Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wipe down the counters, all while the other in the room wraps up the leftover pastries and sweets from the day that weren’t sold to divy up between the two to take home after their shifts. It was a quiet, calm environment, as he finished one counter, moving over to a small table by the door, close enough to flip the open sign to closed.

Another day had passed by, and thankfully enough, this one had been quiet enough. It was a bit slow, but MePhone didn’t mind that all too much. It just meant less hassle, even if it was a little less business. It was a weekday, anyways, so he hadn't been expecting much anyways. It was fine. 

“Go ahead and lock the front up?”

“Okay,” he left the tag on the table for the time being as he turned to face the other, clumsily catching the keys as they were tossed to him, just glad he actually managed to not drop them this time. The coworker-- Two, just gave a small chuckle.

“I'll lock up the back when we head out,”

MePhone just gave a small nod as he turned to the door, locking up, and just listening as the other spoke again;

“I packed up the extra cookies from today for you, figured you'd like to take those home. I get the croissants today, though. Other than that, I’ll probably hand off the rest to one of my friends,”

“Alright, thanks,” a thumbs up with his free hand as he tossed the keys onto the counter for Two to take back, while he moved to finish wiping off the rest of the table. 

This was routine at this point. Every night was practically the same, and that was nice. No challenges, no rough happenings, just… Regular, simple days. It worked for him.

Eventually, he was done wiping down the tables. He stepped back, letting out a content sigh, a small smile creeping onto his face as he glanced over to Two, who was closing up one last bag of their leftovers from the day. It was much easier taking things home, or giving them away to friends-- at least in Two’s case, rather than just wasting things and trashing them. As he made his way over back behind the counter, moving to hang his apron up, he was handed the bag meant for him.

“See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, of course. As long as I don’t die on the way home,” A joke he’d probably said hundreds of times by now, but one that two didn’t seem quite used to yet, giving their usual nervous laugh and response; “haha, yeah. Stay safe,”

“You too.” A small nod as he grabbed his bag of cookies, and headed out, ready to go home and get some rest. He still had three more days of work this week before he got time off. The bakery was often closed on sundays and mondays, which didn’t seem like a lot of time off, but neither of them really cared for how long it was open for. This was both of their current passions, so spending all their time there didn’t seem to unnatural. It wasn’t like MePhone had much going on beyond this anyways-- so it very much never bothered him. Some days it would be exhausting, but he always managed. 

And like every day, his walk home was uneventful. Back to a quiet, small, nearly empty apartment as the sun set over the horizon, slinking behind the taller buildings in town, bringing a night breeze. It had never gotten really cold where he used to live, so the weather in this place was a lot to adjust to, but it was normal to him by now, but that didn’t mean he was usually prepared. Most of his outfits were not fit for colder weather, because he just couldn’t bother investing in something as simple as a scarf, or coat or something, but it was fine.

It wasn’t winter yet, so he’d be fine.

A familiar walk up the street, entering a familiar building, and making his way up familiar stairs, all to be greeted by a door he knew all too well by now, his walk more of a trudge at this point, as exhaustion was starting to hit him in waves. He hoped he wouldn’t have too much trouble falling asleep as he entered the apartment, tossing his keys onto a small table he had placed by the door, convenient for grabbing what he needed on the way out if he ever found himself in a rush. A yawn as he walked over to the kitchen, unfurling the bag to take one of the cookies, a taste he never got sick of as he stuck the rest in the fridge for now, planning on saving the rest for later, a usual for when they had extras to take home. He’d probably have more of them in the morning with his coffee, but for now he kicked off his shoes, fed his cat, and flopped down onto the couch, flipping on the tv. A nightly occurrence if he didn’t just go straight to bed. He figured if he didn’t get up at all to have to use the restroom or anything, that he’d just fall asleep here, content to spend the rest of his evening like this as his cat made its way over, hopping up to sit on his lap.

Overall, a quiet, simple night for the man, falling into a tired slumber, all to prepare to have practically the same day all over again. But that was fine. This was working for him, and nothing needed to change. He didn’t like change that much anyways. It was overrated, and… He was happy enough as it was with this life. 

He’d make do, just like he always does.

…

And the walk to work the next morning, like always, was pretty uneventful, though a bit rushed. The only complaint he had about his current job was how annoying it was getting up so early in the morning. MePhone had never been much for waking up early. Hell, it was one of the big reasons his dad thought he was just lazy-- but that wasn’t a thought for now. 

By the time he made it to the front, Two was already there, up and about like they had all the energy in the world, even though the day had just started. At least one of them got excited over mornings. A simple knock on the window, and Two rushed over to let him in so they could both prepare for the day. 

Usually, he came about two and a half hours before the bakery actually opens for the day, all so he can help prepare what’s being sold for the day. He probably could’ve taken his time, and prepared coffee for himself in the morning-- but he slept past his alarm, and ended up rushing out the door after getting changed. It was fine though. He was a little sleepy, but the baking usually helped wake him up. It just took a lot longer for him than coffee would.

“How was your night?” Two started the conversation, turned away as they were putting finishing touches on a cake that they had left to chill over night yesterday. 

“It was fine. Just kinda went home and passed out like usual,”

“What did you do for dinner?”

MePhone blinked, thinking about it, grimacing a bit.

“Ehm…”

A sigh from Two, recognizing the other’s hesitance; “How about I treat you to something for lunch today then?”
“It’s fine, really, I uh, had a cookie,” He shrugged, knowing that didn’t exactly help his case. 

“Nonsense, it’ll be no problem at all to pick us up something,”

“No, really--” He was cut off as his stomach grumbled, an immediate embarrassment entering the air for him as he just sighed, and moved to grab his apron.

“Whatever, fine. Thanks,” He knew there was no fighting it. Even though he saw himself as a bit of a slob, he tended to forget to eat on most days, opting to just stick with snacks-- which he knew wasn’t exactly the most healthy thing ever, but he never really had the energy to cook anything. It wasn’t like he was really good at that anyways. Sure, he could bake a pretty mean batch of cookies, or even some decent brownies, but when it came to cooking-- especially with meats, it didn’t go well most of the time. He knew that was an important skill to get better at, living alone and all, but he had never really gotten the chance to get really good at it in the environment he grew up in-- a similar problem to a lot of other things most people saw as simple chores, or things to do. Hell, it took him a long time just to get the grasp on doing his own laundry. But that wasn’t the point right now.

 More often than not, his fridge was just stocked up with lunch meat slices, and other things for sandwiches. He was fine without a huge variety anyways. It wasn’t like his eating habits had screwed him over yet, so why change it?

Anyways… He was getting off thought. Once he tied his apron on, he stepped over to the cabinets on the back wall, opening them up.

“We’ll have to restock our ingredients this weekend probably, we’re running low,” Two spoke as the other pulled out what was needed.

“Alright. Uh… Would you mind making the call? I don’t think our stock guy really likes me,” MePhone let out, a bit sheepish.

“Oh, I’m sure he doesn’t, but sure. This time I will.”
“Thanks,” 

And with that, as Two finished up their cake, MePhone got started on what he needed to bake for the day. Surely just another to add to the usual routine. 

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It was late afternoon, about an hour before they close up at four, and things were going smoothly. Business had been a little more active compared to yesterday, and everyone who had been coming in had been polite today. Right now, during a bit of downtime, MePhone was finally eating the sandwich Two had gone out and got him a few hours ago. 

“I’ll pay you back for this by the way,” 

“Don’t worry about it, really,” Two just smiled, leaning against the counter. Today there would definitely be a lot less

“Are you really sure?” MePhone just glanced away, feeling a bit awkward about that. Having people buy things for him always just felt odd. Maybe it was just a him thing, but it always felt like there would only be so much time before they asked for something in return that he couldn’t give. But… He chose to believe Two wasn’t like that. Hell, they left their good job to start up this bakery with him, so… That had to count for something, right? Even if they weren’t friends?

Yeah. That’s what he’d let himself believe, just this once. 

It really was slow these days. When they opened a few months ago, there was a good amount of business. They even had a few regulars who came by on certain days and everything after all this time, but as they remained open, things slowed down to a near halt on most days. There just clearly seemed to be better places to go-- of course, unless you were after a really nice custom cake-- though that was mostly Two’s deal. Really, that alone was probably why they were still open, and operating. They weren’t tight on money, or struggling to pay rent or stay open or anything, it was just… Most of their money came from the cakes, and croissants Two made, and not any of the other baked goods. Meanwhile the place across the street from them always looked busy, though… It was a completely different place. A proper kitchen, with proper cooks, and not just some bakery on the corner of a street. It was still clearly competition though, but MePhone tried no to think about it that way, considering Two was good friends with the people who worked there, regardless of how business was going. 

But it was fine. They were still open, and not struggling, and even if people barely came in here to try the things he made most of the time, he… Didn’t care. People around here just seemed to know Two, anyways, while nobody really knew MePhone. He hadn’t been in this town that long anyways-- and he certainly hadn’t been making any efforts to meet people, or make friends. And maybe that sounded lonely, and maybe sometimes it really was, well, he… Didn’t need friends. He had himself, and that was fine. 

About ten minutes before closing-- cutting it a bit close, someone made their way in.

“Sorry-- I saw the hours on the door, I’ll try not to take too long,”

“Oh that’s okay, we aren’t busy anyways,” Two piped in while they were taking out a layer to a new cake order they had gotten a little bit ago out of the oven, leaving MePhone to stand by the register to take this guys order. This was a new face, which wasn’t too much of a shock, considering this was a big town and all, and new people come and go all the time through the bakery. The man was in a dress shirt, and tie, giving MePhone the impression he had just left work-- or was on his way to something, and he had a briefcase in one of his hands, holding it as he walked up to the display counter.
“If you’re here for a custom cake, I can write down what you’re after, and Two can get on it after his current order,”
“Oh, no, I’m-- uh, I saw this place the other day and I was busy then, but I figured I’d check it out today. I’m just looking,”

“Oh, okay, well--... Yeah, we aren’t in too much of a rush right now so take your time,” MePhone stood by, fiddling with his hands a bit as the man hunched down a bit to look at everything on display.

“How are the muffins here?” He looked up, still hunched a bit, a frankly charming smile on his face.

“Um-- Well, I’d say they’re good, but I might just be biased since I made them,” MePhone let out a small, sheepish laugh, a bit surprised when two piped in;

“Can agree, they’re probably one of your best recipes,”

“Oh, well I wouldn’t go that far,” 

“I’ll get two blueberry muffins then, if that’s okay?” The man stood up straight, still smiling.

“Of course,” MePhone couldn’t help but smile back, moving to get the order prepared.

“That’ll be 4.99,” He stepped back over to the register while he opened up the bag, going through the transaction with no trouble like usual, before grabbing the muffins, and being extra careful.

“Would’ve asked a name for the order, but uh… I don’t really think that’s necessary,” Another sheepish tone from MePhone, as OJ glanced around, noticing the place was pretty much empty at the moment. 

“Oh well, in case I ever come back when it is busy, It’s OJ,” 

“Good to know,” He handed the bag over the counter, still unable to shake the smile he had on his face.

“If I do come back, I’ll let you know what I thought of the muffins, okay?”

“Yeah, sure, I’d definitely like an opinion from an outside source anyways,” MePhone glanced at Two, who was currently in their own world now, mixing batter for the second layer of the cake. They’d probably be staying late tonight. 

“Sounds good,” And the man-- OJ, made his exit. It was only after he left the view of the big windows in the front that MePhone noticed Two glancing at him.

“You were a lot more talkative than usual,”
“Well-- uh… What’s wrong with that?” MePhone just put his hands on his hips, unsure as to what Two was getting off. “Most customers are either here for you, or in a rush anyways, so I don’t tend to get the chance to talk much like that.”

“He gave you a name and everything,” 

“Yeah, and?”

Two just shrugged, turning their attention back to their current work. 

MePhone just huffed, and moved to lock up. It was closing time for the day, and MePhone needed to go home and feed his cat anyways. He didn’t need to think too hard about whatever Two might have been implying. He was just being polite, and talking to someone who was talking to him, anyways. Nothing more than that.

Chapter Text

It was Saturday now, and MePhone would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little antsy. The past few days had just spent thinking about the guy who stopped by. Normally, he didn’t think about his customers at all-- outside of any of the regulars that came in on certain days. It wasn't even in a creepy way or anything, he was just… A little nervous about the guy saying he'd be back. To give his opinions on the muffins he had tried. And well… It had been a few days, and after today they’d be closed until Tuesday… It was just a nervous waiting game.

Or maybe the guy was just being nice. Maybe he hated them. They were the worst muffins he had ever had in his lifetime, or they killed him or something, and he’d never be coming back-- Oh Gods Two had hyped up the muffins and now someone was totally dead because of them or something, and--

MePhone snapped out of his frantic thoughts by a hand on his shoulder.

“I… Think that cupcake has enough frosting on it,” A sheepish tone from the other, as MePhone blinked back into reality, looking down. 

“Oh. Erh… Oops?” A nervous laugh, as he set down the piping bag, which had a significantly small amount of icing left in it now, most of it messily placed on a single cupcake of twelve.

“It’s fine, just scrape most of it back into the bag, but… Y’know, maybe try focusing on the task at hand while you’re doing it this time.”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry,” A sigh as he moved to get one of the spoons out of a drawer so he could fix his mistake.

“Just got a little distracted, sorry.”

“No need to apologize so much. It can be fixed,” Two just gave him a pat on the shoulder, before turning back to the dishes they were doing, cleaning up after having pulled the cupcakes themselves out of the oven a little bit ago. It wasn’t a cake order, but cupcakes were close enough, and usually Two’s deal. Though with these, it was a group effort. Mostly because MePhone really liked putting icing on things. When his mind wasn’t a thousand miles away, at least. 

“What’s got you so distracted anyways?”
“Oh-- It’s… Nothing, really,” He knew Two would find it stupid, surely. He knew he was prone to overthinking and assuming a lot, and with where his thoughts went, he knew they would laugh at him for this. So it was whatever. 

“It was clearly something though,” They couldn’t help but be curious.

“I was just um--... Thinking about that guy.”

“Oh?” A coy tone to their voice as they turned their head to look at MePhone. 

“Okay drop it. It’s just because he said he’d be back, and well… That hasn’t happened yet,” He rolled his eyes, just focusing on the cupcakes now.

“You’re really excited to hear a stranger’s opinions on your baking, huh,” Two just smiled, turning their gaze back to the dishes again.

“I mean, it would be nice to get a real opinion from someone. You’re biased. You like everything.”

“That’s not true. Your baking is just good. That isn’t biased,”

“It is. We work together, so you have to say you like it.”

“MePhone, if I hated your baking, why would I have opened a bakery with you?” 

MePhone just sighed, unable to come up with a proper rebuttal to that. 

“I guess you have a point,”

“Exactly. And well, even if the guy hates your muffins, maybe he’ll still come back and try something else. Who knows? It’s not like you usually let what strangers think bother you too much,” Two just shrugged, finishing up the dishes, while also giving MePhone more to think about. Two was… Mostly right. MePhone did have a bit of a confidence problem, but he was good at hiding it-- otherwise, well Two wouldn’t have just said what they said, but… Why should it matter to him?

It shouldn’t. Right. And he decided even if he never saw this guy again, he’d be fine with that. He had better things to do anyways. Like still focusing on the cupcakes so he wouldn’t mess them up again.

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.

Like every other weekend, MePhone had nothing going on. When they closed up on Saturday, Two had invited him out to some day plans they had for Monday, but he had to decline. He wasn’t really much for going out and doing things. MePhone was just fine with sitting in and watching shows he liked, and hanging out with his cat. On some weekends he’d take it out on a walk to the park nearby, but this was not one of those weekends. He did however end up going to the store on Sunday to pick up groceries-- and more importantly more cat food. Just slow, small, quiet things to fill his life, because well… What else was there to do anyways? Sure, he probably could’ve hung out with Two if he really wanted the company, but… They weren’t really friends, moreso business partners. That’s how MePhone saw it, at least. Not many people wanted to be his friend, so this was just normal. They were being polite, and MePhone didn’t want to intrude. That’s why he tended to decline any offer the other sent his way. Most people who he had seen as friends never really stuck around long anyways, so he was fine keeping Two as an acquaintance. That’s all they needed to be. 

And that was fine.

It was Monday evening now, and despite the slow weekend, it had been a nice one. Quiet, filled with the noise of the Tv in the background, white noise through the apartment, along with his cat occasionally getting up and walking around, finding itself sunbathing where the light came in through the blinds that covered the balcony doors, while MePhone was cooking something up. Or rather, baking. A new recipe he decided to try at home, so he wouldn’t waste bakery ingredients. That would come out of his own paycheck-- especially if they turned out awful. Right now, he was making a few Eclairs. It was different enough from most things he had made, and he was going going to bring them in for Two to try, to see if they could be possible product, so they could branch out a bit more. They were a bit odd to be making, and his first few attempts earlier in the day weren’t so great, but these were by far the best of… What was honestly probably the worst, but… He wanted to do this. He knew bringing work home with him like this only gave him less free time, but with so little else to do, did it really matter? That, and it was almost Tuesday anyways, so… Close enough. At least he had a good day to himself yesterday. That was fine enough.

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.

Of course, like almost every morning, Two was there before MePhone was, prepping for the day, not having a current cake order to work on today-- or at least yet. Seeing as it was currently autumn, most of the orders were just for birthdays, or weddings, which Two was really good at. Though, they did tell MePhone once they much preferred doing themed holiday cakes when things like that came around, though they haven’t really been open during any of the holidays yet, having opened up in the summer.

Honestly, MePhone was a bit excited for the winter season. Both in hoping it would be nice-- and much preferring cold weather, they were planning on adding hot chocolate to their menu for the season. They weren’t a place that sold drinks beyond a small drink cooler of brand name cans and bottles, but hot chocolate was something that was incredibly hard to mess up, and MePhone thought he was pretty good at making it, having learned a really nice way to put it together by someone who used to be close with him. A fond idea really, one that would make him feel a little more close to home during the winter. However that was the only thing he was looking forward to during the winter, because the holidays were not. He had his reasons, and he wasn’t going to get into them.

And he realized he was thinking too hard again, coming in through the back door to the small employees only room they had set up for themselves, placing the tupperware that held his eclairs down on the table for the time being as he took off his coat, and headed into the main room of the bakery to put his apron on.

“Good morning!”
“‘Morning,” MePhone just nodded, waiting for the rest of the conversation.

Like clockwork, Two spoke up again;

“How was your weekend?”

“Fine,” MePhone shrugged, moving to help prep for the time being. “Yours?”

“Oh, well I went with a friend of mine to go see that new movie,”

MePhone just let out a small hum as he grabbed his ingredients, listening as Two went on about it, and how nice it was, before returning the question; “Did you do anything this weekend?”

And like every week they had this conversation, MePhone still paused, hesitating a bit;

“Yeah. Uh, nothing too cool, but y’know, I keep myself busy,” Another shrug, keeping dismissive about how uninteresting his life clearly was compared to theirs. He didn’t need to bore them with the details. But he did remember the eclairs.

“Oh-- well actually I did do something new, too,” He stepped aside, moving to go grab the container, bringing it back out front, and holding it out to a now curious Two, who tilted their head at it.

“Oh?”

“I um-- I decided to try out something new. Workshop a new thing. I’m sure it can still use some work, and it might not be that great, but uh…” He moved to pull the lid off, setting the container on the counter for Two to look at its contents as he spoke.

“Ooh, I’m sure these would sell nicely,” Two just smiled, moving to pick one up, though they did hesitate, glancing up at MePhone, who nodded in confirmation for them to try one, watching expectantly as the other bit into the one they grabbed.

“Hm,” They let out, glancing away. “Well, it’s not bad,” They started.

“... But?” MePhone braced himself for criticism. It was crucial to get feedback, especially when making things for other people’s consumption so they would be edible-- and actually taste good, but it always still stung, even though he knew he needed it.

“It’s a little hollow? If that’s the right word? It didn’t taste like there was any filling in it. These usually have filling, right?”

MePhone blinked, his face growing red with embarrassment at that one.

“Shit, I had a feeling there was something I forgot,” A heavy sigh. “This was the third batch. The first two didn’t rise correctly, and when I get it right, I leave out one of the most important things.”

Two just let out a lighthearted chuckle at this.

“Well hey, this was… Your third try? I’d say it isn’t the worst. It’s certainly edible. With some work, we could definitely make some to sell.”

And MePhone took a deep breath to let the embarrassment slide off his shoulders, something to unpack later as he moved to put the rest away for now, back to the employees only room. He’d do better next batch-- hopefully, but for now, he had other work to do. Today was another day, after all. 

Most of the day went on without much of a problem, until noon, when a familiar face walked in, an immediate snark in their voice as they spoke;

“Wow, it’s so busy in here, I’m sure you’re doing just great, aren’t you, Two!” 

And MePhone didn’t even bother looking over from the baking pans he was focused on scrubbing out, leaving this to his coworker to deal with. He didn’t like this guy that much anyways. Always a bit too loud, and aggressive for his liking. A more chaotic version of a person he used to know, and didn’t want to think too much about.

“Yes, well it’s noon on a Tuesday, I wouldn’t expect us to be busy when most of the people are eating lunch.”

“But nobody coming over here? For a lighter snack?” The quiet clack of his shoes as he moved over to lean forward on the front counter, directly talking to Two now, while they were working on organizing it a bit. 

“Would you rather us be stealing your business, Foursy? I think you’re doing just fine enough to not be coming over like this,” Two just raised an eyebrow, a small amused smile on their face, never letting anything Four get to them.

“Don’t call me that.” He grumbled, losing a bit of that snark, as his expression soured.

“Oh but doesn’t X call you that all the time?” Choosing today, to respond to his constant jabs with teasing this time. This definitely hadn’t been the first time this cook from across the street had been over here to gloat about how much better they were doing, and every time MePhone really wished it would be the last, but it wasn’t.

“That’s not the point!-- And that’s different. You know that.”

“Is it?” A certain knowing tone to Two’s voice, MePhone just finding a slight amusement in this as he finished up his cleaning, moving to dry it all now, hoping he’d stay under the radar this time. He didn’t need Four to bother him today.

But hoping was always too much, really. 

“grr… At least I’m working with someone I care about. Someone who doesn’t just ditch me the moment work’s over.” A hmph, as Four turned, and made his way back out. MePhone had paused at this, his shoulders slouching a bit, but it was true, wasn’t it? Two said themself that they started this business because he was good at baking things. That was the only reason, because he was a viable business parter. Not friends. Maybe not even acquaintances in their eyes, just… Business partners. Coworkers. And he continued to dry the cookie pan in his hands as Two just let out a sigh, 

“Oh the nerve of him sometimes. I keep telling him to back off during work hours but he doesn’t get it.” Two just shook their head, turning a bit to glance at MePhone. 

“You know he’s wrong about what he said, right? I… I really don’t mind that we don’t hang out after work. I don’t know where he got that idea,” They asked, having noted their silence.

“Haha, yeah.” MePhone could only answer dryly, still staying turned away from the other for the time being, unable to fake any sort of expression that wasn’t a bit sad. 

Even if that wasn’t an ideal little spat to be put into, he didn’t care. He… He didn’t. He had no right to, at least. Not when Four was a little bit right about what they said. Whatever. That would be something to think about, and unpack later. Work was not the time to be getting unhappy. He still had a few hours left to slog through. For now, he’d be fine.

Chapter Text

Even if yesterday hadn’t turned out the best, today was already looking up. MePhone had spent the night once he got home trying to make a proper eclair, wanting to get it done and over with-- mostly because he needed a good distraction, but that wasn’t the point! The point was, the fifth batch total was by far the best, because this time he had remembered to put the filling in, and as silly as it was, he was proud of how well put together they looked. Not a single bit of the chocolate on top, or the filling in the pastry itself seemed out of place, and he had even tried one, and it seemed nice enough. For once, he hadn’t been that big of a slob, and none of it turned out messy. And he could be proud of that. It was certainly brought up his mood a lot bringing them in, and having Two enjoy them a lot more than yesterday’s bunch. It was a good, small boost to his confidence compared to yesterday, even if he’d never admit it. 

Right now, Two was working through a new cake order, while MePhone was… Honestly not up to much, other than scribbling some notes down for some baking improvement. It wasn’t like they were too busy currently, anyways.

“Hey MePhone?”

“Yeah?”

“... How would we feel about hiring more people?” A suggestion that felt like it came out of nowhere.

“Uhm… Do we need more people? We don’t… Exactly have a lot of business,” He couldn’t help but be a bit wary about this idea. If it was Two’s idea, it could be literally anyone that they had in mind.

“I know, it’s just… It would certainly give us some more free time in our weeks if we had real shifts and other people giving a helping hand. Even just one or two more people would be nice,”

“Where’s this idea coming from?”

Two just sighed.

“I just think more free time would be nice. It’s nice here-- Of course, but this… I dunno, it’s… A lot of work that’s been taking up a lot of my life.”

MePhone just stifled a sigh, deciding to be understanding.

“Yeah, I… Get that,” Even if it hasn’t been a problem with him. Even if more free time would probably drive him crazy because two days on his own was already hard enough--

But… That wasn’t the point.

“Yeah. Yeah, okay. It… Might be a good idea to start hiring… But uh… We really should try to do things to branch out our business more too or something… So we can actually pay any new possible employees… I have a feeling the cake money you’ve been getting isn’t going to sustain more than two people, and the rent.” A sigh, as he placed his small notepad down to glance at Two, who was still working away on their cake order. And the more he looked, he could tell how tired they looked today. Maybe they had a point. Even if it wouldn’t be the best for MePhone, he could do this for Two. 

Through the next few hours, people came and went, a little busier than they had been yesterday at least, though none of them were people of interest. A few of the regulars, sure, getting of course, what they regularly get, but that was just normal at this point. Right now, there were two people sitting at one of the tables, going through what they ordered, while MePhone wiped down the countertops behind the register, idly listening to what the two were talking about while he did so. Not in a creepy way-- there just wasn't much to listen to in the bakery. They didn't have the ability to play any music in the store other from their phones, and he didn't tend to bring his phone with him to work, while Two just didn't seem all too interested in needing music on while they worked. Which was fine. It got a little quiet at times-- and he wasn't the biggest fan of that, but it was fine, and he could manage while he was at work like this.

He'd be going on his lunch break in about half an hour anyways so if he really needed noise he'd step out and sit on one of the benches on the sidewalk. For now though, it was fine. It was a few minutes before the door chimed open, MePhone looking up from the now clean counters to see-- 

He'd be too embarrassed to ever admit this, but his expression lit up as a familiar ginger came in. The same one from about a week ago now.

“Hello,” he spoke with a small smile as he stepped up to the counter. He didn't have a briefcase with him today, but he was wearing that same suit. Or at least if it was a different one, it was a very similar colour. Same orange slice themed tie too-- something he didn't take too much note of last time, but something that felt kind of silly. This guy really seemed to like orange.

“Hello, what can I do for you today?” MePhone smiled back, stepping up to the register. 

“Hm, that's a good question,” he glanced over to the display window, taking another good long look at what was up today.

“Hm. I think I'll take a croissant, and two of the sugar cookies,”

“Branching out today, huh,” The words slipped out faster than he could think, a bit of banter, really.

“Yeah, well it wouldn't be much variety if I got muffins every time,-- oh, that does remind me, I thought they were nice.”

“Yeah? Glad to hear,”

“See? I didn't hype you up that much. I was just right.” Two piped in.

“Oh be quiet, Two” he rolled his eyes halfheartedly, before looking at OJ again, and then remembering he had a job to do, moving over to the display counter to fetch what was requested, placing the three items gently in the bag, before placing it on the counter, and completing the transaction.

“But uhm, glad to hear you liked them. I'm sure you'll like the croissants too. And hopefully the cookies. Those are my specialty.” A grin on his face. “I prefer making chocolate chip mostly, but sugar cookies are nice some days too,”

“Yeah, if the muffins were any indicator, I'm sure me and my girlfriend will enjoy these cookies too,” an innocent sentence, but one that made MePhones heart stop for a moment for a reason he didn't really understand. Of course this attractive guy wasn't single. And well-- not that he'd call this guy attractive to his face, but--

MePhone just stifled a sigh, trying not to let his smile strain too much.

Keep it professional. 

“Yeah, I'm sure you guys will,” his tone thankfully keeping steady, as the other gave a small nod before heading out. 

The other two who had been sitting at a table were long gone, thankfully leaving MePhone and Two alone in here. He couldn't help but let out a big sigh as the man left the sight of the front windows.

“Girlfriend, huh.” He couldn't help the tone in his voice as he muttered this, feeling something he hadn't felt in a long time. Which.. he really didn't understand why-- a small hint of jealousy. 

And then he noted Two's silence. And as he looked over, he noticed they were staring.

“Wh- what.” MePhone frowned, afraid he had made himself look absolutely stupid or something. Or that Two might've heard him.

“I bet you wish you were that girlfriend,” a shit-eating grin before they turned back to the sink, having been doing the dishes. 

MePhone just let out an offended gasp, his face flushing red. 

“What the hell!”

“You think he's pretty, don't you,”

“Oh well you don't get to judge me when you go on and on about X all the time,” MePhone turned away, putting his face in his hands, trying to stomp down the embarrassment. 

“And-- I don't know what you're implying but I'm not a fan.” 

“Okay, okay. I meant nothing of it,” Two still smiled though, not saying anything else. 

“I don't care that he has a girlfriend. I just wasn't expecting it was all.” A sigh, shoving all of… Whatever that was for later-- or hopefully never, honestly. He didn't need another stupid crush on someone who was already taken. That had happened one too many times before, and it wasn't something he wanted to deal with during this time in his life. He had accepted that kind of stuff wasn't for him, and he'd rather keep it that way. Even if the guy was really handsome. 

He was getting distracted. Changing that, he moved to pick up the towel he was wiping everything down with to continue now that business was slow again. 

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The night went by slow that evening. He had gotten home about an hour after work had ended. It usually didn't take him that long, his apartment complex not being too far, but he had decided to take it slow, and take a real look about what was in the area. Of course, not going into any of the shops-- just looking, because he had realized even if he had been living in the area for about a year and a half now, he didn't really know much of what was around. Turns out there were a good amount of restaurants in the area-- probably where most of the business around here went, including the kitchen restaurant thing across the street. 

He knew wanting to open a bakery was probably going to be difficult business wise when he had been approached with the idea, but that was the thing. This was mostly Two's idea, and though he was completely down for it, having felt like he could make money doing something he liked to do, it was still just… Slow. And sometimes he was fine with that. Interacting with people was hard sometimes, and some days he felt like not even going into work, but he unfortunately had responsibilities.

He knew that would only get worse with more possible business, but… He still wanted it. It would at the very least make him feel a little more secure in the choices he's been making in his life to get him to this point.

But… He didn't really have the first idea on how to branch out a business. Sure, Two was working on setting up a website, and social media presence, but would that really help? 

MePhone just sighed, shifting his position on the couch a bit. He was home now, remembering to eat something tonight, just having heated up a TV dinner for himself, some show he didn't bother paying attention to right now filling up the quiet, while his cat was on the floor, pawing around one of its toys. 

He honestly didn't even know where that jealousy from earlier came from. It felt weird, and selfish to be jealous over a stranger and them being taken. He only knew the guys name. Barely anything else. Just that he looked like a businessman-- probably working at a fancy business place somewhere, and how nice his voice was. How his tie and brightly dyed orange hair probably said a lot about how he was as a person-- and oh Gods he felt like a total creep.

MePhone just sighed, scooping up a bit of the heated up Mac n cheese with his spoon, trying to think about something else for the time being, his gaze wandering up to the TV as he moved to turn the volume up with his free hand. It wasn't a show he was too interested in, but it would do.

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“What do you mean you're out of the banana nut muffins for the week,” an aggravated tone filled the bakery, MePhone stifling a sigh. 

“We didn't get any bananas this week from the supplier, but we do have--”

“I don't care about your strawberry muffins-- ugh. Whatever. Just…” the taller blonde male just rolled his eyes, clearly frustrated, and already clearly provoked, though it was clear he was trying not to have a cow. 

“I guess I'll just take three croissants.” A defeated sigh.

“I'll have my coworker ask the supplier for the stuff needed for next week if you'll be back,”

“Yeah well you better.” He just grumbled, moving one hand to pull out his wallet, while he ran his other hand through his hair. 

This was one of their regulars. Some jock guy who seemed to come here every once in a while for a “cheat day” on whatever diet or something he was saying he was on at the time. None of it really mattered to MePhone, because the guy clearly had some problems that he was making everyone else's issue when around, but it was just normal at this point when he did come in and cause a few problems. But at least it was clear he was trying not to be a total dick to people. Or at least he was trying not to be a dick to the bakery employees. 

MePhone could at least appreciate that, not saying much else as he bagged up the croissants, placing it on the counter for the guy to take after paying. 

“Have a nice day. Sorry about the muffins,” MePhone kept a neutral expression as the other took his bag of croissants, just letting out a still slightly annoyed breath, before turning to leave;

“It’s whatever. Just have them next week.” And the door chimed as the guy left. 

“Hard to believe he’s a regular huh,” 

“With the small business we do attract why does it have to be a bunch of weirdos…” MePhone let out an exasperated sigh. “Whatever. At least it’s business at all, I guess.”
“Yeah. It’s certainly better than nothing!” Two said, keeping a little bit of an optimistic view on it.

“So… erh… How are we going to get more business?”
“The website is almost finished, so I’m hoping that helps. I’ll get X to help advertize that, and well… It may be a bit pricy but I’m thinking about putting an ad in the paper,”
“People still read newspapers?”
“Well you’d be surprised,”

“That’s just going to attract a bunch of old people probably,”

“Possibly. But that wouldn’t be too bad. Old people-- er, most old people are usually polite.”
“Yeah well you haven’t met my--” MePhone stopped himself, immediately shifting his words;

“I think you’d be surprised, really.” He kept his gaze away from the other, noticing the silence from Two, though thankfully they said nothing about it.

He knew Two was probably really curious about him. Despite their history, he hadn’t really opened up about anything to them. It… Wasn’t really their business to be fair, but… Whatever. Sometimes small things would slip out, or he’d almost say something, like now. But he caught himself this time, and kept his mouth shut after that. 

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It was Saturday as they were closing when Two brought up an older topic again;

“So… I’ve found someone I think would be really good on our… Crew,”

“Crew?”

“A new coworker,” 

“Oh. Uh…”

“She’s nice, uh-- as long as you don’t leave any messes around, which we’ve been on top of that, so it shouldn’t be a problem,”

“What, some kind of clean freak? Uhm… Do I get to meet her before she starts working here?”

“Yeah. I’ll ask her to come in on Tuesday, okay?”

“Oh, okay, that’s fine.” A thing to dread all weekend, surely. Even if it would surely be fine. More free time… Should be good. It should, so he had to stay optimistic about it. This new addition would be… Good.

And he tried to stomp down his unsure thoughts as he locked up the front, already done with wiping down everything. Surprisingly enough, business had been good enough today to where there really were only a few things to pack up, MePhone opting to let Two take whatever was left to give to whoever they had in mind. 

“I’m heading out,” MePhone pulled his coat on, handing the keys back to Two as he went to the break room to take the back door. 

It was a nice, autumn evening tonight. The chill breeze coming by, providing a nice feeling. He was glad it wasn’t scalding hot today, as he slowly made his way down the street. Tonight, he was going to go out to dinner-- or at the very least probably get takeout. He had seen a nice looking place that he wanted to try, and he decided he’d treat himself tonight. He… He deserved a little treat anyways, especially with all the small things that had been building up to stress him out. 

As he made his way there, he stomped down any bit of social anxiety he had as he walked in, talking to the woman behind the register. He was really glad this place did take-out, considering sitting alone at a restaurant tended to make him look a bit… Sad, so… This was better. He had a cat to feed at home soon anyways. Though he still did have to wait, sitting on a waiting bench by the front door, just idly looking around at the interior of the place. It wasn’t some big fancy expensive place, but the inside still looked nice. It was a cozy vibe, really. It was interesting seeing the variation on the menu, and how many people were here. 

Though as he looked around, his gaze landed on someone familiar, sitting at a table with a woman. And MePhone couldn’t help but stare. He knew this was probably creepy, and he’d never be able to show his face anywhere ever again if either of them noticed him, but… He couldn’t help himself. They both looked like a picture perfect couple together at that table. He was stunning-- and even if women weren’t really his type, she was, too. Even if this guy ever noticed him outside of the bakery setting, he was already clearly happy. And probably not even into men. Most people weren’t anyways, even if he knew it was stupid to assume. 

But… Whatever. Genuinely none of this was any of his business, and even if he was a pretty face, he could get over it. Most crushes he tended to have were easy to get rid of, anyways, with how much he used to have going on in his life. Why would now be any different?

Chapter Text

Like usual, MePhone led a quiet, slow weekend. After treating himself to something nice on Saturday, he didn't feel the need to do much else, other than taking his cat outside for a bit, mostly just carrying it around with how busy the sidewalks and town as a whole tended to be, until he reached the park where there was finally enough space to let it walk around, of course it being on a leash, so it wouldn't wander off. 

Nothing out of the ordinary, really. Just a nice, quiet weekend where he tried his best to not to worry so much about a new person being introduced into his normal. A normal he really didn't want to change-- but… He didn't have too much of a choice at the moment. This was… Supposed to be a change that would be good for them, and hopefully business too, but… This started as a venture between the two of them. It was supposed to stay small, and manageable, wasn’t it? Tossing a third person into the mix was just… Intimidating. Two knew a lot of people. It could literally be anybody.

But… He really did try not to think too hard about any of this until he was on his way down the street to work on Tuesday morning. For once, he was the first one there, sighing as he had to wait. Two hadn’t gotten around to making a set of keys for the both of them, so they tended to carry them, considering they usually got here first. MePhone just wondered if he was later than usual because he was fetching this third person. 

Honestly, he didn’t know why he was so nervous. His social anxiety was definitely a problem at times, but this shouldn’t be one of them. Even if it could literally be anyone, the people Two knew, or associated with tended to at least be polite to him-- Four being the only acception to that, but… That’s just how he was with everyone it seemed, really. 

Ugh. He really just needed to shove all this down, and be normal. He can interact with people! He’s a normal dude, with nothing going on in his life! The most he’ll be seen as, is boring, and that’s something he can live with, because he… He doesn’t need friends, anyways! 

So he stomped it all down, like he was doing every stray feeling and thought these days, and took a deep breath. He’d be fine. He’d be okay, and he just needed to unpack all these things later-- even though he hadn’t gotten to unpacking everything from lately just yet, and that it was still only building up-- but… He was fine! 

Everything would work out. It had to, because he really didn’t have anything else. 

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It really didn’t take long for Two to finally show up. About ten minutes after MePhone had gotten there, just lurking by the back door to the building, he turned the corner, accompanied by what was definitely a new face. A woman around his height, who clearly really liked the colour pink. Her hair was dyed, most of it was light, pastel pink, but her brown roots still showed with the way her hair was tied up into a clean bun. She didn’t have an apron on yet, but it was clear what she was holding bunched up in her grasp was just that, already ready to get started once Two unlocked the door, giving a small apology to MePhone for making him wait, though he was fine with it.

Once they all were in the back employees room was when the woman introduced herself, a polite smile on her face;

“Hi, MePhone! Two’s been telling me all about you, I’m Soap. I don’t have the best track record when it comes to baking, but I’m mostly just here to help with the cranky supplier, and also cleaning things up.” 

MePhone just raised an eyebrow, stifling the immediate question on the tip of his tongue because he knew it would come off as rude to ask why they were hiring someone who couldn’t bake… But it was fine. If cleaning and supply duties were what she was on about, well, she wouldn’t be too in the way.

“I also thought she’d be able to help us get the word out better. She’s surprisingly popular on that one short video sharing social,” Two gave a smile of their own as they were currently putting their hair up in a ponytail. 

“Hehe, it’s… Not super big, but I made a few videos of me showing off my cleaning routine and a lot of people were all over that.”

“Oh don’t be shy, I’ve seen your follower count!” 

“Really, Two, it’s nothing, I’m not even monetized on there yet,”

“Yet.” They added, as they pulled their apron on.

MePhone just stood there, giving a few quiet nods, not knowing what else to do, or say, really as he got himself ready and hyped up for the day, just trying to rationalize that nothing would change too much if she wasn’t here to do any baking. Just maybe a little less space and such while moving around behind the counter, but… That would be it, right?

Though as the day went on, it was clear she was also helping out with the register. This was just a “test day” to see how well she did, as Two said while they were on their lunch break, but she just seemed to be doing all sorts of other things, and well… MePhone was fine with it all, but he was usually the register guy. And maybe it would be good to variate on days he wasn’t feeling so social on-- like today, he was fine with it for the most part besides it being new, but… Shouldn’t that have been talking about specifically?

But he’d be the jerk if he said anything, so he kept his mouth shut. Nothing interesting happened today other than the new employee anyways, so… He didn’t need to think about any of it too hard. Though, he could tell Two kept glancing at him as the day went on, their expression unreadable to MePhone-- him not being the best at telling how other people were feeling anyways, but it still just seemed… Off.

Closing up was also drastically different. It was now Soap’s job to wipe down the counters and tables. She even volunteered to show up early again tomorrow to clean the windows and some other things too, which Two had no issue with.

So MePhone was just sat in the employees room, unsure how to feel about half of his usual duties being tossed onto someone else. For anyone else, he was sure this would be such a nice development. Much less work to do, all without his pay being affected too much, but… He really didn’t like the idea of having any more free time than he did already. It left a pit in his stomach. He was putting so much of himself into this, and declining to build any life outside it, because Gods, even thinking about that felt scary, and he didn’t want to let it go. How long until Two suggests they hire someone who can also bake? Someone who would probably be more social all the time, or accept their offers to hang out on weekends? How long until he was replaced entirely--

And he moved one of his hands to squeeze his other wrist at that thought, trying so hard to ignore the tightness in his throat. He could go home now. With him not having to help clean up now, he could go home earlier than he used to be able to, but he was stuck in this seat, and he was terrified. If he was replaced, if he lost this, he’d have nothing left. Nowhere left to turn. Nobody, but people he wasn’t ready to talk to again, or approach. He… He couldn’t lose this job. He won’t be replaced-- and he just-- He just needs to try harder. That’s it. Tomorrow, he’ll introduce the eclairs to the sales display, and… And people will surely like those. They’re new, after all, and--... That wouldn’t be enough to keep him from being replaced. Anyone with enough practice could surely learn how to make them like he did. Surely he just needed to do more, try harder, he--

MePhone adjusted his posture a bit so he wasn’t so slouched over, doing his best to stomp down all of his frantic thoughts as the door to the employees room opened, Two stepping in, already pulling their apron off from over their head.

“Oh? You can go home now y’know,” Two just gave a small smile, moving to hang up their apron, before doing a small double take to take in their coworker’s expression. 

MePhone was trying his hardest to just look normal right now, but he knew he was tired. He knew his stress was probably showing. Regardless of how hard he tried, he was always an open book to people who got too close for their own good. 

“Is… Something the matter?”

And It took MePhone a lot longer than he would’ve hoped to find his voice;

“Everything’s fine.” His tone betrayed him, much like his expression. Much like the distance in his gaze. Two’s expression softened a bit.

“Is… This about…”

“No-- she’s… She hasn’t done anything wrong, I’m just…” He shut his mouth, stifling the rest of what he wanted to say as he got up from the seat, slowly moving to grab his own jacket.

“It’s nothing, okay? I’m just being stupid.” He refused to look at Two right now, keeping his eyes on the door. “I’ll just go home, and be fine in the morning.” He couldn’t help how his tone kept quieting down, just actively losing his voice. 

“MePhone, if you have something to say, you should say it,”

He opened his mouth, but said nothing, just reaching for the door. He had to go feed his cat now, anyways.

“Goodnight.” Was all he mustered.

Tomorrow was another day.

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It was quiet the next morning. MePhone kept to himself as he came in for the morning, just staying silent as he prepped and put together everything he wanted to sell today, and finally making another good batch of eclairs-- good enough to sell, and setting them up. Two was also minding their own business-- Or at least, giving him space, and just mostly talking to Soap, who had come in early with them today to help clean the windows like she said she’d like to. 

And though he was glad he was mostly being left to himself, it still felt awkward, and tense. But that was his own fault, really. He was shoving everyone away for a reason, and… And maybe that was going to be the reason Two was going to eventually replace him.

He hated being stuck with this fear. He hated how this was just his own fault, too. He… Just had to do his best to prove he was a good employee, and person to be around.

But maybe not today. He didn’t feel well enough to be social today, so he’d… Start his effort tomorrow. Yeah, that was his plan. For now though, the morning was slow, and quiet for him. It wasn’t until his lunch break that something happened. He didn’t have much energy to go sit outside, so he was once again sitting in the back room, not really taking this time to eat anything-- because he had more important things to be doing, scribbling ideas down for new recipes and things to bake to branch out. Something good to prove his value. He kept all of his focus on this, not registering the sound of someone else joining him in the room, and the sound of them pulling the second chair at the table out to sit on.

He did however lose his focus as a voice filled the air;

“What are you working on?” It was Soap. He paused, looking up at her for a good few seconds, before realizing he was probably being awkward, and as much as he didn’t want to be social today, he’d at least try to be polite.

“Baking stuff.” He shrugged, his gaze slowly trailing back down to his notebook, hoping that would be the end of it. Just his luck though, it wasn’t.

“Oh, that’s cool. Anything specific?”

“Just uhm… A new recipe.” He kept it vague, before immediately regretting that as she asked another question.

“Yeah? What’s it going to be like?”

A sigh from MePhone.

“Sorry-- You’re probably trying to focus on that,”

“It’s fine,” He continued to stomp it all down, playing dismissive. This wouldn’t blow up in his face. It wouldn’t. Everything had to keep working out. He had to be civil. “I’m working on a tart recipe. Uhm… Nothing special, but I guess it’s different enough to bring more variety.” Another shrug, tapping his pencil idly against the messy notepad page. He was sure if she looked at it, she wouldn’t be able to make out a single thing on it. There was only one person who ever took the time to sit down and figure out the way he wrote things, but he wasn’t exactly in his life anymore, so it wasn’t something that mattered. 

Soap just smiled. “That’s great. Variety would definitely spice things up. Hey-- Um, I’m on my lunch break, but I actually wanted to ask you something,”

He stifled another sigh, just looking up at her again, despite not really enjoying the eye contact held between the two.

“What?”

“Two told me last night that you usually handle the register. I know I was mostly just trying to do anything to help around here yesterday to show I’m not… Completely useless in this setting due to me not uhm… Having a great track record when it comes to cooking and baking, but uh--... Is that something you want to keep doing?”

And MePhone’s shoulders slouched a bit. Of course Two had picked up on something, but even worse,-- even if they had been right, they were assuming things. They seemed to figure this was the thing he had been upset about last night, and he had talked to Soap about it. A stranger to him, who had no place meddling with how he dealt with his emotions and feelings.

“Oh, uhm… It’s… Yeah. I usually handle the register.” His voice was quiet, his thoughts too scrambled to really listen to at the moment as he kept up the conversation.

“Do you want to keep doing that? I just figured yesterday it might be good-- Both to show I can handle it when you aren’t around,”

“When I’m not around..?” He parroted, fearful of the idea that this was confirmation he was definitely being replaced-- and that she was in on it all. Or maybe he was just paranoid, and being stupid, but… He just didn’t know what to think right now, and he didn’t know if he trusted his thoughts at the moment anyways.

And she blinked, not really seeming to understand his confusion.

“Well with you guys hiring new people, Two was going to start putting together shifts,”

“...Oh.”

“And-- I figured with you being a baker, not having to worry about the register would help? And-- If it doesn’t, I’ll just stick to cleaning, and other things. I just wanted to clear that up with you.”

And MePhone just looked back down at his notebook.

He really didn’t need the free time. He wanted to keep this workload on his shoulders so he could continue his normal of shoving everything down, and having good distractions.

And maybe that was an unhealthy way for him to be dealing with everything, but it was working so far. It hadn’t blown up in his face yet. Surely it wouldn’t. 

He wanted things to change around here as little as possible-- because change was scary, and intimidating, and awful--

“Yeah. I… Think I’d like to stick to doing register duty. Beyond baking in the morning I don’t do much else. Two at least has their cakes to work on most days… Uhm…” Another shrug, as he glanced up to the clock on the wall. His break was almost over.

“I wouldn’t mind if you did it on some days, it really just… Depends, I guess.” And he got up, closing the notebook, and tucking it away in the pocket of his apron for the time being.

Soap just nodded, seeming to be understanding about it enough.

“Okay, great. Thanks for helping me clear that up. I know you guys had a whole system and everything, and with me being here that’s probably being shaken up a bit, but I promise I’m just trying to help out. I don’t want it to feel like I’m imposing on anything,” She rubbed the back of her neck, ending what she was saying with a bit of an awkward chuckle. And even if he wasn’t good at reading people, he almost wanted to say she was a bit nervous.

But he didn’t care enough to assume. He really just needed to get back to work, and he needed to stop thinking so much, just giving a small polite wave as he went back out to the main bakery, to continue doing his job.

Everything would be fine.

Chapter Text

Two, and Soap were alone at the bakery on Thursday. MePhone had called out-- which was something he had never done, but Two wasn’t one to question, as curious and as worried as he was. Not when he was still trying to give the guy some space. 

And though he was usually quiet anyways, his absence was noticed. Soap worked the register, and Two put together enough to sell in the display window, not having a cake order to worry about, though today’s display was mostly full of croissant variations, and cupcakes. It was good enough, and one of the quirks of their bakery was that they didn’t have the same exact things on sale every day, a good variation in what was being sold, but the lack of another person there today squashed a bit of that variation. But Two was lucky enough to know how to make a good few different cupcakes. There was a lot you could do with them, really, much like actual cakes, just without the layers, and the surplus of icing and extra flare. Sure you could put icing and flare on a cupcake, but it being not as big as a cake itself, well, there was just a lot less space to work with.

But Two made it work. This was why they wanted to hire at least two more people. Of course five people was a crowd, and in this small building it wouldn’t work out if they were all there at once, but that was the point of shifts. Real places of business had enough employees to variate between the days. Two just really hoped as more publicity came to them-- with their website, and with Soap planning a small shout-out on her social media page to her followers about the place, that maybe that would drum up some interest in someone applying for a bakers position. And Soap was a good hire, her being a much more in-depth cleaner than either them, or MePhone, her honestly doing the Gods work with keeping everything looking nice here these past few days-- but… She wasn’t a baker. She couldn’t even really be relied on if he needed any help with putting icing on something, or things like that. And of course, some people just… Were not cut out for baking, or cooking. But that was fine in her case. She had other talents to provide to their little team. She was off work tomorrow though, and Two just hoped MePhone wouldn’t call out tomorrow, because they would definitely not be able to set everything up themself. 

But that was hopefully not going to be a problem, and he was hopeful that they’d be able to find some new hires to get more helping hands around here. It would be good for business, even if it was more people to pay. It would also just be good for their social life. Having so little free time was not doing it for them, and as much as they loved this venture, and as much passion as they were putting into all this, Two could really use a little more free time in their life, and some more help around here in general, and they figured MePhone would appreciate that too, considering he had definitely been putting so much into all this. Really, they assumed that was why he called out today. A well deserved break from it all, and they could understand it. 

They knew by now it wasn't really their place to ask anyways, knowing he was just closed off to them with most of his life. Despite working with him for all these months, and knowing him from a prior job, well, Two hardly knew anything about him. He was MePhone 4. His favorite baked good was cookies, and he liked the colour blue a lot. He wore the same three bracelets everyday, and he had mentioned wanting to get his ears pierced once or twice, but hasn't gone through with it. Two know he had a cat, and he lived with it in an apartment just up the street. That was all. Nothing about where he came from, or his family. Nothing about any friends, or hobbies beyond baking, or working here. He gave nothing beyond the bare minimum, and… Two really had hoped over this time he'd be more willing to open up and talk about stuff, considering Two saw them as friends by now, but well… At this point they had no idea if he saw them as one. Each declined invitation to hang out lessened their hope, but they did their best to be patient with him. They wanted him to be comfortable enough to feel like he could accept one of those offers, or talk to them about something, but it was clear they weren't at that level yet. 

But hopefully they'd reach it soon. 

.

.

.

“Have a nice day!” Soap smiled, handing over the bag of ordered pastries to the last customer of the day, the bakery about to close for the day. Everything had gone smoothly despite the lack of MePhone being around today, which both her and Two were really relieved by. As the customer left, she was handed the keys to lock up, heading over to the door herself now.

“So, how have I been doing?”

“Great, actually, your help is really appreciated,” Two smiled, working on putting the various baking tools back where they belonged on the counter, and in the drawers. 

“I know it's not the weekend yet, but could you give me the suppliers number?”

“Oh, yeah, of course. Should do that now before I forget,” Two pulled their phone out of their back pocket, stepping over to Soap to exchange the number.

“Just shoot her a text on Saturday. That's when I've found they're more… willing to be social,” Two let that out with a sheepish tone, Soap just raising an eyebrow. 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“She's just a bit… Out there, but with our business not being entirely traditional, our supplier of course isn't either. But she doesn't bite. Most of the time.”

“Oookay. Well is she going to be weirded out by a new person? Do I need to be worried?”

“Oh, no, you should be fine. She just doesn't like MePhone because he accidentally forgot to bring the payment one of the weekends and she never let that go, so I usually did it from then on-- but as long as you don't make that mistake everything should be fine”

“Alright. Good to know. And-- also, I did want to thank you. For this opportunity. It's a lot different compared to the work I used to be doing, but it's nice here. Even if I've only been around for these three days so far,”

“Of course! Honestly I should be thanking you. You're a great addition to the team, and we really appreciate you being able to keep things tidy.”

“That's good to know, I was honestly starting to think MePhone hated me or something, honestly,” 

“Well, I can't really speak for him but I'm sure he doesn't. He's… Usually this quiet on most days so it's not new,”

“That's a relief. Not that I can't work with people who don't like me, it's just… Not fun when that happens,”

“It… I know firsthand it takes a long time for him to get used to new people, but I don't see why he wouldn't like you.” Two just gave a reassuring smile as he turned away:

“Now, if everything's in order up here, we can head out. See you on Saturday!”

“Yep!” Soap smiled back, following them into the employees room. 

“If I have free time tomorrow, I'll go ahead and film my shout out to this place, too, if you'd like,”

“Oh, don't worry about it on your off day, really,” Two reassured as they hung their apron up, glancing over to MePhone's, which was unmoved from its hook from yesterday. 

“Alright then. I'll do it Saturday,”

“Sounds good. See you then.”

And Two was off work for the night, giving a goodbye wave as Soap headed to the bus stop, while they made their way across the street to the place they tended to go a lot after work-- even if the place was technically competition, the kitchen ran by their friends, Four and X, making their way in, to the usual spot at the bar for conversation.

“Hello Two!” X greeted, a constant smile on his face, and a much politer attitude compared to Four. 

“Hi X! How's business today?”

“It's good. I'm sure Four will want to talk to you tonight!”

“Yeah? What about?”

“I dunno! He just said I should let him know when you got here tonight,”

“Lucky I decided to come tonight then,” Two just smiled as he was handed a water. X already knew his usual order, and would begin prepping that soon, but for now, they wandered off to go find their mutual friend, leaving Two alone for a bit to soak in the kitchen’s environment. It was more of just a regular restaurant, but it was still called a kitchen by the two that ran it-- Four and X. They were good friends of Two’s the three of them having known each other for a long several years by now, and even through all these years, their friendship remained strong. Even if Four was… Well, the way he was-- he was at least much better than he had been years prior. But that wasn’t all too important to think about now, Two just perking up in the stool a bit with a smile as Four came over, an almost reluctant expression on his face as he slowly stepped over.

“X is preparing your usual.” They seemed to be trying to look nonchalant at the moment as they made their way behind the bar to stand in front of them. 

“You wanted to talk?” 

“Yes.” They almost grumbled that out. 

“Well?” Two just raised an eyebrow, their smile turning back to a neutral expression now, just waiting.

“I… want you to make a cake for me.” They mumbled out, and though it was loud enough and clear enough for Two to understand, immediately smiling again, a grin, really, as they asked;

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,”

Four let out a noise that could almost be classified as a grumble before they spoke, this time much louder, definitely attracting some attention from other people around;

“I WANT YOU TO MAKE A CAKE FOR ME!”

“Oh Foursy, all you had to do was ask,” 

“Well I am. My birthday is coming up. You know this.” Four just crossed his arms, letting out a huff, embarrassed at asking.

“Of course I’ll make you a cake. What makes you want one of mine this year? You usually decline my offers!” Two was absolutely excited at this.

“X keeps going on about how good you are at making them. I personally think it doesn’t matter, but this was definitely X’s idea.”
“Well its your cake. It doesn’t have to be,” They still just smiled, knowing Four was trying to just make it seem like it wasn’t what he wanted in the slightest, even though it was clearly not the case. 

Four just sighed. “Well whatever. Don’t push me on this. I’ll text you the details tomorrow. Enjoy your usual I guess.” And with that, he headed out to deal with other things, still technically being at work.

“Thanks, Four! Looking forward to working on it!” They just smiled, kicking their feet a bit where they sat for some stimulation as they waited, just excited at all the possibilities, just very glad they now had something specific to be excited for. This would be great!

.

.

.

MePhone couldn’t sleep. It was a miserable day as a whole, really. He had woken up feeling awful, and he just didn’t have the heart to go into work today, ending up calling out for the first time ever since he and Two had started up the bakery. He knew Two was probably going to ask him why, but he didn’t have much of an excuse. He spent most of his day just wallowing on the couch with his thoughts, feeling sorry for himself, but after getting up to feed the cat, he decided he should at least do something with his day, heading out of the apartment around mid afternoon, making sure to avoid the bakery, feeling too guilty to show his face. He had gone out to the store to get what he needed to work on his tart recipe, and was on his way home now.

It was coincidence really, bumping into someone he recognized, but it was a good distraction.

“Oh, hey,” A smile from the ginger.

“Hey-- Sorry about that, I wasn’t… Really paying attention,”

“It’s fine, really,” The other thankfully shrugged it off as he crouched down to pick up the briefcase he had with him today. “You’re the guy from the bakery, right?” 

MePhone figured he was just being polite right now, but who was he to be rude and decline this conversation?
“Yeah. Uh, I… I’m not working today, obviously, uh… Yeah,” A shrug, and a glance away. It wasn’t entirely a lie, really. 

Honestly he was a bit embarrassed running into someone who recognized him on the sidewalk-- especially considering this was the guy he currently found attractive, since he hadn’t put much effort into how he looked today, and with how miserable he had been earlier he was sure that was showing too, but at the very least OJ was being polite.

“Say, uh-- I hope it’s not too awkward to ask what you thought of the cookies you got last time you stopped by,”
And there was a certain glint in the other’s eye as his expression shifted.

“Did you track me down just so you could ask? I knew bakers were dedicated, but wow,” And the joking tone in his voice completely flew over MePhone’s head. 

With that, he held his hands up defensively;

“No-- no I swear that’s not--” And MePhone finally got the joke when OJ started laughing.

“Oh-- ahaha- uhm…” He didn’t even know how to not make himself look like an idiot in this situation, so he just trailed off into his own awkward laugh.

“I’m just joking. Don’t worry. I liked the cookies. My girlfriend not so much, but uh… Guess that was my fault considering she doesn’t really care much for sweets,” He shrugged, glancing away.

And another small jab at the mention of his girlfriend, but MePhone said nothing on it.

“Well I’m glad someone liked them then. My sugar cookies don’t really sell as much as the other ones I put up, but that’s fine. I don’t make them often enough anyways,” He was just glad the other wasn’t pointing out how stupid he was for not understanding a joke, which wasn’t something he was used to, but it didn’t matter.

“Well I personally think they’re a good alternative to anything with chocolate in them. Even if they’re considered the ‘plain’ cookie, I think they’re just fine.”

And MePhone could feel a bit of warmth in his face as he spoke again;

“Wow, you have a lot of opinions on baked goods, huh,” Which sounded lame, but thankfully OJ didn’t seem to think so, giving a small, awkward laugh;

“Well I don’t usually, it’s just what we seem to tend to talk about.”

“... I’m sure we could find other things to talk about,” MePhone blurted out, his words working faster than his brain. OJ seemed to pause at this, not having expected it either.

“Uh-- Sorry, we’re… Strangers, that was weird to say,” MePhone immediately backed down, looking away from the other completely now.

“We don’t have to be,” OJ shrugged, holding out his hand, for what MePhone rightfully assumed would be a handshake. He hesitated for a moment, just looking at the other’s hand, before accepting it.

“I’m OJ, but I think I already told you that,”

“I’m MePhone. Uh, I don’t remember if I told you that, but I’m sure you saw it on my nametag,” A sheepish tone, as he let his hand drop back down to his side, unable to help the small smile on his face. 

“Nice to meet you then,” OJ was still smiling as he moved his hand up to check his watch; “I have to be on my way, but it was nice actually meeting you.”

“Y… Yeah. See you around,” MePhone just gave a small wave as the other made his way down the street. 

This felt really impulsive, and some negative part of his brain continued to nag at him that this was a horrible idea, and that he was only going to continue to get hurt by people for trying to make friends, but… He chose to ignore it, feeling too nice at the idea right now to listen to that nag. 

Maybe everything would actually be fine for real. At least, for now, even if he knew his negative thoughts would surely get loud again soon, he was okay for the rest of the night as he made it home to work on those tarts, and that was good enough for now.

Chapter Text

It was noticeable how much MePhone’s mood had improved compared to the last day he had been at work to Two. He was still a bit on the quiet side, but he at least looked fine, and was acting fine. He had even brought in supplies of his own to make something new, which was nice. At least if they didn’t have variety yesterday, they did today. Two was just glad to see he was fine, and doing better. It was during a slow bit where they didn’t have any immediate customers when they finally decided to ask him about their prior day.

“How was your day yesterday?”

“Oh-- uh…” A bit of hesitation from MePhone, before he continued; “Sorry about that, by the way. Uhm, everythings… Alright,” He gave a thumbs-up; “I just… Needed a day. I’ll try not to make that a habit. Uhm… But I did spend time yesterday making these so they’d be good for today,” He gestured to the tarts on display. They were strawberry, and the composition was generally nice to look at. It really looked like he had outdone himself this time, and they definitely were selling with the customers that did come in-- the item being something completely new, after all. Much like the eclairs. 

“It’s fine, really. It wasn’t all too busy yesterday anyways. Just glad to see you’re doing alright today,”

“Haha, yeah,” MePhone glanced away, letting it be left at that. He was sure Two knew he had just straight up ditched work for no good reason yesterday, and he didn’t understand why they were being so chill about it considering in any other job he would’ve been yelled at or fired. But… He supposed this wasn’t ‘any other job’, so… It was fine.

“... Anything interesting happen here yesterday?”
“Well… It wasn’t at work, but Four finally asked me to make him a cake! I’m waiting for his text about the details, but I’m really excited. He’s never let me bake him anything before.”

“That sounds exciting,” MePhone just gave a small smile, not really caring much about Four when he was mentioned, but if this was something Two was passionate and excited about, he could be polite about it, and be happy for them.

“Tomorrow should be pretty interesting too. Soap is going to be contacting the supplier. Hopefully she wont uh… Well I’m sure she won’t aggravate her like you did,”

MePhone just let out a sheepish sigh, not even being able to deny it.

“I forget something once, and suddenly she thinks I’m the worst person on the planet. I can’t say that’s a new feeling but it’s… Hard to work with someone like that.” Another sigh.

“Well, good thing it’s Soap’s duty now then,”

“... Yeah,”

A pause between the both of them, before Two spoke up again;

“What do you think of her by the way?”

“The supplier? Gods, I hate her--”

“No, no-- I meant Soap,”

“Oh-- well…” A pause, followed by clear hesitation, as MePhone glanced away.

“I don’t hate her. It’s… Just a lot to get used to all of a sudden.” He turned away, just keeping his gaze forward as he idly lingered by the rester, honestly hoping a customer would come in just about now to cut this conversation short, but of course he wasn’t so lucky.

“Are you handling it okay?”

“What? I-- Pshh. Yeah. Of course I am. I handle everything great.” A dismissive hand wave, but a not so convincing tone of voice. Two just raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.

“Listen-- I just… I’ll get used to her. All of this, it’s just… Different, and new, and--... And sure, I’m not… Great when things change so suddenly but I’m… Not trying to make that your problem. You… Have enough to deal with. I’m sure.” And a ramble that surely gave a lot more away than he had meant to give. 

The silence was loud, and awkward after this, Two just taking a moment to process… All that. 

“I’ll be fine. Okay?” MePhone looked over at them again finally, an almost desperate look in his eyes for them to just drop this for now. And Two wasn’t exactly sure what to say anyways, so they let it go. This would just be a conversation for later then.

.

.

.

“What do you mean I’m ‘untrustworthy’! You haven’t even met me!” Soap barked into the phone, pacing back and forth behind the counter while she was on call.

“What I mean, is that the only one who hasn’t neglected my rightful payment has been the green haired fellow, and you… Aren’t them. You’re a new face, new voice, and even if they say you can be trusted, well, how should I know that for myself?”

“Why is trust so important! I have the checkbook in my other hand! You offer supplies to a BAKERY!” 

MePhone slouched down where he was sat at the moment, currently on break, sitting in the main area of the bakery today for the company, all while Soap was trying to figure out the supplier’s “demands” for the week so they could get what they needed. And maybe this was… Definitely MePhone’s fault in the first place-- It didn’t sound like any of it was going too well. Soap was clearly not having a fun time with this… But… As selfish as it was to think, it was better her than him dealing with the supplier right now, anyways.

“My dear, trust is a staple of any good work relationship. And with your sad little coworker neglecting to pay me, I cannot just give that out right away anymore.” The tone of the woman on the other end almost sounded amused, really. It was clear, like every week, she was having fun with this. In her frustration, Soap glanced over to MePhone, clearly wanting to say something, but she managed to keep her mouth shut, just letting out an aggravated sigh.

“Listen. Fine. I want this to work. What do I need to do? I know I’m new here, and I guess you’re just--...” She paused, changing her words to something more careful so she wouldn’t risk making things worse; “I can understand where you’re coming from, but I really do just want to do my job.”

“Hm. I suppose that’s fine. I’ll stop by the bakery myself today to accept the payment.”

“She’s coming here in person!?” MePhone perked up, whisper yelling, while Soap shot him a glare, putting a finger up to her mouth to shush him.

“Sounds good! We’ll see you then!” Soap put on her friendliest voice, as the other hung up.

“Oh Gods, I have to hide in the back-- She’s going to maul me if she sees me--”

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure. Hey, to make things much easier for me next time, I dunno, maybe apologize or something?” Soap kept eye contact with MePhone, her expression frankly intimidating.

MePhone couldn’t help as his shoulders slouched;

“I don’t want to though,”

“Isn’t it your fault she hates you though?”

“I honestly think she hates everyone,”

“You did forget to pay her though,” Two piped in, glancing up from typing away on their phone. They were busy working out details with Four about the next cake they were set to bake currently, all of their focus going on this, leaving this whole supplier mess to Soap, and MePhone right now.

“She doesn’t usually stop by,”

“Well I am new here. Maybe she wants to see me face to face… I feel like a lot of people judge how much they can trust someone on looks alone anyways-- And I’d say I look pretty trustworthy, not to brag, so I’m sure everything will be fine.” Soap just smiled.

“Do I look trustworthy?” MePhone raised an eyebrow, generally just curious now, only to immediately get insulted by Soap’s hesitation, and strained expression.

“Oh I see how it is.” MePhone just huffed, getting up to get back to work, moving to stand behind the register. “I can be trusted! Forgetting something once, and being trustworthy are two different things, anyways.” 

“Uh-huh, okay, well just--... Don’t mess this up. I don’t think we need to piss this woman off anymore than she already clearly is.”

And MePhone could only roll his eyes at this, hoping it wouldn’t be all too bad. He was used to being ridiculed and hated for things he had done wrong, but he’d rather not deal with all of that today, so he had to hope the woman would at least pretend to be civil today. Even if he knew that wasn’t a realistic hope to hold onto.

…

It was about a half-hour after the call when the woman came in. Shorter than all three of the workers, she looked all too fancy for someone who did supply runs for a local bakery, a white button-up undershirt, and a red and green waistcoat. MePhone had half a mind to call her the likes of a christmas elf or something, but he knew that would just make everything worse, keeping his mouth shut as she came into the building, a confident, almost mischievous smirk on her face as she walked up to the counter. Soap lightly nudged him aside to take his place so she could talk to her directly, MePhone just stepping away.

“I see the shady one is still here.” She shot a glance to MePhone, who looked away completely, letting out an annoyed huff.

“It was one time. I’ve apologized a bunch! That, and I fixed the mistake a few hours later!”

“Yes, well you still made it. But I’m not here to rag on you, as fun as that would be, I can do that later, and right now, I’m here to do business.” She slowly shifted her gaze to Soap, who kept her own confident expression, not letting it crack as she smiled back at the woman.

“Hm.” The supplier looked her up and down, keeping eye contact for an uncomfortable amount of time for anyone, before smirking again. “I suppose you look fine. A lot more organized than the other one in here,” She gestured vaguely towards MePhone, who just scoffed, and moved to head into the back room, where Two had retreated to about ten minutes prior, leaving Soap alone with the woman.

“So… Everything’s worked out then?”

“I suppose.” The woman’s gaze wandered over to the display, where all the pastries and baked goods were.

“Hm.”

“Okay, well I have the check-book, I’ve calculated the costs of the supplies we’ll need, and the extra regular payment for you, and it’s already written out,” She pulled the small checkbook out of her apron pocket, slowly pulling the separate check away from the rest of it, already signed, placing it on the counter, and sliding it over.

“Very prepared, I see. I feel like I may like how you do things more than the green one,” Her constant smirk unwavering as she picked up the check, looking it over.

“Everything’s in order. Your supplies like usual will be dropped off on Monday. Farewell,” She pocketed the check, turning, and waving a dismissive hand as she headed to the door.

“Oh-- wait, actually, what’s your name?”

And the woman didn’t really answer that question, just turning her head a bit to wink at Soap as she opened the door, quickly slinking out of sight.

Soap let out a massive, relieved sigh, glad this was dealt with. If anything, this was probably the most chaotic part of her new job now, dealing with this frankly shady, clearly unpredictable woman, but she’d make do. 

It took her a moment of thinking about all of this before she glanced around, realizing she was alone out here, quickly moving to take a glance in the back-room, but she hesitated as she reached for the doorhandle, hearing through the thin walls what sounded like a frustrated conversation going on. So she just sighed, moving to stand at the register for now. Two was on break, and MePhone was probably just unhappy with the supply lady stopping by, so she’d leave them both be for now.

.

.

.

“I just don’t understand why she hates me so much! I get it, people tend to hate me, but Gods, I fixed my mistake on the same day! And every time she sees, or talks to me, she has to make sure to point out everything I’ve done wrong in her eyes! It’s like dealing with my Dad all over again, and I--... I’m… Sick of it,” His frustrated tone immediately dropped and trailed off as it clicked to him exactly what he just said, his expression completely guilty as he turned to look at Two to gauge their reaction, them looking up from their phone, and notepad, having been writing down ideas and such and talking to Four for most of the day to help him figure out what kind of cake he wanted.

“Um… That… Kind of just slipped out. Just… Ignore all that.” MePhone mumbled, turning away completely. Here he was again, saying more than he wanted to. More than he needed to. He was becoming too comfortable, and Gods-- if he started showing his weaknesses now, Two would for sure want to replace him as soon as possible, he couldn’t risk that--

“I’m… Sorry about that,” Two finally spoke. It was honestly unclear if they were talking about what he said about his dad, or about the supplier at this point, but MePhone didn’t have the courage to face them right now. 

“It’s whatever, really. I uh… It’s not going to affect my work or anything. I’m past caring about this stuff. Uh… It’s still just frustrating. Sorry. Uhm… Sorry. We’re on the clock, I’m being stupid and unprofessional--” He moved to the door, just trying to get away from this, but he hesitated;

“Wait,” Two called out, MePhone’s hand resting on the handle to the door. “I… Just want you to know, even… If you prefer sticking to yourself, I’m here. If you ever want to talk about stuff. Maybe-- not during work hours, haha-- but… We’re friends. I’m here for you.”

“...Friends?” MePhone’s tone was quiet. Barely louder than a whisper. Two almost didn’t hear him. 

“...Yeah?” Two slowly got up, trying to figure out what was running through the other’s head right now, though it was difficult with the other being turned away.

“You don’t mean that. We… We’re just coworkers, right?” MePhone finally turned around, catching Two off guard with his expression. He almost looked scared.

“Yeah, we’re coworkers, but-- heck MePhone, why would I start a business with someone I didn’t want to be friends with?”

And MePhone was completely quiet now, his gaze dropping to the floor.

“What made you think otherwise..?” Two asked, cautious with their tone as they stepped over, ignoring the new text that popped up in their notifications from Four. This was more important to deal with at the moment.

“I don’t know,” MePhone’s shoulders slouched a bit, him turning away completely again. “I’m sorry. I… Haven’t been a good person to you. I’m not a good friend.”

“You haven’t been a bad friend at all, MePhone. You’ve been reserved, sure, but that’s not a problem. I just… Want to know that I see you as a good person, and I want to make sure you’re doing well here with all these changes going on. And I want you to know that if the supplier talking to you like that really bothers you, I’ll have a word with her. We could always find someone else, too.”

“No, no-- It’s fine. Please don’t do that on my behalf. It’d just cause more trouble. And-- hah, it’s… I did say I’m used to people not liking me anyways.” 

And even though Two was trying so hard to get through to him, he only seemed to be receding further. This isn’t what they wanted at all. It was so clear to them he was prioritizing this job over everything else now, and that even if he pretended so, he clearly wasn’t happy at all. Even if he had seemed fine earlier. It only took one thing to bring him back to looking miserable, and tired. 

“I… Should get back to work.”

“Can we talk please?”

A clear hesitance from MePhone, before he sighed, letting his hand drop back down to his side, away from the door handle. “Yeah. Okay.” Just get this over with, as he sighed, and resigned, slowly moving to sit back down at the table, Two moving to sit back down, too. Surely he was going to get fired today. Forget the process of finding someone new first, he was already making himself look like a complete idiot now. Someone who was too pathetic to keep a stable job anywhere without screwing everything up--

“I need to know if you’re comfortable with us looking to hire new people.”
“... What?” 

“This is our business, and I need input from you, too. I think I sprung hiring Soap on you too suddenly, and that wasn’t fair. I… Didn’t want to say anything, but you’ve just been stressed this week. I want you to feel comfortable here. I want you to be able to have fun at this job.” Two’s expression was nothing but cautious, and careful.

MePhone couldn’t help but squeeze his wrist, trying so hard not to lose his composure now. Being talked to like this was scary. It reminded him of a lot of different things he didn’t want to think about-- even if this conversation was going much better than any of those other ones ever had, but some part of him wished he was getting yelled at. That he was just being stupid and awful like usual, and that this was his problem. He was at least used to that. He wasn’t used to this. Anyone being understanding with him. Even in his previous jobs in the town, well none of those had really worked out. He was so close to caving and moving back home before he ran into Two, who had the idea for all of this.

Their idea. This might have been their shared business, but it was their idea. And he’d be so selfish, and it would be so unfair if he expressed any problems with how things were going.

But he just couldn’t help it anymore.

“It’s not her fault. It really isn’t. I… I’m just scared of how much things will change around here with new people.” He felt like he was on autopilot as he spoke now, unable to stop himself from letting it out. “I’m… Not used to a lot of this. I can work with other people, I just--... This is different. It’s more personal here with you, and-- I just--... I don’t know.” He just sighed. Keeping his gaze locked onto the table as he squeezed his wrist again, wincing a bit at the pain it brought, but he needed to keep grounding himself. 

“I know I’m being selfish for feeling this way. I’ll get over it. You’re free to hire new people. Really.”

“Why do you think you’re selfish?”

“I just am. This is mostly your business anyways.”

“It’s our business, MePhone. You have as much say as I do.”
“And I’m saying it’s fine if you want to hire more people.” 

“But do you really mean it?” Two frowned, really trying to make sure. MePhone’s miserable expression didn’t change. It was clear he was just incredibly unsure right now. Two sighed.

“We… Can talk about this later. We… Probably shouldn’t be leaving Soap stuck up front alone for this long anyways. You can give this all some thought,” They stood, giving a lasting look to MePhone, who couldn’t look them in the eye, getting up himself to head out, not saying another word.

.

.

.

It was when they were closing up when MePhone spoke again. Soap was still up front wiping down the counters, Two deciding to stay overtime to get started on Four’s cake, finally, having all the starting details now at the very least, while MePhone was in the back hanging up his apron. The door was open between the backroom and the kitchen, and Two could hear his voice when he finally said something, having calmed down a lot from their earlier talk. 

“Two?” Though his tone was still quiet. 

“Yeah?” They paused, glancing over as MePhone stepped through the doorway, returning the glance, before his gaze darted away.

“I… Would like to be friends, I think. It… Would probably be good for me. I’m sorry I didn’t… I’m sorry I wasn’t being much of a friend to you before.”

And Two just gave a small smile his way.

“That’s fine. You can always make up for it,”

MePhone gave a small smile back, clearly just trying at the very least to convince himself he was happy tonight, even if that wasn’t technically the truth at the moment. He could lie to himself for now.

Chapter Text

Lying to people was easy. At least, with most things. It was more of just… Not giving all the facts. Concealing certain things. Staying to himself. MePhone didn’t see himself as someone who deserved time or space to make friends of his own. Deep down, he was a terrible person, and he knew that as fact. Reinforced by so many people in his life before he moved away from home. 

He… Wasn’t pretending to be a friend now, he was just… Unsure of what it really meant. The thought was just intimidating, really. Two assured him that he could talk to them, but he couldn’t. He didn’t think much would change between the two now that they were actually both on the same page, but he would at least make an effort to look happier. Just keep putting up the act, and keep showing he can at least… Act like a good person. Even if he didn’t believe he was one.

Really, having two friends now-- Even if one of them was just someone who stopped by the bakery very occasionally, it all felt a little intimidating. 

Growing up, he didn’t really have many friends then, either. He had one or two that stuck around, but… Well one of them had just been family, and he hasn’t talked to them since a little before he left home.

He didn’t really want to think about the reasons for all of that right now, so he shook off his thoughts for the time being.

He had two days off of work ahead of him-- today and tomorrow, and he was trying so hard not to drown in all of his thoughts at the moment. He didn’t have the energy to leave the house, so he was stuck at home with his cat. Right now, he was sitting on the floor, just inside the living room, in front of the opened glass sliding door that led out to the mini balcony that each apartment in the complex had, his cat sitting in his lap, as he didn’t like letting it go out there. 

He didn’t like going out there himself, really. He didn’t like the thought of other people being able to just… See him up there from the sidewalks. So when he wanted fresh air-- but didn’t feel like going on a walk, or leaving the apartment, he just did this. Most of the time he’d pull the chair he had at his kitchen table over, but he couldn’t really be bothered today. 

Before MePhone had left work last night, Two had given him their number to keep in touch, and as weird and inconsistent as he was with texting, he had shot the other a text earlier this afternoon, and Two had been showing him progress updates on the cake they were working on for their other blue enjoying friend. It was nice to see, and he was glad he wasn’t expected to respond to every single message. It at least made him feel like he had something going on. Even if it was second hand. 

Though besides that, he was just there, sitting on the floor. He was sure he could, and probably should be working on some new recipe again or something to keep his job-- because even if Two says they saw him as a friend, well that would only get him so far if he continued to be hard to work with. If he continued to have nothing to offer.

But he didn’t have the energy for that tonight.

Truth be told, he hadn’t woken up feeling well this morning, but he was fine. He wasn’t overworked, or feeling bad, and he was fine. These two days of rest, he’d just spend at his apartment, hanging out with the cat, and texting Two, and watching TV, and maybe he’d heat up some chicken noodle soup. Canned soup was hard to mess up anyways, and he had an abundance of it stocked up from over time for occasions he wasn’t feeling like a sandwich, like tonight. 

But that was a concern for later. He wasn’t hungry right now anyways. He could worry about all that later, moving to lay down where he was, the cat hopping away, heading over to the couch, thankfully not trying to scurry out onto the balcony. He was just glad the floor wasn’t too uncomfy, but he didn’t feel like moving around much.

MePhone was sure if anyone saw him like this, he’d look pitiful, but that’s why he was glad he lived alone. Not having to worry about a certain someone judging him for every choice he made. Not having to work at that stupid electronics store. Ugh. He really didn’t want to think about any of that right now. He moved away to get out of all of that, and here he was, the thoughts and memories not leaving his mind. It was awfully inconvenient, and it wasn’t making him feel much better. 

Whatever. Maybe he’d get up off the floor for now, letting out a huff as he got himself up, slipping his phone in his pocket as he made his way over to the couch. Hopefully he’d feel better by Tuesday.

…

Truth be told, he didn’t feel much better, but he was physically fine, and it wasn’t anything that could be contagious. Really, just a mental funk that he couldn’t get over during the weekend. Which sucked, but he was fine. Everything was still fine, and he was doing better, and he had friends now. 

So like he had been reassuring himself for several weeks, he was, and would continue to be just fine. Work would continue to be good for him, and things would start really looking up eventually.

Today, like most weeks, the start of it was slow, but they did have a regular stop by.

“Glad to see you actually have them today.”

MePhone didn’t really have an answer, just stifling a sigh as he took one of the muffins out of the display, carefully bagging it up.

“Also uh… A croissant too.”

“Ambitious today, huh,” It slipped out, really. His eyes widened a bit, along with his neutral expression shifting into something more guilty, in a; ‘I should not have said that’ kind of way. The jock just shot a glare his way.

“You know dude I could literally go buy these at the store and it wouldn’t be that different.” 

MePhone bit his tongue, keeping his mouth shut as he moved to bag up a croissant now, too.

“Sorry.” He didn’t really like apologizing, but this had definitely been a mistake. He was glad Two was out getting a specific icing, while Soap was on her lunch break, so they wouldn’t see him making a fool of himself.

“Nah, it’s cool. I don’t care.” The guy just shrugged, pulling some cash out of his pocket to put down on the counter as the bag was slid his way. 

MePhone really didn’t like how inconsistent this guy seemed. He was annoying, really, and a bit loud sometimes, and with all the problems he tended to want to cause when the bakery didn’t have what he was after, well--

“Say, do you have a life outside this place?”

MePhone blinked away from his thoughts, tilting his head a bit.

“... Yeah, of course I do. I… Have a great, interesting life. Pssh-- I do so many cool things.” He waved a dismissive hand, his eyes darting away as he put on a fake, confident smile to not seem so pathetic. But when he looked at the guy, who was just staring at him with a completely unconvinced expression, MePhone’s own expression dropped with a sigh.

“I have a life.” Was all he reassured.

“Yeah, cool, anyways, see you then.”

And MePhone could see as he left, what looked like a business card left on the counter. He waited until the other was completely out of view to look at it, his expression completely blanching as he realized it was a gym membership advertisement. The other side was completely blank, other than a clearly hand-written phone number. 

“...Huh?” He tilted his head looking at it, but jolted as a voice accompanied him in the room;

“I didn’t take you as a gym type,”

“Wh--” He stepped away, to see Soap had come back from her lunch break, a small smile on her face.

“Uh… How much of that did you see?”

“I just got back. Who stopped by?”

“Uh… One of our regulars, uh… I think he said his name was Trophy,”

“Eugh. Him.” Her expression immediately soured as she turned her focus to the counters, looking to see if there was anything she could do to busy herself. 

“He’s not that bad most of the time he stops by, but… I think he just gave me his number.”

“I’d say throw it out. Don’t give that guy the time of day. He’s just a jerk.” Soap just crossed her arms, before glancing back over at her coworker.

“But um-- That’s your choice, I guess. Your funeral.” She shrugged, moving to make sure the dishes were clean. 

“Yeah. It’s… My choice.” He glanced back down at the card in his hand. Would making a third friend be too ambitious? Would it be another good distraction?

He supposed he had to hope so. Maybe this could help with the mental funk, too.

.

.

.

Texting new people was weird. With Two, well, he actually knew them at the very least. He didn’t know Trophy at all beyond the fact the guy liked banana based pastries. And that he was a self proclaimed jock.

A ‘hello’ would feel far too formal, but a ‘hey’ felt too much like they’ve known each other. A ‘hi’ would just feel like too little. So he was sitting in bed the same night he had gotten the number, staring at his phone. This was just weird. Strangers didn’t tend to give him their number. Surely there was an ulterior motive behind this. The guy wasn’t interested in being friends, and just wanted to see if he wanted to work out. That… Would surely make sense. But that really wasn’t something he was interested in. He wasn’t really… The strongest guy, or the skinniest one either, but he was comfortable in his body by now. He didn’t need to worry about any of that. He was healthy enough. The only times he tended to get sick was when he stressed himself out too much, which might have been happening a lot more in recent times, but it wasn’t as bad as it used to be. He was still able to function by now. 

Ugh. It would be a lot easier if he just stopped being weird about everything. He just needed to send a text. It would’ve been much easier if he had been the one to give away his number, but that wasn’t the case. It probably wouldn’t be the case for anyone ever, but… Whatever.

It took him half an hour of waging a mental war with himself to send a text.

‘Hey, this is the guy from bakery. rly hoping this is someone’s actual number’ Making sure to check each word to know he didn’t make any mistakes, and that auto-correct did its job before sending.

And then he realized how late it had gotten, letting out a groan, and tossing his phone to the other side of the bed. Nobody respectable would be up on their phones at this hour. He had work tomorrow. Maybe he’d bring his phone with him then. To check on break, but for now, he needed to force himself to sleep.

.

.

.

MePhone was grumpy on Wednesday. Both Two, and Soap noticed it. His expression was sour, and beyond baking what needed to be set up on the display, he let Soap take care of the register today. Of course, this brought such an awkward air to the building, but Soap wasn’t going to say anything, because the two of them still weren’t all too familiar with each other, and Two was both busy finishing the cake, and well, they didn’t see it too appropriate to bring it up while everyone was on the clock.

Eventually, MePhone just fled to the back room, hopefully to cool off, giving Two a chance to finish up what they were working on in the moment, moving to go check up on him around ten minutes later, slowly opening the door, and stepping in, their gaze landing on MePhone, who was sitting at the table, his head down on it, and his arms crossed over it, concealing his face from the rest of the room.

“MePhone?”

“What.” A muffled grumble.

“Are you… Uhm… Do you need anything?” They decided to switch it up mid-sentence. MePhone didn’t seem like the kind of guy to like being asked if he was alright when it was clear that wasn’t the case.

“Quiet. Time alone.” Frankly, he sounded miserable. 

“Well… If you’re sure… I’m… I’ll be out in the main room if you need anything. Just take your time.” Two just sighed out, turning to leave. They’d give him space if it was what he wanted, but they still hesitated at the door, almost waiting to see if they actually wanted them to stick around, but he said nothing else.

So they let him be.

Frankly, MePhone hadn’t meant to be having such an awful day. He had a hard time falling asleep, tossing and turning in bed, only to fall into a really unpleasant dream he got ripped out of by his morning alarm. A shitty start to a day. Sleep deprived, with all sorts of not so fun things running around his brain that just wouldn’t let up. Maybe it would’ve been better to ask Two to stay for his sake-- but they had a job to do. They had something to get back to, and well, he wasn’t going to ask Soap, either. 

He really didn’t want to feel miserable today, but it looked like that was just the vibe. Wednesdays just seemed to suck a lot, and this was no exception. 

But… Whatever. Whatever. He’d be fine. He was always fine, and this was… A small road bump. This would be nothing in the grand scheme of things, like most things were. 

His problems didn’t really matter anyways, and like always, he just needed to suck it up, and get over it. A bad dream wasn’t going to kill him. Barely any sleep wasn’t going to either, probably, so…

His thoughts trailed off a bit as he felt a small buzz in the pocket of his apron, moving slowly to pull whatever it was out, to discover he had managed to remember to bring his phone with him today.

A text from the number he had sent a message to yesterday. Huh. 

‘Hey dude. Yeah this is my number. Just thought you could use something more interesting than standing around in a bakery all day. I’m good at being interesting.'

MePhone stared at his phone, reading the text over several times. It had such a weird vibe to it, honestly, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Regardless though, it was different enough to finally tear his thoughts away from what was stuck on his mind. He shouldn’t have to be thinking this hard about his family right now, anyways. He could focus on new things. Like this. A good distraction for sure, even if just for a little bit.

Chapter Text

“Sorry about yesterday. It won't happen again.” Was all MePhone really decided to say about his sour mood from the previous day at work to Two as they came in. It was Thursday now, and he was a lot less stressed today, thank the Gods. He wouldn't admit it but it also helped that he didn't need to justify himself to Soap today, seeing as this was the day she was off for this week. MePhone didn't really understand it, but she had an extra day off work compared to him and Two, but he wasn't really complaining. He was still struggling a bit to get used to her, even if she was… Generally nice. Very nitpicky about how things were cleaned and organized, but she was a fine person. He didn't know anything about her beyond that though, and truth be told, he didn't care to at the moment. 

“That's fine, everyone has their off days.” Two just let it be dismissed thankfully, still so focused on the cake they had been working on for the past… However long it's been taking them. It was a four layer cake-- fitting for the guy, MePhone supposed, and he was putting on the last bits of detail today. He also has to go deliver it today, too. And… That would leave MePhone alone at the bakery for a bit. Probably for a few hours, really, since it was a birthday celebration that he remembered Two saying something about ‘surprisingly being invited to’. But MePhone can manage. He's been in charge before anyways for short times, and it's not like it's any different than working with them around. It'll just be a little lonely, but it's slow enough business-wise to be fine. Plus, he brought his phone with him today. 

He hasn't told anyone about this yet, and he probably wasn't going to, but he had been texting back and forth with that jock. He was honestly surprised, and still a bit wary about him not just trying to drag him into some sort of gym membership. That's what he had assumed, but the conversations seemed normal. Honestly a surprise considering how abrasive he seemed every time he stopped by the bakery. It almost reminded him of someone, but he didn't need to entertain those thoughts, just letting it be what it was. He was talking to a guy, and that was just… Nice, really. 

It really wasn't anything special. Just a new thread to a small, growing social life of his. And maybe he didn't have to feel so selfish for making friends now. A part of him had been hoping to make some when he had moved here in the first place, but with it taking all the time it did, it just felt like that chance was fleeting. That maybe his selfish choice of running away was good reason not to have any. To be able to make any. But now, in such short time, he had three friends. And that felt… Nice, honestly. Having someone to talk to-- more than one person, was nice. 

He was sure Two would be a good friend, but he still felt like he had to keep his guard up, working with him and all. If he said the wrong thing at any point, well, he probably wouldn’t be working here any longer, and Two would probably not be willing to speak to him anymore. And MePhone didn’t want that. He didn’t want to lose this job, or a new friend, after he was finally slowly warming up to the idea. He really didn’t need to ruin his life again after the first time, so he had to make this work.

He… Was getting a bit carried away with all this thinking right now, blinking back to focus as he felt a tap on his shoulder, glancing over to see Two.

“I’ll be boxing this up, and heading out. Are you sure you have things handled here? I can come right back after--”

“No, no, go enjoy yourself. I can uh… Hold down the fort. I got this.” A grin, and two thumbs-ups to sell it. “And-- hey, I’ve done it before. The place isn’t going to burn down with me in charge.”

“I know, I just want to make sure. I’ll probably try to be back before closing, but just in case--” Two fished the keys out of their apron pocket, handing them over to MePhone, who slipped them into his own apron for the time being, giving another thumbs-up, knowing it was probably too much by now, but oh well. Two just gave them a small smile of their own, before they turned back to focus on this big cake project of theirs, finally finished, and ready to go. 

“Good luck with getting that where it needs to go,” MePhone looked over. “Do… You need help boxing it?”

“Oh, I have it covered, no need.” Two dismissed the other, pulling out the boxes they had brought in this morning. “I’ll just need you to get the door for me, is all.” 

“Yeah, okay.” Seeing as they didn’t really have any business at the moment, he went ahead and made his way over to the front door of the bakery, waiting patiently for Two to make their way over, holding it open as they made their exit.

And just like that, he had the place to himself for probably the rest of the shift today. He was sure it was going to be another slow, uneventful day, and even if it looked unprofessional, he brought his phone out to just idly waste time. He didn’t always need to make himself look busy if nothing was going on, anyways. During slow luls like this, he and Two would just talk about stuff-- even if it was mostly Two talking, and MePhone listening half the time that happened-- point was, he usually had something to kill the time. Today it was his phone, and he’d be able to just set it down if someone walked in to buy something.

Which was what ended up happening. He set his phone down on the counter as he heard the door ding open, glancing up to be met with… Soap? Why was she here on an off day?

“Hey, MePhone!” She smiled, giving a half wave as she walked up to the counter, glancing over to the pastries.

“You know you’re off today, right?”

“Yeah, I had some time to kill, and well, I figured I haven’t actually tried any of the stuff you make yet. I thought I could treat myself today.”

“Going to work on an off day seems weird.” MePhone just shrugged, moving to stand in front of the counter; “But you do you, I guess”, he said, as if he wouldn’t be here every day of the week if he could. He ignored the eye-roll she gave him, her gaze still mostly focused on the display.

“I think I’ll try one of those muffins.”

“There’s two kinds today. Uh… Strawberry, and chocolate.”

“Just one strawberry one,”

“Yeah, okay.” He pulled one out from the display, bagging it up with no issue as she brought out her wallet, and handing him some cash to pay for it, instead of card. Which wasn’t too shocking, but he figured she seemed like the kind of person to always only pay with a card, but that wasn’t really an important detail he needed or wanted to know anyways, so he shrugged that thought process off as she gave him a smile, taking her bagged muffin.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,”

“Yeah, unless the muffin gives you food poisoning or something.” MePhone joked, but his expression dropped as she swung her head around to look at him.

“It-- was a joke. I haven’t given anyone food poisoning… Yet… Or uh… As far as I’m aware but hey! You-- you already payed, and you’re halfway out the door, so y’know… Enjoy,” He ended that with a slightly awkward laugh, as Soap just let out an exasperated sigh, leaving the building, and leaving his sight. He had a growing feeling she probably wasn’t the biggest fan of his sense of humor, but he figured most people just straight up didn’t like him at all, so he’d take it. He’d just… Keep his jokes to himself while she’s around probably. Maybe he felt a little stupid for bringing up food poisoning to a clean freak, but… 

Well, calling her a freak wasn’t what he really meant to think, but whatever. He was getting distracted again, his gaze wandering down to his phone again, now that the place was empty again.

‘You mentioned doing other stuff outside the bakery, kind of curious.’

‘i take my cat on walks sometimes uhhhh yeah. i do a lot more stuff but i dont want to bore you’

‘Try me’

‘... okay well maybe not a bunch of stuff’ 

It was a pain, really, to have to triple check his spelling every time he typed something up, but it was better than looking like an idiot. Better than making it obvious he barely even graduated highschool to a stranger. Yeah. Auto-correct and regular spelling was a price to pay to not look like an idiot. That seemed fair enough, as tedious as it was.

‘just dont have much energy most of the time but its fine’

‘the bakery takes up most of my time anyways so i didnt see why i needed other things to do’ He didn’t know why he was being so honest, really. Surely it was a bad, stupid idea, but… He was bored, and still trying to see where this was going. As secretive as he was, he still tended to say things that either still ended up giving him away more than he had meant to, or just making himself look pathetic most of the time, but right now he didn’t really care? Of course this was a regular, and someone who stopped by at least once a week, but also the idea of talking to someone new was still thrilling.

But he could figure that could wait for the moment, as the door dinged open again, MePhone looking up to greet the customers, two people he didn’t quite recognize, going about business as usual as he gave them what was ordered. He was glad he was feeling social today, considering there was a slight bit of busy to the day. He was also glad he was able to shake off the bad dream and store those thoughts away for later. 

‘If you have the energy you should hang out with me tomorrow after you get off work or smthn.’

Awfully forward of the guy, still keeping that certain vibe he had felt in the first message he had sent. 

And this was a big choice. He tended to decline any social invitations. Especially any made during his work week… But… He was kind of curious.

‘Haha maybe’ was all he left it at for now, setting his phone aside for now. This would be a lot to think about tonight.

.

.

.

Evening plans felt… Awfully intimidating, but here MePhone was, stood at a bus stop. Public transport was also terribly intimidating, too. And filthy, and oh Gods, he’d take one step on the bus and die immediately or something--

No. No, that was stupid. That sounded like something his dad would believe, and that thought alone made him shove all of that down, and choose to think about something else. He had plans with a guy. A friend? Maybe? He wasn’t sure if that’s what this was. Maybe the guy was playing a long game. Leading him along and then he’d arrive at the place they decided only to not be there, or to ditch him to pay for everything himself, or even worse, it was just going to be the guy trying to talk him into a gym membership-- or oh Gods, a timeshare. The possibilities were endless, and that made him anxious. But… It was still kind of exciting. Eventually, the bus made it to the stop, coming to a crawl, then a stop as the doors opened. He stepped in, handing the driver his payment-- thankfully cheap as he moved to find a seat, shuffling awkwardly in one, away from anyone else on the bus for his own sake. He was thankful the trip wasn’t going to be too long. Much shorter than it would’ve been if he walked-- all the way to the outskirts of the town. He wasn’t really sure when Trophy had suggested it, but the place they were going to looked like a bar when MePhone looked it up for himself. An unfamiliar environment-- one that was always sketchy in most movies he watched, so he was trying to be wary still. He decided if he stepped in and didn’t like the vibes, he’d go back home, even if that would be a waste of the fare he paid for the bus. 

Really the safety should be his most important priority, but it wasn’t. He was sure-- at least, hopeful this place would be fine, since the reviews for it seemed alright. He was just trying really hard to make a good real first impression. Who he was at work-- at least, around the customers, wasn’t really him. He tried, for the most part, to be polite, and a beacon of what customer service should look like, but that cracked sometimes. Like the other day… With Trophy. 

Realistically, anything could go wrong tonight. He kept that thought in the front of his mind as he got off the bus, approaching the building. 

Trophy had texted him ten minutes prior that he was there, and waiting. Which, he hadn’t meant to leave the guy waiting for so long, almost speed walking a bit as he headed in, his gaze wandering around the environment. For a bar, it didn’t really seem much like what he had been thinking. It seemed nice, really. As he looked around, he managed to spot Trophy, who was returning the gaze, his expression a bit unreadable, but he held up a hand to give a small wave over. So MePhone went to sit down with him. Of course he was sat at the actual bar area, and not in one of the nicer tables, but that was fine. 

“Hey,” He kept it casual, hoping it wasn’t too casual still.

“Hey.” Trophy returned it, as MePhone’s gaze moved over to the chalkboard menu set up above the bar. 

“So… What’s up?”

“Just thought you could use something to help you chill out, I guess.” He seemed a lot more chill compared to most of the interactions from the bakery right now. Really, he had been calm during the texts, but that’s because it was easy to seem fine while texting. That being said, it still seemed to MePhone like that wasn’t completely it. Oh Gods. What if he was just being used as a ploy to get free sweets or something-- No, no. That was one of the more stupid ideas, surely. This was fine. Everything was fine. This was fine.

“Oh, well… I think I’m pretty chill.” MePhone just put on a confident look of his own, though it immediately dropped as the bartender came over to the two of them.

And even though this was the reason they were here, MePhone just ended up with a water in front of him. The thought of drinking in public intimidated him, really. He was old enough-- yeah, by around six years or so, but it still just… Felt awkward. Especially if he was taking the bus back home later after all of this. Trophy was definitely drinking though, having started off with some fruit cocktail, and some appetizer that was currently being prepared.

“Uh… What do you do for work?”

“Personal trainer. Kind of boring, honestly. Not here to talk about work right now though.” He just shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. 

“Yeah, that’s fine, I was just curious.” MePhone took a sip of his water to avoid things being too awkward. He wasn’t the greatest at asking people things. He was good at listening, having plenty of experience with people who liked talking about themselves a little too much, but not at starting those conversations. He just hoped he didn’t seem awkward, or uncomfortable. 

“You said you had a cat, right?” It almost felt like he was also having a hard time figuring out what to say right now.

“Oh yeah-- She’s uh… I don’t actually know what she is because I found her off the street, but she’s one of those uh… fluffy white ones.”

“What do you call her?”

“Oh ahaha; uhm… I don’t. She doesn’t have a name yet,” MePhone glanced away again. He’s had the cat for about three months now-- really something that happened on accident, but once he had her, he couldn’t just let her back onto the street or something. He’d hate himself if it got hurt out there, but… He had yet to actually name her.

“Hm, alright,” Trophy took another sip from his drink, glancing over to the bartender as the appetizer he ordered was slid across the bar to them. 

“Do you have any pets?”

“Nah. Don’t really have the commitment for something like that at the moment. I’d probably get a dog if I ever settled down with someone, but… Yeah.”

And most of the conversation beyond that was just asking and answering questions about themselves, which was… Honestly a bit awkward, but all of that seemed to change when MePhone asked the other about hobbies. It was interesting seeing the guy immediately light up as he started talking. It turned out he was really into photography, and taking pictures. He even showed off some stuff he had on his phone-- which… Was really cool. And then an idea popped up in MePhone’s head.

“How would you feel about taking some uh… What is it, ad pictures for the bakery?”

“Oh?” Trophy raised an eyebrow. It didn’t look like he hated the idea.

“Uhm-- Paid, of course. We’ve… Been trying to branch out business a bit. Or at least my coworker Two has been doing that. I feel like if we had some… Good pictures for whatever advert, or our website or whatever, it could help. You-- can obviously say no, and--”

“Yeah, sure. I can stop by on Saturday.” Trophy just gave a casual smile, as he waved down the bartender to order another drink. This time, MePhone figured he could at least handle one. Something small, at least. 

The night beyond that was nice. Talking about hobbies had really opened the both of them up to a much more comfortable air. It felt nice, really. A comfortable feeling MePhone hadn’t felt in such a long time, really, but one he’d continue to crave after the night would inevitably end. 

Though unfortunately for him, it would end sooner than he would’ve wanted. A passing glance to the door as it opened. A group of three. People he didn’t recognize, until his gaze landed on the third. A familiar head of long, red hair. 

MePhone immediately yanked his gaze away, deciding it would be safest to not look his way. Oh Gods, what was he even… What… He needed to get out of here. Now. He wasn’t ready to see anyone he recognized tonight. Out of the many things he thought of that could have gone wrong, this didn’t even cross his mind. MePhone didn’t even know he was… Well, here . 

“I-- I’m sorry I really need to head home-- Wow, it’s getting late isn’t it,” He spoke suddenly, cutting off the other, mostly on accident. Trophy just raised an eyebrow at this.

“I-- This was great. I just have to go. Now.” He kept his voice very low. Almost a whisper as he kept his head down.

“Why are you acting so… So skittish right now?” 

“N- I’m not, I just… Have to go. Sorry,” MePhone frowned, quickly moving to pull some cash out of his wallet, and handing it to Trophy. 

“This should cover my drinks, I--”

“Do you want me to call you a taxi or anything?” And there was something different about the guys tone now that almost sounded sad, but MePhone really couldn’t afford to stick around. He could text the guy to explain… Something, later. Even if it would probably be a lie. 

"NO! no-- it's fine, I'll take the bus, sorry," Thankfully, he made it out both quickly, and undetected, but not without feeling terrible on the bus ride home. Both from ending that hangout so abruptly, but also with… Seeing who he did see again.

He didn’t know his brother had moved away from home. And of here of all places. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see him, it was just… Complicated. And now he had to worry about how difficult it might be getting around certain places without running into him. 

He… He wasn’t ready yet. If his brother had wanted to talk-- or to even have him in his life after the move, he would’ve called, or texted. It was clear that would never be the case. 

He really hated worrying about this, but there was nothing that could be done right now, but hope his brother was just passing through or something, and not in town long-term. 

Chapter Text

“I feel like dad might actually kill you if you go through with this, Red.” MePhone sighed, a bit wary, and nervous as he and his younger sibling stood outside of one of the few hair salons that were in town.

“Yeah, well he can deal with it. If he kicks me out for it, at least I’ll be out from his stupid rules, and I’ll have cooler hair.” He grinned. 

“What colour are you… Planning…” He trailed off as Red just gave him a look that conveyed something that read like ‘are you seriously asking me that’, though he didn’t say anything.

“Okay, yeah, I get it.” MePhone sighed.

“Plus, I earned this money from my job. He can’t police me on how I spend it.”

MePhone just sighed again, glancing away. 

“This is a serious thing though. I don’t… Want anything bad to happen,” Always the nervous one. They were almost adults now, and he was still nervous about these things. It just sucked that his dad was always so convincing with the threats he dished out. 

But if his younger sibling was going to get in trouble for this… Well…

“How about I get my hair dyed, too. Then it’ll look like my idea.” MePhone looked back over at his brother, who raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t have to take the blame for everything.”

“Yeah, well… I think he already hates me anyways, so…” MePhone just shrugged, moving to open the door for the both of them.

“Do you even know what colour you want? Do you have the money?”

“Pssh-- yeah. He’s an ass, but he still pays me. I think maybe cyan would be cool.”

“You’re going to look like a clown. Hey-- maybe that can be your next job.” 4s snickered, as MePhone elbowed him.

Dad was definitely furious when the two of them got home, but it wasn’t anything MePhone hadn’t been used to during those years.

…

MePhone had to go to work on Saturday like none of what happened last night happened. He also was there on very little sleep again, which really didn't help his mood, but he was at least trying to not be so grumpy like he had been that other day. 

It was still hard though. He at least had Soap to take over the register duties today while he just focused on his baking, though he did have to take over while she called the supplier again for the week, stepping into the back room this time while there were a few customers seated in the building at the moment, just being cautious in case it turned into another shouting match from her end or something. 

He just had to hope nobody else decided to come in for the time being because he really just didn’t have the social battery to handle anything.

Of course, he couldn’t be so lucky.

“Hey,” Trophy called out, his tone a bit strained as he walked up to the counter.

“Hi,” MePhone stifled a sigh, trying to act like everything was fine. 

“You look like garbage today, uhm-- but that’s… Not what I’m here for,” The air between the two was immediately awkward again, Two glancing over from what they were prepping at the moment, something that for once, wasn’t a cake. 

“Is this about last night?” He could feel Two’s gaze on him, even if he couldn’t see them in his vision. He couldn’t blame them for being curious, but he still just didn’t want to deal with any of this right now.

“Yeah, kind of..? Look, I just uh… You left so suddenly, and you didn’t text me or anything, and I get showing up at your work probably looks bad but if I just want to know what that was about. Did I do something?”

“No! No, you… Didn’t. It wasn’t you. I just… Uhm…” He trailed off, wracking his brain for any valid lie, just deciding to go with something close, but not the full truth.

“I just saw someone I recognized. Sorry for leaving you like that.”

“Oh. Someone you didn’t want to run into or something? I get it.”

MePhone mentally kicked himself for that. What else was the guy supposed to assume;

“Ahaha, um… Something like that…” He scratched the back of his neck, just trying to stifle anything else that was on the tip of his tongue. 

“I could’ve left with you or something… But uh… It’s fine. Next time we hang out, we can go somewhere else.” Trophy just shrugged, thankfully seeming to understand. 

“Oh yeah, and before I leave, I did want to ask you about that thing we talked about. Figured I could knock that out while I’m here.”
“...Huh?”

“You asked me if I’d be interested in taking pictures for your bakery,” 

And MePhone just now noticed the camera he had on a strap around his neck.

“Oh! Yeah--” He turned his head to Two, who walked over, already smiling;

“We’d love that.” Two piped in, honestly excited at the idea of MePhone helping out with getting someone involved for this. It would make what was trying to be done a lot easier. 

“Yeah, MePhone told me you guys were trying to extend your reach or whatever, something about better looking pictures helping with that.”

“Can I see some of your work?” They still smiled, leaning forward against the counter a bit as Trophy held up his camera to show them. 

And MePhone stepped back a bit to let the two of them talk that out, the very little bit of social energy he had having left during that conversation as he made his way into the back room to take a few minutes-- forgetting Soap was also back here until he was already in the room. 

“Yes, that’ll be it, thanks.” A pause. “Of course. Talk to you next week then,” Thankfully it seemed like the conversation was wrapping up, so he wasn’t intruding on much. And she tapped her screen, before slipping the phone into her apron pocket, looking up to MePhone who moved to take a seat in one of the chairs.

“Got next weeks supplies figured out. She was much nicer to talk to this week compared to last. Still a handful, but I didn’t have to shout at her this time.” A pause, as she watched MePhone lay his head down on the table.

“Are you on break?”

“Not yet, Two’s talking to someone out there, figured I’d leave them to it.”

“Oh? Is it someone you know?”

“Trophy. They’re talking about him taking pictures for us.”

“Eugh.” She just sighed. “I’d probably opt to stick back here with you but I should probably get back to work since you aren’t on register duty at the moment.”
“Yeah.” MePhone moved to cross his arms over the table, shielding the light from the room away from his vision, stifling a yawn, as he listened to the door click open, and then click shut. 

He’d be fine to just sit here for a bit, surely.

…

“Whuh… huh..?” MePhone blinked a few times, lifting his head up from the table, despite how heavy it felt as something nudged his shoulder.

“We’re closing up, MePhone. You should head home,” A voice he recognized as Two’s.

Wait, closing?

“Huh? It’s only noon,” He blinked a few times, getting the sleepy blur out of his vision.

“It’s six already.”

“Wh-- Oh Gods,” He immediately realized he had totally fallen asleep at work. “Gods-- I’m sorry, it won’t happen again,” MePhone moved to get up, finally regaining most of his senses, feeling awake enough to move around now.

“It’s fine, we weren’t too busy today anyways. Don’t worry about it.”

“It’s totally unprofessional though,”

“No offense, but you looked like you needed that anyways,” Soap piped in from through the opened back door, her still being in the main room, wiping things down. 

MePhone could only sigh, and shake his head. He’ll do better on Tuesday. He won’t let this happen again, and he’ll stop thinking so hard about last night, and be fine. Yeah. 

So, he made his way out, still feeling utterly embarrassed that he had fallen asleep at work, but that feeling didn’t last too long, as he heard someone call out his name. He jolted at first, fearing the worst before he turned around, though his expression immediately softened as he realized it was OJ.

“Oh, hi,” MePhone gave a small smile, trying not to look too tired, or tense, or miserable.

“Hey! How’s it going?” He smiled back, moving to walk up to him. It looked like the guy had also just gotten off of work.

“Oh, it’s going… Good, I think? Yeah.” MePhone waved a dismissive hand. “What about you?” Immediately shifting focus off of him.

“I’ve been doing well lately. It’s been a bit since I’ve seen you around, I would’ve stopped by the bakery sometime this week but I’ve been a bit busy,”

“Oh, that’s fine.” MePhone was kind of glad he hadn’t, with how off he had felt this week.

“Yeah, there are still things I’m waiting to try, but I’m sure you don’t really want to talk about work after just getting off of it,”

“Eh, I don’t really care,” MePhone just shrugged, watching as the ginger brought out his phone. 

“I think last time we talked you said we should talk about other stuff, or something like that, but I realized I didn’t really give us a way to do that,”

“Huh?”

“Here, my number,”

“...Oh,” And even though it wasn’t the intent, getting a number from a guy he thought was cute was a slight ego boost, as he brought out his own phone to exchange his number, too. “Yeah, I hadn’t really thought about that,” He ended that with a small, awkward laugh. 

“Well, now we can talk more often.” OJ stepped back, slipping his phone back in his pocket, still smiling. The eagerness of this guy to be friends with him-- just like the other guy still made him feel a little wary, but… He could let himself have this, surely. He would let himself make friends now, and try not to think too hard about his brother, and… Having left him behind.

MePhone blinked away from his thoughts as he spoke;

“Anyways-- I need to head home… I have a cat to feed, y’know how it is,” He kept up his smile as best he could despite his mood dropping significantly, thankfully keeping it up enough as the two parted ways.

He had to get home before his mood got worse.

.

.

.

MePhone found himself thinking about the night his brother moved away. He had escaped the house before he had managed to, and all the feelings that came with that. With him though, he had still chosen to stay in the same town, getting an apartment with a few friends of his. 

When it happened, MePhone felt like he had been left behind, and it hurt. And he had to wonder if that's what his brother felt when he himself vanished without a word. Not even staying in the same town, just having to get away because… Well… He really didn't want to think about any of that. The words that were said between him and his dad the night before he left were just nasty, and he didn't want to think about any of it. 

He… Was happier here, anyways. Even if he was still dealing with the aftermath of everything, he was happy here, wasn’t he?

That's… All that mattered, right?

It wasn't like he completely cut off anyone in his family-- only Dad, really, but… When he had tried to text his brother after he had settled, well… His number had been blocked. He really didn't understand why, but he wasn't able to do much about it. So he had let him be. He figured things would work out once things got going in his life anyways after the move, but… He only really just felt like he was getting to that point. 

Spending a few years doing jobs he hated, or were stuck in just to barely keep his apartment before this, well… He was just glad the bakery was still somehow making money. If this failed, he would probably, no, definitely have to cave in, and go crawling back home. Prove his dad right, and he couldn't do that. He refused. Which… Is why he was at least glad the advertisement stuff seemed to be working out. Business this week-- even if he hadn't been having a good one, the bakery was busy enough. According to Two, the website was up, and so were the socials. Soap had done her shout-out, too, which helped a bit. 

He had been down this road with his thoughts plenty of times, but Gods, right now, he really needed all of this to keep working out. He also just… Definitely needed to avoid his brother if he ever saw him again anywhere. It was good enough that even if he was living in this town now, that his brother had never been one for sweets, so he wouldn't have to worry about him stumbling across the bakery.

But that still left the possibility of seeing him literally anywhere else… But only if he was actually living around here. He could have just been passing through, really. That was the ideal situation, but he still had to be prepared for the option. It at least helped that this was a big town, but… Ugh.

MePhone just sighed, trying really hard to shut his brain up for the night, but he couldn't. Taking a nap earlier hadn't helped much. He was still tired, but he couldn't sleep now. His brain was too loud tonight. All of this just sucked. He didn't want to be miserable all weekend. He really didn't. But he just couldn't help it. Even with new people to talk to, even though it felt like he was finally starting to build things up for himself to be okay here, so many things felt like they could go wrong. 

He really just wondered if his brother hated him. If he had done something. He wouldn't be surprised, though he really didn't like these thoughts at all. He and his brother had been so close growing up. Having to deal with the same things, and still being close regardless. Losing their mother, and dealing with all of the shit from their dad, it was something they did together. 

And yet it's been about three years since they've talked. Four since it's been in person. 

Really, he just missed him. But it was best to give him space. If 4s had wanted to talk to him, he would've by now. He knows that for sure.

…

On Sunday, despite the lack of sleep again, he decided to take a walk. It was getting colder, and cold weather tended to help him ground himself. He had his cat on the leash with him for company today, heading to the nearby park to probably just chill until he got bored, or felt like going back home. 

Thankfully, most of his worse thoughts had passed through last night without sticking around, but it still left him feeling uneasy, and shitty regardless. Something he couldn't shake. He just wanted to be happy here. He was making that effort now, despite it being small, so why does it feel like things are just getting harder to manage?

Maybe all of this was just one huge mistake. Maybe he thought he saw his brother, and it was just someone else. Surely in all these years, his hair would change. It was just… Someone who looked a lot like his brother. Surely there were a lot of people out there with long reddish black hair anyways. Whatever.

Now wasn’t the time to spiral about any of this. He was in public. He just needed to stop jumping to terrible thoughts and ideas of what might happen, and he’ll be fine. Which… Was always a hard thing for him, but he was trying. He didn’t want to be worried and nervous forever. Most people didn’t tend to like constantly nervous people. That was something he knew from experience growing up, so he just needed… To store it all away again. Take certain things to ‘think about later’, even though most time he ended up still thinking about said things anyways. But… Most of the stuff he chose to ignore hasn’t come back to bite him yet. Deep down he knew it all would someday, probably suddenly and terribly, but that hasn’t happened just yet. And he’d be fine until it did most likely, so he could continue how he was going. None of this would backfire. 

MePhone blinked back to focus as his cat rubbed up against his leg, before hopping up in his lap with a meow, just choosing to stand on his legs and stare at him. Naturally, he just stared back.

“What.” He muttered, keeping his voice low, not wanting to look crazy. He was only trying to talk to the cat right now. That was normal for pet owners anyways so he hoped he didn’t look totally crazy right now. 

Of course, though he spoke to it, the cat cannot speak back, just staring, before turning around, and flicking her tail in his face, and hopping back to the ground. MePhone sputtered a bit, before standing. It was clear the cat wanted to get moving, so he just sighed, and complied, moving on with his walk, letting the feline lead the way. 

He was at least glad things were quiet out here today. Glad that nothing had screwed him over just yet today, even if the day itself had just started.

He’d be fine. Like always, he needed to reassure himself he would be, so he could just continue to pretend to be normal, and get on with his day.

Chapter Text

Monday wasn’t much better, but he managed to get through it without too much trouble. By Tuesday, he could at least pretend to be normal like usual, and get on with work, just listening to Two fill him in on how Four’s birthday went, because they had forgotten to tell him about it on Saturday, due to Trophy coming in about the photos, and with him falling asleep. It sounded nice, overall. Even if he himself didn’t like Four, he was still glad Two seemed to have a good time. Honestly, even without being too good with emotions, he could still pick up on a slight, certain tone the other had while talking about him. 

Despite Four being the way he is, Two cared an awful lot about him, in what seemed like more ways than one. X, too. That was something MePhone couldn’t ever compete with. Of course, he didn’t want to be seen in that way by Two, but he was sure they’d pick those guys over him any day. It honestly still kept him wondering why they didn’t just go work with them at that kitchen, instead of starting this with him. But he really didn’t want to doubt himself today. He was doing slightly better than last week already, and he wanted to keep that up!

He didn’t have any new recipes to add to the display window today, but he was getting better at the two new recipes he had worked on in the past few weeks. The tarts were also very easy to change up. Different fruits, and variety. Just like cookies, really, but still so vastly different. Oh, the joys of baking. It was nice today, really. Nice and quiet, and that's all the day needed to be. Wednesday was the same, and he really felt like he was getting into the swing of being a bit more comfortable again with everything. 

Of course, that upward climb couldn’t last long. With him, it hardly ever did. It was Friday when all of this came crashing down again. 

Friday evening, he was invited out by OJ of all people. The two of them had been slowly talking up throughout the week, short, nice conversations of just slightly getting to know each other. Or well, it was more of MePhone getting to know OJ, as he wasn’t really sure how to open up beyond his base interests and things he did on the surface, but that was enough for now anyways, right? 

Point was-- He was on his way to meet the other. It wasn’t anything big or fancy-- which honestly, MePhone wasn’t much for big and fancy things anyways, so he was all about this. They were going to meet up at a local cafe and head over to the park afterwards. It was late anyways. Even with it being a Friday night, there wasn’t too much to do around unless bar hopping was the interest, and neither he, nor OJ were the type to do that. Maybe if he had been hanging out with Trophy, but he hadn’t talked to the guy that much this week, him being busy with things, along with mostly talking to Two about setting up the photography thing tomorrow. MePhone really did hope it goes well. Honestly, he was a bit excited, but he didn’t want to get ahead of himself. He was trying to focus on the now, and he was working his way up the hill the sidewalk was on, passing building after building, all various businesses and shops, and places to eat, but there was only one he was interested in getting to tonight, and he was almost there. 

A simple stop at a crosswalk, waiting for the signal to turn to the person walking, instead of the hand so he could move, just tapping his foot against the pavement and waiting, hoping he wasn’t too late, not really having paid too much attention to time after heading out of work to make it before the place closed at seven.  It was while he was waiting to cross the street when he looked around, just trying to take in the scenery of the area. It was just normal, and usual for a town, and people were all around, going about their days, but none of that felt like it mattered when he looked across the street, his gaze meeting someone else’s. His heart dropped, along with his expression as he could see he recognized the person’s face, his brother looking directly at him, looking almost equally as shocked, along with… Angry?

…

4s was by all accounts, a normal guy. He worked at a failing video rental store, he went out every few weekends to indulge in fun things, and hang out with his few friends, and occasionally he could be found at a gun range. He was nearing twenty four, and he was planning on finally moving out of the city he lived in soon. It just… Took a lot more money than he ended up having, the same mistake happening the first time he tried to escape his shitty household. 

Regrettably, he was the only one of his siblings that still actively talked to their father. Not exactly by choice, but with his first failed attempt of moving away, he had to go back home. It was sour, and bitter, and by the time he did have to go back, it wasn’t made better to see he was the only one left. That his brother had left, and that when he did, he did something shitty. 

Cobs told him about the night before his older brother had left, MePhone and him had an argument. Something about how he hated everyone in this house. How he went on about how angry he was at both the old man, and his brothers.

And maybe 4s had deserved it for ditching him first, but the coward could’ve at least said something to his face.

And as years went on with him still stuck at home, well the bitterness only grew. His resentment only grew, and he hated it. He hated the man his father was shaping him to be. That even though he was a grown adult, he couldn’t escape. He couldn’t get out of there simply because he couldn’t afford to. But he was above asking his dad for money. The man was well off financially. He ran several electronic stores, and made very good money doing that. None of that was shared or given to his sons. There were never even any offers to help. The man had fully expected all of his sons to be fully independent by the time they were grown, which was frustrating, but nothing 4s didn't expect. 

Honestly, he was surprised the man didn't kick him out the moment he turned eighteen, but that hadn't happened. He was just lucky enough to have a car of his own at least. If he ever got too desperate, he could just take a long trip and see where that took him, and go from there, but for the longest time, he couldn't muster the courage.

Truth be told, despite it all, his father was getting older, and a bit more mellow in his moods, and it was clear the man at least tolerated his company. And despite everything he had to go through from the man growing up, 4s had to stay. He didn’t have anywhere else to go for a while, anyways.

The only major side effect to this though was growing more bitter about everything. It was unfortunate how stuck he felt. How alone, even if he wasn't directly being harmed anymore. 

But eventually, even through this bitterness, he found himself a roommate in a different town. One that was much bigger than the one he grew up in, and one that would get him far away from where he was stuck. It was hard leaving, but surprisingly, dad didn't even seem to miffed at him leaving. 4s was sure it was only an act, but the man tried to seem proud. 

So he left, and for once, he was able to stay in this new place. The roommate didn't screw him over financially, and he had the money to at least slightly back himself up if something happened, to find a backup if needed, and… His first week in this new town was nice. He was taken to a bar by his roommate and their friend the first weekend, and it was nice. As he looked for a job, and wandered around and got used to the new sights and area, it all felt like the place he could build up his future, finally completely independent of his family. 

But as he walked up to one of the crosswalks to head to his first night shift, all of that felt momentarily halted when he recognized his brother on the other side of it, and well… Regardless of how well the past week had gone for him, in an instant, he was frustrated, and angry. Something he hadn’t been able to move past no matter how hard he tried.

…

MePhone felt glued to his spot. Even when the crosswalk signal turned to walk, he stood still like a total idiot, not daring to move. His brother also seemed to hesitate, but after a moment, he started moving, ripping his gaze away from him, all while looking so… So angry. It made MePhone feel sick, honestly. He wanted to run away, or just get a move on and meet up with OJ because Gods, he didn’t want to have to call off his plans but… 

He remained stuck where he was as the other approached, and… Passed him. The tense feeling in his shoulders dropped, but only for a moment.

“Typical.” He could hear the other spit out.

“Wh… What?” He turned his head, trying so hard not to look like he was about to cry right now. He wasn’t sure what to expect if he had run into his brother, but anger was not it, but of course it just had to be the worst case scenario. Why wouldn’t it be with his luck.

“Typical that you don’t even have anything to say.” 4s turned around completely to glare at his older brother. “Why are you even here.”

“Wh-- I live here! In this town!” He turned to face his brother now too, trying not to raise his voice so much. He didn’t like how the tense feeling had immediately returned. He didn’t like this hostility. The two of them used to be so close. What happened to that?

“Plus-- you’re the one who blocked my number! I don’t want to hear anything about me not having anything to say.”
“Peh. Right. Of course. You say so much awful shit about me and expect to want to? And you’re not even going to apologize when you do see me? Fuck off.”

“... What.” MePhone’s frustration was replaced by a wave of confusion.

“You know what you did. I don’t care if you happen to live here too, but you better stay out of my life. You’ve done enough damage.” Venting out most of his frustration, all aimed towards the older. Maybe most of it was selfish, but dad said he said horrible things about him. He told their oldest brother the same, and neither of them wanted anything to do with MePhone anymore. Seeing him would definitely sour his experience living here, but he refused to give that up because of his shitty brother. 

MePhone just watched quietly as his brother turned to leave. He… Didn’t even know what he did. All he did was leave home. The same thing 4s had done. MePhone had at least tried to text him, even if their conversations just felt stilted. He just didn’t understand why 4s had the right to be so angry at him for leaving after doing the same thing. 

Worst of all, he was just upset. Upset that it was completely clear his brother hated him now, and he’d… Just have to live with that. Or, maybe he could say sorry? Even if he wasn’t exactly sure what he was apologizing for--

“I’m sorry,” MePhone called out, the other still making his way down the street. He watched 4s stop for just a moment, but he didn’t even spare a glance, letting out a loud scoff before continuing to walk.

That didn’t fix anything.

.

.

.

“S- sorry for being late, I got caught up with something,” MePhone tried so hard to keep his tone as steady as possible as he finally made it into the cafe he was supposed to meet OJ in, the ginger looking over to him as he was greeted.

“Oh, it’s alright. The place does close soon though, so if you’re getting anything, probably make it quick,” OJ just remained in the seat he had been waiting in, holding a cup of what was probably coffee.

“Oh, I’m fine. I had something before I left work,” A lie. He didn’t have an appetite anymore. Honestly, he felt sick, but he just needed to pretend. He needed this to be good. He needed to be a good friend, and not flake on plans because of one shitty thing that was weighing him down.

“Okay then, we can head out to the park.” OJ just smiled, thankfully not pointing out how he was acting. MePhone hoped it wasn’t obvious how unpleasant he felt, but on some levels he could tell the other could see it. He was never good at hiding himself away after immediate things anyways. But he had to get on with this, and stay composed, and not spiral until he got home in a few hours. He… Could do this.

So the two made it out of the cafe, heading further up the street, closer to where MePhone’s apartment was. He even pointed it out to the other as the two passed by, hoping the cold could be an excuse if OJ pointed out his shaking.

“What about you?”

“Oh, I live in a house with my girlfriend. We live up in the residential area by the mall.” OJ answered nonchalantly

“Wow, fancy guy over here owning a house,” A small joke, hoping he could lighten his own mood.

A small laugh from the ginger helped a bit. “It’s not all that fancy, but it’s nice, I guess,” He glanced away, not wanting to make too big of a deal out of it. MePhone didn’t say much else on the matter, the two continuing to walk, before finally reaching the park. 

“I don’t think I’ve had the chance to check this place out yet. Our backyard is usually fine if I want to spend some time outside, but this is much nicer.”

“Definitely. A lot more space I’m sure.” MePhone kept his input small, trying really hard to keep his social energy up, even if it was rapidly falling. Even if everything just kept weighing down on him harder with each step. He felt so jittery, and awful, and shitty, and he just had to act like he wasn’t on the verge of having some sort of breakdown, but he couldn’t do that. Not in public. Not in front of people, and certainly not anywhere near someone he wanted to be friends with. He didn’t want this guy finding out just how weak he was on their first hang-out. He’d never want to see his face again. That idea made him feel sick, really. 

Eventually, he had to take a seat, both because all the walking was starting to make his feet hurt, and also because he couldn’t stop how much he had been trembling, and it had spread to his legs, making it much harder to keep a constant pace. OJ thankfully didn’t seem to mind, glad to sit and continue to talk. The conversation was nice, but MePhone couldn’t help but feel awful about it. Here this guy was, trying to learn more about him, and work to making a better friendship where they actually knew each other, but all MePhone could provide were short, small answers. It didn’t help that his tone started slipping too. His mask was cracking, and he was sure he needed to get out of here. He was just going to make a fool of himself, and waste this guys time--

But he didn’t make it out of there just yet. He had opened his mouth to start saying some excuse to leave, but OJ spoke first.

“Are you okay?” 

Something about that broke him. He wanted to sob, and cry, and smack his hands against his head every time he had any sort of meltdown. He wanted to run off and go home, and never leave his apartment ever again. He wanted to do so many self destructive things in the moment that it felt overwhelming, but he sat completely still, not saying a word for a good minute.

“Haha; I’m fine.” His tone was steady. “Sorry if I’m distant today, I’m just tired.” He felt like he was on autopilot.

“Oh, well… We could always hang out some other day then, I know it’s getting late. I’m… Sure my girlfriend would want me home soon anyways,” 

MePhone didn’t say anything, just giving a small nod, as OJ stood up.

“I’ll text you later tonight though. Or tomorrow, okay? It was nice just walking around with you tonight though, even if it wasn’t for long,”

“Yeah.”

And MePhone remained seated on the bench, OJ making his exit. 

Some part of him wanted to beg for him to stay, so he didn’t have to be alone right now. Part of him wanted to call someone. Two? No, he didn’t want to burden them this late. He didn’t want to burden any of the few people he talked to.

So he went back to his apartment after about a half hour of sitting on that bench, unable to move any sooner.

It was only when he walked through the door to his apartment when he felt his legs buckle from under him, when he let himself feel something again. Sorrow.

Chapter Text

After his meltdown in the doorway of his apartment, he fed his cat, and went on with his night, because what else could he do. He wanted nothing more than to lie down and wallow in bed, and never have to get up again, but that just isn't realistic. He also just feared falling asleep after this, knowing his dreams were never kind to him after emotional nights, so here he was, laying down on his couch with his cat, the only noise being the TV, and his occasional sniffling. He could tell the cat was acting a little off tonight, too. It was a lot more gentle than it usually was, not trying to tempt him into playing with it, or begging for treats, or to be fed again even though he just fed it, the cat was just sitting on his chest, and keeping him company. 

It… Wasn't the same as any company a human could provide, but it still felt nice. Like there was at least something in this world not trying to tear him down, and hurt him. He liked not having to talk, or try to explain himself to the cat, anyways. 

Despite this though, his heart still ached. He felt so… So selfish, and horrible, and he didn't even understand why. His brother hated him, and he didn't even know what he did. That was the worst part, really, because how could he ever try to start fixing something he was completely unaware that he ruined. And that made him feel like such a horrible person, and older brother. He also just felt so terrible about the way he acted with OJ last night. That he couldn’t just pretend to be normal, and get over it. That worked for him so far, so why was it failing now? It just… Sucked, and now he’d have to live with the fact his brother lived in this town too, and that he’d probably just be completely ignored if he was seen again. It hurt. He missed the times growing up where they felt close. Where no matter what their father was putting them through at the time, well at least they had each other. Of course though, they were adults now, away from dad, so what did any of that matter anymore anyways. 

MePhone spent the rest of the night just trying to figure out what he had done wrong. He didn’t end up getting much sleep at all.

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.

.

Two started their day the same way every morning. A coffee, and a jog to work. They usually got there about three hours before the store opened so they could set everything up, and get a head start on their baking for the display window, even if it was mostly just croissants on their end, since MePhone usually did the other things. Two loved baking. They loved decorating, and putting all the pieces and things together to make a sort of art-- especially with their cakes. They didn’t want to brag, but their cakes were the bakery’s biggest selling point because they were damn good at what they did. It was a quiet few hours of putting display window goods together, all just waiting for MePhone to show up, usually an hour before the place opens for the morning, but… As time ticked on, Two noticed the lack of their coworker showing up. It got even more concerning when Soap showed up before he did. 

They weren't one to worry right away. Two wanted to assume the guy had just slept through his alarm and would be in… Very late today, but that was fine. But as the day went on, it was clear he wasn't going to make it in to work today, and he hadn't even called out or texted to explain. 

This is what made Two start to worry. A quick few texts to the other around late afternoon when they took their break, though they didn't get any replies. It was only when they tried calling when they got any sort of answer.

“Hello? MePhone?”

“Uhm… Hey,” he sounded so tired. 

“Hey, I'm sorry if me calling is a step too far but I have to admit I've been worried about your absence today,”

“Oh,” his tone was so quiet. It almost sounded defeated. “Um… Sorry. Sorry, uhm… Look, I'm just…” a long pause, before MePhone coughed a few times, though none of them sounded all too convincing.

“I think I'm sick. Must have caught something last night.” A sniffle that was a little more convincing. 

“Sorry. I've… been asleep all day.” A sigh.

“Oh, okay, well just… Text me on Tuesday if you can't come in. I'll… Keep things going at the bakery,”

“Yeah. Okay, uh… Bye.” And the entire conversation had felt so dry, and they couldn't help but notice how sad he sounded, but this wasn't their place to assume. Not yet at least. For now, they'd give him time to recover from being ‘sick’, though they really hoped this wouldn't last long. As much as they wanted to be there for their friend, the bakery wouldn't do so well without him for multiple days in a row, so they'd just have to hope he'd make it in on Tuesday. 

For now though, they went on with their day. Soap was at least around to lend a helping hand-- even if it wasn’t with the baking, which was much better than just being stuck here alone, but that wouldn’t be the same if he wasn’t here on Tuesday when they open up for the week, since that was her off day of the next week at her request before all this. 

But it was fine, and business on Saturday was fine. They weren't going to spend their weekend worrying.

After work, they headed right to their friend's kitchen, taking the seat that they usually take, having the usual conversation with their good friend X, and then Four, who stopped by to be snide, even if Two knew by now it was a front. A nice evening after a slower day, something that helped make them not be so nervous about their friend. 

.

.

.

A weekend trip to a new gun range to put off some stress, 4s let out a loud sigh as he took off the noise canceling headphones he had been provided with, just staring at the target. His roommate, who wasn't really fond of places like these, was mostly just here for emotional support. They had noticed how on edge he had been when he showed up back to the shared apartment the night prior, and wanted to be here to support their friend. Now that 4s was done shooting, they stepped up to look at the work he did on the target.

“Wow,” they let out. 

“Yeah. I did say I was good at this.” 4s did his best to shake off any remaining nerves. He didn't want to think about his stupid brother now that he was done shooting. Even while he was, he didn't, but his mind couldn't help but wander.

Maybe he had been cruel yesterday, but what did that matter compared to all the years he felt like shit. Compared to all the years he was stuck at home with dad. Whatever. His cruelty the other day had been deserved, and he wouldn't let himself think otherwise.

“You weren't kidding… So uh, you feeling any better?”

“Enough. We can go now.” 4s turned to look at his roommate.

“Let's go get lunch then,”

“Okay.” He kept his sentence and replies short, not having much of a voice beyond aggravation today. He certainly didn't want to lash out at them when they were here to support him, anyways. 

So they left, just picking up something from a drive-thru, and then heading back home. 

The apartment itself was small, but it was still better than being stuck at home with dad still. The both of them still had enough space to themselves, and that was enough. 4s could keep his things in his space, and his roommate could keep their art stuff in their own space. It just worked out. 

They ate their lunch in silence, the only noise being from the TV, 4s having wanted to watch the Terminator again for the millionth time at this point, probably. A movie that certainly held a lot of sentimental value to him that always helped calm him down if he thought about it for a while. It was nice enough to keep every bit of nerve away, 4s letting it all go for the time being. 

He'd have to deal with the fact his brother lived in the same town as him, but if he saw him again, he'd just avoid him. 4s couldn't afford dealing with that sort of stress while still looking for a good job, anyways. This was just an extra small road bump, but everything would work out. He was going out job hunting the next few days anyways, so he was hopeful he could find something.

Ideally, he'd seek out any video stores in the town, but that seemed to be a dying business idea due to streaming and all, so he'd have to find something else, but even if it was just more retail work, he'd be fine with that. Anything to start actively making money again, because the money he had stored away wasn't going to pay his half of rent forever. 

…

On Tuesday, MePhone was called by Two again. 

He once again didn't have the energy to go to work, not even mustering the energy to get out of bed through the entire weekend other than to feed his cat, and himself, and even then, it felt like such a chore. He hadn't even gotten up to feed his cat yet on Tuesday when he answered his phone.

“Hey. Sorry. I was going to text you.” He could tell his own voice sounded considerably worse than it had on Saturday, his tone small, and tired. Maybe that would make his sick act seem a bit more convincing. That, or Two totally saw through him, and knew he was faking everything, and was just being lazy, and a bad friend, and person, and Gods, he was just waiting for them to tell him he's getting fired--

“It's fine. Listen, if… You're going to be out for a while, that's fine, I just… Think maybe now would be the best time to start hiring more people. I can only get so much business when the display is just full of croissants,”

MePhone just stifled a sigh. He didn't have the right to complain anymore. Two was probably having a hard time keeping up with the place on his own the past two business days, and with MePhone being in the state he was in, he knew Two was just… Right. 

“Okay. Yeah.” And it wasn't like their last hire was too bad, either. Soap was actually a nice addition to the bakery, even if he still didn't know her too well. She was at least polite to him. He didn’t want them to have to keep running things alone while he kept flaking out on work anyways. That would just be unfair. 

The conversation beyond that was short, and polite, even though MePhone knew Two probably still saw right through him. He didn’t understand why they wanted him around so bad, even if they saw him as a friend, he was still just… A bad one. A bad coworker, too. Really, if this entire job wasn’t the only thing keeping him… Around, well he’d quit to spare them the trouble, but… He didn’t want to give up like that. He didn’t want to be selfish to Two, either. Especially not now, since they’re proper friends now. 

Whatever. This was all just… Whatever, and MePhone just needed to get himself together, and stop moping over things he couldn’t do anything about. It was just unfair to everyone else around him anyways, and… He couldn’t just put his own entire life on pause because he didn’t feel like himself currently. He had to just push himself over this by force and get on with his life, and go back to work soon.

…

Two put up a ‘now hiring’ sign up in the window on Wednesday. MePhone texted to say he’d try to come into work tomorrow, which was great, but they still needed more help around here. It would make things a lot less stressful, and they still really wanted to set up proper shifts so they could possibly keep the place open every day of the week if they could find enough people interested to work here. They hoped Soap’s publicity video, and the pictures being taken by Trophy would help, but they could only hope for now, spending most of their Wednesday waiting. About three people came in asking about it.

The third person was the only time something interesting happened though.

“So, what kind of experience do you have with baking?”

“Erh… Not much, but I was hoping maybe I could do something regarding the register, or finances. I have experience with prior retail,” The red haired man slid a hand-written resume across the table. He had come prepared. Two glanced down at it, before looking back up at the guy, and then picking up the paper to skim through it. 

“Most of my baking experience is second hand,” He admitted. Two appreciated the honesty, really, as they read through the resume. The guy had worked at a video store for a few years prior.

“What’s the gap?”

“I moved. I haven’t been able to find work yet. Which is honestly why I’m applying anywhere I can find.”

“Oh, well that’s understandable,” They looked back up at the guy, really just looking him up and down a bit. His vibe was a lot different from anyone he’d ever imagine working in a bakery. He looked like a punk really. They didn’t mean that in a mean way, it just seemed to be his vibe. 

“What did you say your name was?”

“4s.” He was also good at keeping eye contact, or at least it seemed like he was. 4s, even inside the building, was wearing sunglasses, and it wasn’t Two’s business to judge, but it was a bit odd. He was presumably staring forward currently as the two conversed. 

“Well, hm. We’re mostly looking for someone who can bake currently, but I’ll keep you in mind,”

“Okay.” 4s just gave a small nod, before glancing around the room a bit, his gaze seeming to lock onto something specific. A whiteboard that Two and MePhone had set up on their first week to keep track of who was closing up on what specific night. That wasn’t how it worked anymore, but their names were still up there, neither of them having another use for the board yet.

“... Why are you looking for new hires?” 

“Well, we’ve only got three people working here. Including me. My main co-worker has been out sick for a while, and we could really use some new hands. Really, I wouldn’t mind just hiring you, along with the others I talked to today, but I’ve still got to put some thought into it.”

“Hm.” 4s just stood up, letting out a sigh as he picked up his resume. The interview wasn’t over yet, why was he--

“I think I’ll find somewhere else to work. Sorry if I wasted your time.” Was all the red haired man said, before turning to leave. Two just frowned, not really understanding what the sudden leave was about. Was their reason for looking to hire really that outlandish?

.

.

.

MePhone was back to work on Thursday. Of course, he still felt like shit, but he wasn’t going to let that keep him down anymore. He couldn’t keep putting Two and Soap through being stuck here without much to put on sale other than croissants and basic cookies. He knew Two could bake other things, but they were usually too busy to be able to, which was why MePhone did most of it. Today, he could tell Two was thankful he was back.

“You’re not still sick, are you?” Soap raised an eyebrow, staring him down.

“No, I’m fine, Soap. I’ll go wash my hands for the twentieth time if you really want me to.”

“Yes, please.” She answered, clearly keeping her distance. MePhone just let out a heavy sigh, just complying with her request. He had no room to complain. He was the one who lied, and said he was sick. He dug himself into this hole, so he had to deal with Soap acting like he had the plague. Whatever. He was fine now, and that’s all that mattered. Even if he wasn’t fine , he was okay, and he could go about his day without feeling like he couldn’t move. Feeling like he was stuck at the bottom of a pool. He felt like he was wading through shallow water, and it was hard, but he wasn’t completely stuck, and he’d go with it. 

MePhone was really glad when he went on his break time. 

“So… We had some people apply yesterday,” Two spoke up, peeking their head through the door. MePhone slowly looked over from the table he was sitting at.

“How’d it go?”

“Well, one of them walked out-- but the other two seem promising. I’m going to call one of them in to come by tomorrow, and then the other one on Tuesday. They’re going to help us with having variety on our menu, and it’ll definitely help me finally set up shifts.”

MePhone just let out a small hum to show he was listening. He was going to have to meet someone new tomorrow, and now he just had to pray he felt at least a bit more normal, so he wouldn’t seem absolutely pathetic, and awful, and--

He stifled a sigh, trying so hard to push away his negative thoughts. Work wasn’t the time for that. 

“Okay.” Was all MePhone managed to get out in reply. He could feel his energy leaving him as he continued to sit where he was the rest of his break, but he still got up when it was over, forcing himself out to the main room to continue his work day. 

Everything would be fine. He would be fine. He had to be, even if he didn’t feel like he would be. Really, he just wanted to go home.

Chapter Text

MePhone didn’t really know what to expect the next day he went into work. He just had to go about his day again like everything was normal, despite knowing it wasn’t exactly normal, and that he had to meet someone today that would possibly be working with him from now on. He wasn’t exactly thrilled, but he had to hope this wouldn’t be a total disaster. 

Right now, it was early, and he had just finished setting up the display for the day when the door dinged open. Both him, and Two looked up to see, a slightly shorter girl with curly blonde hair that was tied up into two pigtails. She had a grin on her face, and an apron in her grasp that jingled like it had several pins attached to it.

“Sup’,” She greeted with a nod, walking up to the counter.

“Lightbulb! Glad you’re here!” Two spoke with a smile, walking over to shake her hand.

“Yup! Glad to be here,” She turned her attention to MePhone, who had just been awkwardly staring at her, having made no effort to greet her.

“Is this the coworker?”

“Yeah, this is MePhone.”

“Hello.” Was all he could muster. He wanted to put his mask up, but he just didn’t have the energy. The idea felt exhausting. 

“Good to meet’cha.” She flicked a finger gun his way, before moving to make her way behind the counter. Two walked over, as MePhone just stayed by the counter.

“I’ll take you to the back room for now so I can get you informed on what this following training week is going to look like.”

“Sounds good.” She just gave a nod, following the green haired one back to the employee room. 

As soon as the door closed, MePhone let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding, his shoulders sagging a bit, as he glanced at the door. He was already afraid he was only going to make a fool of himself in front of this new girl. He’d just have to do his best to avoid that though. He just needed to take this time while nobody else was around to work on building up the personality he was going to use for the day because he really didn’t want to just seem like a sad loser. 

A deep breath in, and out. He’d be fine. Everything would be fine.

By the time Two and Lightbulb came back out, he felt like he could do a good enough job at not seeming pathetic, putting on a more confident expression as he served a customer, handing them the bag of their goods as the door opened. 

“Looks like it’s baking time,” Lightbulb spoke, heading over to the cabinets, and pulling her apron on. Sure enough, it was littered with all sorts of pins and stickers. 

“Anything specific you guys are lacking or do I just go crazy?”

“Well, I’d just like to see what you’ve got to offer. No pressure, obviously. We do have cookies handled though, so anything other than that would be great.” Two spoke as they stepped out, too.

Honestly, MePhone was thankful that none of this required him doing any talking, despite having managed to hype himself up enough to feel normal. It was saving him a lot of work, at least. 

Until Two went on their break, just leaving him and Lightbulb in the main area, since Soap was out today. 

Currently, she was humming to herself, while taking a pan out of the oven with what she had been making. Several different sorts of pastries, all which smelled… Admittedly really good. MePhone glanced back at her as she placed the tray on the counter to cool off a bit before she did anything else. 

MePhone immediately looked away as she moved to look at him.

“So… Your buddy really hyped you up during my interview,”

“... Yeah? I- Uh… Of course they did. I’m great.” MePhone briefly adjusted his expression, before looking at her again, trying his best to come off as confident. 

“And I was really excited to meet you, because y’know, us bakers have to stick together and all-- not that it’s a thing people say, but I like thinking it, so-- But that’s not the point,” She let out a small chuckle, clearly getting side-tracked.

“You looked familiar to me. When I walked in. That’s what I’m trying to say,”

“... Oh?” He could feel his expression falter a bit, a crack in his mask as he tried his best to stay composed, ignoring the nervousness that pooled in his stomach.

“And it took me a bit to figure it out,” She turned back to her pastries at this point, deciding they were cooled off enough to keep working on as she spoke; “But I figured it out.” She just smiled, and didn’t elaborate. He figured leaving it on that kind of… Frankly worrying note wasn’t her intent, but it really didn’t help the growing nervousness. 

“... Yeah?” His voice cracked a bit, his tone clearly nervous now, too. It was slipping away from him. He was immediately losing all of his confidence. He didn’t know this girl, and now it was going wrong, and--

“Yeah. You look a lot like my best friend’s boyfriend. He’s got a face that looks a lot like yours. Really cool red hair, too!” 

MePhone immediately felt sick. He felt like no matter what he was doing, even in the bakery, his bakery-- his safe space, he wasn’t safe. He wanted to believe 4s would never intentionally hurt him, but this was still happening. People still knew him, and could apparently easily connect the dots if they knew both of them. He felt sick, and he-- He needed to remove himself from this conversation asap, not saying a word as he stepped away, heading for the bakery’s bathroom, locking himself in. 

It was a small, one-person bathroom, with a sink, mirror, and toilet. He found himself leaning against the sink with a shaky hand over his mouth, trying just so hard to stop all of his thoughts. He couldn’t do this. Even in his safe space, things still kept reminding him of everything going wrong in his life. If this person knew his brother, surely if she said anything about meeting, or working with him-- it’d ruin everything. She’d hate him, and make it a hostile work environment, and he’d have to quit-- or even worse, she’d convince Two to fire him.

He felt sick. He couldn’t do this right now. He couldn’t handle any of this, he couldn’t even keep himself composed long enough for one work day, why did he have to be so pathetic, and awful. Why couldn’t things just stay simple here? 

.

.

.

Two returned from their break to see MePhone was not in the main room anymore. They raised an eyebrow, looking around, before settling on glancing at Lightbulb.

“Where’s MePhone?”

“He went off to the bathroom about five minutes ago,”

“Oh, okay.” Two’s worries lessened slightly. Honestly, they had been worried to leave him alone with the new hire, knowing how he was with new people, but… He hoped it was going well.

“How are the goods coming along?” Two decided not to think about it, stepping over to see Lightbulb’s work.

“Coming along pretty good if you ask me,” She grinned, stepping back from the tray of assorted pastries, all different flavors and shapes and sizes. It all just looked so fun . That was a good word for it, and stuff like this would definitely look nice on sale. People would love stuff like this. 

“Looks great! Are they cooled off enough to taste?”

“They should be now,” She moved to pick one up, handing it over to Two.

“It certainly smells nice,” Two commented, before taking a bite. 

Lightbulb eagerly watched their expression shift a few times, seeming overall pleased with what they were tasting.

“This is perfect.” They smiled back after finishing it. “I think you’re going to make a great addition to the bakery. If you come in tomorrow, you’ll get to meet Soap.” Two kept their smile, moving to help put the remaining pastries on display for the rest of the afternoon. 

“Great to hear. Glad ya’ liked them,” She smiled back, clearly very grateful for this growing opportunity. 

It was another ten minutes before Two started worrying again. Not having a cake to work on currently, they were standing at the front register to help customers while MePhone had been in the restroom, but he hadn’t come out yet. Normally, he didn’t seem to take this long, even when going on break.

“Can you handle register duty for a moment if anyone comes in?”

“Yup!” 

Two stepped over to the bathroom door, giving it a small knock.

“MePhone?”

And then a sound from the other side of the door. Retching. He was throwing up in there. 

“Oh,” They let out, just leaning back a bit. Honestly they were glad Soap wasn’t here today, otherwise she’d make a huge deal about this. They honestly didn’t know if he had been sick before, but it was clear he probably was now. Were they going to have to throw out what he baked today? Just in case?-- They could think about that later, just waiting until the noise let up a bit, knocking again.

“Do you need anything?” 

Complete silence for a few minutes, before the door clicked open. They stepped back a considerable distance, not even to be rude, just not wanting to possibly get sick. 

MePhone looked awful, really. His body shuddered, and his hair stuck to his forehead as he stepped out, taking a deep breath as he closed the door behind him.

“I’m going home.” His voice was so quiet, Two almost didn’t hear him, just giving him space as he stepped over, heading to the employee room, likely to leave out the back.

“If-- If you need anything, just text me!” Two called out as she heard the door shut. 

It was silent for a few moments, before Lightbulb spoke;

“What was that about?”

.

.

.

Once again, in a matter of so little time, it really felt like his world was falling apart around him. The walk home was hard. He hadn’t even taken his apron off, he had just left , because he didn’t know what else to do. His brother was so close, and so far away, all at the same time, all while the guy didn’t want anything to do with him. He just got here, and now suddenly everyone knows him, and apparently its just easy for this new chick to just know who he is after a few hours of thinking about it.

MePhone’s head was reeling. He could feel a migraine forming in the back of his head just from thinking about all of this, and it was just… Awful. Terrible. He hated it all. 

Maybe he should just uproot his life and leave. Give a… Few days notice as he packs up his shit and leaves. He’s good at doing that. It would give his brother some peace of mind, surely, if he’s caused the guy enough trouble, and it would give Two the chance to find a much more competent, fun person to work with. 

But that wouldn’t work. He was still stuck in his apartment’s lease, and he knew how much moving would stress his cat out, and he didn’t want to have to give it away or anything. 

Ugh.

Rushing home, he slammed the door to his apartment shut, probably loud enough to get a noise complaint but he just didn’t have the energy to care, letting out a long groan as he moved to flop down on his couch. He still felt sick, and miserable, and had far too much on his mind now. 

And yet he went into work the next day like nothing happened. He wasn’t sick for real-- thank the gods, he didn’t know if he could really afford to miss any more work for a while with how much he’s been flaking.

Thankfully, nobody here today mentioned it, even if he could see the worried glances Two would give him. It also helped that Lightbulb seemed to be making a point to not talk to him today-- focusing on meeting Soap since she was in today, so that helped a lot.

He didn’t… He didn’t need to worry about this. Everything would be fine. It had to be. And he would make himself believe that, no matter how long it was going to take him, and today he could be normal.

So that’s what he did.

…

OJ had a simple life. At least, he could believe he did. A job, a home, and a girlfriend, and even plenty of regular friends, too. What else did he really need? Nothing, really, which was why it was all the more confusing to him why he felt so unhappy.

It wasn’t even expected, really, but one day he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed, only for that to keep happening. It wasn’t the worst, at first, but it kept growing. 

Which was also why he was trying to plan a big change in his life. Something to help him feel a bit more fulfilled, surely.

He had gotten the ring a few days ago, and was going to plan a reservation for sometime next week. He was going to be a husband, and though he and his girlfriend were planning on being childless, he was sure she’d love the gesture. She was definitely the type of girl to want to get married. 

She’d love it, surely. The idea of highschool sweethearts getting married and living a happy, long life together. She was mushy like that-- and he enjoyed seeing her happy. He… Really liked her, and he was sure she loved him. The way she’d be so happy to see him come home from work each day, ready to tell him about her day, and what she did, and then the two of them making dinner-- though it was mostly OJ. It was comfortable. He could invision the rest of his life like this. Surely.

It wasn’t like the idea of falling into a cycle like this terrified him during late nights. Where his brain wouldn’t shut up. It wasn’t like he was losing sleep over the idea of getting stuck in yet another slump. 

That wouldn’t happen. He just had to get this proposal out of the way very soon, and he’d be fine again. He could stop pretending.

… Maybe he’d move the reservation to tomorrow. Why wait, after all? He didn’t need to. A whole week of waiting would only make him nervous, and he couldn’t be nervous on a day that’s supposed to change his life. For the better. Yeah.

.

.

.

He was glad the next day seemed to go by so quickly. At least, it did when he stopped thinking about it too hard, leaving work, and immediately going to the restaurant he had picked out, having texted Salt to meet him there at a specific time much earlier in the day.

All he had to do was wait.

And wait…

And…

A text from Salt after an hour and a half of waiting, that she had made plans with her friend. That she wasn’t showing up, and that they could “totally like, reschedule”. 

OJ kept himself from bursting out laughing then and there, just leaving, only paying for the drinks and appetizer he had ordered. Honestly, he didn’t feel like going home anymore tonight, still feeling the ring box against his leg from his pocket. Still mulling over the text in his head. Of course, she had no way of knowing he was going to propose tonight, but Gods, did she have to cancel every time?

It wasn’t the first time. She had done this before, and he had been fine with it, because plans change, and he wanted-- he wants her to be happy, but shouldn’t he be allowed that same happiness?

Now he’d just have to wait, and keep getting further stuck in his pit.

OJ found himself sitting alone on one of the many benches across the park near his neighborhood, just mulling everything over, really, fiddling with the ring box in his hands now.

He didn’t want to go home and see Salt tonight. Knowing it was just going to be her apologizing, and promising to make up for it. That they could do this any other night, and that she just couldn’t say no to her friends.

A sigh left him as he leaned back, deciding being hunched over probably made him look weird to anyone passing by this late at night-- and also because it probably wasn’t the best for his posture. 

He was sure by tomorrow, even if he was a little bit sad still, like every day these days, it’d be fine, and he’d of cooled off by then. He wouldn’t be so upset. 

OJ just really needed a change. He was desperate at this point, and he was hoping-- praying, really that he could make this change with Salt, because truly she was mostly all that he had. He had friends, but they all had lives. They all lived on the other side of the city. He had moved out here with just himself, and Salt to continue their future, Salt having decided a one bedroom apartment was not doing it for her anymore. And OJ agreed with her, to make her happy. Even if all his friends were back there. Even if he didn’t really need all too much space.

Another sigh left him as he stared up at the sky. It was dark outside now. The stars filled the sky, and besides the street lamps, the moon provided the only other light.

It was lonely, honestly.

But it was as if the universe had been listening to him, a small prayer answered as he heard a small; “oh,”.

He looked down from the sky, back to the scenery around him to see MePhone. 

“Hey. Surprised to see you here, honestly.” OJ greeted, noticing the other had stopped.

“Hi. Uh. I was just walking my cat,” He gestured towards the fluffy white cat, connected to a bright red harness. 

“That’s nice,” OJ didn’t know what else to say, just quietly setting the ring box down in his lap.

“What’s up with you?” The other asked. OJ was honestly almost glad he did. 

“Oh, uh… Nothing much. My girlfriend flaked on an important date, so I’m just… Uh…” He trailed off, realizing he probably just made things awkward.

“I’m sorry.” MePhone didn’t need to apologize, but he did anyways, slowly moving to sit down next to the ginger, the cat immediately hopping up into his lap to sniff at the new person as he did.

“Uh-- you’re not allergic to cats, are you?”

“No, no, it’s fine,” OJ felt a small smile form on his face as he slowly moved a hand to the cat, it just rubbing against it.

It was quiet between the two for a few minutes.

“I was going to propose tonight,” OJ moved his hand away from the cat now, picking up the ring box, deciding to show MePhone.

“Oh, wow. Well uh… I guess she’s missing out, huh.” 

“... Yeah. I guess.” OJ stopped himself from sighing again, not wanting to keep bringing the mood down, he just decided to stuff the box back into his pocket, and look around, his gaze landing on MePhone, who was also looking away at this point. 

“How have things been for you?” He decided to ask, since the other had asked him.

“It’s been-- uhm… Fine. I’ve been living, I guess.” It was clear he was also trying not to say anything to possibly bring the mood down. “Uhm… My cat is getting a little restless. I should… Take her back home.”

“Do you want me to walk with you or anything?” A very impulsive ask, just trying to cling on to any bit of company he could find right now. 

MePhone looked a bit surprised by this, but his expression didn’t take long to soften.

“Yeah, sure.” A small smile on the baker’s face, despite his tired eyes. The same tired eyes OJ had noticed every time they had hung out. One of the few things his brain just seemed to pick up on. There were a lot of things he tended to notice, but he decided to not think too hard about any of that, the two of them just enjoying a nice, calm walk together, along with the cat.

OJ was just glad he could think about things in the company of someone else for a bit, as brief as it was, with the two standing outside the apartment complex in no time, MePhone moving to pick up his cat.

“Thanks for hanging out for a bit,”

“Yeah. You too,”

Despite all this time to think though, he still felt like he hadn’t found a solution to his problem yet. He hoped he could find that soon, just deciding to call up one of his friends to crash on a couch for the night or something.

Chapter Text

The next employee brought into the bakery for training was odd. Nice, but weird. MePhone couldn’t put a thought to it, but something about her felt off, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it, but… She was fine enough to work with, and added a good bit to the menu, so… He couldn’t complain. 

To him, she seemed like one of those girls that only acted nice. It felt forced, and fake. Like a mask ready to come off at any moment, but stayed on regardless how how strained it was. 

But other than that, her presence didn't seem to strain the work environment for him too hard. She didn't seem like someone to be too anxious about, because it was clear she was keeping up that kind persona at work, and as long as it stayed like that, he figured none of them would have any problems. 

It was still incredibly awkward working with her-- and especially Lightbulb, though. A completely new air introduced into the workplace that was just hard to deal with, even after a week.

Of course through these slow days though, something else had to change, just before they were set to change up their menu for the colder season.

“Proper shifts.” Two smiled as they pointed at the freshly re-drawn whiteboard in the employees room, set up to look like a calendar for some reason, instead of actually just… Getting one, but MePhone didn’t say anything, just standing to listen while Soap and Lightbulb were sitting at the table, and the other new employee was also standing elsewhere in the room, all paying attention to Two.

“Now, I texted you all about this the other day so I hope this isn’t coming out of nowhere. I think with our little team finally expanding, it’d be much better if we weren’t all here at the same time, except on special occasions, like today.”

“Special occasions? Just this, or?” the other employee asked, tilting her head a bit.

“I’m so glad you asked. I just really wanted to put something nice together now that we have a proper, entire crew for the bakery. So, I thought I’d put a little thanks together for all of you, for helping out and being a part of this!”

Two moved to the mini fridge in the room, pulling out a box.

“Now I’m sure I could’ve waited a little longer, but hey! It’s the end of the second week we’ve all been working, and I just really wanted to show my appreciation,” They opened the lid to the box, showing off a very nicely decorated cake. Honestly, one of Two’s best works. 

“I just thought this would be nice.” They smiled, now moving to grab a knife to cut up the cake.

MePhone stayed where he was as the conversation shifted between the other employees. He would’ve at least made an effort to join in, but his thoughts were just too loud right now. A lot of different things on his mind now. Some part of him just felt sad that he didn’t feel like he deserved this. That he shouldn’t be involved in a celebration when everyone else was clearly working so much harder and better than him.

He blinked back into focus at a hand on his shoulder.

“Oh-- Hey,” He glanced over at Two, who was just smiling at him.

“Can we talk?” Three words that obviously freaked him out, but he tried his best not to show it as he nodded, being led back out to the rest of the bakery for some privacy. 

They had closed up by now, and it was technically past time to head home, but none of the others were passing up the opportunity to properly try out one of Two’s cakes. 

“So, I’ve just been… Wondering,” Two leaned against the counter, while MePhone just stood next to the door. 

“Yeah?”

“Are you adjusting okay?”

“What?”

“To the new employees,”

“Yeah? Pssh-- why wouldn’t I be?”

“I’m just asking since you had a hard time with Soap, and… You’ve also just been quieter than usual,”

“Quiet? What, is talking part of the job now? So what I don’t really talk to them I’m just-- I…” MePhone shut himself up, unable to really put his thoughts into words. He also didn’t want to ruin the mood, knowing his tone was annoyed. Seeing the way Two looked at him. 

“Listen, it’s fine. I’m fine.”

“MePhone, you keep saying that, but it’s not true.”

“Excuse me?” MePhone shuffled where he stood, his expression only souring further. 

“Every time something happens, you keep acting like it isn’t bothering you, but it is. You’re… Not exactly hard to read.”

“Why are we having this conversation now?” MePhone crossed his arms, trying really hard not to just lose his already cracking composure. He didn’t want to deal with this right now. 

“Listen, I’d rather do it now than have you blow up in the next few days, or weeks, or whenever it’s going to be. I’m worried about you. As your friend, I’m allowed to be worried.”

“Yeah well maybe that’s your own fault for worrying. I’m fine.” He gritted his teeth, finally turning away. All he could do was deny. Accepting he was barely managing to keep his head above water would ruin everything. He had to be fine. He… Just needed to keep trying harder. It was silent for a few moments, and MePhone was almost too scared to glance back over at them, his own expression faltering a bit. 

Two just frowned at him. A certain expression that MePhone couldn’t really read, but one he didn’t like. 

“I think you should take some time off of work, MePhone. Especially if you’re not even going to bother with talking about any of it. I’m not even asking for anything personal. It would be nice if you felt like you could actually talk to me, because you made the big deal about accepting my friendship, only to just not tell me anything.” Two’s expression was bitter. Completely unlike their usual happy, welcoming mood. They were upset, and it was MePhone’s fault.

“... What?” MePhone’s expression shifted immediately. He ruined this. He screwed everything up. 

“You’re not getting fired, I just--...” Two shut their eyes, turning their head away. “If all you’re going to do here is bring everyone else's moods down, I think it would be best you weren’t here until you sorted it out.”

“Two, I--” MePhone shut himself up as the door opened, Soap peeking in, a smile on her face, not having heard any of the conversation.

“Are you going to join us?” She looked between them.

MePhone opened his mouth to speak, before shutting it, only pushing past her to leave out the back. This was nobody’s fault but his own. Ruined by a cycle he couldn’t claw his miserable self out of. 

…

Not going into work on Tuesday just felt wrong. But he didn't dare go. Not this soon after that conversation- no, argument. That's what it was. Or maybe it was MePhone just being mean, and finally burning the last solid bridge he had.

Two hadn't texted him since. It was silent on everyone else's ends too, and it sucked. 

MePhone felt so isolated, and he didn't know what to do anymore. He ruined everything because he couldnt just pretend hard enough. Because he had to be slightly weird about working with someone who knew his brother. Even though that shouldn't have even been a problem. Even though he should've just been able to deal with it. 

But he wasn't able to. 

He didn't even have anyone else to blame this time. 

On Wednesday, he found himself sitting out on one of the many benches in the park near his home, the cat here too, leashed as usual, just sitting on his lap with him. Company he wished could've been more substantial, but… He appreciated that his car was still here for him. 

A sigh as he hunched over a bit, resting his face in his hands. He just wanted things to go back to normal. He didn't want to have to worry about his brother hating him, or worry about Lightbulb possibly telling him things about him. He didn't want to worry about any of this. Rent, living alone, trying to build up a social life-- all when it was just going to crumble back down anyways.

Maybe he should just accept defeat, and quit, and go back to Dad once his lease was up. As depressed as he was sure it would make him, at least he wouldn't be so utterly alone. Maybe he wouldn't have to deal with people other than his dad hating him. 

He truly didn't feel like he had that many options anymore. A thought that made such a large pool of sorrow twist in his chest. 

A deep breath in, and out, trying so desperately to grasp onto any bit of composure he still had left. So he wouldn't cry in public, but he couldn't help it. Quiet sobs wracked his body, his mood not helped by the cold. Not helped by the weight of any of this. He didn't want his brother to hate him. He didn't want Two to hate him. He didn't want to have to go back home and live with Dad again. He knew if he ended up stuck back there he probably wouldn't make it out alive. He barely even did the first time. 

He just wished he wasn't so stupid, and awful. He wished he hadn't upset Two. Not even out of the fear of losing his job, but because they were right. They were supposed to be friends. He was supposed to have been able to talk to them more outside of work. To be able to open up without being afraid he was just going to get hurt, or the vulnerability would be used against him. But he had just been such a massive coward. Two wasn't like that. They were nice, and they were trying to be patient with him. And what did he do? He shoved that all into the garbage. 

He just kept crying, wishing his cat nuzzling up against his arm provided any comfort, but it didn't. It really didn't. 

He didn't know what to do right now, he really didn't. 

.

.

.

After a while, he felt the weight shift on the bench. He had stopped crying a while ago, but he kept his face hidden in his hands. He didn't want to face anything right now. He didn't know who was sitting next to him, and it could've been anyone. He was still surprised by the voice.

“I hope you don't mind me sitting, are you okay?” Soap. It was Soap.

It took a moment to muster the courage to let his hands move, down to hold around his cat as he looked over at her.

“You're not at work?” MePhone immediately just felt embarrassed at how sad his voice sounded. 

“Today's one of my off days for the week. But… I could be asking you that, too,” MePhone looked away as she paused. “but I'm not here to be intrusive. I just figured-- as long as it isn't weird, and if it is Ill go-- but, maybe we could just have a chat or something outside of work. 

“I don't know when I'll be going back.” MePhone kept his gaze away from her. He felt so ashamed. 

“... Yeah, Two told me you were… Uh, taking a break.” she glanced away too. The silence between the two was awkward, before Soap spoke again;

“Your cat is really cute,”

“Oh, yeah. Uh-- she is,” MePhone's gaze moved to the cat still sitting in his lap, though now she was staring at Soap. 

“Does she have a name?”

“No,”

“Oh,”

“Do you want to pet her? She doesn't bite,” MePhone was grateful this felt more casual. Soap carefully reached over, letting the cat sniff her hand. He was honestly surprised she moved to pet it, with her being the way she was about germs, but it made a lot more sense when she pulled some hand sanitizer out after moving her hand away. 

“... I'm sorry, by the way,”

“Huh?” She raised an eyebrow at this.

“If I ever made you feel like I hated you or something. When you started working here. I have a hard time with new people. But… You seem nice.”

“Oh, well… Thanks. Honestly, yeah, I kind of thought you hated my guts when I first came in, but… This is nice to hear,”

“... If you're working tomorrow, can you tell Two I said I'm sorry?”

“I think they would like to hear it from you,”

“I know. I'm just scared to text them,” MePhone fiddled with his hands. This was extremely hard. He hated seeming this vulnerable, but he had to take a first step. He refused to go home. He refused to leave all of this behind. He still had so much to do here, and he… Really didn't want to be the one that ruins it all for himself. 

So he has to be the one to take the first few steps. 

He'd apologize to Two soon, but… Maybe that was a step for another day.

Chapter Text

OJ was having… Less than a great past few weeks. Of course, it started with his failed proposal, and staying a few nights at a friends apartment, and now he was here, still running a quiet test. He stopped putting as much effort as he used to into his relationship. Not out of spite, even if he was still frustrated with her, but because he wanted to see how much effort she was putting in.

And results don’t lie. Through these weeks, it was clear he was her safe option. And normally, being as well off as he is, he wouldn’t mind, but she had been taking advantage of what he did for so long. That’s what it felt like. He wanted to love her. He has been trying for years to convince himself he did, because everyone around them pushed it to happen, but he just…

He didn’t know if this was the right life for him anymore. If she couldn’t even bother showing up for dates. If she couldn’t bother doing much at home, too. Complaining now, too. That he was pulling back. Now that it was actually affecting her, she seemed to notice. 

Some part of him just couldn’t find it in him to care anymore. A large part of him regrets buying a house with her before they ended up married. But she had been the one to ask. She was always the one to want. And OJ was just… Tired of that. All of this, really. 

It was a Thursday when the two of them finally blew up at each other.

“OJ! What is like, going on with you!” OJ had just been minding his own business. He was off of work today, and just trying to enjoy his morning, filling in the crossword on the morning paper. He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. 

“What?”

“Like, you’re all different! You’ve been weird, and cold to me since--... UGH! Is this about me missing that stupid date? Listen, I said I could like make it up to you, but Peps called, and I couldn’t just--”

“Yeah, well what about me, huh?” OJ just glared at her. He was tired of this. If she wanted to hear it, she could hear it now. He was done. He had learned enough. Wanting to have married her before, all of those wants were gone now. 

“What?”
“Yeah, what about me. Do you know how important that date was? How long I’ve been waiting to set it up?” OJ stood now, pacing a bit. Salt just rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

“It’s literally just a stupid date, OJ. Stop being so dramatic. Dates can be rescheduled!”

“Yeah, and so can hanging out with friends! Do you know how many times I’ve put you before any of them? With you refusing to do the same-- Hell, even with you complaining when I do go hang out with them?”

“OJ, like calm down.” 

“No! You don’t even know!” OJ stormed off.

“OJ!” She called out, frustrated. A few minutes later, he returned, practically throwing the small ring box onto the table. Salt flinched a bit at the noise. She looked at OJ with a glare, before looking down at the box on the table. Several things clicked in her head.

“Oh my Gods.” Her mood completely shifted, a grin on her face as she slowly stepped over, picking it up.

“Are you proposing to me!? OMG. YES.” She looked up at him, hoping her immediate shift in mood was enough, but OJ’s expression was still just frustrated. He didn’t say anything. 

“Like, if you told me you were going to propose, I would’ve showed up!”

OJ still didn’t say anything.

“But now, it’s definitely a yes. We can put everything behind us, and start planning! I have got to call Peps!” She walked off, giddy as ever, her frustrations completely dropped now. 

OJ stood still for a few moments, before heading to the bedroom he shared with her. A briefcase, shoving whatever he needed in it, before heading to the door.

“OJ, like, where are you going? You don’t work today?” She peeked out from the kitchen.

OJ didn’t even turn to look at her.

“I’m not proposing to you. That chance came and went, Salt. I don’t even want to be with you anymore.” He reached for the door. He knew what leaving was going to mean. He knew he was going to lose so much from this, even though they were only dating. He knew Salt was probably going to be difficult about this, but he couldn't do this anymore. Not with her.

“Keep the ring, keep whatever, I’m done.”

“Wh… Haha, funny joke-- actually, not funny at all. Just come sit down with me and we can talk this out!”

OJ didn’t say anything else as he opened up the door.

“OJ?”

He left, not looking back.

…

Not working was rough. Sure, he’s taken several days off of work at a time before, but this was different. He wasn’t allowed to come back. That was the difference. And it sucked, because it was really throwing off his routine. It didn’t really help that when--... If he came back, he’d be thrown right into whatever new shifts were going on. The bakery was going to be open the entire week now, and his days off would change with each week. A proper, real feeling job now. 

If Two even let him back. He was trying to make some steps to doing better, as hard as it was, as slow, and small as the steps were, but Gods it was hard. He knew the next thing to do was to reach out to Two, but he was still scared. He was stuck looking at their past shared texts, unable to draft up even a simple apology. Which felt stupid, and selfish, but… Ugh. He didn’t know why this was so hard. 

It was Friday now. Almost an entire week after, and he knew he had to do something soon. At least, he should. Not even just for his job, but because he didn’t want to ruin one of his most important friendships. After this, if Two even wanted to keep his company, he swore to himself he’d at least try. Try to be a better friend. A better person, because they didn’t deserve his shit. 

A sigh left him as he backed out of the text, opening someone else's contact.

‘Are you available today’

‘Yeah, whats up’ Trophy texted back almost immediately.

‘Do you want to hang out’

‘Yeah sure, where?’

MePhone tapped the side of his phone nervously for a moment, before answering;

‘Do you want to come over and bake with me’ Immediately just feeling embarrassed by asking. That felt so stupid to ask, but he really needed a distraction. And baking was always a good one for him.

‘Sure’

.

.

.

It was a bit awkward honestly, but he did his best to clean up before the guy showed up. He honestly would’ve asked OJ, but MePhone was pretty sure he was at work today. That, and he was a lot less social than he used to be. Not as many texts between the two lately, which was fine-- he was probably busy, but… Maybe he outta check up on him soon. But right now, he was focused on tidying his apartment a bit.

It wasn’t really big, but it was enough space for him, and his cat. It also wasn’t exactly messy, but it wasn’t really too clean, either. With all the time spent at the bakery, he didn’t really do much cleaning, unless it was dishes, or laundry. Even then, it was tough sometimes, but the rest of his apartment was just mostly dusty. A lot of discarded papers though, too. Stuff he’d doodle when he was too bored to do anything else, or when the things on the TV weren’t as entertaining. He thought himself decent enough at drawing, but he didn’t really do it much anymore. 

He was getting distracted again. He was glad he at least had a duster to get things a little more clean. He was glad wiping down the counter, and bringing out stuff to bake with wasn’t too hard, just glad he had decided to go get groceries the other day while he had been out on Wednesday, after his little chat with Soap. So he had stuff to bake with. 

It was about half an hour of tidying up before there was a knock on the door. A brief bit of panic, realizing this was actually happening, and he had invited someone over, before scrambling over to the door. He hoped his hair didn’t look to unkempt as he opened the door, a forced smile on his face.

Trophy stared for a minute, before smirking.

“Awfully forward of you to invite me over,” 

MePhone almost considered slamming the door in his face, but that would be rude, and he didn’t want to drive away the only company he had today. 

“Haha, very funny.” His tone was unamused as he stepped aside, fully inviting the other in. 

“So, you wanted to hang out? I can’t say I’m much of a baker.”

“That’s fine. The company is enough,” MePhone shrugged as he closed the door.

“Don’t you usually have work today?”

“Uhm… I’m on unpaid leave right now,”
“Oh shit, you got fired?”

MePhone winced.

“No, I just uh… It’s complicated. I’ll be back there eventually, just… Not yet.” He shrugged, just slowly moving over to the kitchen area of his apartment. Much smaller, and less nice than the one at the bakery, but it was fine.

“Oh, okay.” Trophy just shrugged, thankfully not really pushing it any further, which MePhone was grateful for. 

“What are you going to make?” He decided to ask, moving to lean against one of the counters. He was here to provide company, and that was fine. He figured he could score some baked goods out of this anyways-- though that wasn’t the only reason he was here, obviously. Trophy had genuinely enjoyed hanging out with him that one night, and he figured since he had nothing else going on, he’d come hang out. If the guy was having work trouble too, he figured he could at least provide a little bit of a distraction. 

“Well, uh…” MePhone glanced to the things he pulled out from various cabinets, before glancing in his fridge. “Any suggestions?” MePhone shrugged.

“Oh, you’re gonna put a show on for me?” Trophy raised an eyebrow, a sly smirk on his face. MePhone just scoffed. 

“Why do I even ask”

“I’m just joking around man, um… I dunno, what do you feel like making?” 

“I guess I can make some muffins… A little simple, but anything works,”

“Cool, do you need me to do anything?” Trophy decided he’d offer.

MePhone thought about it for a moment; 

“I guess just some conversation?”

“I can do that,” He smiled, his mood today overall just chill, thankfully for the both of them. 

So MePhone started prepping everything properly, pulling out the utensils and other things he needed to get going.

“What fruit should I put in these?”

“What do you have?”

“You can check the fridge if you want,” MePhone offered, still mixing something up at the moment. Trophy stepped away from the counter, opening the fridge to look. Honestly, he was surprised by how empty it was. A few fruit containers, a small package of ground beef, and two cartons of milk. Trophy didn’t know what he had been expecting but such an empty fridge wasn’t it. 

“Um…” He took a moment to think, before pulling out a few bananas. He usually liked the guys muffins. It’s usually what he got when they were available at the bakery when he stopped by, so a chance to get some free ones was nice. 

MePhone just glanced over, before looking back at the bowl he was mixing.

“Can you get the muffin pan out of the corner cabinet?” He asked once Trophy set down the bananas on the counter.

“I dunno, can I?” He just grinned, having fun with being a smartass. MePhone just rolled his eyes, as Trophy moved over to grab it anyways, setting it out. 

“Thanks.” 

“Yeah.” Trophy went back to leaning against the counter, starting up a different conversation to keep things from being too quiet, just asking about all sorts of different things. 

MePhone was honestly really glad for this. As awkward as it felt, that feeling left not too long after he initially got here. Honestly, he had asked out of desperation, but… This was nice. It was really helping him feel so much less lonely. Like maybe things would be okay, and he really hoped he wouldn’t just go back to feeling sad after he left. He knew that tended to happen a lot when he used to hang out with people, but he hoped this would be nice enough to keep him happy for the rest of the day.

Muffins didn’t take all too long to bake. He had Trophy help him chop up and mash the bananas, which the guy thankfully didn’t seem to bothered by. MePhone was just glad he actually seemed to want to be here. Obviously, he probably wouldn’t have come by if he didn’t want to be there, but… It still felt nice. 

Once the muffins were baking, the two found themselves in the small living space of the apartment, on opposite ends of the couch while they waited, the TV on for background noise.

“Yeah, that’s why I stopped taking on new clients for the time being,” Trophy shrugged, finishing up a story.

“Wow that’s… Crazy.”

“Yeah. But what about you? Do you guys ever get any crazy people at the bakery?”
“Not yet, thankfully. I think you’re the rowdiest we get,” MePhone gave a light-hearted jab, hoping it wasn’t too mean.

“Yeah? Well if you want I could keep raising hell,”

“Yeah, I don’t think Two would be too happy about that…” MePhone glanced away as he spoke about them. He still felt incredibly guilty about all of this.

“Oh whatever. You guys are no fun.”

“Yeah…” MePhone trailed off a bit, trying so hard not to let his mood go down too much. He was thankful when the oven went off.

“I-- Should go get those out,” He got up quickly, feeling the other’s eyes on him as he walked over to take them out, but neither of them said anything. 

“Why are you on unpaid leave?” Trophy finally asked. MePhone winced, slowly glancing over at the other. His expression wasn’t malicious. He was a bit of an ass, but he wasn’t cruel. He wouldn’t use this against him, would he?

MePhone looked back at the muffins as he carefully set the pan down on the counter, his mouth forming a thin line as he struggled with deciding if he could let himself be open or not. But this could be another step. Trophy was here to give him company. He didn’t mean any harm by asking, and it was fine. It… Would be fine.

“I was bringing the mood down, I think. Uhm… I don’t really… Know how to say it, I’ve just been having a rough time lately I guess, and it’s been obvious to them.” MePhone just sighed out, shutting his eyes tight as he stayed facing the counter, not wanting to look over at the other. 

“Oh. That sucks. I hope you feel better soon, I’m not… Great at being too comforting,”

“That’s fine. You don’t need to be,”

It was quiet for a bit, the two of them just listening to the idle chatter from whatever was on the TV at the moment.

“They should be cooled off enough by now,” MePhone spoke after a while, finally looking over at Trophy, who got up, and was heading over.

“Nice.” He had a small, steady smile on his face as MePhone handed him one of the muffins, before taking one for himself. 

Before either of them took a bite, Trophy asked something;

“Hey, so…”

“Yeah?” MePhone made brief eye contact, before Trophy was the one to glance away.

“Do you wanna go out for lunch or something?”

“Oh?” MePhone blinked, a bit caught off guard. It took him a moment to actually process, before properly answer;

“Yeah, sure, why not,” He figured it would be nice. He hadn’t been eating much lately anyways, so he figured this would be nice. A nice way to continue his slight distraction, and a nice way to hang out just a bit longer.

“I do need to feed my cat first though”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you down in the lobby,” Trophy just gave a nod as he bit into the muffin, heading over to the door.

“This is really good by the way,”

“Of course it is, I made it,” MePhone just smiled, feeling a slight bit of confidence for the first time in a while. Which… Was really nice. He liked that feeling. Maybe he should do things like this more often.

…

It was Saturday when MePhone found himself the courage to text Two back. The hang-out with Trophy was really nice too, along with lunch. He sent the guy home with most of the muffins, figuring he’d probably end up eating more than he would’ve ended up with, so hopefully less of them would go to waste. He hadn’t really been all too hungry lately, which… Wasn’t really entirely normal, but he was used to not eating. It was fine.

But he was getting distracted. Shaking off the thoughts, he looked down at his phone, open to the texts between him and Two again. The hangout had given him a slight boost in confidence that he really needed, and he was going to see it through, and keep making steps. He needed to keep making these moves. He needed to apologize to Two, and even if they didn’t want to be friends anymore, at least he would apologize, or be able to talk it out. 

But he did really hope things would work out. 

‘Can we talk’

‘I wanted to say im sorry’

He figured he wouldn’t get any response until morning-- with how late it was, but… At least it was out there now. He just really, really hoped things would continue looking up, because he really needed it to. 

He tapped the side of his phone, thinking if he should say anything else, but he figured anything he had to say, he could say when Two got back to him. He also really needed to sort out his thoughts anyways.

A yawn as he set his phone down, figuring he should probably head to sleep soon, but as he was moving to set his phone down on the coffee table-- laying on the couch tonight, his phone buzzed. 

He wondered if Two had gotten back to him so soon, but as he clicked his phone back on, it was a text from OJ.

‘Sorry if this is completely out of nowhere, but could I crash at your place for the night?’

Chapter Text

Long story short, it was awkward, but… Not the worst situation MePhone had been in regarding several other recent events. 

At least it was… Nice? To have company? Even if it was a bit awkward. And strained. OJ explained, once he got there, that he was currently avoiding his house, having broken up with his… Extremely long-term girlfriend. Which MePhone was definitely curious about, but he wasn’t going to pry. It was none of his business. At all.

Right now, OJ was on the couch, while MePhone was pulling one of the extra muffins out to offer him. He seemed like he was having a rough enough time, so he hoped this would help. 

“I do want to apologize again, I know we haven’t really talked much… Or much recently either, so this is probably just… Really weird, but I… Don’t exactly have too many other places to go near where I work.” OJ’s shoulders sagged a bit.

“It’s fine,” MePhone just shrugged it off, moving over to offer a muffin.

“Banana,” He clarified as OJ looked at it, before taking it. 

“Thanks,” OJ gave a tired smile. 

“Sorry to hear about uh… All of that by the way,”

“It’s… Fine, I think. I mean, not really, but… I should’ve seen it coming, honestly.”

“Are you not allowed back in your house or something?”

“It’s complicated. It’s technically my house that I own, and am still paying off, but… She doesn’t exactly have anywhere else to go. I’m mad at her, yeah, but I don’t want her to end up on the streets, or having to move all the way back with her parents, who aren’t even living in the state anymore.” OJ just frowned, taking a bite of the muffin.

MePhone just gave a small hum, not really knowing what to say. He didn’t mind being a possible shoulder to lean on, but he wasn’t exactly equipped to help or comfort people really well. Especially when he couldn’t even comfort or calm himself down most of the time. 

“Is just being civil roommates possible?”

“Hah, knowing her? Definitely not.” OJ sighed. “I… We… We’ve been together for so many years, it’s honestly just… A little crazy thinking about living a life without her.” The more the ginger thought about it, the more upset he got, really. He wasn’t sure if he ever really even loved her, but… She was still a huge part of his life. Even if he took the house, he wasn’t sure how easy it would be to live alone. Maybe it would be better if he got himself a pet or something, but with all the hours he usually worked, maybe that was just him feeling desperate. 

OJ was the one to break things off, but he still wasn’t taking things well. He still wasn’t sure how Salt was reacting. Things had been radio silent from her since he left. Not a single text, and it left a large looming sense of dread over him that was so unfamiliar. The worst his stress had ever been was at his first job, but this was so much worse. He just wanted things to go back to normal, honestly. He wanted any sort of normal. But that wasn’t going to happen. 

“The muffin is nice,” He shook off the rest of his more troubling thoughts for now. He didn’t want to make things here more awkward than they already were.

“Thanks, I made them with one of my other friends,” MePhone glanced away as he said that, a small smile on his face just thinking about it. Though he looked over at OJ, raising an eyebrow at the other’s silence. The ginger was giving him a certain look, but MePhone chose to ignore it, just rolling his eyes. 

“Anyways. Uh… How many nights do you need to stay?”

“I wouldn’t want to trouble you for more than one, I’m… Still trying to get in contact with some of my other friends, but it’s… Hard because I don’t think this relationship allowed me to be a good friend to most of them.”

Honestly, MePhone just felt a bit of pity. He couldn’t imagine what this guy was feeling right now. One, because he had never been romantically involved with someone before, but also having someone so deeply rooted in his social life? With such an ability to keep control over that?

MePhone blinked at that thought, realizing maybe he understood better than he thought. Not from any romantic relationship of course, but… His father had been incredibly controlling. So maybe it was sympathy, and not pity. That felt more right. 

“Well I hope things work out for you,” A yawn. “If you need to stay more than one night, I really don’t mind.” It would help him feel like a better friend too, surely. He was trying to work on that. “I do hope the couch is comfortable enough,” MePhone just swayed a bit on his feet, having been standing this entire time. He didn’t really want to join the other on the couch right now when he was this sleepy, anyways. He also just wanted to get the night over with, so he could hopefully wake up to a text from Two. That was still his brains biggest focus. 

“Uhm… My cat should probably leave you alone for most of the night, and I’ll be in my room, what time do you usually wake up?”

“Well I have work tomorrow at nine, so I’ll be up around eight.”

“Okay, I… Probably won’t be. If you need to shower or anything thats fine, the bathroom is the closed door on the right in the hallway… Uh, I have cereal in one of the cabinets if you want some, uh…” MePhone just shrugged, not knowing what else to say. “I think I still have milk too, I dunno if you’re a breakfast guy or anything,”

“Okay, and-- thanks again. Really, I appreciate this a lot,” OJ kept a tired smile on his face as he moved to pull a pillow out of his briefcase, moving to lie down. 

“Goodnight,” MePhone just headed off to his room, giving the guy some space for the night as he shut his door quietly.

This was awkward, but… A little less so. He just hoped the guy manages to sort everything out.

.

.

.

Two woke up to some new texts. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure if MePhone was ever going to say anything, but… It looks like he did. 

‘Can we talk’

‘I wanted to say im sorry’

Two honestly felt like this could’ve been said sooner-- a sorry, at least, but they were trying not to be too bitter about all of this. Even though they were upset with the guy, they didn’t want to ruin his life by denying him hours to work. The guy needed to pay rent, after all. But… They also didn’t want him coming back until he realized he needed to shift his attitude. Some of what they said was a bit harsh. Blaming it on his sour moods, but that really was the most of it. He was quiet, and refused to talk to either of the new employees most of the time. Two noticed how short any reply he did give was short, and curt. 

Everyone had something going on in their lives. They were no acception. MePhone was no acception either. It was clear something was going on, but he refused to say anything ever. Even though they were supposed to be friends, MePhone still barely ever texted them. And it wasn’t even about not talking that much, because that would be such a stupid reason to deny him work. For being mad at him. Some people just don’t talk that much. It was just… Everything else. 

They really liked the guy. He was fun to be around when he wasn’t like that. He was a good co-worker, and Two never regretted starting this bakery with him. They couldn’t even imagine actually firing him, either. They really just wanted to see him get better, despite everything clearly going on. Even if he refused to talk about it. 

‘Sure we can talk. Would you like to call sometime when you’re awake?’ They decided to text. The bakery wasn’t open today, but he was still up long before he was sure MePhone would be up. So he’d be willing to wait for a response. Being upset with someone was tiring anyways, and they wanted to hear what he had to say, just hoping he wasn’t just going to be short and frustrated with them again.

They really hoped the conversation would work out for the better.

…

OJ was gone for work by the time MePhone got up. His briefcase was gone, so he wasn’t sure if the guy planned on coming back, but he was sure he’d get texts later.

For now though, he had other things to think about, seeing a response from Two. Honestly, he was just glad he wasn’t being ghosted, or ignored. 

‘Can we call if you’re available itd probably be easier if I spoke’ Not exactly true, honestly, but… He figured it would help him come off as more genuine. He never really managed that much through text. 

He just hoped they’d be willing to listen, now just waiting. He was sure they’d call when they were ready, just moving to sit on the couch and hang out with his cat in the meantime. He just hoped he could salvage all of this. He hoped for a lot of things, really.

As the morning went on, he just grew more nervous, now just waiting for Two to call him. He didn’t know what to expect with calling. He didn’t know if he was just going to make himself sound like an idiot, and ruin things further, but… Ugh. His nerves were really getting to him, even though he was trying so hard to cling onto the confidence Trophy had given him a few days ago, but it was really waning now that he was actually faced with the idea of actually talking it out. He didn’t want to risk ruining things further, but he didn’t have too much time to think about it after that, as his phone started ringing.

He jolted a bit, immediately moving to sit down again-- having started pacing again at some point, before answering.

“Hey?”

“Hi, MePhone,” Two answered. They didn’t sound angry, or upset. MePhone didn’t really know what to call the tone they were conveying, but it didn’t sound… Negative, hopefully.

“Listen, I know I already apologized over text, but I should do it here, too. You were right, and I’m sorry. We’re… Supposed to be friends, and I was just… I don’t know, pushing that fact out of my brain, I guess. Which was really selfish.” MePhone winced at his wording. He felt like he was making himself sound like an idiot. He didn’t really know how to apologize all too well. Sure, he was used to apologizing, having to do it a ton when he was still living with his dad, but those were all just… Well, point was, it was different. Mandatory to keep the peace, but not truly meant. This, right now, was a real and genuine one. And he really hoped he was actually conveying that.

“I… I’m not really good at talking to people about the stuff going on in my life, but if it’s… Rough enough to where I guess it’s obvious to you, and everyone else, I don’t really have much of a choice, do I,” He sighed. He didn’t feel pressured to speak about it, and he knew Two wasn’t going to use this against him, but it was still scary. He slightly opened up to Trophy about it the other night, but this was different. 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, really. I want to be able to help, and you should only come to me if you want to, but… I do appreciate the apology.”

“It’s fine, Two. I… Think I should at least talk about it with someone. I know I should be able to trust you by now,” A pause. Two didn’t say much else, allowing him space to keep talking;

“I found out my brother moved to the town recently. Uhm… I saw him while I was on a d-- uhh---... A night out with that Trophy guy,” He stuttered over his words a bit, internally panicking for just a moment at the word his brain had almost defaulted to using, before quickly correcting himself. He cleared his throat before continuing; “He didn’t see me, but uhm… That freaked me out. And then at some point we actually ran into each other and-- uhm…” MePhone just sighed, putting his phone on speaker, and setting it on the coffee table so he could nervously fiddle with his hands.

“Long story short I guess, we aren’t on good terms. He hates my guts, and he doesn’t want me in his life. The idea of possibly running into him again makes me feel like shit, honestly. If he hates me as much as he acts like he does, I want to give him space, but it feels like I’m walking on eggshells every time I even leave my apartment.” He shut his eyes, leaning back into the couch a bit. He was so scared admitting any of this. It was really hard, but once he had started talking-- or more so rambling, honestly, it just kept coming out;

“It turns out Lightbulb knows him. Uh, she said she recognized me, and basically told me I look just like him. Uhm… He’s got really long red dyed hair, and sunglasses he never takes off, and that’s not important but--... When she told me that, uh… That’s when I went home early a few weeks ago. The idea of still being so close to him even just through someone who knows him made me feel sick. I’ve been trying so hard to just be normal about it, but if it’s obvious enough for you to see I guess I haven’t been doing a good job.”

“Huh.” Was all Two said. 

Really, a few things were clicking in their head right now. The one really weird interview they had. The description sounded so familiar to one of the people they interviewed. But… They figured they wouldn’t say anything about it, since nothing happened with it. 

“Listen, I’m sorry if one of the people I hired is making work hard for you,”

“I don’t want you to have to fire her or something over something like this. I don’t think that’s a fair option. I- I just need to try harder.”

“MePhone,”

“I don’t really know what else to do about it, honestly. She’s a fun person to be around, and it has been easier being around her, but there’s still that fear that she’s just… Talking to my brother about me behind my back. It’s scary.”

“... Can I ask why he hates you?”

A heavy sigh from MePhone.

“I moved out after he did, but I think he ended up having to go back home or something. He wasn’t really clear about it, but he was upset about going back home and… uh… Dealing with how our dad was alone. I don’t know what my dad said, or did to make 4s so angry, but…” He paused to sigh again. “I just don’t know.”

So it was family drama. That… Honestly explained a lot. MePhone had always been really weird talking about his family. Two only knew little things. He didn’t have a mom anymore. He had two siblings-- him being the middle one, and he barely ever mentioned anything about his father. Maybe for good reason, honestly. 

Two just sighed, taking it all in.

“So what can we do to make you feel more okay at work despite all this?-- And don’t say you’re just going to ‘try harder’ because we can both see that isn’t working out for you. I don’t want you to be open now, only to just end up right back where you were before all of this. Something about the mentality you have about just dealing with things needs to change. Mostly for yourself, honestly, because as hard as this is to hear, it’s clearly not healthy. Especially if it made you physically sick the other week.”

MePhone sighed again.

“I don’t even know, honestly.”

“... Would it help if you talked to Lightbulb about it? You don’t have to tell her everything, or even mostly anything, but if it’s her connection to your brother thats making all of this hard, surely she’d be willing to talk about it or something,”

“I don’t want to waste her time,”

“It wouldn’t be. I’m sure of that. Listen, she’s a good person, MePhone. I know you’ve been mostly ignoring the new employees, but I promise she’s not the type of person to hurt someone on purpose. I wouldn’t have hired her if that was the case. She certainly still wouldn’t be around if that were the case. Just think about it, okay? It doesn’t have to be yes, but… Give it some thought.”

“... Okay.” Gods, this was really difficult. But… Some part of him did feel a little better being able to open up to Two about this, and not worry about being hurt. 

It was quiet on both ends for a bit, before the conversation shifted.

“How did the bakery do without me this week?” He asked, honestly just kind of curious.

“Well, not too terribly, but… It isn’t the same without you here, honestly. Even with you having been quiet lately.”

“Oh,”

“Do you want to come in this following week? We’re starting shifts. We’ll also be open the full week now,”

“... Yeah, sure,” MePhone smiled, leaning forward on the couch again, picking up his phone.

They talked about a few other things, before Two had to head out for something they had planned, the call ending on a thankfully good note.

‘Thanks for listening’

‘I really appreciate it’ MePhone texted afterwards, just… Grateful Two was even willing to give him the time of day. Was… This what a real friendship felt like? It was nice.

Chapter Text

The weekend before being allowed to head back to work felt like it was going on forever, honestly. It was night now, and OJ was on his way back to spend the night again-- a few texts having been exchanged. MePhone hoped tonight would be less awkward then the initial last night, still willing to be a shoulder the guy could lean on, because he was clearly going through some rough shit.

It didn’t take him long to arrive.

Some small talk, before OJ asked something of him.

“Do you think you’d be willing to go with me to my house tomorrow? Uhm… I think I need to kick her out. I know it’s awful, but… It’s my house. My life, and I just… She has friends she can go stay with. She has her parents who love her to lean back on. I feel awful about having to do this, but I only have so many couches I can crash on,”

Oh. That felt like a big ask, but… MePhone was definitely both kind of curious how this would play out, and he still wanted to be there for his friend. This was what friends do for each other, right? He was still figuring out how all this stuff worked honestly, and this felt like the right thing to do, especially if asked, so…

“Yeah, sure.” He just shrugged.

“I’m just afraid if I go back alone, I’m just going to fall back into the safe option.” At this point, he was wondering if she was his safe option. He was with her because it was easy. Even if he was paying for everything. Even if he wasn’t really allowed around many of his friends. He had been struggling so hard with the thoughts of it just being easier to fall back into whats safe. Go back home and apologize. Go ahead with the marriage. Even if he would be deeply unhappy, he wouldn’t have to worry about the drama Salt would be able to cause. He was also just… Scared. Scared that she was scheming. That if he didn’t get back with her, she’d go nuclear. The thought horrified him, because he didn’t know what she was entirely capable of. He remembers hearing stories of her and her friend Pepper ‘ruining other people’s lives’. Stories she went on and on about during dinners they did have together, but they always sounded so exaggerated. What if they weren’t? What was stopping them from ruining his life if he refused to get back with her? If he really did kick her out?

It made him feel sick to his stomach, but he was really glad he at least had someone to help him through this while he was slowly trying to reconnect with some of his old friends at the moment through text. That maybe things wouldn’t be as bad as he was worrying they would be. 

He’d just choose to hope things would be fine. Maybe Salt would understand, too. Maybe he was just overthinking, and maybe she wasn’t happy either. Why would she avoid him so much anyways if she did? Why would she always choose everything else over him if she loved him? No normal person would, so… Maybe he hoped these few days of no contact were here reflecting, and realizing this was better for the both of them. He could only hope, honestly. 

…

MePhone was really glad he’d be able to go back to work this week. He wasn’t going in until Wednesday, and then he was off on Friday, which was… So different, with the proper shifts and all, but he hoped the work would help him return to his routine. He was a bit nervous about returning, a small fear he was just going to continue to decline, and shut everyone else out while he was there, but… He hoped Two’s conversation was enough to help. He didn’t know how he was going to fix this yet, but he was still going to try to find out how to do that.

He… Was also still trying to think about if he wanted to talk to Lightbulb like suggested, but he figured he’d… Just decide one of the days he was at work with her or something. He’d… figure something out. 

…

It was Saturday night, and MePhone4s was out with his partner, and friends. He had finally landed a job somewhere a few days ago, and was starting soon-- so they were out to celebrate. Honestly, despite his brother unfortunately being in town, and with one of his partners’ friends having told him she was working with him-- everything else here was fine. When he got stressed, he could go out to the gun range to let off some steam, or he could hang out with his partner, and roommate when that wasn’t an option. There was a lot to do, and he thankfully hadn’t directly ran into his brother, so it was going great. Of course, avoidance sucked, and wasn’t a good way to go about anything, but he knew if he saw his brother again, it’d just make him angry, and he was trying not to be so angry anymore.

His partner, Paintbrush, was really helping with that. A much better roommate than the one that screwed him over, really. In so many ways.

“So, what are you going to do with your first paycheck?” Lightbulb asked as she was unwrapping her straw from the paper, only tearing off one side, then blowing off the rest of the wrapper towards Paintbrush, who just scoffed as it fell into their lap.

“I don’t know yet. Probably save it.” 4s shrugged.

“Boring,” She shrugged. “Personally, when I got my first paycheck I went out and bought a crab,” She smiled.

“Bought? You snuck it out of the supermarket display tank.” Paintbrush rolled their eyes.

“They were going to kill him, Painty!” She held her hands up.

“I don’t think our complex allows pets.”

“I’m honestly surprised your apartment let you keep your crab.” Paintbrush raised an eyebrow at the blonde.

“As long as he stays in the tank-- but y’know, don’t tell the landlord but he likes to wander.” Lightbulb winked.

“Of course he does.” Paintbrush let out a light-hearted chuckle. 4s just slightly nodded along. He didn’t need a pet right now anyways. And if he did get one, he wanted to adopt a shelter cat. Despite how tough he liked to act, he really wasn’t much of a dog person, and he knew Paintbrush wasn’t either. They’d probably be the type of person to complain about the theoretical dog shedding everywhere. But thats why it was just a theoretical.

“What’cha doing for work anyways?” Lightbulb finally stuck her straw into her drink, taking a long sip as she looked expectantly at him.

4s just sighed, before answering;

“Cashier at an electronics store.” He could never really escape that. But he supposed it paid better than that failing video rental store did from his hometown, and he supposed it was different enough, so he couldn’t complain. He knew it’d still be a massive pain in the ass to probably have to see his dads tech everywhere despite trying so hard to distance himself from all that, but he couldn’t help it. This job wasn’t exciting, or even too fulfilling, but it would get him by. If it wasn’t enough, he figured he’d just start taking night classes again or something, but for now, this would work. That’s all it needed to do.

“Oooh,” Lightbulb just nodded, before looking over around at the rest of the restaurant they were at.

“Where’s the rest of the group?”

“Late, as usual.” Paintbrush just sighed out, leaning back against the booth cushion. 

“I don’t mind. We don’t have anywhere else to be,” 4s shrugged, deciding he’d probably make fun of them for being late, but that would be the extent of it. He felt actually nice tonight, so he could deal with the rest of the group that was supposed to be here not being punctual. Paintbrush had already expressed they were surprised Lightbulb of all people had been here on time. 

For now though, the company of the other two here with him was nice. Paintbrush was obviously good company, and Lightbulb had enough interesting conversation points to keep things from getting dull. 

Even with the less than exciting job, 4s was excited to be able to make sure he can stay here. Regardless of his brother happening to live in the same town, this really was a nice place. Less stressful than his hometown. Less stressful than being stuck living with his dad still. He’d take anything at this point, but it really did help that he was managing to build something nice. 

…

The drive over was… Quiet. MePhone didn’t really know what to expect, but he could tell just how nervous OJ was. Idly tapping the steering wheel with his finger as he drove, though his focus was thankfully on the road, and not elsewhere, despite that. It wasn’t a long drive, either. About fifteen minutes, and he rolled up to a… Very nice suburban home. 

“You live here?” MePhone practically gawked. Honestly, he was kind of jealous this guy could afford such a nice home. 

“Yeah. Uh… My ex convinced me to buy this one. I’m probably going to be paying this off for a while.”

“Is she on the uh… Lease? Deed? Whatever it is?”

“No, which… I guess makes things easier so she can’t argue that she has a right to stay. She doesn’t work.”

“Wow.” MePhone sat still, just looking at the house outside of the car, before glancing over to OJ, who looked down at his phone.

“She hasn’t texted me once since I left. I’m… Honestly kind of scared.”

“... Oh, well I’m sure she probably didn’t uh--...” MePhone shut his mouth, not wanting to imply anything. “I’m sure she’s probably fine,” He put out there, rather than anything else.

OJ took a deep breath, finally unbuckling himself, and opening his car door to step out. MePhone was a bit slower to do so, but he did, too. 

“I don’t know what to expect.”

“Hopefully it’s not anything too bad,” MePhone still wasn’t great at reassurances. This was probably the best he could do right now, just offering a sympathetic look. He moved to get out of the car too, not really sure what he was supposed to be doing, but OJ looked over and spoke;

“It might be better if you stay in the car, uhm… I’ll have you come in after she’s gone, I… Don’t know how she’d react to seeing me bringing a friend over after our argument?” OJ just glanced away.

“Oh, okay,” MePhone was honestly a bit relieved, he was just here to provide company after the fact then, it seemed. So he waited patiently in the car.

.

.

.

“Omg! I was like, wondering when you were going to be done with that little tantrum of yours.” A voice called out from the kitchen. OJ winced from that as he closed the front door behind him.

So… She was pretending like he didn’t leave her the other day. Thats what was going on. OJ just sighed, hesitating for a moment, before making his way into the kitchen with her so they could talk face-to-face. 

“I’m so glad you’re back. Listen. Like I said, we can put this behind us. I am so glad you’ve finally come to your senses and like, came back. I guess I’m like, sorry for missing that date of yours, but what does it even matter? Especially now that we’re getting married!” She sounded so giddy. Honestly, crazy. 

“Salt,” OJ spoke, but she wasn’t letting him get a word in.

“We’ll start planning like, right away now that you’re back. My parents are going to be so happy to hear the news, and hey! Maybe yours will too! You’re finally doing something right in their eyes!”

OJ just sighed, moving a hand up to his face. She wasn’t getting it, and on top of that, she was still making subtle jabs. He wouldn’t admit that it was tearing him down again. Was this what she had been doing the entire time? Comments like this to keep him under her thumb? She knew how much his parents didn’t like him moving away. Seeking the job he did-- even if it was so high paying. They had so much higher expectations for him because of how well off his older sister ended up being, and when it all fell through, well… He didn’t talk to them much anymore for a reason. And yet Salt was here using that against him. It made him feel small. 

“We can totes invite some of those friends you were talking about too, if you want!”

“Salt.” 

OJ tensed up as she moved to hug him, her same smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around him. 

“I’m just so glad you’re back. Really.” She said this again.

“You need to leave.” He finally blurted out, moving to lightly push her away. He needed to stand up for himself, and he needed her to stop talking for him.

“Um, what?” Her expression immediately soured. 

“Pack up your stuff and leave. Go to a friends or something, or back to your parents. I- I said it was over, and seeing you here pretending like I didn’t end things is just-- It’s crazy.”

“You’re calling me crazy? HAH! OJ, honey, you’re the one who’s mad at me for missing one date.”

“It’s not even just about the date anymore, Salt! It’s everything! You cancel every other date! You get pissy when I want to hang out with other people, or don’t want to drive you somewhere when you have a car yourself!” OJ couldn’t help but raise his voice. He hated this. He had no love left for her at all, and he knew that now. “There’s so many little things that have been building up for years, and shit, I’m so upset at myself for not even noticing sooner!”

Salt just stood there, absolutely stunned. She looked so angry. 

“Oh, well if we’re going to talk about how shitty we are, look at you! You’re always at work! It’s like you’ve chosen a job to avoid me on purpose with all those hours! No wonder I never want to hang out because I’ve already made plans while you’ve been away all day!” She yelled back.

“That, and you can’t just kick me out! My parents will never forgive you.”

“I don’t care about your parents! I don’t care about you anymore! Just get out!” He pointed out of the kitchen, towards the door.

Salt sniffled, before immediately breaking down into a dramatic sobbing fit.

“I- I didn’t even do anything wrong! Who made you hate me!? What did I do!?” Like she hadn’t heard any of the reasons OJ had given.

OJ just let out a frustrated sigh, moving to step out of the kitchen himself. Salt followed, trying to cling to him for comfort, but she was shrugged off.

“Please,” She blubbered, still trying to make this work out. She couldn’t lose this. She couldn’t . 

“I’ve already made up my mind. It’s unfair to the both of us. You can definitely do better.” He tried to be a little more gentle about it, not wanting to argue anymore. He was just exhausted.

“I don’t WANT to find someone better! I love you!”

“Well I don’t. And that’s not fair to you. I don’t think I ever did.”

“You’re lying!” She cried out. “Who’s out there telling you that you don’t love me!? What did I do? Did you meet someone else!?” She immediately jumped to several different conclusions. Leaps, really. 

“There’s nobody else, Salt. This is me. And I want you to actually listen to me for once.” He was glad he didn’t bring MePhone in. That probably would’ve just set her off further. This was already hard enough.

“You can’t do this to me,” She cried, but OJ didn’t budge. As soon as she realized he still wasn’t caving in, or budging, her mood shifted.

“Just pack your things and go, please. If you leave anything I’ll contact you about it, and you can come pick it up, but that’s it. I need time to reflect on what I want in my life anyways.” His tone was so small, but still firm. He wasn’t going to let himself fall back into this again. 

Salt let out such a loud, frustrated noise as she stormed away from the ginger, towards the room they used to share. He could hear the noises of her packing. And he watched her storm out once that was over.

It was over. She was leaving.

The house was quiet for a good five minutes, before OJ let himself breathe again, slowly moving his hands up to his face again. His shoulders sagged. He should’ve just kept crashing on couches or something. Maybe he could’ve afforded a hotel room for a bit, just… Anything other than this. The ginger felt terrible, even if this was what needed to happen. He should go invite MePhone in for a bit.

…

MePhone waited patiently in the car, jolting a bit as the door slammed open. The ex-girlfriend, he figured, was holding two large suitcases, her expression entirely sour and bitter as she stormed out. It looked like she was heading to the car he was in for a second, before storming past to the other car in the driveway. He slouched down in the car seat a bit to avoid being seen too easily, listening to each frustrated noise from her as she practically threw the suitcases into the back seat, and entered the drivers seat. He leaned up a bit again, honestly just curious, figuring he’d see her leave, but this proved to be a bit of a mistake, as she looked over. It looked like she had been trying to get one last look at the house, but their eyes met, and her frustrated expression only seemed to turn to something much more furious. 

MePhone’s expression dropped as they stared at each other for just a moment, before she sped off. The baker let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding once he heard the car actually leave. 

A few minutes after the car was gone, OJ came out the front, just looking at the car, and gesturing for the other to get out, and come into the house. MePhone complied. 

“... How did it go?”

“Bad.” OJ just sighed, flopping down on the couch. “I still have to check and see if I need to put together anything she left behind to pick up later but I really don’t want to see her again for a few days.” 

“Sorry,”

“It’s fine. I mean, it’s… Still not, but I’ll… I’ll be able to move on. I just hope for both of our sakes that she can too.”

“Yeah. Uh… If she tries causing more trouble, I’m always here to listen,” He decided to offer, not really having much else he could say. OJ just gave a small nod, appreciating this.

“Thanks for being here,”
“Yeah, of course. I hope your day gets better,”

“Me too,”

MePhone decided not to say anything about the awkward car eye contact he had shared with the girl, figuring it probably wasn’t something that mattered.

MePhone felt a little on edge when he was finally taken back to his apartment complex. Not by anything OJ did, no, he was fine with giving the guy company where he clearly needed it, but… Leaving the house, and actually being driven home, something felt off. But he still shook it off as he entered the complex safely, up to the apartment he called home.

He did hope everything would be fine with OJ, letting the guy know he was there for him if needed-- even if he wasn’t great at verbal comfort. 

He also really hoped the following week wouldn’t be as hectic as this one had been, and that things wouldn’t take too long to get back to feeling normal. That would be really nice.

Chapter Text

Back in the bakery, he felt relieved. Today, he was here with Two, and the other new employee, Leafy, who he had admittedly been quiet to and avoiding as best he could, but he was going to try to be more civil, and less cold and weird, because he didn’t want a repeat of getting unpaid leave. That, and he figured he could at least give her a chance. 

From what he overheard during the other weeks, it was clear she had a completely different social circle from anyone he knew. He didn’t know a lot of people, but the friends she talked about having were not names he recognized, so he figured it was fine. Even with the inconvenience of finding out he lived near his brother, who hated him, the town was still a large place with a lot of people living in it. 

Today, Wednesday, was a slow day at the bakery. The usual happenings from what he was used to, but with one extra person, but that wasn’t even not normal anymore. It was still a bit quiet, but that wasn’t really on purpose this time. Leafy and Two seemed to be having an easy time keeping up a conversation while he was at the counter to take orders, so he didn’t need to be too involved right now anyways. Right now, he just listened to the quiet conversation as he rung someone up. Honestly, even just today, business seemed to be doing better than it had been in a while. There was a steady stream of people coming in and out, and it felt nice. It made him wonder if Soap made another one of those videos or something, but he wouldn’t really know, not really using social media at all. The most he ever does is post pictures of his cat once in a blue moon under an account thats named something he’s too embarrassed to even really think about, let alone tell anyone about. He didn’t have much of a following, and that didn’t matter to him much.

He was getting really distracted, just shaking off the thoughts to listen back into the conversation. 

“He kicked you out over that?”

“I know! He let everyone else stay, but apparently me not liking something of his once despite all our time as friends was enough for him to completely switch up on me!” Leafy huffed out, working on making a drink order for one of the customers still waiting.

They were serving their colder season themed things now, which meant warmer drinks like hot chocolate, and pastries. More things with ‘seasonal’ ingredients. In the sense it felt seasonal, and not because it actually was in most cases though-- like gingerbread. 

“We haven’t talked much beyond that. I’m staying with someone else currently,” She kept her voice low, before stepping up to the counter with the finished drink, an immediate shift to a customer service face as she handed it to the customer;

“Have a great day!” She smiled, as if it was the most effortless thing for her to do, despite having just been talking about something that didn’t seem so fun. 

“Well I hope this job can help you feel a bit more secure about all that, it really doesn’t sound great,”

“It’s not, but y’know,” She shrugged, still just smiling, back to her positive attitude now. “I’m still happy where I am regardless.”

A nice sentiment. MePhone wished he could relate.

.

.

.

On break, he was resting his head on the table. A little tired, but he knew he wasn’t going to fall asleep on the job this time. He figured he could just nap when he got home or something. Break time was usually supposed to mean lunch, but he really wasn’t all too hungry today. Really, he hadn’t been too hungry at all lately. He supposed it helped not eating a lot when he was living off of bakery paychecks, but he didn’t tend to think too hard about it most times. He’d at least get himself to eat dinner or something tonight. Maybe just a snack.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard someone else enter the break room. He lifted his head up, resting it on one of his palms, just quiet as he watched leafy enter, and hang up her apron, presumably also starting break. The room was quiet, and honestly a bit awkward as she moved over to the mini fridge, bringing out a lunch she had brought herself. It was a little more awkward when she joined him at the small table, but it wasn’t like there was anywhere else to sit. So he just pulled out his phone to avoid any possible awkward eye contact. He really hoped he wasn’t coming across as cold, he was going to try to work on that, but jeez, what was he supposed to say? It’d probably be better to just leave her be while she was eating anyways? 

Surely he could just talk to her another time. 

Of course, the situation was only made more awkward as MePhone’s stomach grumbled. He internally cursed at himself. Embarrassing was what it was.

“Do you not have lunch?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Uh, I don’t usually eat lunch.” He shrugged it off, looking anywhere in the room but at her. He wasn’t doing a good job at being sociable. Two would probably be disappointed if they saw what was going on. 

“Do you want the other half of my sandwich? It’s peanut butter and banana,” 

He hated how that sounded incredibly appealing, no banana pun intended-- but he didn’t want to burden her. It was her lunch.

“It’s too big of a sandwich for me right now anyways,” She didn’t even wait for a response as she held half of it out.

“Uh--” MePhone just bit back a sigh, taking it. She was the one who offered, he supposed. It’d be awkward at this point not to take it. That, and if he had to deal the rest of the work day with hunger pangs it might drive him crazy. 

“Thanks,” 

“Of course!” She continued to finish off her half of it, before speaking again as he bit into his half; “So…” A start to a question. He kind of regretted wanting to try to be more social, but it wasn’t like he could just walk away from this. He just hoped the uneasy feelings he was stuck with would go away as she continued;

“I haven’t gotten to know you yet,” She tilted her head a bit. 

“... Yeah, that’s mostly my fault,” He glanced away, setting the half-eaten slice of sandwich down, just looking at the table between the two.

“Yeah. But that can change, right? I like getting to know the people I’m working with. I personally think it makes things easier. I like making new friends,”

Her smile still made him a bit uneasy, but he could tell it was a genuine one. Despite being wary of her a bit, she really did mostly seem genuine, from what he could read. He just hoped he wasn’t wrong, and that this wouldn’t bite him in the ass later.

“Yeah,” He had to agree, really. Getting to slightly know Soap better had definitely helped his work environment before the two new additions to the team were made. 

“I’ll try to talk more if you want,” He shrugged, just hoping that would be enough for now.

“That would be nice.” She just gave a small nod, before standing up, and moving to grab her apron.

“I’m getting back to work,” She gestured towards the door.

MePhone was just glad he hadn’t had to be the one to initiate something, otherwise it probably wouldn’t have gone as smoothly. Really, he was surprised he didn’t feel utterly awkward and nervous. Wary still, sure, but those were very different feelings. 

Maybe, at least with this Leafy girl, it hopefully wouldn’t be too hard to be more social towards. Lightbulb was going to be a different story though, and he knew that.

But he didn’t need to worry about that today, just quietly finishing the sandwich, then looking over at his phone when it buzzed with a text.

‘Do you want to grab dinner sometime this week or smthn’ A text from Trophy. 

‘That would be nice’ He replied once the sandwich was done, a small smile on his face just thinking about how nice it would be to hang out with him again. 

…

Two was really glad the bakery was running smoothly. The addition of shifts, and opening for the full week had been a complete success, and very much helped by the two new employees brought onto the crew. 

They were honestly proud of everyone involved, and very happy that this venture, at least for now, was paying off well. A shaky start for sure, but things were steady now. Maybe it was too early to tell, but they were glad with how it was going currently, and that was enough. 

Right now, it was thirty minutes before closing, and they were working on cleaning up, when a familiar friend stepped in.

“Hello, Four!” Two greeted immediately, looking up from the counter space they were wiping off with a smile. Four just rolled his eyes, walking up to the display window.

“How’s the kitchen doing?” They decided to ask, knowing it was only a fifty-fifty chance of actually getting a reply out of him at any given conversation.

“Probably better than it’s going over here.” Two decided to ignore his remark, just watching as he stepped up to the counter, looking at the things behind the display counter, before looking up at MePhone, his expression souring.

“I thought you got rid of him.” Four frowned. He really didn’t seem to enjoy MePhone’s company-- which was just making the air awkward since he worked here and all.

“That was just… A week thing.” Two didn’t want to go into detail, their tone a bit sheepish. 

“Do you need anything or are you just here to insult me.” MePhone just sighed out. He looked tired today, so Two wasn’t going to put it against him for having a slight attitude back, especially against Four, but… It still didn’t make the situation any better. 

Four didn’t like being talked back to.

“Maybe I am.” Four just gave a mean smirk towards the baker behind the register, who rolled his eyes in response. 

“Do you really not have anything better to do?” MePhone was just completely unamused.

“Nope!” 

MePhone just sighed, knowing this was going to probably be a long thirty minutes before closing.

…

Salt was fuming. Furious, distraught, all sorts of upset, angry feelings, and currently pacing in the living room of her BFF’s house while she was plotting. 

“Like, Salt, you’re blocking the TV.” Her best friend, Pepper spoke, her tone annoyed.

“Yeah, well like-- UGH!” Salt just moved to flop down on the couch now, putting her hands over her face. 

“He can’t just do this to me Pepper!”

“Like, I know it sucks, but--”

“But what, Pepper!? He was my future! I have nothing now!!” She sobbed out.

“I wonder who’s fault that is.” Pepper muttered out, thankfully quiet enough for Salt not to catch it clearly.

“What?” She looked up from her hands.

“Nothing, nothing,” Pepper glanced away, wrapping her arms around the other as a gesture of comfort while Salt cried to her.

“Listen, bestie, I’m sure this’ll work out. You don’t need him anyways. You can do so much better.”

“But I don’t want to! After all these years he just replaced me just like that!” 

“Replaced you?” Pepper raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t told about that. She wondered if Salt was just being extra dramatic, before she elaborated through her tears;

“He had a guy with him! In his car! He looked at me when I was leaving like he was taunting me! Like he knew he won and I couldn’t do anything about it! I can’t let OJ go off with some stranger-- some- some homewrecker!” She shifted positions, dramatically sobbing into her friends shoulder, while Pepper just offered pats on the back.

“Like, that’s so cruel,”

“I- I know! We-- I-- I have to do something about this!”
Pepper just sighed, knowing where this was going. Probably another one of her online campaigns to ruin someone else's life. But if this stupid random guy had hurt her best friend this much, maybe he deserved it anyways. Either way, she’d stick by Salt’s side, because she knew she really needed a good shoulder to lean on right now. 

Honestly, Pepper had never really liked OJ. Stealing away her best friend like this, only to hurt her, and say he never even loved her? When she could’ve been the one providing that love this entire time? It frustrated her. Really, she didn’t understand why they weren’t going after him, but… She resigned the idea, knowing Salt would never, even if she was mad at him. If anything, she just felt sorry for the guy. But that didn’t really matter right now.

…

MePhone was really tired when he got home, just feeding his cat, and immediately flopping down on the couch. He figured that half a sandwich was enough to keep him fine for the night. He didn’t have much energy to cook anything anyways, even if he had beef he really needed to do something with before it got bad. He was already sleepy before that stupid Four guy came in, but having to deal with him and his frankly unfounded insults just yanked the energy and want to do anything else today right away. He wasn’t insulted, just annoyed. He didn’t even know the guy! It was one of Two’s friends, and why did he think he had any ground to insult him! He didn’t even do anything!

But… Whatever. He didn’t want to be grumpy and tired for the rest of the night, just shaking off his thoughts as he brought out his phone. He was going out to dinner with Trophy sometime this week-- they were still figuring out what day would work best--, and… MePhone was already excited. 

Honestly, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t growing slightly fond of the guy. Something about being around him really helped him feel even just a bit more confident. A good distraction, even if he seemed to switch up his personality a lot, he mostly seemed chilled out when they hung out. And it was nice. He felt silly for lying on the couch, and smiling on his phone like this, just looking at the contact, but… Maybe he’d let himself feel silly for once. He wanted to keep trying to be better, so maybe this was another step to take. Keeping up a genuine connection outside of someone he was working with. Which-- that wasn’t to discredit how important Two was to him--, but… This was different.

Maybe he’d bake something for the guy again.

Chapter Text

Trophy thought he was a pretty normal guy. He went to, and worked at a gym a lot, he went out and enjoyed himself while not at work, and he even had hobbies! Photography was a major one. Sprinting was another. One of his favorite things to do-- especially in the colder seasons like autumn and winter, was to go hiking, and taking pictures of the scenery. A good mesh of his favorite things. He liked the way the trees looked when the leaves started changing. The desolate mood of some cold, gray environments when said leaves were gone, such a stark contrast to the green that would sprout again in just a few months.

He was also a sore loser, but who wasn’t? He didn’t like when people were better than him at things he liked doing. He had to be the best at the gym. He had to be better than the people he was training. He had to take the best photos he’d see online of similar environments. Safe to say, he was a bit insecure, but he didn’t see it that way. A competitive streak was a better way for him to think about it, really. 

But none of that was all too important right now. What was important, was the fact that he had met someone who he had managed to catch feelings for. He was insecure about plenty of things, but he at least was secure in knowing he liked all sorts of people. Attraction came easy to him. A lot of really handsome men at his gym, some cute girls he’d see on the street, but… Of all people to completely fall head over heels for, it was a baker. MePhone. The guy he’d been talking to for a while, at this point.

And… One of his few actual friends.

He didn’t have a lot of those. He knew it was mostly his own fault. He was fine on his own-- at least he saw it that way, and most of the people he did tend to try to befriend ended up being driven off by his ‘competitive streak’. His need to be better than people. But… He didn’t feel that way towards this guy. For once, the attraction wasn’t just knowing he was better than this guy at everything, probably, because he wasn’t. This guy seemed quiet, and definitely anxious and introverted-- a read he managed just by visiting the bakery as a customer sometimes, and that usually wasn’t ever his type, but something about this guy was different. He didn’t know this guy, but the snippets of personality through things said at the bakery was enough to want to know him. And well, it’s gone this far without the guy ditching him, so… 

Liking someone was definitely embarrassing though. Like, fully liking someone. Sure, he’s had plenty of real crushes before, but… Most of them were unobtainable. This one felt realistic. Something he could work towards, and achieve. If the guy even liked him back, really--, and well, not to be vain, but he was sure that wouldn’t be hard to achieve too, if that wasn’t already happening.

Right now, he was… Trying to figure out if he wanted to try and ask the guy out. He already technically asked him out to dinner, but that was supposed to be casual. The thought was… Possibly asking him out at the dinner… But, he supposed he’d have to just see how it goes, and see if he had the courage. It all really depends, but… Regardless, he was kind of excited. 

…

Thursday, after work, Two ended up at the kitchen his friends worked at. Mostly to visit X, since they always like their company, but also to try and talk to Four about… Whatever happened yesterday. And honestly his attitude as a whole. Two wanted to get to the bottom of it. Right now, they were enjoying a nice dinner after work, and chatting with X. Just simple things for now. Talking about each other's days, things like that, though Two knew they needed to change the conversation eventually.

“Is Four busy right now?” They decided to ask after a quiet moment.

“Probably! But I could ask him to come chat if you’d like!”
“Only if he’s not, I don’t want to make him grumpy by interrupting anything,” Two took a sip of their drink. X just smiled.

“I’ll go get him!” He went off without another word. Busy or not, they figured X was going to get him to come over either way. So they waited.

Sure enough, Four made his way over, leaning against the counter Two was sat at.

“What.”

“I just wanted to have a conversation about some things,” Two glanced away, before looking back at him. 

“Ugh. We’re closing in an hour. Talk to me then.” Four was clearly in a mood, similar to yesterdays as he stormed off. 

Guess this would have to wait. Two just sighed, choosing to finish up what they ordered, deciding to just wait. They didn’t have anything else going on right now anyways. 

…

“Ugh! How hard is it to find someone on social media!” Salt practically threw her phone down on the bed she was sitting on in frustration. Pepper rolled her eyes, scrolling through her own phone still.

“Girl, do you even know this guy's name?”

“I-- uh…” Salt stopped, thinking. “No. OJ never said any names. Just that he was friends with some baker guy-- I wasn't really paying attention. Ugh-- He even had me try one of his stupid cookies! It wasn't even good! He had to know what he was doing or something!” Salt only grew more frustrated as she jumped to more conclusions. Pepper just rolled her eyes again. 

“Well that's a start I guess. We need a name before we can do anything else, because OJ doesn't have any pictures of this guy on his socials to work off of.”

“Oh em gee, Peps I just got a great idea!”

“...Yeah?” She glanced up from her phone at her best friend.

“Go visit the bakery! You could totally find out his name that way! Maybe you could even like, pretend to be friends with him or something to build trust!”

“Girl, you overestimate how much I care about this.” She muttered, her expression completely unamused.

“Huh?”

“Nothing. Ugh, I'll go find out his name but that's it. I have a job and life y'know, as much as I want to help you I don't have the time to fake a friendship like I used to.”

“Ugh, you're so unhelpful.” Salt whined. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Pepper didn't take it to heart. She knew her friend was just… very unreasonably upset over all this, and she hadn't been all too insulting towards her yet so she could handle putting up with it for now. She knew Salt didn’t mean it anyways.

“What are you even going to do, by the way?” Pepper decided to ask after a few minutes of the two just scrolling through their phones.

“Well… Whatever it takes, honestly. I'm not letting some random loser ruin my life.” A little extreme for sure, but she couldn't just let this go. This was her life. She had nothing left, and as much as she knew her parents loved her she couldn't just go back to them. They never seemed to like her choices in partner, as stable as he was, and she wasn't going to let them be right. 

She couldn't. 

…

“What.” Four didn't even look at his green haired friend as the two of them started washing dishes. The kitchen was closed, and Two decided to stick around to help clean up. A good excuse for conversation, really. 

“Well I just… Wanted to talk.”

“Okay? About what? Can you get to the point?”

“About my coworker,”

“Ugh.”

“Yeah. If you're reacting like that you know. Listen, every time you stop by-- it's nice, but you don't need to be mean to him. You two haven't even properly met, so I don't really even understand. I mean, you seem to have a lot of grudges, but this one doesn't seem… Y’know,”

Four’s expression soured a bit as he scrubbed the plate he was holding with more force. 

“It's nothing.”

“It's clearly something, Four. You know you can tell me anything, right?” Two lifted a hand to put on his shoulder, but stalled, before reaching for something else, getting back to just drying the dishes with a towel. 

“Well you already replaced me, so what's the point?” 

“Replaced you?” Two’s movement stalled as they looked up at Four, not really understanding where this accusation came from. Four was one of their best friends! At least in their eyes. One of their favorite friends to hang around, really. Even something more if the both of them were ever open to that, but that really wasn't important right now.

“Don't act like it's not obvious. What, going off on your own and starting a stupid bakery?” 

“What?”

“With someone else? After X offered to let you branch out the menu here?” As annoyed as Four was, he still made sure not to break any of the dishes he was washing, having at least some restraint for once. 

“Four, I didn't want to work at a kitchen like this. It's not my pace,”

“So you ask someone else to try something new with you then? Instead of any of us? What, isn't this exactly what happened with--”

“Don't talk about them.” Two’s expression soured now too, knowing who Four was referring to. 

“Yeah, well point is that didn't go well for you, did it.” Four's expression was just bitter now.

“I didn't even think you liked making baked goods, Four. Plus, you're happy here! It's honestly a bit ridiculous you're getting upset at me for going off and doing something I want to do.” Two started drying the final plate as they were handed it. 

“That's not even it! It's that stupid blue haired guy you work with!”

“What, just because he also has blue hair??” Two was both annoyed and confused now. “Listen, Four. He isn't some kind of replacement, okay? He's a friend, and he's good at baking, and I don't want you giving him any attitude if you've hardly met him.” Two just huffed, moving to put away the now dried plates, before moving to face Four again. 

“I don't think I could replace someone like you if I tried, anyways, Four. My friendship with him is important, but you and X mean the world to me. Just because I'm off doing my own thing, well you know it doesn't mean I love you guys any less,” Two let the annoyance go, just trying to bring this back to some bit of civil. Four just let out a huff, glancing away. 

“Whatever. Fine. I'm too cool to be replaced anyways.” His tone was curt, before he stepped away from whatever moment the two were sharing, drying his hands on his shirt, not bothering with a towel.

“Anyways. Goodnight. I have a date with X to get to.”

“Have fun,”

“... You know you're always invited, too.” He grumbled, seeming more flustered than annoyed now. 

“I know, but I also know you appreciate the alone time with them. We can hang out another time."

…

Saturday was date night. Or, well, it wasn't actually a date, more of a hangout. If MePhone was asked he definitely wouldn't call it a date. He didn't even know why he was thinking of it that way. 

Safe to say, it was all he was thinking about. He had been off work yesterday-- which would've worked for him, but Trophy was doing job stuff all day, so there wasn't really a good time. After work, he'd be going straight to the restaurant they were set to meet up at. This time, MePhone had baked him something. Not on company time, of course, but they were stored in the back in the mini fridge. Sure, they would've been better warm, but he couldn't really make anything fresh. Not unless he took the leftovers from the bakery today, but what he had made was very specific. Something to show he made them with the specific thoughts of the guy, because wow had he been on the mind a lot. 

It felt silly, honestly, but it made him feel happier than usual, so he was running with it. 

Thankfully, despite all the thoughts, it wasn't bad enough to distract him from being on register duty. Today, he was here with Soap, and Lightbulb. Soap was doing her weekly duty of contacting the supplier in the back, while Lightbulb was chatting with a customer that was currently waiting for their order that she was putting together. 

There was a short line currently. Mostly unremarkable faces, at least one weekly regular. Saturday noon was prime time for their little bakery, it seemed. 

As he got the regular their usual baked goods that they asked for, a completely new face was next, MePhone passing the bag across the counter, before returning to the register.

The usual customer service greeting, and asking what she wanted. There was something slightly familiar about this girl. He couldn't really put a name to it though, just figuring her outfit was similar to something he's seen someone else wear recently, but he wasn't entirely sure. 

The girl just squinted, looking him up and down. He was worried he had somehow done something wrong, even though he hadn't even taken her order yet, before her entire mood shifted completely;

“Um, like… Two of those croissants, please.” She smiled, but it looked slightly forced. Her entire positive expression did, really. He felt like he was being judged, but he tried not to pay too much mind as he took her payment, Lightbulb going ahead and grabbing the croissants. 

She took them, her smile much less forced towards Lightbulb. 

“Thanks!” She left. 

Once the line cleared up, and there wasn't anyone immediately coming in, MePhone decided to ask;

“Is it just me or was that one girl looking at me weird?”

“Probably,” Lightbulb shrugged. “I dunno though, she seemed nice to me though, unlike someone,” she just smiled at MePhone, who winced. 

“Uh… Yeah.” The baker's tone was sheepish. “Sorry about that, by the way,” he decided to say. He was, so it wasn't a lie. He was still a little nervous around her, but it wasn't her fault. So he didn't have much of a right to be an ass to her. 

“Apology accepted,” she just smiled at him. Maybe she wasn't so bad. 

.

.

.

Walking around the streets of the city made him nervous. Plain as that, honestly. A steady worry he might run into his brother again, and he really didn't want to be incredibly upset during another hang out with someone, so he was mostly keeping his gaze low. Even if his brother was around here for some reason, as long as they didn't make direct eye contact, it'd probably be fine.

Thankfully though, the restaurant wasn't too far from the bakery, so it wasn't too long of a time to stress out. He was honestly surprised he was there first. He got a table for the two of them, and Texted Trophy about it to let him know, keeping the bag of cookies in the booth next to him. He figured he'd give them after they left the restaurant. It'd be awkward to do it while they were there, anyways. 

A thumbs-up emoji as a reply from the blonde guy. So he had some time to wait, just getting a water, and letting the waitress know he was waiting for someone. He was glad today wasn't an anxious day, so communicating with people in general wasn't difficult. He figured the excitement of hanging out with someone he liked being around was helping with that. It was a wonder what actually feeling happy was doing for him, really. It made him feel a bit hopeful, honestly, but he figured he was getting ahead of himself. 

Taking another sip of his water, he idly tapped his fingers against the table, looking at the decor of the place. From looking it up the other night, this was a local place. It looked like any regular restaurant to him, honestly, but he figured it was still nice. He didn't really get out enough to know what really nice restaurants looked like. The last time he had been anywhere really fancy was when he was much younger, and he still didn't like thinking about those days much, so he chose not to, at least for tonight. 

He figured maybe it'd do him some good to get out more, maybe. 

After about seven minutes of waiting-- he totally wasn't counting--, Trophy slid into the booth across from him at the table, an already sly grin on his face.

“Wow you're actually taking me out to dinner first this time.”

“Oh shut up, you invited me.” MePhone immediately retorted, scoffing at the others remark.

“What, are you saying you'd like me to take you home tonight then?” A confidence the baker couldn't match as he let out a flustered laugh;

“Whatever happened to hello?” absolutely refusing to respond to the question asked. 

“Hey. Anyways--, how was your day?” An effortless change of subject. 

“It was fine. Someone stared at me weird, but that's not really anything too interesting. You?” MePhone couldn't help but smile, trying not to think about everything said before the conversation had shifted.

“My day was fine. Better now, honestly,” 

“... Yeah?” This felt like it was going by really fast.-- the conversation. He was honestly having a hard time keeping up, but it was still nice enough not to be disorienting or upsetting just yet. 

“Yeah. Just usual personal trainer stuff today, y’know,” He shrugged, looking over at the waitress who finally stopped by, finally ordering what he wanted to drink, before the conversation continued;

“Surely it’s more interesting than that,”

“What, do I make it sound boring?”

“No, you just don’t really make it sound like anything,”

“Are you sure you’re not just trying to get me to talk a lot or something?”
“... No,” MePhone glanced away, taking a sip of his own drink.

Trophy just let out a small chuckle.

“Anyways-- I didn’t just ask you out to talk about our days, by the way,” Something about the jocks wording made his heart skip a beat. Asking him out. Like maybe he saw this as some sort of date too. Or maybe he was just completely crazy, and jumping to conclusions.

“... Yeah?” MePhone tried to ignore the fact he was probably visibly flustered right now, just at his thoughts.

“I actually kind of wanted to ask you something.” Trophy glanced away now. He didn’t seem nervous. He never did, but he was definitely hesitating. 

“But uh… Maybe it should wait until after we leave the restaurant,” The jock backed out of it as he was brought his drink, the subject shifting as the waitress asked if they were ready to order.

Most of the rest of the dinner was just small talk. It was clear there were words on both sides to be said, but none of them were being said. It remained casual, until they left.

“I um-- I actually have something for you, by the way,” MePhone held the bag of cookies he had baked close to himself as he looked at Trophy. They were outside now, just standing around at the moment.

“Yeah?”

“I-- I really hope you like chocolate, and I know cookies aren’t exactly ‘healthy’ and you’re a gym guy and all but… Yeah,” He held the bag out. Trophy looked a little surprised, taking the bag carefully, and peeking inside. 

“Jeez, if hanging out with you keeps getting me free sweets I guess we have to keep hanging out,” A joke that MePhone scoffed at.

“Hey, listen, tonight was really fun. I uh--... I like hanging out with you, man. Thanks for the cookies.” A genuine smile. MePhone smiled back, the fluttery feeling in his stomach only growing.

Trophy never ended up asking the question he had been wanting to, the both of them sharing a ‘bye’, and going their separate ways for the night. 

And even if MePhone was really curious, he didn’t press about it. He was sure the guy was confident enough to say whatever it was when he was ready. For now, he headed home, not a worry in the world for once, feeling genuinely happy, and excited. 

It felt like so many things were going right for him these days-- even despite a few worries, and at least tonight, it felt like that feeling wouldn’t be squashed for a while.

Chapter Text

“It… Looks like there’s someone online who goes by… A similar name, I think.”

“You think? UGH! Who in this day and age doesn’t have social media! This is so frustrating, Peps!”

“Yeah, you’re telling me. There’s nothing on this guy! But uhm…” Pepper paused, looking at the profile of the similar named guy. “This guy does totally look like the baker though. Like. Family close.”

“Do you think like, we could use him to get to the guy?”

“Uhm…” Pepper took some time to scroll through the photos. “Ugh. He’s super inactive, so probably not, but… It does look like he has a boyfriend or something.” She paused, clicking on the other profile; “Sorry, partner,” She could at least correct her mistake and be respectful.

“But like, neither of these two have any pictures of that baker. I’m not seeing him anywhere.”

“Here, send me the profile.” Salt immediately started scrolling through the profile once she was given it.

“Is it just me, or like… Is this guys last name like… Incredibly familiar.”

“I dunno. Is it someone we went to school with? Look it up or something.” Pepper just backed out of the profile, accepting it was probably not going to lead them anywhere, and she didn’t want to try to message this random guy to see if they could dig up any dirt. If Salt wanted to, fine, but she had already gotten the guys name. 

“Oh my Gods, Pepper.” She looked up from her phone immediately, a genuine expression of shock that honestly worried Pepper for a second;
“What?” 

“I just found out who this guys dad is. You’re genuinely not going to believe this.”

…

4s was bored. Really bored. 

His job was boring, and the people today were boring. He could handle it-- or at least, pretend like he could-- being around his dads name-brand tech was constantly an uncomfortable reminder-- and it was fine , but there was hardly anything interesting that happened. He liked his old job because he got to talk about interesting things. It was all only just technology here.

Maybe it would’ve helped if anyone interesting came in today, but he hadn’t seen anyone. Just checking people out. Small talk towards customers here and there. All the same, it felt like. To every other day he’s worked so far. Draining, honestly. But at least right now, he was on break.

4s had jogged across the street to order some fries at one of those fast food joints, just a small little snack to keep his energy up. Sitting on the curb behind the building for some fresh air, and not wanting to risk being bothered in the break room until his break was fully over. It was cold outside, and he liked that. Right now, he was just scrolling through his phone. Wasting time watching videos at the lowest possible volume his phone would allow, before his phone buzzed with a notification from an app he hardly ever used anymore.

He raised an eyebrow at it, planning on swiping it away, but it was a text. So he figured he’d see what it was about. 

It was a person he had never seen before. Some woman with blonde hair, and a… Very specific type of fashion. He could tell just by the profile this was probably someone who would bully people in highschool. Ignoring the text for now, he tapped on her profile. The assumption was proven correctly by the sheer amount of photos this woman had on her profile of herself. 4s just rolled his eyes. This woman was also older than him. A little older than his brother, but not older than his oldest. Which made him confused. If she was older than him, she surely wasn’t someone he would’ve known from any school. 

Backing out from the profile, he just looked at the text.

‘Hey!’ Something totally annoying. Not even explaining why she was texting. Something that immediately bothered the red haired employee. Another eye roll. If he wanted to know, it was clear he’d have to reply. Or if he didn’t care enough-- which was the state he was in currently, he could ignore it.

So, for now, he ignored it, just slipping his phone in his back pocket as he finished off his fries. His break was almost over anyways, so he probably had to get back to work. 

After break, he was tasked with putting things away on a shelf. He would’ve preferred getting back to cashier duty, but the other employees had it covered, so he had to do this. At least he could keep to himself, just slowly putting the boxes up on the shelf, making sure they were in the right spot. Making sure it looked tidy. A brainless task at least. So he didn’t have to think so hard about any of it, which at least, was nice. He just listened to the idle chatter of the people around the store. The music playing quietly over the speakers, the shuffling of footsteps.

With a few boxes left, he could hear closer shuffling of feet. Someone in the aisle he was in.

“Excuse me ma’am,” A tap on his shoulder. He turned to correct what sounded like an older woman, but he found himself unable to actually say anything. Words on the tip of his tongue.

“Yes?” He just decided to answer, though the woman definitely looked surprised when he was facing her. He had longer dark red hair. He probably did look like a girl from behind, but his facial hair and voice definitely said otherwise. 

“So sorry-- Uhm, where are the speakers?”

“They’re… In the back. By the TV.” He was trying not to internally freak out until the woman left. She gave a passing thank you, and sped off, probably feeling awkward about accidentally using the wrong term, but--... Some part of 4s realized then and there that he hadn’t actually minded. It wasn’t even just an ‘I don’t care that she used the wrong term’, just… A part that actually liked it?

Which admittedly freaked him out. Maybe he outta talk to Paintbrush later tonight about it after work or something, but… For now, he tried not to think too hard about it, getting back to putting things on the shelves.

He was distracted for the rest of his work day. 

…

“Ugh! Like, how hard is it to respond to a text! It says he saw it, so why didn’t he say anything!” Salt complained. She had been doing a lot of that lately.

“Listen, like, maybe he’s busy, or needs something more than just a hey? I don’t know. Either way, can’t we take a break from this or something? Do something actually fun?”

“Why would there be time for fun when I’m trying to get my life back, Peps! It’s like you don’t even care!”

“Oh be quiet Salt. If I didn’t care, would I be letting you stay with me?”

Salt thought about it for a moment, her frustrated expression dropping to something just sad.

“I guess not. Sorry, Pepper. I’m just so stressed lately.”

“I know. But shouldn’t we be trying to make you like, not stressed? Lets go out and do something fun. A bar or something, dinner, I dunno.”

Salt thought about it for a few minutes.

“You’re right, Peps. I shouldn’t be letting this ruin my fun. I should be allowed to enjoy myself while doing this.” She smiled. Pepper always liked her smile.

Pepper got up, stretching a bit. They had been sitting on her couch for a while now and wow was she bored.

“Let’s get ready then,” Pepper smiled back, heading over to her room. Maybe if she spent enough time distracting her, she could forget about this stupid revenge stuff. Salt desperately needed to get over that boy anyways. Even to Pepper, it was obvious he didn’t really love her. She wasn’t even shocked that the guy said it to her face. She just needed some time, and maybe some time out of the house to maybe meet someone at a bar or something. Even if it wasn’t her, at least it’d probably be better than that stupid ginger.

Salt wouldn’t admit it, but she was glad to be getting out and doing something finally. Sitting in the passenger seat of the car, she just mindlessly scrolled through her phone, clicking onto one of her alt accounts. She wasn’t trying to be obsessive right now, but she still found herself looking at OJ’s profile. Not a single post since any of this happened, so he wasn’t making anything public information… But… His status had been changed to single. It hurt a lot.

She didn’t know if she’d ever be able to find someone else. She just… Really wanted to be back in that home. That life. His arms. Their shared bed, all of it. How had she let it get torn away from her so easily? Just over happening to skip out on a dinner she was going to get proposed on? Could he not have given her any sort of signals, or heads up? Really, it was his fault. And he didn’t see that yet, but he would. He was just acting out, and seeing other people, and that needed to be stopped, because she was his. Nobody else deserved that honor. That right . She had been carefully building up her perfect life since highschool, and she couldn’t let it leave her when it was so close to being perfect. She refused.

Taking a deep breath, she set her phone down in her lap, looking out the window at the scenery that went by. She had to fix this. She had to make that stupid baker pay. By any means.

She’d have fun today, but once that was over, she was going to get right back into it. If the supposed sibling doesn’t get back to her, well… She wasn’t sure if she was desperate enough to try and contact the dad yet. Either way, she was still carefully crafting a story in her head. A shame to possibly make everyone around him hate him. Being a homewrecker would surely be looked down on. That’s what that idiot was. 

She would get her perfect life back. She had to. She refused to live any other life.

…

‘How r u doing’

‘I hope things aren't too hard after the breakup’

‘It’s been a while so i just wanted to check in’

OJ stared at his phone, staring at the texts. He had been managing well enough, honestly. He just… Didn’t know if he had the energy to talk about it much. 

Salt had been radio silent completely towards him. And maybe that would normally be great, but Gods, OJ was terrified. He knew what she could do. She was popular with everyone she tended to talk to. She could say all sorts of things. Do all sorts of things to ruin his life, and she hadn’t done anything yet, and it was making him so, so paranoid. 

Honestly, some part of him didn’t want to keep talking to most of the people he was trying to reconnect to. Something that probably seemed so selfish on the surface, but… What if Salt did something? If she went after one of his friends? MePhone? This wasn’t any of their problems. It was his. And he could surely handle whatever came after him. But there was nothing.

‘Everything is fine on my end’

‘Hope you’re alright’ He replied. Not giving much to work with. Maybe-- Hopefully, Gods, hopefully the paranoia would fade with time, but right now it was bad. He wondered if this was on purpose. She was still plotting, or taking her sweet time with doing whatever she was planning. Maybe she’d call his work. Say something to get him fired, or something. Ruin his career. Everything--

He didn’t want to spiral. He shook his head, taking a deep breath. Maybe he should go out and do something.

‘Would u want to hang out again sometime soon’ Another text from MePhone.

He wanted to decline. He wanted to push everyone away out of fear. He wanted to just stay where he was, but… He really needed something to do.

‘Yeah sure! Are you available today?’

‘I should be after my shift’

‘Cool, I could always stop by at the bakery or something and wait’

‘I don’t have anything going on today anyways’

‘That would b nice’

So OJ got up, shaking off the paranoia as best as possible. He didn’t want this to control his life. He didn’t want Salt to have any power over him now that she was gone. She couldn’t contact him even if she wanted to directly, so he had nothing to worry about, surely.

And maybe he’d let himself believe she wasn’t too vindictive. That she’s been taking this time to reflect and move on, and find someone who would actually love her, because that just wasn’t something he could provide. He just let himself hope she was trying to change, and that she wouldn’t be after revenge. They were adults, after all. There wasn’t any reason for petty things like that, surely.

So he got ready, and headed out.

.

.

.

OJ ordered something, and sat down, patiently waiting. The baker still had about half an hour left until he was getting off work, and he still had time to kill, so he just sat at one of the tables near the counter, chatting with him while there wasn’t any other business. Today, it just looked like him, and that green haired guy was there.

“What have you been up to lately?”

“Mostly just work, honestly. I have been chatting with one of my old friends from highschool again, he’s thankfully been understanding of me not having… Really been able to be a good friend, but… It’s working out a little better now,” OJ just smiled, taking the baked good he had ordered out of the bag. A little snack. “What about you?”

“Oh, well…” MePhone smiled, glancing away a bit. “I think I went on a date the other night. It wasn’t specifically… y’know, a date, but it kind of felt like one? I don’t know if that makes sense… He was really flirty, and-- uh… Yeah.” MePhone shut himself up, feeling a little bit embarrassed at saying any of that. But OJ didn’t seem to find it weird at all.

“That’s nice. I hope it works out for you,” OJ offered. 

“Yeah, me too, he’s… Cool.” MePhone looked over at Two, who had stopped decorating the cake they had been working on, giving the baker a sly look.

“Oh quit that,” MePhone let out in a sheepish tone, before scoffing, and looking back at OJ, as Two let out a small laugh.

“But… Other than that, yeah, I’ve just been working. I have been wanting to get out more… Besides just work, so… Doing something would be nice. I thought we could just walk around a bit and look at the shops in the area or something. It’s embarrassing to admit even though I’ve been here a while now, I’m still not really familiar with the stuff around here.”

“That sounds nice,” A good distraction, but OJ didn’t say that out loud, still actively stomping down the paranoia. Nothing was going to happen. He had to make himself believe that. He was normally cool and collected, and he wanted to stay that way. He didn’t want to be reduced to an anxious mess over this. He wanted to move on, and to be happy. That’s all he wanted. Hanging out with a friend would help that. 

.

.

.

It was a week day, so the streets weren’t all too crowded as the two of them walked and chatted. A nice, simple conversation about hobbies. OJ had been getting into brain puzzles again in his free time-- another one of his distractions, so he had that to talk about.

He was never as smart as his sister. His parents made sure he knew that, but he still liked smart things, too. Chemistry and math were two big things. The math interest being good enough to end him up as a pretty successful accountant. He was damn good at his job, even if his parents weren’t even proud of that. He obviously didn’t say anything about his parents views on him, but talking about chemistry to someone who would actually listen, even if it was clear MePhone probably didn’t understand most of what he was being told, well… It was nice.

“Thanks for listening, by the way,” The two were sat on a bench now. They had gone into a cafe to grab some drinks, neither of them hungry enough to want to get dinner or anything currently. OJ would probably cook himself something once he got home, but this was nice enough for now.

“Yeah, of course. It’s… Honestly kind of interesting. I like hearing people talk about things they like. There’s not a lot of that around these days.”

“Yeah, really.” OJ just smiled, taking a sip of his drink. MePhone stared at him for a moment. It looked like he wanted to say something, but he was hesitating. OJ just raised an eyebrow. 

“I uh… I don’t know if this is intrusive or anything-- but uh… Are you doing okay?” MePhone asked. He immediately regretted asking, honestly, because trying to talk about feelings was hard, and he was sure OJ was just going to think he was stupid for asking, but… He had seemed off today. And MePhone didn’t even usually pick up on that sort of thing, but it was just… Obvious. 

OJ just blinked, staring at him with an unreadable expression, before looking away with a sigh.

“I um, I want to think I’m doing okay, but it’s… Complicated, honestly.”

“... Complicated?”

“I just-- it’s… It’s still her , you know? I’ve been so worried-- scared , honestly, that she’s going to do something to me, or someone around me, and-- Gods, it’s just… I’m just paranoid. I’m sure it’s fine, I’m trying so hard to believe it’s fine , but there’s no telling what she could do if she’s plotting something, and--...” OJ slapped a hand over his mouth, shutting himself up. He shut his eyes, just letting out a defeated sigh.

“I should be happy. I should be moving on. But I’ve still lost a massive part of my early adult life. It’s just gone, and I still just feel lonely, and worried. I’ve been trying to go out and branch out and meet new people but Gods, MePhone, it’s harder than I thought it would be. Making friends at this age?” A pause as he set his drink down on the bench next to him, rubbing his face with his hands. “I’m honestly lucky I even managed to meet you.” A sigh. 

“Sorry. This is a lot.” He finally looked over at MePhone, who just looked sympathetic. 

“Yeah, uhm… I’m sorry you’re going through this,” Was all the baker could offer. He wasn’t good at this. “Hopefully everything works out.”

“Yeah,” A tired, but relieved smile found its way on the gingers face. He was at least glad to have finally gotten all of that off his chest.

“Would uh…” MePhone glanced away, almost seeming embarrassed, but he did manage to finish his suggestion; “Would a hug help?” Another offer as he just shrugged.

“Maybe,”

Through the platonic embrace, neither of them noticed the familiar car that passed by on the street, nor the way it slowed down. Neither of them noticed the photo taken, before the car continued to drive off.

OJ pulled away first, genuinely feeling at least a little better.

“Thanks. Really,”

“Yeah, of course,” MePhone smiled back, trying to help him feel a little more hopeful. It did help.

Chapter Text

Proof. Absolute, right before her eyes. It was as if he saw the car coming. It was as if he was doing it on purpose. That hug-- the picture she took on her phone-- yelling at Pepper to slow down to get it, she looked at it obsessively. Thank the Gods it was on their way back to Pepper’s apartment after a fun day, rather than them being on their way otherwise Salt would’ve demanded to go back home immediately.

It was driving her crazy. HER. Boyfriend. With some guy. IN PUBLIC. Her eye twitched. This wasn’t just some one time thing, clearly. Not just him being in the car. They were in public, sharing affection. Absolutely disgusting, really. She couldn’t stand it. This only furthered her resolve for revenge. This stupid idiot baker guy was not going to be able to see what was coming. She was going to make sure what she did was cruel. She didn’t want to let it slide before, but now she absolutely knew she needed to ruin his life. Whatever it takes. 

She had a message to draft up to this brother of his. A simple ‘hey’ hadn’t been enough, clearly, but surely showing him that he was a homewrecker would be a start.

She was visibly upset by the time they got back to Pepper’s place. All the fun from hanging out and talking to people and being social at a bar was gone now. She was so much angrier than before now. Livid, really. She just hoped the assumption of family was correct, honestly, otherwise she’d have to start from scratch… But if it was, oh, did she have a plan. She wasn’t going to stop at family now, either. She needed something more than just that. She needed to know his life is ruined, because that’s what he was trying to do to her. She just had to get it done first. 

Pepper was just tired of this. She tried really hard to set her up with some people at the bar. Hell, Salt seemed like she had been having a blast. Part of her regretted slowing down the car, honestly. Part of her was angry at herself for choosing to drive down that road. Honestly? Sure, OJ was scummy if he really was moving on this fast, and with some new random baker guy of all people, but it could’ve been anything. Salt had just seen the familiar head of orange dyed hair, and freaked out. To her, despite the lack of context, it was completely romantic, the vibe she got. 

But whatever. As annoying as this all was, and as tired as Pepper was getting of all of this, she’d let Salt have her fun. She clearly still needed this, and even if she didn’t win OJ back-- which… Was definitely not happening, at least it’d be over eventually. 

Though if it ends up taking a long time, Pepper might have to give her friend a reality check. For now though, she was fine with letting things happen. Honestly, she was still just curious to see how far this would go.

Though… Perhaps she’d give that stupid ginger a shove in the right direction of speeding things up, just a little.

…

4s was sitting on the couch in the living space of the one bedroom apartment he shared with his roommate, and partner, Paintbrush. He had a laptop on his lap, and was… Looking some things up. He didn’t gain the courage to ask Paintbrush about it the other night when he returned home. He kept his mouth shut, and went about his night. But today, he was off work, and Paintbrush was out of the apartment, so he had some privacy. And he was taking that chance. 

4s didn’t want to risk talking about… Whatever these feelings were for several reasons. Sure, they were nonbinary themselves, but there was still that seed of fear. Beaten into him many many years ago that anything could be used against him. Identity included. His father had taken him being bisexual fine enough, but he let him know many times not to tell anyone. To keep this part of him secret to everyone else. Especially as the son of someone so high status.

That, and because of a massive pit of denial. He wasn’t even sure he liked it. Maybe he was just confused! Or overthinking, or he could’ve just… Ugh. He didn’t really know, and it was embarrassing, and scary.

Right now, he was sitting on a note document, typing out a few sentences. Testing things after having been searching a few things. It felt so embarrassing, and he was glad he was alone in the apartment right now.

‘Hello. My name is MePhone4S. I like explosions, and the terminator, and hello kitty. I think I might be a girl, and I want to be addressed as such.’

He immediately selected it, and deleted it, the embarrassment only growing. A sigh as he typed something else.

‘Hi. I’m 4s. I want to start using girl terms.’ Something shorter. More to the point. He didn’t know how else to put it. It still felt so embarrassing. He wasn’t even sure. He wanted someone to test it, but Paintbrush wasn’t home yet, and he was scared, and--

4s yelped as the door to the apartment opened. He slammed the lid down on the laptop as he glanced behind him towards the door. Paintbrush just shut the door, before raising an eyebrow at him.

“... What are you up to?”

“Erh… Um! I was watching inappropriate videos!” He blurted out, a terrible excuse. Probably something that only made it sound worse. 4s facepalmed, and tried to recover from that as Paintbrush slid off their shoes, stepping over to sit next to him.

“I-- I wasn’t. That was a lie. Sorry.” 4s stared at the carpet now, completely and utterly embarrassed. He wasn’t well in tune with his emotions. He wasn’t good at expressing them, either. He just knew his face was red, and he felt like an idiot.

“What’s up for real?” Paintbrush sat next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“If… I start changing, will you still love me?” 4s looked up at them, his expression unsure.

“What do you mean?”
“I--... Can you--... Erh…” A heavy sigh. 4s’s shoulders slouched a bit. “I’m going to go shave.” He got up, moving to head to the bathroom.

“You’re going to shave?” Paintbrush repeated, not catching where this was going just yet.

“I don’t like my face. A lot of things, really. I… Think I know why now. If-- If this just makes it worse I can grow it back, but…” 4s didn’t turn to face them at all, but they left the bathroom door open, so they could still hear each other. 

“What’s this about?” 4s was honestly surprised they hadn’t caught on yet. He wasn’t sure he was being subtle.

Paintbrush moved to stand out in the hallway, leaning against the wall opposite of the open bathroom door.

“A woman at work called me ma’am yesterday.” 4s took off his signature sunglasses, staring at himself in the mirror.

Herself? 4s wasn’t sure right now. 4s had always hated looking at her reflection. Something had always been wrong. Or at least, it was easy to find several things wrong. She hoped the facial hair would help. Figuring-- or at least, being scared she was too feminine with her already long hair. She was realizing now, that maybe that gave the opposite of the desired effect. To make herself feel better in her body.

“Oh,” Paintbrush let out, finally realizing. Their tone was soft, and careful. There was no hint of malice or unhappiness to this reveal.

4s was scared. She was pushing mid twenties, and surely that meant it was too late. She just had to accept that people were only ever going to see her as a guy. 

A sigh left her as she hung her head, her gaze locked on the sink on front of the mirror.

“Will you still love me?” 4s asked again, her tone a bit more unsure now. She wasn’t good at emotions. Expressing them, or feeling them. It always felt so embarrassing. 4s was supposed to be tough, and strong, and was supposed to be able to handle anything. But this was hard. This was scary. If she made such an outward change, everyone would know. Surely her father would find out. Steve was no bigot, sure, but… He was finicky about identity. The whole ‘keep it hidden’ thing. Surely he wouldn’t be happy about this too much.

“Of course, 4s. Something like this isn’t going to change how I feel about you. If anything, I’m… Really glad you’re starting to figure yourself out,” Paintbrush offered a smile, moving to stand next to her now. They rested their head on her shoulder in an attempt of comfort. 

“Do you still want to shave?”

“I think so.”

“Would you like to try some different pronouns? What about a name?”

“...I like my name enough, but… I do think some different pronouns would be nice.”

“Alright. What would you like me to say first?”

“Surprise me. Erh… Feminine terms, please,” 4s fiddled with her hands a bit.

4s looked up, her unsure feelings fading. She wanted this. She wanted to be happy in her body. She wanted to feel okay, and she wanted to stop hating herself. She couldn’t smile back at her reflection yet, but… She’d definitely try once she cleaned herself up.

4s really hoped this would work. Maybe she was a little late to figuring all this out, but… It still felt right, and that’s all that mattered. She’d give it a try.

.

.

.

The two of them were sitting on the couch again. It was later that night, and they were watching a movie together. 4s had shaved, and cut off her goatee after spending years of growing it, and as intimidating as it had been, it… Honestly felt liberating.

Occasionally, she would feel her face. How smooth it was now. How right it felt. She still wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about her appearance still, but… This had helped. Paintbrush had said all sorts of things for her ears only, using feminine terms that she just… Really liked. She liked it a lot. It helped 4s feel more sure about all this, as late as it felt to be making these changes. 

She was scared what her family would think if she told any of them. Well, it would only really be her father. Or the younger two. He didn’t know either of them well enough though, so probably not. They weren’t exactly ‘direct family’ anyways. And it wasn’t like she was talking to either of her older siblings, so… Maybe she just wouldn’t have to tell anyone other than her friends. Lightbulb, and the rest of the gang. 4s knew Lightbulb would be excited at this, for sure, though it didn’t take much to excite her, so this was probably just another thing. 

Halfway through the movie, 4s’s phone buzzed with a notification. The movie wasn’t really that interesting at the moment, so she decided to check. Another text from that stranger from the other day. Curious that she said something else, she realized it probably wasn’t an accidental text, and something deliberate. So she checked.

‘Hey!’

Today,

‘I know you don’t know me, but do you recognize this person?’ 

An image attached. It looked like one of the many benches on the sidewalks in the town, but there were two sitting on the bench. Some ginger she didn’t recognize, and… Someone who looked like MePhone. Her expression soured a bit at this.

‘What do you want.” She texted the person back.

‘Do you know this guy or not’

‘What does it matter.’

The stranger was typing for a while, before a new message popped up.

‘I just wanted to make you aware that he’s an awful person.’ 4s raised an eyebrow at this, a little more curious now. She didn’t like her brother for several reasons, but was he really the type of person to go out and cause problems for other people?

‘How so.’ She decided to ask.

‘That guy in the picture with him is my boyfriend. I got kicked out of my home and my relationship because these two met. Your brother stole my relationship. My life.’ A text clearly charged with several levels of anger. 4s’s eyebrows raised in shock. She didn’t like him much either, but that didn’t seem like something he’d do. Especially on purpose. 

‘Are you sure your boyfriend didn’t just start seeing him without telling him he was in a relationship or something’

At this point, Paintbrush glanced over, curious. The movie paused shortly after.

“What’s going on?”

“Someone’s saying my brother’s being shitty.”

Paintbrush rolled their eyes. “What’s new?” 

“Peh. Exactly.” She just stared at her phone, waiting for a response. This really didn’t seem like her brother.

‘He was in my boyfriends car when I got kicked out. We made eye contact. He knows. Can you like tell him to fuck off or something.’

4s laughed a bit at that.

‘Listen this isn’t my situation to get involved with. Frankly this sucks but I don’t like my brother enough to talk to him, and I don’t know you.” A little rude, but she didn’t want to text her brother. She still had him blocked for a reason.

‘Just think about it please. He’s ruining my life.’

4s just rolled her eyes, setting her phone down in her lap. This wouldn’t be the first time he got into some big stupid trouble.

“Are you going to text him?”

“Probably not tonight, at least. I don’t really care enough right now.” 4s shrugged, leaning into her partner a bit, as they unpaused the movie. This could be worried about later or something.

…

Another day at the bakery with Lightbulb. She seemed happier than usual today, which MePhone couldn’t even guess why, seeing as it was a Monday, the universally disliked start of the week. Also the day of the week that one cartoon cat always seemed to hate.

But like every day, she was happy. He had apologized for the way he was acting towards her, and things felt normal enough, but it was still hard to talk to her sometimes. Just the returning paranoia about her knowing 4s. He figured now might be the time to talk about it to her. He didn’t want to risk ruining things at work for himself. 

So he brought it up during break, of course, in the least graceful way possible.

“Do you ever talk to my brother about me?” He had been trying to find a way to ask in a less weird way for half the day now, but this is what came out. He immediately felt embarrassed as Lightbulb turned away from the mini fridge to look at him.

“Your… Brother? OH!” She glanced away, as if she was debating saying something specific on her mind;

“No, not really, 4s hardly ever mentions you,” She just shrugs. “And I don’t really talk about work outside of it, soo….” She just smiled again, before turning back to the mini fridge, pulling out whatever she had packed herself for lunch. MePhone wasn’t exactly sure, but he felt like something was going unsaid, but he didn’t want to risk pressing and finding out anything he didn’t want to know. Especially if Lightbulb did end up bringing up this conversation to him.

“I’m uh… Gonna get back to work,” MePhone just gestured to the door. His break was over anyways, and he doubted Soap wanted to be stuck alone out there without any helping hands. 

He wasn’t sure if that did much to help him feel less weird about working with her, but for now, it was fine. It… Didn’t have to be a problem, surely.

Other than that, work today was fine. Normal enough. It was work, and that’s all it had to be. 

Getting off of work was a different story, however. Not having checked his phone all day, he was honestly surprised to see two new texts. One from OJ, and the other from… 

From 4s. 

…

Despite the reassurances from a friend the other day, it was clear to OJ now that something was going on. He knew who was behind it, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

He was staring at his phone at his desk. He was at work right now. He was supposed to be doing work, but here he was, feeling like he might throw up. 

‘If you know what’s good for you, you’d stop hanging out with that stupid baker friend of yours.’ A threatening text for sure from an unknown number, only made worse by the image that accompanied it. A picture that was clearly him with MePhone. Their moment on the bench together. Horrifying, really. A definite answer that he was being stalked. It was Salt. It had to be her, and now she was trying to make sure he didn’t hang out with anyone else. He didn’t understand. Why couldn’t she just move on? Why couldn’t he just be left alone?

OJ ended up leaving work early. He felt sick, and far too distracted now. 

Gods, what if she chose to go after MePhone? He couldn’t live with himself if she did something to ruin his life. He was just trying to be there for him, and what kind of friend would he be if he let MePhone fall in the middle of all this?

Maybe it would be best to create some distance. Hanging out with him the other day had been a horrible idea, even if it had been fun at the time. It wasn’t so fun anymore. 

A deep breath, now in the home he lived in, alone. In, and out, he sat himself down at the kitchen table. His phone was in front of him, open on the contact of one of the few people he had managed to build a real friendship through the control of Salt. 

He didn’t want to have to do this. But he didn’t want to have to go through the law. A restraining order for online harassment? Trying to block her clearly didn’t work. Trying to 0just move on and live his life wasn’t working. If making friends was already bad enough, what of trying to find love again? 

OJ just sighed, sending a text. This wasn’t going to make him feel any better, but if it kept MePhone out of all of this, it’d be worth it. 

If… Things got worse, he’d probably have to cave and talk to Salt again. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but… Whatever got this over the fastest if needed.

…

MePhone was stood in the back alley of the bakery, staring at his phone. He had checked OJ’s text first. Hoping for anything to make him less anxious about his brother texting him, but… That wasn’t the case. If anything, this was probably worse than whatever his brother may have texted him. He wasn’t sure yet though.

‘I’m sorry for things being this way but I don’t think I should be talking to you anymore. I hope you understand.’ Something so curt. Without explanation. Without any chance to ask why, seeing as he couldn’t text him back.

None of his attempts at messages were going through. Not a single one, seeing as he was blocked.

MePhone let out a shuddered breath, still just standing behind the bakery. His hands were shaking. Not just because of the cold anymore. He barely heard the door open, or the voice that called out to him. He did however manage to rip his focus away from the phone finally at a hand on his shoulder. It was Lightbulb. She was smiling, but as soon as she saw his expression, it faltered a bit with confusion;

“You good buddy?”

MePhone opened his mouth to say… Anything. To just play it off, and go home, but it just came out.

“No,” His shoulders slouched, letting the hand holding his phone fall to his side. He didn’t really know what to do right now. He was still too scared of possibly only seeing something to make his day even worse with whatever 4s might have texted him. He felt upset, and so confused. The other day had been fine. He had a good day with OJ, and he had done his best to comfort him. Was that what this was about? Was his comfort and advice poorly given? Did he say something wrong? Something so wrong it was friendship ending? He had been trying so hard to be a good friend. To learn how to be one. Is this where it got him?

All the confidence and positive feelings from the past week were gone now, and he was sure he just looked like an idiot standing here like this.

“Do you want to hang out?” An impulsive ask for Lightbulb. It was clear she didn’t know what else to say. At least, not here. She didn’t have enough context to offer much real help yet.

MePhone blinked away his thoughts, looking over at her. He didn’t have much of a voice right now, but he was desperate for anything to stop him from thinking about this, even just for a little while.

Chapter Text

It was quiet in the room. Late at night, and MePhone, currently 12, was still awake, staring at the ceiling. The curtains weren’t shut all the way, and the moonlight was peeking in, but thankfully not shining on him, nor his brother, but it was enough light to keep him awake.

Well, that wasn’t the only thing.

His older brother had gone off to college about a month ago at this point, and things were different. A lot of change had happened in what felt like such a short period of time, and it was frankly disorienting. 

There had been a routine to how things were at the house before these changes. He and 4s went to school, and came home. 3gs, their older brother, would get off of work, and often be the one responsible for dinner. Dad wasn’t home often. A busy man, but none of them minded. He was scary sometimes when he was home. 

Despite being adopted into a well off family, he and 4s were by no means well off themselves. There was never much food in the house. Just enough for dinner each night. 4s tended to eat school lunches, but MePhone never liked them. So dinner was often the only meal.

Now, with 3gs gone, they had to start making things themselves. 4s was good at cooking, but MePhone wasn’t great at it. He could make basic things. He could make a killer grilled cheese, but that was the extent of it at this age. He was never taught anything else like 4s had been. 

Though, despite his poor skills with that, he had started baking. Or at least-- he tried. He really did think he was getting better, but today, dad came home from work during the day for the first time in a while. Long story short, MePhone had been scolded for wasting ingredients for something so ‘trivial’ as baked goods. 4s had said they were his best brownies yet, but Cobs wasn’t so amused. He never was. Baking was clearly not something dad saw as a fit hobby. 

But that’s not what he was so hung up on tonight. Everything was just different, and he didn’t like it. Dad had started working less. Or at least, he was spending more time home than he used to. Maybe it was because 3gs wasn’t there to take care of them, and the man didn’t trust them, but… It sucked. MePhone wished he would just stay away, but that probably wasn’t realistic.

He’d rather have a neglectful dad than someone who made him feel small for doing things he liked to do. 

He missed his older brother, honestly.

“Are you still awake?” A quiet voice through the silence of the night.

“Yeah.” the younger answered.

“... Has 3gs texted you at all since he left?”

“... No,” 4s shifted a bit to his side, facing his older brother. It was quiet for a few minutes, MePhone just moving his head to look at his brother.

“Do you think he’s ever going to come back?” 4s spoke again, a loaded question. 

“If he’s smart, he wouldn’t… But I still hope he does.”

“I miss him.”

“Me too,” MePhone just frowned. 

Worse than anything, 4s had been quieter this month. He had been really close with the oldest. A bond over shared interests, and 3gs trying to help him get a better hold on not being so angry all the time. MePhone never got as angry as either of them tended to get. They got angry like dad all the time, but not him. Something he didn’t have in common with any of his siblings, his immediate response to something upsetting him or making him angry was to get sad. He didn’t understand it. 

4s missed him, too. 

“If he doesn’t text me back, I’ll just spam him until he does. He doesn’t have to come back, but he better not just ditch us like that.”

“... Yeah.” MePhone looked back up at the ceiling. The glow in the dark stars he had 3gs stick up on there years ago. Counting them like he did every night. 

Tonight, he definitely just felt sad. He hoped things would change soon. He wished things would start getting better eventually, a hope and a wish he had been clinging onto since he was younger. Since he and his brother had been adopted. 

A sigh, as he closed his eyes, rolling onto his side facing the wall, adjusting the blanket over him as he tried a little harder to fall asleep that night. 

…

This was awkward. Nothing less, really, but at least he wasn’t stuck thinking about the text from OJ right now, just sitting at a bar with his arms folded over it, next to Lightbulb, who had been doing all the talking this evening.

She had brought him to some local pub, but he didn’t order anything. She certainly wasn’t drinking either, just having ordered some nacho plate to snack on while she spoke. She had offered some to MePhone, but he felt sick enough right now. The thought of eating anything only made that worse. 

Honestly, despite it feeling awkward, the company was appreciated. Anything other than returning home alone and having to grapple with all these shitty feelings without anyone else he felt he could lean on. Not that Lightbulb was someone he thought he could confide in, but she was thankfully talking about anything but the situation. Currently some story about her pet crab, and the things that brought into her life.

He probably had to get home soon to his cat, but… He soaked in the environment for a little longer. He was just thankful that Lightbulb wasn’t making this weird. That she hadn’t asked a single intrusive question, just providing a bit of company where it was clearly needed. 

He knew his brain was going to make him regret all of this later. He knew once he was back home alone in his apartment, he’d probably have a cry about this or something, and be stuck thinking about it all night, but for now, he’d take this. 

He would like a more long term distraction, but… He guessed this was the best it could be right now. Whatever worked. He really needed it.

.

.

.

It was much later that night when MePhone checked the other text of the day. He didn’t manage to muster the proper courage needed to check it, but he knew he just needed to get it out of the way, really not knowing what to expect. He certainly didn’t understand what it ended up being.

‘I don’t know what stupid shit you’re up to but cut it out. I shouldn’t have to get involved in something that doesn’t matter to me.’

Was all it was. A warning to knock something off, but… What did he even do? He just sighed, shutting his eyes tight as he let his phone flop down on the bed. He didn’t understand any of this. He was still confused, and still upset, and nothing was going to change that. He had gotten home an hour or so ago, thanking Lightbulb for hanging out for a bit with him, even if he wasn’t much in terms of company himself, before heading home to feed his cat. Which she was fine with. She needed to feed her crab too, just slipping him a piece of paper with her number on it in case he ever wanted to text.

But he probably wouldn’t. Not if it was just going to end up with something like what happened to OJ. 

What if that happened with Two? Or Trophy? What would he even do with himself if he lost his other friends? Two had at least pointed out the problems to work through-- and Gods, he was trying, but OJ offered no solution. He hadn’t offered what the problem even was, either. Just a text cutting things off, and a block. No chance of explaining himself. Nothing.

It hurt. He could only imagine how awkward it might be if he ever stopped by the bakery, but… He probably wouldn’t come back at all if he didn’t want to risk any interaction.

Yet again, he was stuck with two people not liking him for reasons he wasn’t being told. It was upsetting, and annoying, and it hurt. He just wanted to know. How was he supposed to fix anything if he didn’t. Was that the point? They didn’t want him to fix it? Was this all just a mistake, and ploy to keep him feeling worse?

He had been feeling so nice lately. It was bound to come crashing down, it seemed. That’s truly what it felt like.

Some part of him wanted to text Two, or Trophy. Just asking for any sort of reassurance, but he couldn’t risk it. He didn’t want to lose either of them, too. OJ was bad enough. 

A sigh as he stared up at the ceiling. His cat was laying on his chest, and he was laying on his bed, his thoughts too loud to let him sleep. It all just sucked. He moved his hand to pet the cat, just trying to soak in any bit of comfort he could at the moment. Hopeless was a good name for what he was feeling. Truly, and utterly. OJ wasn’t his only friend, but he really felt like they were, or at least could’ve gotten close. One of the first few actual people he’s wanted to be friends with, and make the effort to stay that way. And it was gone.

And he just wanted to know why. But unless he ever bumped into the ginger, he couldn’t even find out. It hurt. 

He wished he had any more distractions. He wished he could just go to work tomorrow and keep himself occupied that way, but he couldn’t. He was off tomorrow, and he was really afraid if he stayed alone in the apartment, he might just wallow himself into an episode, so he just sighed again, sitting up. The cat meowed at him, hopping away, before immediately moving to sit in his lap as he pulled out his phone. 

He just needed to find something to do tomorrow. Anything, really. He just needed a distraction. Worst case scenario he just goes to hang out at the bakery regardless of working or not. Two was working tomorrow, and they were always good company. Unless they ended up dropping him too-- ugh, he needed a solo activity. Or to be around someone he wasn’t too close with. Just… Anything.

A sigh, as he figured he’d shoot a specific someone a text.

‘Are you working tmrrw’ A text to Lightbulb. Even though it was late, he got an almost immediate response;

‘Nope! Whats up’

‘Do you want to hang out again’

‘I’ll be better company tomorrow i promise’ He hoped that would be enough assurance. He’d at least try. He’d probably have his voice back by tomorrow too, anyways, he was still just… Getting over the shock of all of this. Tomorrow would be better no matter what-- or at least, he really needed to hope it would be. 

‘Ya sure !! what do u wanna do :D’ Incredibly enthusiastic. He stared at his phone for a few minutes, just thinking. Another sigh as he responded again,

‘Do u have any suggestions’ He put the choice in her hands.

‘Oooh I have a few!’

She went on to list off several things, her usual positivity shining through her texts as much as she usually did in person. 

After a few things, he finally just agreed to something, not really paying too much attention. He was just… Too upset still to really think about it, and also just getting tired. Maybe sleep would do him some good, too.

He could worry about whatever he agreed to in the morning.

…

Salt was annoyed. Not getting any other response from this brother, she had to just accept this might just be a dead end. She just had to hope maybe it did something, even if she wouldn’t know. Despite that, she still wasn’t done. There was more she needed to do. This wasn’t the end. She was going to have Pepper return to the bakery. Try to see who else the guy was close to. See what she could gather other than just his name. She needed more info.

Until then though, she knew this guys family, at the very least. The guy she texted hadn’t outright said it, but it was clear they were definitely siblings.

Meaning that stupid bakers father just so happened to be one of the biggest faces of tech in the world. Which was absolutely insane to Salt. 

The man himself didn’t even seem to look like a family man. So focused on future stuff and products and everything, it was just weird to her. He didn’t even have a wife or anything. Just himself, and a bunch of adopted kids apparently. It was a little intrusive, the information that the internet had to offer, but she supposed that was normal for someone so in the public eye. He currently had two under his care currently. Both from a sibling of his or something, both under some sort of apprenticeship in his company. Nepotism if you asked Salt, but this wasn’t what she cared about. She was just trying to figure out how possible contacting him would be. There was all this info on him, but none on any of his sons, other than the two nephews of his that were working at his company. 

Frustrating!

But… Whatever. She wanted to be able to send an email or something, but… She might need to do something a little more traditional. Something more eye catching. If it was possible, she’d go out and try to find where the man worked, but that was probably incredibly sketchy, so… She figured she’d do something entirely outdated and out of style, by writing a proper letter.

Pepper was out now at work, so that gave her time to draft something up before her bestie got home. 

She still had a lot to do. And she was going to make this all count. She just needed a little more information to work with, and then she could really get at it. She was told by Pepper that she had done something to help. She wouldn’t say what, but she guaranteed Salt that they wouldn’t be seeing the two of them together again, which was a good start, but it was still only just a start. This was all so far from done.

…

Ending up at a bowling place was not what he thought he had agreed to. Especially with more than just Lightbulb. There were two others there with them, and he didn’t recognize either of them. Of course, he wasn’t too miffed at more company-- especially if it was bowling, but a little heads up would’ve been nice. Surprises and changes to plans without any heads up was deeply upsetting, but… It was fine. It was fine. He could deal with this, and more people was just more conversation, and less thinking about his ruined friendships. 

He didn’t know either of these people, but they were friendly enough, which he was thankful for, despite clearly being the stranger in the group today.

“Golly, how many pastries do you think you make in a day?”

“Oh, well--... I don’t usually count,” MePhone was looking anywhere but her eyes, mostly the floor, just feeling a little awkward talking to the tallest of the group today. She had bright green hair. It reminded him of something radioactive, honestly. 

“It’s definitely a lot, though…” 

“I’m sure it is. It’s also very impressive! Making so much in just a day, and all of it being so temporary,” 

He wondered if she was trying too hard to act like she was interested. He really couldn’t tell. He tried not to think too much about that possibility though, just wanting to take this at face value.

“Well? Are we bowling or not?” The other person in the group asked. He was also tall, but not as tall as the green haired girl. He was much more slick though. He had gray hair, and a black leather jacket. A specific style to him. Everyone here had a very specific style to them, except for him.

MePhone honestly felt a little bit out of place, but… He couldn’t just walk away. He needed this. Even if he wasn’t able to talk much, he was still here, and he needed to be. 

Safe to say, he wasn’t good at bowling. Last place, as to be expected, but… This was still something. After that, they were all just sitting and talking. Or at least, he wasn’t doing much talking, but they were.

“I should’ve brought baxter with me. He would’ve loved the environment,” Lightbulb spoke, taking a sip of whatever drink she had right now.

“I think it’s better you didn’t bring your crab to a bowling alley. There are all sorts of accidents that could happen--”
“Baxter’s built different. The accidents don’t happen to him, he’s the one who causes them,” The blonde just grinned.

“I don’t think that’s any better,” The gray haired one shrugged.

“You just don’t like him because he pinched you once,”

“Nah, I’d just rather not get kicked out of places for ‘crab related incidents’, or whatever.”

“That was one time! And that old lady was being a total jerk to Paintbrush, so it was deserved.” 

MePhone remained quiet, just sipping at the drink he ordered for himself. He didn’t know what else to do, but the idle chatter was helping. Even if the awkward feeling never really went away. He knew he wasn’t doing a good job at being good company like he promised, but he really had tried. He just didn’t have much of a social battery today, it seemed. 

Regardless, as things were wrapping up, the other two went their separate ways, but MePhone and Lightbulb ended up walking the same way. It turned out she lived near him. 

“I hope that wasn’t too much for you,”

“I don’t think it was, I just… Uhm… Not great at talking to new people. I think you know that though,”

“Yeah, but thanks for at least trying,”

“... Yeah. Thanks for hanging out with me today. I really needed it. Also, last night, too. I just-- uh…” MePhone shut himself up, before letting out a sigh.

“I don’t… I don’t really know, honestly. Things just suck lately. A friend cut me off without any explanation yesterday, and I just--... I just wish I could ask why. Find out if I did something wrong. If-- If I’m the problem, I want to be able to know what to do to fix it…” A heavy sigh as he shoved his hands in his pockets, refusing to look at the person he was walking with.

“That really sucks,”

“Yeah. I just wish this didn’t keep happening. It’s the same thing that happened with my brother, too. Both of them.” 

Lightbulb winced at the mention of that, but she didn’t say anything. He had almost forgotten she was friends with 4s. 

“Uh… But 4s is different, I guess. I was kind of given what might’ve been a reason, but it just didn’t really make sense to me. But uh-- I probably shouldn’t be talking about him to you, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” She shrugged. 

There was more he really wanted to say. A lot he wanted to get off his chest so desperately, but that would be unfair. She was still just a coworker to him, and venting this kind of heavy stuff on her would be selfish.

So he just kept his mouth shut until they finally parted ways, MePhone heading back home to wallow for the rest of the night.

At least work would be a good distraction tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Pepper was annoyed. This was Salt’s problem, and yet, she was still being asked to do all the harder things. She was the one with a job, and rent, and responsibilities, and yet she was still going into that stupid bakery to snoop today. 

Salt’s excuse was that she would be noticed. She was ‘familiar’ to the baker, which was so… So annoying. But whatever. Whatever. She hadn’t reached her limit just yet. She was still doing most of the other work, so this was fine. Just this once, and she’d be out of there.

She was lucky the guy was working today, honestly. She had tried this the other day too-- probably making herself look weird for coming here so often-- but he hadn’t been working.

He was there today though, so she ordered a drink, and something small, just sitting herself down at one of the tables, and bringing out a laptop to look like she was doing anything important other than just loitering. 

Which wasn’t exactly a facade. She had stuff to do for work anyways, and it was at least much nicer doing it here in a mostly quiet environment. Quiet enough to both focus on her work, and also be able to listen in on whatever conversations everyone else was having. A win-win, really, especially without Salt whining to her about OJ. 

She figured she would talk to Salt about looking into a job after this all wrapped up, but she might need to do that sooner than later, if her bestie was really trying to make this play out for a while. She had forgotten how dedicated she was to ruining lives, seeing as they hadn’t done that since they were in college. But whatever. After this, Pepper was probably done helping out for the most part. Surely Salt would whine about this, but she had her own life to worry about. She didn’t have time to be petty when she had bills to pay. She loved the girl, but not enough to throw away everything else for her. 

But she was getting distracted, tuning back into the ambience of the bakery, her attention caught as the door dinged open.

“Hello!” A greeting more enthusiastic than the others. Pepper glanced up from her laptop to see the baker guy smiling at some… Frankly absolutely built blonde guy that just walked in. She wasn’t attracted to men that much, but wow. He looked like someone you’d see in a magazine or something.

“Hey,” He greeted back, just pointing at one of the many muffins behind the display. They made what had to be entirely casual small talk, giving away the idea that they were closer than just an employee and some random customer. Honestly, the vibes she was getting from this-- as intrusive as it was, was something closer than friends, but not quite anything else yet.

Which… Was odd. Very odd if this was the guy seeing OJ currently. And then a stray thought caught Pepper very off guard, wondering if this guy was getting around or something… But even just the vibes she was picking up today from just being here, he didn’t seem like the type of guy.

And not to brag, but she was really good at reading other people. Like, really good. But the undertones were far too strong to just ignore. If he wasn’t ‘getting around’, he was at the very least seeing OJ, and was clearly interested in this guy, too. 

“Hey, do you want to come over tonight?” A clearly impulsive ask from the baker as he handed over the bag of baked goods that had been picked out. 

“... Yeah, sure. I don’t have anything going on,” The guy accepted the offer almost immediately.

That confirmed her suspicions. There was definitely something going on here. She just needed this guys name--

“See you later then, Trophy,”

“Yeah, see you tonight,” The guy just gave a small wave, before turning to leave. Pepper quickly looked back down at her laptop to make it seem like she wasn’t just snooping.

Well, she had a lot of information to relay to Salt, then. This was starting to get actually interesting. 

…

After work, he found himself back at his apartment, once again having invited Trophy over.

He was still doing everything in his ability to not have to think too hard about the whole OJ thing, and this would work. He was nervous to talk to Trophy, the fear of him doing the same, and blocking him, but… Seeing as he had come into the bakery in person today to order something, MePhone had impulsively asked him to come by tonight.

Which-- shit, it meant he had to cook or something. He probably could’ve told him to eat something before coming over, but he hadn’t thought about it. He got up from the couch, moving over to the fridge to check. He really didn’t have anything currently. It had been a while since he had made a store run. He should probably do that. Maybe he could do that tonight, if Trophy was up to going with him. Mundane things were fine for casual hang-outs, right? Either that, or he could order something.

He decided to wait for Trophy to actually show up first to ask. See what he was feeling. MePhone, personally wasn’t all too hungry. He had a snack at work, and that was enough for him.

He knew his eating habits weren’t the best, but he didn’t want to subject Trophy to that, too. What kind of host would he be if he let someone in his company starve? That just seemed selfish. 

For now, he just shut the fridge, finding himself pacing around the kitchen area as he waited. Any sort of stimulation and movement for the time being.

Honestly, he didn’t even know why he invited Trophy over. He knew why, but he didn’t… Really have any plan to what they’d be doing together tonight. Maybe a movie, probably some sort of dinner or something. Maybe he’d bake something again. Trophy seemed to like it when he baked. 

Maybe he’d just see where the evening would take the two. He was just desperate at this point, really. He hoped this wouldn’t blow up in his face. He really needed something to go right. He really needed anything to feel like it wasn’t just going to crash down around him.

He was still slightly unprepared when the door to his apartment was knocked on. He jolted a little, before heading over to the door. A forced smile as he opened it.

“Hey!” A little too enthusiastic in tone, but he was really trying to sell it. He was also just excited, and a little happier to see a face that didn’t hate him. He hoped that wouldn’t change tonight as he stepped aside for the other to step in.

“Hey,” Trophy greeted back; “What’s the plan?” He walked in, looking around a bit again, just curious. Nothing had seemed to change since he was here last. 

“Well-- I didn’t really have a plan, but-- I figured we could have dinner or something-- uh… Not that I really have anything here, but I figured we could run down to the store or something-- or just get something delivered,” MePhone closed the door behind the other, not really making any sort of eye contact yet. 

Trophy could tell the guy was nervous tonight, but he didn’t point it out. He thought about the suggestion for a moment;

“How about we just get something delivered,”

“... Yeah, I don’t really feel like going down to the store anyways,” MePhone shrugged, moving to find his phone.

“Plus, in the meantime, we could always watch a movie before it gets here or something,” Trophy shrugged too. It was kind of clear MePhone needed to seriously chill out or something, so he’d do his best to provide that attitude, even if work had been a total drag today. That was something to think about later, as he moved to flop down on the couch.

“How does pizza sound?” MePhone asked, moving to sit down next to him too, either not noticing, or not caring how close he sat as he held his phone out for the both of them to look at.

“Sounds fine,” 

A short conversation about preferred toppings, before getting an order. MePhone would have to go down and grab it from the lobby once it got here, but it was about a half hour wait, so they took this time to look through the streaming services, scouting out what to watch together as they made other smalltalk. 

“I bet work was totally boring for you after I left, huh,”

“I mean-- it’s never really boring or anything, I just uh…” MePhone shrugged, neither of them really noticing how he was leaning into the other a bit. It was odd, already feeling this comfortable around someone, but MePhone really didn’t mind right now. Maybe the distraction was really working.

“Yeah. I guess it was a bit boring,” He finally finished his sentence;

“What about this movie?”

“Seen it a dozen times, a classic, honestly.”

“Do you want to watch it?”

“Sure.” Trophy leaned against him, too.

It was only when MePhone got the text letting him know he needed to go down to the lobby when he actually noticed. An immediate drop in his expression as he tensed up, getting up really quickly;

“Um! I-- Gotta grab the food-- uh… My cat will keep you company-- I’ll be right back, don’t burn the place down!” He rushed out, clearly hurried and trying not to think too hard about… All of that, just sliding his slippers on as he slammed the door behind him.

Left in the apartment alone, Trophy was incredibly curious. He didn’t mean to be a snoop. Or at least, he didn’t want to be, but he still found himself looking around. Not at anything specific, just taking a peek behind each door in the place. The bathroom, and a very blue, but very bland and empty bedroom. There was a bed and a dresser in there, but nothing else. Honestly, the jock didn’t know what he had expected. He figured the place would feel more lived in, but the entire apartment just felt empty. Like there wasn’t much personality put into any of it. Checking the fridge, there still wasn’t much. Even less than there was last time he was there. Maybe he should’ve just agreed to go out to the store, this guy didn’t seem like he had much food in here. 

Hearing the sound of shuffling out in the hall, he rushed back to the couch, flopping down as quickly as possible, just in time for the door to open.

“Sorry I took so long,”

“Nah, not at all,” Trophy got up, as if he hadn’t just been looking around, helping him move the pizza to the kitchen counter. MePhone moved to one of the cabinets, taking out a few paper plates. 

They ended up back on the couch again, but this time, MePhone was sat on the other end, a clear bit of distance as he started the movie.

It was quiet beyond a few small jokes from Trophy about the subjects of the movie, but it was still nice enough. Through focusing on the movie, he hadn’t even noticed Trophy shifting closer. This time, clearly on purpose, until he felt the other lean against him. He felt his face flush with fluster as he locked his gaze on the carpet, refusing to look at the other right now. 

“This movie is a lot cheesier than I remember,”

“Yeah. You tend to notice how different some things are after they’ve been out long enough, I guess,” MePhone’s tone was quiet, not finding too much of a voice beyond just feeling plain flustered. This felt like it was definitely on purpose. Deliberate, and calculated. Like Trophy was trying to test the waters.

Of course, that’s exactly what the jock was doing. After not managing the courage-- despite usually having it-- to ask the guy out last time they hung out, he was trying to fully see how this played out if he just… Didn’t say anything. 

Next thing MePhone knew, there was an arm around his shoulder. This got him to look up. He was sure the fluster was so apparent as he looked at Trophy, caught off guard to see he was staring right back.

“Uhm…” He glanced away, but kept his head facing the other. Neither of them were focusing on the movie much right now.

“Yeah?” There was a certain tone to the jocks voice. It was inviting. MePhone was too caught up in his own feelings to notice the other was equally as flustered. Worried that he was trying to hard, when he was just trying to come off as cool and collected. 

“Is this weird?” He was almost whispering at this point.

“It doesn’t have to be,” A small smirk on Trophy’s face as they made eye contact again, just staring at each other.

“I don’t want it to be,”

“Then it isn’t.” 

A moment of silence.

“Do you uh--... Do you like me?” MePhone blurted out, before slapping his hands over his mouth and standing up;

“I-- I didn’t mean to ask that!” 

Trophy just blinked, looking up at the baker, honestly just surprised he had the guts to just say it.

“Yeah?” He said like any other answer was just plain wrong, before realizing he had also just admitted it, his expression dropping. 

“... Do you?” Trophy just decided to suck it up, and try to keep a confident facade as he asked in return.

MePhone just stood, completely shocked, before just flopping back down.

“I… Uh… I think I do,” He couldn’t look at the other, just really embarrassed now. 

This, of course, completely boosted Trophy’s confidence, and ego as he just grinned. It was a moment before MePhone managed the courage to look at him again, still just completely embarrassed at how this all played out.

“That’s nice to know,” Trophy leaned against the other again a bit. Letting go of the embarrassment the best he could, he leaned into the other again too. 

“So uhm… What now?”

“I guess we should probably finish the movie first,” A small joking tone, but the idea was fine to MePhone. He still needed to process… All of this before he could actually have any real conversation, just choosing to focus on the film for now.

.

.

.

“I guess I’ll just ask it straight up, do you want to be my boyfriend?”

“Y- yeah, sure,” MePhone answered, very little hesitance in his words. He was just nervous, honestly. ‘See where the night goes’ was how he was trying to feel about this all, but he hadn’t been expecting this. His head felt like it was reeling, and all of this was going really fast, but… If he got into a relationship now, maybe that would be a better distraction--... Which that wasn’t the only reason he was saying yes-- he definitely could tell he felt like he really liked Trophy, but… That was also a really good plus. He’d take it where he could get it at this point. 

Right now, they were still on the couch, but there was some distance now. Trophy was holding MePhone’s hands in his own, and the two were looking at each other. Even if eye contact felt a bit awkward, MePhone was really trying. Trophy looked so excited. It was nice, honestly. Cute, really. He was really cute. Or maybe handsome was the better word. There were probably a lot of details he could point out now, and focus on without it being weird, but that could happen another night. 

“That’s great,” Trophy still just smiled. He looked so excited. So happy. And that couldn’t be fake, right? Of course, there were a lot of doubts. He feared he was unloveable. He could hardly love himself on some days, but… He’d let himself believe this wasn’t going to blow up in his face, even if that’s exactly the mentality he had with his and OJ’s friendship-- but right now was really not the time to be thinking about any of that. So he shook it off, just trying to focus on the now. The man in front of him. The man who was now his ‘boyfriend’. Wow, that term felt nice. Being able to call someone that. Feeling loved and giddy, and appreciated like this. 

It was great. A new peak he didn’t want to come down from, his own confidence, despite the shitty situation with his friendship-- slowly coming back. 

“Yeah,” MePhone agreed, just riding the wave. 

The rest of the night went by really fast, but all of it was grand, just helping him feel loved for the first time in so long. Helping him stay away from the unpleasant thoughts, too. And that was great. Wonderful, really, even if all of this was moving so much faster than he could really process.

Trophy ended up spending the night at the apartment with him that evening, and MePhone really didn’t mind one bit. 

Maybe just for tonight, he’d let himself believe things will work out.

Chapter Text

Two could see it in the way he carried himself the next work day, that MePhone was uncharacteristically happy.

Of course, that was great! Seeing him this enthusiastic, and in a good mood was something they were certainly happy to see themself, but… That being said, they were also incredibly curious. It was only during their lunch break when they actually asked though.

“You seem happy today,” Two smiled at the other, sitting at the table while MePhone was pulling the lunch he had brought with him today out of the fridge. Something he also didn’t usually do. Really, Two hardly ever saw the guy eat much, but this also wasn’t a complaint. 

“Oh? Oh-- Well, you know…” He glanced away. Two in fact, did not know. 

Two just raised an eyebrow.

“I just… It’s hard to explain,” MePhone seemed to catch onto Two’s confusion, though he still seemed to be indirect about whatever it was. 

“Well is it something good at least?”

“Yeah, uh… Yeah, it is,” He glanced away, seeming a bit awkward, but Two could see the small smile at the edges of his mouth. “I don’t know if I really want to talk about specifics, but… I am doing good today,” Something that honestly felt nice, considering how many low days he had been dealing with lately. 

That one good thing came out of all of this, even if he had lost a friendship he was hoping would go somewhere. Even if he was still confused about all that, it didn’t really matter if he had something else to help keep those thoughts away. To keep most of his thoughts positive, really. It was nice feeling good. MePhone liked it a lot. It was something he didn’t get the pleasure of so often. 

But it was also something he probably shouldn’t be bringing with him to work. Uh… Something something work life balance or whatever, MePhone figured. Maybe if they hung out sometime outside of work again at some point, but… For now, he still kept some of his walls up.

“Well, I’m glad to see you like this.” Two kept smiling, returning their attention to their own lunch as MePhone sat down across the table from him to eat his own. There wasn’t much conversation beyond this, but… Two did like that the energy around their co-worker and friend seemed good. He had seemed so down lately-- and a while ago with all that time spent off work that really didn’t seem all too normal, it was good that he was picking himself back up, it seemed. They did just hope it would stick. It would be a shame seeing his mood drop so hard again, so whatever this was, Two would be supportive, even if they didn’t really know what was up.

…

Leaving work, he couldn’t help it when he kept checking his phone for new texts. He hadn’t received any at all today, besides a good morning from Trophy, who he woke up before because he had to get to work on time. Of course, the other was surely just busy, and he’d be texted eventually, but… It did make him giddy, the thought of having someone he could text regularly now. He was coming to a lot of conclusions as to things he could do now that he was in a relationship-- mostly all while he was at work, which admittedly made him a bit distracted, but… He hoped that wasn’t too noticeable. 

He also didn’t know why he was being so… secretive about it towards Two, but… He’d tell them eventually. It was probably better to see if this hopefully worked out before getting anyone else in on the loop of what was going on in his personal life. 

Not that he didn’t think it wouldn’t work out-- he definitely hoped it would, but… Letting others know this early felt a little embarrassing to think about.

He was back at the apartment by the time he pulled himself out of his thoughts, feeding his cat, and heating up some leftover pizza before flopping down on the couch. It was evening by now, and he was still waiting for any possible texts. 

Of course, the longer he waited, the more nervous he got, but what did that matter! Surely the other didn’t immediately realize how big of a mistake this was, and opted the more graceful option was to ghost him. As if.

He straightened up his posture a bit at that, shuffling uncomfortably where he sat on the couch. He was just overthinking. It was easy to realize he had a problem when it came to that, but it still happened, and he could hardly ever really stop it. It was hard to change things he was so used to, so he usually just lived with that, as miserable as it was at times.

But right now, he did make an effort to shake off this train of thought, continuing to just stare at his phone, before his cat hopped up on the couch with him. A perfect distraction, really!

She meowed at him, stepping over to rub against his arm. He set his phone down for now to give her some well deserved attention, deciding he could at least try to be patient, and not think too hard about it.

…

Trophy stared at his phone, tapping his finger against the side of it, while the other was held over his mouth. He was currently home, at his place, sitting hunched over at his kitchen table. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, or really waiting for, but this is still where he found himself, trying to think of what to say. Yeah, sure, there was a lot to say in theory, and he could just open up with a casual ask about the other’s day, but texting felt a bit awkward all of a sudden, and he didn’t know why. Hell, it shouldn’t! They were closer than ever now, especially considering last night, and the time they shared alone together, but… Ugh, maybe that’s what made it so awkward. A ‘good morning’ text was easy. Something he figured was a bare minimum for any relationship, along with any ‘goodnight’ text, but surely there had to be some talking between that, which was getting more and more slim in opportunity since the day just kept going by. It was late evening now, and he was still just unsure. 

Which wasn’t like him at all, really. He was good with words. Maybe not the best, sure, but he usually knew what to say. He took a theater class in highschool-- figuring it would be an easy grade, so he knew plenty about improvising and pulling things out of nowhere, but…

This wasn’t acting.

This was him trying to find out what to text his boyfriend. A stupid hurdle for sure, but still one he faced anyways. Gods, this felt embarrassing. He didn’t like the lack of words. That, and he was usually always saw himself as confident, even if nobody else did. 

He just sighed, moving his free hand to slide down his face, exasperated expression as he set his phone down.

… Maybe calling would be less awkward? As stupid and humiliating as it was, maybe he’d be better at actually talking rather than texting.

…

A man with a job tends to have a lot to do. Of course, that’s just how life works, really. Working every day was something this particular man was used to. Extremely busy days, considering just how important of a man he was. 

Of course though, there were still slow days. Time where he had just the least bit to spare to check emails, or check how his company’s stocks were doing. Maybe a few moments to cyberstalk his sons-- though there was never anything new on those fronts. 

Today, this small bit of free time, Steve Cobs was checking his emails. Something he had to do often, sure, but today, he was checking his personal one. He had a meeting in ten minutes, and of course he’d have to head out of his office a little earlier than that, but allowing himself a little time for this today at least proved interesting.

An email from a user he didn’t recognize, which was odd, considering this was a very private email of his, with a header that certainly did it’s job to catch his attention. If it was some sort of strange scam, or some regular joe off the street just happening to find this email to beg for money or something alike, he could obviously ignore it, but he still chose to give it a small read.

‘Regarding your son’, certainly something that he was curious about. Most of his ‘kids’ didn’t talk to him anymore, really, only the Gods know why. If he were his son, well, he’d do anything to stay in his good graces. Maybe even suck up if necessary, but the three oldest had practically abandoned him and the family name. Disgraceful, really, considering two of them were adopted. Gifted such an opportunity to live the best lives they could if they had just followed in his footsteps. Only the youngest of the three seemed to still text him, but… hardly ever now that he moved away again.

That didn’t really matter though. He had adopted two more, and at least they-- as strange as they were, had the decency to do as asked. 

But he didn’t need to get angry, or think too much about that today.

He propped his head up with his palm as he skimmed the text. A steady smirk forming on his face as some very interesting information was given to him. Definitely a bit disappointing, and disgraceful that one of his sons seemed to be getting into social trouble, but… This email also disclosed where he was working. If it was as bad as this email conveyed, well, maybe he outta give him a visit to straighten whatever this is out, before it gets too loud to ignore. Even if this one was the biggest disappointment, well, he still had to make sure his image wasn’t going to affect sales to the company. He didn’t need some online slander ruining his carefully crafted image.

He’d figure out a plan after his meeting, getting up and shutting the lid to the lid to his laptop for now.

Things would have to be done, but it’s certainly nothing he wasn’t used to.

…

MePhone jolted a bit as his phone started ringing. He scrambled to pick it up, answering without even looking at the contact, just a little relieved to hear Trophy’s voice;

“Hey,”

“Hi! Uh-- Hey, how was your day?” He asked first, figuring he’d get it out of the way, and not really knowing what else to say.

“It was fine. Regular day and all, really.” He could practically hear the other shrug on the other end based on the tone of his voice. “Yours?” 

“Normal. Nothing really exciting happened at the bakery,” He also shrugged, even if they weren’t physically seeing each other, and that wouldn’t even be seen. 

“Cool…” Trophy trailed off. A slightly awkward silence followed, and MePhone felt like it was his own fault for not knowing what to say. Really, they were dating now! How was it this hard to have a conversation with a guy now that they were dating! It wasn’t this hard before, was it?

“Hey, so uh…” Trophy finally spoke again, MePhone feeling a bit relieved, until an unpleasant thought crossed his mind. Was this awkward for a reason? Was trophy wanting to call to confirm his fears? That this was all a mistake, and--

“We should talk about last night, right?”

And that only made it worse, really. His face heated up with embarrassment. He was silent for a little too long, but after a bit of silence on his end, he mustered out a meek; 

“Yeah, probably” The idea of saying any of it out loud was humiliating to him. 

Last night had been a lot, really. Even if they only spent it in each-others arms, cuddling, it still felt so intimate and embarrassing, especially since it had been their first night actually as an item. It wasn’t like they did anything beyond that, but surely that still brought up the idea of that kind of stuff!

Ugh. 

“Listen, I just uh… I don’t want things to be awkward. You do still want to be a thing, right?” 

MePhone blinked, realizing how strange it sounded from Trophy, who… Also seemed to be worried about that?

“Yeah, of course,” He answered with no hesitation, a lot of the funk going away, even if the embarrassment lingered. “We… Decided this last night, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, but I just… I dunno, I wanna make sure you’re not having any second thoughts,”

“Are you?”

“Of course not,” Trophy let his shoulders sag in relief. He was trying to get better at taking other people’s feelings into account with a lot of things, and he figured asking this would be a good start. Especially if this was going to be his boyfriend. 

“Great. Uh… Is… Uhm…” Trophy could hear the other’s tone drop a bit. He almost sounded embarrassed, or humiliated, or something like that.

“What?”

“We… Don’t have to do anything other than cuddling, right? If-- or, I guess when we spend nights together?” 

Trophy blinked. He hadn’t even thought about that. “If you don’t want to,”

An audible sigh of relief from the other end of the phone. Trophy just laughed;
“That’s what you were worried about? We’ve only just started dating. That seems more like uh… I dunno, not first date activities?” 

“Yeah, I know,” The other still sounded embarrassed.

“But yeah. We don’t have to… Uh do ‘that’ if you don’t want to. There’s no pressure.” He put that out there directly, making sure to do his best to reassure the other. 

“Great. Awesome.” A bit of silence between the two, a lot more comfortable now. Trophy got up, phone in one hand as he travelled to his fridge to grab something to make for dinner. He decided to shift the subject finally, deciding to talk about something else, something much more casual as he started to cook, admittedly a late dinner, but it was fine.

MePhone remained on his couch, flipping on the TV as the cat moved to sit in his lap as the two of them talked over phone, just glad he hadn’t completely humiliated himself, or ruined everything with talking about all that. None of this needed to be awkward. Even if he had to get used to actually being in a relationship, nothing had to change with talking to Trophy. He didn’t need to walk on eggshells, because the stuff they talked about, and how they talked and did things in the first place was what got them together. It would be stupid to try and make any of that different now, right?

Overall, the call was nice, and he was still just so happy things were working out for him currently. 

…

“Ugh! Literally, how hard is it to like, respond to texts or emails!”

Pepper just rolled her eyes. Really, she was getting tired of all of this. She had sent the text to OJ, and based on Salt’s cyberstalking, and… Actual stalking, in this past while-- since she had sent that text to the ginger, that loser baker hadn’t even been spotted with him, so really, she didn’t know why Salt was still trying to dig this any deeper. She had emailed his dad, for the Gods sakes. It felt like overkill at this point, and yet she was still complaining.

As much as Pepper cared about Salt, she really needed a reality check.

So this was what today was about, as they sat in a restaurant together, having another girls night. She was hoping being in public and out, and doing things would help, and keep her mind on other things, but… Alas.

Pepper just sighed.

“Girl, can we drop it today?”

Salt just huffed, taking a sip of her drink. “Fine. For now.” A compromise in her eyes, but this only annoyed Pepper further.

But she didn’t say anything, rather bringing up a different topic;

“Have you like, looked into any jobs yet like I asked?”

“I did a little searching, but really, if I’m going to be getting back with OJ eventually, what does it matter?”

Pepper could feel her eye twitch in annoyance. She didn’t have much of a tolerance for this today;

“Well regardless, until then, you better keep searching. An extra hand towards rent would be really nice of you, y’know.”

“It’s not like I’m on your lease though.” Salt just shrugged.

“Gods, you’re so selfish.” Pepper thought. At least, that was supposed to be just a thought, until she saw Salt’s expression shift to something shocked.

Pepper blinked, realizing she had definitely said that out loud, but… She wasn’t going to apologize.

“Excuse me?”

“Y… You heard me.” She didn’t take it back. Salt needed to hear this, clearly; “Listen, you’re my best friend ever. I hate seeing this happen to you, but you have to move on! I hate to say it, but OJ clearly doesn’t care about you! He’s such an ass for that, but keeping this revenge going for longer than it needed to go is just wasting both of our times! You should spend this time being single having fun with your life, girl. Forget about him, and find someone better! So what, he’s rich, you’re hot enough to find a dozen rich guys you could woo if you really wanted.” Pepper ranted on for a bit, before just moving a hand to slide down her face with a groan.

Salt was completely silent, still shocked for a good moment. Shocked enough to not even interrupt Pepper, or start an argument, which certainly caught Pepper off guard. Really, she was worried she’d just ruined her friendship, until Salt finally spoke;

“You think I’m hot?” She raised an eyebrow. Pepper was about to get up and walk out, extremely annoyed that was the first thing Salt said, and possibly the only thing she actually retained from all that, but she continued;

“No. No… You’re right. I am hot. I’m like, the best looking girl in this city, and you know what? I could totally find better guys. If OJ doesn’t appreciate me, I’m sure there are dozens of men who actually would.” She grinned, a new sparkle in her eyes. A newfound motivation.

Maybe some part of that crushed Pepper’s own feelings down into a fine dust that blew away with the wind, but… Seeing her this excited, Gods, she hoped nothing would ruin this for the both of them now.

“Exactly.” Pepper smiled back. “We got our revenge. Now we can focus on getting you a better life.” A pause, as she took a sip of her own drink; “But you do still need to look for a job.” She added, that not being negotiable. 

Pepper was right. Salt knew she had done enough now. Even if the email didn’t do anything, and the text she sent that guys brother didn’t go anywhere, it was fine. She knew she had done enough to get back at that man, but really, Pepper had a great point. The greatest revenge of all would be moving on, and showing that stupid, selfish ginger that she could do better. The idea of actually getting a job sucked, sure, but… Things would work out for her, and she knew it.

Chapter Text

Another day, another shift at the bakery. Making things he’s perfected by now, and working further on making his experimental additions to the menu a little better. Safe to say, MePhone, for the first time in a while, felt content. Yesterday, and it seems today too, were shaping up to be good days, and that was something MePhone definitely appreciated. No weight shifting on his shoulders, ready to crush him to the ground at any moment. No underlying issues, just… A life he felt like he could just… Live. And experience, and enjoy. 

It was a wonder how much being in a relationship seemed to help with that. The idea he wasn’t alone anymore, a feeling that really made him feel like he could do anything. A feeling he really hoped wouldn’t wear off with time. 

He liked feeling so happy, so normal for once in his life, wondering if this was how regular people lived each day. He really did cherish it. Having someone to wake up for again-- besides his cat, really helped. It was something he didn’t have for the longest time now. 

That wasn’t too important to think about right now though. Today, he was working, currently on register duty, while Leafy was taking her lunch break, eating the sandwich she brought with her today at one of the tables in the main room. It was just the two of them today, which was fine. It allowed the both of them a nice, quiet day to chat when there weren’t any customers. It also helped that he was definitely-- thankfully getting used to the two new hires. They were both really different people, but both definitely interesting to talk to, even if one of them was technically friends with 4s. 

Today, Leafy had been telling him about her roommate situation, which usually, he’d just zone out, or think about other things while someone else was talking this much-- a bad habit for sure, really, but today he was able to pay attention. Something about her meeting back up with the guy who kicked her out, and him pretending like they didn’t even know each other. What a mess, really. 

“What an ass,” He couldn’t help but comment as she just sighed, shaking her head;

“I just don’t know why he’s doing this. I know I burned a lot of bridges, but geez, he told me I was more important to him than what I did, and--... Did that even mean anything!?” She raised her hands up, clearly exasperated. Both of them were probably glad there weren’t any customers in the building with them at the moment.

“Hah, I get that,” He gave a dry laugh, his mind slightly wandering to OJ. Every time he thought about the guy, it just made him upset. Was all he was to the guy a couch to crash on? 

He didn’t really want to think about him right now, so he just shook off the thought, his attention returning to leafy as she continued talking. As upsetting as the whole getting ghosted by his friend thing was-- for really what seemed like no reason, he wasn’t going to talk about it to anyone. Especially not at work. Leafy clearly didn’t seem to care about that whole ‘don’t talk personal life during work hours’ etiquette that was constantly drilled into MePhone’s brain from a young age, but he supposed everyone was different. 

Really, if today was teaching him anything, maybe he had been a little too quick to dismiss the new hires, because they were really proving to be interesting company. Which, was honestly relieving, and just something that made him feel so silly for feeling so bad about the idea, and causing such trouble. A guilt that slightly gnawed at the back of his head, but hey, he was making up for it now, wasn’t he?

Plus, today was supposed to be a good day. He wanted to keep it that way, so he just continued to do his best to stomp down the stray unpleasant thoughts. 

…

OJ was not having a good week. Really, the past month and so had been awful. Having to break up with his girlfriend, grappling with the realization he never even loved her-- and that she probably didn’t like him much either, with the way she had been treating him, gaining and losing a friend, and still struggling to reconnect with his old friends that he stopped talking to because of his relationship. Only two of them were actually consistently chatting with him, and as much as he’d love to be around more people again, and meet up with them in person to catch up, he had been keeping all his interactions with people outside of work through texts since he had to cut off MePhone.

It felt horrible, really. Living like this. Paranoid, and still scared that Salt, or even her friend, was going to try something. They had done enough damage really, and even with everything being so quiet, he was still so… He didn’t know. He just knew he hated feeling like this. He hated having someone he wanted out of his life still having this much control over him. He hated not being able to just go out and be social, or try to make friends, because Gods, it was hard enough, and he at least deserved the chance. 

He spent a lot of nights alone in the empty house after work. He’d only go to work, the store, then home. The only places that didn’t risk anything. 

But today, that boiled over. Today, he was off of work, and he was so sick, and frustrated, and he just wanted to be able to go out and do things. Gods forbid he wants to live his life. He wasn’t going to let Salt have this much control over him, and if she tried anything, hell, he could just go to the cops or something. 

He was fuelled by a furious impulsive feeling to head out of the house. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to do, but he was going to go out and have some fun for himself today, and nobody was going to stop him. 

He had been miserable enough during all this time, and he wasn’t going to keep letting himself stew, and get worse. He couldn’t do that to himself. 

…

It was around half an hour before closing time when another customer came in. 

“Welcome in,” He didn’t glance up from the counter he was wiping down, getting an early start on cleaning. He didn’t look up until he heard the person who entered call his name;

“MePhone!”

“Oh, Hey, Two,” MePhone finally glanced up, looking at the other with a small smile.

“I have exciting news!”

“Exciting enough to pop in on a day off?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Haha, yeah, I probably could’ve texted you, but this is big !” Two seemed so giddy at the moment. They looked like they had been holding in whatever this exciting news was in, and was very ready to just blurt it all out. 

“How big?” Leafy glanced over from the oven she was cleaning.

“I got invited to participate in a baking contest!”

“Woah,”

“That’s huge!” Leafy stood up, grinning at the other.

“I know! There’s a bunch of old ladies who host one in the city every year, and this time they actually got back to me!”

“That’s awesome,” MePhone smiled, genuinely really happy for his friend. He hadn’t really been living here long enough to know local things that went on, but if both Two and Leafy were excited, this must be something good.

“It’s in a few weeks, and maybe this is a huge favor to ask, but I’d really like it if you could show up to support me?” Two looked at MePhone.

“Do I need to buy any tickets? How does this work?” He asked, a bit sheepish.

“You don’t need to worry about that at all. I have it covered.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. You being there would be really nice,” Two smiled, so happy today. It was always nice seeing them this excited about things.

“Of course. I’d love to be there for you,”

“Thanks! That means so much to me. We’re going to get so much publicity from this, it’s going to be amazing!”

“I’m sure it is. Knowing your cakes and stuff, I’d really be surprised if you didn’t win,”

“Oh, haha, I doubt I’ll be the best there.” Two remained humble.

“MePhone has a point, Two. Your cakes are pretty awesome,” Leafy piped in.

“Oh you guys, too kind, really. I don’t want to get my hopes up too much.”

The door to the bakery dinged again, and Two stepped aside;

“Anyways, I won’t hold you guys up any longer, have fun with the rest of your shifts,” Two gave a wave, before heading out as the customer who entered walked up to ordered.

A baking contest definitely sounded interesting.

.

.

.

Leaving work, 4s headed straight for the restaurant she and her friends had chosen to check out this week. This was something they decided to do every two weeks-- try a new place in the city none of them had been to yet, all so She, and Paintbrush could get more familiar with the area. Paintbrush had lived in this area before, for just a short time, but 4s was definitely just completely new to it. It also gave her chances outside of work to try and figure out her whole… thing. Paintbrush was helping a lot with that, of course, helping her feel a little more comfortable in experimenting with her identity, but it was still very intimidating. Going out and looking pretty was just nice. 

Today wasn’t one of those times though, because she had just gotten off of work, but she was sure it would still be fun. At least, she hoped it would be. 

Honestly, other than her whole identity thing going on, she had been growing frustratingly curious as to what her brother had been up to if he had people mad enough to try to send her messages, even if it had been a while since that had actually happened by now. Really, stealing someone’s boyfriend really didn’t seem like something MePhone would do. Even if she was still just so frustrated at him for being left behind-- as selfish as that was, he could’ve at least given her a heads up on what she would be returning to once her own plans fell through--, she just didn’t think he’d ever do something like that.

But she also wasn’t curious enough yet to text back the person who contacted her in the first place. This wasn’t her can of worms to unpack, just shaking off the thoughts as she kept walking up the street towards the restaurant.

Maybe she outta invest in a bike. 3gs had taught her and MePhone a long time ago how to do it, but… Bikes these days were expensive. Good ones, at least, so… Maybe if she ever got a little extra cash, but for now, she didn’t like sparing many expenses. As nice as these dinners out were, this was the only treat 4s often allowed herself. As much as she trusted her partner, knowing Paintbrush would never do something like that-- 4s just couldn’t risk having her housing plans fall through again. 

Point was, 4s didn’t spend much money unless she had to. Store runs, replacing necessities, and just this one treat every few weeks. Truly, besides the worries she would probably be stuck with for a long time, that none of this was really secure, she didn’t mind spending so little money. It was just how she was raised really, even if it was annoying at times, knowing how rich Cobs was. The man hardly gave them anything outside of home and food. The bare minimum really, but… What would 4s expect from the man anyways.

She shook off the thought. She hated thinking about him. She was trying to move past who she was when she was stuck at home alone. She didn’t want to go back to that hateful, spiteful, angry person she was living with him, her brothers gone. Which is why she avoided thinking about it.

Luckily enough, she was provided distraction, spotting the place up the street, finally almost there. She was sure the others were already there, finding them sat down and joining them with a smile. Conversations about how days went, small talk, before shifting into Lightbulb talking about something interest related after they ordered their meals. 

4s did cherish this time. On the loneliest days stuck in that home, some part of her was so so scared she’d never experience small joys like this. That she’d never be happy, but thank the Gods she was being proven wrong so regularly.

She really was growing to enjoy her life here, even if her brother was somewhere in the same city. That, and the things he did really didn’t matter to her while she was living her best life. 

Though, that’s the mentality she wanted to keep, admittedly it was a little jarring when Lightbulb looked at her during a small bit of silence-- Paintbrush having gotten up to wash their hands--, an almost nervous expression on her face. Words on the tip of her tongue.

She just raised an eyebrow at her.

“So…”

“So?”

“I feel like I should probably talk to you about this, and don’t be angry or anything,”

“What?” A bit of worry now.

“Promise me,” She gave a sheepish grin.

4s just rolled her eyes; “I promise I won’t get mad. What’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong, I just… Think I need to tell you your brother is one of my coworkers,”

4s blinked. She knew Lightbulb had applied, and was working at a bakery, but she hadn’t realized it was the same one she applied to, before walking out.

“Oh.” Was all she said. “I… Okay.” She didn’t get angry. This was Lightbulb. Nobody really ever got angry at her, and plus, this was her job. 4s had no say in where she worked or what she did. Even if that did make her a little bit anxious.

“You… Don’t talk about me, do you?”

“No. Which is what I want to clarify, but--... There is just one thing. He doesn’t know your whole… Thing, and he keeps calling you his ‘brother’, she did heavy air-quotes around that. So that’s what this was about. She was being considerate in her own Lightbulb way.

“It’s just a bit awkward hearing it, but--... I won’t tell him anything if you don’t want to.”

“... I guess it’s fine if you tell him I’m… Erh… I guess his sister now… If it ever comes up,” 4s just shrugged, trying not to latch onto the thoughts that one of her closest friends was coworkers with the brother she still resented. That didn’t matter! It didn’t need to!

“Cool. Awesome. But yeah, I won’t say anything about you to him.” She gave a small finger gun for extra assurance, truly a Lightbulb mannerism as her expression shifted to something much less awkward after that.

4s didn’t say much else, just giving a small nod, before glancing over to Paintbrush, who finally returned to the table.

She… was living her best life, and didn’t need to think about this. At all. She knew she could trust Lightbulb, but… 4s couldn’t help that the overthinking didn’t stop for the rest of the day.

…

Hanging up his apron, he pulled the keys out of his pocket to lock up, quietly humming to himself while he made sure everything was off. Leafy had headed out a few minutes ago, leaving him to lock up. MePhone didn’t mind that too much, just flipping off the lights in the building, and slipping the keys in his regular pants pocket once he had the back door shut and locked, the front locked by leafy before she had left. 

He stopped humming once he was outside, but he kept a tune he heard earlier in the back of his mind as he started walking down the street, zoning out a bit as he started making the same path back to his apartment that he did pretty much every day. 

It was getting cold out. It was nearly winter now, the end of fall rapidly approaching with each day that passed. MePhone figured he outta be dressing warmer, but beyond what he had, he didn’t really have anything much heavier. He supposed he’d just deal with that, just shrugging it off as he realized he was pretty sure he had already given this topic some thought not too long ago, just continuing to walk.

Cutting through the park near his apartment complex, it wasn’t until then when he bumped into someone, having been spaced out a bit too hard. He backed up, blinking back into focus with an immediate apology as he glanced at the person;

“Sorry, I--... Wasn’t… watching where I was going…” He trailed off, his expression dropping a bit as he realized who it was.

OJ, who looked like a deer caught in headlights stared right back at him, an expression that MePhone thought looked like guilt.

“I-- Sorry too, uhm… I… I’m gonna go,” He awkwardly pointed away, turning around completely to speed-walk back the way he came.

MePhone didn’t know what came over him when he acted next. 

“Wait,” He called out, reaching for the other’s arm.

OJ yanked away, turning around again with a sigh as MePhone flinched back a bit.

“Listen, I… Just have a lot going on. I’m sorry I can’t really say much, but… It’s probably just better if we don’t talk anymore.” OJ kept a firm expression. This was his twisted way of keeping the other safe. Even if he just had the first nice day he’d had in what felt like months now, he didn’t want to risk anything just yet. The fear of Salt doing something to him still lingered in the back of his mind, because he did care about this guy. So he had to keep pushing him away. He didn’t convey any kindness in his expression, not risking it at all, incase someone was lurking to take another picture like last time. 

It still definitely hurt seeing the hurt in MePhone’s eyes, though. It hurt being so cold to someone he had really wanted to call his friend. Someone who really had helped him out more than he could say. He knew he was probably being so selfish for this, but he refused to change his mind.

“That’s all you have to say? Are you kidding me?” OJ hadn’t expected him to bite back, though. His expression faltered a bit, before he hardened it again.

“Yeah, it is. You’re a nice guy, but--”

“But what, huh? You can’t give any explanation to why you basically used me, and threw me away?” MePhone couldn’t help it. He was frustrated, and hurt, and he didn’t want to be hurt again. It really felt like he had been used. Like all he was, was a couch to crash on. Really, he was just scared seeing him again, truly realizing how much they talked about together. The few things MePhone let slip about himself that he hated talking about to anyone because he thought they were friends. What was stopping OJ from using any of that against him? Going to Two and telling him how much of a loser he really is? How pathetic he is? Did he even know this guy at all in the first place? How could he put his trust in anyone if it could just be thrown away like this! Just like 4s, just like--

He shook his thoughts off, realizing OJ hadn’t even said anything. He was still just staring at the baker, a mix of so many feelings in his eyes. 

“Gods, whatever. Fine. If that’s all I was to you, fine.” Why even bother making new friends. Making any connections, really. 

He couldn’t help the tidal wave of pent up feelings and fears and sorrows about this situation that came crashing down on him as he shoved the other aside as he sprinted away, needing away from there before OJ saw him cry or something.

After being so briefly happy, it felt like this one thing was causing it all to crash down. Feeling like all he was doing was making so many huge mistakes trusting anyone, anyone at all, and letting anyone in. He couldn’t do that. He needed to remember, and drill it into his head that he had to go back to keeping everyone at arms length, no matter how promising something seemed.

He made it back to his apartment frustrated. He just fed the cat, and didn’t bother with anything else as he flopped down on the couch, not even turning on the TV, or bringing out his phone. He just laid there, staring up at the ceiling, trying to fight back the tears. He hated feeling this way. He hated feeling at all, really. He was doing so good, and to have it so suddenly ripped from him felt so horrible. 

He just let out a groan, moving a hand over his eyes to block out the light in the room. He couldn’t even bring himself to text Trophy that he got off of work. He didn’t have the energy to face anyone right now. He didn’t trust himself to talk to anyone anyways. Talking to OJ had been hard enough, lashing out like that. Gods, what an idiot he was. Being so angry. OJ was probably justified in whatever reason he had anyways. Everyone was always justified in hating him anyways. A feeling reinforced by all of this.

All he was, was naturally hateable. Nobody stuck around for long for good reason. He knew that all too well. As friendly as they were, it was only a matter of time before Two got sick of him. The rest of the coworkers, too. It was only a matter of time before--

He groaned again, feeling his phone buzz in his pocket. That snapped him out of this slightly manic haze as he let his arm drop down, hanging off the side of the couch, his frustration and anger replaced with sorrow.

It took him another several minutes to bring his phone out of his pocket, his expression only souring further as he realized it was a text from OJ.

‘I’m sorry if I made it feel like all I was doing was using you. I wish I could explain what was going on, but this is for your safety.’

Nonsense, really. Even realizing he was now unblocked, he didn’t even bother, backing out of the contact, and clicking on someone else's. 

As much as he just wanted to give up and resign to his shitty stupid thoughts, he for once at least had the desperation to try and get out of it before it got too bad, not wanting to ruin how good he was feeling yet. He wanted to cling onto that as long as he could, just hoping Trophy was also out of work as he pressed the call button.

He shifted to his side as he listened to the calling noise. A dread each time, fearing he’d just be left alone with his thoughts when that was the last thing he wanted right now. 

The other didn’t answer. Maybe he should’ve just texted. Of course Trophy would be busy. He actually had more of a life. He was busy, and cool, and surely everyone in his life liked him. Or something like that. He seemed like the kind of guy to have a lot of friends. 

But it felt weird to assume. Whatever. None of that really even mattered right now anyways.

Point was, he couldn’t have felt any more alone in that moment, curling up a bit on the couch, just opting to take his glasses off, and set his phone down, both on the table near the couch. He squeezed his eyes shut, praying sleep would come easy to him tonight. He didn’t even care that he hadn’t eaten dinner, or really anything all day. He just wanted to pretend like today didn’t even happen, and just move on with his life feeling normal tomorrow. A cycle that just seemed to find him and continue no matter how many 'good days' he thought he'd had. 

He did his best to ignore the sorrow twisting at his chest, and the tears escaping his shut eyes, rolling down his face as he quietly cried himself to sleep for the night.

Chapter Text

Trophy liked his job. Being a personal trainer was fun, and it really kept him going with his own exercise habits, even if most days he didn’t feel like keeping them up. Of course, he liked the idea of being fit and all, and really liked looking the way he did. 

But anyways, none of that was really important. The point was, he had just gotten out of a work-out session with one of his clients when he checked his phone, a bit surprised by a missed call notification. It was around seven now, and he really hadn’t meant to take so long with work today, but it just kind of happened. He hadn’t really been expecting any calls, just heading out of his workplace, and checking it once he was outside.

Seeing it was from MePhone from about ten minutes ago, of course he tried to call back, figuring they could just talk or something, or if this was about something specific, they could talk through whatever that is too, but it was clear after a second attempt to call that the other probably wasn’t going to pick up. A little weird, really. Maybe a twinge of worry sprouting in the back of his mind, but he shoved it away as best as he could. He didn’t tend to get worried about things. That just wasn’t who he was. Or at least, it wasn’t who he wanted to be, someone who worried about things all the time. 

A sigh as he stared at his phone. He wasn’t worried. He wouldn’t get worried or jump to conclusions, just figuring the other probably set his phone down or something, or was busy. Was he still at work? Probably not. The bakery he worked at didn’t seem like a place that would be open this late.

He still sent a few texts. Just in case, before slipping his phone in his jacket, and heading down the street as he got on with the rest of his night, heading back to his apartment for the night, and taking in the weather around him. 

As much as he definitely preferred warmer seasons, he did still like winter. Winter always meant snow, and he was lucky enough to live in a city with a few nice parks on the outskirts. Most, of course were closed during this season, but that never stopped him. Of course, maybe that was trespassing, and a little less than legal, but that never really stopped him. 

He liked it when it snowed, because it made for really good photos. He had this one spot he’d usually go to every once in a while that made for a really good spot. He figured maybe a nice date idea would be asking MePhone to go with him to it as soon as it snowed. He thought it would be nice to show the other some of his hobbies. Even if they were dating, they still definitely had a lot they needed to learn about each other. Of course, he had told MePhone already about his photography hobby, and had even helped take some good promotional photos for his bakery a month or so ago at this point, but it would be nice to see if he was actually interested in it. As personal as the hobby was to him, he figured showing it to the guy he really liked would be nice. And if it got the other really into it too, then that was a plus.

Of course, that would all just have to play out over time, so for now, he just kept the thought at the back of his mind as he reached his apartment complex, checking his phone again as he took the elevator up to his floor, frowning at the lack of any response from MePhone yet from the two missed call attempts, and few texts. 

Maybe a few more wouldn’t hurt. He just wanted to make sure the guy was okay, really.

…

Waking up was a drag. It always was. Even on easier days, it was still hard getting the motivation to even move. MePhone only ever convinced himself with knowing he had to get up to go to work. His only working motivator for most days was making sure he went to work so he could get paid, so he could stay here, and not move back home.

Even so, he hated that. He hated waking up each morning like this. It was harder on days he didn’t work. He was lucky enough to have today off, knowing he wouldn’t have the energy to get up and pretend like he wanted to be near anyone. 

It was also just harder today, considering yesterday. Last night specifically, really. It had been a fine day beforehand. A good day, even, but here he was, still lying on his couch, wondering how he could’ve just avoided all that. He could’ve gone around the park. He could’ve stayed a little later at work, or left a little earlier. He could’ve just kept his mouth shut, and moved on. Accepted that whatever stupid shitty reason OJ had was enough, because it probably just was, and left the guy alone. But no. He had to open his stupid mouth. 

He just felt so stupid. He felt a lot of things, really, but stupid was a major thing. Selfish. Awful. Just wishing any of that would go away. Just wishing he could suck it up, and move on, and not be so hung up on literally everything that ever happened to him. There were still so many things he just hasn’t had the strength to recover from, and he so desperately didn’t need this to be added to that long, long list. 

He sighed, trying his best to push away the thoughts for even just a few minutes. He was just sad that one of the first opportunities of a real, true friend had been so… Ruined for him. Even if he had Two, and the other coworkers, and Trophy, was he really so childish for being upset that OJ couldn’t have just been one of those friends? He liked the time spent together. The conversations had. The feeling of actually being able to help someone out with something meaningful and important. But all of that just felt so tainted now. OJ wouldn’t tell him any reason why, and it still made him feel like it was his own fault.

But he wanted to be over this for now. He wanted to shove it aside, and think about literally anything else, so he forced himself up, as heavy as his limbs felt in the moment, looking around at the rest of his apartment.

Maybe if he mustered the motivation, he could go out for a walk or something. Stop by the bakery, even if it was his day off. He could probably use the company. As much as it felt like a day he just couldn’t bother with anything, he still really just didn’t want to be alone right now. 

He reached for his glasses, and then his phone, still trying to muster the energy or motivation to get up, because he also really needed to feed his cat. The cat didn’t deserve to suffer just because he felt like shit. With a sigh, he got up, placing his phone on the kitchen counter as he grabbed the cat bowl off the floor.

The noise was enough to alert the feline, who had slunk further in the apartment doing Gods know what for the night, only to come out at the immediate sign of possible food.

A can out of one of the many cabinets, scooping it into the bowl as the cat meowed below him on the floor, rubbing itself up against his legs as if that would speed the process up any faster.

Once it was back on the floor, and his cat was eating its breakfast, he figured, as his own stomach grumbled that he outta do something about that, finally grabbing his phone to check it, very quickly realizing, and remembering how last night ended. 

.

.

.

Two was as excited for the opportunity they had been given as yesterday. And as soon as they had gotten the email. They had been on a date with their partners when they had received the news, an excitement that had been contagious throughout the rest of the date. X, of course, had been excited too, happy that Two had been given this chance, immediately agreeing to show up to show support. Four had been… A little dodgy about it, considering he was trying to get over his resentment towards the whole bakery venture still, but hey, he was still working on it, so Two allowed him some grace towards that. 

Point was, this may not be the chance of a lifetime, but it was still huge. Soon enough, they’d be in a room working on baking a really good cake, and bringing more publicity, and hopefully customers towards the bakery. And even if they didn’t win, they were sure this was still going to be so much fun. It wasn’t about winning for them anyways, even if that would definitely also help, considering the small cash prize of about five hundred dollars. They could put that small bit of money towards some new equipment or something, which would surely be really nice. 

There was just a lot of possibilities, and things to think about, and Two was busy thinking through what felt like all of it, all while they worked through the day.

They were in here with Lightbulb today, someone they hadn’t been getting too many shifts with-- completely accidental, though it didn’t matter too much.

Being told about this, she seemed really excited too. Excited enough to start going on about how she had been in a cooking contest once too, in an old town she lived in for a brief time. Something about her winning with a cookie pizza she had made, even if it had been a cooking contest, rather than baking. Which seemed really impressive, considering. A fun story to hear, really, and something that only got Two more giddy about the whole thing. 

Today, all the people involved would be getting another email about the list of people participating, and Two was eager to find out of they recognized any of the names. They were trying to contain their excitement for that as they worked on a current cake order that had to be done by tomorrow, even skipping their break to finish it up.

“Wow, Two, that looks so awesomesauce.” Lightbulb grinned. “With cakes like that I’m sure you’ll win.”

“Oh that’s what everyone keeps saying, but really I doubt I’ll be the best baker there,” They were still remaining humble about this as best they could, though all the constant praise and kind words from the coworkers really was nice. It definitely boosted their confidence a bit, something they really liked. 

“Guess you’ll find out,” She shrugged, heading over to the register as the door dinged open with a customer.

As Two worked to clean up and box the cake to put in the fridge overnight, they paused as their phone buzzed. Hopeful that it was the email, they pulled out their phone to check, and sure enough, it was an email from the same lady that emailed them about their acceptance. Two opened it immediately, a huge grin on their face as they read down the line of people. It was a good few people, about eight in total including them, though none of them were names he recognized, until he reached the last one. He blinked, staring hard at the name. It was crazy how just one small thing could make it feel like all the joy drained from his face and body, a name that brought up a lot of association from a past they hated thinking about.

As the door dinged again to signify the customer left, Lightbulb spoke again;

“You good, buddy?” She looked over, a raised eyebrow, noticing how much the green haired cake maker’s face and posture had fallen.

Two just blinked, shaking it off, slipping their phone back into their apron pocket as they put up their best smile, hoping they could keep that up until closing;

“Just peachy.” Even if their tone betrayed them, Lightbulb shrugged it off. 

…

“Hello?”

“Hey-- uh… Sorry for missing your uh… Wall of texts,” MePhone winced, looking at the chat history. “I fell asleep last night after trying to call you the first time, I was just uh… Really tired I guess,” A half-truth. He didn’t want to emotionally burden the other, even if they were dating. 

The whole OJ situation was both something he didn’t want to think about first thing in the morning, and a whole can of worms he didn’t want to tell Trophy about, because it was probably just over. If he saw the guy on the street again he’d probably just do his best to ignore him, because confronting him had done more harm than good. 

“No that’s fine,” Trophy did his best to act unbothered, the worry that had been sprouting in the back of his mind just making him feel completely stupid now, but it was fine. He was allowed to be an idiot sometimes. That’s just who he was. “Just uh… Wanted to make sure you were good.”

“Yeah, I’m uh… ‘good’,” MePhone replied, letting out a yawn. He was still tired, honestly, but going back to sleep would just be a waste of his day. 

“Why did you call me last night, by the way?” A question from Trophy that MePhone was really dreading. But he had to answer.

“I just uh… Thought it would be nice to check in through call instead of text.” Not entirely a lie, either. As lonely as he had been last night, and even if this was just talking now, it still felt like it was helping a little. Having someone to talk to. Honestly, he really didn’t want to let go of that feeling just yet.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was held up a little talking to one of the guys I’m training so I left later than I usually did.”

“That’s fine. We’re uh… We’re talking now, right?” As if he was implying that made up for it, which MePhone at least felt like that was the case.

“Yeah. Hey, I have a guy I need to go see in an hour, so I probably need to start getting ready to go,”

MePhone didn’t like how the feeling was fleeting;

“What time do you uh… Get off of work today?”

“I only have one guy today to do some training stuff with, so I think it’ll be wrapping up around two.”

MePhone glanced at the clock on his phone. It wasn’t even noon yet, though it was getting there.

“Do you want to hang out afterwards? Do something together?” He suggested. This would probably be better than going into work on an off day just for company. Being around Trophy was just nice too, anyways.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll head by your apartment after I get out of that session, and we can go do something.” Trophy also sounded a bit excited, which MePhone felt relieved by.

“Okay, cool, see you then,” MePhone gave a small smile, even though they couldn’t really see each other. 

“Yeah. Talk to you later then. Love you.”

MePhone blinked, his thoughts completely faltering over two simple words. He scrambled to respond; “Y- yeah, me too-- uh, but towards… you…” Trailing off as he realized the other had already hung up.

A facepalm. Surely it wasn’t that hard to say he loved him. He could’ve said it normally, but he completely fumbled that, and now he was just embarrassed as he stood hunched over his counter. Of course he loved Trophy, but… The idea of actually saying that out loud-- even if it was apparently easy for the other, didn’t seem so easy for him. Like a wall he wasn’t ready to tear down just yet, especially after losing a friend he thought he had been able to get close to. He just needed a little more time to figure out if he could actually be open about his feelings, even if he did like the guy. He couldn’t take risks anymore.

He wasn’t going to fully put up all his walls, like he had really wanted to last night, as tempting as the thought was, but he was still going to approach everything as carefully as he could from now on. He refused to keep getting hurt by the people who were supposed to be close to him.

He just sighed, shaking off the thoughts. He had a few hours to kill, but he figured going ahead and getting ready would at least give him something to do, and then he could just watch some TV with his cat or something for the remaining time. He chose to believe today would be good, even if there was a huge bump in the road yesterday.

…

It wasn’t that hard to land a job, really. Salt was pretty, and knew a lot about clothes, so of course, she managed to land a job in a frankly desperate clothing store at the mall. Maybe not the best kind of job, this was definitely below her, working at all, really, but she had promised Pepper she’d start helping with rent until she found a new partner or something. Pepper had been doing a lot for her lately, and she had definitely been helping her build up her confidence to get out and figure out a life for herself, so this was the least she could do for her best friend. 

Today was her halfway mark through the week of her being trained, and being let in on her duties as employee. None of which really seemed all too necessary because she was just that good, but she figured it was mandatory, so she didn’t make any fuss. The person who was helping her get her footing here was nice enough too, and fun to talk to during break, or while they were closing up, so it was nice enough.

Right now though, she was on break, just having sat down at one of the many tables in the food court. She had a few hours left before her shift ended, and she had gotten herself a fruit smoothie from one of the many food vendors in the court to keep her energy up in the meantime.

Really, working at a mall seemed like it would be interesting. She’d get a discount at the place she was working at, which was for sure nice, because some of the clothes there were just so cute, and she’d get to be at the mall most of her time. A dream of her teenage self from seeing and romanticizing so many different chick flicks she’d watch with Pepper growing up. Of course, all of those were totally phoney, but the idea was always still nice. 

The food court was definitely her favorite place to be, other than several of the clothing places here, because it was a good place to people watch. Oh, all the very pretty people she’d see come and go on a daily basis. A lot of hot men, for sure. It helped that there was a gym nearby, oh seeing guys just coming over from a workout to get a meal or something was definitely nice. 

She also liked listening to the gossip. Maybe it was eavesdropping, but hey, she wasn’t using strangers random stories for any personal thing. It was just fun to listen.

Today, she was doing that. People watching, and listening while she worked through her smoothie. She had probably ten minutes before she needed to start heading back to the store she worked at, and she was going to enjoy the time sat here. At least, that had been the plan until she spotted a dreadfully familiar face and head of hair. Her eyes narrowed as her gaze locked onto the guy. This was the baker who’s life she had been trying to ruin, for sure. From all the digging she did with Pepper, she didn’t take him for a mall guy, but… Once she spotted the guy he was with, she realized why he was probably here. She looked both of them up and down as they entered one of the lines at the food court, noticing the way they were holding hands, and locking in on that.

She couldn’t believe it. Not at all. She did her best to keep her shocked feeling inside, and not convey it in her facial expressions, but she knew she probably looked disgusted outwardly. She couldn’t believe it.

The guy had stolen her boyfriend, only to either dump him, or be fooling around with other guys at the same time, both options being equally disgusting to her. This guy couldn’t do this to her. Ruin her life, her love, her livelihood, only to either dump him, or cheat on him in return. If that was the case, what was her life being ruined even for? 

She did her best to subtly take a picture of them with her phone to show Pepper later, before stopping herself. 

No, she didn’t want to get Pepper involved anymore. The girl was clearly sick of the whole revenge thing, so… Salt would be on her own here. 

Before she even realized what she was doing, she had her hair up in a bun under her signature hat, and was walking up to stand in line behind them. She needed to find out who this other guy was. She wondered, even if she didn’t get Pepper involved, if she should at least tell her about this, because it was huge. As much as she was ready to be confident again and move on, maybe she and OJ could bond over being hurt by the same guy, even if it was in different ways.

She just remained quiet, shuffling in her spot, and mostly looking at her phone to avoid looking anywhere at the two, not wanting to get recognized by the baker-- because she knew he’d probably recognize her from that whole car fiasco. 

She just listened, before finally catching a name. Trophy. 

Not even caring if she looked weird, she immediately sped out of that line, opening a social media app to search for the guy as she started heading back to her job. She had a lot to do later after her shift was over, just hoping she could mask the new spark of rage and frustration that filled her.

Chapter Text

MePhone didn’t say anything. He just remained on the floor at the side of his bed, head looking straight down so his hair would at least hide his shame, and the imprint of the mans fist that was probably still there. If it wasn’t, there was probably some sort of mark. He didn’t want 4s to see that as the younger re-entered the room. He had left as soon as Cobs had come in, an excuse to go use the restroom just to hide from the man, and whatever was about to happen.

MePhone didn’t blame him. He would’ve done that too if he had the chance, but he had been caught up in it. Another argument. Such harsh words shouted at each other, but none that MePhone would take back at this point.

“MePhone?” 4s’s tone was quiet, concerned. Their dad was still in the house, so he had to be quiet.

“I’m fine.” His voice even more quiet, tone cracking a bit. With all the yelling he did back, he was sure he probably hurt his own throat, but he couldn’t help it. He was so tired of how he was being treated. How dad just never seemed to understand, or show any bit of sympathy.

The college admission dad had forced him to send earlier this year had been rejected, and he wasn’t happy about it. A lot of reassurances that all he was, was a massive disappointment and failure. Words he was used to hearing. Words he believed to be true at this point. Even if he was relieved this meant he wouldn’t have to force himself to go to college or further education just yet.

MePhone didn’t even want to go. This was all dad’s demands under his roof, and he had to comply. He simply didn’t have the money to move out yet. He and 4s were still saving up for that. They’d reach it soon if they just kept at their jobs consistently enough. It felt so close, but the time leading up to being able to escape still felt so suffocating. MePhone didn’t know if he could handle it much longer, really. It was just the promise that they’d be making it out together that kept him going these days. 

4s, his brother, was all he had left at this point. He just wanted out of this town, and as far away from dad as he could possibly get.

But that was still probably a few dreadful months away. 

Right now, he felt 4s move over, helping him up off the floor. He kept his gaze down, not wanting to be seen like this as he shuffled back to sitting on the bed. 4s didn’t say much else at the moment, moving over to the door, opening it as quietly as he could, only slightly.

The two of them listened for a good few minutes before the front door finally opened, and closed. 

They could hear the car start up in the garage of the house, sputtering to life, and soon leaving.

Even then, MePhone still waited, unable to release the tension he was feeling. The suffocating pressure he felt when he was home with dad, until 4s spoke;

“He’s gone. Let’s go into the kitchen.”

MePhone didn’t want to move. He just wanted to curl up and cry, and wallow, and let 4s get on with his own day, but he just got up, slowly trudging behind his brother down the hall to the kitchen in the house. He sat down at the kitchen table, while 4s headed over to the freezer, pulling out an ice pack he usually used in his lunchbox for the meals he brought with him to his job.

“Here.” 4s’s tone was careful, handing it over before sitting in one of the other chairs at the table.

“Thanks.” Tone meek, and quiet. Pathetic, really, as he moved it to hold against his face. He winced at the contact, but the cool feeling was welcomed after his face had been so warm from the tears. 

He still refused to look at his younger brother. Most of it was shame. Being seen this way. He was the older one, even if it was just by a year or so. He should be the one keeping it together, and standing up successfully to dad. But he wasn’t able to do either of those things. He was a failure, and a burden, and a shame to everyone who knew him, because he couldn’t even be an older brother correctly, and that was the only thing he felt like he had left anymore. Some part of him wished 3gs hadn’t left them to fend to this themselves. That he would’ve at least stayed in contact, or given them any sort of reassurance that as hard as things got, that he’d be there.

But he wasn’t there. They hadn’t heard from him since he left, even despite attempts to reach out. To text or call. It felt like he made his escape, and completely abandoned them, and that hurt so much. That’s why MePhone was glad the two of them would be leaving together. They’d leave this place behind, and maybe try to contact 3gs again. See if he’s willing to talk once they were no longer tied to dad. 

But those were thoughts for later times. He just wanted to relax, and soothe the pain from the punch dad had gifted him, and enjoy the time at the house with him gone. MePhone hoped this would be one of those nights where he was staying overnight at his office. So he wouldn’t have to see him at all. He could only hope, really.

A sigh from 4s, who pulled out his phone to mindlessly scroll through while the two sat there. The company was nice. It definitely helped MePhone feel less alone, even if he still felt like a failure of a brother.

But he didn’t want to think about that too much right now. He could fret about all that at a later time. 

For now, he just crossed his arms over the table, placing the ice pack on his arm, before laying his head down against it. He let his eyes close, just listening idly to the video 4s put on in the background.

The two sat like that for a while, just providing company for each other, listening and watching videos on 4s’s phone for the time being, because honestly, neither of them really felt like doing anything else.

MePhone hoped once they got out of here together, that they’d be able to talk through the things they’ve been through more openly, without any risks of being ridiculed or hurt by father.

Really, all he could do was hope.

It was later that night once the two of them were back in their room for the night when MePhone spoke again;

“We will make it out of this, right?”

“... Yeah. Of course.” A slight hesitance from 4s, but MePhone was too tired to really care, or notice. He just figured 4s was also probably tired at the time, and hadn’t been expecting to answer any questions.

“Do you think we’ll be okay after this?”
“Of course we will. We have to be, don’t we? To show him he wasn’t able to break us?”

“... Yeah.” A point MePhone clung onto. They’d make it out of here, and start new lives, and never talk to dad again. They’d live how they wanted to. They’d dye their hair more whacky colours, or get piercings, or… Something. Maybe the piercings were a bit extreme of an example, but… The point stands. They could do anything once they were out of here, and MePhone was just looking forward to it. Living his own life, and healing, and being happy.

He clung onto that so hard, that he hadn’t even noticed 4s had been packing his stuff throughout that week. He hadn’t noticed any of the changes, just so focused on working, and getting a little overtime, and as much money as he could to speed up the process, until he came home from work on one of his shifts to see 4s was gone, his dad sitting at the table with a frustrated expression on his face. 

…

MePhone felt surprisingly normal going into work the next day. Hanging out with Trophy last night had really helped keep him distracted, and alright, so he had mostly mellowed out today. 

He couldn’t say the same for Two, who he was working with today at the bakery. Soap was there today too, but she was busy with calling the supplier, so it was hard not to focus on the mood of the only other person in the room at the moment.

He noticed it as soon as he came in, really, an almost tangible aura of nervousness to the way they carried themself, and that wasn’t really normal. 

Two was just a regular guy, sure, they had days where they were quieter than others, but this just seemed different. And MePhone of all people was good at spotting when someone was having an off day, having had too many to count of his own. That, and Two wasn’t really doing a good job of masking it, either. 

But… It also wasn’t really MePhone’s business. They were at work, and whatever was bothering Two, well… MePhone, as well as he could tell an off mood by now, he also knew from experience pressing anyone about it never worked out. And maybe Two was different, but MePhone wasn’t the type of guy to ask how other people were feeling unprompted.

Though he couldn’t help the concerned glances their way every time they fumbled with something. Cursory; “Everything alright”’s the few times Two dropped something they were holding, for them to pass off as ‘clumsy hands today’. Surely meaning this wasn’t to be talked about, really.

Of course, he hoped they would be alright, and get over whatever was making them feel this nervous, and clearly skittish, but it wasn’t his place to pry. 

He was fine to let it not be his business, because he already had his own things to worry about still, but as they were closing up, Two decided to talk to him.

“Hey, MePhone?”

He looked over after hanging up his apron, just tilting his head to let the other continue;

“Can I walk with you?”

“Isn’t your place in the opposite direction?”

“Yeah-- it is, I just…” A bit of hesitance as the other glanced away, just fiddling with the keys to the building in their hands for a moment, the jingle filling in the awkward silence.

“If you don’t want to, it’s fine, I just--”

“No, it’s fine, Two, I just uh…” He glanced away, feeling a bit awkward now; “Sorry. Yeah, we can walk for a bit. I don’t have anything going on tonight anyways,” He just shrugged.

The two of them ended up walking up the street together, Two stuffing their hands in the pockets of their big jacket. 

They weren’t really walking to anywhere in particular, but they were heading in the vague direction of Two’s place. MePhone wouldn’t mind the extra while longer it’d take him to get home, though he knew the cat would probably be a little upset. He could make it up to her with some extra treats tonight, surely. That, and he needed to stop by the store on his way home anyways, considering his fridge was empty this morning, and he figured he was hungry enough to pick something up for a meal today.

“Is uh… Are you okay?” He asked finally, figuring he had to ask about it now that they were hanging out. It was probably why Two asked for his company, anyways. That, and the silence getting to be a bit too much.

“I-- yeah? I mean, I’m trying to be,” An awkward laugh from them, an attempt at humor to pad the unsureness of it. 

MePhone raised an eyebrow at that.

“It’s just… An awkward situation, really. It’s probably honestly nothing, and I’m worried for no reason,” They trailed off. There were still words left they wanted to say, but they couldn’t get them out yet.

“... But?” MePhone prompted them to continue, just really hoping he wasn’t completely misreading the situation, and that they did in fact want to talk through whatever this was. He was definitely worried that was the case for a moment, but Two did continue talking after a moment with a question. 

“Have you ever run into someone you swore you’d never have to see again?” Two’s walking pace slowed a bit to a stop, MePhone stopping too, though more towards the question, and not them stopping. 

“Uhm…” He frowned, glancing away. It seemed lately, he had been on the opposite end of that situation. Both with 4s, and OJ. People who clearly didn’t want a single thing to do with him, and all without even telling him what he did wrong. How he could fix any of it. 

It was all still just too frustrating to think about, and he didn’t want his mood to decline here and now, when Two was clearly seeking some sort of… Something, regarding their issue. Really, MePhone wasn’t good with emotions. He was good enough at reading them, and feeling them, but helping other people with theirs was never easy. Maybe that’s why 4s hated him. He felt like he failed him as the older brother he was supposed to be.

But he shook that off. He couldn’t get lost in his thoughts. Even if he was a little bit ill-prepared to help at all, he still had to be there for them, with whatever was going on.

“Not really,” He gave a small shrug, before continuing; “But… I know if I were in that situation, it would suck,” The idea of possibly running into his dad again at any point, or any of his old co-workers from his first job in the city made him feel slightly sick to his stomach, so he could only guess how bad Two felt at the moment.

It was also just… A shocking thing to hear from them, because Two just seemed like the type of person to be friends, or friendly with everyone. Not the type of person to have many-- if any, enemies, or people who truly hated them. 

Two just let out a small hum in response, their gaze a bit unsure, looking at the ground between the two. 

“You… You will show up to the baking thing, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” MePhone reassured, though he didn’t catch how that was relevant yet. He did mean it though. After all the patience and support they’ve gotten from Two, it was the right thing to be there for them in return. 

Their shoulders sagged a bit in relief. 

“I got the list of people involved in it the other day,”

“Yeah?” He was slowly piecing the context clues together, though he was just given the answer outright when Two spoke next;

“There’s someone who’s also competing that I just… Don’t know if I want to risk seeing again. They uhm… They’ve done a lot of horrible things to me and one of my exes…” 

MePhone blinked, not really having expected them to keep going, a bit surprised by all this. Come to think of it, beyond the basics, he didn’t truly know that much about Two’s past. Learning they had an ex, and someone who had clearly hated them was very new. 

“But this is such a huge opportunity that I don’t want to pass up. I’ve been so excited at the chance of participating in this for so long! I don’t want this to ruin that, but the idea of seeing their awful, smug face again, I--...” Two just shook their head, letting out a defeated sigh.

“Some part of me wants to drop out, but I know I’ll never forgive myself if I do.” 

Personally, if something was stressing MePhone out that badly, he figured his fight or flight would kick in, and he’d run away from it. A bad habit, really, but that was just how he was. But… That was also probably bad advice to anyone who wasn’t him, and Two definitely wasn’t him.

MePhone stood there for a moment, trying to find his words, shuffling in place for a moment, before placing a hand on the other’s shoulder. He did his best to give a small, reassuring smile-- feeling like he was so comically bad at comforting anyone ever, and definitely so very worried he was going to fuck this up or say the wrong thing or something, but he did manage his words once Two glanced up at him again.

“Whatever you decide, I’m here for you.” MePhone was hoping his nervousness wasn’t too easy to detect, and that his words did anything at all to help.

Two didn’t say anything else, but they did return the expression with a tired smile of their own. 

“Thanks, MePhone. I’m glad I can count on you.”

“I hope it goes well if you decide to stick with it,” He moved his hand away finally, hoping he hadn’t held it there long enough for it to be awkward, but if he had, Two didn’t comment on it.

“Yeah, me too.” A slight, humored breath left them.

“And hey, if you do this, I’m sure if you win you can prove to yourself you don’t have to worry about them anymore anyways… Or something like that,” MePhone shrugged, trying to mask the fact he felt like a total idiot for actually saying that.

“Haha, yeah… Here’s to hoping,” Two thankfully didn’t seem upset by it at all, going along with it.

It was quiet for a moment, before Two spoke again; “Thanks for walking and talking with me, by the way.”

“Of course, anytime.” MePhone’s smile shifted into something more genuine. He just really hoped if this happened again, he wouldn’t make a total fool of himself. 

So the two of them went their separate ways for the evening, MePhone heading back closer to his apartment, planning to stop at the store on the way. Maybe that hadn’t gone as terribly as his brain convinced himself it did. 

…

4s was curious when the person finally texted her back. She wasn’t going to do any digging herself, despite still being very curious as to what trouble her brother was getting up to, because she really just didn’t want to concern herself with him anymore. She had already left a text a while ago telling him to knock whatever it was off, so that was all she felt needed to be done on her end.

That being said, maybe it was getting a little concerning when the person texted her with another image for two very different reasons. The text that accompanied it being;

“Your shitty brother stole my boyfriend, and is fooling around with other guys at the same time too.” A text clearly fuelled by what was probably a lot of rage, and desperation for anything to happen in retaliation, even if it was sent the wrong way, and then the other thing concerning being the photo itself.

His brother, and some blonde guy holding hands. A very weird photo, and it was clear neither of them were aware the photo was taken. The other one she was sent a while ago also felt that way, but this one felt… Creepier.

So maybe she outta talk to this person or something. She didn’t have anything better to do at the moment anyways, and the curiosity, despite wanting to let it go and not care, was definitely a bit overwhelming.

‘Are you stalking my brother.’

‘Ew no. I saw him at the mall with his other boy toy and I just think its like completely unfair to whoever this guy is, and my ex boyfriend. Did you even talk to your shitty brother about this?’

‘Not that it’s any of your business, but no. Frankly, this still Isn’t my problem.’

‘Maybe not but im tired of dealing with this myself. If your brother could just keep it in his pants that would be so great. He’s a total homewrecker and its so shitty to everyone involved.’

‘First of all, gross. I’d rather not hear someone talk about my brother like that. Second of all, how hard is it to just let it go? Leave him alone? If whatever you’re doing isn’t stopping him from being shitty, what’s the point?’

‘THE POINT is that he deserves whatever is coming to him.’

‘I don’t appreciate you threatening my brother to me. I think this conversation is over.’

‘So what, youre defending him?!’

4s just rolled her eyes, not bothering with a reply. She was over this, or-- at least, she was over talking to this chick. What a handful. Maybe being curious was a curse. This clearly still wasn’t her business. Whatever this girl wanted from her, she wasn’t going to deliver because she really didn’t want to send another text. She left his number unblocked from last time, and she didn’t want to risk seeing him text back or say anything when she was still doing her best to not think about him these days. 

Really, with all her being much happier than she had ever been lately with her self discovery journey, and being away from home, she had been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting. There was a feeling of guilt that had started building up from a few days ago that just wasn’t going away, and she was doing her best to avoid it, even if that wasn’t exactly healthy. 

She wasn’t putting that train of thought off forever, she just… Wasn’t ready for it yet. That was the excuse she stuck with in her mind.

She’d continue to avoid it for the rest of the day, just setting her phone down, and getting up from the couch with a yawn, figuring she should get on with the rest of her afternoon, and make the most of her current day off from work.

Chapter Text

Wake up, feed the cat, and give a good morning text to his boyfriend. That was how he had been starting his days since he and Trophy got together. Just a small addition to his current usual routine, but a welcomed one for sure. 

Really, he liked how his days were going lately. Things had started to feel normal, and he liked that. He liked how he wasn’t sad when he woke up every morning-- despite that one low point-- but that was just one low point. He was moving past it, and it finally felt like he was falling into a good groove with his days.

It was Monday now, and he was helping open up the bakery, here today with Leafy and Lightbulb. The supplier was going to be stopping by with the stock for the week today. Of course, he wasn’t eager to deal with her today, but he supposed it would be fine. Even if she caused a fuss, he figured he could handle it today.

Overall, it was just slow. Customers in and out, all while Lightbulb and Leafy kept up a conversation he wasn’t really paying attention to today, since he was on register duty, and people kept coming in and out. Still slow, but enough going on for him to be mostly tuning all of it out, until a familiar face walked through the door.

MePhone tried not to let his neutral expression falter too much as he adjusted his gaze to the shorter woman who walked up to the counter.

“Ah, I see you’re here this time. When you hadn’t been here on the days I’d come in I thought Two finally got rid of you.” She just shrugged.

MePhone rolled his eyes;

“Nope. They haven’t gotten sick of me yet.” A less than amused tone to his voice that he couldn’t help.

“Ah, whatever then. I have the supplies for the week out back.”

“Don’t you usually unload the stuff too?”

“Yes, well, I’m quite busy today. I have a few other places to be. So you should have one of your coworkers go take care of that. I would say you could, but even with it already paid for, I wouldn’t trust you.”

A scoff from MePhone; “Oh come on. It’s been how many months now?” He could feel the other two glance over, and then he could see Taco’s gaze shift as she glanced over at one of them.

“Oh hey! I remember you!” Lightbulb piped in, almost zooming over to the counter with a huge grin on her face. 

Taco looked caught off guard. The first and probably only time MePhone would ever see that expression on her face as he glanced over at Lightbulb with a raised eyebrow.

“I--” Taco stopped herself, clearing her throat, and quickly regaining her composure, clearly trying to ignore the fact she was blushing.

“Do I know you?”

“Sure you do!” 

“Yes, yes… Well I meet a lot of people in my day to day life--” She glanced at her wrist, and almost cartoonish motion considering she didn’t even have a watch; “Oh look at the time, I must be going. Don’t forget the boxes out back.” She didn’t even entertain another word from lightbulb as she turned around, and sped out of there.

“Huh. Uh… I’ve never seen her like that before,”

“Hehe… I have.” Lightbulb gave a small giggle, her expression a bit sly as she watched the other disappear from view. It took MePhone a moment to actually get what she meant;

“Gross. Also-- what, have you just never been here on Mondays?”

“Nope. Most of the time I get this day off,” She shrugged. “Does she come here often? I wouldn’t mind catching up with her.”

MePhone just rolled his eyes again, trying to ignore the implications.

“She’s the supplier. We pay her every Saturday and we get our stuff on Mondays. Did Two not tell you about any of this or something?”

“Oh they did, they just didn’t mention who it was. But this is a nice surprise. I like recognizing people.”

“Yeah, I think I can tell,” A bit of a sheepish tone. 

Lightbulb headed over to the back to grab the supplies they were left after that, which left MePhone to go back to mostly just standing there, and talking to customers for pretty much the rest of the evening.

It was about thirty minutes to closing when something less slow happened. He was handing a customer the pastry they ordered, listening to the idle ambience and chatter of the room. It was mostly quiet behind the counter, seeing as Lightbulb was cleaning up the empty tables in the rest of the bakery area, and Leafy was cleaning up the counters.

There were two customers sitting at one of the tables, enjoying drinks they brought in from elsewhere, while finishing up whatever pastries they had ordered just a little while ago. Maybe it was eavesdropping, but with nothing else really happening, he couldn’t help but listen in on the conversation, seeing how they weren’t exactly being quiet, either.

“Did you hear the news?”

“Huh?” The other tilted their head a bit. The one that was talking to them didn’t look up from their phone as they spoke again;

“That the head of Meeple is holding a press conference in the city at the end of the week?”
“Oh wow, I didn’t. I wonder if he’s going to announce anything new…”

The rest of whatever conversation was going on was immediately lost once MePhone actually processed what he had just heard. It almost felt like the world around him completely froze. Or, at least, to the world around him, he was the one who froze, staring blankly forward as what he just heard did a couple laps around his brain to really sink in. 

And then it felt like his heart dropped to his feet. He couldn’t help that he was in public-- it made it all the more humiliating when he heaved out a breath, not saying a thing to either of his coworkers as he sprinted to the back room, even as a customer had just entered.

No. No, this couldn’t be happening. He misheard. Surely. He misheard, or they were lying, or something-- and now he’s being stupid, and overreacting, and he was making a fool of himself, and he should really go back out there, and pretend like he didn’t just make himself look like an idiot, and finish the last half hour of his shift, and close up. 

… But that didn’t stop him. He fumbled the keys out of the pocket of his apron, practically dropping them on the table with how shaky his hands were as he just left, and started walking. Away from the bakery, away from his coworkers, and everything else at the moment. 

He kept walking and walking, not even paying attention to where he was going until he had to stop. He stopped, blinking heavily back into focus, his breath still unsteady, his hands still trembling. As if things couldn’t have gotten worse, he didn’t recognize the area in the slightest. Sure, he had been living here for a good time now, but he certainly hadn’t been everywhere. The city was far too big for that to be realistic. 

He stepped around in a circle, looking at the faces that passed him, not paying him any mind. He looked up at the sky, seeing just how dark it was now. He could occasionally feel his phone buzz in his pocket, enough times to figure someone was trying to contact him, but he didn’t have the courage to check. He didn’t have the courage to do anything right now, even if it was cold, and his cover against that was very minimal. He had left his coat at the bakery. He hadn’t even taken his apron off, either. 

He just found himself sat on a bench, doing his best not to hyperventilate, or have any sort of anxiety attack. He couldn’t do that in public, especially a public area he didn’t even recognize. 

The idea just felt so suffocating, and paralyzing, and horrifying, the idea of his father coming here. Being so close, even for a short time. Possibly finding him, or seeing him. Two’s question from just yesterday rattled in his brain now. How unlucky that the same scenario just had to pop up for him too. It all just made him feel so scared. So low, and afraid, and just like the little boy he used to be feeling so afraid for his and his brother’s safety every time the man came home from work. He didn’t like feeling like that. He was a grown adult now, and he should be over it. But he wasn’t, and he frankly didn’t know if he could even handle the anxiety he felt bubbling up in his stomach. He hated being this afraid. It made him feel so helpless.

Part of him screamed to leave. Pack up and go now, just get out, go anywhere but here, this city, but he’d be losing everything. He couldn’t just leave his cat, or the friends he was slowly making, or Trophy like that. It would be so horrible of him. But… Gods, what other choice did he have? He couldn’t leave, but he was terrified of the idea of being around, running the risk of running into dad. It was worrisome enough thinking about running into 4s on accident every time he went out.

He just didn’t know what to do right now. 

…

Two wasn’t expecting a call from Leafy. The two of them only ever spoke or texted about work related things, but there was never any calling involved. Which should’ve been the first sign that something was wrong, especially on a day they were currently off work. They stepped aside from X, who he had been spending their time with today, and picked up.

“Hey, Two? Uhm, I don’t wan to jump to any conclusions but there might be a situation,”

“A situation?” They were immediately worried, just hoping she’d get to the point. 

“Yeah. MePhone? He-- He just kind of left without a word.”

“What?” Two’s expression shifted to something bewildered. They stayed on call with Leafy, but they backed out to MePhone’s contact to text him. A few texts just trying to ask him what happened, or even if he was just okay, but there was no response. Not at all.

“Did he take the keys with him?”

“No? That’s the weird thing. They’re on the table in the back, but his coat is also here, and his apron isn’t-- and he isn’t hiding out in the bathroom, or the back alley or anything.” Leafy just scratched the back of her neck, surveying the back room. Nothing looked out of place in here, so there wasn’t anything strange that happened in this room, and when she looked in the back alley, and stepped out to the sidewalk to see if she could spot him, he really just wasn’t around. 

He had left without a word, which just didn’t seem normal at all. Which is why she called Two. She felt a bit bad for pulling them into this on a day off, but they were the only one that was actually ‘close’ to MePhone, so it was the best option in her mind. 

Two just sighed; “I’ll try getting into contact with him. Do you know where he might’ve gone?”

“I was hoping you’d be able to answer that, sorry…” 

“It’s fine… Just… Close up shop for now. We’re both scheduled for tomorrow, so if he doesn’t answer tonight, I’ll just ask when he comes in.” Really, ‘if’ would’ve been the better word choice. MePhone was a bit… Weird when it came to actually coming in sometimes. It hadn’t happened in a while now, sure, but… The time he pretended to be sick was still not that long ago. They just hoped he’d answer the texts, and despite whatever caused him to up and leave, that he was at least okay.

…

Reading bad news in an article your own phone recommends you is an awful way to find things out. Safe to say, the announcement that Cobs was coming to this city for a press conference left a sour taste in her mouth. She had just gotten away, and was starting to feel happy. She was just starting her best life, and now her stupid shitty dad thought it was a great idea to come here for business reasons. 

And maybe it would be normal, because this was a big enough city for big company events or whatever, but she knew Cobs. She knew he had to be scheming something, and that thought terrified her. 

It terrified her enough to get her to get out of bed to slip her shoes on. Paintbrush sat up too, having been woken up by her shuffling around in the dark.

“4s?” They mumbled. Usually, in a better mood, their sleepy voice would really make her feel all sorts of ways, but now was not one of those times.

She just let out a frustrated huff.

“Sorry if I woke you. I’m heading out for a walk.”

“It’s the middle of the night,” Their voice became a bit more concerned, sitting up fully as they looked her way, worry in their gaze.

“I know. I just… Need to clear my head. I promise it’s not anything you did.”

“... Do you want me to come with you? I don’t know if it’s really safe being out that late on your own,”

“I have a concealed carry, Paintbrush. I will be fine.” 4s sighed out. Of course she wasn’t actually going to bring her gun with her, but she figured saying that would get rid of some of Paintbrush’s worries. 

She did appreciate the concern, though. 

“I… Also promise we can talk about this once I’m back, or… In the morning. Whichever works, really.”

“Can this walk wait?”

“No, not really. I need some fresh air,”

“Okay.” Paintbrush just sighed. They trusted their girlfriend was capable enough to make her own choices, and they trusted her.

“If you need me at all, I’m just a text or call away then. I hope your walk helps.”

“Thank you.” Was the last thing she said, before slipping on a coat, and heading out. 

The cold air definitely helped to ground her. Sure, she probably could’ve just went out to the balcony in their apartment, but she needed some sort of activity to keep her brain occupied. 

The idea of running into Cobs again made her skin crawl. Especially with all this self discovery stuff she was doing. Frankly, she didn’t ever want to come out to him. Even if he wasn’t a bigot, he would still probably be disappointed or something. She was sure he’d be disappointed with a lot of the choices she was making living here, and those were things she shouldn’t have to deal with here. She knew she deserved better. 

She just wished she could figure out why he was coming here. Of course he had to have some sort of ulterior motive. There was no way the man didn’t. She didn’t understand why he’d come here for her though. They left off on fine terms, even if she hadn’t bothered to text him at all. Even if she was starting to put most of the resentment she still felt his way. She just… Really didn’t want to see, or hear about him anymore. It sucked that he was such a large, public figure. It just sucked. She didn’t mind growing up in the area she did, but… Gods did she wish literally anyone else had adopted her and MePhone. Maybe then she wouldn’t still be feeling as conflicted as she did all the time. Of course, that would’ve meant she wouldn’t have ever met 3gs, but… With how he still just wasn’t in their life, despite her trying to reach out and find or contact him, maybe it wouldn’t have even mattered. 

That was another thing that frustrated her, really. How 3gs completely ditched them and left them to fend for themselves once he left to live his new better life. She tried not to blame him for leaving, because he was an adult, but… Did all the time spent as siblings not mean a thing?

She didn’t like thinking about him. It just made her sad most of the time. So she shook off her thoughts, focusing on her surroundings again. All the places were closed on the side of the street she was walking down, and there was hardly anyone around, save for someone sat curled up on a bench.

That seemed a bit weird on first glance. Really, she planned on continuing to walk, and ignore it, because she didn’t trust strangers, but… As she kept walking, she noticed the familiar head of blue hair.

.

.

.

MePhone didn’t know how long he had been sitting there. He just knew he was freezing, and that he felt bad about his cat. She didn’t deserve to go unfed just because he wasn’t going home yet. He hoped she’d forgive him for this, even if he didn’t feel like he wouldn’t even deserve it. 

Despite feeling this terrible, and cold, he still didn’t move. He just brought his knees up, wrapping his arms around them to keep them up there, as he buried his face in his knees. He was sure he probably looked like a lunatic to anyone passing by. Being out here alone, this late at night in the cold, not moving or doing anything. Gods, he felt like a lunatic, really. 

He felt crazy for feeling so scared. He couldn’t tell if the shivering was from the cold, or from the anxiety that twisted in his chest. It probably didn’t even matter. He just hoped he wouldn’t get sick from this. He couldn’t afford that. 

He just wanted to go home, and be warm. He wanted to get out of here, and run. He wanted to never be heard from again by anyone in his life. Thoughts of disappearing completely had plagued him all night. Throwing himself off a bridge or something, and praying his body just wasn’t found. Walking off into the woods, and just never coming out. Whatever it took. 

Maybe he was lucky he couldn’t find it in him to move. He knew he didn’t really want to do any of those things. He hadn’t seriously thought about… Things like that in a few months now. Horrible, intrusive thoughts, really, but they were always easily ignorable compared to the others.

It still sucked though. Maybe it would be better for everyone if he did just go through with it one of these days. A crude, old plan in the back of his head from days he tried not to think about, when he had been alone with dad in that house. 

He tried so hard not to think about those days. He tried really hard to push away the thoughts of wanting to harm himself, but they never really went easily. 

A shuddered breath left him as he tensed his shoulders a bit. This was really uncomfortable, but he didn’t budge from his spot. He just wished this wasn’t in public for anyone to see him. He wondered if someone would call the cops on him or something. They’d think he was on drugs or something, or absolutely insane for being out this late without a jacket, some sort of nutcase or something, and he’d get locked up either way. Maybe that would be better too. If he got locked up. Because then he wouldn’t run the risk of seeing dad at all. 

It just felt so childish, and stupid that all the extremes felt like easier options compared to running into the man again. Surely that just said something awful about him. About how horrible of a son he was. How horrible of a person he was for being so scared of his own adoptive father, the man who gave him house and home. 

Another shuddered breath. He could feel the tears streaming down his face. His heart ached. He wished he could’ve just been normal. That he could’ve been a regular guy like everyone else, and that he wasn’t cursed to be so stupid, and useless, and awful. 

So useless he couldn’t even get up and go home. Gods, what was wrong with him. He wish he knew. Sometimes he wished he could get help. Try and find a doctor or something to see if he had any issues, but--... Doctors terrified him, and he really tried not to believe there was anything wrong. Even though it always felt like there probably had to be something wrong with him or something. He didn’t feel normal.

A quiet sob left him. He couldn’t even stop himself from crying. He couldn’t do anything right, really. That was just his curse or something. In a world where that kind of stuff didn’t exist, of course he’d be the only one to experience that. Cosmic unluckiness from a world that really just seemed to loathe him. 

He couldn’t even pull himself out of his own thoughts to notice the weight of the bench shift next to him. He just continued to cry, and shiver. There was nothing else for him to do right now. He still ignored the constant buzzing from his phone. He did his best to block out the rest of the world around him, but it was hard to keep doing that when he felt something around his shoulders.

He jolted, wondering in half a second if he was about to get mugged, or stabbed or something, wondering if he’d just accept it and let it happen, but… He looked up, frantically glancing around, before he looked to the other side of the bench. 

“Jeez. Calm down.” 4s just glanced away, looking a bit annoyed. He didn’t have his glasses on right now, so for once, he could see his full face.

MePhone just stared at him, mouth agape for a moment. This was not the time. No, no, he--

4s seemed to notice the shift in his expression back into something scared, talking again;

“I’m not here to yell at you.”

“Wh-- wh… Why are you here th- then,” he couldn’t help how messy and jittery his speech was, he was still just so cold, even with the coat now around his shoulders.

“I just saw you, and… Ugh, I don’t know.” 4s just sighed, not wanting to admit she just… Really wanted the company of someone who would understand. Even if it had to be MePhone. She’d just… Have to ignore the guilt, and all the other feelings that were gnawing on her right now. She was just tired of being upset tonight. 

“You look like one of those sad kittens sitting here alone.”

“S- so it’s just pity. Of-f course.” He finally looked away, the hurt evident in his eyes.

“It’s not, but whatever.” 

It was quiet, and incredibly awkward between the two after that, but MePhone did speak after a while, even if it was clear he was nervous to even say anything;

“Wh- what are you even doing out here this-s late?” He ignored how his teeth chattered a bit.

“I found out something shitty, and I wanted to clear my head.” She didn’t need to be honest with him. She could’ve just come up with an excuse, or left by now, but… It just didn’t matter if she lied or not. She wondered if MePhone even knew. 

“... I g- guess that makes the t- two of us.” A humorless, dry chuckle, MePhone just keeping his gaze forward.

4s decided to just point out the implied elephant in the room;

“... I don’t like that he’s coming here.” 4s stared at MePhone, seeing him tense up a lot, his expression shifting to something else. He looked so… So on edge. His mouth formed into a thin line, and he suddenly felt like he couldn’t even find his words again. Hearing his brother say it out loud like that just made it real. It meant those customers weren’t just lying, and that this was real. 

He blinked, noticing his breathing picking up. Just so humiliating. He moved a hand slowly to grip at his chest, unable to shake the fear, or anxiety that was now more overwhelming than before. He so desperately hadn’t wanted it to be true. If it was just a press conference, surely the man wouldn’t even be here for long, but Gods, there were still risks, and there were still fears, and-- Gods, he didn’t want to let that man ever be able to make him feel as low as the last night he spent at that home ever again. 

“Hey-- it’s okay, it’s a big city. It’s not like it matters.” 4s tried to calm the other down. She wasn’t as good at being comforting as she used to be, really. This definitely didn’t seem to help. She knew very well too, that even with the chances being so low, they were still there, and she knew MePhone tended to latch onto that, and the possible worst case scenarios.

“I-- I can’t--” He heaved out, clutching tighter at the shirt against his chest, just wishing he wasn’t completely humiliating himself right now in front of someone who didn’t even want anything to do with him. That seemed to be such an awful habit forming as of late, even if he couldn't help it.

“He-- He’s-s I can’t let him hurt me again, I--” He couldn’t even get a proper sentence out through the shivering, and the panic he felt that just wouldn’t go away, twisting so tight around his core, feeling like it would never let up. If dad found him here, if he was seen, he was as good as dead. He was already so close to being so before he got out of there on his own.

He couldn’t help the sobs that wracked his body as he quickly tried to make himself as small as possible, leaning as far away from the other, despite already being against the armrest of the bench. 

And 4s realized why Cobs had to be doing this. As mixed as her feelings were towards MePhone still, it hurt so much seeing him like this.

“I-- I don’t want t- to let this kill me,” He blubbered out, unable to really stop the words that came out his mouth. He really was just that scared little child he’s always been, and nothing was ever going to change or fix that. 

4s just stared at him, watching him break down, trying to process and wrap her head around what her brother just said, but it just seemed to be stated outright for her as he continued speaking;

“I- I barely made it away-y from him the first time, I- I can’t see him again! It- it is a big deal, and I- I’m so so scared!” He sobbed out. He just couldn’t keep it in anymore. Being this vulnerable was horrifying, but he couldn’t help it. He was just glad it was with 4s, even if they weren’t on good terms. He didn’t know how he’d even begin to talk about this with anyone else, and--

His breath hitched as he finally actually processed the words that had slipped out of his mouth. A few quiet heaves, his eyes widening as he looked over to 4s, who had been so eerily quiet, looking as scared as he had through this entire night.

Maybe he wished the other had his shades on. Maybe it would’ve been better, because then he wouldn’t have had to see him crying now, too. Something he hadn’t seen from him since 3gs had moved away. 

“I-- I’m sorry,” MePhone's tone was so quiet. He had to apologize, and fix this somehow, maybe he could play it off as some sick, twisted joke, or-- He jolted, letting out a yelp as the other hugged him, a sudden movement he barely even processed until his brother’s arms were around him. He was stunned for a moment, before everything came crashing down again with another sob. He was so exhausted of holding it all in, for once just letting himself continue to let it out around someone else.

…

“If you get sick, it’s your own fault.” 4s was back to her usual slightly rigid attitude by the time they were back at her apartment. 

“I know.” His voice was quiet, hoarse from all the sobbing he had done. 4s gestured to the couch, which MePhone sat down on without another word, while she went to get him a glass of water from the kitchen.

“I… Don’t think I’m ready to talk to you again regularly, but… I will try to get over my feelings.”

“You don’t have to. Whatever I did, I probably deserve this from you anyways.” MePhone just looked so exhausted. Even in the warmth of 4s and Paintbrush’s apartment-- which she’d probably have to explain to them about this whole situation in the morning-- a whole can of worms she didn’t have the energy to think about right now-- MePhone still shivered. He still seemed low enough to be so outwardly hateful towards himself, something he didn’t even seem to see anything wrong with, even while 4s flinched at that. 

She just sighed, handing the cup to him.

“I’m going to grab you a blanket. Just erh… Stay here.” 

MePhone didn’t even say anything, giving a small, sluggish nod as he leaned heavily into the comfort of the couch, clearly struggling to stay awake. 

She clicked open the door to the room of the apartment where she and Paintbrush slept, moving over to a chair to the side of the room that they piled most of the plushies and pillows and blankets they weren’t using onto, just grabbing a handful of them, before trudging back out as quietly as she could. By the time she reached the couch, it was clear MePhone was out cold. A sigh as she dumped the few blankets down on him, not saying anything else, deciding to just let him rest for the night.

4s figured tomorrow morning would be filled with a lot of long, possibly difficult conversations, just hoping her brother would be feeling even slightly better by then.

Chapter Text

Trophy hated worrying about people. It made him feel weak, and that was also something he hated. That being said, he couldn’t really help it. It was embarrassing, really. The reason for all these jumbled stupid feelings was just because his boyfriend hadn’t texted him since the good morning text they shared, and he hadn’t even read any of the texts Trophy sent him today. All left on delivered, but not read. Of course, that day, he just shrugged it off the best he could, but admittedly, he was still worried by the next morning.

It was reaching afternoon now, and he hadn’t gotten a single text or sign anything he was saying was being seen. And maybe he left a few calls after not getting a good morning text. Maybe he walked by the bakery on his way to work, glancing in to see if MePhone was at his job today, only to feel just a little worse when he didn’t see him. Maybe he might just be a bit clingy, but he wasn’t about to unpack any of that. It felt like MePhone had completely dipped on him without a word, and that was what was worrying him. He loved the guy, sure, but… That wasn’t a habit he’d really appreciate from a boyfriend. Not when he’s had enough people in his life walk out on him without a word. 

He refused to put up with that from anyone anymore, just… Going to his own job, and hoping the other would call, or hell, even just text back sometime today. He hated being this worried for someone else. It felt weak, and childish, and stupid. None of which were things he liked feeling in the slightest. 

… He just really hoped MePhone hadn’t somehow already gotten sick of him. Trophy knew he was a catch-- he had probably a bit too much self confidence on most days, but… The worries always still lingered. Of course he didn’t have confidence issues, and he certainly wasn’t insecure. He was completely awesome, and nobody was better than him, but… Sometimes the people around him just didn’t realize that, or appreciate it as much as they should.

Maybe he was just full of himself.

He sighed, staring at his phone for a solid few minutes, waiting for his first person to train for the day to show up. He wanted to send another text, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to come off as too worried, or clingy, or desperate or whatever else he could be conveyed as here. He was better than that, and he just… Really hoped his boyfriend was fine, wherever he was at the moment.

…

4s was really glad she and Paintbrush woke up to the same alarm every morning. At least, most of the time she was. She was off work today, sure, but she had also gotten back to the apartment around three in the morning, so she wasn't running on very much sleep getting up at eight.

Really she was just glad at the fact she had a chance to explain why there was someone crashing on their couch.

Paintbrush slipped on their shirt for the day, moving to grab their socks and shoes now when 4s finally got the energy to sit up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Paintbrush glanced over;

Do you still want to talk about last night? That, and you could just go back to sleep if you don't want to. You look a little worse for wear,"

A yawn from their girlfriend.

"No, I might as well get up now. I erh... Need to warn you about something, anyways."

Paintbrush stopped halfway through putting on one of their shoes, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Warn me?"

"I need you to not freak out-- and we can talk about this tonight, or text or call or something while you're on your walk to work, but erh... My brother is currently crashing on our couch."

They blinked, pausing completely;

"The brother that you hate?"

"Yes, I know, it was just... A weird night last night. He really needed company, and I couldn't just leave him out there in the cold."

"He came to our complex?"

"No. I found him on a bench a few blocks down. The street."

"Oh." Paintbrush glanced away, before continuing;

"Are you okay about all this? I can flake on work if you want to talk through some stuff,"

"As nice as that sounds I can't be a bad influence on your adult life. Just go to work,"

Paintbrush hesitated, but nodded anyways.

"Okay. We can talk when I get home." They trusted her judgement. That, and they knew flaking on work today wasn't the best idea anyways. So they left, doing their best not to acknowledge the guy on their couch as they headed out, trusting that 4s could handle this.

4s, meanwhile stayed in the room a little longer. She doubted he was even up yet, he was always the type to get up late on days he didn't work, but even then, she wasn’t sure she was ready to be in the same room as him at the moment, even despite last night.

Maybe her resentment and hatred was childish. Maybe it was something she was realizing she needed to get over, but that still didn’t make it easier. These were still years of pent up anger from being stuck at that house alone, and these were still the things she was feeling that couldn’t be shaken so easily. 

A sigh left her as she stared at the door to the room. 

Of course she hoped he’d be okay. It was clear he was struggling, especially with the news of their dad deciding to come here. Really, as slim as the chances were, she was a bit worried she might run into him too. He could be anywhere, and that idea just sucked.

But despite her brother struggling, she wasn’t sure if she had the energy to help him anymore. He was her brother. That couldn’t ever be changed, but… Gods, the circumstances growing up, this was so different to all that. They were both adults now with their own lives, and she didn’t know if she could handle putting things on pause to help him get through whatever he was going through. It was easier when they were home together, but… Not now. 

Maybe that made her selfish, but… She at least hoped he had people he could turn to that weren’t her. 

If he was supposedly fooling around with possibly several men, she figured there had to be someone. Though, even if she didn’t want to talk to him about much currently, she figured she might need to bring that up. The fact someone was texting her probably behind his back, trying to drag other people into what he had going on, and taking random photos. Which was just straight up weird people behavior. 

Sure, so was sleeping around, or possibly cheating, that was unforgivable, but… She decided she wouldn’t jump to conclusions with this, considering how heavy a topic it was.

4s still didn’t move from her spot for a while, just resigning, and pulling out her phone to scroll a bit. She’d go out into the main area of the apartment soon, just… In a little while. 

…

Even under several layers of blankets, MePhone was shivering. What a start to his day, slowly waking up and realizing he wasn’t really feeling all too well. His own fault, of course, but that only really made it feel worse.

He remained under the blanket for a little while, just content in the warmth it provided against how he felt. He was honestly surprised he hadn’t been bothered by his cat at all last night. He figured he should get up and feed it, finally opening his eyes, letting out a yawn as he shifted to sitting up.

But this was weird.

He looked down at the blankets, not recognizing any of them. He didn’t have any blankets that look or felt like this. He only had one, on top of that. 

On top of probably being a bit ill now, he was confused, looking around at an apartment that certainly wasn’t his, before it finally clicked where he was. 

Of course, the natural reaction was to shoot up off the couch, and look for the door, despite how sluggish, and slightly clumsy his half-awake movements were. Those plans were halted though, as he heard the click of a door down the hall.

The second totally rational choice in his mind was to immediately flop back down on the couch and pretend to still be asleep, shutting his eyes tight as he heard footsteps come into the main area of the apartment.

A sigh, some more movement, a few more noises, and then a coffee maker sputtering to life. 

“You’re not a good actor. I’m not going to yell at you or anything, but you are just making yourself look stupid.”

“Sorry.” Muffled by the blankets a bit. After a moment, he sighed, and sat up. 

“Do you want coffee?”
“I don’t really drink coffee anymore,” He shrugged. Maybe he should, it’d probably give him more morning energy, but he didn’t like how bitter it tasted to him. It wasn’t really worth the money anyways. Coffee makers were far too expensive for his tastes, along with everything else he’d need to buy. 

But he was getting a little off topic. 

It was quiet in the room for a while, before MePhone finally spoke again;

“I should probably go home. I’ve intruded enough,” He kept his gaze away from the other as 4s came over to the livingroom area, sitting down on one of the other chairs in the room.

“Probably. But erh… There are a few things I do want to talk about.”

MePhone immediately felt the nervousness twist in his chest. Never really a good way to start any conversation. 

“Yeah?” He hoped he didn’t sound too miserable. If this was going to be a long heavy conversation, or him getting ridiculed, or called stupid and embarrassing for last night, he supposed he probably deserved it. But none of that came. Really, it probably would’ve been easier if those had been what happened.

4s didn’t look at him. His gaze was locked on the mug in his hands, slightly swirling it around as an idle activity before taking a sip that was clearly drawn out to avoid several elephants in the room for as long as possible.

“First of all,” A sigh. “I guess I should get this out of the way, even if we aren’t close, I trust you enough to know you don’t have a brother anymore.”

MePhone raised an eyebrow. His tired brain didn’t quite get it, his confused expression only growing more perplexed by the moment, a few fears kicking in, wondering if this meant 4s was finally done completely with him, and that he wanted him out right now, and that they’d never ever talk again.

 4s just rolled her eyes though;

“She/her.”

That was as blatantly as she could say it really, and very suddenly, MePhone got it, becoming incredibly embarrassed about having been worried just now, and also about using the wrong terms when thinking about her in his mind, even if he hadn’t known. Of course, there had been no way of guessing, but even through last night being incredibly shitty, he did notice 4s’s usual facial hair was gone.

“Oh-- Uh… Congrats?” He didn’t know what to say, honestly, but… If she was happy, he could be glad for that. Being able to figure things out about yourself outside of home was an idea MePhone definitely cherished, having figured out stuff for himself by being on his own, too, though nothing exactly like this.

“Yeah. Uh… Don’t tell anyone else though. I dunno who you’d tell but…” A less than subtle way of telling him not to tell dad if he ran into the guy, a thought that made him frown. He tried not to think about it. If he was sick, maybe he could just call out of work-- this time with a genuinely valid excuse this time-- for the week, so he wouldn’t have to make any risks. Just until both he felt better, and felt less paranoid about the idea of running into dad. If that stupid conference or whatever he was doing was at the end of the week, surely he could make it back to work after that, and things would be fine. He knew how his dad was when it came to events like this, always hating staying in one city for too long, unless it was the city his main building was.

He didn’t want to think about dad right now, though, so he shook it off. It was clear looking at 4s, that she had more to talk about. 

“Are you cheating on someone?” Wasn’t what he was expecting to come out of her mouth. He blinked, and it felt like his entire thought process paused for a moment, just staring at her for a moment with his mouth agape.

“Wh- what??” He was so confused. Cheating?? On who? Trophy? How did she even know he had a partner? If she was asking this, did she even know? This just felt so out of place, and sudden, and so much stranger than anything else he had been asked.

4s just stared at him, clearly trying to gauge his reaction. 

“Hm. Well I figured it would be the polite thing to do to tell you someone’s spreading rumors about you online.”

“I don’t even have social media, 4s. Uh-- sorry, do you have a preferred name?”

“Current one is fine. I don’t mind.”

“-- And what do you mean someone’s spreading rumors? I didn’t even do anything!” He held out his hands defensively. Really, he had no clue what 4s was talking about here. This was news to him. 

“She said you stole her girlfriend. And is cheating on him.” She paused, placing the mug down on a side table next to her chair, bringing out her phone. She tapped on a few things, before turning the screen, and leaning forward to show it to MePhone.

He narrowed his eyes, staring at the texts. 

“Who even is this?” 

4s wasn’t entirely sure if she wanted to believe him, but… The whole idea seemed stupid-- everything that this stranger had been saying sounded nothing like her brother, and with him being so confused, it really was just telling her he didn’t know about any of this.

She brought her phone back to herself to tap on the profile of the stranger, before showing it off to her brother again.

“Do you recognize this woman?”

MePhone squinted again, staring at the picture. After a second, his eyes widened, and he slapped a hand over his mouth. He clearly recognized her.

He just sat like that in clear shock for a moment.

“I-- That was--... I didn’t steal her boyfriend!” He was immediately offended. “I thought he was cute for a while, sure, but I was helping him out as a friend! That, and he ditched me! We don’t even talk anymore!” He couldn’t help but raise his voice again. He was still definitely upset by this. He figured this was probably, unfortunately going to be something that might upset him for a while. 

“And-- And I have an actual boyfriend!” He just leaned back into the couch, crossing his arms as he glared out at the rest of the apartment. Slander, and for what. This psycho woman was after him, and approaching his family members just because she assumed something that wasn’t even true? How was that fair to… Anyone.

He paused at that thought, his expression dropping further, paranoia kicking in at full speed. 

If… If that stranger had no problems contacting 4s, what would stop her from trying to contact anyone else in his family? 

“Oh Gods…” The rest of it sunk in, too.

“She sent me two different pictures of you, too.” 4s showed those, too. MePhone had a right to see them, and know what was going on if this involved him. 4s didn’t really want this to be her problem anymore, anyways.

A sick feeling in his stomach, worse than how gross he had already been feeling when he had woken up. He got up from the couch, glancing down the hall. 4s raised an eyebrow.

“B- bathroom?” He clutched at his shirt, feeling all the more nauseous each second that passed. 4s got up immediately to help him to the room.

It was unpleasant, and gross, and sometimes, MePhone really just hated his body. He couldn’t stand the fact he had gotten sick, and that it was his own fault. That there was someone stalking him, and that his dad was going to be in the same city, even if just for a hopefully brief time. He felt like he couldn’t handle it, clutching the bowl of the toilet. He felt so embarrassed with each heave and hurl. Gods, it all just sucked, and sometimes he really wished he could just vanish, and disappear, and stop existing. Save himself from any of the pain or humiliation, or hatred from those around him. Sure, he felt like a deeply unlikeable man, but still, did the world have to keep beating him while he was down? Did he have to keep feeling worse, and going through shittier things? Was the world trying this hard to make him snap? He didn’t know how much more of it he could take, honestly.

But the few moments passed, and he was standing up, wiping away the excess with a paper towel. 4s was waiting outside in the hallway, and despite her trying not to look worried, it was clear she was.

“Sorry.” His voice was weak. He was still shivering. He really just needed to go home soon. He still really needed to check up on his cat. He felt so bad for her, and she really needed to be fed.

“I--... Can we just talk about whatever else over text please? Or call later? Or something?” He leaned heavily on the doorframe, shutting his eyes for a brief moment.

“You look like ass. Are you sure you don’t erh… Just want to crash on my couch again?” The worry even more present in her suggestion. MePhone hated how his sister had such a soft spot for him. Even through a lot of complicated feelings he could still feel going his way, she was still willing to be there. He didn’t feel like he deserved it.

“I need to feed my cat. She didn’t eat last night. I don’t want to starve her.”

“... Okay. I… Guess we can try calling sometime when you feel better.” She sighed. Honestly, even with two more things she had wanted to bring up, she wasn’t sure that call would even happen. 

“Thanks… Uhm… For letting me crash here in the first place.” He opened his eyes, honestly just praying he’d actually make it home. Sometimes he really wished he knew anyone with a car, but… He didn’t really feel like calling anyone right now anyways. That, and he was definitely avoiding checking his phone. He could still feel the occasional buzz from what were probably texts, and he just didn’t have the energy to deal with any of that in the moment.

Without much else exchanged between the two siblings, MePhone headed out, just glad it was a little warmer today compared to yesterday. He did finally pull out his phone once out on the street, bringing up the directions back to his place, and wincing at the amount of texts he still chose to ignore, and at the walk back home being about half an hour. Today just sucked, and sometimes, he wished he could teleport or something. That would be a really handy skill to have, even if those kinds of things didn’t even exist.

.

.

.

His cat was understandably both clingy, and upset once he got back. He immediately moved to feed it, also setting out a smaller bowl of dry kibble for her to snack on if she was still hungry beyond the wet food- because she probably deserved a little extra tonight anyways, before heading down the hall, towards his bedroom, sleeping in his actual bed for the first time in a while, just not having the energy to grab his blanket to drag to the couch. Some part of him really hoped he’d feel better in the morning, because being sick just really really sucked, but… Some part of him hoped he wouldn’t, so he could call out of work, and stay home all week. It still felt so selfish and evil of him that the idea of being sick still felt better than the idea of running into his dad.

He at least hoped maybe the nervousness in his stomach, and the idea that this stranger might’ve contacted his dad about these stupid shitty rumors was just him being paranoid. He already had enough to deal with, and he really just didn’t need anymore.

Right now, he really did just want to rest.

…

It was Thursday when Trophy finally got a text from MePhone. He had just gotten out of the gym, finishing up with the last client of the day-- despite being incredibly distracted, and he was really just trying to figure out all day if he had wanted to stop by the other’s apartment to physically check up on him-- maybe a bit of a jump, but it had been such a long bit of silence from his boyfriend of all people, and he couldn’t help but get paranoid.

He almost dropped his phone when he saw the text, immediately clicking on it.

`sorry. got rlly upset over something & got sick a few days ago`

Trophy tapped a finger against his phone, staring at the text. The typing dots from the other popped up again, so he waited to see what the other had to say. He wondered if the other was going to think he was some sort of clingy freak for all the worried texts he left. 

`good uh evening btw. sorry. hope this isnt awkward im rly tired`

Trophy frowned. All the worry, and paranoid thoughts, and this was all he got? It was a relief, definitely, knowing MePhone was alive, and maybe not so well if he was sick, but… Even if he was resting, surely there were times where he was up between all this time, that he could’ve texted back. And sure, Trophy of all people wasn’t the best at texting people, but… Ugh. The feelings just sucked. They were too familiar for him to like. He didn’t like being ghosted. It was never something he had been able to handle well, no matter how close the person was to him. 

But… He wouldn’t snap at the other. He was still doing better at not getting angry at people, and he wanted to keep that going. Especially with his boyfriend.

`Can we call?` He texted back after a few moments, finally starting his walk back to his home. He pulled his earbuds out of his usual gym bag as he walked, just waiting for either a text notification, or his ringtone to go off as he plugged them in. He was about ten minutes down the street before he finally got that call.

“Hey,” He started as soon as he picked up, holding the small microphone on the wire of his earbud close enough to speak through as he kept walking. He’d be at his own complex soon.

“Hey,” And to his credit, he definitely did actually sound sick.

“How long have you been sick? Are you feeling any better?” He decided to get the concern out first. Of course he was concerned. This was his boyfriend’s health, and it did suck hearing he wasn’t feeling well, even if they hadn’t talked in a few days.

“Uhm… Monday night I guess. I stayed out in the cold for too long I think. I uhm… I definitely feel a little better but uhm…” He coughed, a moment before continuing; “I’ll probably be out of work for a few more days, which sucks.” MePhone really just hoped the lack of pay during these days out of work wouldn’t effect his budget too much. He wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck of course, he at least had a bit of extra money, but it still sucked. He still had rent to pay at the end of the month, which was coming up quicker than he liked. He did hope he’d be better by the time Two’s baking contest thing happened. He did at least want to be able to show up and support them, even if things had been awkward since he walked out of work on Monday. He didn’t really give them a straight answer, just saying he got sick, and leaving it at that, even if it wasn’t the full of it, and the both of them knew. He knew Two could tell there was more to it when they were texting, at least. But he still didn’t want to bother them with much when they had something of their own to worry about anyways.

“You also said something bad happened?” He entered his complex, deciding to take the stairs so he wouldn’t risk talking on the phone in an elevator with anyone else in it as he headed up.

“Uh…” MePhone winced on the other end, not really sure if he wanted to bring it up. “Yeah.” Was all he said. 

“Can you tell me? You know I’m your boyfriend and all right? You should be able to talk to me about anything, dude. And--” He couldn’t help as his tone got a little more agitated as he kept going, mostly unintentionally letting out his frustrations; “And-- you know you also should’ve been able to text me at least once during all this time. By the way. I- I was a little worried.” A lot worried, but he was going to play it off. “You can’t just ghost me like that. It’s shitty.” Silence. “Uhm… Just don’t do that again.” He just sighed, slouching his shoulders. He wanted to be a lot more angry about that. One too many similar shitty experiences with people he thought he could trust and be close to. He couldn’t let that keep happening to him. Really, he was surprised he had been as calm as he had with saying any of that. If this were any worse of a mood or day, he might’ve shouted. Which he knew wouldn’t have been good for either of them. A sigh. MePhone was completely quiet for a moment. 

Trophy finally made his way into his apartment, shutting and locking the door behind him, and tossing the gym bag onto the couch as he passed into the kitchen, deciding a protein shake would calm his nerves a little more. He still just waited for the other to speak.

“I’m sorry. You’re right.” MePhone sounded miserable, and he couldn’t tell if it was because of what he said to the guy, or because he was sick. It probably could’ve been both.

“I- I just… It’s stressful. I don’t… Really want to think much about it.” A pause; “My dad’s coming to town. I just… The idea of possibly running into him really scared me and I basically ran away from work before closing and stayed outside in the cold all night. Stupid, I know, I just--...” A sigh from the other end, and a sniffle. Trophy chose to believe the other just had a runny nose or something, and wasn’t possibly crying. He wasn’t really great at comforting people still.

“I don’t know.” A defeated tone.

“What, like he’s coming to visit? If you don’t like him, couldn’t you have just turned him away?”

“No-- he’s… It’s not like that, he--...” MePhone hesitated. “He’s here for a work thing.” He didn’t want to just openly admit who his dad was. The thought was scary. As much as he was trying to trust Trophy, the idea of him finding out about who his family was mortified him. People were always so weird when they found out when he moved here, which was why he just stopped being open about it. He didn’t like talking about his family much still anyways.

“Oh. Well what, I’m sure it’s not too hard to avoid him. Especially if you’re sick.” A pause; “You didn’t get sick on purpose, did you?” He raised an eyebrow, even though he knew MePhone wouldn’t see his expression.

“No, I didn’t. I was stupid. That’s why I got sick.”

“You’re not stupid.” Was the best he could say right now for comfort. “I’m about to turn on my blender, so you might wanna turn me down for a minute by the way,” He shifted the topic of the conversation, before pressing the button. 

It was just a shared mostly silence between the two for a good several minutes.

“Are you mad at me?” Was what MePhone said once the blender finally stopped.

Trophy paused, opening his mouth to respond, before closing it, then finally responding, though his hesitance seemed to be enough;

“No. I mean I’m a little annoyed that you couldn’t just text me that you were at least alive or something, but it’s whatever. I’m not like… Sensitive or worried or anything. You’re a grown ass adult who can do whatever you want.” He hoped his tone of voice didn’t betray him too badly. 

MePhone was just quiet again for a moment, and he wasn’t sure if he was just majorly fucking up, but the other did eventually speak again;

“I am sorry. I’ll try to be better at texting. I’m sorry for worrying you.” 

He wanted to play it off as not being worried, especially after saying he hadn’t been, but… He did appreciate that.

“I guess sorry for all the uh… Texts that I left you. I probably could’ve uhm… Not sent that many.” He said, a bit sheepish.

“It’s fine, really.” MePhone was honestly a little surprised by how many texts there were when he finally managed the energy to actually check the texts Trophy had sent him. It was almost flattering, seeing someone this worried about him, but… It did definitely just make him feel even shittier for not responding.

He really didn’t want to keep the other worried for so long, or to keep up the silence, but he had been so tired and out of energy and motivation during these several days of being sick. The only things he had managed to do was get up and move to the livingroom to make feeding his cat easier-- and also so he’d have access to the TV, and be closer to the kitchen to make himself some soup, because he figured as gross as he felt, he still needed to eat something. 

He still felt gross, sure, but… He hadn’t been lying. He was feeling significantly better than he had when he woke up on Tuesday, but he was still definitely a bit out of it. 

“How have uh… Your last few days been?” MePhone decided to ask, wanting to shift the conversation to something less awkward, and also just honestly wanting to hear Trophy talk a bit.

The other started on about what he had been up to lately, and how work had been going, just shifting into casual conversation after that. 

As frustrated as he had been, Trophy was glad MePhone was actually okay. That he had been overreacting with his worries as usual, and that things could hopefully resume as normal after today, just hoping that something like this wouldn’t happen again. Things would be fine, and Trophy chose to believe that. 

MePhone tried to push away the worry that Trophy was probably going to start hating him after this, along with all the other worries still stirring around in the back of his head as he just listened, burrowing a little further into the comfort of the couch, and blanket with a yawn. Maybe it would be a little embarrassing to fall asleep on call with someone, but… It was definitely nice hearing someone else's voice again after being cooped up in his apartment alone these past few days.

He hoped things would get better once this week passed. He could get better, and figure out this whole being possibly stalked situation with OJ’s ex, and he could go attend Two’s baking contest thing, and move on with his life, and eventually talk to 4s again. He hoped thing would start looking up, because Gods, he really needed something to go right soon.

Chapter Text

It was around Sunday when MePhone finally started feeling better, but he only ended up going back to work on Tuesday. Right now, they were still opening up-- him, and Two. Soap and Lightbulb were also going to be here today, but Soap didn't come in until later, and Two had let them know she'd be running a little late-- something about her crab making it out the door when she was trying to head out for work, something that would sound like such a crazy excuse if it were anyone other than Lightbulb making it.

But it was fine. Two and MePhone never had any problem opening up the bakery together, this was something they used to do anyways before getting more co-workers. It was normal.

Well, mostly. Things were a lot more quiet between the two of them this time. MePhone just didn't know what to say other than a usual "good morning" when he showed up, but... Two wasn't really talkative.

They had about ten minutes until opening when Two finally spoke up.

"Why did you leave last week?"

"What?"

"You walked out while you were on shift without a word. Maybe I don't need the reason you did it, but... Gods, do you know how worrying it was getting a call from Leafy about it? How scary it was not getting any texts or notice you were seeing my attempts at contact for two whole days?"

MePhone glanced away, an uncomfortable frown resting on his face.

"I got sick,"

"Yeah, I know, but you don't just--... I seriously doubt you left because you were getting sick. You wouldn't have just done that if that were the case."

MePhone's mouth formed into a thin line, a bit of frustration sinking in. He just wanted today to be normal. He didn't want to argue with Two first thing in the morning. He didn't have the energy for that. He also didn’t think Two deserved the attitude from him, despite what he wanted to say. He kept it all inside, biting his tongue before finally being able to respond;

“I just--... I overheard something that really freaked me out, okay? I-...” He just sighed. “I don’t… I know you tell me I can be open with you, but… My dad was in town. Hearing he was in the area really scared me. I’m safe at least, but… I don’t know.” A frown, he kept his gaze locked onto the oven, waiting for his first batch of pastries to be done. It was quiet for a good few minutes, Two trying to give the guy some space to continue.

“I react to things weirdly. And terribly. I don’t know. I’m just weird, and stupid, and I--... I don’t even have any excuses. I’m just awful, I guess.” He doesn’t know why Two even puts up with him sometimes. Gods, he was just so tired. 

“Sorry. I’m fine now. I know I promise all the time it won’t happen again, but--” He stopped talking, jolting a bit as he registered Two pulling him into a hug. 

“I--... I don’t think work is the place for this,” He muttered. 

“I just want you to know you aren’t awful. I’m here. I don’t want you to ever feel pressured to tell me anything, but I promise I’m still here regardless. I’ll say that as many times as I need to. Even if it’s not exactly ‘professional’.” They pulled away, giving the other a small, reassuring smile. 

MePhone smiled back. He still didn’t feel great regarding how poorly he felt like he’s been treating Two as a friend, but… He promised himself he’d keep working on it. Even if he didn’t act like the greatest friend to them, the bond they had still meant so much to him. 

“Say, how about we open up.” 

“Sounds good.” Just glad they could move past this. He hoped the rest of the day would be fine, moving to get his pastries out of the oven, ready to fully start today’s shift. 

…

It was his final day in the city. His press conference was long over by several days now, and he really had no reason to be staying here.

Well, there was one reason. A small one at that. At least once a day, he’d walk past the location he was given, trying to scout it out. Spot who he was looking for. A bit of annoyance and disappointment at not spotting him, but… He supposed people didn’t work every day of the week. But after checking for five days in a row, it was just getting annoying. He had been wondering if the email was just a hoax. That the photo they sent-- and the other one he was sent on a later date were even real. It was a wonder what people could do with photoshop these days, and of course, he was smart enough to be able to tell, it was still tricky sometimes.

He had half a mind to figure out who this emailer was to sue them for some sort of defamation or something. He couldn’t have any rumors floating around, hoaxes or not.

Really, he wondered why he’d even believe it in the first place. His son? Working at a bakery? How pathetic. He’d be less surprised picturing him homeless on the side of some road, or already dead in some ditch with the stunt he pulled leaving the way he did.

But regardless, he still walked by the bakery he was told he worked at today too. Figuring one final glance in, and then he could move on with his life, and make this hoax emailer keep their mouth shut.

With all his doubts, it really was a surprise, walking by slowly, peeking through the window. An idle glance he could pass off to every other bystander on the street as just looking into an establishment as he walked by, but this time he stopped, spotting just who he was after. A small chuckle left him, a snide smirk forming on his face. Certainly surprised that this seemed to be real information.

That being said though, he definitely had some choice words for his son if any of the rest of what this emailer said was true. He didn’t need to sully his hands with telling off his son in public, but with a location given, well, he just couldn’t help himself. Since this son had left, he had been storing some choice words he’s been wanting to say to him anyways. This would be a good way to finally get it all out there, and reinforce the control he had over him, even if he wasn’t living under his roof anymore. That just because he ran away, that didn’t mean anything, and that he still had a name to uphold. That he still lived under his shadow, and that would be something he’d never be able to change.

He kept that smirk on his face as he entered the building.

.

.

.

MePhone handed the customer their bag of pastries with a smile, watching them head out. Today had thankfully just been normal, despite how anxious he had been. It was just nice to have a normal, slow day out here. Currently, he was tending to the customers-- like most days, while Two, and Lightbulb were in the back, bringing in the stock for the week. Soap was out here with him, wiping down the tables in the seating area.

With thirty minutes to closing, he was hoping it’d go without too much issue, but of course, the universe didn’t ever seem to like to prove to him that it actually liked him. The door to the bakery dinged open again. He looked up to smile at the incoming customer, but he couldn’t even get to that before his expression fell completely.

 He couldn’t muster a sound as he registered the face, and the expression on that face. Slimy, and cocky, so clear that he knew exactly what he had been looking for, and that he had found it.

MePhone just stood there, completely paralyzed for a moment, staring at the man in front of him. He couldn’t be here. Dad couldn’t be here. This wasn’t real, and he was still sick, and he was having some sick twisted fever dream, taunting him, and maybe he’d wake up screaming or to a following bad day, but he’d be fine. His dad wasn’t here--

“It’s been a while, huh. You were hard to find.” His voice. His horrible, terrible voice. 

“You aren’t supposed to be here.” A hostile tone to his voice. Disrespectful, and rather annoying.

“You know better than to talk to me like that.” He narrowed his eyes, his expression shifting to something stern as he looked at the person in front of him. To Cobs, this was still the foolish, disobedient rebellious child he tried his best but failed to raise. A failure he still held way too personally. Something he seeked to fix. Adult or not, this man child still shared a last name, a title to be upheld, and he wouldn't let it be wasted like this.

MePhone couldn't muster anything else. All he did was stand there like an idiot, looking absolutely terrified at the man across the counter. He didn't dare budge, or breathe, or do anything. He could handle this. He could show the man he was stronger than he used to be, and he could stand up for himself. He just had to try his hardest to actually believe that. 

It was so so hard to actually keep any of that up when he started talking again.

“We have a lot to talk about, MePhone.” 

He shuddered hearing the familiar tone. The coldness of his voice, the stern expression he had prayed he'd never have to see again. His own expression faltered. He really didn't think he could keep this up, but his body wouldn't move. He wanted to flee. He wanted Soap to notice what was going on. For anyone in the back to step out and see this and help. But none of that happened, his dad only continuing to talk;

“I saw the hours on the door. Once your shift is over, we can have that conversation.”

“N… no,” he mustered out, hating how his voice wavered. How pathetic he sounded. 

“No?” his dad repeated, his stern expression shifting to something annoyed. MePhone was clearly testing the man's patience. Nothing ever good came from that, but Gods, he couldn't beat the idea of having any further contact with this man. 

“You can't just deny my demand, MePhone. I'll sit down and wait, and we will talk like the grown adults we are.”

As if he actually saw him that way. He was probably just trying to be polite because someone else was in here. Being polite at the possibility of the room having any cameras. 

MePhone felt himself trembling. It was a miracle he hadn't completely collapsed, and that his legs were still managing to hold his trembling figure up. All he could do was glare at the man in front of him, trying so terribly hard not to show too much fear, even if the effort was for nothing.

“I- I don't… Leave. Y- you need to leave.”

“I'm not leaving.” He narrowed his eyes, the annoyance showing more blatantly as he leaned forward a bit;

“You will not waste my time, MePhone. You are not getting out of this.” His voice lowered. 

He glanced over to Soap, who was still busy wiping the last table down. His gaze towards her was almost desperate, praying that she'd hurry up and be done, and look over, but it seemed like she had just started, humming along to the music playing in her earbuds. Right. She wasn't hearing any of this. He was completely, utterly alone in this situation. 

“Well? Really. I thought you'd have more to say after all this time. We might as well start this conversation now, since nobody else is here-- running away to be a baker? Really? Do you know how pathetic that makes you look?”

MePhone couldn't do anything but take it. This wasn't even where he had expected his life to go-- it really had just kind of happened, but… Was it really that bad that he was finally happy?

Maybe not even happy, but Gods, at least he wasn't rotting away in some nine to five office job or something. He wasn't even really happy, but he'd chose this over anything else in an instant. 

Cobs watched his son's expression falter. It was clear he was getting to him. If he dug in far enough, he could have him right back where he wanted in no time. 

But that didn't happen here. Not yet.

MePhone finally moved. A step back as his scared, cornered gaze returned to the man. 

“Oh you're kidding, aren't you?” He wasn't seriously going to run now, was he? He was still on the clock. If he had any other coworkers in, they'd surely be annoyed at him if he retreated elsewhere, and wasn't out here to tend to any possible customers. 

But that didn't stop the pathetic excuse for a son. Another step back, a shaky, scared breath, before he fully turned, and disappeared in an instant behind the door to the backroom. 

This was what finally got Soap’s attention, hearing the door shut. She looked up from the table she had just finished, noticing the lack of anyone behind the counter, and the supposed customer waiting. 

Assuming MePhone went back to do something else, she walked over with a smile to the employee side of the counter.

“Hello, I can take your--”

“No.” He held up a hand. This caught the woman off guard a bit as she flinched back. 

“Excuse me?” She said, raising an eyebrow, seeming a lot less amused due to the attitude.

“Fetch me the man who just ran to the back room, please? I was having a very important conversation with him.” He spared the details. This random woman didn't need to know anything. She was completely, utterly unimportant right now. 

Her expression shifted a bit as she glanced behind herself towards the door, then back at the man. 

“I guess I can ask?” Her tone was certainly not very customer service friendly, but he'd excuse it. He understood he wasn't being the most polite person right now either, but with being this close to his goals, he wasn't going to give up so easily now. 

He had plenty of time. He could wait.

.

.

.

MePhone didn't say a word as he slammed the door open to the backroom. Part of him wanted to fully sprint out of here and never look back, but Two and Lightbulb were in the way, still bringing in boxes. He didn't have the energy to shove past them, letting out a shuddered breath as he stepped to the side, sliding his back down to sit on the floor, gripping at his shirt, trying so desperately to catch his breath as it started picking up, the reality of the situation he was in sinking in and doing several laps around his brain. There was no way out of this. He was utterly, completely trapped. 

Both Two and Lightbulb looked over at him, and he was sure they were both confused and concerned as their coworker curled up in his spot, moving his hands to grip at his hair. 

“MePhone?” Two stopped what they were doing immediately, stepping over to kneel down in front of him. MePhone just let out a slight whimper through shuddered, uneven breaths, shutting his eyes tight.

“Hey-- everything's okay, just breathe--”

“No, no-- no, it-- it's not, it's not,” he repeated himself, stuttering over words. MePhone felt so utterly pathetic, and helpless, and embarrassed. He was making a fool of himself-- causing a scene at work, everything was falling apart around him, absolutely everything and he couldn't do a thing about it. 

He could hear Two say something else, but he couldn't process it. 

He nearly jumped out of his skin, a loud yelp leaving him as the back room door opened. His eyes shot open, letting out the tears he was fighting back as his gaze locked on the doorway. He was half expecting to see Cobs barging in with no regard for any of his coworkers. To be dragged out of the building by his arm, or hair, or whatever could be grabbed, so many different horrible scenarios shooting through his head in the few seconds it took him to realize it was just Soap. 

Glancing over and seeing the state he was in, she quickly shut the door behind her. She looked to Two, and Lightbulb, and spoke. Words MePhone's brain was far too foggy to catch, or process as he just curled in further, shutting his eyes tight again as he cried, trying so hard to stop all of it. To shut everything else out, and get himself together, but it just wasn't happening. 

Seeing the man again, his dad, it filled him with such a primal, raw fear he hasn't felt in years. One that shook him to his very core, and refused to let up on. A death grip coiling around his racing heart, a tightness in his throat that could choke if it were squeezing with any more force. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder, eliciting another yelp, and movement to shove whoever it was away. He felt like a child. A cornered animal, stuck in an enclosure, being watched by everyone in the room-- let's all see how freakish and scared this poor little animal is. See how it cries and begs and pleads at the stars and Gods above for a better life where it wasn't the most broken person here, only to be heard by no one.

He scrambled back a bit, letting out a whine as he backed himself into an actual corner of the room, gripping tighter at his hair. He couldn't do this. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't process a single thing going on around him, he couldn't hear the voices-- the words being spoken, the people around him, surely plotting, surely ready to let his dad walk right in to take him out of here, to find a way to shut him up, everything was bad, everyone was against him, a belief he felt so true in his core in that moment, too scared to look at anyone as he continued to cry, devolving into sobs that wracked his still weakened frame. He felt so freakish at that moment. So horrific, and terrible. A pathetic, stupid monster that deserved every single smack and hit from his father, the same worthless kid that deserved the hands that squeezed around his neck, not letting up until he was nearly passed out. The same sad, sad child who couldn't do any single thing right in his life. 

He moved his hands to hit against his head, desperately hoping, in his scrambled mind that this would make his brain shut up, or make him calm down, but it wasn’t helping. 

What happened earlier didn’t matter. He was sure this scene was the last straw for Two. He was going to get fired for this, for having such a public, embarrassing meltdown and he’d be out of a job, and he’d be forced to go back and see that man again because he wouldn’t have anything else, and--

He jolted as someone took his hands. His eyes shot open again as he struggled, letting out a frankly pathetic noise. The grip didn’t let up though. It wasn’t tight, or forceful, but it still brought his arms down away from hitting himself. His distant gaze took some time to focus, realizing it was just Two. This was it. He was done for, and the last time they’d ever interact was him being pathetic, and stupid, and awful, and them being sick of his shit.

But that didn’t happen.

Two said something, the look of concern and worry on their face finally registering to MePhone-- they had no idea what was going on. This must’ve been so jarring, and-- Gods, how could he be so stupid and pathetic to have a breakdown in front of pretty much all of his coworkers. How was he even supposed to pretend to be normal around any of them after this?

He looked around, his breathing still unsteady, and still very much crying, seeing Soap sitting against the wall too, thankfully not too close, but… Still very much there. He looked back at Two, a look of fear in his eyes he couldn’t shake, tearing his gaze away completely after a moment. Eye contact was too much to ask from him right now.

“MePhone?” Two repeated, their tone softer this time, still holding his hands.

“I- I’m sorry,” He choked out, shutting his eyes again. He didn’t want to be here right now. 

“What happened? Are you okay?” Two asked. MePhone couldn’t see the look Soap gave them before they continued; “Sorry, you’re… Obviously not alright, what happened?”

“I-- He’s--... He’s here. ” He mustered out, his voice weak from the sobbing. 

“Wh…” Two had begun to ask what sounded like; ‘who’, before stopping themself. A glare towards the door that MePhone didn’t see.

“Lightbulb is out there handling… Whoever it is right now. He won’t get to you, okay? You’re safe right now.”

“I’m n- not. He’s right there through that wall-- I-- I can’t do this--” He heaved out a breath again, all the progress at trying to steady his breathing very quickly being dashed as the fear coiled tighter around his heart. 

“ I’m scared ,” His tone was so small, so… Helpless. This wasn’t something Two had ever seen from him. The terror in his eyes, the fear in his voice, he was unstable on good days, sure, but Gods, this… This was entirely different. 

“I promise he’s not going to get back here. Okay?” Two reassured, doing the best they could right now.

After a moment, Two finally let go of his hands, hoping he wouldn’t hit himself again, or grip at his hair. MePhone just brought his hands up to his face, weeping into them. He couldn’t handle any of this right now. He just wanted to go home. He wanted to be out of here-- anywhere else, he just wanted his dad to go away. 

Even if he went away now, what was stopping him from ever coming back? From waiting outside until his shift was over to corner him, or to get someone to lure him somewhere-- Gods, what if he used any of his friends against him he-- he couldn’t trust anyone or anything ever again, he’d have to move away again, vanish from everyone's lives and memories just to feel even remotely safe again-- but even if he wasn’t even truly happy here, he couldn’t just do that.

There was no way out of this. He was doomed, and the coiling fear gripping tighter and tighter around his heart knew that. He was trapped in a cage again, and he’d never be able to get out now that his dad knew where he worked. The city he lived in. 

“Should we call someone?”

“Who would we call?” He could hardly focus on the conversation going on around him. Everything felt so foggy and distant. 

“I don’t know, does he have any friends? Uhm-- not to sound rude,” She quickly clarified. If he were feeling any more like himself he would’ve rolled his eyes at that comment, but he just didn’t have the energy to act right now.

As the two of them talked, he lowered a shaky hand to the pocket of his apron, bringing out his phone. 

Two just sighed, not really knowing what to do. They were just grateful Lightbulb went back out to deal with the problem, or any other customers once she manages to get the guy to leave. They glanced up at the door to the backroom, then to the door to the alleyway. They then glanced back to MePhone, who didn’t look any less scared than he had the last time they looked at him, but he had brought his phone out, and through shaky hands, it was clear he was doing something. A ringtone filled the room, and he looked up at Two, an almost desperate look in his eyes as he shakily held the phone out in their direction. They didn’t know who they were about to be talking to-- if anyone even answered, but they still took the phone, and held it up to their ear.

“Hello? MePhone? Aren’t you still at work?” A slightly familiar voice answered. Two took a moment to glance at the contact, recognizing the name as the photographer guy who had come by a while ago.

“Yeah, hello--”

“You’re not MePhone.” His tone shifted immediately. It was just a little jarring.

“No, no, I’m not,” A sheepish answer; “But I am his coworker,” They kept their gaze on MePhone, who was just staring forward, a distant, exhausted look in his eyes. At the very least, he wasn’t crying at the moment. They weren’t even sure he was listening to the call going on right now, but they continued;

“Can you come pick him up? He needs help getting out of here.”

“What, did he get hurt? Can’t you call an--”

“No-- no, he isn’t uh… He’s physically fine,” Two just sighed; “He just really needs to get out of here. I don’t know how close you two are, but he’s the one who picked your contact, so I’m hoping you might know what to do?”

“Well-- uh… Shit, I’ll be on my way.”

“Come in through the back entrance please, I’ll open the door for you,”

“Okay.”

The call ended there, Two moving to hand the other’s phone back. He barely moved, just raising a shaky hand to grab it, dropping it in his lap for now. He remained completely, eerily silent as he moved to wrap his arms around himself, still just staring out in front of him.

“Now that we know what he looks like, we can ban him from the store. He won’t be allowed back in here ever, okay?” Two said, trying to offer some reassurance, but the other didn’t even budge anymore. Completely catatonic at the moment, something he had never seen from the other no matter how clear it was he was doing horribly in the past. This was completely new, and frankly scary. It was scary seeing their friend like this. They wanted to help, but nothing seemed to be doing the job.

All they really could do was wait for the person that was called to show up.

Meanwhile, out in the front room of the bakery, Lightbulb stood at the counter with her best customer service face possible, despite this guy’s persistence. Lightbulb was terribly difficult to annoy. She was always the one being so to other people, but this man was testing her patience.

“Like I said, I dunno who you’re talking about.” She just shrugged. The other let out a frustrated sigh, moving a hand to his face; “I talked to him before you came out. Tell me when he’s leaving his shift so I can talk to him.”

“I dunno about you, but I personally think that sounds incredibly suspicious and weird. And I know a thing about being suspicious and weird. The difference though, is that you’re actually kind of a total creep for asking that. Imagine this. Asking that about anyone else here? Gross.”

“I have a right to ask about him because he’s my son. How hard is that to understand.” He glanced at the back door. He wondered if there was a back entrance. MePhone was so close, and he wouldn’t let some idiot get in his way. He still had things he needed to say. Things he needed to do before he could be happy at the idea of leaving. He needed things back under his control.

“Your son doesn’t even work here though. So… Sorry about that.” She just shrugged, clearly being difficult on purpose. A noise very close to a growl left the older man, his patience also clearly being tested.

“I want to speak to your manager.” He would not be made a fool of like this.

“Oh, sorry. They’re busy.” She shrugged, not making a single move. But it looked like she wouldn’t even have to as the door to the back opened, someone with green hair stepping out.

“Finally someone else. Listen--” He looked to the other person, hoping they’d at least be reasonable enough not to act stupid around him. It was like these two didn’t even know who he was.

“How about you listen,” The new face piped in, stepping over to the counter, not even bothering to look like they were tolerating his presence.

“Excuse me?” It was absurd he was being so insulted today by everyone here. There was no way his son was surrounded by a bunch of idiots for coworkers.

“You’re excused. Really, you can be excused right out the door, thank you. I don’t tolerate people coming in and intimidating my employees. It’s really not a good look from a customer.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Sure, you claim to be one of my co-workers fathers, but anyone could say that. For all I know, you could be some creep, and I’m not putting someone I care about in danger.”

“I assure you, if you actually knew who I was, you wouldn’t be crossing me like this. He’s not in danger. I’m here for a civil conversation.” He sneered at the manager, just sick of this.

“If it were civil, I’m sure he wouldn’t have retreated to the backroom the way he did. Buzz off before I call someone to get you to leave.” Two threatened. They didn’t usually like being this mean, but if MePhone had that bad of a reaction, this man couldn’t be trusted, or tolerated.

The man stood there, glaring at Two for a solid minute, before he let out a huff, turning to leave.

Two let out a heavy breath of relief, before flashing a smile to someone who was waiting in line watching that all happen; “Apologies for the wait, Lightbulb will be right with you.” And with that, Lightbulb went back over to the counter, resuming her happy attitude like nothing had happened to serve the next customer.

Two headed to the backroom again, surveying the room. Soap was still by MePhone’s side, sitting on the floor next to him, still far enough not to freak him out, but still close enough to let the other know she was here for him. MePhone hadn’t moved an inch, his breathing still shuddered and uneven. His eyes were still wide, and his gaze was still distant. It was clear his mind was anywhere but here at the moment.

It made their heart ache, really. They hated seeing him like this. He had been so happy the other week. Even if that super positive mood had mellowed out almost immediately, it proved that he could feel good, and Two was happy that he had somehow managed that, even if it was just for a day or two.

It just really sucked. They doubted this was something he’d be able to get over easily. There had always been… Signs, and subtle remarks and things that clued them in on MePhone having several problems with his father. Of course, he never opened up directly on anything that happened, but sometimes he’d say something that just felt so out of place, and odd. If it was this bad, they had to wonder what happened to him. The thought made them feel awful. They knew he was adopted, but the idea of him being adopted only to be so horribly mistreated by someone felt so cruel.

But… It wasn’t their space to speculate. They just sighed, moving to sit down at the table in the room, keeping an eye on the door, just waiting for Trophy to show up, hoping he’d be here soon.

…

MePhone was completely silent as the two walked down the street. Even as they walked, it was clear he didn’t seem to be all there right now to Trophy, who had never seen the guy like this before. It was like he was completely shut down as a person. They’ve been walking up the street for about five minutes now, and the other hadn’t even looked his way. He was just staring forward, only occasionally glancing around the two, as if he were watching his back.

Trophy hadn’t really been filled in on the situation, which made him feel a bit on edge, but it was clear something had definitely fucked up his boyfriend’s day. 

They were heading back to Trophy’s apartment. MePhone had shook his head when asked if he wanted to be taken home, so this was the compromise. Neither of them knew how long he was going to be staying there, so Trophy would be going back out to fetch his cat once they got there so it wouldn’t be neglected.

As glad as he was his boyfriend was actually trusting him to help out with… Whatever this is, unlike last time he was freaked out by something, it was still jarring. A little bit scary seeing the guy like this. Sure, he was quiet most of the time anyways, but this was so clearly different. He was hurting, and Trophy wasn’t really sure what to do about it yet. 

It was another ten minutes of walking before they reached the building, heading in, then up the stairs towards Trophy’s place. MePhone still said nothing, even once they were there.

MePhone just kind of stood in the doorway as Trophy made his way into the kitchen, fetching a waterbottle from his fridge. He almost instinctively moved to toss it the other’s way, but he stopped himself, moving back over to hand it over directly. MePhone’s movements were small, but he did take it, making no move to open it.

“You can sit down if you want,” He gestured to the living room area. He kept his place mostly tidy, so there was plenty of space to sit on the couch in the room. 

MePhone’s gaze fell to the floor, making no verbal response, but after a few moments, he did nod, moving over to sit. He still clung onto the waterbottle, making no move to open it up, or drink any of it.

“I’ll go get your cat. You can wait here. Just uh… Don’t burn the place down,” Both a small joke, trying to lighten the mood a bit as he said it with a sheepish tone, and a callback to when MePhone had said that to him, as weird as Trophy had thought that remark was.

Finally, a small hum from the other. 

“I’ll try to be quick, okay? Text me-- or call, or whatever, if needed.” 

“Ok.” He finally mustered out.

Trophy hesitated, wondering if it was really safe to be leaving him alone in this state. If he’d come back, and he’d be gone, or--... No, surely he wasn’t depressed or anything. He’d be fine. MePhone was a normal guy, and normal guys were still allowed to be shaken up by things. This was just that.

Trophy shook his head, shaking off those thoughts, feeling a little weird for thinking that way, before heading out. He had a cat to pick up.

This left MePhone alone. He knew Trophy wouldn’t take too long, not putting it past the other to just run the whole way there and back, but… Gods, did he wish literally anyone was here with him right now. He was still so scared, even with being out of work, and several blocks away, he didn’t feel safe. His brain and heart clung onto the fear that dad could’ve seen him leave, and followed him. Knew where he was right now, and was just waiting to knock on the door. That was why he didn’t want to go home. He couldn’t let the man know where he lived. Even in an apartment complex, he was sure the man could easily find out what room and floor he lived on if he asked enough people. 

He still felt like he was in a cage. Like he was going to be trapped, and afraid forever, and that nothing could fix that. Even with Two saying he’s banned from entering the bakery, he could still find other ways to get to him, and he knew it. He just didn’t know what to do.

Even with just getting over being sick, his body still trembled. He still felt nauseous, and dizzy. 

An unsteady sigh left him as he leaned back into the comfort of the couch. He decided to do his best to focus on that. This could was a lot different to his. It was leather, and smooth, and it was noisy. He squeezed the armrest a bit, taking a deep breath, before opening his eyes.

A look around the main room of the apartment. It wasn’t exactly like his-- this was a completely different complex, after all, but it still looked familiar. A livingroom, and an open kitchen right next to it, though Trophy’s apartment had clear space for a decent sized dining room table. There were only two seats at it, and the table was cluttered with all sorts of things. 

After a few moments, he mustered the will to get up. 

Maybe he could leave now. He could disappear, and let Trophy take care of his cat, and… He didn’t know. Just… Leave. Be gone. Nobody would have to see him at his lowest again. Nobody would have to worry about him making things worse, at biting back at the people who were only trying to be helpful. He could walk out that door, and keep walking, and never look back.

The people here would forget him. They would all move on. 

He stared at the door, walking over to it. His hand hovered above the handle. The idea was so tempting. Maybe he could finally just… Let himself go. Stop trying, and give up. Cluttered, messy thoughts running around his brain now. Familiar ones he had been doing his best to try and leave behind. 

He wondered if it would hurt. If he could just… 

No. He couldn’t do that. He didn’t have the courage to step out that door right now, anyways. The fear that dad could just be waiting for him dashed all of his desperate thoughts of disappearing. 

He sighed, letting his hand drop down to his sigh, as he turned to the hallway of the apartment. Snooping probably wasn’t really the best thing to do, but it was keeping his mind a little busier than it would be sitting down, so he went down the hall. 

The place, contrast to his, felt so lived in. There was actual furniture beyond the bare minimum. Things up on the wall. A table by the door with a bunch of various medals and small trophies from very early school year activities.

Down the hall was more things on the wall, and a few rooms. A bathroom, and a bedroom.

He stepped into the bedroom, just looking around. One side of the wall, there was a sliding door that led out to a balcony, all covered by a giant curtain. On the walls were all sorts of posters and polaroids. A good few of the posters were sport related, but a majority of it was nature related. Pictures of sceneries and places, MePhone wondering if these were taken by him. He looked over at the bed, then the drawer on the other side of the wall from the bed. On top of it was a TV, separate to the one in the livingroom, and a mirror to the side of that with all sorts of photos tacked onto the side of it.

He moved over to the mirror, a sick, nauseous feeling making itself known again as he really looked at himself. A deep breath in and out as he just stared, taking in all his features. His messy hair, the bags under his eyes, the light scars that littered his hands and arms, and the way his shirt was probably a size too big, clinging to his loose frame.

He was a lot skinnier now than he used to be. A feat on its own, really, considering his eating habits at home hadn’t been good either, but… He just didn’t see the use in it most days. It wasn’t something he deserved-- to be well fed, another thing deeply internalized by time spent stuck at home with his dad. 

But he didn’t want to think about any of that right now. He just let out another sigh, shaking his head, before looking at the photos stuck to the mirror. All different pictures of Trophy, clearly at different stages of his life. He looked so happy in most of these photos. It was clear this man was probably a lot less broken than he was. 

He didn’t want to think about any of that right now though. He was still dealing with enough, and he didn’t need to be getting insecure on top of all of it. 

There was just so much on his mind right now. He still just wanted to run out of here to never be seen or heard from again. He still wanted to give up, and find any way out of this situation, but… He didn’t do any of that. He found himself back on the couch, just staring forward at the TV that was currently off, at the reflection of himself again, stuck in his thoughts.

He felt like--... No, he knew he couldn’t think clearly today. Not after what happened. Not after he just showed up like that. Even if he did decide to actually leave, and not come back, the fear still remained. He could come back at any time. Show up anywhere, and he’d have nothing he could do to get away. He felt so incredibly lucky he managed that this time. That his coworkers-- his friends treated him with such a care he knew he didn’t even deserve from them after how selfish and awful he’s always been to all of them. None of them even knew what was going on, and they still helped him.

If he wasn’t so utterly exhausted, he might’ve started crying again at the thought. He just…

He didn’t know anymore. The fear was still coiling around his heart and chest. He still felt nauseous and dizzy and shitty, and he didn’t want to have to ever think about any of this again, but that wasn’t how things worked. He had to face these thoughts head on, and he didn’t even know how to handle him. 

His gaze fell down to his hands, realizing he was shaking again. The brief calmness he felt while walking around and taking in the rest of the apartment was gone. He wished he had been able to visit here for the first time on better circumstances. That he wasn’t holding Trophy back, or making him go too much out of his way for him. 

He just wanted to give up. Maybe it would just be easier to hear his dad out. Maybe he could just get it over with, and do his best to civilly tell the man he wanted nothing to do with him, and that he was fine here, and making his own life, and that he wanted to be left alone. Maybe dad had grown enough in the few years of not having any actual kids to take care of to accept that.

He had heard second hand that there were two apprentices he took in-- MePhone wondering if that was the case because neither he, nor 4s, or 3gs had followed in his shoes to be the next head of the tech industry, but that wasn’t the same. He wouldn’t wish being raised by Cobs on anyone else in the world, really.

He still wondered about 3gs sometimes. He hoped the older was happy, wherever he was. 

Maybe he should call 4s. He wasn’t sure if she’d even want to talk to him yet-- they hadn’t talked or texted or called once since the night he crashed on her couch, but… If he was here actively seeking him out, he owed it to her to warn her. That was the least he could do, really.

He didn’t have the energy to do that right now though, just letting out a defeated sigh as he shut his eyes, leaning back against the couch again. He sat like that for a while, just glad his thoughts were easy to ignore, before the handle on the front door started being moved.

He opened his eyes immediately, the panic squeezing as tight as it could, a shuddered, scared breath leaving him as the worst case scenario jumped into his brain, so convinced it was true that Cobs was on the other side, trying to get in. He physically jumped a bit as the door opened, and even when he saw it was Trophy, and his cat, he still couldn’t let go of the fear or the tension in his shoulders.

Trophy looked at him, letting go of the leash of the cat, letting it sprint further into the apartment, right to MePhone to rub against his leg, and then coming over himself, setting down a bag he brought in with him on the coffee table;

“Are you okay?” 

“F- fine,” He let out a heavy breath, glancing down at his cat as she jumped up to his lap. Despite his still trembling hands, he moved to pet it, a small smile finding its way on his face, a slight bit of comfort from a terrible day provided by the pet that loved him unconditionally. 

“I uh, I grabbed her leash, and harness and some cans of her food-- I hope I grabbed the right bowl? And I guess we can use one of my tupperware containers for water or something-- and I also grabbed some food, because I figured you might want to eat something..?” He shrugged, moving to the bag he set down.

“... Thanks,” He appreciated the effort the other put in, even despite not really knowing what happened. Even with their prior conversation over phone a few days ago, about being able to talk to him-- because really, he should be able to, he didn’t know if he had the courage right now. 

Though, thankfully, the other didn’t press, just pulling the stuff out of the bag. 

The cat hopped down, wanting to look around the new setting, as MePhone was handed a burger.

As much as he didn’t feel like he deserved to eat today, he still felt grateful, taking it. 

They ate in silence, neither of them really knowing what to say. 

Today was just… Too much, really, for MePhone. He definitely felt a lot better than he had being at the bakery while it was happening, but… A lot of the bad feelings still lingered, settling in his chest, and refusing to leave. It was so tiring, and he would do anything to be rid of them all. To feel normal again, as he had just a few hours prior. He wished he had just spent one more day away from work, or… Or something.

A sigh left him, stuffing the wrapper to the now eaten burger in an empty fry container. Trophy finished eating what he had gotten, just putting all the excess wrapping back in the bag to throw away.

It was still quiet for a while, before Trophy sat back down. 

“I don’t know what to do.” MePhone stared at his hands. The shaking still hadn’t stopped.

“What happened?”

“M… My dad.”

Trophy raised an eyebrow.

“He showed up at my work today. I-- I wasn’t… I didn’t think I would react that badly, but I- I just… He knows where I work now-- I don’t even know how he found out-- I mean, I have a hunch, I- I guess, but…” He trailed off. He hadn’t even had time to process much of that whole stalker thing 4s informed him about. There was too much going on lately to give thought to that.

“I wasn’t ready to see him again. I’m scared he won’t leave me alone-- and-- and despite how much he’s hurt me, how scary it is just being in the same room as him, I just… Maybe it would be better to just see what he wants. So I can get this over with and move on,”

“You shouldn’t just let this guy intimidate you into contact.” Was what Trophy said. Honestly, not really what he was expecting. 

He blinked, looking over at the guy. His expression was serious.

“I… Look, I know a thing or two about having shitty parents, and I at least know you shouldn’t feel like you’re obligated to have contact with them.”

A sigh from MePhone. 

“I know… It’s just… He might keep showing up,”

“Well if he keeps showing up, I could always beat him up for you.” He grinned. Mostly a half-joke, but if it really became a problem, he might reconsider it to be a serious offer. 

“N- no, you can’t… Just beat up my dad. You’d definitely get… I dunno, super arrested or something.”
“Super arrested?” Trophy repeated, a bit amused.

“Yeah. Uhm…” A heavy sigh; “He’s kind of a big deal, okay? And-- Please, PLEASE. Don’t freak out when I tell you this,” He was putting a lot of trust into Trophy in being open about this. He knew this was a big risk, but… He just didn’t have the energy to dance around it. He was just desperate, and sad, and really wanted someone close to him that would be able to understand his fears. He needed this.

“What? Big deal like… Like what?”

“Head of a giant tech company kind of big deal?” MePhone slightly recoiled, expecting some sort of reaction, but nothing really came.

“Oh, wow.” Was all Trophy said.

“I know maybe that’s a thing I should’ve opened up about before now, but-- I don’t even get any money from him-- and he hates my guts anyways so it-- it doesn’t even matter.” 

“Hm…” And Trophy looked away, clearly thinking about something, his expression shifting a few times.

“... I hope that doesn’t change how you look at me.”

“No, no, it doesn’t, I’m just thinking if you’re dad is just some huge nerd, I could definitely beat him up.” He grinned again, making another joke.

This managed to get a small laugh out of MePhone, the first one he had heard from the other in a while-- a definite welcomed reaction compared to how he was when he showed up to pick him up from the bakery.

Maybe the fear just wasn’t going away-- maybe it would be a while until it did, but… At least MePhone felt a little bit safer being able to feel like he had people still looking out for him.

This was all a scary, possibly huge situation, but… So long as he wasn’t alone, maybe he could do his best to get through it. Despite all the pain, and bad thoughts, he was always good at trudging through things anyways. Things may not be fine, but… He’d at least do his best to survive, like always.

…

Of course, he wasn’t just going to give up like that. He didn’t make it to where he was today by accepting being turned away.

Maybe he’d have to be a little more patient about this, but he was so close. He could feel it in his grasp, the control he’d have again. Maybe it wasn’t something he needed anymore, but this wasn’t just about that. This was to teach that idiot a lesson. That leaving the way he did caused plenty of problems that needed to be made up for. 

He would get his way. He would .

Chapter Text

On the worse days, he still remembered it like it just happened. Memories that wouldn't leave his mind, pain that still lingered, never treated from how he was hurt that day, just… All of it, always as horrible as it had been, the fear and hopelessness always lingering somewhere in the back of his mind. On the worse days, his brain plagued him with the task of remembering every little detail. Every single word said, and every single hit he was stuck with. Jarring, and scary, and awful, something that was never going to go away no matter how hard he tried to forget, the worst of it all. 

The day leading up to it was tiresome. Mundane, but still stressful in its own ways. Several customers complained his way, only to come home to a stern conversation about college with dad, one of many conversations he still didn't feel ready for. He knew, even if he somehow miraculously got accepted anywhere, he wouldn't be happy. It was like his dad wanted him to be unhappy or something, with the way he was always treated. It just sucked. But that wasn't what any of this was about.

The day it actually happened was worse. Same as every other day, work remained unremarkable and devoid of any ounce of joy. Working an eight to five retail job every single day tended to do that to a person.

Coming home, he prayed during his walk that his dad wouldn't be home tonight. That he had some sort of important work meeting and wouldn't show up until much later. That he wasn't working from home today.

Of course, praying got him nowhere, his mood immediately getting worse seeing the car in the driveway. Some part of him just wanted to sneak in through his bedroom window, but from experience that only got him in more trouble, and he was just tired today. Tired of a lot of things, and especially of his dad's constant shitty attitude.

Things really had just been getting worse and worse each day that passed, it felt like. On top of being ridiculed by dad each and every day for any reason the man could find, he was just... So lonely. It felt so embarrassing and stupid feeling this way, honestly. It felt like he had no right to feel this way, even if 4s had ditched him without a word beyond a text the next day. It hurt, and stung, and he should be so furious towards his brother he should hate him but Gods, he just didn't have it in him. To be angry towards him. Outside of home, he was all he had left. Even if he completely screwed up the plans that were keeping MePhone going, in some twisted way it still gave him a little bit of hope that he could make it out on his own someday, too. That he had to at this point-- to prove to his brother he could.

Though it still made him wonder if 4s left on his own because he knew he couldn't handle living with MePhone anymore. That maybe he was the problem, and maybe that was always the case.

A sigh as he stood outside the front door to the house. He was stalling. Part of him hoped the man would be on his way out once he came in. Or anything just something to avoid having another drawn out, tiresome argument. He didn't think he could handle that tonight.

Of course, even with all the hoping and wishing, the world still didn't seem to like him. He walked in after several minutes of just standing at the door to see his dad sitting at the kitchen table, waiting.

"Gods, you took your time coming home today." A frustrated tone to his voice, before he sighed. MePhone just stifled any annoyance of his own as he slipped off his shoes, moving to take his jacket off now, too. He really wanted to just ignore the man and walk past him to the hallway, and lock himself in his room for the night. He didn't want to deal with whatever his dad wanted.

But he also knew that would cause more problems. Especially if he seemed to be out here, waiting for him to get home. He did his best to keep his tone neutral as he responded;

"Sorry. I got out a little later than I meant to." A lie and an excuse, but dad didn't need to know that.

"It's fine. Just some time of mine wasted that I'll never get back, but it's fine. Sit down." MePhone wasn't a fan of the passive-aggressive attitude from the guy, but he still did as he was told. Whatever he needed to just get this over with, hopefully without any arguments or fighting. Maybe he’d get lucky, and he was just wondering about his day. Sometimes there were days like that, where they’d have civil enough conversations.

Tonight wasn’t one of those nights, though. Far from it.

“You’ve been accepted into the state university, MePhone.”

He paused, blinking. His tired posture immediately straightened up when his dad said that, his expression dropping.

“What? I- I didn’t even…” He glanced away, before realizing. His dad continued to talk before he could say anything else;

“I took care of it. Of course, this isn’t as… Pristine as I expected from you, but at this point you need whatever you can get. If you do well enough in your classes I’m sure I can pull some strings.” He sighed, clearly still disappointed in MePhone, even if this was what he was after this whole time.

“I- I’m not… How many times have I told you I’m not ready to go back to school?” He couldn’t help but snap, his expression growing more frustrated. He could feel it now, knowing this was going to lead into a fight, but he couldn’t just… He couldn’t do this. If he went back to school now, he’d just perform terribly. If he did this now, he was going to fail, and he knew it. 

“No-- no. None of that ‘I’m not ready’ bullshit. 4s managed to move out before he started applying, but Gods, I at least trust him to do it at some point. You, however, clearly needed a push in the right direction. You’ve been stalling for several years now, and I’m done with it. You’re still living under my roof, MePhone. You will be starting classes again this upcoming semester.” A stern, angry tone as he glared at his son.

“3gs went to college, and he was enough of a fuck-up on his own. If he could do it, so can you.”

“Yeah, okay. Compare me to 3gs who hasn’t even talked to anyone in this family in how long? You know what, maybe I should take after him and get the fuck out of here. I can’t go to college now.” Not when he was so close to having enough to get out of here. Maybe not enough, but if he got out of here and got a job right away, maybe he could be fine. Anything was better than this.