no time. Confetti shot out and fired at Gregory, flailing ribbons and puffs of coloured paper shards at his entrance. The balloons kissed the ceilings and dangled their tails over the tables. The cake was lit and sparkling with its candles.

“SURPRISE!” Everyone chanted.

“Whoa what?!” Gregory stood back at the sudden exclamation of the party. His eyes started to water as his smile grew. This scene he witnessed, there was something speaking to his heart. He felt just right at home and was touched emotionally. “You all planned this just for me?”

Vanessa started to clap in sync. The Glamrocks arrived behind. Sun recognised his cue and lowered the lights, making the candles more ambient. Chica kept herself from asking about eating some cake. Vanessa took a deep breath as did everyone. “Happy Birthday to you….”

Gregory felt his hand reach his heart. The others chimed in as they sang this lovely song. Gregory had never looked so happy. This felt new to his eyes, it promised him that his friends cared about him.

As the song ended, Vanessa softly placed a party hat on Gregory. “Make a wish,” she whispered.

Gregory sipped in the air and blew out the candles. “You are all my wish,” he replied sweetly. Everyone cheered in response.

Roxanne and Monty got into their cues, holding their gifts forwards. Chica stumbled out from the other room, holding her crumbled gift. The Daycare Attendant dusted her beak with a hope of polish before grabbing his own gift as he turned back on the lights. That was a close one… he thought to himself.

Freddy got his gift and Vanessa took her place in line behind him. Luis got out his camera and started taking pictures. Roxanne flushed her hair to sway from the side and knelt in front of Gregory. “Happy Birthday.”

Gregory opened her red parcel wrapped in purple ribbons. He pulled a hand mirror and some appliances for styling his hair. “With this you might even look cool as me,” Roxy joked playfully.

Gregory chuckled. “Thanks Roxy.”

Roxy smiled as she let out her most humble line. “You’re the best.”

Next, Monty stepped ahead and placed a large green box topped with a yellow bow. “Are you ready for this kid?”

“You bet!” Gregory pumped, unwrapping the gift to find two gator themed dumbbells. He picked one up and slowly lifted it.

“Remember kid, if you wanna be like me, take care of em biceps,” Monty flexed.

“Thanks I will,” Gregory flexed back, also putting down the dumbbell. It was heavier than it looked! Next came Sun, holding a very small dark blue parcel. Gregory unwrapped it to reveal a Moon shaped night light.

“Aw,” Vanessa warmly admired.

“To help you sleep better when the night turns the lights off,” Sun presented humbly.

“Thank you Sun,” Gregory appreciated, “I’ll be using this a lot!”

Chica shook as her turn came. Her beak twitched open. “Oh my, Chica what happened?” Gregory asked, looking worried.

“Nothin-“ Chica’s voice cut as she presented her gift in Gregory’s arms. “I got something for you.”

Gregory could smell something baked and delicious underneath. He opened his crumpled pink parcel to see a mass of cheese, tomato sauce, and crispy dough. “Lasagna?”

“P-pizza!” Chica chirped assuringly. “Do you like it?”

Gregory smiled back at Chica, seeing the effort she went through. “I love it,” Gregory patted Chica. “You know, it is more fun to share,” he handed her the box. Are you hungry?“

Chica nodded in delight, as Gregory let her devour the pizza mass as he watched in satisfaction. “Thanks Chica.”

Now it was Glamrock Freddy’s turn. It was smaller than the others. No larger than Greg’s doubled fist. It was bright orange, tied off neatly with a cyan bow. Gregory’s eyes fell on Freedy, who smiled in return. “Happy Birthday Superstar.”

Gregory lifted off the lid of the gift. Inside was a brand new faz watch. “Oh wow!”

Freddy pointed his finger up and explained the qualities of the watch as he slid his eyes closed in a humble fashion. “The faz watch is an upgraded version of the one you have. Aside from apps like games and learning tools, the faz watch is also connected to our systems. Which means you can finally contact us whenever you like.”

“Wait, really??! Anytime?” Gregory’s mouth spun into a gleeful smile. Freddy’s eyes shot open as he remembered. “Well except for school hours,” he let out a mechanical chuckle, scratching his ear with a tweak. Freddy felt something suddenly wrap around him. He looked down to see the young birthday boy giving him a big bear hug. Freddy calmly patted his mopped hair. “I promise I’ll call you guys everyday!” Gregory cheered.

Finally it was time for Vanessa’s present. She stood strong and firm, but remembered to smile as she gracefully approached Gregory. The parcel was pinkish white with red ribbons and a bow. As Gregory examined the parcel, he could feel its weight. Books?

Vanessa could see that Gregory was confused a bit. But as he slowly unwrapped, Gregory’s draw dropped hard. “Oh my-“

This present was the largest. But Gregory could never have predicted what he just got.

“A VR headset!!” Gregory exclaimed at the top of his lungs. “Wait, but didn’t you say-“

Vanessa nodded. “My fears kept me from letting us have fun. I always wanted to protect you from anything. It took me a while to see that.” Vanessa turned to Luis for a moment. “But I know now that no matter what happens, as long as we are together, nothing can hurt us. That’s why-“ Vanessa motioned Gregory to unwrap the present further, revealing that there were three headsets in that box. “I wanted us to play together. I knew you always wanted a VR headset. We can spend time on everything as a family.” Vanessa finished her words warmly.

Gregory started to wipe his eyes, he felt so touched by her words. Tears, but tears of joy, ran along his cheeks as he gave Vanessa the biggest hug ever. “Happy Birthday Gregory.”

“Thank you-“ Gregory sniffed and hugged harder. “Mom.” He finished.

“Aw.” Everyone smiled in awe. Vanessa could feel a release in her heart that she hadn’t felt for so long. She felt this was her new beginning. Luis, Gregory, and everyone present. This was her family now. And she would treasure them to her core. With only joy erupting out of her, the future had never been so bright as a lit torch, guiding her through her brand new life.

“So who wants cake?” Chica wiped her mouth. Everyone laughed in response, celebrating.

The End.

#fnaf vanessa #fnaf #fnaf gregory #fnaf vanny #luis cabrera #fnaf luis #fnaf security breach #fnaf sb #vanessa #fluff #fanfic #lunessa #luis x vanessa

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rose-of-the-grave · 6 months ago

Text

Birthday Party

Pairing: Harry x Hermione

Happy early birthday to one Harry James Potter! I finished this early and couldn't wait to post it 😄 This is based off of these two requests! As always I'm the author (please don't repost)

Masterlist. Read on Ao3

Warnings: fluff, Harmione being cute, Hermione and Lily bonding, James and Lily are alive and well

Word Count: 603

Description: Harry Potter celebrated his birthday with everyone he loves, including Hermione who ends up bonding a bit with Lily over the similarities in their relationships with Harry and James respectively.

Taglist: @sylveryfire, @fuckyeahsuperheropowercouples

Everybody was gathered around the table, singing Happy Birthday to Harry. The room was packed with friends and family, whether it was all of his parents’ friends that were like aunts and uncles to him or his friends from school. Ron and Hermione sat on either side of him as he leaned forward to blow out the candles, making a wish.

He looked up, grinning as everyone started cheering. Lily started to cut and serve the cake, giving Harry the first piece. It was a chocolate cake shaped like a snitch and covered in gold frosting.

Taking a bite, he exclaimed, “It’s really good! Thanks mom!”

“Anything for the birthday boy!” Lily said, teasingly before continuing to serve the cake.

“This is really good, Mrs. Potter!” Hermione said from where she sat next to Harry.

“Oh, please. Call me Lily.” His mom said.

Hermione smiled. Harry looked over at her and they shared a shy smile, they had started dating only a few weeks ago and not many people knew, including his parents. He knew that they suspected that there was something more between them but up until now they had just been friends.

The guests started to wander around into the living room and outside where games had been set up for the party. Lily and James were clearing up some stuff from the dining room, leaving Harry and Hermione virtually alone.

Harry had just finished his cake and was about to get up before realizing Hermione wasn’t quite finished.

“All done!” She said, a small piece of cake on the side of her mouth.

“There’s a…” He motioned at it before giving up and deciding to get it himself. He wiped it away with a finger before slowly leaning in for a kiss.

A plate clatter in the background and they pulled away, laughing a bit.

“Mmmmm… you taste like chocolate.”

She giggled,”That’s because I just had some, birthday boy!” Her eyes lit up with joy. She was beautiful. The two of them were lost in each other, not paying attention to their surroundings while Lily and James came back in from the kitchen.

“Seems they finally are official, James” Lily said.

“It would seem so.”

“Harry, get out here! I need a partner for this game!” Ron yelled from outside.

“I’m coming!” He yelled back before apologizing, “Sorry, ‘Mione.”

“It’s fine, I’ll see you out there.” She said before standing up and starting to gather some of the plates to take to the kitchen.

“Oh, you didn’t need to do that dear.” Lily said.

“It’s no problem. I was actually wondering if you needed any help cleaning?”

“Well, since you’re asking…” She gave her a rag and started her on wiping the dishes she was cleaning. Even though Lily could have easily done so with magic she had always preferred to wash dishes by hand.

“So, how’s school been going so far?”

“It’s been good. I’m waiting for the OWL results right now.”

“Right, of course. That should be any day now.”

“Hopefully.”

They shared a smile before returning to the task at hand. From where they stood they had an excellent view of the backyard where Ron, Harry, and Sirius were facing off against Fred, George, and James in a game of three on three quidditch.

“It’s funny, isn’t it Mrs. Potter?” Hermione mused.

“What do you mean, Hermione dear?”

“Both of us fell in love with a boy with glasses, who plays quidditch, can be clueless but still an adorable dork. Sometime, history does repeat itself, huh?”

Lily smiled, “It sure does and I couldn’t be happier.”

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that-stray-bird · 1 year ago

Text

The Outworld Melodia

Upon the table, cakes and treats abound, each bite, bringing joy unbound. In the background, works and songs arise, yet the secret remains hidden from the searching eyes.

Warnings: none really. friendly talk, mentions of hitting someone with a violin, and possible secrets.

Chapter 3

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You placed a small plate on the table. It had a slice of chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and a piece of strawberry on top. You sat and pushed the dessert to the gray-haired boy. "Here. This is on me," you said. The boy shook his hands. "O-oh, you do not have to pay anything for me, miss (Last name)," he said with a smile. "No, please. I insist. Consider it a little welcome gift and an apology for the fright in your entrance exam," you stated. "And just (Name) is fine," you added while sitting beside him.

"Ah... alright, miss (Last-- I mean (Name)!" he corrected, accepting the cake. You softly smiled at his timidness.

"I apologize for my behavior from before. I kinda had to put on a convincing act to make you believe it was an actual bomb situation," Tanizaki said as he sat on the opposite side of the table with Naomi. "It's alright!" the gray-haired boy replied. "But, are all of your entrance exams like this?" he asked. "Unfortunately, yes," you uttered, remembering your own entrance exam.

"Mine was pretty similar to yours, except that I hit Tanizaki here in the head with my violin and realized early that the bomb was fake," you pointed at the ginger, who rubbed the back of his head. "My head still hurts thinking about it," he uttered. "Well, I thought the situation was real. If it weren't so realistic, then maybe I wouldn’t have hit you so hard and broken my violin," you shrugged. "Oh, (Name)! You were so mean. You gave my brother a concussion for a week!" Naomi hugged Tanizaki and showed her tongue at you. "Okay, I know I didn’t hit him that hard,” you said back.

"By the way, my name is Tanizaki Junichirou," Tanizaki introduced to the new guy. "And this is my—" Naomi suddenly jumped at him. "His little sister, Naomi!” she said enthusiastically.

"You're siblings?" the gray-haired boy questioned. "I do not think I see the family resemblance," he added.

"You doubt us?" Naomi started, sliding her hand inappropriately down to Tanizaki's legs. "Of course, we're family by blood. The two of us are much more similar than you think. Right, big brother," Naomi pushed Tanizaki down, and the two started doing something that should have stayed behind doors.

"Are they–?" the gray-haired boy started with a startled look. You covered his eyes as you looked at the siblings with mild disgust. "Don't think about it. This is pretty normal for them," you uttered.

"Oh, by the way," you looked down on him. "What was your name again? Sorry. I have a short memory when it comes to meeting new people," you awkwardly smiled. "It's fine. My name is Atsushi Nakajima," he introduced, but you looked at him confused when you heard his name. "A sushi?" you questioned. "No. It's Atsushi," he corrected with a smile. "Oh, Atsushi. Sorry," you said. "It's fine," he chuckled, eating the cake.

"What do you do at the agency (Name)?" Atsushi asked. "Well, I'm pretty much the same as Tanizaki. An assistant of sorts, though I usually work with the office staff," you explained. "Are you an able user as well?" Atsushi asked. "Sort off... my ability isn't much use in the field," you replied.

"If I can ask? What is your ability?" Atsushi asked. "You can hear about it later. Atsushi, since you have now joined our ranks. I should let you know that we are dedicated to working for the agency's name, so do not try to quit anytime soon. Unlike some people, I could mention?!" Kunikida screamed at the siblings, and they finally stopped what they were doing.

"Well--- at least some of us are, right Dazai?" Kunikida asked, only to find the typical suicidal man flirting with the waitress.

"Would you strangle me with these beautiful delegate fingers, miss?" Dazai as he held onto the waitress's hand. Kunikida got angry and went to smack him in the head. "My hands are maybe not as nice as hers, but if you're looking for someone to break your neck. I think that honor should go to me, shouldn't it?" the blond man yelled, and Atsushi watched confused and hesitant.

"Are..." he looked at you. "Are they usually like this?" he asked. You smiled. "It can be weird for the first two days, but you get used to it quickly," you tried to sound comforting, and he looked at you more at ease. Your phone then vibrates, and you check to see a text message that tells you of your day's task.

"I'm afraid I need to leave early," you uttered, then looked at Atsushi. "Hey, do you want to exchange phone numbers? If something comes up, at work, at home. I'm always willing to help if you need it," you asked. "Oh... I would like that, thank you, (Name)," Atsushi said, sounding taken back, but he showed you his number. You quickly typed it and saved it in your contacts. "And thank you for the cake," Atsushi bowed his head. “It’s fine, welcome to the agency,” you smiled and stood up.

“I must say, you seem much more ordinary than anyone in the agency. It’s easy to talk to you,” Atsushi said. You smiled at his response.

"Thank you, you're sweet. However, I'm not really that social with people," you replied. "How come?" Atsushi asked curiously. "Well... I had some bad luck in the past, so I developed quite severe social anxiety. I'm sometimes too afraid to go out in the day to get mail without someone to accompany me," you reveal. "Oh," Atsushi said. "Anyway, I believe you will receive your first job soon. Good luck with that," you said and began leaving. “Uh— yes. Thank you! Good luck with your work today!” Atsushi called out as you left the cafe.

Atsushi continued eating the cake, enjoying the taste of the little dessert. When the five started talking about their previous occupations before joining the agency, he became curious about yours.

"Hey, do you guys possibly know what (Name)'s previous job used to be?" he asked. "She told us she used to be a music student and had a mishap that made her quit. She then worked as a part-time musician in certain bars to pay the bills. She didn’t share anything else,” Kunikida answered.

"Oh, you should definitely hear her play her violin. Her music is just magical," Naomi said, not missing a tone.

"She usually says the same thing, but I always get a feeling there’s something else she’s not telling,” Dazai started. “A big secret, you could say,” he grinned, then sighed. “But, she has become quite clever avoiding the subject, no matter how hard I try to get it out of her,” he said with a defeated tone. "I think you should leave her privacy alone," Tanizaki said.

"But I do agree with Naomi. (Name)'s gift and natural talent with the violin has always helped us up from feeling down," Tanizaki smiled. "You can usually find her playing at night behind the dorm gardens. She used to worry a lot that her playing bothers our sleep, but it is hard to complain when her music helps us dream better,” he said with a smile.

"Huh... I guess I'll ask her next time," Atsushi stated. "Atsushi. Did you know there's a reward if you can guess what I did in my past?" Dazai started. "Really? What kind of a reward?" Atsushi asked. "About this," Dazai showed him, and literal money signs appeared in Atsushi's eyes.

#bsd x reader #bsd #bungou stray dogs #anime #bsd x modern reader #various x reader #the outworld melodia

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tealbeats-archived · 10 months ago

Note

morgana wasnt. . . sure at first what to get him. though this day was mainly for couples , she wanted to show her own love for the boy she had claimed so easily as her own kin. and yet , there was a disconnect. a previous conversation continued to play loudly over and over in the back of her head about parents she knew so little about. so , instead of making the day about her , she had opt to commission a piece she. . . assumed he may like.

of course , she had snooped. hard. she wanted to find something , anything that would note more information about those before her. and just her luck , whilst her child was gone had she found just that.

later that night , she had a small gift in hand wrapped in paper and a personal cake made specifically for Ezreal. ❛ hey. i know i dont. . . know a lot , but i hope this is something you may like. . . ❜ she holds the gift out.

within its wraps is a hand drawn picture , featuring Ezreal of current and two other adults standing along side him , hands on Ezreals shoulders. they looked proud , happy. like a family.

❛ they would be proud of you , you know. ❜

(imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorry)

“What’re you doing here, Morg? Thought you’d have a hot date or something.”

He was surprised by her presence when he got home; out doing his own thing on the day of love; the bag over his shoulder being dropped to the floor, beelining to the smell of sweetness to see the personal cake on the counter, citrine gaze fixated on it and nearly dialating from his love addiction to sugar.

“This for me?” He looks like he’s ready to destroy it, before she speaks and he blinks, confused and a brow raised as he turns to look at her. “You…didn’t have to get me anything, Morgana.” But that’s what she did. She was just like that. It was hard for him to be accustomed to something he didn’t have since he was ten—a mother. Not since…

He looks at the gift wrapped in paper; there’s something inside of him that twists in his gut—why does he feel so nervous…? He swallows thickly before he takes it; glancing back up at her briefly before looking back down to the gift and tearing the paper away to see…

Oh.

He blinks as his mind registers what he was looking at; himself, he noticed first; then the blonde man to his left who was clearly in his mid thirties, sharing some of Ezreal’s features, then the dark haired woman to his right; same age range as the man—Ezreal had more similarities to her in the face, that’s for sure; mostly the softness, the mouth and her eyes, while his his nose and his jaw line were closer to his fathers. A good combination of both, really. His lips part to speak, but nothing comes out. Instead, he sucks in a sharp breath.

‘Mom…Dad.’

It takes him a minute to realize that he’s crying; silently so. Tears stream down his face and his hands shake; though they hold onto the image tightly. He misses them. He’s always missed them. Part of him wants them to be alive and to come home but part of him knows that may be nothing more then an impossible dream.

It’s been twelve years. He should be over it by now.

He’s not.

By the time he realizes that his cheeks feel wet, he’s quick to rub at his eyes to try to get them to stop; using his other arm to clutch the picture to his chest. He may have went in a different direction of a career then they may have wanted, he thought, but that’s all he ever wanted. Was for them to be proud of him.

He turns to face her, quickly throwing himself at her; still clutching the picture to his best; his arm wrapped around her shoulders and his face buried into her neck.

“Thanks, Morgana. This…this means everything to me.”

#crying real tears fuck you elle #𝐏𝐎𝐏⭑𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄! — | in character.#𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑! — | v.main ( heartsteel )#𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀 𝐌𝐎𝐌 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄? — | withinchains; Ezreal && Morgana.

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rainbwspctrm · 1 year ago

Text

{Rough Patch}

{Characters -> Chromius, Hueston (Sweet Cap’n Cakes || Writers’ OCs)}

{Chromius recalls and recounts a tale from a very troublesome point of their life.}

====================

“Well, I suppose after two years of walking the Cyber World, I suppose I better get this off my chest. This journal will be a reminder of what I once had to overcome. A memento of where I would vow not to falter again. A tale of a man who was a bit less than savory… and how I had let loose the worst of my outbursts. In reality, I was never quite as black and white as I seem.

Now then, why don’t I start this from the beginning? It started a few days after I settled home… As fate would have it, the first thing I saw upon stepping out that front door…”

<><><><><><><><><><>

“...Mister, who exactly are you and how long have you been ringin’ the bell? Rest assured, it’s getting very troublesome right about now.” Chromius speaks, nary giving more than a peek out of the slightly-cracked front door. This individual was rather tall to say the least. A fairly bulky frame to suit as well, and a nice leather jacket. Most notably though, a head built using a monitor, displaying facials for ‘em.

“Whoa, I am so super sorry little dude! Came rollin’ in to check now that you’re all settled in! I’m an old time friend of your parents, put ‘em there! Name’s Hueston!” The computiran held out a hand all the way, practically poking into the musical bot’s home, prompting the latter to slide back a bit. Okay, well, maybe this wasn’t so terrible, but- this guy’s rather ecstatic to see them.

“...Yeah, name’s Chromius. Umm… well… yeah, put it there. I guess.” Chromius hesitantly took Hueston’s hand, soonafter finding themself on the receiving end of a rather hearty handshake. It’s almost worrisome how strong this guy is, but that just has to mean he’s very much a high-performance bot, sharing similar heightened traits as Chromius.

“My pleasure! Hey, Chromius, how’s life been so far? Heard the news that your parents kinda aren’t around these days from some other buds, so I wanted to ask…”

Before Hueston could finish, Chromius interjects.

“...Bud, I… oh boy… look. I appreciate your concern, but that’s really the last thing you should ask me right now, I’m still fresh off the assembly desk, whether you mean well or not.”

<><><><><><><><><><>

“I had something of a scant feeling right there, things were probably going to get bumpy. I supposed ultimately, a friend of my parents would be a friend of mine as well, so I let the passage of time sail from there. For a bit, things seemed to get better, but alas…

A few days passed, and for a little while, Hueston seemed okay for a shot at a first friend.

Maybe that first encounter was misunderstood, I thought. Eventually however, for the first time, I would go on a shopping session in a music shop to check out some artists, but as fate had it…”

<><><><><><><><><><>

“...Synth 2240, Titanium Maiden, CPU of a Down, The Violas, Sweet… ACK–”

Just before Chromius could get a bearing on the last artist that was just about to come out of their voice synthesizer, it was the big lad once more. By chance, pretty tight chance no less, it was Hueston once more. They had just met earlier today too under the guise of visiting for breakfast. This must’ve been the third chance encounter with the guy so far, and probably the most unpleasant yet, as the big guy had nearly startled Chromius into crashing right into the stand housing all these albums to begin with!.

“Can you NOT-!... Shoot- Hueston? You again?... Oh um… righty…o.” Chromius synthesizes a sigh. Well sure, it seems he wants to hang out once more, but how’d the guy even know they’d be here in this exact shop? Perhaps Chromius just left their phone’s GPS on.

“Who else did you think it’d be, Huey? Thought you’d recognize the ol’ surprise shoulder grab! It is only your third time by now!” Hueston gives a small chuckle, as if this was an okay idea to him, at least to some degree.

“Alright, alright, I apologize, I’ll stop now. Thought perhaps I’d get you to warm up to the thrills of life! So many experiences that can come, you know? I enjoy the thrill of it, the thrill of just WHAT could happen next, the feeling that something amazing is right around the…!”

Okay, this was getting to be a bit much. The way Chromius perceived it, this guy was undoubtedly in hyperdrive mode, and they really needed him to stop.

“Whoa whoa whoa- yeaaaah, okay! Sure! It’s ALL cool, yeah? Totally… totally radical. Just sooo tubular. Don’t you think perhaaaaps though… we ALL need a breather at least on some days? If it means you’ll understand what I mean, let’s just like… I don’t know, go to a library, or a cafe, or just like… you know. Somewhere where we can take it easy?”

Hopefully, that would get their computiran accomplice to understand, and perhaps take a cue. The response Chromius would get though, seems to suggest that what’s happening is otherwise, much to the musical bot’s dismay.

“OH! YEAH! Lotta cool stuff to read and glance at the library! Action, mystery, romance, drama! And the cafe! Me and your parents would… Well, we used to go there to have our little talks all the time! However those would go. Sometimes there were some ups, sometimes there were some downs, you know what I mean? We can’t all be…”

Then, Hueston realizes something in the middle of his gushing. Chromius had actually started to make their move to the exit. Well, no sense in fighting it, maybe this would be a chance to demonstrate what they had meant. He still seems good-spirited, nothing wrong with that, right?

<><><><><><><><><><>

“For a while then, it seemed I couldn’t shake Hueston off. What I did from there, well it probably wasn’t the best for my sake. Within that same timespan though, well he seemed to mean well, for a time anyway. After so long however, no doubt even some hardier individuals out there would eventually need a break. Some time to slow down, take it easy, perhaps call off the heavier stuff for a day or two. Hueston though… Well, he was different. For young ol’ me, it was starting to get pretty crazy.

Let’s just say, I started to feel some emotions I hadn’t before. Not quite drowsiness, not quite a lack of charge, not quite an aura of fear. Rather, a burning heart and mind. Something that no doubt is something that could tip over in a catastrophic manner. I suppose this is when the telling gets rough on my mind. Tee minus twenty-four hours, or so I remember…

I was at the Smooth Tunes Cafe in my local town, when on cue, we did our dance again…”

<><><><><><><><><><>

“...Alright, so I suppose I’ll get… well… oh boy, um… shoot, how much can I spend…?”

Scanning their bank card, quite literally, as their camera eye allows Chromius an augmented-reality peer into their account details, visible only to them…

“...Ahh. Um… yeah I’ll take the Morning Album Sandwich, and um… water. Cold as you can allow, if you uh… well, like… allow it to be… well, colder?”

Seems Chromius hasn’t really adjusted to being so out there in the open, socialization and independence still proving to be a bit hard. Regardless, the waitress- a musical bot themed after a mid-range computer speaker- reassures Chromius that the water being served is very much as cold as it can go without freezing.

That answers that. Chromius gives a silent thumbs up, and the waitress is on her way! Within a moment’s notice however, a doorbell rings at the cafe’s entrance, despite the early time in the morning, and…

“...Urgh…” Chromius lightly groans at the sight of… him. The big guy. Hueston. He’s been getting more difficult the past few days. Something about this guy, it was starting to seem rather assertive, like they didn’t just need to be there now and then, no. It was more a sunrise until sundown type of deal. The traits that rubbed the musical bot too- they could only feel that whatever negative traits the computiran had, were only getting worse, yesterday being a particular outlier. No worries, once breakfast was served, they could just be out of here and…

“Had a feeling you’d be here, Huey! Look, I know last night was a bit tense, I got a bit competitive there, ruined the atmosphere, kinda squandered your feelings on video games…”

Oh dear. Hueston hasn’t forgotten about last night’s gaming session. Chromius sighs deeply. Would’ve been nice to have forgotten THAT particular night.

“Okay. Hueston. Look, I forgive you, and honestly… look, I was probably going to forget. Until you brought it up. Just please… leave it in the past. I got mad. I was petty. I know, Hueston.”

Chromius pleads to Hueston, resting their hexagonal head on their left hand, shoulder placed on the table, their lights switching to an orange color. The color of tension for the musical bot.

“Yeah, you got a fair bit out there, bud. Real rough stuff. Really left me for a scare when you up and chucked that controller almost right through a wall, yep- left that sucker with irrepairable joysticks, partially cracked shell… somewhat of a hole in my wall-"

And Hueston seemed to just keep going, and where he was going, it was somewhere Chromius was getting increasingly irritable internally. This had to stop, and the musical bot was going to make it stop.

"Okaaaaay, Hueston! Yeah! I get it! I two-hundred percent get it with how deep you've just got to rub it in! I know!"

Inopportune timing, uh oh. The waitress had shown up on cue, meal in hand, and with a mild look of suspicion strewn across her face, aimed right at Chromius. Sitting the plate down, she backs away with nary a word, only a mildly hard look. Great, just absolutely fantastic, it would no doubt seem Chromius, in their little outburst, had framed themself in a bad light, zero context able to be delivered…

And Hueston had gotten off scoff free despite being the one to provoke. Chromius' morning had been ruined in a single moment's notice. They would rather their meal just be a take-out order, so they prepare to disembark. Just then, however-

"Aa- Where are you going? Just cause I was talking about the other night? I wasn't even rubbing it in, friend, noooo- not that I'm aware of, and if I was- then sure, fine, I'm wrong and you're right. I'll take the blame, and I'll make it up to you. What can I…"

Then, promptly being stopped by yours truly-

"Look. It's nice and all you want to make it up to me, but PLEASE, Hueston… The best you can probably do is get out of my circuitry, just for a few minutes. I'll get over it eventually, this whole mess, just…" And then, Hueston sighs abruptly, arms drooping down, head lowered.

"Alright. I admit it. I've not been the greatest recently. Maybe I have had a few rough patches here and there, maybe I am getting far out there. The things I've been saying, my more compulsive acts, some of my hasty mannerisms. I've just been delving deeper into the midst of it all whenever you weren't around. Whenever no one at all is around. I've just been having mounting pressure, trying to please so many at once with my small-time interwebs skits, and…"

Oh, it seemed as if Hueston just kept going and going. An unending spiral of what felt like Hueston's massive self-loredump. Chromius felt compelled to feel just a bit guilty now, perhaps they were in the wrong after all. Surely that had to be it, no? That's gotta be what the computiran was trying to get them to see behind the veil, right?... right?

<><><><><><><><><><>

"And well, Hueston kept going in regards to his plight. There I was, suddenly having his entire recent life laid out in front of me, all the blues included. However much merit it may have had, and regardless if it was true as daylight or as veiling as the darkest nights, I found myself in a moral corner, it was almost as if I had an inclination to apologize, to forgive, and while it might be good practice to be forgiving… It's not quite as black and white as that. Sometimes you're on the receiving end, sometimes you're the sender, but what do you do when the delivered mail is an invitation to disaster more than a letter orchestrated from the heart and soul?

Well, I tore the envelope open, followed the directions so to speak, and soon enough, I was on my way to a pitfall of certain destruction, morally… And almost physically. The day before might've been a bit awkward, a bit tight, the two of us starting to feel the heat of trying to maintain a friendship that was getting stretched thin… but it didn't compare much at all to the day after. The day me, and Hueston more likely than not, were changed forever.

Well, I suppose I better get this off my CPU. This might have been a day where I had drawn out the worst of myself, but I suppose we all have our deep chasms, that one undeniable flaw… so, I guess I ought to reveal my own, however much I might have grown since then."

<><><><><><><><><><>

Just another morning. Or, that would be the case, but today seemed as if things were going to be different. For once and for a nice change of pace, Chromius had been made aware ahead of time that Hueston would show up just outside their abode. Yesterday might've been a low point, but he's been a bit more bearable at least. Maybe that apology was sincere after all, that the worst had come to pass.

…Though, a few moments pass, it's past eight in the morning, by ten minutes as well. Hueston's starting to run late in regards to picking up Chromius for that city tour. Worse comes to worst, he might've forgotten entirely, perhaps this would be a day without Hueston, and the first in a little while. A return to relative normalcy, before he had paid that first visit, before he occupied essentially every passing moment. However, perhaps Chromius was thinking too soon, as suddenly and without so much as a warning-

A loud, erupt honking dead-smack in the road, as close to the musical bot's home as could be! Chromius leaps right off the ground, quite high at that, and poor them- they had tossed a glass of water they had right down in the process, shattering it and spilling every last droplet of water into the carpet below! It isn't the most robust carpet, but given who the previous homeowners were… Chromius slams down a fist, before getting up, fairly pouty as they open the door, a bit rash at that, swinging it back fairly harshly as they step out, an audible slam booming out from behind the musical bot.

"Oh come on Chromius, don't be comin' out here looking so red, I'm out here with my dad's motorbike giving you a great first impression of the city in the…"

Before Hueston could finish, however-

"Oh! Come on Hueston! Don't be honking that flippin' horn while making me ruin my parents' carpet with broken glass and water, my front door is a few meters away!" Chromius downtalks Hueston, almost mocking the computiran. As is fairly expected, despite yesterday's little speech, Hueston gives Chromius a stern, hard look- as if he had been violated, as if he was the one that was wronged, despite his rash shortcut to acquiring the musical bot's attention.

"...Just get on the bike already, Chromius "

And despite the demanding order, Chromius begrudgingly obliges, mounting the bike, which mind you, is a one seater, no matter how long that one seat may be. What manufacturer even makes a bike with such an inconveniently long seat?! Just give it two normal seats at this point! Much as Chromius wants to make a snide remark about the bike's unnecessary design choice, they find it better to simply not talk at all. Not especially with their internal hardware starting to run faster than usual, hotter than usual. They've got to cool off. Hueston will allow for that… right?... A feeling processes through Chromius that they might not be able to.

Either way, Hueston's taking it away from here, taking off, with Chromius as his passenger for the ride. The two could only hope for smooth sailing…

<><><><><><><><><><>

“Despite our little dispute, we were off. In hindsight, it wasn’t the worst bike in the Cyber World. It worked, it seemed to be maintained fairly well, and it was serviceable enough cruising around the various town blocks we had navigated for a bit. Though, I was silent for a while, as was Hueston. Perhaps if we had at least cooled off, we’d arrive at our destination relatively fine. The only problem is, well… Hueston wasn’t the most conservative biker. After we stopped for a quick refuel at an electric charging station, we were on our way to the highways.

Let’s just say, for some, this’ll be the most thrilling part of the story. For me however, well…”

<><><><><><><><><><>

After a short recharge of Hueston’s bike, which was evidently electrical, he and Chromius were once more on the road. Before long, the presence of buildings on the sides of the road ceased, and the two were coming up to a highway. In the distance… Gigabit City. It might not be the record biggest city in the Cyber World, but its towering skyscrapers of unique shapes and proportions and lit-up solar power-producing roads made for a dazzling sight. However, as secure as the highway might be, with its force field railings on the edges…

However, Hueston… he was doing his own thing. He was speeding up, and past the speed limit.

“...Eighty… Eighty-five… Ninety… Alright Huey, better be hangin’ on tight ‘cause we’re taking the fast way through.”

Hueston kept revving up the bike, further and further. Ninety-five, one-hundred, hundred five… Eventually, out of the flame pipes of the bike, blue flames. Chromius IS indeed holding on, but-

“What are you, CRAZY?! Slow it down- do you not see the vehicles blasting right past us?! Look at you man, weaving past automobiles and trucks like this is a competitive race!”

Chromius exclaims in panic, and yet in his very much unwise wisdom, Hueston looks back, biting back in some verbal sense.

“Pipe it down, colors-and-rainbows! Do you want the breakfast of your life or not?! You wanna be first in line for all the good, we do things my way, got it?! Now let me…!!”

Then, a very close call with a truck driving the opposite direction, tightly grazing the bike and loosening Hueston’s balance of the vehicle.

“Gaaaaah–!! See what happens?! Turn that speaker of yours down to zero before we get in a real bad accident! Look! Traffic’s gettin’ real tight ahead, and I’m NOT stopping in a jam like that, so just hang on tight and don’t talk, I’m dead serious, Chromius!”

Hueston’s trying to put his focus back onto the road… and it’s getting worse. He continues to speed up, blazing past ever-so tightening collections of cars, delivery trucks, other bikers… It’s sufficient to say the computiran is cutting it quite close with some passerbys, and as fate would have it: One seems to be on a collision course, with almost no time to avoid! This is going to need pinpoint precision, with there just being enough time to cross into the lane to his right.

However… the approaching car driver, they’re far from that mindset. It veers left and right, going into a complete panic, leaving Hueston in a pretty dangerous situation. If he does it just right…

“H… Hueston!! Right- right- RIGHT-!!” Chromius speaks aloud, moreso than last time-

“Now what the heck do you think I’m doing?! Can’t you just-?!”

And then… the sound of Hueston’s bike slamming against the side of the approaching car, sending its driver spinning out entirely, and Hueston’s own bike into a violent spinout.

“I can’t control it-!! Shoot shoot shoot-!!!”

And then… another bike driver, unexpectedly slamming into Hueston’s own, undoing the spin…

And sending the bike full speed right off the edge of the road, the vehicle crashing right through and shattering the road’s force field, the bike being tossed down into the river below… and, to an even more extreme extent, Chromius and Hueston are sent flying way off into the distance…

Eventually, despite their velocity, they both evetually crash into the flowing river, being knocked into sleep mode… and being carried into a forested area.

There was a very real possibility of the two being proclaimed destroyed then and there.

This would no doubt make headlines, and ensue into a search for the two missing individuals.

<><><><><><><><><><>

“I suppose I got off lucky there. The last thing I saw before that crash, a fairly narrow river below me, its teeming waters drawing closer to my vision. The collision knocked me and Hueston out, we had both gone into sleep mode to prevent any additional damage, whether software or hardware. Either way, whatever had happened during our little voyage down the river, at that moment, there was little telling exactly where we would end up. Above all else, the one thing that mattered to me then and there, I knew I still had hardware diagnostics running. I had luckily survived not only the bike crash accident, but slamming smack dab into the flowing river.

At that velocity, there was a very real chance we could’ve slammed right into solid ground, and our stories abruptly cut short. Though, when the two of us came to, it was anything but a blessing. Our little dispute would ultimately cause us to awaken deep in a forest, cut off from any reliable GPS and radar system. Just like that, we were off the map in every sense of the word. What followed next, well… this is the roughest part, so here goes nothing…”

<><><><><><><><><><>

An hour or two passes from the initial accident. Whatever reports are being tossed around, all of them are drawing towards the same answer. The two are missing, with no traces, and are due to be presumed completely dismantled after the accident with zero shot at repairs. The only ones who would know where they’re at… are the two robots themselves.

Out in the middle of a forested area, near the end of the river… a computiran slowly twitches awake. Not just any computiran, but Hueston. It doesn’t take too long for him to process where he’s at, not especially with the trees and vines that almost completely filter out the sky, a scarce amount of sunlight piercing onto the ground where he stands. Just trying to glimpse at the sky, he almost forgets the fact that he isn’t the only one here. Looking off just to his side… Chromius. The one who just kept worrywarting this whole time. Though, perhaps they could be of use now.

Hueston makes an approach towards Chromius, nudging the musical bot.

“...Chromius. Chromius- get up! Come on, you still got some fight left in you. Least you can do is help a bud out in a life-threatening…” Hueston is unable to finish that sentence, as-

“Shut up… just… shut up…” Chromius’ head perks up, seeing… oh no. Ohhh no no no no NO.

There’s absolutely zero charging docks here, or civilization for that matter. It’s entirely forestation and natural habitats. The sun hardly shines here either, nor do GPS signals reach.

“No, no no no…! You can’t be serious!” Chromius hops up onto their feet, not even giving themself the time to dust off. They’re in serious trouble. If they run out of charge out here, that might be it for them. It’s life or death in this scenario, and there’s no clues to tell them where they’re even at whatsoever. Chromius starts to hyperventilate, pacing back and forth.

Hueston can only put his hands into his pockets, sighing. Alright, he supposes this was his fault.

“Okay, I admit it, as hard as it might be. Maybe I have been reckless. I tried rushing us right to Gigabit City, I may have caused a few vehicles to spin out along the way, and I know things are looking rough, and that I could have just…” Then, Hueston finds himself interrupted as Chromius stops pacing, laughing a bit to themself, and mind you- not in a very reassuring way.

“Oh, really, Huuuuueston-? You admit it? You really admit that you were reckless, crashed your dad’s bike and potentially took out other civilians, quite literally dragged us through the mud into the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, where we may potentially flat out DIE with no one to retrieve us, leaving the elements of nature to reclaim us and leave behind no trace?! Oh, tell me MORE, Hueston! Do you also admit being an absolute pain in my rear who couldn’t so much let me go through a single morning, afternoon and evening without seeing that smug little face of yours while you publically humiliate me?! Well go on, tell me Sherlock!!” Chromius exclaims, going as far as to drag Hueston by the collar of his jacket down to Chromius’ own eye level.

Hueston just proceeds to shove Chromius back, shooting a peeved look in response.

“Geez. Knew you were going to be at least a bit mad, but… The hell’s your problem?”

Indeed, as if Hueston hadn’t dropped so much on Chromius over the past two weeks.

Chromius is visibly starting to get more shaky, all of those lights of theirs shifting to red…

“My problem? MY problem?! Oh that’s rich, coming from you! You outright drove that stupid bike like a law-breaking criminal, crashed us into this forest and you think I’M the one with a problem?!” Chromius continues to speak at high volume, getting up in Hueston’s face.

“Grief! Okay, Huey! I get it! So we’re in this problem now, and it’s…”

Once again, cut off by an increasingly-tipping over Chromius, and quite posthaste too.

“NO! Just don’t even finish whatever’s coming out of that speaker of yours! I’ve about had it after you turned what was supposed to be a decent day into potentially my last day in some accursed forest! Just stop, dammit!” Chromius, leaning in once more towards Hueston, proceeds to shove the computiran away, prompting the latter to clench a fist, raising his own tone. Maybe THAT will get the musical bot to know their place.

“LOOK! If that’s what you always thought of me, then shame on me ‘cause it evidently MUST be true if I’m having it spoken to me! Okay, wisecracker! You got your little certificate of proof out! Either way, you and I both know I meant for this to maybe be a good day if I could’ve just-”

Proceeding to be cut off in record pace now by a continually-heating up Chromius-

“One good day is the LEAST of what I wanted! One day isn’t enough to make up for it!!”

Chromius bites back, their voice box starting to strain from their volume raising so high.

“Then TELL ME, dammit!! What do you want?!”

Hueston retaliates back at Chromius, leaning in and getting in the musical bot’s face.

…And then, Chromius reaches their tipping point.

“I just want you to #$%& off already!!!”

Chromius finds themself partially blanking out, reeling back their fist and sending it right towards Hueston’s chest, the computiran acting at the last second to catch it, wincing in the process.

“No! Good! For nothing! Invasive parasite!!”

And Chromius tosses forth another reeled-back punch, Hueston catching it once more…

“Law-breaking trojan! Time-stealing ransomware! No good for nothing unwanted program!”

And the punches kept coming, each seeming to be more forceful than the last, eventually getting to the point of leaving dents in Hueston’s right hand, and him needing to stop the blows with both hands cupped together.

“And most definitely…

MALEVOLENT PIECE OF MALWARE!!!”

Chromius exclaims at max volume, a bit of steam even being briefly seen exhausting from Chromius’ chasis, as they slide a foot back, reeling one last punch… and backing it up with both a lunge and forward slide. The impact of this punch is so significant- it instantly shatters the majority of Hueston’s right hand, chipping off pieces of the fingers of his left hand as well, leaving the computiran screaming out in immense pain.

The musical bot is hardly receptive to any of it too. They’re hardly able to record anything. The visual aspect of it, which by now is largely red-filtered, is the only thing that clearly passes through into the recording process for Chromius’ storage. Shakily, they turn their back on Hueston.

“Find your own way out! I’m going my own way even if it kills me!”

…But, however shakily it might be, Hueston tries to stand back up, slowly shifting towards Chromius as they’re walking off.

“...G…Get back here, you little…!! You wouldn’t leave me to die…!!” Hueston’s face goes red, and much as he may want to strangle the musical bot, it doesn’t matter how much remaining charge he has, or if he’s superior over Chromius in any way: He’s too injured to bounce back.

“You tried to dig both our graves. Save yourself, Hueston! You’re on your own!”

Chromius retaliates… before they’re off, leaving Hueston to fend for himself. The computiran can only struggle to chase after the musical bot.

“You… you bastard… when I get my hands on you…”

<><><><><><><><><><>

“...And then, that was the last I heard of Hueston, before I had fully tuned him- and my surroundings for that matter, out. Enraged beyond belief, I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing him for another second. I had left Hueston for dead, blind to the idea that he might’ve actually met his end that day. Wrong as it might’ve been, that was the only thing I could think to process and actually go through with. That Hueston had potentially brought an end to our days, and that he deserved everything coming at him.

Nowadays, I don’t think I could ever live with the idea of going to such an extreme. More likely than not, had this happened closer to today… Well, odds are, I’d still be seeing Hueston coming around. Who knows, maybe he did actually save himself that day, but whatever the case: I’ve not seen Hueston at all since I left him, not a single glance. Either way, only one pressing matter went through every aspect of my being. I had to escape the forest at all costs, else death would be at the front door, ready to claim me.”

<><><><><><><><><><>

Minutes pass, which soon build up into hours, and only about halfway through the day does Chromius finally calm down to a more functional state, able to glance at the world without a frenzified filter. By then however, afternoon has already begun, and with the current season, that only leaves Chromius with a few more hours of sunlight. Up to this point, and likely for the rest of the trip, their plan has been to trace the river back to its origin. Hopefully, that would be a clean shot to finding their way back to civilization.

Such a wide-open hope starts to seem a bit more closed off however, when Chromius starts to see just how rough the terrain is. Hardly a place to see through that isn’t vegetated, a multitude of environmental hazards, some fair amount of cliffs… but it’s their best shot. Sighing… they start to pick up the pace, however much extra drain it might put on their power supply.

Several more hours pass. The sun has largely set to the point that the forest would be entirely pitch black. Chromius at this point is peering into the darkness using night vision, but that too would draw from their power supply. At this point, it may not matter that Chromius is as blessed as they are to not have encountered any hostile woodland creatures. At best, their power supply may only last into the next morning. Regardless, they can’t give up. They can’t, and they won’t. They have a legacy to uphold, for their parents. If they die here, it’s all for naught. A waste.

A big waste of their time… And a waste of their parents’ time even moreso.

<><><><><><><><><><>

“Things were starting to look dire. However deep I had initially fallen into that forest, and whatever progress I made towards tracing my steps back to civilization in any form. A little before midnight, it came to me that I was at half battery capacity. This was only further compounded by needing to draw out more performance, more of my featureset to get by with any sort of progress. In hindsight, things must’ve been even more dire for Hueston…

Some good few more hours passed, it must’ve been like five in the morning before, finally… a blip in my internal GPS system. Finally, some kind of reminder that I was getting closer to escaping, and perhaps saving myself. There were a few more hours of darkness left to go though, and I hadn’t quite found my way out yet. With my GPS system enabled as well, it only further strained my power supply. It was going to get close, and I was certain, if I wasn’t out within the next few hours, that was it. Game over. I’d be finished.

These were the worst hours of the journey, and my life as a whole, given they could’ve been the last where I was still on my feet and active. Eventually, however… a boon. Just as I’m within the last few percentiles of my battery life.”

<><><><><><><><><><>

Sunrise at last, the clock ticking some few minutes past 7 in the morning. Sun rays started to pierce through the lessening trees and shrubbery ahead, and there was a clear path back to society. Sure enough, to Chromius’ right… the cityscapes of Gigabit City. To their left, clearer fields from which the musical could walk back home relatively safely, and even some buildings to indicate society’s presence. However, by then, Chromius engaged into low battery mode, meaning the fidelity of their camera being lowered, the dimming of their RBG lights, and their high performance mode disabled for. It was getting fairly grim. Civilization was right there, almost in reach, yet an aura of doubt washed over the musical bot, conflicting with what aura of hope still continued to burn within them.

So, Chromius started to haul it. They ran as fast as their legs would allow in the moment.

If they could just call for help, grab someone’s attention, anything… they would survive this entire ordeal, and be able to move on and forget about it.

The sun continued to rise, sparking further hope in Chromius' mind, as the buildings relatively close to home drew ever nearer. Just a bit more to go, and hopefully someone could save them. A good few more minutes of running pass by, getting closer. A few additional minutes… Continuing to get closer… Then some…

…Their battery draws near to 1%. The town is just within reach, and there are people walking along, going about their mornings. One last cry for help, then. Approaching a bit closer…

And then, a loud, emergency alarm blares from Chromius’ speaker. The alarm of a battery that has just about been fully drained. It sounds, and it sounds, until…

<><><><><><><><><><>

“...And then, I blacked out entirely. The last I saw, an auditorian rushing to my aid. A stranger, mind you, but I can’t forget their appearance. Their body resembled a keyboard. Not the computer type mind you, a mini keyboard piano, quite short with even shorter limbs. Regardless, I never saw them again. When I woke up, I was in a completely different environment. No longer just on the outskirts of a town. I was in a care center, all cleaned up and polished back to a more pristine state by a caretaker musical bot. To be exact, she resembled a blue CD player. White in base color, blue in the rims. Though I didn’t spend much time with her, I did what I could to thank her, kept her company and tried to make her day before I departed by keeping her company and speaking of my experiences.

It was the least I could do for someone who had effectively nursed me back to health. I didn’t think she’d be willing to listen as I vented out my feelings, but evidently, she’s heard of some bad tales in the past, worse than mine as a matter of fact. I’m glad she was all ears, really. Though, at some point, I had to return home, and so I did. There was one thing that stuck out to me, however. The music that had been playing to keep me comfortable. It was a nice little beat, not quite the longest song, must’ve clocked somewhere just over two minutes. The song in question? A little beat called Cyber Dance. The composer?

…A trio of three that were just debuting by then. They went by Sweet Cap’n Cakes. That song wouldn’t leave my head for the rest of the day. Corny as it might be… but after some few days, I bought their debut album. Then and there… music became my heart and soul. A little over a month into my life, going on two by then, and I could consider myself a musical bot then and there. And now here I am, auditioning for their band. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been recently.

…And to think, it could’ve all ended that one day. I kept fighting despite the odds however, and I suppose that’s how I got here, with music intertwined into my heart and soul, with a renewed sense of desire. A burning desire to do what would’ve made my parents proud, and to afford myself the happiest life I can. Though, I can’t help but wonder…

Did Hueston ever get out of that situation? Where would he even be if he got out of there? Is there any chance he may have completely forgotten about me by now?

There’s no sense in worrying over it as if it were spilt milk… right?”

#BEHOLD! THE BIGGEST THING I HAVE EVER WRITTEN!#NEW OCs! NEW LORE! NEW BACKSTORIES!#chromius literature #sweet cap'n cakes #scc #scc au #scc oc

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the-faramir · 7 months ago

Text

Extinction Curse Session 2024/05/01

(Some of us were having connection problems. Lysander didn't show up until the end.)

After swallowing Midori whole, the giant compound skeleton turned its attention to Zookdar, lashing out at him and nearly knocking him out.

Suddenly, a metallic voice cut through the din of battle: "SUPPORT IS HERE." In flew Buffy, carrying Galon. Buffy cast a soothe spell for Zookdar and also added a life boost.

"Sorry we're late to the party," Galon shouted out.

From within the skeleton's "stomach," Midori shouted out, "What's goin' on out there?" She followed up by singing a verse to inspire courage:

🎶🎶🎶 A circus master, clever and sly, Not even a skeleton can make me cry. I'll find a way, a trick or two, To end this hunger, I swear it's true. 🎶🎶🎶

She made another failed attempt to break free. "Wait, am I flanking from the inside? Do I have advantage?" She followed up with a rapier strike. "Did I defeat it? Did I win?"

Zookdar shouted at her, "That's not how flanking works, Midori!"

Galon added, "Yeah, you have to be on opposite sides, not the inside. Take note of that for next time."

Frustrated, Midori spat out. "Oh. Take note. Sure, just let me get out my notebook. OH, WAIT, I'M IN THE STOMACH OF A GIANT SKELETON GETTIN' DIGESTED!"

Galon assumed a stumbling stance and hit the giant skeleton with a flurry of blows, eliciting a yelp from Midori. "Hey, Galon, I felt that! Aim for the limbs, not the torso!"

"Let's take a different approach," Zookdar offered, stepping up to the giant skeleton, and laying hands on it to harm with positive energy. The giant's bones started smoldering.

The giant skeleton raised its arms and shrieked. Another wave of magical hunger struck the party.

From within, Midori shouted, "Not sure how much more o' this I can take!"

Fizzarolli directed Nefarsia to grapple with the giant. She grabbed hold, but was unable to pull her foe to the ground. The giant skeleton lashed out with its claws in retaliation.

Buffy administered battle medicine to Zookdar while Midori sang another verse:

🎶🎶🎶 With every turn, I feel the ache, But a kitsune's will is hard to break. So take the giant, toss him in the lake, Lemme out an' gimme a big fat steak! 🎶🎶🎶

She struck from within with her rapier twice more.

The skeleton swiped at Galon with its claws but Zookdar interdicted with a retributive strike of his flickmace, knocking the skeleton to the ground and allowing everyone an attack of opportunity.

Yet another wave of hunger washed over the heroes. Midori moaned weakly. "Get me outta here! Get me food! Rare steak, birthday cake, large fries, chocolate shake! Something!"

Finally, Galon ran to the head of the giant skeleton and smashed its skull to bits with a mighty blow. The others pulled apart its bones, freeing Midori.

Buffy attempted to heal the injured party members, but for some reason, their wounds would not heal. "It must be that hunger curse," Lysander offered.

Sensing that her job here was done, Buffy flew off back to the circus, or wherever it is that she goes when she leaves the party.

Gasping on the ground, Midori shook off the bone fragments and started digging around frantically in one of her pouches, pulling out a bag of adventurer's rations. She gulped the food down, barely chewing. With a crestfallen expression, she said, "That didn't help. I don't feel any less hungry." The others ate from their rations with similar results.

"Looks like we need something more substantial," Zookdar announced.

Midori piped up, "Allow me to redirect your attention back to those frog's legs from earlier. I got a flint an' some tinder. Let's build a campfire an' roast 'em!"

However, the sounds of children playing nearby interrupted the dinner plans. The heroes saw a buttercup garden around the corner, on the west side of the hall. "We should really check that out first and make sure they're all right," Zookdar advised. The team agreed and went to investigate.

Two young boys ran up to the garden fence as the party approached. Galon and Zookdar had a feeling that something was not quite right with these children as they began to speak.

"Oh, brave heroes," the children spoke in unison in an unemotional and, frankly, creepy manner, "thank you for rescuing us from that horrible monster. Come play with us."

Midori whispered out of the side of her mouth, "I swear, Galon, if they say 'forever an' ever an' ever,' I'm gettin' the fuck outta here!"

The various spells that animated Fizzarolli activated an old directive within him. He spoke as if within a dream, "Children want to play. Must play with children." He and Nefarsia approached the children to play.

One boy shouted, "The dolly has a dolly! One for each of us to play with! Come into the garden! We are but children of the Masters of this place and we mean you no harm!"

"Well, come play with us inside the hall," Zookdar suggested.

The children appeared to sadden slightly. "We're outside, not inside. It is much more fun to play in the garden than inside. Too many rules in there. 'Stay out of the center room. Don't do this, don't do that.' You know how the older ones can be."

"I see…." Zookdar decided to engage more. "And what games do you want to play?"

"We're building a tower right now," the other boy gestured to a haphazardly stacked pile of furniture in the corner of the garden.

Galon tried to redirect them, "That doesn't sound fun. Let's play 'Grandmas' instead."

Midori's stomach rumbled, and she asked, "Can one of you be a grandma to cook up some dinner?"

"Sure," the children responded in unison.

Fizzarolli joked, "Are you gonna cook HER for dinner?"

The children responded nonchalantly, "Maybe."

Zookdar asked, "Well, what's in the center room?"

"The Masters," the children responded with reverence in unison. "That's where they attend to business."

Midori interjected urgently, "Do they have a kitchen? Can they make me a sammich?"

"They do have a feast inside," the children responded as if that fact were common knowledge.

Midor replied excitedly, "Whoa, why didn't you lead with that? A feast sure beats frog's legs!"

A look of subtle horror crossed the children's faces as they looked at each other uncertainly. "Did you say, 'frog's legs?'"

But Midori turned around to talk to her team. She had been paying very close attention to the children's speech and was certain that they were not lying. "Hey, they got food. We can trust 'em!"

Fizzarolli had also been thinking about what he had seen. These children certainly appeared to be upper class. They did not seem to be brainwashed at all. Their clothes were a bit unkempt, but that fact did not seem to be too out of place. One thing bothered him, however, and he confronted the children. "What about that giant skeleton? Didn't that seem…unusual to you?"

One boy answered, "We just saw it lying on the ground, still, one day. It only started moving when you showed up. The Masters didn't believe us when we told them of the skeleton before."

Zookdar asked "Where are all the guests? We haven't seen anybody around here except for you since we arrived."

The other boy replied, "They're inside. We don't talk to the guests."

The discussion continued with the children. The skeleton had been in the stable for about two weeks. They had not seen any guests leave, but sometimes more guests would arrive. The children mostly fended for themselves, getting their food from the forest and sleeping outside. They did say that the Masters took care of them when they really needed assistance. Also, despite the fact that the boys appeared to be seven-year-old humans, they were really nineteen.

Fizzarolli and Zookdar remained dubious. "Clearly they are demons of some sort," Zookdar whispered to his comrades. "I say we make a preemptive strike." Fizzarolli nodded in agreement.

Midori interjected quietly, "Are you suggesting that we preemptively murder two children?!?"

Fizzarolli replied, "Of course."

Indignant, Midori chided, "What kind of psychopath are you?

Fizzarolli shrugged. "I don't know. How many kinds of psychopaths are there?"

Midori shook her head and stepped between Fizzarolli and Zookdar and the children. "Okay, okay, we can play with you after we eat."

One boy responded, "You promise? Okay! Go on inside. There'll be a feast for you."

At that moment, Lysander strode up to the group from the shed where he had been recuperating. "What's going on?" The team filled him in on the details of the discussion, and the decision of whether to go inside to eat or to stay outside to play with the children.

Lysander replied, "Let's go inside and eat."

Extatically, Midori shouted, "WOOOHOOO! I knew we could work out a way to go inside and eat the food!"

Lysander turned to the children and said, "Kids, lead the way."

The children replied in unison, "Okay, if that will put you at ease…." They led the team to the front of the hall. "Welcome to Fortune's Hall!" They opened the double doors.

Midori sniffed the air and looked inside. Wonderful smells of delicious food wafted from inside. The hall was brightly lit, with tables in the middle, sideboards of food served buffet-style, and a bar off in the corner to the east. People sat at the tables, eating. Midori noticed that their skin was rather green and frog-like. She recalled her knowledge briefly, then reported to the others, "They're some sorta fey!"

Zookdar spoke up, "Oh, fey. I speak fey. We gnomes have ancestors in the First World after all." He greeted the fellow feasters in fey and they flung back fitting replies.

One of the fey came to the door to greet the adventurers. "Fellow cultured people of the fey. We are representatives of the First World. Come on in. Help yourself. There's plenty of food to go around."

#pathfinder #pf2e #extinction curse #gaming session

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ultrastarbee · 3 years ago

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Hi! So I saw your request is open ^^

Can I request draken and his s/o with terrible eyesight (idk if you write fem!reader, I prefer this but g/n reader is okay too! ) Anyway him helping his s/o navigate their way because apparently they lost their glasses and refuse to wear contacts. Please make it as fluff as possible? XD idk maybe draken doing some little gesture that help his s/o and stuff and how teases them maybe.

I hope you can consider it ^^

You sure can, honey! My vision is pretty shitty, but I fucking hate my glasses. This request hits me close. It's so funny! Can we be friends? And look, fun again: I’m working on something like that with Mikey. Did you read my mind?

Title: Hearth Shaped Glasses Request: yeeees Couple: Draken x fem!reader Category: Fluffy ☁ Content Warning: none Word Count: 600 Summary: you have bad eyes, but a good boyfriend A/N: i'm kinda sleepy writing right now, but i will try my best for you!

MASTERLIST ....... RULES ....... SERIES LIST

Draken was working on a bike when you arrived. He knew it was you without even have to look. It would be so romantic to say it's because he know the sound of your footsteps, but he actually knew the sound of your voice as you shout after hitting your arm against a table. Draken chuckles getting close to you. It was the same every time you thought there was a spider somewhere but it was actually some leaf.

Your bad eyesight was exactly what brought you togheter. At school everyone was afraid of you. The way you looked at them was scary. Your frown and the way you keept eyecontact for too long... everyone used to think you wanted to pick up a fight. With Draken it wasn't different. He wouldn't hit a girl, but he would sure scare one. "What you looking at?" his voice was faking being agressive. "Are we classmates?" your voice was hopeful as soon as you recognized his voice "there's a note at the door, but...". "You can't read?" Draken reads the note himself "It says we have gym class now". "Thanks!" with a sweet smile you started walking with him. Draken laughs as you enter the male bathroom after not seeing the sign on the door. There are times when you have to read something from the board at class. Draken always kicks Mikey's seat so the boy wakes up angry and even the teachers leave the class when it happens. Similar things happen at lunch time. All three of you got strawberry shortcakes, but Mikey is a little shit. He steals every strawberry from your cake and says "oh, it looks likes they didn't have strawberries today" with the most innocent voice ever. Draken can't help but agree with Mikey since the small one took all his strawberries too.

Draken thinks this small detail about you is adorable. Sometimes he calls you his little bat, but in a sweet way. "My vision is not good, but glasses are terrible" you start complaining while Draken takes you to a chair "I'm so lucky to have you, Ken". "Don't play games with your health, Y/n" Draken leaves a small kiss on top of your hand "or when we get old you won't be able to see our pictures together". "You are right. But even when we become old I will awalyas recognize your bald head" you laugh and almost can feel the frown on his face. "Not bald". "Yeah, yeah, whatever makes you happy, Ken" you are smiling at him. At least you think it's his face. But it can also be the back of his head. "You do".

Draken is so lucky you can't see his face now. But you can hear his voice. His strong voice was warm with love. You love this boy. He is your eyes, he has your heart.

"I got something for you" Draken cleans his hands on his clothes to give you a pink box "two years today. I know you don't like glasses and always end up losing yours, but keep these, please". Hearth shaped glasses with red frames. Draken is the best. "This is actually the best present you could ever give me!" your happy voice makes him smile a little confused. "I thought you didn't even like glasses?" "Oh, I don't. I'm talking about you. The best present is you. Being with you. And now being able to see you" putting the glasses on your face you only have time do see him coming fast closer to you.

Drakens kisses are intense. Always.

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omiscurls · 3 years ago

Note

I love your writing and how much you’re able to bring out the true personalities of each character!! I was wondering if you could do Kaeya, Xiao, Diluc, Zhongli, and Childe celebrating y/n’s bday. (My birthday was a couple of days ago but I didn’t receive any greetings from my genshin team for some reason... 😔)

happy birthday

a/n: SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! as for your problem, have you tried looking in character>voiceover>voicelines? the wishes should appear there, i dont know what happened if they don't

plot: celebrating the reader's birthday

contains: kaeya, diluc, tartaglia, xiao, zhongli

warnings: brief mentions of alcohol, otherwise pure fluff

kaeya

a surprise party

to be completely honest, kaeya barely cares about his own birthday enough to even remember the date

and obviously he does remember yours, how could he not, but- he's just not used to celebrating, you know?

so watch him know very well your birthday is coming up, with a mindset like: "okay, you've got time, you'll figure something great out, it's gonna be amazing"

and the day or two before he realizes, he indeed wants to do something great and amazing, but he completely ran out of time

fortunately, who cares about reservations when your brother's a bar owner, right?

he figures out that if he waits till sunset with the party he still has an entire day he can spend of preparing everything he needs

so as you sleep peacefully, he sneaks out of the room at the break of dawn, ready to work his ass off

he doesn't want you feeling bad, after all, right?

the thing is, you do start to feel a bit bad, as an entire morning goes by, and not only is kaeya nowhere in sight, literally nobody is! you walk through the streets of mondstadt, looking for any familiar face to spend the time with, but the city seems awfully empty of your friends. you end up having fun at diona's cat's tail, her complaining about everyone, and you, surprisingly, joining in, but it still doesn't replace the companion of your friends.

you go over your day as per usual, and decide to bake yourself a cake, since you think that'll cheer you up. you run out of flour, though, so it's necessary to go over to the store and stock up on some. right as you cross the city's main square, you run into diluc.

"oh, sorry, haven't seen you" you say, not even lifting up your face to look at who's chest did you bump on, until he grabs your wrist, stopping you in your tracks.

"someone looks dejected" he says, and you almost want to punch him for not realizing why. instead of doing that, however pleasing it sounds, you just shrug your shoulders. "come on, you look like you could use a special drink of mine"

and with that, he pulls you towards angel's share, letting you complain about your day, though you don't explicitly say it's your birthday, still mad he didn't remember that on his own.

"so he completely ditched you without a word?" he acts surprised and offended "that's so awful-" he continues, opening the door before you.

just as he opens it, and you hear the word "awful" you see the bar as if for the first time. flowery garlands are up beneath the ceiling, the tables are arranged differently and covered with colorful, pastel table cloths, music is playing. the backdoor is opened and you see the outside of the building decorated in a similar manner, candles and fairy lights spread all over the place.

the sun is slowly setting over the buildings visible through the back door, and the atmosphere inside borders on magical, but to top that all off-

"happy birthday!" you hear a lot of voices shout, and your eyes widen at the sight of all those who you hold dear present. you can't help but smile, seeing all of them cheer, grinning from ear to ear.

"i-" you look over at diluc "how'd you pull this off?"

you swear you saw him crack a soft smile before admitting that he in fact, didn't. you're about to ask who did, then, but you're interrupted by a silvery voice, coming from behind you.

"i did" the voice says, a hand moving to cover your eyes "wanna guess who?" you hear a whisper inches away from your ear, shaking from surprise.

affection swells in your chest as you quietly say "kaeya", your smile growing fondler, knowing that aside from all your friends, he's here too, and as a mastermind, at that.

"hope you don't hold leaving you by yourself for a couple of hours against me" he continues, arms sneaking around your waist, chin rested on your shoulder "d'ya like it?"

emotion gets the better of you, and you don't know what to say, so choose only to nod eagerly.

"a lot" you finally whisper, much to kaeya's satisfaction.

"happy birthday, then" he says, suddenly pulling away from you, as to exclaim loudly "attention everyone!!" he takes a fork to ring on his glass "i hereby declare, that the next round's on me!"

cheers fill the room, along with one "yea right" and another "like we'd believe that" before the owner of the bar speaks up as well.

"as much as i'd like to see that" diluc settles "today's drinks are on the house."

diluc

a magical evening

so he’s a fan of planning

not a diehard fan, but a fan nonetheless

it’s just, he would rather have things planned ahead than wake up a day before and not know what to do (like a kaeya) like an idiot.

so you bet he has already calculated how much time he has left the moment you told him the date of your birthday.

unlike kaeya, he prefers to be working alone, but also likes to keep his plans a surprise. he himself hates surprises, but has to admit, doing one for someone else is quite the fun

he stays quiet about your birthday coming up until the very last moment, and if you want to ask him if he wants to do anything with you that day, he says he already has something in mind, you know, nonchalantly. as if he hadn’t been thinking about it for archons know how long

he’ll wake up before you just to wish you a happy birthday the moment you wake up, and he might be unusually affectionate for a bit, but don’t even bother asking what he has planned out - he won’t tell, not even if you beg.

diluc wanted to kick you out of the house all day. “oh, there’s shopping to be done” “oh, this lady wanted to talk to you”, or “you know, come to think of it, didn’t jean say she had something she’d wanted to show you for your birthday?” every lame excuse in the book, he has used it.

you decide to finally grant him what he so obviously wanted, and leave, choosing to walk all around the city, and even outside the gates, you make it quite a trip, not knowing when to come back.

you smile upon thinking about how secretive he tried to be, but how even he, the mighty descendant of one of the noble families of mondstadt, a man as collected and stoic as can be, couldn’t contain his excitement. you saw all his little side smiles and the way he bit his lip a little after settling today’s rough plans with you, he was so happy, you’re satisfied just by seeing that, sometimes forgetting the real reason for why he was actively plotting something.

you walk and walk, and then walk some more, but your legs start to hurt, and you’re growing hungry, so you decide to finally get back home.

when you approach the winery, you can see the lights in the ballroom are lit up from a mile away. your heart can’t help but flip with excitement, since diluc hates using the room, hates throwing parties, and would much rather just forget it exists.

it’s a beautiful venue though, looks like something out of a fairytale, and you always tell him how much you love it. it’s no surprised he decided to use it, but you can’t wait to see it anyway.

as you get closer to the building, it becomes more and more apparent that the ballroom isn’t the only place that got upgraded to a five star level for one night and one night only. the building looks amazing, and the gates are open all the way, as if there was a party to be thrown and guests to arrive any time soon.

but as you’re welcomed into the mansion, there’s no one else in the hall, other than a dressed up diluc, his hair in a high pony, just how you always said you liked it, wearing a suit you hadn’t seen on him since... well, you don’t even recall.

“well, if it isn’t my honorary guest” he announces with an official tone, almost making you a bit flustered.

“what’s all this? am i not, i don’t know, underdressed?” you giggle nervously, and he approaches you, a tiny little black box in his hand.

“you could wear a potato sack and shine brighter than all the stars together” he says softly, showing you the little box. “and as tradition orders, happy birthday.”

you carefully open the box, a simple, silver necklace resting on the little cushion inside. you take it out, and watch the ornament, but can’t for the life of you figure out what it is.

“you see” diluc provides an explanation “it’s a common thing to do to gift someone jewellery as a gift, and almost as common to have necklaces with your star constellation. that is, the allignment the stars were in the moment you were born. but i decided, that i wanted to give you one with the alignment that shone on the sky on the happiest day of my life. well, according to mona it did.”

you stay silent for a second, astonished with the present, before asking

“and that is?”

“the day we met.”

tartaglia

how to surprise your lover 101

when i tell you this boy knew EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING from the moment he first thought of it

now. he loves celebrating, anything, really, the atmosphere of a party is almost magnetic to him

he grew up thinking every person deserves to have an amazing day once a year, only about themselves, so it’s very obvious to him that he IS doing something, and it needs to be huge

now, in a family as big as his, it was hard to keep things a secret, so he developed a whole plan on how to avoid having you finding out what he was planning

and that is: by having you know

it’s really getting annoying, how everybody keeps walking up to you, for a good week now, and asking if you’re excited for the big party childe’s throwing. the first time you hear it, you almost immediately run to confront him about it, since you explicitly said that a party, a big one, at that, is the last thing you want.

he obviously says that it’s nothing, and you needn’t worry about that. not that you trust his words, obviously, but you let it go, partly because you know how attached he is to the idea of a huge celebration, and partly because arguing with someone as stubborn can really be tiring.

so you settle, and fake a smile for every conversation with the alleged “guests” for your alleged party, thinking you’ll just suffer through it and then just do something with your childe the next day, having yourself plan it.

the wait is stressful, and when you finally see tartaglia walk through your bedroom door, dressed up really nicely, with a soft ribbon to tie on your eyes, so you wouldn’t see anything before it’s “time”, you almost want to ditch him, but that would be too rude.

complying begrudgingly, you let him guide you through the city, feeling the cold evening air hit your skin, wondering where did he set up this party of his, since you don’t hear anything.

oh god, is everyone gonna jump out of hiding yelling “happy birthday”? please, not that, at least not that.

when he finally unties the material covering your eyes, you see nothing but a wooden platform at the end of the harbor, with a blanket set up, some really nice-smelling food and what appears to be champagne laying on it. the sun is setting slowly behind the mountains in the distance, the only sound you hear being waves crushing on the rocks.

you can’t help but gasp.

“but” you turn around to face childe with a questioning look “what about the party?”

“what party?” he looks surprised “i never said anything about any party” he adds with a knowing smirk.

as you analyze your surroundings, he watches you with a soft smile.

“come on, don’t be so shocked now” he finally says “i know you better than to plan you something you’d hate. i’m not THAT much of an asshole”

his giggle sounds almost too good in the beautiful scenery around you, and you can’t help but let your eyes water for a little while, before rapidly blinking the tears back.

“is this more similar to what you’ve dreamed of?” he asks.

“yeah” you whisper “yes, it is”

“well, that’s the only thing that matters. shall we?” his hand points to the blanket, and you nod, smiling.

this may or may not be inspired by that one episode of Brooklyn 9-9

xiao

trying something new

birthdays? what’s that

you mean to tell him he has lived two thousand years of his life without realizing the day it was brought to him should be celebrated?

yup, no, you can explain it all you want, he still doesn’t get the idea. he just finds it to be way too trivial, okay?

what gets to him, though, is that there’s a custom of doing something meaningful for the person celebrating their birthday, to make them feel important

well, you should’ve led with that, that he can do!

he would never just go and straight up ask for help if he needed any. so don’t be surprised if you hear yet more new stories about the yaksha that allegedly lives near wangshu inn sneaking into the kitchen, or watching through the glass.

he spends HOURS waiting for the chef to finally prepare the dish he hopes for, and once he does, he follows every step very carefully. and then again. and again. and one more time, up until he feels he can do it himself.

when he finally gets to enter said kitchen, it’s already way past midnight, and everything is dark, barely visible. he manages to find his way around, though, preparing all the ingredients, and starting to mix them the same way the chef did.

turns out it’s not as easy as it looks, for example, he didn’t measure how long this thing is supposed to be cooked, or on what temperature, so the process gets a little messy at one point. he might even have to start over. like, twice, tops.

it’s already nearing dusk when he finishes, taking the fruit of his works with him.

as per usual, you wait for him on the roof, and as per usual you don’t realize he’s right behind you until he speaks up.

“happy birthday” he says out of the blue, causing you to jump up in shock.

“oh my, xiao, you scared me! again!” you laugh.

“it’s today, isn’t it?” he continues, as if he didn’t hear you. when he sees you nod, he awkwardly shows you the package he held behind his back, watching closely as you open it with a questioning look.

inside, there’s a carefully wrapped serving of almond tofu, it could use a little bit of touch ups, but it still looks and smells delicious nonetheless.

“did you do this yourself?” you turn around to face him, smiling in disbelief

“mhm” he gets a little flustered, and decides not to tell you about his little kitchen adventure. “is it… is it good?” he asks, and you smile even more fondly.

“why don’t you come over here and taste it with me?”

zhongli

one can never go wrong with a classic

zhongli knows every single tradition there is to know.

literally.

so you don’t have to even tell him anything - he knows. he might not know what to do with his knowledge, but he does know what would make you happy

this man is a gentleman who believes that some moves to make someone swoon never get old

he even got a free day from work just for the occasion, or he may just think he told hu tao that he wants it? either way, he’s not there. not like his boss isn’t used to it.

right as the clock strikes 5 pm, you hear a knocking on your door. checking how you look one last time, you smile to the reflection in the mirror, and walk over to answer.

as you open said door, you find yourself dumbfounded at the sight of a completely soaked zhongli, rain pouring heavily behind his back. his hair sticks to his face, and all the layers of his suit seem drenched to their very core, but a smile you see so rarely paints his face, as he presents you with a bouquet of flowers.

and my oh my, just how huge is it! he barely even manages to hold it in hand, and the flower crowns hide his entire chest and half his face when he places them in front of you.

“i believe this is for you” he says gently “are you ready to go?”

you can’t even find the right words, as you size the bouquet up, taking it from him with a quiet “thank you so much” before taking it back to the house, already in search of the right vase to put them in.

“may i come in and dry myself up a bit?” he asks, still from the doorstep, and you laugh before granting him the permission.

when the both of you are ready to go, you meet in the hallway, both smiling softly at the other, a bit awkwardly, as the beginning of every meeting is.

“you look even better than usually” he finally says, pride rising in his chest at how your grin widens.

“same goes for you, mr zhongli” you answer just as cheekily, waiting for what he’s gonna say next.

“well, thank you, but i don’t think today’s about me now, is it?” he counters with a bit of a side eye. “shall we go?” he points to the open door, and the both of you leave, you grabbing his arm to fit under one umbrella.

“may i ask where’re we going?”

you can’t miss the way his smile turns prideful and confident as he says:

“i” he accentuates “am taking you out to dinner”

he might feel a bit offended by how sarcastically you gasp at the revelation, but it’s okay. as long as he gets to see you laugh, it’s okay.

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