Chapter Text
Ah what to say of Corin Wickes? That she was a ball of nerves and anxiety? A cry baby prone to tears at the slightest inconvenience? A deceptively strong saw wielding maniac with seemingly no regard for her own safety, if her many bandaids and scars were anything to go by? An excellent maid held back only by her own insecurities? All of these were true, but they weren’t really the crux of her character.
No no, see the truth is, Corin at heart was a very lonely girl, yearning for intimacy without truly knowing what it meant, someone who desperately needed affection yet would probably have a panic attack if one were to offer it to her, behind all the stuttering and tripping and apologizing, was truly, one terribly lonely lady, surrounded by ocean in the man made island she built around her oh so fragile self esteem.
Tho it was undoubtedly true that she made leaps in growth ever since joining Victoria House Keeping, under the careful watch of the multi skilled and ever patient teacher Lycaon, the calm, soothing motherly figure of Rina and the ever relatable and much needed friend of a similar age that was Ellen, she felt as if she hadn’t changed as a person.
All she did, in her mind, was find more skills and know how’s of housekeeping to fill the cracks in her personality, as well as surround herself with people who could cover for her imperfections, her beloved found family, be it Ellen telling the waiter she asked for no pickles or Lycaon standing up for her when faced with a less than kind master.
For lack of a less on the nose metaphor, she felt like she was sweeping her problems under a rug, and tho most days she could stave off these self deprecating thoughts, utilizing positive affirmations as taught by the wolf thiren, reminding herself she is unconditionally loved and will always have a place at Victoria’s, any mishap on her part would have her on the precipice of a mental breakdown.
Now was unfortunately one of those times, not only did she mess up bad, she messed up with one of their most important clients…Master Phaeton.
after the incident with Mockingbird, as a means of training both her repertoire as a solo maid as well as keep an eye on the ever increasingly reckless brother sister duo per Lycaon’s request, Corin had taken it upon herself to promote the video store and serve the two in any way she could.
So, as she entered the store’s back room to offer master Wise, who stared at one of their many screens seemingly lost in focus, tea and crumpets as an afternoon snack, carried neatly on a silver tray, feeling quite proud of herself Is she was being honest, would you imagine her shock as a carelessly tossed jacket on the ground latched itself around her foot mid walk as the other firmly held it in place, causing her to stumble forward and send the tray flying towards the grey haired man.
There are decades where nothing happens, weeks where decades happen, and seconds where hours happen, the world seemingly slowed down as she fell, watching helplessly as her carefully prepared pastries landed on Wise, the tea, somehow, both spilling on him causing the man to yelp as the warm liquid burned him, as well as short circuiting the electronics upon which he worked, all this before she even touched the ground.
But when she did? Oh boy… it took all the will power in the world to keep her composure, even if she was laying down on the floor, maintaining appearance was of the utmost importance, so when Wise turns around with a scowl and a reprimanding “Belle!” Before he realizes who the culprit of the mess is, assuming it to be his clutz of a sister, only to find the maid looking up at him with tears in her eyes.
“Oh I’m so sorry Corin! I thought you were… a-anyways are you ok?… C-Corin?”
A single hiccup was the prelude to the waterworks that would follow, in the near two years since he’d met the petite maid, never had he seen her cry quite this much, just wailing into the air as he tried all he could to calm her down.
Which is how we ended up in this situation, Corin sat on the couch in the back room wrapped up in blankets, her favorite movie playing, snacks and refreshments laid out on the table in front of her, a plastic bag for her to inhale and exhale into and a very guilty and increasingly desperate Wise attempting to stop her crying by any means possible.
But no matter what, the tears just wouldn’t stop flowing down the poor girl’s eyes, with her hiccups only tugging at the manager’s heart strings
“What else can I get for you Corin? Really just say the word”
“I-I w-was t-the hic one m-meant to t-take c-care of t-the hic proxy, n-not the other hic w-way a-around, I’m…”
“No no Corin really it’s ok I don’t-“
“I’M SORRY WAAAAHHHH!!!” Cried the girl, despite the gray haired man’s best efforts.
“Master, preliminary analysis of the HDD system shows that the damage was only to the screens and keyboard.” Piped in the AI.
“You hear that Corin? The damage is easily fixable, besides we were already planning on replacing those monitors, they were super old, so don’t cry ok?”
“sniff r-really?” Said Corin with a kindling of hope in her heart
“Negative, those monitors were the latest technology available and highly expensive, with the warranty having expired… yesterday” the inconsiderate AI corrected, sending the girl into her spiraling wails once more
“…thanks Fairy…” deadpanned the man
“You’re welcome!”
At the rate this was going, he would have to call one of the members of Victoria’s to come pick the maid up, although… there was one thing he hadn’t tried yet…
He carefully approached the couch and sat next to her, before slowly wrapped his arms around the maid and hugging her from behind.
“M-master proxy!?”
“You can feel my chest rising and falling right? Try to follow the rhythm ok? In and out…in and out…” he spoke quietly, almost whispering.
“W-why…?”
“Back when the old capital fell…” He began “Me and Belle were left completely alone, we had lost both our parent’s a few years prior and now our teacher and surrogate mother figure too…”
Corin sat completely still, closing her eyes and focusing on the man’s voice
“After we moved to sixth street, Belle would often have night terrors… she’d wake up in tears calling out to mom and dad, we were both teens at the time, but as the older brother i saw it my duty to calm her down”
By now Corin was completely immersed in the story the manager was telling, neither he nor his sister talked about their past, she just assumed it was a painful topic and chose not to pry, so to have him open up like this…
“So, we’d both lay in bed, I’d hug her from behind and ask her to follow the rhythm of my breathing, just like now, when she finally calmed down enough to breath calmly on her own, I’d start humming to her…”
She could feel his chest vibrating against her back as he hummed a lullaby she couldn’t quite place, in a strange way it brought back memories that weren’t her own, of a home she never had, of a different family than the one she had now, one from a lifetime ago.
The maid found herself leaning back onto his chest, her eyes suddenly felt a lot heavier, having spent all her energy on her breakdown, she sunk deeper into the warm blankets, the movie on TV drowning out as she fell into a peaceful slumber in the proxy’s arms…