Work Text:
It was an average day in the EXIT. Boring, but average. Four had assigned the eliminated contestants some easy math worksheets as usual, and of course, nobody felt like doing them. Everyone was too preoccupied with thinking about what was going on outside. It had been a while since any of them had left the EXIT, and they all missed competing.
The clock on the wall ticked softly, its steady rhythm sounding throughout the room. With how quiet the EXIT was right now, the clock sounded so loud.
...Tick...
...Tock...
...Tick...
...Tock...
...Rattle…?
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the doorknob turned. Everyone looked up towards the door. It was probably just Four coming in to check on them, but unexpectedly, the door opened, swinging open to reveal a bunch of eliminated contestants, who all piled in at once.
"EW, IT'S A BUNCH OF BOYS!", Pencil cried in disgust.
Leafy grinned, immediately pushing herself up off of her chair, and running up to greet the newcomers. "Hello, everyone! It's so good to see you all! I was beginning to think BFB was canceled!"
The objects conversed for a minute, before Four appeared behind the desk. Nobody really knew how they could just appear inside their own body, but honestly, that wasn't really surprising. This was Four, after all.
Pencil immediately began to complain to Four, pointing accusingly at the group of boys who stood in the doorway, Four watching her in confusion. Stapy looked at Four, raising his eyebrow, then turned to Leafy, "Is Four here often?", he asked her.
"Yeah!", Leafy chirped.
"...Well then… what's going on outside right now?"
…
While Four was preoccupied in the EXIT, on the outside, they stood completely still, staring into space. This, of course, happened often, and all the objects typically just let them be, allowing them to do whatever it was they were doing. X usually left them alone too. This was normal Four behavior.
But Four had been gone for a while. X was overjoyed to have them back, and was a little disappointed to see them become so busy with the eliminated contestants so fast, instead of spending time with them. Perhaps it was a little selfish, but could you blame them? X sat and watched Four, kicking their legs gently. This was going to be a while.
X thought to themself. They looked at Four, and thought again. Then… they had an idea. Four would probably be mad if they found out when they got back, but it was definitely going to be a while. A slight orange blush creeped across X's face at the idea. They were rarely able to get super close to Four, as they weren't exactly the most affectionate person, but maybe, they would be able to do just that, just this once.
X stood, walking quietly over to their motionless friend. Four blinked. It looked as if they were staring at something that was over 10 miles away. X waved their hand in front of Four's face. Absolutely no response. X giggled quietly, and gently wrapped their arms around the blue number, sitting them down on the soft grass. Four still just sat there, unaware of what was going on outside.
X kneeled down, inching over to Four. They were a little nervous. Imagine how awkward this would be to explain to Four! They shrugged off the thought, and scootched over in between their friend's legs, snuggling up against them. Four's head laid on top of theirs, X humming happily. It was so nice to be this close to their friend, even if Four wasn't exactly present for it.
X reached over to Four's right arm, folding it over their chest, and then did the same for the other arm. It was nice and cozy. This would probably look weird to any contestants who happened to walk by, but luckily, none of them were paying attention, and were talking amongst themselves, doing their own thing.
Content and happy, X leaned into Four's chest, closing their eyes. Several minutes passed, and X gradually forgot that Four would eventually be returning from the EXIT soon. They were too comfortable in their friend's embrace to remember. They were also getting kind of sleepy… the sun shone on the two algebraliens. It was so warm, and was making X tired. Surely a little nap couldn't hurt, right? And so they slowly nodded off.
Outside in the open, X was snuggling with their friend in the sun, but on the inside, Four was still busy with the contestants. They all had a chance to rejoin, and were all presenting their arguments for why they should rejoin. Pencil sung her classic little tune, begging to be let back in, Liy made a rather… concerning threat. 8 Ball got screeched for liking 8 better than 4, Leafy made a promise to improve herself, and so on.
At last, when everybody was finished, Four announced to the viewers to vote for who they want back in. With all that done and over with, it was time to return to the outside world. And so, Four blipped out of the EXIT, and back into their physical body.
The sun was setting. How long had they been in there? And also, they didn't remember sitting down when they went to the EXIT. As Four regained full consciousness of their surroundings, they noticed there was a small weight on their chest. Confused, they looked down. An intense purple blush spread all around their face. X was curled up, nestled against Four's chest, lightly snoring. Four's hands were folded over X, hugging them close.
Four's heart skipped a beat when they saw X. This was the cutest thing they'd ever seen. Part of them thought they should be mad at X for messing with them while they were away, but Four just couldn't find it in them to do that. Sitting still, gazing down at their friend, Four thought hard. What could they do now?? They didn't really want to wake X up, but on the other hand… this felt very nice… it wouldn't hurt to return the affection, right?
Four slowly tightened their embrace, pulling X closer. They closed their eyes, resting their head on top of X's. A little smile crept across Four's face, and their heart began to race. They couldn't help but feel immense joy at X's desire to be this close to them.
Four was so content, they hadn't realized X had woken up. X lifted their hand up, resting it on Four's arm. A small shock traveled up Four's spine, and they jumped up, startled. X tumbled over onto the grass, staring up at their friend, who was clearly shaken up and quite embarrassed.
"AH! I'm sorry, Four, I won't do it again I just- I just-" X stammered, sweating hard.
"N-no, it's… it's OK, X. I'm not mad. I..." Four looked away. Were they… ashamed of themself? "I should go check on the contestants!"
Four turned to run towards the contestants, but was immediately stopped, as X grabbed their wrist. Four whipped around to stare at the little yellow variable, who looked quite concerned.
"Four, wait!" They cried, "I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable… I wasn't thinking! If something's wrong, please tell me!"
Four looked into their friend's wide eyes. Their expression softened, and they frowned a little. They stood, took a deep breath, and practically crumpled to the grass, squeezing their eyes shut and resting their head in their hand.
"I don't like talking about feelings," Four muttered begrudgingly, "but… I guess I'm just scared to be soft. It's not your fault X, it's mine."
X was surprised. Four hadn't actually opened up to them like this since they left home. They got on their knees, sitting in front of their friend.
X looked into Four's eyes, "Well… I think being soft is nice. You get to be closer to people you love that way!"
Four returned X's gaze, their face dusted with purple, "But, what if that makes people respect you less?"
X tilted their head, "Why would you say that?"
Four looked away, scrunching up their face, "I- nevermind, it's dumb."
They were both silent for a minute, before X decided to make a risky move.
"Would you… like to cuddle again?"
…
"...Yeah... I'd like that…"