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It was mostly quiet outside, save for the few lingering contestants on the open field below. Faintly, conversations and laughter could be heard, from either inside or outside the mansion. Some were lingering around the stage from earlier, sitting on the steps, or helping pack up the instruments.
Mepad glanced up towards the stars, and the moon. Many times before, late at night, he’d glance up at the same sky, conflicting thoughts running through his head concerning the contestants or the show.
However, looking up at the vast night sky this time, he felt a giant wave of relief wash over him. Everything was finally coming to a peaceful conclusion. Even though there were still many other concerns and problems to be addressed, they got the most problematic one over and done with. Everyone could focus on each other and themselves for once without worrying about how violent a competition could be.
The somewhat stable part of the mansion porch creaked slightly under his weight, as he shifted his legs to stand on a more stable plank. A few things were lingering on his mind.
Now that the show was over, what exactly was he supposed to do now? There was not a single waking moment where he was left without something to do, a task to complete.
He assisted Mephone4 with a wide variety of things, whether it be hosting a competition, presenting the votes, tending to the contestants, anything. Even after he.. resigned, there was still a checklist of things to do. The main focus at that time had been to help his dear acquaintance, Taco.
‘Friend’ might possibly be a more accurate term, but that still did not sound right for some reason.
Oddly enough, it had not been like she had asked him for anything specifically. It seemed that the one thing she desperately needed at the time was just someone else to be there. Company, if you will.
At first, everything Mepad thought he knew about her came from the other contestants, and Mephone. He heard many things- ranging from her being a mild annoyance, to a devastating nightmare. Mephone always seemed touchy when it came to the subject, so Mepad never brought it up to him.
His concern only grew once he remembered the fact that they were on an island. From the fact she was still sending letters to the hotel, that meant she was still there.
But, where?
On the nights filled with rain and thunder, he would stare out the windows and into the forests, deep in thought. Did she find shelter? Was she hiding under a tree, or perhaps in a cave somewhere? There was always the possibility that she had forged a structure of her own in the forest.
How long had she been out there by herself?
Despite having never met her, he found himself more intrigued by her character by the day. It had started with passing thoughts from comments made by a few, until he found himself pondering the topic of her during the hours where he had not been busy with everything else.
Then, one day, he woke up from stasis, and there she was. Standing right in front of him. As he slowly regained his senses, he quickly realized that she had been.. quite different from what he expected.
Wavy, dirty blonde hair rested just on her shoulders, a few twigs and leaves entangled here and there. Her right eye was something that Mepad immediately locked onto, holding back a wince as he saw a nasty gash right above it that had barely stopped bleeding. A pair of circular-red tomato earrings had been hooked onto her ears as well. She was wearing a black collared dress shirt with a red tuxedo vest on top, paired with black dress pants and shoes.
“You can’t teleport, either. Or rather- not of your own accord,” she delicately spoke with a smile, smugness radiating off her in waves.
Quickly observing his surroundings, Mepad felt the faint tug of ropes around his wrists, “Then I suppose I will.. make myself comfortable.”
Her eyebrows furrowed, her face scrunching up in some form of confusion. Her eyes flickered back and forth methodically, observing him.
“Do you..” Taco paused, her hands gesturing towards him before laying one on her chest, “know who I am?” she turned around, her hand on her hip as the other waved him off in the air, “I’ve been low profile for quite a while.”
“Yes! I had always hoped to meet you, Taco.”
Mepad couldn’t see her expression as her back had been turned to him. Her posture stiffened slightly, and her demeanor changed for just a moment, before she turned around and flat out told him that she wanted the details for the next challenge.
He had informed her that Mephone did not keep the money in the decorative suitcase, much to the girl’s slightly embarrassed dismay. Quickly cutting him off with a snarky remark, she turned around once more, her voice much more mellow as she said she didn’t care about the money anymore.
Mepad still does not know what exactly compelled him to show her the challenge on file. It was quite clear that her motives were a hindrance to the gameshow’s progression, and that if he were to help her, there was the possibility it might put a pin in Mephone’s plans regarding said show.
..That possibly might have been the reason that he did work with her, actually.
But, something in the way she spoke, how she carried herself at the time, the nagging at the back of his head to help someone else appeared to be louder than ever. He had assisted past contestants before, but this seemed to be much, much different.
“Well, I suppose it helps me think-” an exaggerated sigh left her lips, “when I have someone to talk to.”
A small pang went through his mechanical heart hearing this.
Mepad tilted his head up from his position of being sideways on the ground, staring up at her with concern on his face, “ I have to hope then..”
The woman raised an eyebrow, dropping her hand from the air to rest at her side, her left one in a fist against her hip.
“..that you were not- ..alone, all this time.”
Staring back at the hotel, the blonde’s expressions seemed to darken, her mask of nonchalance temporarily slipping. Her voice had dropped, eliminating any and all forced energy that she had been putting into her tone this entire conversation.
“No. I wasn’t.”
After a moment of a loud, deafening silence, she faced him once more as her bravado returned in full force, demanding to see the file for the contestants. Without a second thought, his eye flickered, and he projected a hologram into the air.
He remembers every traumatizing event that had occurred after that, choosing to shove it aside for the time being to return looking up at the moon and stars. Sensing something odd from the roof, he stepped out from the porch and carefully examined the building, concerned that the structure was incredibly unstable.
Instead of finding any falling wooden planks or rubble, he spotted a familiar figure sitting atop it all, not really able to properly see her face from far below. With some sense of unease and underlying panic, he quickly teleported up to the roof a few feet behind the blonde.
Mepad couldn’t really see her face that well from behind. However, it appeared that she was either looking down upon everyone below or she was once again spacing out, consumed by her thoughts.
When he successfully walked closer without her noticing, he concluded it was the latter.
Slowly making his way over to her, being incredibly mindful of where he stepped, Mepad carefully stood next to the sitting woman. His eyes glanced over the edge of the mansion, concluding that being careful was the best option.
“Taco?” he spoke up, garnering her attention as she turned her head to stare up at him, some semblance of surprise in her raised eyebrows.
She cleared her throat, “..How did you get up here?”
“I believe I should be the one asking that question. However, I used teleportation to make my way up here.”
“Right-..” she blinked, realization kicking in as if she just remembered he could do that, “Well then, why are you up here?”
“Because you are.”
She froze for a moment, processing what he said, before the view of her face was hidden from her turning away from him. Her posture seemed more rigid now, with her shoulders tensed up slightly.
“It’s dangerous to be this high up.”
“If you believe that,” Mepad spoke, “then you should probably come down as well.”
Taco gave him a half-hearted glare, letting out a huff before staring back at the ground. She muttered something far too quiet for Mepad to properly hear.
He leaned down, tilting his head, “I did not quite catch what you said.”
The blonde grumbled quietly, before her left hand reached up and held onto his wrist, slowly falling down to his hand, “Sit down. It’s better if you aren’t standing up on this ragged roof.”
Wordlessly, Mepad complied. With his legs hanging over the edge, his arm brushed against her shoulder. Sitting in silence for a few moments, the humandroid simply looked down at the ground, observing.. the others burning.. Cobs’ corpse. While also kicking it around.
Taco grimaced next to him, disgust evident in her features.
“They couldn’t have just- tossed him in the ocean? I mean, is it really that necessary to do.. that?”
“..I do not have an answer for this.”
“At least they had half a brain to burn it all the way over there. I can’t even imagine the smell that’s coming from that maize-affiliated-maggot!” she exclaimed, gesturing her hand out towards the group.
Mepad internally debated the morality of doing such a thing to a dead person, but, if the person in question lacked these morals when they were alive, was it really something to ponder on?
“Well, aside from-” he glanced over at the mess, “that,” before turning back to Taco, “I must ask if you are doing alright.”
Taco crossed her arms, glancing off to the side, “The MeCloud or whatever it was inside Mephone’s head restored anyone who had been hurt back to normal, so I’m perfectly fine-”
“I did not mean physically, my apologies for not clarifying. How are you holding up,” Mepad lifted his hand to brush a few stray hairs out of her face, his thumb lightly tapping against her forehead, “in here?”
A quiet stutter rose from her throat, her breath hitching slightly, “..I’m- um, doing fine, I suppose..” she cleared her throat, staring daggers at the ground of the roof, “..although, I’m not too sure how to really feel. After everything.”
“That is understandable. Out of everyone here, I would say that you have had it rather.. rough these past couple weeks.”
“Me?” Taco incredulously scoffed, “In case you weren’t aware, Knife and Suitcase quite literally got kidnapped by him just a few days ago! Knife turned into a ghost, and, oh- I don’t know, you got stabbed and almost bled out to death?!”
Mepad shook his head with a sigh, “I am not saying that the others haven’t gone through a lot. I do think I should check up on them at some point as well, to see how they’re all doing..”
“Why haven’t you?” Taco questioned, arms crossed once more.
Mepad went silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating to speak. The humandroid somehow looked nervous, his eyes glowing slightly brighter than before, calculating something. He turned away from Taco, fixing his gaze onto the ex-contestants on the ground.
“I.. did not want to. Not yet.”
“Huh, that’s not usually like you.”
Mepad glanced back over to Taco, before back at the ground, “I had more important matters to attend to first.”
The blonde tilted her head, squinting her eyes in confusion, “..Like what?”
“You.”
Taco’s breath hitched in her throat, staring up at Mepad with an odd look on her face.
“Me?”
“Yes. As I have said before, it is in my honest belief that you all have gone through a lot of complications these past few weeks- but more specifically, you. I do believe you have had it harder than most here,” Mepad softly spoke, “For starters, you had a sharp piece of glass cut a gash around your eye which hindered your vision, you gained and lost a close friend, you died temporarily at one point from pure stress and fear,” Taco made a small noise of complaint at that, “when you went to apologize to an old companion of yours after so long of not seeing them, they died in front of you with little to no explanation, you found out your whole existence was based off one negative personality trait, you watched almost everyone in the hotel die as well, and then you died again, only to be revived once more.”
In a stunned silence, Taco looked away from him. She glanced down at her hands, which had once been covered completely in scars, before letting her hand fall down to her lap as Mepad spoke up once more.
“Not to mention-” he paused, “-You were alone by yourself in the forest with very little to no human contact or interaction for quite a long time, only to find yourself being the one next to these people instead of being off to the side observing,” he continued as he heard her breath hitch slightly, “I am worried about how you seem to not be processing any of it. Yes, I could be saying the same for the others, who are quite keen on ignoring the many elephants in the room, however..” Mepad paused, hesitantly reaching out a hand and setting it on top of Taco’s in her lap, “Out of all of the others here, I am most.. concerned for you, not as an acquaintance, but as a friend.”
The blonde whipped her head up to stare at Mepad in barely concealed shock. Meeting the humandroid’s gaze, his eyes flickered with worry. They glanced over to her eye, the one that had previously been scarred to hell and back, before looking down at what seemed to be nothing.
“It may be unfair, but I do not find it in myself to be too concerned about fairness as of right now. I am concerned for you, therefore, I do not have enough time for anything else. So,” Mepad's tone soothed, “Are you okay?”
There was a deafening silence as Taco clenched her shaking hands into fists, hiding them with a cross of her arms.
“...I don't think I am,” Taco finally spoke, looking away from Mepad.
“Would you be open to talking about it, possibly?”
She chuckled uncomfortably, “Hah, no.”
“I.. figured you'd say that,” Mepad replied with a sigh.
“If we're going to talk about ‘mental health’ concerns or- whatever this is that you people call it, I actually wanted to ask how you were feeling after all of that.”
“How I am feeling?”
“That is what I said, is it not?” Taco scoffed, “you basically became a personal therapist for everyone, that in itself sounds stressful.”
“It may not be for everyone, however, I find fulfillment in assisting others. I am not bothered by it at all.”
“..Right. Well, on top of that, you then resigned from working with Mephone- who quite literally was the first person you knew when you woke up. To help me. I can't imagine that being something to cheer about.”
Mepad tilted his head to the side, his eyes meeting hers, “Although Mephone and I shared a connection from us both being the first people to really know each other, I would not say that there is anything else beyond that. By the time I had met you, my trust in him was already depleting,” he smiled reassuringly at her, tugging at her heart slightly, “the only thing that had kept me on the show was helping the others in any way I could. Working with you was just the final blow on my faith in Mephone.”
Flinching back at that last statement, Taco’s head hung with guilt, “I see.”
Mepad’s eyes widened for a moment, before holding his hands up in a panicked surrender, “Not to say that you affected our relationship or anything! I could have worded that much better than I did.”
“Then.. what did you mean?”
“I saw what the show was doing to the others, and how Mephone simply shrugged it off. When I met you, and saw what it had done to you, I became.. disappointed. Not in you, of course, but in Mephone.”
“You are aware that me being in the forest was the consequence of my own prior actions, right? You should be disappointed with me too. Or at least, should have been.”
“Maybe so,” Mepad said, frowning slightly, “However, I think you are being far too harsh on yourself. You simply were playing the game, just like anyone else. Yes, you could have done things better, but you are not entirely at fault.”
Taco hugged her knees to her chest, burying her head into them and letting out a groan, “You’re an idiot. Nothing you say makes any sense.”
“Please explain, how am I an idiot?” Mepad asked, a smile almost evident in his robotic tone.
“You’re just- so-..” Taco paused, her face scrunching up as she looked at Mepad, “nice. Ugh.”
He tilted his head, “Being nice qualifies me as an idiot?”
Taco turned her head away from him, her face flushing, “I suppose it’d be too much to explain, too hard for your.. mechanical brain to understand.”
“Of course, Taco.”
The blonde gave him a slight glare at the evident smile in his voice. She rolled her eyes without any real malice, and glanced back up at the sky.
“Do you ever wonder if there's others out there, other people like us?”
Mepad thought for a moment, the blue in his eyes swirling in a circle before settling back at the bottom of the purple background, “I would say it is safe to assume that there. Mephone had centered everything here off of what he had seen on TV, and tried to replicate it. He must have seen other humans to try and create them.”
“Right..” Taco nodded, taking her eyes away from the stars, and fixing her gaze onto Mepad.
Fixated on the playful swirl of blue in the glow of his mechanical irises, she took a moment to look- to actually look- at him. He had been focused on the circus act that was occurring on the fields below, seemingly zoned out, but Taco noticed the blue picking back up from the bottom of his eye, and slowly swirling in a circle once more.
Her heart drowned out any other possible noise in her ear, a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety swirled around in her gut and spread to her chest- where she noticed her heart had skipped a beat.
Her eyes traced the outline of the side of Mepad’s face, panning across it as she took in every detail that she couldn’t before. It was almost surreal- taking a moment to just relax and look. She was analyzing, but for the first time in what seemed like forever- it wasn’t a plan or possible scheming. She was just looking for the sake of looking.
His hair, which usually had been under control, was now fluffier and sticking up in random places. It made him look more approachable, more human and less like a yes-man robot.
His purple sweater vest had been discarded due to the blood stains and rips on the side, and he was left with a white turtleneck that someone had given him. It was somewhat a snug fit, but it fit just fine otherwise.
Taco’s eyes drifted across his broad chest, which had been more defined due to the article of clothing not being his size, and she kept a mental tab to thank the clothing-donor later.
Glancing down towards his hands that had been resting against the roof of the mansion, her eyes traced the lined-metallic joints on the fingers.
A memory of that same hand being sprawled out on the grass in a pool of an inky, red, oil flashed in her mind causing her whole body to tense up. Her breath stopped and her heart stuttered as if someone dunked a whole bucket of cold-iced water on her head.
Noticing the sudden shift in Taco’s demeanor, Mepad turned his attention towards her-
-only to notice her hand had grabbed his.
Mepad softly, yet concerned, had spoken up, “..Taco? Is something the matter?”
Her hand gripped his a bit tighter as she opened and closed her mouth, seemingly trying to figure out what to say. Her head ducked lower, and she took a shuddery breath.
“I was never someone who got scared. All throughout season one, I never once doubted myself or my plans- and I didn’t care for anyone else-..” she paused, letting out a silent exhale, “..and then I found myself hiding away from anyone and anything in season two. Even after meeting Microphone, I was guarded. Still hiding.”
Mepad was silent, observing and listening carefully, hesitant to even breathe too loud as if that would make her stop talking.
“I lost her. For the first time ever, I realized something was wrong with me-” Mepad opened his mouth to interject, but Taco swiftly continued, “and if it wasn’t something wrong with me, then it was something wrong with what I was doing.”
Taco felt his eyes burning into the side of her head. She continued.
“Then I met you. I don’t know what you did, and I don’t know why you did it, but you helped me. I still can’t fathom how anyone- let alone the kindest person on Earth- would be able to put up with me for that long, but you did.”
Without him even having to move, she felt the sadness radiating off him in waves at her words. It made an uncomfortable guilt settle in her chest.
“..And then..” her voice wavered, her eyes slowly moving up to meet his, “I lost you.”
It was quiet. Uncomfortably quiet. It looked as if she was scanning his face, making sure he was actually there, and not some illusion.
She clenched her jaw, not even attempting to blink the tears away or try to hide them, “You.. were gone. When everyone was brought back, the first thing I did was ask about you. I didn’t- I didn’t see you anywhere.”
As her voice cracked, and she paused to steady herself, Mepad had cautiously reached up to wipe the tears away, an expression on his face so sorrowful, she couldn’t explain what it was.
“Then I found you laying on the ground, covered in scratches, your clothes were crinkled, and-” a harsh, choked sob cut her off, “-and you were covered in so much blood. It was everywhere, and you weren’t waking up or moving-”
Her breath had picked up, desperation clawing its way out of her throat.
“I was scared, Mepad.”
Mepad grabbed her hand with both of his, a firm yet grounding hold, “I am here. Please take a moment to breathe and listen to my voice. I promise you, I am okay.”
At the sound of Mepad’s gentle voice, Taco had visibly relaxed and calmed down as if a spell had been cast to do so. Carefully, he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around the other slowly, as if any sudden movements would shatter her body like it once had.
Taco met him halfway, surging forward and clinging onto his torso tightly, being mindful of the weakened spot on his side. Her head was pressed against his chest, and the words repeated in her head like a mantra.
I am here.
I promise you, I am okay.
Listen to my voice.
She let out a strained exhale, tears no longer streaming down her face, yet they continued to blur her vision.
Mepad didn’t understand what he was feeling, and he certainly didn’t know what happened when she hugged him, but the feeling of her in his arms instead of her always being at an arm's reach was-
He was talking to Taco in the mansion, and all of a sudden, everything vanished. Along with her.
Oh.
That’s what it was.
He held onto Taco a little tighter as his powerbox seemed to beat quicker, a warning sign flashing in his peripheral to do a system restart in order to slow everything down. He subconsciously swiped it away, ignoring it in favor of resting his head on top of hers.
“I am sorry.”
Taco sniffled, confusion seeping into her voice, “For what?”
“I.. believe I understand what you are currently feeling. The fear you must have felt when you thought you lost me, I understand it.”
Taco pulled back a bit, only to be able to look up at him as he spoke.
“You- you do?”
Mepad had just stared at her, his eyes carrying a heavy weight of grief. Taco held his gaze, trying to understand why he was staring at her like that, and then she remembered.
Realization hit her like a train, and she could only stare back in horror.
They had all been deleted at one point.
Presumably, gone forever. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how she’d feel if he just vanished out of nowhere, and she had no knowledge if he would ever come back or not.
Another revelation Taco was currently having was the fact that her deletion was affecting him. As if her being alive made a difference to him, and his life at all. As if she were still dead, from the way his eyes were still grieving her appearance.
She had to steady herself, forcing down the shock that there was someone who was concerned enough to care about her, let alone grieve her death.
“Mepad-..” she spoke, unsure of what to say, “why- why are you apologizing?”
“I always usually make sure to think everything out thoroughly. My goal and my purpose is to assist. I assumed I was helping you by.. sacrificing myself, but I did not realize how my death might impact anyone who made a connection with me.”
Taco took a moment to process those words, reeling back at the truth revealed, “You thought you would die? And you still went through with that?!”
“It was to protect-”
“I don’t care! You almost died, Mepad! Do-” her voice broke, a sob wracking through, “-do you really think your life is that expendable? Your purpose- your meaning for life isn’t to just be a tool that helps others thrive!”
She weakly hit her fist against his chest, clutching a fistful of his shirt as her hands trembled, gritting her teeth.
“How did you feel when I disappeared?”
“Pardon?”
Taco’s unwavering gaze pierced right through him, “When we were all deleted. You cared, right?”
His hands held onto her wrists, his feather-like touches a stark contrast to Taco’s grip on him, “I did. You all mean a lot to me, and I,” his voice trailed off, sorrow breaking through the robotics, “..I did not know what to do.”
“So if I went and got myself killed to protect you, how do you think you would feel?”
Mepad’s expression went blank. A deafening silence resounded, the blue swirling in his eyes as he was processing what that meant. His posture stiffened, the hold on her wrists hardening ever so slightly.
“I.. I would rather not think about that.”
“So you understand how I feel, right?” Taco questioned, anger threatening to explode once more through her tears, “Never, ever, do that again. You are valuable, your life has meaning other than being a self-sacrificial idiotic tabloid!”
Mepad spoke, “If I had not, there was the possibility that you would have not returned.”
Taco’s harsh breathing evened out slightly, gritting her teeth and pulling away from Mepad, “I know. I know, I know! That’s what makes me even more frustrated than I am right now. You were devastated over losing us, and you did that to bring us back, but I also was affected by you dying! I know how unfair I’m being by yelling at you, because I’d do the same exact thing if it meant you coming back as well!” she yelled, burying her head in her hands, “I just- UGH!”
Taco let out a very angry sigh, crossing her arms and leaning into Mepad’s side with a sniffle. When he silently upturned his hand as an invitation, she took it with a grumble, interlocking their fingers.
After a few more moments of silence, Taco opened her mouth.
“I’m sorry for yelling.”
Mepad smiled, ever-so patient with her that it squeezed her heart, “I appreciate the apology. However, you had a point. I am also sorry for sacrificing myself.”
“Don’t apologize for trying to save people,” she mumbled, turning her head to lean it against his arm, “apologize for not realizing that you’re worth something and that you matter.”
“Of course. I apologize for not considering your feelings, Taco.”
“Well don’t word it like that,” she deadpanned, “that just makes me sound like a prick.”
“I see.. well, I apologize for that.”
“Stop apologizing.”
“Right, my apo-”
Taco fixed him with a glare, her face reddening along her cheeks, as he let out a fond chuckle for whatever reason. They sat there in a quiet silence again, before Taco broke it with a question.
"..You do know that you're worth more than just being someone's assistant, right?"
"I have struggled with coming to terms with that, I will admit. It was built into my code, and unfortunately it will take me time to get out of that.. mindset, if that is what one can call it."
Taco held his hand tighter, looking at the mechanical joints that were outlined on his fingers. She made sure to take in every detail, afraid of even forgetting one thing.
"Then make it a reminder in your digital brain or something," she snarked, sitting up and staring at him with a deadpan expression, "'Note number one, Self sacrificing will not assist anyone,' or something along those lines."
Mepad nodded, "I shall make that a note, thank you, Taco."
Taco kept his gaze for a moment more, before turning away staring at the sky in a comfortable silence. Mepad had resigned himself to checking the ground once more, making sure that no forest fires had been start, and no one was injured from the fires that were set.
The nagging that had been persistent at the back of Taco’s head the entire time finally sparked the butterfly-like anxiety to flutter through her chest.
She took a deep breath, sitting up straighter and turning to Mepad.
“So, um-”
“Taco, I-”
Staring blankly for a moment, Taco awkwardly smiled, “You can.. speak first.”
Mepad’s eyes flickered away for a moment, “I do not mind waiting. What is it you had to say?”
“I..” she muttered, her brain flatlining, “I just- well, uhm, we were on the topic- of-.. of us almost- losing, the other, and- it just made me think. A bit.”
Mepad gave her hand a squeeze, “Of what, may I ask?”
Taco looked away, the beating in her chest slowly picking up, something relating to anxiety spreading from her torso and down to her arms, to her shaking hands. She could do this.
“If- if it wasn’t obvious already,” she quickly spoke up, before her voice mellowed out, “you.. you, specifically, mean- mean a lot to me.”
He gave an encouraging smile, even though she couldn’t see from her turned head, “That is very sweet, Taco. You mean a lot to me as well.”
Ignoring how her heart did somersaults and spirals at his words, she continued on, “But- I- I don’t mean that in just a way of saying that I care about you. Which- I do, I definitely care about you, but it’s- it’s more than that.”
“Of course, I understand what you mean.”
She might as well just spit it the hell out.
“Mepad,” she turned to look at him, meeting his eyes, “what I’m saying is that I love you.”
His expression shifted ever so slightly, barely concealed surprise on his face as a slight red hue overtook it, before it settled on one of pure content and happiness.
“I love you too,” he replied, his tone chipper and bubbly.
“You-? Wait, no, no, Mepad, I said I love you. I mean that in a.. a romantic sense,” she stuttered out, holding her forehead with her other hand, “I’m saying this because I never did before, and there’s a possibility that if I don’t say anything at all, I might not get a chance to.”
Because something could happen to you. Because you died. Was left unsaid.
At his silence, Taco’s nerves got worse by the second, and she was about to pull away and head in for the night before Mepad’s voice had stopped her.
“I understand that, and I’m very thankful you opened up to me. I am just confused on why you had to clarify your meaning behind your confession?”
Taco stared at him, trying to figure out how to respond to that or what he meant by that, “That was because I assumed-..”
Mepad tilted his head, “..You assumed I was interpreting it as a platonic statement?”
She nodded, still lost on where this was going, “Well- yes I suppose, but- if you knew what I meant, why would you.. say it back?”
“I had reciprocated your feelings. Was I not supposed to do that?” he questioned her.
“Do- do you know what you’re saying right now?”
“I believe I do.”
Taco gestured her hand to her chest, “I love you, love as in I want to be with you, intimately. To where I can’t imagine myself without you. That’s what I said.”
Mepad had taken a hold of both of her hands, holding them up in his, facing her, “I know. And I am telling you that I feel the same way. I enjoy your presence and I find myself having a desire to be with you. To clarify, in case you do not believe me,” he paused, a sarcastic tint to his tone, “I do not feel this way with anyone else.”
Shock was all over her face, and it seemed as if her brain was taking a moment to buffer. Taco looked down towards her hands, being held by him, and then back up at his expression, finding just how fondly he was looking at her. She noticed the faint trace of red on his cheeks, wondering how it was even possible for him to be capable of feeling like that.
It seemed that what he had said a minute or two ago finally caught up with her, as she jolted upright, fully facing him.
“You-! You actually-”
“Yes, I do,” he interjected, leaning in close, “and if you do not mind, I would like to kiss you, if that is alright?”
Kiss.
She did a double take to make sure that was what he said, and that she didn't hear wrong.
"I will clarify, again, you did not hear me wrong. I did just ask if I could kiss you."
Oh would you look at that, he's a mind reader now, too.
Without any hesitation, Taco leaned forward, tilted her head up, and pressed her lips against his. He reciprocated, giving her hands a squeeze as she held his tighter.
Pulling back with wide eyes as if she were processing what she just did, her face exploded in a vibrant hue of red when she looked Mepad in the eye. Taco whipped her head around at the speed of light, sitting up straight as stiff as a board with her hands in her lap.
“..you understand this means you’re stuck with me now, right?” she hesitantly spoke, her hands clenched together.
Mepad leaned into her, placing a hand over hers, “If that is what being stuck is, then I am very satisfied.”
Taco sighed, ignoring the warmth that bloomed in her chest once more.
As the moon shined brightly, with the faint remnants of a bonfire below, everything seemed peaceful. Of course, there were still many, many, conversations that needed to be had between everyone, but for now- they could relax.
Mepad held onto her hand a little tighter with a soft smile on his face.