Work Text:
BLAAAAAAARE
The alarms in the mall were blaring again, these usually indicated the sign of an attack inside the mall, and it was no different this time.
Zombies were spreading all over the place, causing the usual chaos they caused when nobody was on offense during the shift, or well, would be. Thankfully, due to the presence of a certain quick caffeine addict, the attention of most zombies would turn around to him and go after him instead, leaving the rest of the poor employees alone.
Caferine was used to this, he was always the one to provide a distraction for the entities that wrecked havoc on this place until help arrives, someone capable of injuring the entities enough, or more unpleasantly described, killing the entities, which wasn't exactly a wrong way to describe it. But it's not that he minds it, he's fast, it makes him helpful, and it's something he could waste his extra energy on to help him sleep after his shifts. Well, not that we could either ways, but it was still a good use of his extra energy. Plus, maybe that could make up for him having to be a... "traitor", is that the right word for it? He thought so.
But Builderman needed the right people to know more about this place so that peace can be restored to robloxia. He just happened to be one of the perfect candidates for that. His mission was to study the mall and learn more about his fellow employees while ensuring that no one figures out he's a spy sent by Builderman. He didn't know what learning more about his aquintances would help with. Maybe he'll understand later like when it came to learning about the mall, because this is no ordinary place, that's for sure. Time stops here, but it doesn't outside of it. His body is proof of that, he looks younger than he supposedly is. Not to mention, being able to resurrect whoever dies here by the next hour that they've been found in? Ridiculous if you ask past him, but truly fascinating.
The man got so distracted by his thoughts he didn't notice two things, one, the fact that he was getting exhausted and stiff from running around, two, the fact that he'd get cornered given the path he chose to go. Something he realized a little too late, but because he valued his own survival, he stopped while they were still far from him. At this point, it was a win for the two crowds of rotting corpses. All his exits were completely blocked by them, and the more he stood in this place looking for an escape the slimmer were his chances of getting out of this room alive.
He's so dead. Or so, he thought again, before the sound of metal colliding with heads got his attention, an entire crowd of zombies collapsing, save a few that left gaps good enough for him to slide by. He didn't waste the opportunity to do so, he get to live for another hour after all!
He kept running as he was out of his sticky situation, trying his best to ignore how his legs were going stiff, or how he was starting to go slower, or how his legs were about to give up on him. He lacked enough attention to hear the sound of a slingshot going off, killing most of the zombies that were behind him, however he didn't fail to notice as a hand grabbed his arm, guiding him away from the danger he intentionally ran into minutes ago. And of course, it was none other than his partner in crime, Bakey. Oh, how he owes her.
They settled in the employee room, as far away as possible from the swarm of green flesh that was to be a minute ago. Caferine almost collapsed if it wasn't for Bakey catching him and slowly lowering him to rest against the wall, then pulling out her two pans just in case, she hit them against each other, and again, and again, and while the noise was loud, it was just how she helped the team. No wonder the rest preferred Mani and Harrington for that. He did appreciate her help nonetheless.
But he knew what came next. He looked down on the floor, as if trying to avoid it. But would that really help? The answer is no, it wouldn't. Bakey was very stubborn when it came to stuff that concerned her, he knows that well by now. But he tried anyways.
Bakey knelt down infront of him, a moment of silence engulfing them before she found her voice to start.
"Caferine... are you okay?"
He bit his lips while trying to find the right words to say. If he told a complete lie, she'd immediately expose it. He swore he was good at lying, but she was somehow a lie detector when it came to him. If he told a complete truth, she'd be worried. They have at least an hour left on the shift he thought, he'll just have to hold up physically. But what should he say?
"You don't have to worry about me so much, I can hold up until the shift ends. I'm just a tiny bit exhausted now is all.
That wasn't a complete lie on his end, he kept it vague and true. But it seemed that Bakey wasn't buying into it. He should've figured, he refused to even look at her, so how would she believe him?
"How much sleep did you get?
He didn't answer, his eyes stayed glued to the floor. How much sleep did he get? Around little to none at all? Does he tell her that?
"... a bit of sleep."
Bakey sighed, not even sure if she believed him, be he sounded sure enough. Not that he sounded sure of anything at all now, but that was the closest she'd get. That wasn't the only question in mind tho, she continued firing away.
"And did you eat anything before our shift?"
Both of them knew well that the answer is no. Lying, not even a half lie would get Caferine out of this. Maybe if he looked harder down on the floor, Bakey would forget it and leave him be.
Tick. Ring ring!!
As if right on cue, the alarm started ringing. This time, the alarm indicated the shift being over. Fortunately for Caferine, he wouldn't have to deal with this right now. Unfortunately for him, he'll have to face it later.
Bakey offered him her hand, to which he took it. She pulled him up to stand, and as she did he finally really felt how exhausted he was. His body felt heavy. Bakey took a sneak of the outside, watching as the rest of the employees made their way out. After everyone left, she proceeded to drag him out of the mall and on their way back home. She did notice how slumped he was on their way back and couldn't help but give him a few concerned glances on the way, none of them where she saw him looking at her.
Once they made it back into their home, Bakey didn't let Caferine escape back into his room, not so easily at least. She dragged him over to the couch hoping he'd sit down there as she ran into the kitchen ti prepare something for him to eat. She came back out with a boiled egg and toast for him to eat, alonside a cup of water of course. She set it down in front of him as she sat down beside him.
He didn't notice at first, he was out of focus and quite shaky. He felt... nervous? He thought so. He only snapped out when he felt a nudge from beside him, and due to his state, that only made him flinch. But it did snap him out of his trance.
"Please eat, surviving that long on an empty stomach and consuming that much caffeine can't be healthy for you."
Her tone was lower than usual, and if that didn't make him feel guilty enough then the look on her face surely did. Was she really that worried? The more he thought about it the more guilty he felt, so he decided to listen to her. Maybe that would ease the guilt in him. He felt a hand make its way to his, and he coukd only help look back to the owner of the hand.
"You don't have to feel bad about it. I just want you to take care of yourself, at least for yourself."
That left him staring at her for a while. Then back to the food she put down for him. Maybe she was right. He hesitantly took the toast and started nibbling on it. He felt a few occasional squeezes from Bakey, likely trying to tell him that it's okay. They sat in silence as he ate, not that he's gonna complain about the silence. It was a little awkward, sure, but it was more comfortable for him.
Once he was done, Bakey took what was left back to the kitchen and returned after a few short moments that felt embarrassingly long for Caferine. But he had to admit, he felt a little bit better. He was shaking less, still unfocused but at least somewhat more aware thsn he was, not that these stuff could go in an instant but it's working. He was snapped out again when he felt Bakey offering her hand to him again, when did she get here? Maybe he wasn't gonna ask her that.
"What is it that I'm missing now?"
She knew that he was a little ignorant when it came to his physical health, but not to that degree.
"Sleep. I know that we can't exactly have the best sleep schedules considering our.. "job", but not sleeping at all makes it worse!"
Caferine still wasn't convinced, looking at her hand and back at her quickly. And neither was Bakey convinced with him not sleeping.
"For a little at least? We have a debrief with Builderman later, we need to be in best condition for it!"
Caferine looked at her pleading face, eventually giving up despite suspecting that he won't be able to sleep even if he tried. He sighed and took her hand.
"Fine... I'll try."
Bakey wasted no time in pulling him back up and guiding him back to their room. Usually, they each slept separately. Or at least Bakey would sleep, Caferine didn't sleep much even when he tried sleeping, it mostly didn't work. But this time, Bakey wanted to make sure he does at least get some sleep in, so they were gonna sleep... together.
Caferine sat back down on the bed, but before Bakey did she realized she forgot something. She left the room quickly, also leaving Caferine a little confused, and came back as fast she left, this time with a handle in her hand. She set the candle down nearby and lighted it up as the smell of vanilla immediately spread around the room. Only after then did she join Caferine. They both layed down in bed beside each other, Bakey pulling the blanket to cover them both. As if the warmth from the blanket wasn't enough, Bakey embraced Caferine providing him with more warmth. But oddly enough, also a sense of security. He found himself getting sleepier by the second somehow, slowly drifting off into sleep. Bakey made sure to try and stay awake for longer to make sure he was asleep, and once she was sure he was, she kissed his forehead.
"Sweet dreams.."
She slowly drifted off into sleep not too long after. With only the tiniest bit of sunlight hitting the room, the curtains closed, and the warmth and light of the candle, the pair could sleep peacefully now. Not a sense of urgency or disturbance for once.
---
"And then she ran away with her boyfriend as I was left to deal with the remaining zombies, can you believe that?! I was expecting at least a little bit of help from her, but she took of with her very precious boyfriend, which- okay, he did need help since he looked like he was about to collapse, but at least help me before hand!!!"
Noob was ranting to VampGuest after the shift, they called it a little debrief they both always had after each shift they were assigned to. However, this specific rant made VampGuest chuckle every here and there, Noob was angry over a pair of "lovebirds" as he called them, running off to prevent any deaths at the hour. He didn't expect that, but hey, at least it gave him a good laugh.