Work Text:
“What are you holding?” ryan said suspiciously the moment Dallon stepped into the cell
Dallon grinned, clutching the unidentified gray fabric closer to his chest “addy gave me a present”
Ryan blinked “what?”
Dallon came over and sat next to him, presenting ryan with a small stuffed cat
Ryan snatched it from his hands “you think it's like- miked or something?” he said, looking the thing over
Dallon snatched it back “no” he said, glaring at ryan “i think she's just a cat”
“There's no way that thing doesn't have a camera or something in it, why’d Addy even give it to you?”
Dallon shrugged “I dunno, she said the show was good. She wanted to give me something nice”
Ryan made several unidentifiable sounds of annoyance “since when do we get nice things from them ? Give it to me, were getting rid of it”
Dallon looked horrified at the notion, gripping the stuffed cat protectively “No!”
“It’s just a toy, Dal. Come on-“
Dallon deflated, all the previous excitement was gone “Can I just keep it, Ryan? Please?” His voice had gone all small, that thing was happening where he sounded kind of like a kid
Ah fuck. Ryan sighed, quickly attempting to redirect the conversation “you can keep it Dal, it’s fine. I mean- there are cameras everywhere, what’s one more”
Dallon gave Ryan a little smile
—
“Her name’s sunshine” Dallon announced
Ryan looked up “huh?”
Dallon gestured towards the stuffed animal
“Why sunshine?” He said, leaning his head on Dallon’s shoulder
“It’s like the song” Dallon explained “you know..you are my sunshine, my only sunshine..” he sang softly, petting the toy
“Mmm” Ryan hummed “my mom used to sing that song”
Dallon smiled a little “yeah?”
“Yeah” Ryan said, beginning to doze off
Dallon leaned on Ryan, smiling to himself
—
“Hello, subject A” addy said, smiling at Dallon
“Hi” Dallon said quietly, running his hands over sunshine’s fur
She tilted her head “you brought it with you?”
Dallon looked up quickly, hugging it to his chest “am- am I allowed to bring it with me?”
Addy waved her hand dismissively “it doesn’t bother me, it’s just rather odd” she scribbled something onto her clipboard “why did you feel the need to bring it?”
Dallon shrunk into himself “I..she’s very soft. I like petting her, I didn’t want to put her down” he mumbled
“She? You're calling it a she? It’s a toy, A.”
Dallon tensed “I’m sorry- I’ll stop” he said quickly
She rolled her eyes “what, did you name it too?” She asked sarcastically
Dallon felt his face heat up
Addy laughed coldly “you named it?”
Dallon nodded slightly, face now pink
“We’ll go on, tell me what you named it”
“I..I named it sunshine..like the song..” he trailed off
She sighed “you know, it would almost be cute how much you're like a kid, if it wasn't so terribly annoying. I can't imagine how subject B deals with you”
—
Dallon slumped against the wall of his cell, ignoring Ryan's question of how the session went. He pulled his knees up and ran his fingers over the seams on sunshine’s face.
“Did she hurt you, dal?”
“Do you hate me?”
Ryan paused “what?”
“I know you hate me” Dallon said miserably, looking at the ground
“Dal, I could never hate you”
Dallon curled in on himself, tears forming in his eyes. He hugged the toy cat to his chest
Ryan came and sat next to him, placing a hand on dallon’s shoulder
“You do.”
“No, no I don’t. Can you tell me what happened?”
Dallon opened his mouth to speak but instead he let out a little sob
Ryan pulled dallon into a hug “hey, it’s alright” he mumbled “don’t cry, it’s ok”
“She said you hated me” he hiccuped “and- and that I’m annoying and childish-“
Ryan rubbed circles in his back “I don’t think that, I don’t think any of that, ok?”
Dallon buried his face in Ryan’s neck “I hate myself, Ryan. I hate myself I hate myself-“
“Its alright” he mumbled “please don’t cry”
Dallon breathed heavily “Ryan?”
“Yeah Dal?”
“I wish- I wish I knew you when I was a kid. I wish we were friends”
Ryan kissed his head “I know, I know.”
“It’s not fair” Dallon managed through tears
—
“You can’t take that with you” the man said, looking entirely uninterested in everything that was happening
Dallon bit his lip, looking down at sunshine “but..”
The man looked up from his clipboard “You don’t need it, it’ll just get in the way”
“This is so dumb, just let him take it” Ryan protested “why do you even care”
The man groaned “ugh, I told addy- I told addy this was a stupid idea. You can’t take it with you. Jesus Christ .”
Ryan sighed “give her to me, Dal. I’ll watch her well your gone”
Dallon considered for a moment before causesly handing Ryan the stuffed cat. Dallon followed the man out the door and Ryan heard the lock clock behind them. He sighed, slumping against the wall.
He set sunshine in his lap, staring at the small thing. Its fur was still fluffy, not all matted yet like those old stuffed animals you see in second hand stores. He tried momentarily to find its tag but it had been cut off.
“I don’t get why he calls you sunshine” he said, petting the things head “I mean, if you were orange that would make sense, but you're gray. I’d call you..I dunno, Thunder.”
“I wonder if he had somethin’ like you when he was little and that’s why he likes you so much” Ryan continued “or I dunno, maybe he didn’t. That could also be why.”
Ryan paused and then sighed. “Geez, I’m talking to a stuffed cat”
He picked the thing up, setting it across from him. “I bet you are miked, I bet addy’s losing her damn mind over me actually talking”
“You know addy, you got him a real shit present. It’s tiny, I bet it cost you like- what? 4 bucks? He deserves something wayyy nicer. You probably didn’t even buy it, I dunno maybe you stole it from a child or something you goddamn Disney villain”
Ryan waited for a moment, like he was expecting something to happen. Nothing happened. He leaned back against the wall.
“I’ll get him something nicer when we get outta here. He deserves something nicer.”
—
“I was speaking with some of my colleagues, subject A. They said you attempted to take your stuffed animal with you for testing, is that correct?”
Dallon fixed his eyes to his shoes
“Is that correct?” She repeated
“Yes” Dallon said quietly
“And only B could convince you to leave it?”
“..yes”
“Why are you so attached to it, Subject A?”
“I just..” he trailed off, staring at the thing
“Can I see it for a moment?”
Dallon looked up, pulling sunshine closer to himself “what?”
“I just hand it to me, I’ll give it back I promise”
Dallon didn’t move
“Don’t make me get the shock collar. Give it to me. It doesn’t belong to you, subject A.”
Dallon chewed on his lips, silently handing the thing to addy. Addy took it, putting it on her desk “good boy, A”
Dallon’s eyes stayed fixed on the toy “can I..can I have her back, please?”
Addy tilted her head “I think it’s going to be best if you take a break from sunshine for a while, your attachment to it is clearly becoming a nuisance”
—
Addy smiled “good morning, subject B”
B narrowed his eyes “Why can’t you just give it back”
“I have no idea what you're referring to, B”
“Yes you do! The cat, the stupid fucking cat. He needs that thing”
Addy rolled her eyes “he doesn’t need that thing, and if he’s acting like he does that is entirely not my problem.
“You know how he gets-“
“I know he acts like a brat when things don’t go his way.”
Ryan balled up his fists “he’s not a brat!”
She scribbled something onto her clipboard “you need to calm down, B. If you continue this behavior I will need to put you in an isolation room.”
Ryan breathed heavily, attempting to calm himself down “addy.”
“Yes, subject B?”
“He needs it. You know what he’s like, he’s gets attached to stuff. Please just give it back”
Addy sighed, voice dropping from her standard false cheerfulness to something more natural “I’ll consider it, B.”
—
“I talked to her” Ryan said, going to sit next to Dallon “she said she’ll give her back, ok?”
Dallon made a noncommittal sound, head remaining buried in his arms
“Dal, come on. Can you look at me?”
“She’s not giving her back” Dallon said, his words coming out muffled
Ryan pulling Dallon into a hug “I mean it, Dal. Addy’s gonna give her back, ok?”
Dallon untangled himself ever so slightly, looking up at Ryan with wet eyes “how do you know”
“I asked her and- I dunno, she sounded real genuine, ok? And you know her, she never sounds genuine.”
Dallon buried his face in Ryan’s neck “do you promise?”
“Yeah, I promise”
Dallon gripped Ryan’s shirt, pulling Ryan closer to him “addy’s so mean”
“I know”
“It’s not fair”
“It isn’t”
—
Dallon had allowed himself to hope for the first time in a while.
“Hi, subject A” addy said warmly
Dallon gave her a little almost smile “hi” he said
Addy smiled back at him “how are you feeling, honey?”
“I..I’ve been..alright”
“Only alright?” She tilted her head “I think you’ve been better than that”
“I-“
“You’ve been good, isn’t that right? You’ve been happy?”
“I’ve been happy” Dallon said quickly
“I’m so happy to hear that!”
Dallon picked at his fingernails “um..can I ask something?”
“Of course” addy said, leaning back in her chair “what’s on your mind?”
“I’ve um..I think I’ve been very..cooperative..recently, and I was wondering..”
Addy tilted her head expectantly
“I- can I have sunshine back? Please? I promise- I promise I won’t take her with me anymore and- I’ll be so good I promise-“
Addy said nothing for a moment before letting out a cold laugh
Dallon looked at her with pleading eyes
“Oh honey” she giggled
“So..can I-“
“I threw it away when I was reorganizing my office, dear”
And then everything was frozen
—
Dallon laid his head on Ryan’s lap, silent tears still flowing from his eyes
Ryan gently pet his hair “can you tell me what happened?”
Dallon said nothing, eyes fixed ahead of him
“Is it sunshine? She wouldn’t give it back?” Ryan asked softly “I’m so sorry, Dal”
“She threw it away” Dallon managed
Ryan paused “what?”
Dallon breathed heavily “she threw sunshine away. She threw her away, Ryan.”
“Dal, I’m-“
Dallon let out a small sob
Ryan continued petting his hair “I’m so sorry” he repeated
“She threw her away” he mumbled “it’s not fair”
“When we get out of here-“
Dallon curled up “no”
“..dal-“
“Shut up!”
“Dallon, I’m just trying to-“
“She threw sunshine away” he repeated again
Ryan pulled him into a hug “it’s gonna be ok”
Dallon buried his face into Ryan’s shoulder
Ryan kissed his head “I love you”
“I love you” Dallon mumbled
—
“Ryan!” Dallon said excitedly as Ryan opened the door to the small apartment the two of them lived in “Ryan, guess what!!”
Ryan blinked, setting the keys down on the kitchen table and going over to Dallon “what is that?”
Dallon giggled “it’s a kitten, I found it outside”
Ryan blinked “what!? Let me see”
Dallon presented Ryan with a small gray cat, it was scruffy and visibly dirty but seemed mostly healthy
“Jesus, Dallon. What if it has rabies or something?”
“She’s just a babyyyyyy” Dallon insisted, petting the small creatures head “and look, she loves me”
Ryan groaned “we’re gonna have to take her to the vet and- fuck I’m gonna have to buy cat food now. Augh- we’re not keeping her, Dallon”
Dallon frowned “but she’s so tiny”
“No”
“But I already named her” Dallon whined “come on, I’ll get another job and I’ll pay for all her food. Please Ryan? Please?”
“You named her?”
Dallon smiled, scratching the cat behind its ears “I named her sunshine”
Ryan sighed “fine. Fine. We can keep her.”