Chapter Text
Fourteen blinked awake, head pounding like someone had dropped a bowling ball inside his skull. This definitely wasn’t his bed — too soft, too warm, too… Ten‑shaped.
The door creaked open. Ten stepped in, clutching a bowl of something orange and glossy.
“Uh… hey. You kinda fainted,” Ten said, voice wobbling like he wasn’t sure if he should be worried or apologizing. “I brought you here because I didn’t know what else to do. There’s water next to you. And, um… peaches? I didn’t know if you liked them.”
Fourteen stared at him. Ten fiddled with his fingers like he was waiting to be yelled at.
“Thanks,” Fourteen muttered, grabbing the water. The coolness soothed his headache instantly.
He tried the peach. Sweetness exploded across his tongue ”Fourteen’s eyes widened. He had never tasted anything so sweet, so juicy, so… alive.
“Do you like them? They’re my favorite peaches,” Ten said, smiling. “They’re donut peaches.”
“Mmf— yeah,” Fourteen managed between bites, already halfway through the bowl.
“Woah, don’t eat so fast! You could choke!”
Ten giggled — a tiny, nervous sound, but real. Fourteen froze for a moment, confused by how warm it made his chest feel.
Then: ding.
Ten’s head snapped toward the sound. A notification from Seven lit up his device.
Ten stared at the message from Seven.
~hi dude um five wants to see u he said it’s urgent and about why you were seen carrying… fourteen?~
He sighed.
Not this.
Not now.
Fourteen looked up from his bowl, peach juice still on his mouth, eyes fixed on Ten.
“Why?” he asked — curious, mocking, but also… something else.
“Hm? What do you mean?” Ten sat on the edge of the bed, careful to keep a little distance. Just in case.
Fourteen didn’t seem to notice.
“Why did you help me? I’m always eating your skin. And everyone else’s. Shouldn’t you have shoved me back in that cage?”
His expression was unreadable — not angry, not sad, just… blank.
Ten swallowed.
“I— well… it felt wrong to just leave you there.”
He fiddled with his fingers, eyes darting away.
“Plus… you saved me once. When 2763 showed up. You didn’t have to. But you did.”
His voice steadied.
“And it feels wrong to leave you in that cage. Every time.”
Fourteen blinked.
Confusion washed over him — sharp, heavy, unfamiliar.
No one had ever said something like that to him.
Not about him.
Not for him.