Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

HI UM

I'm taking up requests for Polymains!! This was originally a crackship but... I...got attached 💀

Btw this is excluding Dandy and Pebble, Pebble for obvious reasons but I don't really ship Dandy with anyone...? Well maybe except moonflower but that's it (Sorry Moonflower shippers :'D)

You can send me a request for a specific pairing (like Moonberry, Veestro, Shellvision, etc.) Or you can send a request for all 4 of them !! :DD

RULES ‼️

• Like I said, I won't be doing anything with Pebble or Dandy, I'm still studying Dandy's character 💀
• I will NOT do smut or gore !! I'm sorry I'm not very good at writing either 😭
• I WILL, however, do angst >:) 

I'll add more if I feel like I've missed something 😭

Chapter Text

“Ah, I should've expected you up here.”

Astro jolts from the sudden voice, thinking he was alone in his own observatory. He turns around, making eye contact with Sprout. 

“Sorry for scaring you, buddy. Should I go back out?” He rubs the back of his neck, observing the Dreamer to see his response.

Astro thinks for a moment. On one hand, he would've loved some more peace and quiet and alone time, but…

“You can stay.”

He certainly doesn't mind any of his lovers joining him. He feels at ease with them around. It always feels warm and fuzzy when Sprout gives him a cupcake with his face on it, when Vee is protective of him during supply runs, when Shelly encourages him and talks to him about dinosaurs… He certainly wouldn't mind a warmth like that.

He turns back to look at the stars he was admiring, seeing Sprout sit beside him in his peripheral. Sprout has a hand on his back, with his fingers tapping on the surface of the blanket every now and then. Almost as if Sprout can't keep his hands still.

Astro stifles a laugh at the thought, Sprout’s hands moving out of its own control…

“What are you smiling about?” The toon in question asks teasingly, eyebrows raised. Astro's face reddens immediately, refusing to answer and burying his face into his blanket.

Sprout laughs, placing a tiny kiss on the crown of his head. “You're adorable…”

“It's time for Vee’s gameshow!” They both hear a robotic voice call from a distance, “Our first question is…. Why didn't you invite us?!” 

The Game show host asks, her tail gently swishing around in mock displeasure. The gentle swinging might be because behind her, the paleontologist smiles, waving at both of them with a small smile on her face.

“A-Ah… Vee, Shelly…” Astro mumbles, “Sorry. Didn't know all of you were going to be here…”

“Nah, don't actually apologize. You can't do anything wrong, Astro.” Vee smiles, walking over and patting him on the head. Shelly follows her, though she sits on Sprout’s side. Astro mirrors their smiles, leaning into Vee’s side.

“Berry-boy owes us an apology, though.”

“Wh- Me?! What did I even do?!”

“You came in here without telling us.”

“Oh I'm sorry, which one of us here has access to the cameras?!” Sprout pouts, using the hand not on Astro’s back (which, the dreamer realizes, is still there. In fact, Vee's hand is right above his. He blushes at the realization) to flick Vee in the forehead. 

While Vee and Sprout’s playful banter can be considered annoying to other people, Astro somewhat finds comfort in it despite his dislike for conflict and noise. It embodies a lot of his lovers’ personalities, which he can't bring himself to hate.

Speaking of lovers, one of them, Shelly, moves so that she's behind Astro, her arms dangling loosely off his shoulders. She gives a gentle kiss to the back of his head.

“Got any star facts, Astro?” Shelly says, bringing their attention back to the stars ahead. “To make up for me talking your ears off about dinosaurs.”

Astro smiles, “Well…”

Almost like magic, Vee and Sprout’s banter stops. Their attention is zoned in on Astro, devoted and diligent. He feels a little shy under their gazes, flustered. He covers his mouth with one of the hands under his blanket.

Awkwardly, Vee and Sprout lean back upon realizing how intense they've been staring at Astro. Instead they look at the stars displayed at the top of the observatory. There's a moment of silence, all four just watching the stars.

Then, slowly but surely, Astro starts talking about what he knows. He cites the books he's read enthusiastically, pointing out each constellation after mentioning it. A gentle smile grows on his face, eyes glued to the sky above.

His three lovers, however, have looked back at him. Noting how cute he is when he's in his element.

As Astro finishes explaining a certain constellation, all three of them simultaneously press a kiss against different sides of Astro's face, earning a surprised squeak in surprise.

“Could you have warned me before doing that?!” Astro grumbles, hiding his rapidly reddening face in his blanket. They all simply smile in apology.

They look at the stars more, making off-handed comments about them or about each other every few minutes. Gradually, Astro grows drowsy, falling asleep on Vee's shoulder. Shelly joins him after, moving back to her spot beside Sprout and burying her face in his scarf. Sprout gives her a gentle kiss on the forehead, joining his two lovers in sleep.

Vee fondly scoffs at the weight on her shoulder. Rolling her eyes and adjusting herself to be more comfortable. Her tail circles around her partners, wrapping around them protectively. She sets herself to sleep mode, her head leaning against Astro's. 

The room goes silent once more, warmth radiating from the bundle of love under the twinkling stars. 

Chapter Text

The elevator creaks as it makes its descent onto the next floor. Standing in it are 4 of the 6 main characters, all doing their own thing. Sprout’s talking with Shelly, while Vee lets Astro rest a bit on her arm.

They're all slightly worn out, the previous floors taking a toll on them, but they're still in one piece.

Shelly and Sprout’s conversation comes to a halt when they feel the elevator stop. The latter grasps the former’s hand tightly in his.

“We're here, get ready, everyone!”

Vee (begrudgingly) uses her tail to wake up Astro, who lets out a sleepy yet childish whine at the action. She doesn't blame him, honestly, she can't wait to go back up again.

The doors open, revealing the usual. Following their routines, Vee hijacks the cameras to locate the twisteds and the machines, Sprout tracks down the twisteds and distracts them, Shelly follows Vee, ready to give her a helping hand while Astro follows Sprout for the same reason.

When Vee hijacks the cameras, she notices that none of them are moving. She gives a satisfied smirk, looking at her partners.

“Looks like we'll be sticking together today, folks!”

Shelly cheers while Sprout and Astro smile on. Vee motions for them to follow her to where the first machine is located.

They do this until they reach the last machine. As Vee turns the handle, she notices a strange sound coming from it. Apprehensive, she stops turning, if only to observe the machine more closely.

“What happened?” Sprout asked, looking over Vee's shoulder. Vee shrugs, narrowing her eyes trying to see what's up with it. She clicks her tongue in defeat.

“No clue. Why do we even use these rusty things…?” Vee scowls, one of her antennae twitching in annoyance. Shelly puts a hand on her shoulder to provide comfort. Astro takes the spot beside Vee, looking at the machine.

“Let me have a look.” He states. Vee raises an eyebrow.

“I didn't know you were knowledgeable about these machines.”

“...I read an old manual about them once.”

“Ah.” Vee nods, letting him inspect the machine. He checks, kneeling. He experimentally turns the valve, seeing if that will do anything—

The machine starts shaking. Rapidly. Making gross gurgling and strangled noises as it shakes violently. Sprout and Shelly take a few steps back, their hands wrapped safely around one another. Astro freezes in shock, clutching on his blanket tighter. Vee moves to wrap her tail protectively around him, eyeing the machine fiercely.

Then it stops.

Almost simultaneously, the mains breathe a sigh of relief—

Before they can even process it, a large glob of ichor spills into the machine, overfilling it and causing the glass to shatter from the pressure. Vee guesses that the pipes have been extremely clogged, but before she can go in depth about it—

“Astro!”

She looks over, seeing that the dreamer is absolutely drenched in Ichor. He coughs, seeming to have swallowed some of it. Shelly and Sprout quickly run over to him, checking him for any injuries. Shelly uses her handkerchief to quickly wipe off the ichor, while Sprout surveys and interrogates Astro.

Suddenly, Sprout freezes in shock, his hands sitting firmly on Astro's shoulders. Astro's breathing goes heavy as Sprout’s hitches.

“You… You can't be..”

“What?” Shelly asks, trying to see from behind Sprout.

“There's no way…”

When Shelly finally sees it, she gasps. Placing her hands over her mouth.

In rapid succession, Astro's eyes have turned red. Shelly blinks to make sure she's seeing things right.

Astro shakes Sprout’s arms off, hissing in pain as he clutches his blanket closer. His breathing is labored and heavy, the violent impulses starting to take shape in his head. He grips his blanket tighter. He has to. Otherwise he'd kill his partners. The blanket is his only source of control.

His hearing has gone muddled, but he can vaguely hear the worried questions of his lovers. Sprout’s smooth voice, Shelly's high pitched voice, Vee's deep, robotic one…

How he'll miss it.

He feels his voice start to weaken before he even speaks, but he still attempts anyway, just to give one final message. Before he hurts them.

“P-Please… go. Leave me.” He rasps out, “I'll hurt you… I-I'll hurt you guys if you stay… so just… go…”

The three of them look at each other, as if contemplating what to do. They all take a few steps back in case, though, as they ponder on what to do. Vee and Sprout begrudgingly consider the option, before Shelly launches herself at Astro without warning.

“Shelly!”

She presses a kiss against Astro's lips, effectively dooming herself to become twisted, too. The other three look at her, stunned.

“Sh-Shelly! Why would you-”

She presses a kiss against his lips again. Voice dejected, she gently whispers her answer against his lips. “I don't want you to suffer alone…”

“But you'll die! You'll lose yourself to becoming twisted, too! P-Please Shelly just-”

“No! I'm not leaving you!” She raises her voice a little, taking his second set of hands in hers, “I know how it feels like to be isolated and alone! Suffering with no one to help you…”

“I don't want you to feel that way, Astro! Please, let me suffer with you.” Shelly sniffles, eyes watering, though the smile on her face never wavers. Astro feels his own tears brimming at his face.

Shelly's going to twist with him, too. She's doing this because she loves him… It hurts. It hurts seeing someone he loves so dearly suffering.

“Why…?” Astro asks, burying his face into her shoulder, “Why would you…?”

“Because I love you.”

He sobs more. He cries and begs for her not to do this. To not harm herself because of him. Because of him…

“Shells, you reckless little bastard.” He hears Vee scold, “You can't just do things without warning.”

Shelly only clings tighter, Vee sighs.

“To be fair to you, though, we're staying too.”

“N-No!” Astro quickly says, “Y-You can't! It's painful, i-it's—”

“This… may sound corny but-” Sprout says from his other side, “It'd be more painful carrying on without you.”

“Wow. Who taught you to be so sappy?”

“Shut up, Outdated-tech.”

“Please…” Astro cries, “Don't do this for me. Please…”

“I think Shelly said it best enough.”

“We love you, Astro.” Sprout completes, “We're getting through this together, okay?”

Astro nods in defeat. He's unhappy his partners are going to this extent for him, but a tiny, selfish part of him feels appreciative. He truly loves them.

The last thing he remembers before succumbing is the warmth of the last hug shared between him and his partners.

Chapter Text

Astro knew that this was all his fault. That all his friends, his lovers, have gone twisted. He let Dandy do this, he hurt everyone. He seemed it would only be fair if he joined them.

Alas, his suffering would not end, he realized. By some weird sort of magic, he ended up the most conscious twisted out of his lovers. He didn't know how, nor why, but he was.

And in that consciousness, he began to think. The guilt slowly creeped into his mind with each passing image of his lovers, mourning them and who they were.

Shelly’s bright, genuine smile and kind personality has been turned into a mocking one, cursing everyone else to be confused, no longer guided by her encouraging words;

Sprout's delicate hands, once used for giving love now turned into a weapon of destruction, tearing and clawing away at anything he sees;

Vee's charisma and confidence was once endearing, but now she needs to make her presence known. Not Dandy's, hers. Forcing everyone to look her away and using her robotic parts to her advantage.

They were not the same people Astro knew. Deep down, though, he knew they were also suffering. Shelly’s rage, Sprout’s loneliness, Vee's ego, it's all because of their suffering.

Astro laments, trying to find a way to help them, to make up for all the suffering he's caused them. To let them know that he's there. He sees them, he cares for them.

He can't talk to them, that's for certain. Most twisteds can't talk, and there are very few that do. More importantly, he doesn't know if they'll listen.

Astro looks at his hands, stained in ichor. He cringes at the black liquid, remembering what he's done. What he's become. As he stares, he notices a subtle blue glow come from his hands. It went away as fast as it appeared, but he knew it was there.

His magic. His powers…

He hears the growls of Shelly, Sprout’s heavy breathing, and Vee's mechanical footsteps…

Please, forgive me.

He uses what little energy he has to lure all 3 of them to his location, slowly tiring them down. Shelly arrives first, succumbing pretty easily and falling asleep. He smiles, bittersweet. She must've been in so much pain… He gently kisses the crown of her head.

Vee arrives second, though it seems she's fighting his power. Growling and hissing at it. He tries to overpower her the best he can, it's for her own good. It’s only when Vee spots him that she softens, and the spell works surprisingly easy after that. She seems to be intelligent enough to identify him. Astro tearfully smiles, she's always had such a soft spot for him…

Last came Sprout, who seemed to also fight the spell a little. Regardless, he sees the two sleeping Twisteds and Astro, and instantly softens the same way Vee did. His protective instincts must've overpowered his urge to kill…

Right before he succumbs to slumber, he places his huge arm around Shelly and Astro and his other arm around Vee. Astro chuckles, even being Twisted won't stop their rivalry…

He sighs softly, watching his partners peacefully rest. They're not in pain anymore. They're at peace. The spell doesn't last very long, unfortunately, but he hopes that this fleeting moment will be enough for them. It reminds him of the sleepovers they had.

Tired from the overexertion, Astro joins them in slumber. Just in this quick moment of peace…

Chapter Text

“You want to borrow my makeup?”

Glisten raises an eyebrow, placing down his makeup brush. Shelly nods, eagerly smiling. He can't help but return the smile, his sister’s excitement being contagious, turning his body around so he can face her.

“Yep! I wanna try applying to myself with all the techniques you taught me!”

Glisten nods, “Of course! In fact, you can borrow some of my other stuff!” He pulls out some of his unused brushes, pristine and perfect. He hands them over to Shelly, who is bouncing lightly in place. He has to resist chuckling at such an adorable sight. He rummages through his drawers again, looking for anything else he hasn't used.

“Take care of them, alright?” He says, leaning against the doorframe as she leaves with the needed items. She nods, clutching the armful of makeup tighter to ensure the fragile materials don't fall.

“I will, thanks a lot, Glisten!”

…And she's off before Glisten can even tell her to be careful. He snorts at the bundle of energy, rolling his eyes fondly before retreating back to his room.

———————

“Shelly?” 

Sprout worriedly knocked on the paleontologist’s door. She didn't show up in the kitchen when they were both supposed to be baking with Cosmo today. They unfortunately had to start without her. Sprout frowns, raising his hand to knock again when—

“Berry-boy? What're you doing here?”

Sprout rolls his eyes at the nickname.

“Still calling me that, Outdated-tech? Also I'm here for Shelly. She was supposed to be baking with Cosmo and I and she didn't show up.” His frown deepens, “Shelly isn't normally like that.”

“Overprotective, much?” Vee rolls her eyes, “I'm sure she's fine. Shelly doesn't disappear for no reason. Maybe she's assembling another fossil or whatever.”

Sprout sighs, “I'm just worried.”

“Too worried.”

“Outdated-tech, you literally would jump in a body of water to ensure Astro was safe, don't act like the bigger one here.” He gives a triumphant smirk, watching as her eye twitches subtly in embarrassment. 

“Okay let's move on—”

“I heard my name…?” A soft voice is heard from behind them. Vee's tail instantly relaxes when she sees him, which Sprout is definitely going to tease her about later.

“Ah, Astro!” Vee smiles,  approaching the dreamer. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard you two, and the fact that Shelly hasn't come out of her room…” Astro mumbles, “I'm a bit worried.”

“Shelly? You alright? You didn't show up today and—”

“A-Ah! Wait! Gimme a second!”

All of them blink upon hearing Shelly finally speak. Sprout hears rummaging inside the room, getting curious. He moves to nudge Vee to check the cameras in her room—

“Vee, you better not use the cameras! I don't want you to be a party pooper!” 

It seems Shelly knew. Vee scoffs, as if offended Shelly would suggest such a thing. Sprout internally laughs to himself, she practically already is! He'd never say it to her out loud, though.

“Okay, come in you guys! Close your eyes!”

All of them raise an eyebrow, what could Shelly have been doing in there?

Astro, trusting and kind as ever, closes his eyes. He even puts his nightcap over his head to ensure he doesn't accidentally peek even if he tried. Sprout snorts at the adorable sight, ignoring Vee's tail flicking against his leg in protest.

Sprout follows, taking off the gloves he uses for cooking and baking and placing them in his pockets. Vee simply just closes her eyes. 

They hear Shelly open the door and welcome them in. They hear her giggle, probably at Astro, and then once they're inside, they hear the door shut.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now!”

All of them open their eyes, revealing Shelly in full makeup and in fashionable attire. She looks absolutely adorable, her bright energy enhancing the look. Notably, she has black lipstick, or a dark shade of red or pink, on.

Her dress is frilly and more fluffy than what Shelly normally wears, which Vee can see that it's the work of Glisten. She'll have to thank him later, and by thanking him she means flicking him on the head for making her girlfriend so unfairly adorable.

“Soo, what do you think? I wanted to try something different and—”

Before she can finish, Sprout lifts her up by her waist, spinning her around. Shelly yelps, but they turn into joyful giggles, holding onto Sprout’s forearms. Astro joins her in giggling, watching the sight. 

“Ha! I was right, the dress does twirl like a princess.” Sprout smugly says, gently putting her down. Shelly only giggles more, clutching her stomach from how hard she's laughing. Astro smiles, approaching her.

“You look beautiful, Shelly.” 

She seems to brighten up more at that. 

“You think so? Thank you!” She smiles widely, “I did this all by myself!”

Vee's eyes widened. She hadn't expected her to know how to do it all by herself, and now she grimaces at the thought of having to thank Glisten more .

Unfortunately, Shelly seems to have noticed Vee standing in the corner doing nothing. She approaches, smiling.

“Vee, what do you think?”

Vee clears her throat, even though she doesn't need to, her cheeks flooding with embarrassment. A flash of fear runs through her for a sec, what if she accidentally says something to upset Shelly? She isn't exactly the best at complimenting people—

Astro, perceptive as he is, notices. He then asks, “Do you like how she looks?”

A simple yes or no question. She softens, he knows her so well…

“Yes.”

Shelly takes it as a compliment, hugging Vee tightly. She flinches at the sudden touch, though leans into it eventually. Shelly lets go, if only to place a kiss on Vee’s face. Her lipstick leaves behind a special little mark on Vee, who is just frozen processing what just happened.

Shelly eyes the mark. She likes it. She loves it. It's a little special reminder of how much she loves her, loves them .

She turns around to Astro and Sprout, already reapplying her lipstick. The mischievous glint in her eyes makes the boys look at each other, worried.

———————

“Shelly~!” Glisten sing-songs, knocking on her door. “Shelly, darling, I need the black lipstick. I want to try it out with this dashing new look I did… hello?”

Glisten doesn't hear a response for a good few seconds. It’s too quiet… Getting worried, he yells out a warning before turning the doorknob-

“W-Wait!”

-And he hears a voice that is definitely not Shelly. Glisten raises an eyebrow, opening the door fully and…

He spots Sprout, Vee, and Astro, sitting on Shelly’s bed. Shelly herself looked like a deer in headlights on her vanity, eyes wide and her lipstick smudged. More importantly—

“ PFFFFF— HAHAHAHAHA! What happened to your faces?!”

He sees the reason why her lipstick is so smudged. The three mains’ faces are covered in lipstick marks, the black blending into Vee's face well but is so obvious on Sprout and Astro. Vee scowls, threatening to hit him with her tail. He only laughs harder looking at her face. Sprout holds back a snicker too, which Vee briefly glares at him for. Astro hides his face in his blanket, interestingly avoiding to smudge the marks on his face.

At this point, Glisten is on the floor. Giggling so hard he might pee. He wheezes, blinking back the tears from laughing.

“Oh my god I have mascara on. I cannot be laughing so hard…!” Despite his statement, he only seems to giggle harder. “Hahah…! She— She completely attacked you guys! Very affectionately, of course, haha!”

Shelly, at this point, has started giggling too. She pats her brother’s back, telling him to breathe in-between her own giggles. He eventually stops, catching breaths. She helps him stand up after his laughing fit, and only then he realizes she's dolled up. His smile turns from teasing to fondness. 

“Awh, darling, you dressed up for them?”

“Mhm! I wanted to feel pretty.”

“You are pretty.” Astro suddenly adds, the shocked look on his face indicated he didn't mean to say that. Sprout nods nonetheless, and Vee only manages a raise of her eyebrows, which he'll take as agreement. Glisten’s heart swells at how loved his darling Shelly is. He feels a little guilty for trying to take the lipstick now.

“Awh, that's so sweet~!” Glisten coos, “Sorry to end the fun here, though. I kinda need my black lipstick, pretty please?”

Shelly nods, “Can I take a picture— Oh Astro don't worry it'll just be me!— Anyway, can I take a picture first?”

Glisten sighs fondly, “How could I refuse you? I'm sure your partners would love a little memento!”

They would. Very much.

Chapter Text

Cosmo died. Vee angrily stares at Sprout for being STUPID and revealing his name to the twisteds

"You were reckless," She growls out, "Sentimental at best."

She clicks her tongue, leaning in front of him, "That's not a teaching of mine."

"You've grown soft, your dead friends can attest" wow Vee so supportive. 

"Hey!" Sprout yells, clearly still grieving Cosmo because. He's dead. 

"Put your emotions aside. You're a warrior, meant to lead the rest! I don't know where I went wrong but I warned you, and you failed the test..."

She grabs him by the scarf, disappointed eyes meeting resigned ones.

"So now I'm gone."

She lets go. starts belting out the next lines

"This way, you'll know what your place is. This way, you can't cross the line, this way. When all is over you'll keep yours  and I'll keep mine"

"This way, you won't disappoint me, this way you won't waste my time this way, I'll close the door consider this as my goodbhe"

"That's just like you, why should I be surprised?" damn Sprout I mean- Sprout said sarcastically. "Selfish and prideful and vain."

"Unlike you, every time someone dies... I'M left to deal with the strain!" It's true Sprout mains I salute yall

"What's a title that a robot (goddess) could lend? if I'll never sleep at night."

(OK this part I actually have ideas for so partially  serious writing mode go)

"I'll remind you, I saw you as a friend!" Sprout blurts in his angered and tired state, Vee blinks in surprise. He... What?

"But now we're done."

She never really considered them close enough to be friends but...

Why does it sting so much to hear?! Vee didn't need a friend, or anyone for that matter!

"This way, you're out of my head now. This way, you won't plague my life."

"This way, when all is done you're out of sight and out of mind."

He steps closer, cornering her with every sentence he yells out.

"This way, you get what you wanted,"

"This way, you can save your time."

"This way... You close the door and HAVE YOUR DAMN GOODBYE!"

Vee's anger flares up again, pushing away the strawberry harshly.

"YOU'RE NOT LOOKING FOR A MENTOR, IM NOT LOOKING FOR A FRIEND."

"I mistook you for a protector, what a waste of efforts spent!"

Something in Sprout seems to snap.

"At least I know what I'M FIGHTING FOR, WHILE YOU'RE FIGHTING TO BE KNOWN—"

He mimics what she did earlier, and he grabs her by her bow. Nothing but pure rage in his eyes.

"SINCE YOU CLAIM YOU'RE SO MUCH 'WISER', WHY'S YOUR LIFE SPENT ALL ALONE?"

"YOU'RE ALONE."

...

This hurts Vee. 

"One day, you'll hear what I'm saying, 

One day. You might understand.

One day...

But not today.

For after all, you're—

JUST A MAN."

The elevator opens, revealing them back at the lobby. 

"THIS DAY, YOU SEVER YOUR OWN HEAD"

"THIS DAY, YOU CUT THE LINE!"

"THIS DAY, YOU LOST IT ALL."

"CONSIDER THIS AS MY GOODBYEEE"

and then the last lyric repeats like 6 more times before the song ends

Chapter Text

Vee sighs, checking the cameras for the umpteenth time. She calls out each of the twisteds, alerting both distractors and extractors alike of the dangers that lurk beyond. 

She realizes Brightney is on the floor, and before she knows it—

Click

Click

—And the power goes out.

Screw Brightney and her intelligence being kept even as a twisted.

Vee doesn't mind blackouts much, her monitor emitting enough light for her to navigate the floor. Plus she can see where all the machines are, which makes it easier. Unfortunately her back isn't really covered. It's also harder to locate twisteds when the cameras are offline due to the power outage, but Vee's very sure she'll be fine.

Confidently, Vee walks down the hallway where the first machine is located. She gives the valve an experimental spin to check if it can even still move, which it does. Vee gives a satisfied smile, working on the machine.  She can hear loud footsteps on the other side of the wall, which she guesses are the twisteds being distracted by Goob. 

The machine lets out a little ding! Upon being completed. Vee satisfiedly dusts off her hands. 

“Too easy.”

As she takes a step forward, she realizes she's a little slower, in fact much slower. She looks at the puddle of ichor she only now realizes is under her feet. She should've realized it sooner.

Twisted Finn.

Vee groans loudly, this was going to be a long floor. 

Annoyedly, she tries to step out of the viscous liquid. It sticks to the soles of her feet, which she expected, but it's still nonetheless annoying. At one point, she even falls over due to the weight of her technology. She's glad no one's around to see such an embarrassing sight.

In the midst of trying to get back up, Vee suddenly feels a splash of Ichor on her arm.

It wasn't from the puddle. 

She looks up, and suddenly ichor-stained hands are on her with sharp teeth biting into her robotic arm. Her screen flashes for a second, before rapidly pulling away her arm. The twisted somehow latches on, and she's resulted to kicking and pushing him off. In her struggle, she luckily manages to crawl her way out of the ichor puddle, making her escape from the legless fish bowl.

Even though Vee doesn't necessarily need to breathe, her chest heaves and heaves. She hides in one of the nearby rooms, clutching her pained arm. Black liquid (she’s unsure if it's Ichor or oil.) leaks out of it and her wires are so exposed it makes her cringe.

What the hell was that?! She normally doesn't get caught off guard like that, did Twisted Finn somehow escape Goob?! 

Vee grunts, she doesn't have time to tend to the wound. Mumbling an apology, she grabs a random cloth hanging from the coat hanger and uses it to clean the wound of any oil/ichor, which only leaves her with the exposed wires. 

Vee reluctantly decides to just leave it like that until she can either swap it out or repair it. She's not risking combustion in the middle of the run. She eyes the machine conveniently also in this room, silently being grateful that its in a hidden corner and not out in the open.

As she finishes the machine, ichor leaks into the floor again. This time, she's more careful to not fall over while escaping. 

By the time she gets out, she hears a voice on her walkie talkie telling her and their teammates to get to the elevator.

Vee does her best to hide the wound, scurrying to the elevator first before anyone can see her. She loathes the thought of anyone seeing her like this, showing that Vee, as indestructible and nonchalant as she's made herself to be, had made a mistake. A miscalculation which resulted in a vulnerability. It makes her feel shameful and yet so angry .

Vee hopes for some luck on the next floor, as she can’t stand the thought of buying bandages from Dandy of all people. He's the last person she wants to see injured.

Vee’s the first one to get there, watching the elevator door open. She quickly ducks into a corner, making sure to have her injured arm facing the wall. 

Surveying her arm, it's definitely more of a mess than she thought. It'd be very hard to do skill checks and even extract machines, but she'll live. 

She stands up, leaning against the walls of the elevator, hiding the wound.

———————

“Thanks for that, Sprout!” Goob smiles, walking into the elevator. 

“Happy to help!” Sprout nods.

As Goob walks away and looks at Dandy's shop, Sprout's eyes wander. Rodger seems to be writing something down on a little notepad he has, bending down so little Toodles can see what he’s writing. Poppy is also in Dandy's shop. It's quite an odd team, but it works.

Sprout then sees Vee who… narrows her digital eyes before quickly avoiding eye contact.

That's… odd. Vee doesn't usually do that.  Usually by the time they get back to the elevator she's either bantering with him or talking crap about Dandy (especially on odd numbered floors, he loves those.) 

Not to mention, Vee’s position is weird. It's not like she hasn't leaned against the wall before, but this time it seems more… strained? Like she's holding this pose because she has to and it's not just Vee's quirks. 

She shifts uncomfortably in Sprout's gaze. The final nail in the coffin is that when Vee shifts her body, she's angling it so that her other arm isn't seen. 

Sprout's eyes flash with familiarity and instinct.

Vee's injured .

Sprout doesn't even have to guess what happened. Goob had told him with a whine that he'd lost track of Twisted Finn at some point, and it was right after a machine had been done had he seen the legless twisted again.

He looks at his pocket, he still has tapes to spare.

He approaches Vee boldly, her eyes are more dodgy than normal. She's trying to hide it. 

“Vee.”

“What do you want, Berry-boy?” She snaps back, defensive.

“Excuse me-? Didn't we- er- Nevermind.” Sprout doesn't miss the way the robot rolls her eyes, clearly wanting to be left alone. Sprout usually leaves her alone, but he has bigger worries at hand.  “Are you okay?”

She seems surprised at the question, but expectedly, she brushes him off.

“I'm fine. Now shoo, the elevator is about to open again.”

When they reach the next floor, before Vee can even check the cameras again, Sprout grabs her, leading her to a secluded corner, safe from any twisteds. Vee lets out shouts of protest, struggling against Sprout's grip. Despite being the one made of metal, she somehow can't escape Sprout's iron grip.

“Let go! I said I was fine ! Really! God you're so stubbo— mph!”

Sprout rolls his eyes, somehow getting a cupcake from thin air and shoving it in her mouth. He inspected the arm she was hiding, and sure enough, there was a cut. He grimaced at the exposed wires.

“Finn must've done a number on you, huh?”

Vee can't take the cupcake out of her mouth, due to Sprout holding her arm and the fact the other one is pressed against a wall due to the small space Sprout decided was their new doctor’s clinic. Accusingly, her screen flickers, showing text of what she wanted to say.

‘So what?’

Sprout scoffs, “So what? So what ?! You're injured , Vee! If you were cornered, then what?”

Vee makes a muffled noise, sounding more like a groan than an admission of defeat. Sprout should've expected that, after all Vee and the word ‘defeat’ don't exactly go hand in hand.

He grabs a bandage from his apron pocket, carefully holding Vee's arm so that he doesn't get electrocuted by the exposed wires. Carefully, his gloved hands try to insert the wires back into her body before bandaging it. As he's doing that, Vee’s screen flickers again.

‘I don't need your help, Berry-boy. I could've done this by myself, you know? Stop acting like a hero.’

“You… Ugh…You're so stubborn!” Sprout growls, tightening his grip on her, “I'm not trying to be a hero, Vee, I'm trying to be a friend . Why can't you understand I'm trying to help?”

‘I don't need help, Berry-boy. Especially not yours. Stop pitying me and let me fix myself. ’  

The bolded text turns red, indicating Vee's seriousness. Sprout rolls his eyes however, and continues trying to bandage his friend.

‘You're truly bold for saying I'm stubborn when you're just as bad as I am! Do you think I'm weak?! Is that why you're patronizing me?! I repeat, LET ME FIX MYSELF .’

The room goes quiet, Quieter than it already was. The only sound being Vee's and Sprout's heavy breathing from the argument. Vee didn't even talk and yet she feels exhausted. 

Sprout breaks the tension with a bitter laugh, stopping his ministrations.

“You remind me of myself, sometimes.” 

Vee raises an eyebrow.

“So stubborn, thinking you can't be weak, thinking you can't show weakness…” He mutters off, “That you can handle any and everything, that you're always in control, that you never be helpless…”

Vee blinks. 

What baseless assumptions , She finds herself thinking. I am always in control. He's wrong .

Yet she can't think of proof. She can't prove he's wrong. That frustrates her more . She needs to prove him wrong. 

She grumbles around the cupcake, which she bit and is now holding in the hand she somehow managed to free from the wall. 

She could push Sprout off for accusing her of such stupidity, for comparing her to him …

Instead, she’s decided to stay quiet. Not admitting defeat, but listening intently.

“Well I'm sorry, not, but it's never like that! There are times where you have to admit defeat, be helpless.” Sprout yells, louder than either of them would've liked, but enough to get his point across. Tears brim at his eyes, but he quickly blinks them away.

“I've been there. Cosmo ripped me away from the kitchen after I had a nasty wound from a particular run.” Sprout lets out a bitter but amused huff at the memory, “And I admit I am proud of him for being assertive, but the point is… Sometimes you just need to rely on others.”

Vee exhales slowly. She had briefly seen this situation happen on the cameras once. She finally looks at Sprout's face.

“So… please. Just let me help. This once. I'll be out of your hair when we're done here.” 

Sprout looks sincerely determined , if looks could kill, then Sprout would've been burning her. Stubbornness, that's what it was. He was stubborn as he was caring. 

Vee stares. Simply stares.

Sprout's gaze grows a little unsure. She normally can't read people that well, Sprout himself being just as unreadable any other moment.

But with how much he's wearing his heart on the sleeve, for her , she can see everything. He's so stupid, doing this for her…

“Fine.”

…but she's just as stupid for agreeing, she supposes.

Sprout's face softens in relief, though, which means she's spared from the fire that burns within. He lets out a big sigh, face unreadable as he reaches for her arm again.

“Thank you.”

Vee simply takes a bite out of the cupcake, focusing on the melted frosting instead of the way her screen felt a little hotter than normal.

“...And there, you're done! How do you feel?”

Vee pulls her arm away. It feels… the same. Her wires aren't exactly connected properly, but it's secure enough to ensure her injury doesn't get worse. She supposes that's good enough, at least she can do machines.

“...Well enough.”

“That's good.” He practically sighs out. Vee ignores the way it makes… something flutter inside of her. Uncomfortably, Vee shifts.

“...Can I go now? We've been here far longer than I'd like, and I'm sure Goob and Rodger are tired of doing all the work.” 

Sprout, instead of laughing or even smiling again, nods, standing back up with a light grunt. Vee looks him up and down before standing back up too, quickly walking away from him.

She's a reasonable distance away before a familiar yet uncharacteristically small voice catches her attention.

“Vee?”

“Hm?” Vee turns around, eyeing the baker. He looks so guilty , like a sopping wet cat. Vee would’ve giggled at the mental image if she wasn’t about to hear what Sprout had to say.

“...Sorry for me spilling my guts out like that. I don't know what came over me, I just-”

“It's fine.” Vee cuts him off. “I…understand you a little more now.”

Sprout gasps, cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. “I… I’m glad. I understand you a little more too, I suppose…” He walks past her, trying to hide his embarrassment. It’s right after he walks after Vee she mutters words that almost make him trip on his own feet.

“Thank you, Sprout.”

His eyes widened at hearing his own name, the syllables reverberating inside his skull. He finds himself a little flustered at how surprised he is, and if Vee saw it, she chose not to comment on it. He gives a quick nod before rushing off to help Goob with distractions.

Vee snorts a little, Sprout gets embarrassed so quickly. 

The taste of the cupcakes linger on her tongue as she carries on with her extraction duties.

Chapter Text

HI UM

Sorry for the sudden announcement ^^;;;

I've been very busy and very tired and very unmotivated that I haven't had time to write or do your requests ^^;; Sorry,,

Chapter Text

GUYS IM SO SORRY I HAVE BEEN LOSING INTEREST IN DW (and this ship, unfortunately) AND HAVE BEEN SUPER BSUY WITH SCHOOL AAA 💔💔 

I'm not sure if I will abandon this book or if I'll ever come back to it, but I'm sorry to say I just don't have the motivation to write here anymore :'D

Thank you for your support,,,