Chapter Text
“so other than talking to you, which i promise is nice, what else is there to do here?”
“There’s a whole city out there! It’s not small either, there’s plenty to do. If you have any ideas, feel free to ask me to look into it.” Enthusiasm was only barely held back by Stretch's early request for Blue to speak quietly. Stretch smoothed his fingers over the edge of one of the ties of his bandana. Blue just continued to smile at him.
"well..." He thought about it, trying to consider what might be cheap and undemanding of their attention. He wanted time to just talk to the program... To Blueberry, who was looking up at him like he was thrilled to just be alive. Excited to exist. What a concept… And Stretch was eager to actually get to know him. "what abouuuut... a picnic? like just a walk through the park or beach or something and just relax?"
Blue looked a little uncomfortable as he shifted on his feet. "While there is a lot to do out there, it's just a city. There are no parks or beaches or anything really 'nature' oriented. I'm sorry." He was playing with the edge of his gloves. Tugging on them and wiggling his fingers absent-mindedly. Stretch wondered if it was a subconscious tick programmed in, or if he was intentionally looking worried.
"you can take off your gloves if they're bothering you. same with the bandana. i just thought they were cute, but i don't want you to think you have to wear them..."
Blue blinked, his smile twitching. "I like wearing them! You gave them to me and my outfit feels special..."
"it's the uniforms for the royal guard in the monster's cities."
A blue-ish hue creeped across Blue's face. "You like how it looks, huh?"
Stretch cleared his throat with a chuckle. "i uh... yeah, i kinda do. it fits you really well, too, i think... i just um... well, i..."
Blue giggled, a genuine and adorable giggle that sent a surge of fondness through Stretch's soul. "We could have a picnic on our roof, if you'd like! You can see how vast the city really is. And don't worry about money, there are plenty of preview 'experiences' for us to try!"
"what do you mean?"
"Well, nothing is called 'food' or 'meals' or 'dinner' or anything like that. We call all of that 'experiences'! I believe it's a legal thing, to protect The City. They don't want to starve monsters, because they think they're actually eating something. An 'experience' is just that, an experience. It won't provide sustenance, but you'll be able to see what it's like to eat a variety of things. Even human food, and it won't make you sick, because your body isn't actually trying to process something that isn't magic!"
Stretch tilted his head. "grilled cheese?"
"Of all the things you'd want to try!" Blue said, another giggle in his voice. "Yes, though, that's absolutely one of the experiences we can try."
Blue turned around and went to a wardrobe by the door that Stretch was sure wasn't there before. He opened the cabinets and dug for only a moment before pulling out a large, pristine baby blue blanket. For a moment, he held it to his face and nuzzled into it. "It's so fuzzy! We received one free blanket. I picked out the fluffiest one in your favorite color!"
Was blue really his favorite color? He was certain that it had been orange. He just liked the way Blue's outfit matched the color of his magic and the color of the blue gel that allowed him to come into the system. And the thought of being with a skeleton whose magic complimented his… But how could he tell Blue that when those beautiful big eyes glittered at him with such joy?
"is that for the picnic?"
Handing the blanket to Stretch when he hadn't reached for it himself, Blue nodded. "It's the only thing we have that we can use to sit on. It's pretty comfortable though, isn't it? Are you not happy with it?"
Stretch flung it around his shoulders, then held one of its blue corners to his face and rubbed it against his cheek. "it's perfect, super soft and very pretty, thank you." Blue beamed at his reply. "i don't really wanna use it for a picnic though, it's going to get dirty, isn't it?"
Blue turned his head to the side, though keeping his eye lights fixed on Stretch. "Not at all! You forget, there's no real dirt or filth here. They wouldn't program that in the general city. Anything you see that's dirty, it's just... it's part of the textures of the building material. Even your HUB will only get dirty if you program it too."
"... does that cost extra?" Stretch couldn't imagine why someone would want their fake house to be able to get messy, much less pay for it.
"Yes! Yes it does and it's very unnecessary compared to the other things you might want to buy in the future, so I wouldn't really waste-..."
"i'm not thinking of buying it, calm down."
Blue huffed. "I apologize, I just don't really see the point. It sounds stressful to live in filth."
"i don't really get it either, but hey," It was obvious that the conversation had diverted into unhappy territory for Blue, so Stretch was quick to change the subject. "you said we get free uh... 'experiences' right? what sort of stuff?"
Blue's eye lights temporarily flashed to hearts before flashing back to simple blue lights again. Stretch blinked, wondering if he had just imagined it. "I'll surprise you! Let me just change where the door is headed and we can go!"
Before he could even ask what Blue meant, the amatori had pressed both his hands to the ‘wood’ of the door and in a second and a half, he flew back, throwing it open. On the other side was a large flat cement platform with various fuse boxes and vents sticking out of the floor. Around the sides of it was a three-foot edge, solid bricks, with no gates or exits.
The door was being held open for him, so Stretch walked out onto the roof, disoriented by the height, despite knowing that his hub was actually on the ground level. His front door wasn't a door at all, really, but a portal to wherever he'd like. It was a strange feeling and one he was going to have to get used to.
He was about a quarter of the way into the area before he thought to turn back. Blue had closed the door and was now facing it, hands pressed against it once more.
"what are you doing?"
It took a moment before Blue turned back around, a bashful grin on his face. "I just made this a private area for a moment. There are so many roofs in the city, it's easy to request it and... well, I want to get to know you. And… for you to know me." There was a brief moment where Blue's smile faltered and he looked down at the ground before looking back up at Stretch. "And for me to know me, I... I guess. Still pretty new to all this."
"that's gotta be weird." Gods, he felt uncomfortable with this. Blue hadn't asked to be born or be bound to him. It was just a program, right? But even so, it was a program that he was trying to get to interact with him. "always know that it's okay to speak your mind with me. i'll listen to your opinions and likes and dislikes."
Blue wasn't looking at him now, just looking around at their surroundings. Surroundings that Stretch hadn't even glanced at yet, but it didn't matter. "I don't know if that's entirely... I don't know if I would be... I'm sure you'll always do what's best for us." Blue walked past him and all the way to the far edge of the roof. He rested his hands on the ledge and just sat there in silence for a moment. "I feel like I've existed longer than this. I know you just created me today, but..."
Stretch turned and walked up behind him, standing a few feet from him. This was sending a pit to his stomach. It felt real. He knew it wasn't, he knew he could just walk out of the tank he was in, shut it all down and walk away. None of this really mattered, but... it felt real. Blue’s voice was filled with unnamable emotions and though they had just met, it brought back memories of Edge.
Holding him close as he shivered in fear, teaching him to read, how to use a fork, how to speak without getting hurt. Emotions were never Stretch’s strong suit and his own heart ached to hear them from Blue. He had come here to escape all that.
"hey, take your time. i won't force anything on you. just, uh, exist i guess, alright?"
Blue let out a light chuckle and turned to him, resting his back against the barrier. "Alright Stretch. I'll exist then. And I'll make changes to the house that I like and I will tell you what I want to do during our times together. That's what you want right?"
Pulling the blanket off his neck, Stretch nodded. Despite how absolutely disgusting the cement floor of the roof looked (a very convincing deep-in-the-city roof), he waved it to make it flat and laid it down evenly along the floor, smoothing out the wrinkles with his hands. "yeah, that's what i want. a person with independence.”
He sat on the soft plush of the blanket and waited as Blue followed suit, crossing his legs and sitting across the way from him. Something in him sparkled and he had an urge to crawl across the blanket and sit side by side with Blue. Something that would keep them both warm (they were already warm) and comfortable in each other’s presence. Blue was happy to sit away from him and as they were about ‘experience’ eating, that made sense.
Still.
He ached again for his brothers, remembering the gentle nature of their times together.
As he was distracted by his own thoughts, Blue took it upon himself to order the first piece of food to share. When Stretch looked back at him, Blue was setting a plain ceramic plate with a grilled cheese sandwich sitting steaming on top of it. It looked like it was on basic white bread, toasted golden brown with cheese dripping down the sides and some sort of herb sprinkled over the top. He wasn’t sure if that part was for aesthetic or for taste. It looked incredible.
Knowing that it would only make him sick, he had always avoided human food.
But this was just an experience, right? He wouldn’t get sick.
And with the sight of it, all thoughts of his brothers melted away.
The square sandwich was cut into two triangles and he grabbed one, not able to stop the smile on his face as the cheese bulged out from between the slices of bread. It smelled amazing. He looked over to Blue, whose hands were held in his lap and was watching Stretch with a small smile of his own on his face. "can you eat too?"
"I can. I don't know if I get the full experience, but the system does say that I get to taste things."
"you can have the other half!"
"Are you sure you don't want to save it for yourself? They don't go bad or expire."
"nah, i'd rather have you actually picnic with me."
"Really?"
"it would make it more realistic. though you don't have to do it, if it doesn't look good to you or uh... you just aren't interested."
Blue's chin was tilted down, but his eye lights were fixed on Stretch's face. "I'm interested. Looks really good and it was the first thing that you thought of. It must be something special, then."
"heh heh, i don't really know. it’s typically human food. though it looks and..." He held the slice up to his nasal cavity and breathed in deeply. It certainly smelled of bread and cheese! And butter. Did the humans use butter when they made it? "smells really good." He gestured to the other piece and Blue eagerly picked it up.
Before either of them took a bite, Stretch lifted the piece into the air like a wine glass, hoping Blue would understand the reference. "to new friendships, eh?"
Blue's grin blossomed into something more, something sparkling and excited. "Yes! To new friendships!" He giggled and lifted his own piece, tapping it against Stretch's as one would a wine glass.
Stretch took a bite then, but Blue opened his mouth and put the whole piece into it. He wasn't able to focus on the taste, or anything around him as he watched Blue.
He had fangs, two canines that delved deeper than any of his other teeth and were completely hidden when his mouth was shut. It sent a jolt of excitement down Stretch's spine, when it really, really shouldn't have. He swallowed roughly, thoughts now briefly flicking to the optional 'sexual thrills' upgrades he could buy for his Amatori and himself.
Blue seemed to really be enjoying his freedom, he licked the smallest shred of cheese off his glove and treated Stretch to the sight of his fangs and a severely azure, rounded tongue.
Thank the Angel he couldn't get a boner without the upgrade. He cleared his throat and wiggled his hips. "that was awesome." he mumbled, not entirely remembering what he even tasted. Maybe he could buy it sometime and just... not watch Blue eat while he did.
Those fangs... They may be able to stop him from 'relieving himself' in the system, but in his actual apartment? Nope.
He wasn't sure why THAT got him, but he pushed the thought away and brushed off his hands. "i have no idea what to ask for next or even what's available to us... is there anything you'd like to try?"
Blue considered it a moment, staring off to the middle distance. "Tacos? I know of Taco Tuesdays, they're discounted then and it's strange because no other food has discounts on certain days."
"pull it up." He'd never been much for spicy food, but he wanted to continue to encourage Blue to make his own choices. If he wanted to try tacos, then they'd try tacos.
Soon there was another plate in Blue's hand. It had just appeared there, in a small flash of blue light. They were obviously hard-shell beef tacos, with lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese of some kind, sour cream and some other red-brown sauce poured over it which he assumed was hot sauce. Luckily for the sake of sharing, this 'experience' came with two tacos.
The rest of their time together was spent in relative peace. Though Stretch avoiding looking at Blue as he opened his mouth for any reason, they held simple conversations about the food, where they could get it, all the sorts of places they could have these ‘experiences’. There were no restaurants or real cafes. There were Experimentoriums and energizing stations, where you could buy something akin to coffee. It wouldn’t really affect the user, but the amatori would have a surge of energy, if you wanted it to be hyper.
Blue didn’t seem particularly interested in the idea and Stretch had never been big on the taste of coffee, so they dropped the topic.
Next thing Blue brought up was spaghetti, which as it turns out, neither of them particularly like. Stretch hated the slimy texture of the noodles and Blue just wasn’t fond of the taste of it.
The fork was currently in Blue’s hand and he was digging through the noodles to pick out the meatballs, which he genuinely liked. Stretch on the other hand, finally decided to start looking around them.
There was a slight breeze over the top of the roof, but it wasn’t cold.
Temperature wise, the roof was quite warm and the breeze was a nice addition. He could hear vague sounds of people moving about below them, but it was very distant. It felt like they were very high in the air.
But that didn’t make sense.
An alleyway was between them and the buildings on either side and in back of them. The building in front was a bit further away, as though a street was in between them and it.
That isn’t what caught his attention though. When he finally decided to start looking around, he realized that while it made sense to him that he couldn’t see the ground (he hadn’t allowed himself to get close enough to the edge to try yet), he also couldn’t see the sky. Buildings went up for forever, dingy, dark, monotone, linked by laundry lines and bridges and walkways. With no people in sight.
He stood up and walked ten feet forward, ignoring the look he was getting from Blue, who had just shoved another meatball in his mouth. “Stretch?”
There was an immense amount of fog obstructing his view, but he was fairly certain that the city went on forever. He walked to the edge and leaned over.
His soul plummeted and he staggered backward, luckily not far enough to trip over Blue.
“Stretch? Stretch!”
He blinked and turned back towards the Amatori. “it goes on forever… what the hell, it doesn’t end!” He looked up again, the towering buildings seemed unsteady to him. A castle in the sky.
“That’s just how it’s designed to look. Most of those buildings are completely empty on the inside. It’s all for looks, I promise.” Blue stood up and grasped his hand, gentle as he led him back to sit on the blanket. “I guess I should have warned you, sorry. I didn’t think about it. This world is just the norm for me.”
Blueberry watched as Stretch finally sat back down, now focused on the details of the world around them with intense interest, curious about the world he allowed himself to be pulled into. And to think... HE gets to be the one to show it to him!!
According to the files on Stretch that were placed directly in Blueberry’s memory upon waking up, he kept his exact appearance when coming into the System. How exciting! He was a handsome Skeleton.
Probably!
He didn’t have much in the way of prior knowledge of skeletons, though he could do more research with the informational files available to him. He could study and learn new ways to interact with Stretch, who was a real skeleton in the ‘real world’!
“so why does the city look like this?”
“It’s just how it was designed. Dark and broody. There are left over pieces of the old plans for the system that imply that it wasn’t all going to be like this, but… When the humans stopped funding the project and various monsters dropped out, it was all sort of left… as is.” And that’s as much as the system wanted him to know. He tries pulling up information on the actual team, but names are blocked out and there’s so much redacted text that it’s nearly unreadable. “There’s not much more to say about it.”
Stretch smiles wearily at him then, leaning back on the palms of his hands behind him. “if they’re empty, can we go in them?”
“Mostly no. They’re blocked off with sealed doors and boarded windows. Some are completely hollow inside.” Picking at the edge of the blanket, he managed to catch Stretch’s gaze. “But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of buildings we can go in to. You can look through the menu to see what’s available, if anything catches your eye you can either select it or tell me that you want to go there!”
“what do you think? does anything look interesting?”
“I…” In his mind, he can see hundreds of options of places they could go and things they could do. Quite a few were locked out as ‘upgrades’, but so many of them were open. He hadn’t really had time to consider what he might 'want' to do. What would be expected of him to desire, given the personality traits that Stretch had given him. There's nothing worse than disappointing your User and the system demanded Perfection of him, whatever that may look like. “I haven’t really looked through it myself.” He shrugs, unsure of how to elaborate on that. There was just so much in his head, it was overwhelming if he tried to think about all of it. “When you log out, I’ll take a look though! I don’t want to waste our time together.”
There’s a quick pause and Blue looks up to see Stretch has tilted his head and is looking him over. “you are a part of the program though, right? shouldn’t you already know it all? not that… not that i’m mad or anything! i just thought, since, you know, you are an amatori and…”
Blue laughed, he couldn’t help himself. Stretch must be the sweetest User in the system, so thoughtful and handsome and… what was it? Innocence? Naivety? Just so cute! “I didn’t think you were mad, silly! Truth is, it is all accessible, up here.” He tapped the side of his skull with two fingers and winked. The System rewarded him with positive affirmation when the stress left Stretch's face and he smiled. “But man there’s a lot they put in here.” He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “I’m not sure how much, but it is a lot. And it’s not all just… immediately available. If you want, I can start going through the list? We can talk it out together.”
“so it’s not in your memory, it’s more like having the internet in your head?”
The gold never feels real, as he can’t really see it. It’s like it doesn’t exist.
Just numbers there and he is so uncomfortable with the amount that he splurges with it.
First he clears his debts, with school and rent for the year and a half left on his lease. He buys a nicer car and gas and grocery cards to cover himself for a very, very long time.
He double checks with the provided lawyer about how much he should be setting aside for taxes for this amount and he’s assured that what he has set aside is more than enough, that the rest is for him. He is gently guided towards putting a chunk in a savings account, to think about the future.
When investments are brought up, he zones out. Again, it doesn’t feel real. These random numbers in a random account in his name…
They make him feel sick.
Very sick.
Very nervous.
He confirms that he has enough money set aside to cover the taxes for the inheritance and any fees that come from lawyers and the like. Is everything truly paid for? Is this money really mine?
The human lawyer pauses and looks confused, bushy eyebrows crinkled together, a little concerned. She was finally starting to get it. He hated this money. It scared him.
She put a hand on his shoulder and reassured him, again, that as long as what was set aside didn’t get touched, he’d be fine.
He walked out then, telling her to call if anything changed.