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I’ve written stories about @insane-control-room‘s Johan meeting my Joey, Freckle, but I thought it would be cool to write one of my main BATIM oc’s meeting dear Johan
Although it did turn into Freckle and Johan having a heart to heart because Control and I ended up rping.
Cordelia was lost. Not literally, but figuratively. She had fallen asleep in the break room, only to wake up to a man she did not recognize standing over her. He had Joey’s voice albeit a sonorous, softer version, but the man in front of her was absolutely not the Joey Drew she knew. He was tall and dark skinned, with hair so dark blue it was almost black, and pink glasses covering eyes that she was quite certain were red. He looked confused by her presence, though not surprised, and she could see some apprehension in his posture and expression. He reminded her a little of her brother if she was being honest. But that was beside the point. She didn’t recognize this man. And, looking around, she found she did not recognize the break room either. It looked different than the one she was used to.
“Miss?” The tall man’s voice was quiet and polite as she stumbled to her feet, looking frantically around the room. “Do you know where you are?”
“I…This is the studio, isn’t it?” She asked, her heart beginning to race. “This is Joey Drew Studios, right?” She was starting to hyperventilate a little. This wasn’t the studio she was familiar with. She was certain of it now. It had a similar layout, but the little details were different. The dartboard Joey had put in was gone. Recently some of the other employees had started putting a crude drawing of Joey up to throw darts at. It had been there when she’d fallen asleep. And where was her coffee tray? She’d left it near the coffee maker. Even the coffee maker was different. But there were still Bendy cutouts around the room and a punch station in the corner.
“This…Where am I?” She looked back at the tall man. “This isn’t the studio. This isn’t my studio!” Her voice got higher as her panic increased.
“Why don’t you come with me?” The tall man suggested. There was a tenderness in his voice that she had never heard in her own Joey’s voice. He had such sad eyes. Eyes like hers. Eyes like her brother’s. She was calmed a bit by his presence. However, her anxiety remained at a low hum.
“I’ll get you some tea.” The tall man gestured for her to follow him.
“I-I don’t want to be a bother.” She mumbled, feeling her cheeks beginning to warm. God, she felt stupid. This was probably his studio. She was a trespasser here. She’d just shown up and had a panic attack.
“It’s no trouble.” The man assured her, stopping at the top of the stairs. “Please.” She hesitated, playing with the hem of her skirt.
“Thank you.” She said, stopping next to him.
“You’re welcome.” He gave her a soft smile.
He led her out of the break room and through the studio halls. Cordelia tried to keep as close to him as she could while still observing the studio and noting the differences between this one and the one she was used to. It was pretty early, judging from the clocks, which explained the lack of other employees. Although she did see a few milling about, the man kept her out of their sight. She knew why he was doing it, he could not have people finding out that she was from a different dimension, but it still hurt for some reason. As though she was doing something wrong. She was being silly. She knew that.
The man took her to what she assumed was his living area. He gestured for her to sit down on the couch, ducking into the kitchen.
“What type of tea do you like?” He asked.
“O-Oh, you don’t need to make tea.” She got up, lingering nervously in the doorway to the kitchen. “I don’t want to be a bother.”
“You’re a guest.” He didn’t even glance back at her, already getting out some teabags. “It would be rude of me not to give you something.”
“Well…Okay.” She didn’t particularly want to argue with him, so she went back and sat down on the couch, playing with her skirt again. She hadn’t had time to go home and change before falling asleep, so her clothes were still rather dirty. Her blouse still felt a little damp from sweat and there were ink stains on her sleeves and skirt.
It was a few minutes before the man returned with two cups of tea. He set one down in front of her before sitting on a chair nearby.
“I hope you don’t mind chamomile.” He said. “It was all I had pre made.”
“No no, it’s fine.” She smiled, picking up the cup and inhaling deeply. “I like chamomile.”
“Oh, good.” He brightened. “Would you like some honey?”
“Yes, please.”
He got up once more to retrieve some honey for her. She thanked him quietly once he returned, stirring the honey into her tea. She was feeling much calmer now, which was probably the point.
“Thank you.” She said as she sipped at her tea. “The tea is very good.”
“You’re welcome.” He replied, holding his own cup in his lap. “I’m glad you like it.”
They lapsed into silence for a bit, just drinking their tea. Cordelia had never been all that good at talking to people she didn’t know. She was also extra nervous because she’d shown up in this man’s studio and she didn’t know how she’d gotten there. She was definitely trespassing and being a nuisance, two things she hated doing. She started to shift uncomfortably, unsure of what to do. She didn’t like sitting here like this, not saying anything. She looked back at the man. He was sipping at his tea, seemingly watching her out of the corner of his eye. He had such sad eyes. She couldn’t imagine what he’d been through to make his eyes so sad.
“You have sad eyes.” She suddenly blurted out. Immediately, she slapped her hand over her mouth, cursing her impulsivity. The man’s smile faded a bit but immediately popped back up.
“It’s just the pink glasses that make a contrast.” He laughed, tapping the glasses. She could tell he was deflecting though. Almost immediately, she reached out and touched his hand.
“It’s okay to be sad, you know,” She said, smiling gently. “I’m sad a lot too. You don’t have to bottle up your feelings.”
“I’m fine, Miss. No need for you to worry.” He quickly withdrew his hand, setting it in his lap. There was a change in his eyes. She could see his walls going up, his posture stiffening. He was withdrawing.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” She put her hands up. “I shouldn’t have overstepped your boundaries like that.”
“I’m the one who should be sorry.” He insisted, laughing nervously. “You must think I’m a terrible host.”
“But I overstepped your boundaries.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m being an awful host.”
The next few minutes were spent in a cycle of apologizing. Each of them was getting progressively more upset. Johan was nervous, not understanding why this girl was apologizing to him. Surely it was his fault. Cordelia was just plain upset. She had an ingrained need to be liked and to not upset people and she was certain she’d upset this man. The more she apologized, though, the more confused Johan became.
Finally, Cordelia stopped.
“Let’s, um, let’s start over.” She suggested, sticking out her hand. “My name is Cordelia Bell.” He fumbled for a moment, being that he was left-handed, but he managed to shake her hand.
“Joey Drew.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Drew.” She gave him a big smile. She’d already sort of figured out that this man was another Joey from the sign above the office and his voice. But still, it wouldn’t do to be impolite. He smiled back awkwardly.
The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, both unsure what to say or how to proceed with this situation.
“I should probably find a way home.” Cordelia finally said.
“I’d be happy to help in any way I can.” The other Joey collected the teacups, taking them to the kitchen before returning to her in the living room.
“I think I’ll take you up on that offer.” She said.
“Alright.” The other Joey pulled out a strange machine she didn’t recognize, setting it on the table. “Tell me about your Joey.”
Cordelia inhaled through her teeth. “Well, um, he’s a little taller than me. More than a little taller really. He’s probably average height I guess. He’s got dark hair, about the same length as mine actually. He’s white and kind of skinny. He usually wears dress pants, a dress shirt, grey vest, red bowtie.” She paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “Oh! And he’s got a ton of freckles!”
The other Joey stared at her for a moment. He blinked. He took off his glasses.
“And you have no idea how you got here?”
“I’m sorry, but I really don’t.” She nodded. “I was running around all night before I fell asleep in the break room. We had a big deadline to meet and everyone was pretty stressed.”
“Did you see your Joey before you fell asleep?” He asked.
“Yeah. I dropped off some papers before I went to the break room.” She replied. “He was hunched over some book muttering to himself. I don’t think he really noticed me.” The other Joey shrugged a bit.
“Let him know JR would like a word.” He said before pressing some buttons on his machine. What appeared to be a door made of light appeared in front of them. Cordelia blinked, getting up and walking over to it. She’d never seen anything quite like this before.
“Um, thank you.” She turned back to the other Joey, curtseying awkwardly. “I’m sorry again for intruding. I’ll tell him what you said.” Then she stepped through. She found herself right outside Joey’s office. Her Joey’s office. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“Miss Bell!” She looked up to see Grant coming toward her. “There you are! Mr. Lawrence has been looking everywhere for you!”
“Sorry, Mr. Cohen.” She said. “I’ll be right there.”
She was kept busy for the next few hours, darting around delivering papers and coffee. But she did eventually make her way back to her Joey’s office. He looked about as cranky as he had the last time she’d seen him. There were dark circles under his eyes and he had a large cup of coffee.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Drew.” She said brightly. Joey gave her a vague grunt of acknowledgment, taking a big swig of his coffee. Cordelia sighed, putting the papers from Sammy on his desk.
“I met a man this morning who had a message he wanted to me to give to you.”
“If it’s the man from the church group, tell him I think he knows where he can put his pamphlet,” Joey allowed himself a smug smile.
“No, he wasn’t from any church group,” Cordelia said. “He said to tell you JR would like a word.” Joey inhaled sharply, which led to a coughing fit as he’d inhaled some coffee.
“Mr. Drew! Are you alright?” Cordelia moved to go around the desk, but Joey put up a hand.
“I’m fine.” He gasped out between coughs. He’d gone paler than usual.
“Are you sure?” She asked, brow knitted with worry.
“I’m sure.” Joey nodded. “You should get back to work now. Sammy’s probably looking for you.”
“Yes, sir.” Cordelia collected the papers left out for Sammy and departed, still worried.
.
An hour later, the Joey Drew colloquially known as Freckle was stepping into the universe of Johan Ramirez.
“Do you want to talk?” Johan asked as Freckle entered the room.
“No, I don’t want to talk.” Freckle snapped. “What the Hell did that mean?!” Johan looked Freckle over. He could immediately tell the other man hadn’t slept in a bit, judging from the dark circles under his eyes. He stood up, crossing the room and putting his hands on Freckle’s shoulders.
“You need to rest.” He said, gently guiding Freckle to the couch.
“I do not!” Freckle protested, sounding very much like a petulant child. He tried to fight it, but Johan did eventually get him to lay down and sleep for a bit. Johan went and prepared some hot chocolate, setting it out for when Freckle awoke before snuggling up next to the smaller man.
Once Freckle had awoken, Johan asked again if he wanted to talk. He wanted to know what was wrong.
“It’s…been a rough week,” Freckle admitted. “Bertie and I have been fighting like cats and dogs, Grant says the studio is hemorrhaging money.” He sighed heavily, shoulders shaking. “I thought…Maybe if I could open up some portals I could get some advice from other Joey’s. But…I guess I messed up since I was tired. I didn’t think Miss Bell would get caught up in it.” Johan, head resting on Freckle’s chest, was silent.
“My honest advice?” He finally said. “Stop. It’s hard, but…give in. It’s okay to admit defeat, and you can rise again at a better opportunity.” Freckle also went quiet. For a moment, it seemed like he might consider Johan’s words. Then his face twisted and he stood up, pushing Johan off of him.
“You’re just like everyone else.” He snapped. “You don’t think I can do it. Well I can! I’ll show you! I’ll show all of you!“ He tried to storm out, but Johan grabbed him by the wrist.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you can do it,” he said. “I’m just saying you should take a break.”
“Let me go!” Freckle tried to pull away again. Johan pulled him closer, enfolding Freckle’s hand in his.
“Please, think about it.” His voice was soft and gentle. Slowly, Freckle’s anger began to ebb. He got very quiet, staring at Johan’s hand.
“I have to be able to do this.” He whispered. “I have to succeed.” His voice broke a little. He took a deep breath, willing the tears to go away. He couldn’t be weak. He had to be able to do this.
“I believe in you,” Johan said. “But you should take a breath and look at the big picture.” Freckle didn’t say anything for a long time, just staring at Johan’s hands.
“I don’t know how.” He’d never been good at looking at the big picture. Esther had always teased him about how single-minded he could be, never quite thinking through the consequences of his plans. All he ever thought about was the end goal.
Johan followed Freckle’s gaze down to his own hands, wondering if the other man was staring at the numerous scars crisscrossing the skin. He tapped a few with his free hand, saying, “These who it’s okay to start over. To take a break. To Change.”
“I think I’m in too deep.” Freckle replied, running his thumbs over Johan’s scars. Johan looked him up and down, sighing softly. He enfolded Freckle in a hug, gently patting his back.
“It’s okay.” He murmured. Freckle practically melted into Johan’s arms, letting out an instinctual sob. He clung to the taller man, taking deep breaths to will himself not to cry. He couldn’t cry. He couldn’t.
It was a few minutes before he finally pulled away. He muttered some words of thanks to Johan and departed back to his own studio through a portal. Johan turned his gaze to someone that no one else could see, frowning a little. He sighed.
"He’s not gonna listen, is he?”
He will. Eventually. A young woman’s voice replied. Only Johan could hear it at this point.
“In what, thirty years? When it’s all done and over?” Johan went over to his couch, laying down with his legs hanging off the edge.
It’s hard to change his mind. It’s the way Joey’s are
“Point taken.”
But he will learn. There will be a happy ending
“Sure.”
There will be. For him, at least. You, I have no control over
“Wonderful.”
“Is there anything else I can help you with, your majesty?”
No, but thank you for your help. I hope you find your happy ending
He got quiet and turned to face the cushions of the couch, curling up.
Goodbye Johan
“…Au revoir.” Then the presence was gone and he was alone.