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Cold water runs down her back, soaking through her feathers. She lathers soap in her hands, watching the bubbles fall into the pooling water below her feet.
Showers have never been Jaiden’s favorite thing — they weigh down her wings, and her hair takes all day to dry. She especially doesn’t like cold ones like these, but she doesn’t deserve want hot water this time.
Something about the cold just makes it a little easier, a little more motivating to get out faster— she has somewhere to be, after all.
7/11… how interesting.
Dash had mentioned his adventures to 7/11 during their… exploration a few days ago. Apparently Jac— He and Fyrus also went, and something called The Flavor had done strange things to them all. Except Him. Jaiden’s not completely sure He even tried The Flavor, but she’d heard a couple things about cat ears. But, well… you can never really be sure if Dash is just making things up or not.
Jaiden realizes she’s been staring at the wall for a good couple minutes, and decides now might be a good time to get out of the shower— she’s about as clean as she thinks she can get herself to be, anyway. She’s not really clean. But it’s… it’s something. It’s progress.
Her wings still itch. She still hasn’t figured out how to preen them. She’ll get there.
Down in the kitchen, Jaiden finds Void, Dash, and Fyrus together. They look like they’ve been chatting for a minute— Fyrus’s phone is open on the counter, showing the Among Us public lobby search screen, with a little box of text over it. He looks a little… frustrated. He must’ve just gotten kicked out of a game, or something.
Void fixes her with a wry smile, then looks over to Dash. “Is this tonight’s group?”
“Yup! So, Fyrus—” Dash slings an arm around Fyrus’s shoulders, “—Fyrus and I have already experienced… well, let’s just say the— the quirkiness of this particular 7/11. So, now it’s YOUR guys’ turns!”
“Well, that’s… assuring?” says Void. He seems a little disappointed. Jaiden frowns.
“Yeah!! Trust me, you guys are gonna love it!” Fyrus grins. He glances at his phone, thinking for a moment— then turns to Dash. “Dash, could you… send me the photos of Jacob? I kind of forgot until now.”
Jaiden feels her shoulders tense at the mention of Him. She tries her best to shove it down— to ignore it.
“What photos of Jacob?” says Dash. “I forgot to take some of him with the Miku Machine, if that’s what you’re talking about— but don’t worry, I’ll definitely get him next time.”
“…Didn’t you say something about him having cat ears, Dash?” She forces herself to say. There’s… a lump in her throat. It won’t go away no matter how much she swallows.
“Yeah, the cat ears!” Fyrus nods enthusiastically.
But Dash— he waves his hand dismissively. “Oh, yeah, I was high as fuck. It was a hallucination! Jacob didn’t— Jacob didn’t drink The Flavor, remember?”
Fyrus looks at him, confused, and says a little more— Jaiden can’t fully tell what, though. She feels a little… spacey. She’s confused about the cat ears, too, but all this talk of Him is really digging in to her.
For a second, she closes her eyes, and it’s like she can’t breathe. It’s like she’s completely detached from the world, like she’s drifting from whatever shell of herself was still left standing in the kitchen.
And then, the next second, she’s back.
Everyone’s walking to the front yard. She really has no grasp as to why, but she follows.
“Oh my god.” She gasps.
There, standing in front of her, perfect and pristine, is Miku Car.
“I KNOW!! MIKU CAR!! Do— do you want to drive it?” Dash dangles the keys in front of her, and— she can’t think about anything else.
They’re so shiny. And they even have a little keychain of Miku herself.
“More than anything.” She breathes, as Dash drops the keys into her hands.
“When am I going to be able to drive the Miku Car?” Fyrus groans — he climbs into the backseat, though, with little complaints. Void does the same.
“I dunno, when you grab the keys.” Dash grins, getting in the passenger seat.
As Jaiden gets into the driver’s seat, she realizes a little too late that driving might be a little hard with her talons. But she’s— she’s so excited. She’s shaking. She turns the car on, gripping the steering wheel, her knuckles turning a little white, and gets the Miku Car out of the driveway with little struggle.
She can’t stop giggling. She feels a little manic.
“WOO, YEAH!” Dash cheers her on, clapping. “See, I would’ve crashed by now, if I were driving. Hypothetically. You’re doing great!”
Jaiden laughs. “This is completely a fluke. I should not be driving this well right now.” And it’s easy to tell, too. When it’s not on the gas, her leg is bouncing; her eyes are red from crying so much; her wings are all disheveled and dirty, the lower feathers still coated with the sludge; her hair has barely been brushed, or even dried, just haphazardly washed and left to air-dry; and… probably more little things. She’s so tired. But so excited.
She manages to not fuck up at any point, despite Fyrus and Dash’s brief fight with the audio from their games — Fyrus with Among Us, and Dash with Subway Surfers. It took everything in her to not drive right off the road and kill them all. Thankfully it never came to that— she kept it together. She’s fine. Everything’s fine.
She feels pretty appreciative towards Void. He’s not causing any trouble — yet, at least.
Eventually, they arrive, and Jaiden neatly parks the car outside of 7/11.
“HERE WE ARE!” Dash announces, being the first one to get out of the Miku Car. Everyone else follows quickly behind him. “Okay, so, we’re gonna go in, and you’re all gonna get slushy cups, and you’re gonna try this thing called…” he pauses and holds his hands up, doing the Spongebob ‘Imagination’ hand movement thing. “…THE FLAVOR. And it will be life-changing.”
“Life-changing, alright…” Jaiden glances back and forth between Dash and Miku Car. “Will it be more life-changing than Miku Car? ‘Cause I’m not sure that’s possible.”
“I’m not sure anything at 7/11 is deserving of ‘life-changing.’” says Void as he gets out, stretching a bit.
“Ye of little faith.” Dash shakes his head. “You just don’t get it.”
The 7/11 is about as interesting as Jaiden would expect, albeit a little… creepy. As all things are, now that the House is alive. The lights are constantly flickering a little, and yet they’re unbearably bright. Jaiden has to fight to keep her head out of the clouds. The lights don’t remind her of the parking garage. They don’t.
Dash just about drags her and Void along to the slushy machine, where four flavors are labeled: cherry, coca-cola, blue raspberry, and one simply labeled THE FLAVOR in all caps.
“So, this is The Flavor!” Dash says cheerfully, already filling up a cup with it. “All of us have tried it, and none of us know what it tastes like, but that’s not even the important part.”
“He wasn’t kidding,” Void says, “That is, in fact, The Flavor.”
Once Dash has filled his cup, Jaiden — albeit a little reluctantly — grabs her own, in the smallest size she can find, and starts filling it up as well. She pulls it away when it’s about three-quarters of the way full, looking down at the cup suspiciously.
“I can’t even… tell what color this is.” She murmurs, staring at the weird slush. At first she thought it was grey, but she looked a little longer, and then it was— blue? Pink? No, it’s neither of those— is it green? Is it some swirl of multiple of them? It’s not… It doesn’t look like it’s constantly changing, but it definitely won’t stay the same color. “What the fuck.”
“I know! Isn’t it awesome?” Dash has a huge smile on his face.
Fyrus is smiling just as wide. “It’s the color of joy, of course.”
Jaiden nods numbly, grabbing a straw. “I’m not… not looking forward to this. But I’m definitely not looking forward to this.”
There’s a little more chatter between her friends, but she isn’t quite paying attention. She glances up at them, then back down at her drink— and takes a sip.
For a second, she wonders if anything is even going to happen. She feels fine. And then— the vertigo hits.
Jaiden stiffens, trying to keep herself upright. She feels so sick, what’s happening? She blinks, and—
She’s on the other side of the store. Everything’s normal again.
“What the fuck…?” She whispers, looking around.
At least she’s still in 7/11. She looks down at her cup, and takes another sip — maybe she’ll teleport again? — and nothing happens.
Well, that’s boring.
Begrudgingly, Jaiden makes her way back to the slushy machine, just in time to see Void drop his slushy all over the floor after taking a single sip — and then, immediately after, see Dash’s flower crown burst into flames.
“Um, you… you might wanna put that out.” She says, gaping at the… fire. He’s on fire.
“Put out what?” Dash stares at her for a second, then looks up— “WHAT!!”
“Hey, Jaiden!” says Fyrus, holding up his phone. He must’ve been taking pictures of Dash. “No, this is funny. He should keep it like this.”
“But what if he dies, Fyrus!” Jaiden protests. Who is she surrounded by?
“Do you know who you’re talking about?” Fyrus laughs.
Before she can respond, Dash dumps the rest of his slushy all over himself in an attempt to put the fire out. It… it works, but now he’s covered in sticky slushy stuff.
Jaiden grimaces. She can’t imagine how awful that must feel.
“DUDE! We were sharing that!” exclaims Fyrus.
“Well, now I’m sad. I should’ve kept it! I panicked.” Dash frowns. “Sorry, Fyrus. I was on Fyrus. Or should I say fire.”
Fyrus puts his head in his hands and groans.
“You can still have some of Void’s, I’m sure!” Dash gestures to the spilt slushy on the floor. Jaiden winces.
“Or mine,” she cuts in, practically shoving her slushy into Fyrus’s hands, “if you’d rather not drink off the fucking floor.”
“Thanks, Jaiden! How kind of you!” He smiles, gladly taking the slushy from her. But then he’s— a little distracted, almost immediately dropping the slushy on the floor, his eyes trained on the window.
“Chat, are you seeing what I’m seeing?” He says. Dash peers around the shelves, and Jaiden joins him, curious.
“Oh, shit, dude. That is, uh, a disproportionate amount of birds,” says Dash.
“Birds?” Jaiden says, chirping at them instinctively. They don’t seem to phased by it, instead their sights are set on Fyrus. She frowns. Why won’t they acknowledge her? She’s a bird too, after all.
A couple squirrels join the birds at the window. And… a couple other things, too, but Jaiden can’t quite make out what they are. They’re just staring at Fyrus — not in any particular way, just… staring.
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s a buncha birds,” Void pipes up, looking to be struggling trying to grab a donut. Fyrus has his phone out, recording.
“Dude,” Dash turns to look at Fyrus, amazed. “Are you like, a Disney princess, or some shit?”
“Sure. We can go with that.” Fyrus hums.
“What the fuck?” Jaiden squawks, pouting. “I should be the Disney princess. I’m the one that’s a literal bird.”
Dash shrugs. “Well, uh. Fyrus is… a catboy, I guess? Close enough.”
“True! Sucks to suck, Jaiden,” Fyrus grins, “All I’m missing is the dress.”
Jaiden sticks her tongue out at them. They’re just mean. Whatever. She can be a Disney princess another day.
Dash, though, is now looking at the two spilled slushies on the ground — as well as the little puddles left from his own disaster. “…Uh, should someone get that?” He glances at the employee behind the counter. The employee that, somehow, has not been phased whatsoever by whatever is going on right now. “Should we get someone?”
“Let’s not worry about that right now! What about these freaks in the windows??” Fyrus says, and Jaiden feels at least a little offended. They’re birds. Mostly. They’re not doing anything wrong.
“I don’t know, Fyrus, they seem pretty chill,” she says, “Just ignore them, I guess.”
“I’m sure it’s fine!” Dash cuts in, grinning. “The Flavor only ever brings whimsy and joy, remember?“
Jaiden scoffs. “It brought me fuck-all. Teleported me once and didn’t even grace me with the kindness of teleporting me back.”
“I still think it’s cool that I can phase through shit now.” Void says, still struggling to get his donut. “…If a bit inconvenient.”
“Well I don’t trust them,” Fyrus grunts, still caught on the animals in the window. Jaiden rolls her eyes. “Who knows what can happen?!”
“They’re birds, dude,” says Dash, “You can handle some birds. No offense, Jaiden.”
She shrugs. “I could probably handle birds better than Fyrus could, but…” Maybe she’s a little too bitter about this.
A hand lands on her shoulder — she grimaces, it’s so sticky — as Dash tries to pat her reassuringly. “Hey, maybe you’ll get something more interesting next time!” His hand sticks to her slightly. The slushy has began to dry on him, leaving him all tacky-feeling. “It seems to be completely random, so, uh, I’m sure it’s nothing personal, or anything.”
“Ohh my god, I just showered, don’t touch me.” She pulls away from him, shuddering a little. It’s not really— she’s not upset at him for it. It’s just… eugh.
“You’re right, my bad, I forgot,” he backs away, looking apologetic. “I should really get a shower.”
Dash then glances back up at the others. “Is everyone ready to go now? Void, if you wanted that donut, I can grab it for you, but i am not paying for it. Sorry.”
“I’m certainly ready to get out of here,” says Fyrus, already taking steps towards the door. “Nothing even happened to me. Lame.”
At that, Jaiden glances towards the window where all the birds and squirrels are gathered — there looks to be a cat slowly approaching, but not attacking, thankfully. Just… watching.
“That’s fine by me, I just want the donut.” Void says, seeming a little desperate with how useless his hands are. “And maybe some help opening the door to the Miku Car when we leave.”
Jaiden nods, glancing down at the slushies all over the floor. “…It’s fine, I just— ohh, I’d like to go home,” she groans. She does not want to have to clean any of that up.
She exits the building, the door ringing behind her— she’s not sure how it happens, but Dash got the employee to start cleaning up the spills, and Void exits with the bagged donut in his mouth (probably not paid for).
But the minute they all step outside — not only does Void regain the ability to use his hands, but Fyrus is flocked by not only all the birds and squirrels that had been sat at the window, but also a number of raccoons, opossums, and is that an armadillo?
Jaiden trills anxiously — she tries to step out of the way, but numerous little critters are climbing all over her talons, racing past her to get as close to Fyrus as possible.
“OH MY GOD!?” shouts Dash, “Is this a petting zoo?? What?!”
“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST?!” Fyrus is struggling to not only stay standing, but also not step on anything— Jaiden winces sympathetically.
“Oh my god,” Jaiden glances at the Miku Car — thankfully, it hasn’t been overtaken by wild animals. But still— holy shit. “Ohhh my god.”
“You… You think the house would mind if we brought a few pets home?” Fyrus laughs, a little hysterical. Whenever he moves, the animals move with him— he seems to be trying to stay as still as possible.
“I think I would mind.” Jaiden wonders briefly if the birds would take off with Fyrus in their grasp. She certainly would try, if she was in their position. “We might have the space for countless wild animals, but none of us have the time or resources to take care of these things. Oh my god.”
“I, uh, don’t think we should bring animals back to the House,” Dash frowns, “Just, like, on principle.”
“Okay, but they're kinda cute,” Fyrus says, “Did you ever think about that?”
“True! I mean, that’s all you had to say!”
“You get it!” Fyrus is grinning, now. “Maybe we can just… keep them outside.”
“Oh my god,” Jaiden puts her head in her hands. “I’m gonna drive home without you guys unless you figure out how to make these things go away.”
“But they’re so cute!” Fyrus protests. He and Dash pout at her, both with equal levels of desperation.
Void mutters something under his breath, but Jaiden’s a little too preoccupied with what’s happening in front of her to hear it. “Am I not cute enough to count for all of them?” she says, disregarding her… whole physical state. She’s definitely not very cute right now. “There’s probably enough birds in there to make up the entirety of me anyway!”
“Okay, fine,” Fyrus sighs, “How do I make them leave, though? Like… I kind of can’t move.”
Jaiden can only shrug, unsure of what to say— but then her attention is caught by Dash lifting up a raccoon from the ground.
“Jaiden, I love and support you, but—“ he shoves the raccoon towards her, “How can you ever say no to this face?”
It’s clawing at his hands. Trying to bite him, even. It might have rabies.
“Put that thing down!” she squawks, “Oh my god!”
Dash rolls his eyes. “Fine, god. I was just saying hi.” He sets the raccoon down, and it immediately disappears in the crowd.
“Okay, umm…” Fyrus starts trying to navigate to the car, moving slowly between the small gaps left in the crowd of wild animals. It takes incredibly long, and Jaiden can only stand there, waiting for everything to clear up.
Finally, he reaches the car. Jaiden sighs in relief — and it seems he does as well.
“…Aren’t I just so popular?” says Fyrus, and places his hand on the door handle.
The second he does that, everything freezes. All the animals stop in their tracks, and for one moment, there is stillness.
And for the next, everything moves.
There is an explosion of movement as everything scurries off in different directions. The cat starts chasing some of the birds, the raccoons run back to the dumpsters behind the 7/11, and all hell breaks loose.
“Oh my god!” Jaiden jumps as animals scurry past her, fighting the instinct to fly off herself. She stays grounded, but the chaos all around her makes her wish she were one of the birds that were getting away.
And finally, as everything runs off, it seems the world is calm again. Whatever Flavor-induced spell they’d been under seems to have broken — they’re free!
“…well THAT just happened,” says Dash, breaking the silence in the most cliché voice he could muster. Jaiden cringes a little, but ignores it.
Fyrus is the first inside the car, with Void soon after. Jaiden takes a minute to breathe— holy shit.
“…Okay. Um. Let’s go home,” she says, grimacing. She climbs into the driver’s seat, glancing around to make sure everyone was in — Dash was only a second behind her, sliding into the passenger seat.
And then… they’re off.
The manic, excited feeling from this morning has worn off — Jaiden is left feeling anxious, antsy, a little bit awful. The drive starts somewhat smoothly, though she misses a turn here and there…
And then, she scrapes the car against a number of things — the railings on the side of the roads, the curb, various low-hanging tree branches…
Maybe Jaiden really shouldn’t be driving right now. She can’t stop shaking.
She nearly hits someone, but swerves out of the way just in time— ohh fuck. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.
They’re just outside of the House, finally. And she’s— she lets her guard down for a second. A mistake. It’s not over yet.
She goes to turn into the driveway, but turns a little too early — hitting the already broken mailbox.
Jaiden stops the car in its place, and holds her head in her hands. Fuck.
A few tears escape her, but she wipes them away before anyone can hear her sob.
Everyone is silent for a moment, but then Dash speaks up: “We really need a new one, huh,” he says, then rolls down the window and shouts something at the house. Jaiden only groans, barely even listening.
Dash huffs and leans back into his seat again — though Jaiden notices he doesn’t lean all the way back, probably a little too sticky, still. “Don’t worry about it, that was already broken anyways,” he says, some attempt to be reassuring, “And the Miku Car is magic sooooo it’s fine!”
“I… okay.” She shakes her head. Despite the temptation to just get out and run inside, forget it all happened, she backs the car away from the mailbox and turns it into the driveway. Then she gets out — it’s… whatever. Everything is fine.
Dash carefully exits the car after her, clapping his hands together. “Good trip everybody, good job!” He says, as Fyrus and Void climb out as well. “I, uh, I’m gonna go get a shower now. Being sticky is maybe not awesome, if I’m gonna be honest.”
He turns and walks back into the house— though it’s more of a waddle than anything. “Yeah, great trip, everyone!” Fyrus says next, quickly making his way inside. He doesn’t even spare a glance back at them, and neither does Void, flipping a thumbs-up and going back in without a word.
Jaiden stands there for a second, shaking. She glances back to the Miku Car, the car now covered in scrapes and dents in places she hadn’t even been sure was possible before today.
Fuck.
Once she’s back in her room, Jaiden can sit down and realize that she… really is doing a little better, at least now that she’s seen the outside world again. It’s still hard, and she’s still shaking — she’s not sure she’ll ever stop — but she managed to shower again, cleaning herself a little more thoroughly than she had earlier.
She’s bent over her desk, now, letting her hair air dry while she draws. She’s trying not to add anything new to her wall, instead drawing some fun things that have nothing to do with The Incident.
She can smile, finally. Maybe even laugh a little. And her feathers still itch, though maybe not as much, as she can finally preen herself without zoning out and ripping feathers out. It’s just the spots she can’t reach that are still bothering her — she’ll get someone to help with those eventually.
And now, she’s starting to consider leaving her room a little more often again. Talk to her friends a little more.
Maybe… maybe she’ll even try talking to Ja— Him again…?
She shivers. His name still makes her tense, still makes her think back to the knife, the sludge, the—
Jaiden turns back to her drawings. That can wait a little longer, she thinks.
But then— someone’s knocking on her door again. This time, they actually wait for her to open the door herself. Oh— it’s Dash, again!
“Hey Jaiden!” He greets, grinning. “Howzit going in there?”
“Oh, hey again, Dash,” She cocks her head at him, but smiles back. “We’re not going back to 7/11 again, are we? It hasn’t even been a full day.”
“No, no, sadly no 7/11,” Dash shakes his head, “No, Jeopardy is on downstairs and that one guy is back for his sixth game. You wanna come watch?”
“…That one guy? Huh.” Jaiden glances back at her room — still a mess, she’ll clean it up eventually — then back to Dash. Though a bit hesitant, she nods. “Okay, sure.”
“Awesome!” He starts leading her down the hall to the stairs, clearly excited about something. “Come on, the next round is about to start—!”
She feels a little shaky, a little weak, still, but she follows eagerly. This’ll be fun. It has to be.
“Heyyyyy, I brought a friend!” Dash says as they enter the living room, “Should I make some popcorn?”
Jaiden follows behind, smiling a little— until she sees, uh… Him.
“Oh.” He looks her up and down, then looks back to the TV. “H-Hi, Jaiden.”
She shivers. She can’t tell if it’s because it’s a little cold, or if it’s… other reasons.
“Um, hi,” Jaiden says. Her smile has dropped, but she doesn’t… leave. She, instead, hops up and perches on the arm of the couch, her talons digging into the upholstery a little. She’s— She’s not trying to sit as far from J— Him as possible, but… that’s not to say it isn’t what she’s doing.
He doesn’t say anything, but He offers her a strained smile— all she can bring herself to do is give Him a small smile back. It’s weak, but… genuine.
Dash sits between the two of them on the couch. “…so. This guy, huh,” he says, bringing all of their attention to the TV, “You’d think after winning Jeopardy five times, he’d be done, but he just keeps coming back!”
Jaiden hums, eyes glued to the TV. She isn’t even really sure who Dash is talking about. She’s… tense, occasionally glancing at Him out of the corner of her eye rather than actually paying any attention to what’s happening around her.
“Right? It’s crazy. Maybe he’s cheating, or something,” He says – and with another glance, Jaiden can see that He’s… relaxed. He’s leaning back, He’s… normal. Jaiden feels a twinge of jealousy.
“Yeah, maybe— how do you even cheat at Jeopardy?” Dash says, tilting his head. “Like, how would that work? Learn to read minds, maybe?”
“If you can learn all the questions in advance, I think you’d be set.”
She’s still trying so hard not to flinch just at the sound of His voice, she briefly… forgets what Jeopardy even is. “…How would you get your hands on the questions, though?” she says, rather absentmindedly. “Unless you were one of the ones who… participated in the surveys, I guess?”
“Uh, that’s… Jeopardy is a trivia show, there’s no, uh, survey…” Dash says, and she can almost feel the stare he’s giving her— “But, uh, I guess if you knew a guy on the inside you could learn the questions!”
“Oh,” She hums quietly, looking down at her hands. “That makes sense.”
“Bribe the host?” He offers.
“True! That— That might work, but… I bet they have to take some sacred game show host oath or something, like therapists or librarians.” Dash nods wisely.
“…Librarians?”
“What?” Jaiden just… frowns. “I… I don’t think what therapists do is an ‘oath.’ I think that’s… law, or something.”
“Well— okay, when presidents take an oath that’s also the law, but it’s still an oath! And yes librarians!” She only feels more confused as he keeps talking. “They have a vow of silence or something. I think— I mean, I’ve never seen a librarian talk.”
He squints at him. “Have you… been to a library before?”
Dash looks deeply offended at the question. “Of course I’ve been to a library before! I went to school, y’know. It, uh— has been a while, though…”
“You went to school? News to me.” He teases.
“JACOB!”
Jaiden giggles, quietly, but doesn’t contribute anything. It’s… it’s been a minute since she’s heard their bickering.
It’s… nice, weirdly.
“That’s— That’s a lot of shit coming from the guy who dropped out of college with like one semester left,” Dash says, “At least I had the balls to commit to failing college.”
The room starts to warm a little bit around them. Jaiden finds herself smiling again.
“I graduated, actually,” He grins.
“YOU DI— WHAT? Since WHEN?” Dash gasps, “You didn’t— You didn’t even invite me to your graduation??”
“No, I just never actually dropped out,” He says, “I changed majors and just graduated and left.”
“Jacob, my brother in Christ, then why did you tell everyone you dropped out,” Dash says, but it’s not a question. “Literally what did you have to gain there.”
He, or… Jacob shrugs.
“…Imagine not knowing this about, um, Jacob,” she says, slowly. Her voice is shaking, but she’s attempting to joke, testing the waters. “I’m beginning to question if you guys really are as close as you say you are.”
“Close? I hate this guy.” Jacob huffs a laugh.
“Jaiden, forbid the thought— I can’t believe you’d even suggest that Jacob and I don’t have The Ultimate Bromance.” Dash teases, giggling a little as he talks. Jacob slings an arm around his shoulder, emphasizing the point. The room is… still getting warmer around them, though it never gets unbearable. Just… considerably more comfortable. Nice.
She shoves down the twinge of envy at just how nonchalant they can be with each other. She just… laughs a little, nodding along. “Y-Yeah, yeah, of course. I’m just being silly.”
Grinning, Dash leans back, almost laying on top of Jacob. “Aren’t we all silly?”
Jacob giggles. “We’re inseparable, Jaiden.”
They’re so… Everything looks so easy for them. They touch each other’s shoulders, they lean against one another, they laugh, they poke fun, they— they love each other.
Jaiden has to— has to fight back against the urge to frown, instead forcing out an awkward laugh. She shifts her gaze back to the TV, attempting to just ignore it all.
But— before she can really even try, Dash is motioning for her to join them. “C’mon, Jaiden, you’re our friend too! Come join the couch gang!”
She feels a little… shocked, for a second, but she shakes herself. It’s… Jacob’s right there. Jacob’s right there, and he’s… her friend, and everything’s fine. Hell, Dash is even inbetween them. It’s fine.
Hesitantly, Jaiden obliges, getting down from her perch on the arm of the couch. She leans in just a little— only for Dash to wrap his arms around her, pulling her in all the way. A surprised chirp escapes her at the action, but she lets it happen.
“Soooo, how are you doing?” Dash starts — it seems the Jeopardy watching has fallen to the wayside. “I know that 7/11 trip got a little crazy there at the end, but it was still pretty awesome, I think.”
“Oh, yeah. I heard you got teleported?” Jacob says, his statement a question in of itself. Jaiden nods, trying to think back to what all happened.
“Uh, yeah. The Flavor, um— it didn’t do as much for me as I’d hoped,” she says, gesturing vaguely. “Teleported me once, and didn’t do anything for me after that. Kinda boring, honestly. A little overhyped.”
Dash leans his head back to look at Jacob. “She thinks the FLAVOR is overhyped. Can you— can you believe this?”
“I still haven’t tried it,” Jacob replies, and for a second, Jaiden wonders if that’s true. “Gotta see what it’s all about soon.”
“Wha— OH YEAH, I forgot you, uh, didn’t try it with me and Fyrus!” Dash nods, “We’ll all have to maybe go back sometime, so Jacob can try it and Jaiden can get something more exciting, I guess— as if spontaneous teleportation isn’t exciting—!”
“Spontaneous teleportation would’ve been a little more exciting if it happened more than once.” She cut in, giggling.
“The Flavor is kinda giving me MK Ultra vibes. It feels like some kind of government experiment.” Jacob says— Jaiden’s pretty sure he’s joking. “We could be lab rats.”
“That 7/11 did seem a little shifty…” Dash wiggles his fingers— he’s definitely joking. “Maybe it is a government experiment!”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” she fidgets with her hands a little, scratching her palms back and forth. For once it’s not out of anxiety, it’s just… she feels nice. She needs to get that out somehow. “I’d be a lab rat any day if it meant I could teleport more.”
“Have you guys ever researched MK Ultra?” Jacob pipes up again, “That shit is crazy.”
“…Can’t say I have. How crazy?” she asks, “Crazier than your house coming to life around you?”
“No, actually, I haven’t researched— is, is it Google time? Is it time for a little Wikipedia-ing?” Dash grins.
“The CIA just— gave government employees LSD. Like, a lot,” Jacob explains, “Trying to use it for mind control, or something.”
“Oh my god what? Where do I sign up?” says Dash.
“Didn’t that already happen the first time you tried The Flavor? I’m making some connections here…”
“Oh my god you’re right… the colors…”
“Dude, you’re already a victim.” Jacob jokes.
Jaiden giggles. “That’s… fascinating. Did they not think about, like, any of the side effects?”
Jacob only shrugs. “MK Ultra is crazy. The CIA just does crazy illegal shit constantly.”
Dash shakes his head sadly. “We should overthrow the government.”
“Oh, absolutely.” Jaiden nods wisely. “The government deserved to be overthrown years ago.”
“We don’t need to overthrow it,” Jacob cut in, “Just let me be the president. I can fix everything. I’m different.”
She squints, giving him a look. “I’m not sure that’s true, but… Okay. I’m not gonna stop you.”
“No, I got it. Trust.”
“Something tells me that Jacob would not make a good president. Sorry Jacob.” Dash giggles.
“Even you don’t believe in me? After all we’ve been through?” Jacob shoots Dash a betrayed look. “This must be how Julius Caesar felt. ‘Et tu, Brute?’ Or whatever he said.”
“Listen, I’m sure you’re great at a lot of things!” Dash protests, “But if I try too hard to picture you as a politician I can like actively feel some of my braincells dying?”
“I’m great at lying. I’d make a great politician.”
Jaiden decides not to think about that. “Maybe you’d be good at it, but that still doesn’t mean you should be one,” she giggles.
He cocks his head, but nods. “…Maybe not a politician. But I feel like I could totally start a pyramid scheme if I wanted to.”
“Oh, okay, now that I’m okay with,” Jaiden nods, “Hell, I’d probably join it. You probably wouldn’t even need to convince me with some made-up sob story.”
“What would you even sell?” asks Dash, “Hair dye?”
Jacob pauses, thinking. “…Okay, guys, we need to start a pyramid scheme. What are we selling? Collaborative effort.”
“…I’d say essential oils, but I think that market is a bit over-saturated, so maybe not.” Jaiden shrugs.
“Hmm…” He nods along. “Any ideas, Dash?”
“I literally already said hair dye. Keep up,” Dash grins at him, but pauses and thinks for a second. “…ORRR collectible rubber duckies. Definitely one of those two.”
Jacob laughs. “I like collectible rubber duckies. That’s funny.”
“Oh my god. Rubber duckies, absolutely.” Jaiden grins gleefully. She— she loves rubber duckies.
“Perfect for throwing at the next guy who walks into my bathroom without knocking,” says Dash, looking pointedly at Jacob.
He glares back at him. “You know damn well that wasn’t what happened.”
“REALLY? Because from my point of view, I was having a nice relaxing bath and some idiot with a basket ball hoop stuck to his head just WALKED I—”
“Why would you ever throw them?!” Jaiden frowns — she didn’t really mean to talk over him, but she got caught on that and needed to say something. “Rubber duckies deserve all the care in the world.”
“—no, you know what, Jaiden, you're so right, I would never throw a rubber ducky. I'm sorry for even suggesting such a thing.” He corrects himself, and Jaiden nods, satisfied.
“You are so dedicated to hating on me for no reason,” Jacob groans, and it’s commitment to the bit, Dash protests, you understand. “From my point of view, I opened a door in the kitchen and you just happened to be there.”
After a moment, Jaiden pipes up again, “…I will say, though. Jacob might be the only person who deserves having a rubber ducky thrown at him. Even if the rubber ducky doesn't deserve to be thrown in the first place.”
“Jaiden!” Jacob exclaims, looking deeply betrayed. “You guys all hate me.”
Jaiden only giggles. “I don’t hate you! You just… need to be humbled with a rubber ducky, every so often.”
“See, Jaiden gets it. We’re just humbling you, it’s only because we care—”
“I’m not letting you get away with the basketball hoop comment, by the way!” Jacob whacks him in the head with his wing.
“—HEY!” Dash knocks his head back in retaliation, poking Jacob’s side with the tips of his horns. “Knock it off! This is literally harassment.”
“You’re such a hater,” Jacob grumbles. Jaiden just watches, giggling. “But, whatever. Back to the point. Pyramid scheme. I’ll be our sales guy, the spokesperson. I’m great at talking to people. What are you two doing?”
“Designing duckies, obviously,” Jaiden nods, “And not just rubber ones! There will be a spinoff series of stuffed animals with our most popular rubber duckies.”
“You should let me manage ALL the finances,” says Dash.
“Dash is going to commit tax fraud.” Jacob points out.
“Why stop at tax fraud?”
“Great point. Let’s rob a bank.”
“I feel like we’re just ramping up to overthrowing the government again,” Jaiden says, but she doesn’t shoot down the idea. “I don't think there's gonna be a lot of steps between that and bank robbery.”
“It can be a PR stunt,” Jacob says.
“All publicity is good publicity. Or something,” Dash nods wisely, “Can I be the explosives guy in our heist squad?”
Jacob raises an eyebrow. “I don’t know if I trust you around explosions.”
“I don’t know if any of us can be trusted around explosives,” Jaiden shrugs, “Maybe we should let Dash have this. As a treat.”
“I’d be so careful and normal about bombs,” Dash says, with the voice of someone who would most definitely not be careful and normal about bombs. “I promise.”
“I’m… sure.” Jacob says reluctantly.
“Nice,” Dash yawns, leaning deeper into the couch cushions. Jaiden giggles, watching him. “Maybe we can disguise some of the bombs inside rubber duckies… a heist inside of a pyramid scheme… so much villainry…”
“Like in Hitman!” Jacob perks up a little. “Don’t they have rubber duck bombs in Hitman?” He pulls out his phone to look it up.
“No clue, but…” Jaiden pouts. “Rubber duckies do not deserve to undergo the cruelty of being a bomb.”
“Yeah! That’s totally doable. Rubber duck bomb.” Jacob says, after a brief google search.
“We can’t do this to the rubber duckies. No.” She looks up at him sadly.
“It’s their purpose, Jaiden,” He says, looking at her rather seriously. He’s very clearly joking, however.
“But Jaiden, rubber ducky bombs would be so cool…” Dash mumbles. His voice is a little muffled, but Jaiden doesn’t think anything of it.
Jacob grins. “See? Dash agrees with me.”
She frowns, shaking her head. “You’re evil. You’re evil and I can never trust you around my rubber duckies ever again.” She doesn’t have any of the said rubber duckies — but she’s making a mental note now to keep any future rubber duckies safe from his grasp.
It half-registers in her mind that Dash might be falling asleep, but she’s a little too caught up thinking about rubber duckies to fully process that. Until…
“Not true! I’m so trustworthy. Right, Dash?” Jacob looks down, and Jaiden follows his gaze— oh.
Dash is snoring softly — a kind of rough snore that would probably be really annoying to sleep in the same room with, but is kinda endearing now. Jaiden smiles a little.
“…Oh.” Jacob snickers. He lowers his voice, keeping himself a little quiet just in case. “Jaiden, d’you wanna move? I can take him to his room.”
“…yeah. Yeah, I can do that.” Jaiden matches his volume, and— The anxiety she’d been shoving down for the past couple hours finally makes an appearance again, and this time, it’s a little too strong for her to really… hide. “Are you, um, headed off to bed as well? Or…”
“Nah, I’ll be back,” Jacob says — Jaiden isn’t quite sure if she’s soothed or more agitated by that assurance. “I woke up a few hours ago. My sleep schedule’s fucked.”
“Okay,” she nods, getting up and moving out of the way to let him pick up Dash. “I’ll, uh… if you don't mind, I'd like to maybe... hang out down here a little longer once you're back. If that's, y'know, okay.”
“Yeah, of course,” he says it so easily, and for a moment Jaiden wonders if he even remembers just how much things are fucked up between them. Or maybe— maybe it’s just a her thing? Maybe he doesn’t even care. Maybe he never did. Maybe— Maybe he was never as upset by it as she was, despite how shocked he was at her fear of him, despite how he—
“I think this is payback for passing out in his room last night.” Oh. He’s still talking. She turns her attention back to him again. “…Er, earlier today? I’m not sure what day it is, actually.”
She giggles a little. “That, um, that sounds like a fun story. And don’t worry, uh— I don’t know, either.”
“Alright, I’ll be back,” He lifts Dash up with relative ease — has he done this before? — and takes the sleepy satyr upstairs, disappearing from her sight.
Jaiden sits back down on the couch, waiting patiently. Despite the horrible things her thoughts are trying to tell her, she feels— she feels better, at least a little bit. Her anxiety is back, but not as bad as before. Things will be better. They already are.
He reappears a few moments later, now Altrive-less. He sits back down on the couch next to her — it takes everything in her not to flinch.
“That’s the second time he’s fallen asleep and I’ve carried him to his room,” Jacob says, sounding rather… calm, still. She feels— weird, almost. Like she’s overreacting, or something. “Sleepy guy, I guess.”
“I-I should make you do that for me, sometime. I bet it’s fun to be carried like that.” Jaiden smiles, though, regardless. She doesn’t lean towards him, but doesn’t lean away, either— she doesn’t really know where the boundary is, now that Dash isn’t here.
“Next time you fall asleep around me, sure,” he chuckles, “But, uh— I wanted to ask something.”
Jaiden tenses, but nods, on alert. “…Yeah? What’s up?”
What could this be about? Is he going to ask about that text she sent him again? Is he going to ask more about why she’s scared of him? Is he going to ask if she’s still scared of him? Is he going to— Is he— Is—
“Your, uh… your wings kind of look like shit,” he says. Oh. “Have you been preening?”
She looks at her wings, falling silent for a moment. Her mind is brought back to the bloody fingers, clumps of feathers on the floor, the numbness diluting the sharp pains she’d usually experience from plucking her own feathers — and she shakes her head, an attempt to bring herself back down to earth.
“…Not really, no,” she murmurs, “I’ve… tried. If that says anything.”
She’s briefly worried that he finds her gross, or something— that he’d take one more look at her, see her red-rimmed eyes, her stained clothes, the bald patches in her wings, her messy hair, her everything, and decide she’s not worthy anymore. Decide she’s too dirty, too useless, too— too much of an inconvenience.
But… he doesn’t. Instead, he says,
“…Okay. Can I help?”
“…That would be really, um— really nice, actually,” Jaiden finds herself smiling. There’s something in her that’s hesitating, something in her whispering about a knife to her back, about— about— She shakes it off.
Jacob smiles. “Turn around?”
She nods, shifting a little to turn around. It takes her a second to get her bearings, as well as soothe any lasting anxieties, before finally spreading her wings.
Even just the action of spreading them makes her grimace a little — several of her scapular and tertiary feathers are sticking together due to the buildup of not only the goop her mimic was made of, but also the regular dirt and grime that likes to climb in there any other day. It itches, it aches. It’s the kind of stuff she just can’t rinse away so easily in the shower — the kind of stuff she just can’t reach.
“Okay, I’m gonna go grab a washcloth,” Jacob says, getting up to go to the kitchen. “I’ll be back.”
“A-Alright,” she nods, her wings twitching with every second that passes. She takes a deep breath. He hasn’t hurt her (yet). He won’t hurt her. She just has to believe it.
Not even a minute later, he returns, sitting back down on the couch behind her. “Okay!”
“Okay?” She glances back at him — he’s got a bowl of water and a washcloth now. Nothing else. She gives him a weak smile, then faces forward again.
For a moment, nothing happens— and then, gently, he takes one of her wings in hand, moving it slightly so it’s at a good angle. Jaiden stays tense as he does, at least, until he gets to work.
He’s incredibly careful and gentle with it, meticulously straightening out any odd feathers or knocking any loose ones free, and occasionally using the washcloth to clean anything out of place.
As his fingers work through her feathers, Jaiden can feel herself letting go— she’s done this plenty of times by herself to know the feeling, but… it’s different when someone else does it. It’s different when Jacob does it. It’s… nice.
A few involuntary chirps slip from her lips, especially as he gets to the worst parts — the parts she couldn’t quite reach on her own. The parts he always preens for her.
He’s preened her wings for her a million times, as she’s done for him, but it still manages to bring tears to her eyes. Any anxieties she might’ve still been holding onto about being around Jacob slip away so easily, soothed by the gentle preening.
Instead, it’s replaced with utter relief. She loves him so much. And it’s hard. And everything’s scary.
But Jacob still cares.
He finishes up on one wing, then swaps to the other, repeating the same process.
She’s shaking a little, as he does — well, not a little. She’s shaking a lot, in a way that could easily be mistaken for fear. But she’s not scared, — not now, not ever, how could she be? — she’s just… crying. Jaiden’s trying so hard to keep quiet, but she just feels so nice, so loved.
She wasn’t discreet enough, she realizes, as Jacob pauses, glancing over her shoulder. “…You alright?”
“A-All good,” she mumbles, trying to blink away the tears as she looks back at him. “I-I just… forgot how, um, nice this felt.”
And it’s not a lie. She really did forget— it’s just not really the whole truth. She’s just… It feels like it’s been so long since she’s remembered how much he cares. It hasn’t been, but it’s like it’s hitting her for the first time all over again.
“…Oh. Alright.” His voice is soft, low, as he gets back to work. “…You better come and get me if it gets this bad again, okay?”
“…I will.” She wipes away a tear, looking straight forward again. “It was just… h-hard, this time, I guess. After… everything.”
Jacob’s hands slow down a little as she talks. She tries not to take that as a reason to stop.
“I don't even know if I'm, um... scared of you, anymore. And I-I still don't know if I will ever really... get it.” She paused as he aligned a certain feather, letting a small chirp slip out. “...But. I don't know. You're you. And I just... I want us to be okay.”
Her mouth feels dry. The tears come harder.
“I want us to be friends,” she chokes out.
He stops. She frowns— she must’ve done something wrong, said something, she fucked everything up, she—
“Hey, look at me?”
Jaiden turns, looking up at him anxiously. “…Yeah?”
“I love you, you know that?” Jacob leans forward, planting a kiss on her forehead — she melts. “Even if things get tough. I’ll be here.”
Jaiden doesn't even care that he hasn't quite finished preening her. She turns herself around completely, throwing herself as close to him as physically possible.
“I love you too.” She mumbles, weeping a little.
He seems— startled, for a second. But soon, his arms wrap around her, and he just… holds her.
It takes everything in her not to whine. She tucks her head beneath his, letting herself just… breathe, for a minute. She’s needed this for a while.
But… something feels off. Something feels… different.
Jacob is… oddly cold.
She tries to ignore it for a minute, thinking she must be imagining it— but he never gets warmer? She pulls back a little to look him in the eyes, worried.
“…Are you okay?” she asks, and he doesn’t seem to recognize why she’d be asking that, just staring back at her. “You’re… colder than usual.”
He blinks. “…Colder?”
“Yeah, it’s— It’s not uncomfortable, or anything, at least not for me, but…” Jaiden glances over him, wondering if there might be anything different about him that might make him colder — but, well, she doesn’t exactly know what to look for, so she doesn’t find anything. “Do you… not feel it?”
“No?” Jacob looks at her, then back down at himself — she doesn’t know what to think. This is weird. He doesn’t— He seems fine, otherwise, but this is… worrying.
“…Okay. Well, just… let me know if you do start to feel it, okay?” She grabs one of his hands, a little similar to the way he held hers back in her room just the other day. It's just as cold as the rest of him — but at least she was expecting it this time. “I'm... I'm worried.”
“…Yeah, of course. I’m fine, I promise.” He gives her a grin. She scans his face— it seems genuine, but… there’s something he’s not telling her.
Jaiden frowns, but… he doesn't seem to want to talk about it. He can tell her when he's ready, she decides. “Okay. I believe you.” She nods, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb.
She keeps her gaze trained on him for a few more moments, until he speaks up again.
“…I still need to finish preening your wings,” he says. Oh, right.
“O-Oh, yeah, I forgot about that,” she giggles a little, detaching herself from him completely, now. With a little struggle, she turns herself back around again, presenting her wing to him. Thankfully, there wasn’t much left for him to preen, so it shouldn’t take too long— and sure enough, he finishes up quickly.
“…There. All done. Feel better?”
Jaiden lets out a low coo, her face pressed into the soft couch cushions. “Way better, thank you, Jacob,” she murmurs, sitting up and yawning a little. “Just, um, really tired now.”
“Ready to call it a night?” Jacob leans back, setting the bowl and washcloth aside.
“Mm,” she nods, “Yeah, it’s probably about that time. Are you… are you gonna come up, too? Or are you staying down here for tonight?”
“I’ll head back to my room. Don’t think I’ll sleep, though,” he says — she’s a little worried, but… he’ll be okay.
“Okay. Don't hesitate to come to me if you need anything.” She smiles at him, stretching a little as she gets up off the couch. God, her wings really do feel nicer now. “I'll be in my room. I hope you can get some sleep, at least.”
“Same to you.” He gets up, too, ready to follow her up the stairs. “I mean that. Come get me if you need something. Or just want to chat.”
Jaiden nods. And she means it, too, this time — no fear in her head to make the empty promises she did last time.
They walk up the stairs in silence, then down the hallway to their rooms, and turn to each other one last time—
“Goodnight, Jacob.”
“’Night, Jaiden.”