Work Text:
In the peaceful quiet of the hotel, deep in the middle of the night, a strangled gasp broke the silence. MePhone4 jolted awake, last remnants of his nightmare slowly fading away as his internal fans whirred deafeningly in the still air of his room. He heaved uneven breaths, hand fisted in the fabric of his nightshirt as he struggled to force air into his cooling systems.
Ugh. Stupid coding. Of course he had to have dreams. He knew it was just his processor's way of, well, processing, but it still bothered him every now and then. His memory chip, when transferring short term memory from his cache to his internal storage, would sometimes play scenes of his day in his mind as he slept. Those scenes were even occasionally composed of things that hadn't even happened, but could have if a choice had been even slightly different.
A certain CEO once described it as MePhone’s computer brain making sense of his “life”, so he could better prepare for future scenarios.
Which, of course, was a long winded way of saying that MePhone could dream– and that those dreams could quite easily become nightmares.
The one he just had was vague, not coherent enough for him to remember everything that happened in it, but the fear remained. The knowledge that he came close to death was so strong in his mind that he couldn't breathe.
Not to mention MePad…
Nope. No way. He's not thinking about that.
MePhone flipped onto his side, clutching a stray pillow to his chest. It was a childish gesture, sure, but he just… wanted to hold something. The burning need to feel anything at all against himself, to be grounded in the pressure, was almost enough to crash his systems with its severity.
A single thought slowly bubbled up in his mind, out of place and unwelcome but there no matter how hard he tried to ignore it.
MePhone wanted a hug.
It was enough to make him gag.
What was he, a baby? Desiring comfort in such a juvenile way? And he hated being touched. Any time a contestant so much as brushed against him he cringed and moved away, his metallic limbs prickling uncomfortably. It was barely even tolerable for Balloon to have grabbed his arms up on the volcano during season three– it made him want to peel his casing off.
And yet… he missed the contact the second it had left.
MePhone had nearly been melted , so it was almost, almost justifiable to want comfort. But not… like this. Not after something so silly and inconsequential. Sure, he dreamed he died for real, stabbed clean through by Cobs’ knife, just like someone else had been , but it wasn't real. He was fine, save for his cracked screen– which didn't even hurt as bad anymore!
So why did MePhone still feel like he was suffocating? Like bugs were crawling under his plating? Like an invisible, inescapable weight was pressing in on him from all sides, despite a thin sheet being the only thing covering him?
Ugh.
Maybe a walk would help.
MePhone rolled over again, flinging his blanket off of himself. He didn't need it, technically, considering he wasn't an organic being that could get cold, but… he liked it. It helped him feel like he was normal.
He didn't need the cookie patterned slippers he put on as soon as his feet hit the carpeted floor, but he liked those too. Especially since they were a room-warming gift from Two.
It had been a shock, admittedly, that only a few days after Inanimate Insanity ended, MePhone received a text from his fellow host. They asked how he’d been, and he must have been just a little too honest, because Two materialized out of thin air with a smile and a slice of cake for him within a minute.
The whole conversation devolved from there, MePhone barely holding it together between bites of icing, but at the end of it all, Two invited both MePhone himself and 3GS to stay in their hotel. Neither of them had anywhere else to go, so naturally, they both accepted.
Hence the overly yellow bed in the overly yellow room that MePhone found himself sitting on, trying to muster the energy to stand.
Just get up. Its not that hard.
MePhone was unsure of just who's condescending voice sounded in his head, sneering at his inability to do something as simple as standing up.
What are you waiting for? Get up! Do something, anything, instead of sitting there like an idiot, MePhone, what's wrong with you? Come on, just–
The light from the hallway beyond MePhone's door suddenly flickered, followed by footsteps that startled him out of his thoughts.
Someone was walking by.
The figure ambled past with a slight limp in their gait, and stopped at the door just to the left of MePhone's own.
Ah. Must be 3GS.
Mephone3GS was becoming well known for wandering the halls at night (and during the day, to be frank), and leaving his door wide open as he slept. Being locked in a closet for a decade clearly made the older model little claustrophobic. At least the hallways of Two’s hotel were filled with color and character, unlike the stark white walls and tiled floors of Meeple.
Having seen 3GS walk past was enough to shake MePhone out of his frozen state, finally having found the energy to move. If 3GS could manage a stroll through the halls this late, then so could he.
Mind made up, MePhone crossed his room and creaked open his door as quietly as he could. No use in waking up anyone else. And certainly no use going past 3GS’ room either– that guy slept light enough that a sigh from the other end of the hall would wake him up.
Meandering through the vibrant, yet dimly lit hallways of the hotel was a mostly uneventful experience, as MePhone soon discovered. Almost everyone was asleep, and the only movement he saw was who he assumed to be Pillow, watching him from the shadows with a notebook in hand. She had absolutely no business being awake so late, spying on him to boot, and it gave him the creeps. More than Taco ever did, anyway.
MePhone made his way back to his room rather quickly after that, though still decidedly uncomfortable. His walk didn't help at all– he still felt bogged down with the weight of his own mind. Wasn't all that supposed to clear his head…?
Whatever.
Introspective and exhausted, he retraced his steps back to his humble little abode, but slowed to a stop in front of Two’s room– one door to the left of his own.
Two once said to come to them if MePhone ever had any problems… and this counted as a problem, right?
He took a few steps closer to the Algebralien’s door with a fist raised, ready to knock.
Should he…?
MePhone stood and deliberated for several long minutes, before he stepped back with a sigh.
Two needed rest in order to host and plan challenges and wrangle contestants and do all sorts of other very important things. They don't need MePhone to come crying to them over something as stupid as a nightmare.
The robot sighed, prepared to return to his room for good, when the door before him slowly creaked open, and a green face popped out.
“...Huh? MePhone…?”
Well. That's just great.
MePhone looked away.
“Oh, uh. Hey, Two.” He took a step back, sheepish. “Sorry, I uhh… got the rooms messed up. I'll… leave now.”
Two shook their head with a yawn. “No, it's okay. I wasn't asleep. Challenge planning, you know how it is.”
Something dawned on the number when MePhone grimaced, and they immediately backpedaled.
“Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, I forgot you don't host anymore! Your show just ended a month ago, I should have remembered…”
MePhone only shrugged, yet he couldn't wipe the forlorn look off his face. “Nah, its fine. It's the middle of the night. Not even I have the best memory when I'm tired, and I'm a supercomputer!”
Two clearly wasn't convinced, despite MePhone's best effort to lay on the reality show host charisma. “That may be true, but… you look upset. Are you alright?”
Okay, this is getting personal. I'm out.
“What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just couldn't sleep all that well, haha.”
Silence stretched between the pair as Two looked MePhone up and down, taking note of the furrow between his brows, the tension in his shoulders, and the agitated twitching of his wall-plug tail.
“No you're not.”
MePhone blinked.
“Huh?”
Two sighed. “I said, you're not fine. You came to me for something, didn't you? I know better than anyone that talking to a friend can help tremendously, so…”
They stepped aside, nudging their door open a little more and gesturing for MePhone to come in.
“Wanna sit and chat? And before you ask, no, I don't actually need to sleep. I just like to.”
MePhone shut his mouth before he even had the opportunity to speak– he was about to ask if Two was too tired, or if they had to sleep for tomorrow's happenings. But there they were, offering to help MePhone out for… what? He had nothing to give them. But, of course, it would be rude to refuse. So he couldn't exactly do that, could he?
He sighed, and looked away once more.
“...sure.”
Two immediately grinned and reached out to take MePhone's hand, to which the robot had to clench his opposite fist hard enough to dent his palms in order to keep from pulling his hand back. Two's paw was warm and soft, very pleasantly so, but it made MePhone almost nauseated nonetheless. He despised the contact, so much that it stung, and yet it was unbelievably, indescribably welcome.
What's wrong with him?
He allowed Two to hold his hand for only a few more moments before letting go, with the number following suit as they sat on their bed and patted beside them.
“C'mon. Let your old pal Two help you out.”
MePhone did as he was told, awkward and unsure as he was. He placed his hands in his lap as soon as he sat, staring holes through the one Two had just held. It felt like electricity was crackling under his metallic fingers, the faint heat from Two's touch lingering after they let go.
He was dimly aware of Two speaking to him, but he was far too absorbed in his own little world to notice.
He wanted Two to hold his hand again.
The look of disgust that flashed across his face was clearly visible, considering he's glowing blue in the otherwise dark room. Two's already decided to stay awake for him. Asking for something like that is far more than he deserved.
A sudden, gentle hand landed on his shoulder, and for a split second MePhone's processor stalled with unfiltered panic. He flinched away, eyes wide and fearful.
“Don't touch me.”
MePhone's instinctive command came out as a strangled whisper, but Two got the message loud and clear and leaned back with an apologetic look.
“MePhone, oh my math, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you didn't want me to–”
The robot shook his head, gradually relaxing back to his earlier posture. “No, its okay. You just startled me, that's all.”
Two frowned. “Are you… sure?”
“Yeah,” MePhone nodded. “I'm sure. I… don't know why I said that. I don't not want you to- to touch me, but I also really don't want you to.”
He hunched over, hiding his face in shaking hands.
“I'm not making any sense. I don't know what my issue is.”
Several seconds ticked by, MePhone unmoving and Two uncertain– until the number shuffled closer, sitting as close to MePhone as they could without actually touching him.
“MePhone…”
The phone in question shrunk away, curling in on himself even more. “Haha, I don't know why I'm doing this. I can't keep doing this.”
Two looked at him inquisitively. “Doing what?”
“This!” MePhone threw his hands in the air, scowling. “Making my problems everyone else's! Its all I've ever done!”
An awkward silence once again filled the air between them, before Two’s soft voice broke the heavy spell.
“But I want to help. I want your problems to be my problems. We're friends, aren't we? Let me listen.” Their words peter off into a whisper. “Please?”
MePhone, however, looked at them in poorly concealed disbelief. “Why ? Why do this?”
The Algebralien only shrugged. “Like I said, its because I want to. I don't like seeing you upset.”
They then offered MePhone a paw, slowly and deliberately, so he had time to decline if he wished.
“May I?”
Gradually, MePhone nodded, removing his hand from where it was wrapped around his forearm, and turned it palm-up to Two.
With as much care and caution as they had already shown, Two reached out and took MePhone's hand, gently enough that the robot could still pull away.
MePhone, try as he might, couldn't suppress the uncomfortable shiver that went up his spine at the feeling. Two's paw was, once again, almost unbearably warm, but he simply could not bring himself to move. Many warring and overwhelming emotions struggled to manifest in MePhone's head, but he eventually settled on… tentatively content. Even as he stared at his and Two’s conjoined hands with a tight frown.
“I don't need to do this if you don't want me to.” Two murmured, lightly squeezing MePhone's hand.
“No, it's…” MePhone blinked, eyes unfocused. “It's fine. Nice, actually.”
The Algebralien said nothing, and simply nodded. Minutes passed by, MePhone slowly getting used to the feeling of physical contact, the prickly feeling fading away and being replaced with a yearning for more. It burned nearly as bad as before, though now coupled with fierce shame.
He'd always been so needy, hadn't he?
Always wanting more, always trying to worm his way into other people's precious time, forcing his issues onto everyone else.
It was so much easier to never think about what was wrong with him. To remove things and forget.
He's tried trusting. It never worked out.
But then, it did.
MePhone trusted Two enough to even consider going to them for help. It was far more than he could say for most of the people he'd known. Sure, he'd spill personal garbage in moments of weakness, but he never truly confided in anyone on purpose.
…Except Two.
Would they even entertain the idea of staying here with him? Should he even ask?
MePhone, thankfully, never got the chance, as Two suddenly spoke up to break the silence.
“Do you… still want to tell me why you came to find me?”
The robot jumped, hand almost tugged free from Two’s grip, but they held him close.
“Oh, uh.” He looked away. “It's nothing important. And kinda stupid, anyways.”
Two frowned slightly, concerned. “I don't think its going to be stupid. It had you walking around in the middle of the night, didn't it? And I know you were standing outside of my door for a while. It has to be serious for you to do that, doesn't it?”
Their logic was… sound, unfortunately for MePhone. He can't exactly say they're wrong.
“Well…” MePhone sighed. “My processor does this thing where it makes up scenarios while I'm in sleep mode– essentially making me dream. And… Well, I dreamed that Cobs stabbed me and I died instead of… someone else. But it wasn't real, so, honestly, it's–”
“What?” Two leaned forwards, trying their best to look MePhone in the eye despite the other’s hunched posture. “That's not nothing, MePhone! Gosh, I think anyone would be freaked out by that!”
He only looked away, unconvinced.
“Bud, please. I'm glad you came to me, alright? I really do want to help you. Not just because I do this for my hotel residents in general, but because I care about you, yeah? I'd rather you seek me out and feel better than suffer alone.”
Two nudged MePhone's arm with their elbow, grinning softly. “And I'd say I've gotten pretty good at listening too.”
It was blatantly obvious to MePhone that Two was trying to lighten the mood a little, but he'd be damned if it didn't work. He managed to crack a smile, some of the unease that painted his figure draining away.
“See?” Two preened, all together far too smug. “I told you talking it over would help!”
Mephone rolled his eyes, but leaned a little closer to Two, enough that their shoulders were lightly pressed together. The haggard look in his eyes doesn't fade, but he's less overtly miserable.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Two.”
The pair of them sat there in a comfortable silence for what felt like hours, long enough that MePhone gradually started to doze off. He felt… safe with Two. So much so that he dropped his head to Two’s shoulder, tiny smile on his face and some small part of his mind glad his antenna retracted when in sleep mode.
He didn't realize what he'd done until he heard Two laugh softly, thus making their shoulder shift under MePhone's cheek.
“You comfortable?”
The robot quickly floundered away, dropping Two’s hand as his screen tinged pink from embarrassment. “God– Two, I swear I didn't mean to–”
“It's alright!” Two reached for MePhone's hand again. “I’m just joking, its okay. I'm really glad you're… well, comfortable.”
MePhone wasn't convinced. Had he not overstepped?
Two could tell how hesitant MePhone became, and moved to grasp his other hand as well. “I’ll have none of that, MePhone, I'm serious. I'm very happy that you're here. Not just here as in here in the hotel, but just…”
They trail off for a moment, almost bashful. “I'm glad you're here. What happened at the end of your show sounded like a horrifying ordeal– so I'm glad you get to be happy! And… oh, gosh, this'll sound silly, but I'm honored you picked me to share your time with.”
The staggering wave of emotion that careened through MePhone's processor narrowly avoided crashing his systems, even as he stared at Two with open adoration. Surely he must look idiotic, gaping at the number like a fish, but it was all he could do. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined someone like them in his life. Who had no obligation to stay by his side, yet did so anyway.
Jeez. He was starting to think like a broken record, wasn't he? But he never experienced this before! What was he supposed to do?
Two, however, carried on, unaware of MePhone's inner turmoil. “It makes me happy that I can make you happy. If there's ever anything you need, please let me know. Okay?”
A beat of silence passes, with MePhone once more unsure.
“Okay?”
The teasing yet firm tone to Two's voice made MePhone laugh under his breath. “Alright, alright. If it'll get you off my case about it, sure.”
“It’s a start!” Two beamed, not at all deterred by MePhone's dismissive tone. Even when hidden behind layers of his persona, MePhone's intent was clear– he would, occasionally, maybe, go to Two for help. Sometimes.
After another quiet moment passed between the pair, until MePhone suddenly yawned, leaning back and shaking his head slightly.
“Oof, sorry, Two, I'm… kinda tired. I didn't mean to keep you up so late either. I'll… go back to my room now.” MePhone can't stop the slight disappointment that bled into his voice at the thought. He liked spending time with them, a lot, and he was far more at ease around them than he was when alone in his room.
MePhone… wasn't yet used to entering sleep mode when completely isolated.
Two looked away, their grin not faded at all. “Well… you could always stay here– we can have a sleepover! I used to have them all the time, its really quite fun!”
A sleepover?
“Oh, uh.”
MePhone blinked. It seemed so inane of a concept, but Two was so enthusiastic and MePhone probably wouldn't get decent rest otherwise…
“You know what? Sure.” He scratched the back of his head, confused. “D’you want me on the floor or something?”
The number shook their head. “What? No not the floor, that doesn’t seem comfortable at all. Wouldn’t the bed be better?” They tapped their chin with their finger, thinking.
"Hmm… yes, I think that would be a lot more cozy. That's the whole point of a sleepover, after all! And I have plenty of extra pillows, so don't you worry.”
It sounded like as good an idea as any, in MePhone's opinion, so he shuffled his way to the opposite side of the bed to where he assumed Two’s was. The number, in turn, made a great deal of fluffing their extravagant amount of pillows, before they unceremoniously flopped backwards and stared up at the ceiling.
They looked over at MePhone, and patted the empty space beside them. “C'mon, get comfy! Unless you plan to sleep sitting up?”
MePhone shook his head as he started to get settled. “Nah, I've tried that. Not fun. Apparently even spines of steel can ache if you spend a couple hours hunched over like a shrimp.”
“Hehehe, I can believe that!” Two giggled from their spot cocooned under their comforter. “Well…” They paused, before snapping their fingers and causing the already dim light to fade away to near total darkness.
“Goodnight!”
MePhone wanted to say something else to them, perhaps a thank you or a hesitant question, but a ridiculously loud snore from under their blanket made him pause.
Two fell asleep that quick?
…Okay then. MePhone may as well do the same.
He bundled himself as snugly as he could, opting to tuck one of Two's abundant pillows close to his chest, just as he had done earlier in the night. Despite the ordeal with Two holding his hand earlier, it wasn't enough. The annoying, persistent feeling of desiring something as simple as a hug refused to leave his mind, like a notification he just couldn't dismiss.
But Two was asleep.
There was nothing MePhone could do, besides roll over and hope for the best.
However, the moment he did so, he was greeted with Two’s wide eyed stare, glowing and unblinking in the dark.
“SHIT– Oh, uh.” MePhone coughed awkwardly. “Sorry, I didn't think you were awake.”
Two merely shrugged. “I'm a light sleeper.”
MePhone paused. “I didn't mean to wake you.”
The Algebralien shrugged again.”It's alright! Could you not sleep, though?”
Oh, great. How am I going to explain this?
“Uh. Yeah, something like that.” He looked away, feigning nonchalance.
MePhone did, unfortunately, forget that he was holding a pillow in his arms like a lifeline. A detail that Two focused on for far too long, until recognition sparked in their eyes.
“You know… when Eight and Ten and I used to have sleepovers in the Even Numbers Clubhouse, we'd all sleep in a big pile, with as many blankets as we could carry. Ten had nightmares all the time because of Fourteen– its long story, I won't get into it now. But it helped them out a lot, and let them sleep better.” Two shuffled a little closer, soft, reassuring smile on their face.
“Do you think that'd help you at all?”
A moment of silence passed as MePhone stated at Two, incredulous.
That was… almost precisely what he wanted. He woke up with the longing for a simple hug, yet far too deep in his own head and carefully constructed persona to even consider asking for something like that.
But there Two was, offering exactly that, out of nowhere.
“Uh.”
MePhone nodded, indifference crumbling away like sand between his hands despite his desperate effort to hold on.
“I mean, it can't hurt, can it?”
Two raised an eyebrow at him, staring at him for almost long enough for his persona to completely dissolve, but sighed and looked away just in time.
“Alright then, MePhone. C’mere.”
The robot jumped a little, somehow still not expecting it to work, and shoved the pillow he was holding somewhere into the depths of the pile at his head. Two, in turn, scooted closer and raised an arm, essentially offering MePhone a hug as they both laid down.
Well… here goes nothing.
MePhone gradually closed the distance between them, taking far more time than was needed, but Two didn't waver at all and merely waited patiently for MePhone to come to them. He didn't say it out loud, but he appreciated that– he hated being told what to do when he could just do it in his own time.
So when he finally bridged the gap and nestled himself under Two’s chin, impossibly close yet not quite touching, and the number pulled him flush against their front, to say he nearly short circuited would be an understatement. If MePhone thought he was warm before, when Two so carefully held his hands, then now he may as well have actually been melted by the Unvitationals.
His entire body burned like fire, crackling under his casing and coursing through his wires, so strong he hardly noticed Two wrap their arms around him and rest their head on top of his. Was he shaking? MePhone may have been shaking.
“I don't have to do this, if you don't want me to.” Two murmured, though MePhone didn't hear them so much as he felt the words rumble against his forehead.
“No.” MePhone shook his head, unhooking his arm from where it was sandwiched against his chest to tuck around Two’s shoulders. “Stay, please.”
The number hummed softly in response and drew MePhone closer yet, seemingly oblivious to the robot's internal turmoil.
He'd never been held before. Sure, Bot had hugged him for a moment after the Springy situation, and 3GS had as well when they met after season two ended but this was different . MePhone could feel Two’s steady breathing in his hair, hear their soft heartbeat in his audio processors, and could even pick up on the faint scent of their shampoo. Normally, any disturbance at all as he tried to sleep would make it impossible to do so, but now… it soothed him, in a way he couldn't begin to describe.
MePhone shifted close to Two on instinct, pressing his face against their collarbone and ignoring the electricity that tingled up his spine when Two responded by snuggling even closer.
How in the world had he gone so long without this? Being held so, so gently, his legs tangled with Two's and their tails intertwined, the persistent buzzing in the back of his mind that told him he needed something he couldn't name, finally gone?
MePhone never, ever wanted to let go.