Chapter Text
Rui was tired.
So, so tired.
He couldn’t even be upset anymore. He needed coffee. Fast.
Today was terrible. Three straight shows that no one stopped to watch. Desperation had started to sink in during the last one; in an attempt to draw people in, he tried a stunt he hadn’t mastered. In the end, he had tripped on one of his precious robots, damaging it and many of his props.
While trying to fix it, he lost focus and cut his finger on a sharp edge of the motherboard. As he turned away to grab a bandage, he heard a concerning crackle.
Ah, of course!
The robot had made the decision that now would be the perfect time to explode!
And so Rui found himself, face full of soot and scrapes, walking to the nearest convenience store at 3 in the morning.
Rui kept his eyes on the sidewalk as he walked. He was not sleeping tonight. He could already feel his headache worsening. Surely, it was nothing more coffee couldn’t fix.
As he opened the door to enter the store, wincing at the jingling bell, he heard arguing in the direction of the register. Great! Just what he needed. The poor cashier looked like she wanted to be there less than him!
Well, he wasn’t going to let someone have a worse day than him!
Rui calmly walked up to the angry woman. A quick glance at her was more than enough to tell him this lady was drunk. Wonderful. Her dark purple hair was messy and her eyes were glazed.
There was no way this would end well for him. He really should just leave. No, then he wouldn’t get his coffee… If he wanted coffee before morning, he would have to get through her anyway.
Yay.
Rui pasted on his best smile and lightly tapped on her shoulder. Before he could even open his mouth, the woman whipped around to look at him; or rather, she tried to. In reality, she tripped over her own feet, tumbling to the floor.
The woman pulled herself up from the floor as Rui stood there, stunned. She was yelling at him. His ears were ringing. It was hard to breathe. He couldn’t understand what she was saying anymore.
“You’re going to regret this, kid! I’m calling the cops!”
Wait. What? Did she say cops? Why- What did I do?
Rui’s vision blurred. He could do nothing but stand there as the cashier looked at him with pity. For her own safety, she wouldn’t be able to defend him. The woman was yelling into her phone now. Police sirens rang out in his mind.
He is so fucked. He didn’t even get his coffee.