Chapter Text
Things were different, things may be different forever. Two wasn’t sure if they could ever fully wrap their head around it, no matter how long they stayed. The grasslands, the contestants- objects, they corrected themselves. They weren’t going to be exactly how Two remembered them.
Then Gaty was, well- no she wasn’t different, that wasn’t right. She was the object Two had always known, the one Two had always loved, just..
Two remembered. Being out there, in the grasslands, not paying mind to the reversed colors of the plants as they tiredly stumbled through, eyes widening as they spotted objects they recognized, others they only knew briefly. And of course, hanging out at the bathrooms, was her.
Without a second thought hey barrelled through, mumbling apologies to each bewildered object they bumped into, damn-near tackling Gaty to the ground in their excitement.
Their arms wrapped tight around her, stretched long enough so they wouldn’t snap her in half, but with how tight they held her they wouldn’t be surprised if they had chipped paint off.
They could feel it, the planks against their skin, the difference in temperature- they hadn’t lost her, they hadn’t..
Two paused, coming off the high of their relief as they caught a glimpse of her face.
…
She looked horrified.
As that sunk in they slowly realized, so did everyone else.
Uneasiness welled up in their throat but they swallowed it down, trying to reassure themselves- but as Two whispered hushed apologies they were violently pulled back into reality by those simple words, ones they wished they could turn back time to stop themselves from ever hearing.
“..Do I know you?”
Gaty sounded confused rather than scared, maybe it just hadn’t sunken in for her yet. Two didn’t want to stick around long enough to see her fully process everything, instead dropping her to the ground they ran off, eyes now fixed to the bushes.
Two spent however long in there frozen, drowned in their own sorrow.
These were objects who did not know of algebraliens, who’d hear a description of Four and X and have reactions varying from mild amusement to absolute terror. Here they were neither someone to be feared nor looked to as an escape, that should’ve been a relief.
But they were nobody, and they might as well have been suffocating a stranger.
They should just go home, back to the planet they lived their whole life- who’s to say things weren’t better in this timeline? Maybe they weren’t an embarrassment to their kind who could barely get through a test sheet without wanting to rip it to shreds with their teeth.
A familiar chill brushed up against their skin, sending a shiver down their spine as they snapped from their trance. Two glanced towards the object besides them, trying to fit herself beneath the bushes.
.
..
…
“Hypothetically, would you still love me if you woke up and were suddenly in an alternate timeline where the past two years haven’t happened? And also the version of me in that timeline didn’t remember anything from the original timeline.”
The silence was long and uncomfortable, Gaty raising a brow.
“Time travel has been on my mind a lot recently- y-you get it.”
A chuckle nearly passed her lips, the little melody of her voice soothing their nerves.
“I guess I’d track you down and see if you did actually forget everything.”
They fidgeted nervously, “And if I did?”
Two cringed internally at their tone, feeling the desperation overflowing and spilling out. Their fingers curled, awaiting to be called out or judged or-
“I’d tell you one of your secrets to freak you out.” She immediately burst out laughing, Two’s face flushed in embarrassment as they cycled through all the embarrassing stuff they told her about themselves.
“Hey- rude!”
They elbowed her playfully, the pair chuckling.
“Really! I’d like to be friends with you again, time travel end-of-the-world scenario or not.”
Two took in a deep breath as they heard those words, almost relishing in it before they’d caught themselves. The reassurance was nice.
Without a second thought they blurted out, “Your favorite color is that shade of periwinkle because it reminds you of a sky you saw when you were 14 on a school trip.”
The two suddenly shared in the same suffocating silence, the tension thick enough that it needed to be struck with a butcher’s knife to even scratch the surface.
“...What?”
Oh math.
“Saw told me that.” They hastily tacked on.
Did Saw know that?? She had to, she knew Gaty longer than they did- she had to.
“Alright, time traveller.”
Their heart sank, soon resurfacing as the accusatory tone faded into giggles, Two still feeling the shakiness in their hand. Gaty would be disappointed in them if she knew the truth, at best she’d want them to move on, find new friends… Just the thought of a worst case scenario made them shiver.
They jumped, startling Gaty as her ice-cold hinges poked at their skin, Two almost immediately leaning up against her before they caught themselves.
Just hold on a little longer.
Gaty purposely bumped into them, quietly prompting them to continue getting closer.
They eased onto her, careful to not put too much of their weight on her or poke themselves on her spikes.
Two averted their eyes to the sky, trying to glue them to the fiery glow slowly dipping into the horizon. Still, they couldn’t stop themselves from glancing at Gaty, gazing out into the sky, content, unknowing.
This was for the best. She’d understand that, she always does.