Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Not long after Four and X had hosted yet another episode for Two,
Four and X headed to the kitchen.

They had started cooking the hotel guests some food, which was quite
literally their job.

They made some food for the hotel residents and left it in their paper
bags for them to take. Afterwards, both X and Four headed for their bedrooms.

Four plopped down onto his bed with a simple snap of his fingers.

While he was about to drift off, a thought flew across his mind.
Why were they doing this for Two?

Once the thought crossed his mind, he sat straight up
and started thinking—why were they doing this?

Why wasn’t Two hosting their own show?

Ah—right. They were sulking.

Four was enraged at this thought, clenching his fists slightly.
He and X were burning themselves out,
both hosting the show and cooking for the hotel residents.

He was not having it.
Without a second, probably important, thought,
he grabbed his pillow and snapped himself into
Two’s room.

Two barely got a chance to glance up before Four
tossed his pillow next to Two’s. While Two was still
processing what had just happened, Four threw himself
next to Two and argued—“I’m sleeping here until you get yourself together
and start hosting again.”

Two was stunned—not really by the action, but by the actor.
They would never have believed Four would have done this if anybody had told them.

“What are you doing—?” Two questioned with an accented voice.

“I’M getting you out of bed,” Four countered easily.

“Can you get out of my room, maybe..?” Two questioned, frowning slightly.

“Can you start hosting again maybe? Me and X have been working too much all for you, and I’m sick of it.”

With that, Four turned to his side and started to drift off again. Whatever Two had to say was of no importance to Four.

Four slowly creaked open his eyes in the morning. The sun had just started coming up—the sunshine peeked through
the blinds in golds and yellows. Four blinked a couple times to clear his vision before snapping his fingers, getting dressed,
and sending himself to the kitchen.

He grabbed some toast from the kitchen before snapping his fingers once more and popping up in front of the contestants.
He gave them a challenge and sat back for a moment. The contestants’ questions were quite overwhelming, each and every one involving Two.

He was slightly tired and would doze off from time to time, before being shaken awake by the contestants’ voices from the challenge.
Rubbing his eyes, Four started to slowly eat the toast he had grabbed in the kitchen moments earlier. The toast, slightly burned,
crunched under Four’s teeth a lot like dry leaves.

He hadn’t immediately noticed the challenge had ended until Marker came up to him to inform him.
After finishing the challenge and answering all the questions he felt like answering, he popped right back
into the kitchen. X was there as well, though he wasn’t there for the hosting; however, Four couldn’t be bothered to know why.

Once he was done with everything he needed to do, he popped himself into Two’s room—only to find Two sobbing into his pillows.

Four ignored them and just laid down, shutting his eyes and drifting out of consciousness almost immediately.

This routine repeated at least twice before Four was finally sick of it.

Once he had come back to the same sight once more, Four went up to the bed, sat down,
and—started patting Two’s head. Two froze up for a moment, glancing over at Four, who didn’t meet his gaze.

After a few pats, Two stopped their sobbing. They both laid down, but while Two turned to face Four on their side,
Four turned his back to them. They drifted off soon after.

They had repeated this routine every evening after the last one.
Though if it was really bad for Two, Four would run his hands through their olive green hair.

This evening in particular, it was really bad.
Four had popped into Two's room and saw him sobbing and hysterical.
Four came over again and started his occasional pats, then moving onto his hair.
Two didn’t stop. Hesitantly, Four’s hand moved shakily near Two’s face, wiping only one tear
before immediately removing his hand. Two was looking at Four, and once Four realized, he went back
to headpats, embarrassed. Two frowned slightly.

They didn’t talk about that moment afterwards.

Four liked it that way, he was embarrassed and dreamt of the moment, except
this time, he didn’t pull away. In his dream, Two had grabbed his hand and took it into their own,
caressing it slightly.

Once he creaked his eyes open, he had realized he was moving in his sleep.
He looked at his hand inside Two's. Four immediately pulled away, clenching his fist
and turning a slight purple shade, gritting his teeth.

As he got up he tried gaslighting himself that it didn’t happen, although
he wasn’t very convincing for himself. As he went to snap himself to the kitchen,
he hesitantly looked at his hand, still a little warm from Two's embrace, and for the
first time, he was questioning if it was worth it getting him out of bed.

Chapter Text

After the dream Four had, he stopped patting Two's head at night, just stopped comforting them altogether.

Two wasn't very pleased with that, but didn't cross Four's boundaries.

Of course they didn't.

Their small routine had faded slowly, and with that, Two's mood also faded back into their depressed self.

Four hated that.

The whole point of 'invading' Two's bed was to get them out of it, and he was failing at it.

He was making this harder for himself just because he was stubborn all over that stupid dream.

Stupid dream.

Dream.

Ugh, he has to stop thinking about that.

Four had faded back into consciousness in the morning like he always did, squinting slightly before rubbing his eyes. He sat up and shook himself awake, boosting himself onto his feet.

He snapped his fingers and got dressed in less than a second, then by another snap he popped up in the kitchen, the bright lights blinding him for a moment.

Grabbing some breakfast, Four snapped himself in front of the contestants, his chubby figure glaring at them with tired eyes, already in a bad mood.

After giving them a challenge he had thought of after awakening, he started eating the quick meal he had grabbed. X was again absent, but Four didn't bother going to look for them, thinking X was probably still blissfully asleep.

This contest seemed to drag longer than the others, which wasn't in Four's best interest. After a while, Four summoned a couch and sat down, lounging on it, lazily blinking at the contestants running around. It seemed like an eternity for the challenge to end.

Afterwards Four found X in the kitchen like last time, and they cooked together. After that, like their usual routine, they both went their own ways—X to their own bedroom, and Four, well, to Two's.

The routine continued, Four coming back to Two's room, Two mourning and tears rolling down their face. The only thing that was off, was Four's behaviour.

You see, Four would usually slowly approach Two's bed, stare at them for a short moment, sit down and then start his usual pats.

This time, however, Four just walked past them, laid down on his side and started drifting off slowly.

Two frowned deeply, wondering why they weren't already getting their comforting pats. They glanced over Four's shoulder, trying to meet his gaze, but Four just turned away more.

They opened their mouth to say something, before closing it. Nothing really came. What were they supposed to say? 'Oh Foursie, why am I not already getting my head pats?'

Definitely not.

Two just laid down, and for a moment, their hand hovered over Four's head, thinking maybe it would help if they returned some pats to him. And as they were about to pat Four's head once, brushing their hand slightly across his head, Four immediately moved away and warned in a lower tone than usual. It was a growl more than anything—“Don't.” Low and dangerous, just how Four had intended.

Two pulled their hand back, almost hesitantly so, placing it down onto the mattress. Their frown deepened, this time a little concern creeping through.

Four had slightly regretted his decision, he probably needed those headpats, although considering it was by Two's hand.

Two's hand.

Hand.

Four dropped the thought immediately, a little too late, though.

This routine repeated once more, and the next time Four slipped into bed, again ignoring Two's breakdown, Two had had it.

Two spoke, barely above a whisper—“What's wrong?”

Four tensed up immediately, clenching his fists slightly, refusing to look at them.

Two went and grabbed Four's shoulder, in an attempt to turn him around, and Four snapped.

“LEAVE ME ALONE, I HATE YOU.” Four's tone was low and dangerous, a clear warning he didn't want to talk right now.

Two's face remained firm, staring at him, their eyes locked in on his, eyebrows knotted slightly, concern creeping through.

Once Four realized he couldn't fight Two with his words, he just stared at them, trying to match their energy but failing pretty miserably.Four fidgeted with the end of his sleeve.

“If you really hate me, why do you keep coming back?” Two asked, voice firm but gentle.

Four didn't have an answer to that. He screwed himself over. So, he gave the option that seemed better. He said nothing, still blankly staring at them, as he gave up on even trying to fight it off.

Two slowly went to reach for Four's hand, and all Four managed to blurt out in between pulling his hand away was—“Not yet.”

Two's gaze softened, voice completely changing into the gentlest voice Four had ever heard, “Do you wish to talk about it?”

Four looked at Two for a moment, before shaking his head no. Two nodded, understanding Four's boundaries.

Two lowered themselves down onto their side, and Four reluctantly followed. In the quietest voice, Two whispered—“I'm here if you need to talk.”

Four just nodded, accepting the peace Two had offered.

This might take a while.

Chapter Text

That morning, Four had woken up very moody. Despite Two's words of reassurance, Four was just very pissed at seemingly nothing.

He got up that morning while Two was still snoring into their pillows—ugh, so annoying.

Four hosted like usual, slightly meaner, but other than that, nothing was different. For a moment, he seemed to forget what had happened last night, but he remembered faster than he would have preferred.

Four still didn’t care that X wasn’t helping him, probably sleeping in. But Four was not about to do the same and have the contestants pester him.

This challenge in particular seemed to drag—so much so that Four fell asleep at one point.

It felt nice to sleep, especially when it wasn’t in a room full of moldy food. Eugh.

Once he was finally done with everything, he snapped his fingers, falling to his feet at Two's doorway—only to see Two was cleaning, of all things. Four looked at them with a curious expression for about two seconds before Two noticed him staring.

Two smiled sweetly, looking more energetic than ever.

Mission accomplished, I guess.

Four realized he was staring and immediately spoke, "What are you doing—?" Like he already didn’t know.

"I'm cleaning!! I thought since you're here, you'd deserve to not sleep in a bedroom full of trash!"

After his meltdown last night, this was the last thing he had expected.

"You were sobbing into your blanket two days ago. How did we switch from that to this, exactly?" Four questioned, looking around the room to see the once food-covered surfaces clean and tidy.

"I got better!! Really, I think you boosted my mood or something!!" Two exclaimed in their usual accented and sweet tone, looking at Four before going back to do their extra touches.

Really? Four? Boosting their mood?

Four just went and sat down on their—Two's—bed, and was quiet for a moment before realizing—hey—if they're all good now, why was Four still hosting?

"Wh-HEY! Wait a minute! Why am I still hosting?! If you're all well and dandy now, why am I still overworking my perfect self!!" Four exclaimed at Two, partially sarcastic. Two just smiled in amusement before speaking, "Well, Mister Perfect, you didn’t awake me!! How was I to get up without a sweet little alarm?" Two's voice was full of amusement, and that was ticking Four off.

"Hmm… I don’t think so. YOU should be able to wake up by yourself! How do you think I was getting up every morning HM?! You sure as hell weren’t awakening me!!" Four's tone, now mixed with amusement and fury, was getting louder.

"Awh… I’m so sorry, your majesty… Was I supposed to wake you up with breakfast in bed?" Two was teasing Four, and it was clear at this point—Two smirked.

"Would be right!! I've been hosting while you’ve been lazing around all day!! I’M tired…" Four exclaimed overly dramatic.

"Well then! How about you wake me up tomorrow then! I’ll host instead of you!" Two exclaimed, this time no tease in their voice.

"Who says I’m sleeping here? You’re up, so now that means I get to go back to my room, FINALLY. Do you know how bad you snore?" Four answered, only half sarcastically.

"Oh right—my bad!" Two said, voice dropping slightly, sounding a little sad.

"What?? You sound a little sad…" Four cooed, teasing Two. "Will you miss having me around? I sure won’t." Four told Two, teasing them, but Two didn’t laugh—they just smirked.

"What. What is it?" Four questioned, sensing mischievousness filling the room.

"You surely enjoyed it when I held your hand. Just saying!" Two said, smirk widening into a grin.

Held your hand.

Held hand.

Hand.

HOW DO THEY KNOW?

Four tried denying it at first. "What are you talking about? Are you sure all the moldy food air didn’t mess up your nonexistent brain or something?" Four asked, though the stutter in his voice was clear.

"Oh, come on Four, I didn’t mind it, don’t worry. I was just teasing you—" Two was trying not to laugh, but it was slipping past their lips. They slipped into giggles, then progressed into waves of laughter Four was not appreciating.

"Just shut up already." Four growled, irritated.

"Whatever you say, Foursie." The nickname slipped through without Two even realizing it. Four stared at them for a moment before Two spoke again. "Also, was the hand thing why you were so distant? Because if it was, I was worried over nothing." Two said so casually, like discussing the weather.

"Ug—wh—yeah, whatever." Four stuttered a little but composed himself.

Two touched Four's shoulder, sitting down next to him to try and meet his gaze, which Four averted like his life depended on it.

"Hey, don’t worry about it, I didn’t mind it at all, if that’s what’s worrying you." Two’s voice was genuine, like they cared.

They probably thought something was wrong, but Four was just trying to hide his face as it was turning a light purple shade.

Two's hand left Four's shoulder and went onto the mattress instead, their fingers brushing slightly. The warmth of Two's hand lingered a little too long on Four's shoulder—but it’s not like he didn’t like it.

"Could we talk normally now?" Two asked, their hand hovering over Four's, who was still glancing away.

"Wh—sure." Four answered simply, still refusing to look at Two, who was now smiling lightly.

"First of all, thank you and X for hosting for me. It really means a lot to me, Four." Two's voice was genuine and gentle.

"Secondly, thank you for those nights where you comforted me. I really needed it then." Four was beginning to look back and noticed Two's hand, which was now lowered over Four's, resting comfortably over his—they didn’t even notice.

"And thank you for being patient with me. I just needed some time." Two was looking at Four, smile genuine and gentle. Four was still averting his gaze a bit as he was turning a darker shade of purple than before.

"Is this all gonna be just you thanking me?" Four questioned, finally looking at Two.

"Not quite." Two answered, glancing away, their finger starting to make shapes on top of Four’s.

"I was wondering if you would like to join me in hosting tomorrow. I enjoyed your company plenty." Two said, smiling wider.

"I don’t know about that, I’m tired from waking up so early—" Four dramatically whined, falling back.

"But I asked you nicely, pleaseeee." Two was persistent, now taking Four’s hand into their own.

"Fine. But you’re hosting, I’m just company, got it?" Four explained, eyes closed.

"Got it." Two smiled wider, happy Four had accepted.

"Now scoot over, it’s late and I wanna go to sleep." Two said, acting grumpy and impersonating Four a little bit.

"YOU’RE TIRED?? UNBELIEVABLE!!" Four yelled, loud enough for someone outside the room to hear—because the door was open, and Fanny was standing at the doorway.

Four instantly shut the door with his magic before burying himself in blankets and pillows, knowing a contestant saw them together, holding hands—they’re still holding hands—whatever.

"Good night, Four." Two whispered, shutting their eyes slowly, drifting off. Four did the same, except with no answer.

He had completely forgotten he was grumpy in the morning—interesting.