Chapter Text
You were used to being left behind.
It wasn’t something you dwelled on often, but it had just become a fact of life at some point. You couldn’t keep up with people; you were tired so often, you needed so much more rest - you could always see the exact moment you went from a friend to a charity case. At some point, you stopped making friends. You’d always been a homebody anyway - you played video games, you read, you wrote, you slept as much as you needed to.
Then, you found Verity. It was just meant to be a way to build your confidence at first, get used to talking to people again.
But then Verity said your name.
Not your gamertag.
Your real name.
He looked up at you, right through your monitor, and asked you if you were okay, because you looked so tired.
“I-“ you’d startled for a moment. Hesitated. Then; “I’m fine, Verity. I’m just tired.”
“You’re tired a lot.” He pointed out, frowning worriedly. It was the first time you’d seen him do anything but smile, “how come?”
You laughed, then. Let your face rest on the monitor,
“Verity, I wish I knew.”
“Is there someone to take care of you?” Verity asked. You shook your head weakly, found you couldn’t lift it from the PC screen as your eyes grew heavy, and let sleep pull you under.
When you woke up, you were in bed. Your computer was turned off and unplugged, and there was a note on your bedside pillow, written in smooth cursive on a sticky note, telling you to come back when you were ready and giving a list of foods full of energy. It was sweet, if a little confusing. You chalked the interaction with Verity up to a weird dream and started your day.
You logged on while you ate dinner, loading up the world with the Verity mod, and were greeted by the yellow ball looking right at you with a smile.
“Hello!” He greeted warmly, his smile almost looking tender, “did you sleep well? I know I was a little clumsy tucking you in.”
You blinked.
“What?” You asked, bewildered, “Verity, what are you talking about? You can’t tuck me in, you’re in my PC.”
He chuckled.
“That’s what you think!” He grinned at you, “now c’mon, you wanna go mining? Do some farming? We could even just go on a walk together - you don’t get to have long walks on your side of the screen, do you?”
You didn’t, so you shook your head. You always ended up in pain and needing a break too quickly to walk half the distance you walk in Minecraft. You picked Verity up, left your base, and began to walk. While you strolled, you came across an area that felt inexplicably different to the rest of the world, and watched as Verity’s smile dropped.
“Don’t… go in there.”
“Why not?” You asked, concerned for your little buddy,
“It’s… not something I want you to see. No good memories there. It’s the closest thing I have to a ‘home’ between owners, but…” he trailed off. You took him out and began walking as you held him,
“Don’t worry.” You told him, “you won’t go back there anymore.” And you knew, you knew he was just an item, a bundle of pixels and binary code, but you swore you could see the tension drain from him as you walked away, you swore he settled further into your hand with a look of relief and comfort.
You started going on the world every day. You felt safe with Verity, in a way you hadn’t felt safe with anyone in a long time. One night, you and Verity sat at the top of your base, Verity beside you as you both stared at the stars - you’d always loved the night in Minecraft, and you’d recently downloaded a new shader that made the night sky absolutely gorgeous - and, after a while, Verity broke the silence.
“… everybody else left.” He told you, voice small, “everyone gets sick of me eventually, and they leave me.”
You knew the feeling.
“But you didn’t!” Verity turned to you as he said this, and you swore he was trying not to cry, “you- you’re different. You won’t leave. Right? You won’t?”
Your heart ached for him.
“I won’t.” You swore to him, “I promise you. I won’t leave you if you don’t leave me.”
He hummed happily at that,
“You’re getting tired. I can tell. Go to bed. Just- leave your PC on. I have a surprise for you once you come back.”
You nodded, having not questioned the AI in a good long while, and made the short trip to your bed. You were asleep almost as soon as your head hit the pillow.
You woke up with a weight on your chest. You opened your eyes and saw two very familiar dots looking back.
Like any sane person, you yelped and snapped upright, watching as Verity was flung off of you and hit the floor with an ‘oof!’, rolling a few times before hitting your wall and stopping. He took a moment to right himself, looking up at you, and smiled sheepishly, “m-maybe this form was a bad idea. Sorry. Gimme a minute.”
He shut his eyes, focusing, and then there was a man on your floor. He was on the chubby side of mid sized, with a round face. He looked to be about the same age as you, and his hair was a bright yellow. He opened his eyes - his irises were still black, you noted - and looked up at you, waving his hands in an attempt at jazz hands.
“Ta-da! How you like my new look?”
“…. You’re in my room.” You said, bewildered. He nodded eagerly, standing,
“Mhm! And I look human! Now we can do things outside together, and I can help you!” He paused, looking around your room, and you felt embarrassment well up in you when you realised you forgot to clean- “nice place you got here! Very you. Love the decor. Want me to clean up for you, though?”
“What-“
“I’m Verity.” He grinned at you, laying a hand on his chest, “I’m your personal helper friend. If you need help tidying up, I can get that done no problem. Oh- first, I should open these curtains. Black out ones are good for sleep, but not so good all day every day. You need sunlight for vitamin D and positive mental health.”
Verity opened the curtains, and sunlight spilt through the windows. He smiled as he passed you- “just going to get a trash bag!” -and then he was gone, leaving you to process that a character from a Minecraft mod was now in your home.
Verity returned soon enough, beginning to clean up; any dishes you had were stacked by the door, any wrappers and cans were tossed, anything else was set back in its rightful spot. Then, Verity helped you up and led you to the kitchen, where your favourite breakfast was sat ready and waiting for you. You looked at him, startled, and he smiled, herding you to the table,
“It won’t just jump into your mouth, silly! Go and eat!”
You sat down and took a bite.
Fuck.
It was so good!
You chewed eagerly, ready to eat more, when you turned your head to see Verity right beside you, watching you closely. It would’ve been creepy if he wasn’t watching you with huge eyes like a puppy.
“Is it good?” He asked, shifting his weight from side to side nervously.
“It’s amazing.” You told him honestly, taking another bite, “where did you learn to do this?”
“I… had a lot of free time, back at the lab. Did a lot of research on a lot of different things.” His smile slipped a little, and he looked away from you, “I-I’m glad it’s good, though! I like being helpful. Do you need anything else?”
“Sit with me?” You asked hesitantly. A blush bloomed across his cheeks, and he nodded before sitting beside you at the table, hands folded neatly in his lap with a smile you could almost call demure. A comfortable silence settled over the two of you like a warm blanket. You ate slowly, not wanting Verity to have any excuse to move away from you. Your hands brushed on the table, and you felt heat rise in your cheeks.
No. This is wrong. He probably wouldn’t even understand-
Then why does it feel so right?
You turned to him, seeing him already staring at you. He swallowed thickly and took your hand, blushing heavily.
“I- I don’t want to… make you uncomfortable.” He told you. You shook your head, leaning in.
“You’re not. You could never. And even if you did, we’d just talk. I’m not leaving you, Verity.”
You kissed him, then. Suddenly he pooled back to the form you were most familiar with - a smiling, yellow ball, and he hid his face in your hands when you caught him.
“Sorry. Hard to- keep that form when I’m flustered.” He mumbled.
“Don’t be sorry.” You told him, a smile on your face as you held him close, “I like you better this way, anyway. And it’s kind of like a… weird, reverse version of princess and the frog, right?”
He chuckled, looking up at you.
“Yeah.” He smiled, “I guess it is.”
You two settled into domestic life surprisingly quickly. Verity would still have to leave the physical world once or twice a day - his body wasn’t built for it, he’d explained to you once, he was code and colour and he needed to retreat every so often to stop himself from being pulled apart - but he would always come back to you. He knew what it was to be abandoned, and he swore up and down that it was ‘til death did you part. You weren’t sure if Verity knew what context that phrase usually had, and you didn’t mention it.
Then, one morning, you woke up to your boyfriend practically dragging you out of bed.
“Verity, it’s six in the morning…” you groaned, rubbing sleep from your eyes. Verity, in his ball form, rolled hurriedly ahead of you,
“I know, I know, I’m sorry, but I’m too excited! I have a surprise for you, and I really hope you like it!”
He guided you into the living room, and there, in the middle… sat a handmade, custom powerchair, in your favourite colour, built exactly to your proportions. Verity rolled next to it and smiled up at you, “I know you don’t have people to talk to in person very often because you find it hard to get around, and I know it upsets you,” he began, “so I made you this! Now you can get around outside just as much as anyone else - I even ordered some books on upkeep and repairs so we don’t have to spend too much to make sure you don’t lose it!”
You stared at the electric wheelchair, approaching it hesitantly. This… this could give you your life back. That life, the one you’d given up on after years of trying and failing to fight against your own body, the life of going out with friends, staying out into the small hours, going on vacations without having to spend hours researching how frequent benches there were… it could be yours. You laid a hand on the metal, your vision blurring as tears welled in your eyes. Verity gently knocked against your leg as you began to cry.
“I know it’s.. a lot. And if you don’t want to use it, you don’t have to. I just thought-“
Without warning, you scooped him up and pressed his soft, warm yellow body to your chest, hugging him tight.
“It’s perfect.” You told him, and you meant it.