Chapter Text
Whole had been working his hardest the past couple of months, and he was tired of it. His work required a lot of his energy, and often when he wasn't working he would be sleeping. The only time he would ever leave his room would be to grab a snack, though even this was rare, as he often stockpiled food in his room.
Soul would always leave him dinner at his door, and the gesture was much appreciated. Soul even helps him with songs sometimes! (Sometimes. Sometimes Whole wouldn't hear from Soul for weeks, the only sign that he was alive was the plate at the foot of his door.)
Heart would occasionally check on Whole, just a quick knock and the sound of the door squeaking on its hinges to make sure he was doing alright. Although Heart distracted him from his work more often than not, he cherished every interaction, no matter how short.
He hasn’t seen Mind in awhile. He’s starting to forget how they used to work on projects late into the night. He’s starting to forget all their inside jokes, and the joy they get when they finally fix a problem that had been bothering them for hours. Maybe he’s just busy.
He hasn’t seen any of them recently, now that he thinks about it.
When he finally finished working on his new piece, he shut down his computer and went to lay down in his bed. It was past 2am, meaning he had been working for around 13 hours straight (with the distraction or two). He shuffles under the messy covers and stares at the ceiling. He’s restless, his thoughts wandering to his trio.
Where were they? Soul hadn’t left him food for about a week, Heart hadn’t checked in for a few days at least (his sense of time wasn’t the best) and Mind hadn’t attempted to interact with Whole.
Maybe they’re just busy, he concludes. With exhaustion forcing him to close his heavy eyes, he falls asleep.
Suddenly he’s in the living room, facing his thirds. They all had their backs turned to him.
“Heart, Mind, Soul! Where have you guys been? I haven’t heard from you in ages!” he questioned in an exclamative manner, confused that they were all here but ecstatic nonetheless.
Heart was the first to turn around, a surprised look flashed on his face before quickly souring, looking at the dishevelled man in front of him.
“Oh. It’s you. I’m honestly surprised you're even out of your room, and more so shocked you’re even talking to us! We were under the impression that you didn’t care about us anymore.” He spat, anger and spite laced heavy in his voice. Heart balled his fists in frustration, waiting for a response from Whole.
“W-What? Heart, no, that’s not true! I’ve just been so caught up in my-”
“That’s the excuse you give us every time, Harm.” Whole flinched at the harsh use of the nickname. “‘Sorry I couldn’t make it last night, I was invested in my work.’, ‘Sorry for missing movie night, I started a new project that needed my full attention’, ‘Apologies for forgetting about your birthday, I thought it was tomorrow’.” Moon stared directly at Whole, making him slightly uncomfortable, whilst repeating Whole’s previous statements with hand movements mimicking quotation marks. “Personally, I'm sick of it. Seriously Whole, get a grip, is it really that hard to just take a break for once?”
Heart’s words stung, causing Whole to splutter, and unable to appropriately respond to his speech. His eyes began to water, and his breath started to unevenly shake.
In a final act of movement, the Moon crossed his arms, and appeared to freeze as the Sun turned towards him.
“Mind! Is what Heart said really true?” Whole cried weakly, scared of what the mechanical man would confirm.
Mind’s impossibly blue eyes simply stared at Whole’s tangerine ones. What seems like an eternity of silence passed, Whole becoming even more on edge at the forced eye contact.
Finally, he spoke, his mouth not moving, instead his modulator crackling to life, producing a robotic, deeper version of his natural voice. “I am not present to fully comment on that matter, my situation is of a somewhat different circumstance.”
Whole because even more nervous, now fiddling with the hem of his shirt. What did he mean by ’a different circumstance’?
“What- What do you mean by that Mind?” he stuttered, letting his anxiety show. He was physically shaking at this point, overwhelmed by the emotions he was feeling.
“The matter of which I am currently expressing is of my previous frequent visits, and why my attendance has lacked.” He calmly stated, still eyeing him. “You’ve alienated yourself from our projects. Every time I’ve attempted to communicate with you in any way has resulted in an absence of a response. You’ve become obsessively absorbed into your work and I am offended at the display.”
Whole was perplexed by his words. Mind had tried to get his attention? When?
It seemed Mind caught his puzzled look, “You didn’t even acknowledge my endeavours to discuss our projects?” Though his simulated voice had no tone to it, Whole knew Mind was hurt. “I am in no way surprised, your ability to become indulged in writing and producing is unnatural and frightening. I suppose the occasion should not be disclosed at this moment, while the confrontation is necessary, the timing is not convenient.”
Whole was confused as to why Mind had finished with the ending statement, until he witnessed Mind’s body still, as if he had never moved in the first place.
Soul’s body suddenly filled with life, and he spun around with a scary amount of energy. The ‘human’ side of his face was distorted in an expression of anger, his lips curved down and his eyebrow furrowed. The shadow side however, was contorted into something horrific. His hair stuck up at unkempt, unnatural angles, his eye wide open, and the other side of his mouth was stretched open with his teeth showing. He looked frozen during a state of screaming. The sight was freakish, and Whole wished he could look away, but he couldn’t move his head, no matter how hard he tried.
Soul slowly stepped towards him, near slow-motion, pausing his movement only a short distance away from him. Though he was a part of Whole, Soul still loomed above his figure, having half a foot over him. He felt small under Soul’s gaze, wanting to be able to hide from him. He doesn’t know why he’s so scared of Soul, he’s been nothing but kind to him since he discovered his existence. But right now, Whole was intimidated, and he was sure that was the taller’s goal.
“Harmonia.” Soul sounded hoarse and raspy, unlike his usual softer, more artificial voice. Whole immediately froze up, attempting to muster a response.
Soul just laughed in his face. “HA-HA! You look so pathetic- in fact Whole, you are pathetic. For weeks, I’ve had to feed you because you can’t even look after yourself. Heart has had to check in on you because you don't know when you are a detriment to your own wellbeing. Mind has given up and called you a lost cause, and, if I'm being honest here, I'm starting to believe him. You have made no attempt at communication, you have made no attempt to take care of yourself, and you are whittling down on our health, because we are having to take an extra load of weight just to fully take care of you. We are fully aware that that is our job, but before you actually made an effort to tend to your needs. Your current state is pitiful.” He ended his speech, and took a step back, into the position he was originally standing in before he had moved. He hadn't become motionless like the other two, he just continued staring directly into the shorter’s eyes.
Whole was taken aback by his words, in utter shock by his lengthy rant about the trio’s feelings. He felt his throat tighten, and his breathing became more erratic, with tears still threatening to spill, unable to form a comprehensible sentence, all coming out his mouth being strangled noises and half-formed words.
Through his blurred eyes, he thought he saw Heart and Mind twitch, their once unmoving bodies breaking the illusion of stillness.
The three then suddenly charged towards him, with the tallest wielding his weapon, entrusted to him by the victim. He flinched, closing his eyes, and he was in his room, sitting up in his bed.
It was just a dream, just a nightmare, surely.
But Whole knew the feelings of the others were real, they were a part of him, and the occurrence of the triad making an appearance in his dreams was not unfamiliar.
So he started to cry, at first quiet sobs, but eventually as his thoughts rampaged it became loud, uncontrolled wailing.
He was careless and ignorant, not taking care or being aware of how his thirds felt on his constant disappearance in favour of his work. He was selfish for taking their help for granted and not reciprocating the affection.
He shook violently, crying so much it physically hurt. Everything hurt, his torso, his throat, his head, his eyes, his heart. Even thinking about the organ made him bawl more. They were all so precious to him, his Heart, his Mind, his Soul, and he did nothing to give back his love.
A recognisable knock on his door.
He gasped in surprise, but barely calmed down despite the knowing presence.
“Harm?” A gentle voice cooed from behind the wood, “Can we come in?”
Whole nearly choked. It was Heart, and he presumed at least Soul was with him. He was unsure Mind would accompany them, if his missing company the previous months was to state anything.
He didn’t trust his voice much, but somehow whined out a “mhm” as loud as he could, and it seemed Heart got the message. He relished in the familiar squeaking of the door’s hinges as it slowly opened, revealing Heart and Soul (and Darrell, who was resting peacefully in his arms) outside, walking in with gentle footsteps. His slight disappointment of Mind not entering with the trio was quickly replaced with silent delight as he saw the aforementioned shuffle into the room behind them.
Whole assumed he looked pathetic, noticing the pitiful looks that Mind and Soul gave him. He was still shaking, though lesser before, and still voicing his distress through the pained whimpers that left his mouth as he cried. His back was hunched as he curled into himself to try and bring some form of physical comfort to himself as he wept.
Heart struggled over carefully to his bed, looking for permission to touch Whole. He leaned into the winged, and sobbed harder than he had earlier. Heart manoeuvred their bodies to have Whole sitting on his lap, allowing him to place his entire weight onto him, with his head tucked into the crook of the Moon’s neck.
In response to the louder cries, Soul and Mind rushed to Whole’s bed. Stars placed Darrell carefully into Whole’s lap and began to rub his shoulder whilst holding his hand as a form of comfort, allowing him to squeeze his hand for any more needed support. Sun ran his left hand through Whole’s tangled hair, careful to not pull too harshly through the knots, whilst also having his other hand softly caress his cheek, wiping away any tears that didn’t soak into Moon’s jumper.
The sudden release of emotion was almost overwhelming for Whole, but it was so needed. He can’t remember the last time he let himself cry like this. He also can’t remember the last time he was given so much physical affection from the three either, and he savoured the feeling. The warmth of Heart and his arms around his torso, and the slow rocking of his figure. The grounding feeling of Soul’s cold hand contrasting his warm one, and the pressure on his shoulder adding to the loving gesture. The gentle scratching of the nails on Whole’s scalp whenever Mind finished unknotting a set of his curls, and the surprisingly tender touch of the cool, metallic skin of the fingers that brushed against his flushed face. The low clucking of Darrell, of whom was nudging his head into his lower chest.
Whole eventually calmed down, extreme exhaustion fogging his brain. He slumped heavily into Heart, appreciating the other for holding him up. Right as he was about to pass out, Soul shook his shoulder to grab his attention.
“Hey Harmonia, can you look at me?” he whispered, waiting for the mentioned to comply.
Whole turned his head, looking at him with half-lidded eyes. Soul smiled slightly in response.
“You wanna talk about what happened?” Worry laced his voice, but his smile never faltered.
Whole paused. He wasn’t really in the mood to express anything about his dream while so tired. He shook his head.
“Oh, that’s fine, Harm! Did you want to sleep?” He questioned, and Whole nodded.
“Can you all stay with me?” He murmured, beginning to fall asleep again. He was unsure if he could sleep alone after his experience.
The force around his middle tightened a little, as Heart chirped, “Of course Harm, we’d love to! Even Sun, right Mr. Mind?”
Mind smiled, for the first time since Whole saw him last. “If he’s offering, I would be delighted.”
Heart then proceeded to pull Whole and Soul down onto the mattress with him, Mind soon following, laying beside Soul. Darrell managed to escape the sudden movement with no harm, and settled onto the pillow above Soul’s head, promptly falling asleep within seconds.
The Moon burst into a fit of giggles, with Whole copying, though more quiet than the other. Soul pressed a silent kiss to Whole’s forehead, before wishing them all goodnight.
“Goodnight, my chicks.” Soul sighed, relaxing in the shared warmth of the bed.
“Goodnight, my lights.” Heart breathed, voice muffled from his position.
“Goodnight, my reasons.” Mind muttered, the sound of his modulator crackling was absent, instead the natural, sleepy voice of his sounded from his direction.
Whole smiled at the pet names from the three.
“Goodnight, my three.” he mumbled, shuffling closer towards Soul.
In the peaceful environment of the bedroom, with the almost inaudible buzzing of electricity emitting from the area around Whole’s computer setup, the five slept soundly, undisturbed by any concerns they had, allowing themselves to indulge in at least a few hours of calm nothing.