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It had been a week since 3 returned from the Deepsea Metro. They were still being encouraged to stay in bed and rest more before going out again, and it was killing them. Even though Callie, Marie, and the others still visited them regularly, the silence in the in-betweens was almost suffocating.
They were lying in their bed for the past hour, not being able to sleep. Their mind kept drifting to the telephone, not having control of their own actions, how much it hurt-
They needed some fresh air.
3 sat up from their bed, and walked out of their room while trying not to trip on any of the various nicknacks that had accumulated on their floor. They made a note to themself to clean it once they got back.
They opened the door to their apartment, and walked down the stairs while watching to make sure they didn't see anyone who would ask why they were out. After confirming the coast was clear, they made their way towards Inkopolis Square.
They had nights like this, even before everything that happened in the Metro. Walking around the square usually helped them to ground themself – something about feeling the crisp air as the seasons changed helped them to calm down.
They finally arrived at the square itself, and took a good look around. It was nice here at night, without all the usual business that it attracts. They slid against the wall of Headspace until they reached the ground.
They sighed, resting their head in their hands. As they listened to the sounds of the trees rustling in the wind and the night bugs singing a gentle chorus, they drifted off.
__________________________________________
They abruptly woke up to a sharp kick in the side, and nearly fell over from the impact
"Mmhuh..?" They looked up and saw a familiar face staring down at them
"4, why're you 'wake?" They said, still not entirely awake themselves
"Well, I was going to sleep, but when I looked down and I saw you sleeping on the concrete in the middle of the night." 4 gave them the once-over
"Wow, You look terrible. Do you want me to walk you home?" 3 gave her a glare, before giving it up and using her as support to get up
"Let's go."
The walk home was quiet, mostly. It was that kind of quiet where you feel like you should say something, but nothing seems like the right thing to say. They got to the apartment sooner than expected, and walked in together.
"So, uh, what exactly were you doing out that late? I thought you were still recovering." 4 asked, concerned
"I could ask you the same question."
A pause.
"Fair enough. Hey, how about you freshen up real quick, and I'll make us some tea, or something – you have to be cold after spending that long outside."
3 nodded, and headed towards the bathroom.
They closed the door, and washed off their face quickly. 3 looked up at the mirror, and stared for a few seconds. They really didn't look so great.
The dark circles under their eyes had worsened in the past week, and they just looked so…tired. They slid their hand against the left side of their face, against the sanitization scars that had still been left there. Incredibly, most of them weren't so noticable, but everytime they saw the turquoise tint on their face, they felt something like shame rise in them.
They splashed water in their face and returned to the main room of their apartment. They heard noises from the kitchen, and trudged over to find 4 shuffling through their cabinets in search of something
"What are you…doing?" 4 almost jumped, as if she didn't realize they were there
"I'm trying to find your teabags, but they aren't in any of these cabinets!"
"Here let me," They reached into the back of the cabinet 4 was looking through, and brought out two bags of chamomile
"There."
After boiling the water and pouring their drinks, they took a seat on the couch.
Once a few minutes had passed, 4 got up suddenly
"It's kind of cold, don'tcha think? I can grab some blankets, if you want."
3 looked up "Go ahead, they're in my room. Top shelf."
By the time 4 returned with the sheeting, 3 was skipping through channels on the TV. 4 threw herself onto the couch again, wrapping a blanket around the both of them.
"What're we gonna watch?"
"I think they're airing reruns of this show about vampires, is that good with you?"
She gave an affirmative noise, and they sat there for a good while watching the screen before 4 spoke up again
"Is it alright if I ask you something?"
They hummed "Go ahead, shoot."
"Have you been okay? I mean- obviously you aren't okay okay but just, after everything that happened."
An uncomfortable silence filled the room, with just the fuzzy sound of the TV to dampen it.
They shifted on the sofa, very purposefully avoiding eye contact.
"I…I'm fine, you don't need to be so concerned."
They could feel 4's eyes on the back of their head
"It's okay if you aren't, you know."
They didn't know how to respond to that.
After a few moments of difficult stillness, 4 spoke up again
"Hey, can I tell you a story?" 3 mumbled out an 'mm-hmm' and 4 continued to talk.
"Okay, you know how I beat Octavio, right? So, for a good while after that I had this…scratchy feeling,"
4 took a breath in.
"I just had this feeling like Octavio would escape again, and I wouldn't be- be able to do anything about it. It was kind of eating me up for a bit, but I figured out something that helped," 3 finally looked at them again
"I talked to Marie about it one day. It didn't entirely take that feeling away but it helped, y'know?"
"I'm not gonna, I don't know, force you to talk about whatever is bothering you, but if you ever need someone, just know I'm here. Alright?"
3 let themself relax again, leaning against the back of the couch "Alright." they clasped their hands together "It's just- a lot of stuff happened while down there and I'm not sure if I'm entirely ready to talk about it"
"That's okay! Here," she grabbed the tea mugs still sitting on the edge of the coffee table "They're gonna get cold."
They sat there for much longer than anticipated, long enough for them both to fall asleep and get some long-needed rest.