Archive of Our Own

"Keep your filthy hands away from me! I'll punch you in the chin!" Red squared up his shoulders and fiercely glared at Green in the eyes. 

Green smirked as he taunted Red by beckoning him closer with his hands, "Don't be like that! I'm not hiding anything, just accept this!" 

Green inched his closed palm closer to Red and the latter flinched and hid his hands away, "You can't fool me! You're clearly hiding something disgusting underneath!" 

"I really did not! Come see for yourself-" 

"NOOOOOOOOO-"

As expected, Red immediately ran away and Green gave chase to him. Both were leaving a trail of destruction as Red grabbed whatever was in sight to either block Green's path or throw it towards him. 

Alan saw Yellow look at them with a glint in his eye then dashed behind Red, grabbed him, and anchored him in place. 

"Now, Green!"

Red gasped in surprise and when he looked back, Green was already in front of him and placed whatever he had a while ago onto his palm. 

Sure enough, it was a [______]. 

"... Green... you bastard!" Now it was Green's turn to be chased and he laughed in delight as Red did whatever it took to catch up to him. 

That included destroying his domain and ruining all the drafts he and TSC worked hard on. 

Alan pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. His fingers twitched as he held himself back from deleting the figures in front of him. 

Maybe he should just go back to killing them? That was certainly an accepted decision back then. 

Alan shook his head at his thoughts and felt guilty for ever thinking of killing the ones in front of him. 

He already promised TSC that he'd take care of them, he mustn't destroy TSC's trust in him, nor should he break his own vow of not killing beings lower than him. 

Even if they made a mess of his domain. 

Alan sighed once again; a headache was starting to form. 

______________________________________

Alan remembered the first time he met the hooligans, as he silently liked to call them, a friend called him from outside his domain to help him with some troubles regarding creation.

When he came back, his domain was a mess with clutter all around and the perpetrators were still increasing the mess, they hadn't noticed him yet. 

What appeared in his mind were his second and third creations destroying his domain which forced him to spend three months creating a new one. 

He had to kill these intruders now. 

They didn't need much effort. After all, how could they go against a god? 

Only the orange one was left and in contrast to the other four he killed, it seemed like this one was a legitimate creation of his. 

Named: The Second Coming. TSC, for short. 

Which was odd because he didn't intend to create this one at all. Being an unintended creation only gave him more reasons to kill him. 

But then. 

"Stop!" 

The lower being suddenly gained the ability to converse with higher beings. It was unheard of. Beings like Alan knew that their creations couldn't communicate with them. 

In other words, an ant managed to speak the language of the gods. 

Alan was stupefied. 

"You can talk?" 

"Don't kill me!" 

The reply to his question came in the form of a plea to survive. Alan blinked to make sure he wasn't hallucinating; he wasn't. 

It was a weird situation. He hadn't encountered this before and he wasn't prepared for something like this. He had feared that he wouldn't come across another situation like this in the future, so he discarded his plans to kill the one in front of him. 

"I won't hurt you." 

It was somewhat of a lie. Alan only said those words to fool TSC and make him drop his guard, but harming TSC wasn't out of the question if times really called for it. 

Shamelessly, he expected TSC to just accept his words and forget that he killed his friends in front of him and immediately take on an attitude that was grateful towards him for sparing him. 

Instead, what he got was: "You need to die!" 

...he understood that the little creature had the right to be angry, but was his death really necessary? 

Alan observed the wriggling creature that was just created about thirty minutes ago and he already knew how to tell someone to die. 

He remembered the second creation that immediately attacked him soon after waking up. 

Was this just his luck? 

But unlike his second creation, this fourth creation had a talent for creating. He dares to say that this creation of his actually had more talent for creating than he did. 

This put his mind into a frenzy. Was he a better creator if his creation was so perfect that it managed to surpass him? Or was he a worse creator if his creation managed to surpass him in what he did best? 

Alan ignored that dilemma and managed to bring TSC on his side by reviving his friends in exchange for working underneath him. 

TSC, the newly born fawn, agreed. Clearly, he upheld the value of friendship higher than dignity for he readily and unhesitatingly agreed to work for him despite being threatened by Alan just seconds earlier. 

The process went by smoothly too. When he met those four hooligans again, they were clearly still mad at him for killing them. 

Alan gave them the excuse that he was just surprised and killed them in an act of self-defense, quickly throwing under the rug his last two creations by blaming them for their deaths. 

"I was attacked by two troublemakers, you see. My domain was destroyed, and I was really scared that the same thing would happen again. I hope you guys understand..." 

It was a half-baked excuse. His last two creations weren't to blame but the five wouldn't ever know that. He just had to give a justifiable reason for why he killed them on sight.

Fortunately, they were quick to forgive. 

"So that's how it is!" 

"We had no idea!" 

"We're really sorry for the trouble we've caused... we hadn't taken the destruction into account..." 

"We'll make it up to you!" 

All the while sobbing for Alan, he was once again stupefied. None of his words needed to be cried for and yet here the four were, bawling their eyes out. 

Alan almost felt sorry for lying to them and wanted to tell them that he was lying but he killed them just because he could. Almost. 

"It's fine... all is well between us, right?" 

Once again catching him by surprise, the four lunged towards him and caught him in a group hug. Their bodies trembled as they continued to sob and their arms wrapped around him tightly. 

"Everything's okay between us! We're best buddies now!" 

Alan was sure he never said anything about being friends with them. 

Another hug captured him from behind and he turned his head to see TSC, smiling as he joined the group hug. Alan didn't know what to do. 

"Let's forget how our first introductions were, okay? Let us introduce ourselves! I'll go first, my name..." 

______________________________________

Red and Green knelt on the floor with their hands up, Red looked towards the side while Green looked straight ahead with a grin. Clearly satisfied with the successful prank. 

Yellow and Blue watched from the sidelines as Red and Green got scolded again. It was a daily occurrence and the two never seemed to learn their lesson. 

Alan tapped his feet in annoyance, formulating what to say to these two who never listen to what he says. 

"Explain how this all started." 

"Green started all of this! I was just minding my own business when all of a sudden, he approached me and suspiciously told me to open my hand cause he had something to give me! I knew that it wasn't anything good so I ran away!" 

Those words left from Red's mouth at a quick pace, clearly using it as a way to vent his anger. Alan turned his gaze towards Green who only shrugged. 

"I was merely deepening our bond! Red likes to play pranks, you see. So why not prank him back? Clearly pranking people is his love language!" 

"I only enjoy pranking people! Not getting pranked! Plus, how was that even one? You were so obvious with it! And it wasn't even funny!" 

"Funny, last time I checked. Smearing all my possessions with cake isn't funny either." 

"You-" 

"Enough!" 

He couldn't take it anymore and shouted for Red and Green to stop bickering. His fingers reached up to pinch the skin between his eyebrows to relieve some of the headache he felt. 

From the sounds of it, Green pranked Red back as a way of revenge for messing up his things. Red, not knowing what he had done wrong, urged that he was innocent. 

Alan understood Green, he really did. He also understood Red, the other was playful and energetic in nature and he knew that the four were enclosed in a small house for the majority of their lives, this new open space had given him more energy and confidence to explore and do new things. 

But did they have to bring his drafts into this? He and TSC worked so hard for those and it ended up with the latter sleeping in because of the sleep he missed. He felt sorry that once TSC woke up, he learned that he had to repeat what they had done. 

How would he get these lower beings to behave? 

"...both of you are forbidden to engage in any exciting activity until both of you have calmed down." 

Red gasped as he felt his days of exploring fade away while Green remained calm and unbothered by what he said, Green was more into music nowadays after all. 

"But Alan!" 

"Red, it's just for a few days. I'm sure you'll survive not jogging around as a way to waste energy. Find a new hobby, maybe one that's not as hungry for consequences like pranks." 

Red flinched and lowered his head, pouting and mumbling at his harsh punishment. Alan internally scoffed at Red's quiet mumbles. 

This wasn't even a harsh punishment. Far from it. He could've easily ripped his limbs away from his body to teach him a lesson but he didn't. 

He's changed now. 

Alan sighed, "Hurry up and reconcile. I have no time for silly disputes." With those words, he left his domain. Not bothering to look back at the two. 

He passed through the portal and entered the domain in which creations can never enter. It was a domain where only those like him could access. Those who could create life. 

Creators. 

Gods in the eyes of creations.

But creators don't see themselves as those. They know their flaws and could never see themselves as gods. Alan was one of them and he was specifically in the animator branch. 

There are different types of Creators. 

Animators, Artists, Programmers, Coders, and much more. All those who can create something new were labeled as Creators. 

Such different types of Creators passed by him as he arrived on the sidewalk near his friend's place. He walked towards the Programmer district, walked into one of the apartments, making his way up to a familiar door, and barged right inside. 

Not bothered enough to knock. His friend dropped his mug at his sudden intrusion and looked at him with surprise. 

"...what's with the visit, Alan?" DJ tilted his head as he scanned Alan's expressions and noticed that it was exasperation and annoyance. 

Alan grumbled in reply as he stormed towards DJ's couch and fell on it. He grabbed a pillow and shoved his face onto it, earning a look of surprise and confusion from DJ. 

"Are you alright? You seem bothered by something?" Alan kept his mouth shut and felt the couch dip as DJ sat at the edge of the couch. 

He turned his head and looked at DJ, the latter had a worried expression and he silently urged Alan to talk. 

He sighed, "There are these creations lately that have been bugging me. They don't behave and keep on ruining my drafts! They just don't listen!" 

DJ hummed in understanding, "Why not kill them then? You've done that before." 

Alan scoffed and turned around to lie on his back, glaring at the ceiling. "Trust me, I would've. But I made a promise not to kill them and I made a vow not to kill creations anymore." 

"Whoa, really? What's with the change in attitude? A good number of people know that you're one of the sadistic creators. If a rumor came out that you stopped killing creations, even a stranger would be shocked!" 

Alan averted his gaze as DJ laughed at his words, not bothering to deny the latter's words. It was true. A lot of people knew that he pushed creations to their limits, he was cruel enough that if even a word came out that he held his patience towards an unruly creation, they wouldn't believe it. 

Alan clicks his tongue, "It's just a whim. My creation... he really likes them. He'd be sad if I killed them again." 

DJ pushed Alan's body and Alan scooted over to allow DJ to sit more comfortably, rather than hang at the edge. 

"Wow, you really did change! Who knew you'd talk about your creation so lovingly?" Alan knew that DJ was teasing him but he didn't have the energy to bicker. 

"My newest creation is just amazing. You should see the way he animates, it's so fluid and smooth. Way better than I do. Between the two of us, you'd mistake him for being the creator; and I, the creation." 

DJ hummed, and Alan closed his eyes and imagined the very first animations he saw TSC do. He was amazed by it, that's why he hadn't killed TSC when he had the chance.

He's glad he didn't though. TSC was a delight to work with, his eager and excited demeanor made him fun to work with and energized Alan to continue working. 

"Do you finally love your creations?" 

Alan scoffed. "I do love my creations. Not like you guys, but I did appreciate my creations when they were alive." 

He appreciated Victim's stubbornness to live and persevere despite the torture. 

He respected the way TCO kept his sanity despite the isolation and neglect. 

He admired TDL's good judgment and decision to switch sides when he realized that Alan wouldn't help him or care for him. 

He did love his creations but not in the way others did. 

TSC, however, was different. 

He could communicate. So Alan and TSC had the opportunity to learn about each other and because of their shared love for animating, they had something that connected them, deepening their bond. 

Alan had fun whenever he animated with TSC, discovering new ways to animate. TSC felt the same way,  rambling about how much fun he had and how much he loved animating. 

During those moments, Alan felt like a kid again. He fell in love with animating all over again. TSC was simply too different to be compared with his past creations. 

"It's just... I care for TSC. He's different from the others. He actually gives me a reason to care for him." Alan turned his head, already assuming what DJ would say next. 

He knew how his words could be perceived.

DJ kept his silence for a few seconds before he sighed. 

"Why not share some of your love for TSC with the others then? Sounds to me, you just can't care for them the way you do for TSC." 

"That's the problem." 

Alan sat up and looked straight at DJ. 

"I can't love them. Our interactions always end up with me disliking them even more. All they do is ruin my domain and not listen to me despite my urging them to behave. They're not exactly giving me any reasons to love them." 

Alan crossed his arms as he felt his head start to ache, remembering how much destruction those hooligans caused. 

DJ leaned back into the couch and scooted closer to Alan. 

"That's also the problem. You're waiting for them to give you a reason to care for them but you're not giving them the chance to provide you with one." 

"But I do!" 

"Being in their presence and waiting for them to do one favorable thing in front of you does not count." 

"..." 

DJ sighed, he wrapped his arms around Alan and summoned a hologram in front of them. It was a simple depiction of Alan and four icons represented the hooligans. 

"They're just doing what they know. You've told me before that they came from a small website. Being brought into a new domain, where they could have anything they wanted and do anything they wanted, they wouldn't be able to restrict themselves because they're not even aware that restrictions exist." 

DJ pulled up a simulation. 

"They don't know anything about how to act in the home of another. How would they? I'm sure the Coder who created them didn't even think that an Animator would let them live in his house. So they're not knowledgeable on etiquette or proper behavior when it comes to others." 

DJ removed the simulation and clasped Alan's hands between his own. 

"That's why it's up to you to teach them! You should properly communicate with them and not wait for them to give you a reason to care for them! You should pave the path yourself and slowly but surely care for them as you do for TSC!" 

Alan's jaw dropped. 

DJ nodded his head. 

"I know, I know. You're not up to it because you believe love should be earned and that you mustn't have to work for it. But you wanted things to change, don't you? So you should try to be the one to take the first step and learn more about them so you to care about them!" 

Alan blinked. 

"Isn't that such a good plan?" 

Alan blinked twice. 

Alan understood where DJ's coming from, but it was confusing. Why should he work hard so he could love those hooligans? Shouldn't it be those hooligans who should work hard for him to love them? 

"I'm a bit... confused." 

DJ clicked his tongue. 

"Don't be confused, Alan. It's all about you learning how to love people and not wait for them to give you a reason to love them. These are basically sheltered kids who just stepped out into the world! They need guidance!" 

Alan's sure that those hooligans were not kids at all. They had enough implanted knowledge to be considered teenagers. Even he, as a young and upcoming Animator, wasn't as unruly as they were when he was the same age as them. 

"I've got just the thing." DJ waved his hand and summoned the digital market, he entered something into the search bar and bought the first thing that popped up. 

"Here. This will help!" DJ happily gave the book he just bought to Alan. 

[How to Raise Children: A Guide on How to Be a Proper Parent]

Alan looked at the book in shock. 

"Read this book and apply what you've learned the next time you interact with them. You're a fast learner so I know you'll be able to do this in no time! Just remember what I've said about you having to take the first step, alright?" 

Alan looked at DJ then looked back at the book then looked back up at DJ again. 

...well, there was no harm in trying, right? 

______________________________________

Alan buried his face in his palms as he read the contents of the book. Realizing what exactly he was doing, he was reading books on how to raise children as if he were a father. 

Those creations weren't even kids! And he certainly wasn't a father! 

Alan groaned, he blamed DJ for this. He shouldn't have listened to whatever that man had to say. 

To not let his efforts go to waste, he decided to test it out. He summoned a portal leading to his domain and stepped right in. 

He was immediately greeted with chaos again. 

Alan clicked his tongue, what was he even expecting? 

Not one to give up, he took a few more steps and searched for whoever was the most tolerable to start his experiment. 

Red, that was a hard pass, he was too energetic and he was currently bickering with Green again. 

Green was busy with Red again. 

Yellow seemed too focused on his books. 

Blue... he looked the most free out of all of them. He was just lazing around and occasionally turned his gaze to spectate on whatever the others were doing. Other than that, he didn't do anything at all. 

Alan decided that he should start with Blue. 

Blue still hadn't noticed him when he was approaching and the former only noticed his presence when he was standing right in front of him. 

Alan saw a hint of nervousness in Blue's body language. 

"Greetings, Blue. What are you doing?" Blue blinked and tilted his head, his hands were fiddling on his lap. 

"Not much..." 

A small talker. Children like these are shy and terrible at holding conversations. To deal with such is to encourage them to speak more and give them the confidence to speak their thoughts out loud. 

"Why not much?" Alan didn't mince his words, he found it more convenient if he spoke what was on his mind and didn't sugarcoat it nor hide his intent. 

"Well... I just don't know what to do, to be honest. It's just, I've never been in an environment like this before. I'm just lost on where to start." Alan hummed in reply and bent down to sit next to Blue. 

Blue was obviously shocked at this action but didn't stop Alan from taking his place next to him. 

"Let me recommend what to do then. Surely lazing around will soon bore you to death, won't it?" Alan summoned a panel and scrolled through the items. 

Blue blinked from beside him, "May I ask, why are you doing this? I mean, I'm not telling you not to. I was just curious..." 

"Because I want to care for you guys." 

Straight to the point, just as Alan preferred it. 

"To be completely honest, despite the lot of you staying here for days, I don't feel as much affection for all of you compared to TSC. I want to change that, if I want to treat you all better, I need to learn how to love you guys." 

Alan tilted the screen to show Blue his recommendations. 

"I don't really know how to do that though so pardon my mistakes." 

Looking at Blue's expression now, it was clear that he didn't expect Alan's words at all. His eyes flickered and darted across Alan, and his jaw was slightly open. 

"So? Anything you find interesting from here?" Alan pointed to the panel in front of him, urging Blue to pick one from his recommendations. 

Blue remained silent until giggles erupted from his mouth, was he being laughed at? 

"Was anything I said funny?" 

Blue continued to giggle, "No, it's just that... I didn't expect that at all! You're nicer than I thought!" 

Was that an insult? 

Blue gave him a soft smile, "You know, I've been a bit on guard because of you killing me. It was the first time I died. And knowing that you could kill me and I couldn't do anything about it was scary..." 

Blue chuckled, "Now I realize that I didn't have to do that at all. You're a nice person, Alan." 

Was he? 

Blue turned his gaze to the panel in front of him, "...should I tell you about us instead? I'm still not in the right state to do something new. I'm still trying to ground myself." 

Alan nodded at Blue's offer. Knowing more about the four's background would allow him to learn the most efficient ways to deal with them. 

Blue smiled warmly at Alan's approval and scooted closer to Alan's side. 

"Where do I begin? Now..." 

Alan learned a lot from what Blue told him, he learned that the four were actually fighters and were skilled at combat. 

All they ever knew was to fight among the four of them and they expected that to be their eternity. That was until Orange came crashing down into their lives. 

"We were shocked. We've never seen anyone other than ourselves before. Our curiosity was stronger than our fears so we approached him." 

Orange led them into his domain and then the chaos began, they ran around freely and did whatever they could, enjoying that their world suddenly widened. 

But then they were killed and revived, at the price that their newly made friend had to work for their murderer. 

Alan realized that things looked very different from their perspective. 

They were a bit on guard at first, but then they noticed the bond between Alan and Orange deepen. Soon, the two were practically bonded and forgot the conflict from when they first met. 

This allowed the four to breathe freely and finally do as they wanted inside Alan's domain without hesitation. But of course, since their world was so small, Alan's domain felt like a large space that they felt like nothing inside of it. 

Red took advantage of the wide open area and practiced his moves, Green made use of the things he'd never seen before, Yellow buried himself into knowledge to learn more about what they couldn't learn from when they were still on that website, and Blue... Blue still had to learn how to ground himself. 

He didn't exactly know what he should do yet, he wasn't particularly interested in anything else, and he just had to digest this entire situation first before he could do something else. 

"I'm just a bit dizzy. I can't believe this is real." Alan felt closer to Blue now that he had discovered what Blue's true feelings were. 

He was nervous and afraid in a domain he didn't know. A domain owned by a being that could kill him whenever he wanted. Blue had every right to take as much time as he needed to process this situation. 

The book never gave any advice on how to deal with this specific situation. 

Still, Alan persevered. 

"...how can I help you anchor yourself in this world then? How can I make this place feel like a new home to you?" 

Alan said what was on his mind, seeing nothing insulting or negative about his words. Alan saw Blue's eyes start to water. 

...was there actually something insulting in his words? 

Soon after, arms wrapped around his waist, and a body buried itself into his chest. Alan's hands lay limp at his sides, not knowing what to do with them. 

Alan gazed at Blue's head, not knowing what Blue was trying to do, until he felt Blue's body start to tremble and shake. 

Soft sobs and hiccups were muffled due to Blue's head being buried at his chest, "Hey, Blue? Are you alright?" 

Alan raised his hands to pat Blue's head and back, trying to soothe the crying figure in front of him. The book said that to comfort crying kids, he had to treat them with gentle words and touch. 

Alan pulled Blue into a warm embrace and continued to gently pat Blue's body. "I'm not sure why you're crying... but I want you to know that I'm here for you." 

He said those words in the softest tone he could muster, but despite his effort, Blue started to cry louder. Alan wondered what he had done wrong. 

"Alan..." Only by those words, Alan realized why Blue was crying. Alan let out a sigh of relief when he realized he hadn't accidentally insulted Blue. 

Alan embraced him tighter, "I'm here... I'm here... you can cry all you want... I'm here for you..." 

——

That night, while Alan lay in his bed, recalling his interaction with Blue. He felt a warm feeling in his chest. Blue had trusted him to show a vulnerable side to him and came to him for comfort. 

Alan smiled, the feeling of being trusted was nice, Blue acted so cute back then, he hugged Alan as if it was the most natural thing between them. Blue clearly liked physical affection. 

The same could be said about the others, considering they hugged him as a group before. Alan felt like his efforts were not betraying him and soon, he would be rewarded. 

He remembered Blue and their conversation today, his smile widened.

Alan felt that he could love Blue soon, just like how he loved TSC. 

______________________________________

There was a change in their dynamic. Whenever Alan came to visit, the four would simply greet him while TSC greeted Alan with extreme excitement and fervor, like a puppy. 

But now, Blue joined TSC as he excitedly greeted Alan and welcomed him with a hug, making the other three and TSC look at the two in shock. 

Alan patted Blue's head, "Have you been well?" Blue nodded at Alan's words. 

"Yep! And I currently found myself a hobby!" Blue took Alan's hand and showed him his hobbies, the others still looked at the rare combination in shock, while TSC was happy that his Creator was finally getting closer to his friends. 

TSC joined their conversation while the others looked at the sidelines, too shocked and felt too distant to join the ones in front of them. 

______________________________________

For Alan's next target, he chose Yellow. Out of the three left, he seemed like he was the one most pleasing to talk to. 

Despite Yellow being a fighter like the others, he was more reserved and upright, Alan felt like he was the best pick out of the three for now. 

Considering that Red and Green were still bickering. 

"Is that book of any interest to you?" Alan approached Yellow who was sitting at the table, surrounded by books about multiple topics. 

Alan liked Yellow's thirst for knowledge. 

"It is. It's about the outside world and what it has to offer." Yellow showed him the book he was reading and Alan's eyes widened at the title. 

The book was about the world of the creators. His world. A world that creations could never enter. 

"...do you want to explore that world?" 

Yellow nodded at his question and looked back at the book, "Desperately. This book spoke about how the sky could turn a different color, about how different things had different fragrances, about the creatures that live there that do not exist in this world." 

Yellow rambled on about what interested him, excitement laced every word of his and Alan could feel how desperately he wanted to go and explore the world. 

But unfortunately, he couldn't. 

"Yellow. As much as it pains me to say this, you cannot ever enter that world. It is impossible for creations to enter that world. Not because you're not allowed to, but because your bodies cannot handle the plane of existence that domain resides on." 

Yellow quieted down at his words, the book that he held up slowly going back down onto the table as Yellow gazed into nothingness. 

Alan saw the despair in Yellow's eyes and was confused about why Yellow was so sad on an adventure that could never be. 

Yellow turned his head away, "Is that so?" His words were filled with sadness and Alan could see how his brows were furrowed and his eyes dim and watery. 

It seemed that to Yellow, widening his world was of great value. 

"No need to despair. I can just summon a fraction of that world into my domain. It won't be as majestic as it would be in my world, but you can still experience it for yourself." 

Alan summoned a panel and changed the background of his domain. The plain and black floor turned into a field of flowers and the ceiling opened up to see clouds and blue skies. 

An artificial breeze passed by them and the artificial sounds of birds followed after. Despite some details being reduced, it was still beautiful and surely nothing like the others had seen before. 

In the distance, the others let out sounds of amazement at the sudden change of scenery and he could hear Red cheer and run across the field of flowers. 

But he didn't turn his head to look, he was focused on Yellow and what his expression was. 

Yellow had amazement shining in his eyes, his eyes sparkled as if there were stars inside of them, pure awe could be felt just by looking at Yellow's expression. 

Despite the scenery being nothing to be amazed at, Alan felt that he should be amazed too, considering Yellow showed such an amazed expression. 

Yellow bent down to touch one of the flowers beneath his feet. 

"Flowers... these are... flowers?" Alan walked towards Yellow and smiled at Yellow's actions, gently caressing the petals of the flowers. 

"Indeed. Daisies, to be specific." Alan felt indulgent and quickly created what he wanted then placed them on top of Yellow's head. 

Yellow felt a weight on his head and raised a hand to touch it. 

"A flower crown of daisies, I think it looks good on you." Yellow's expression changed into one of excitement and gratitude as he raised both his hands to feel the crown on top of his head. 

Alan laughed at Yellow's actions. 

"Are you that happy?" 

"Yes!" Yellow smiled widely at him, "I've never felt this much joy before! I'm experiencing something I thought I'd never experience. This world... my life... It's truly wide and beautiful!" 

Alan felt a warm feeling in his chest, Yellow was so happy at simple flower crowns and a change of scenery. It was really nothing shocking or grand yet Yellow treated it as if it were something to behold. 

"You know, when I first discovered that there was something beyond our walls. I was scared. Not because of the unknown. But because I had no idea that there was something to be discovered." 

Yellow looked down at his trembling hands. 

"I was afraid. I was clueless, I didn't know anything at all. I was going to live my life and not know that there was more than just inside the walls. I was scared that I was going to live my life, unknowing about life's true potential." 

Yellow clenched his fists. 

"So when Orange and you showed up... I wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about the world and what it has to offer! I want to learn more about this world and gain all the knowledge about it!" 

Yellow raised his eyes to look at Alan and Alan felt like he could be pushed to fall on his knees just by how fierce Yellow's determination was. 

His eyes were blazing and his expression was set in stone as if nothing could deter him from chasing his dreams. 

Alan smiled. He really did like Yellow, his thirst for knowledge was admirable, and how he treated that thirst was spectacular. 

"I'll help you then. I'll give you every source of knowledge I can so you can truly learn what kind of world you live in. I'll show you the sceneries of the world you cannot cross, I'll give you fragrances of the aromas you could never acquire, and I'll give you a taste of what delicacies exist from beyond." 

Alan created another flower. A daffodil. He believed that it suited Yellow. 

"Let's take it a step at a time. Here's to your new beginning, Yellow." 

This time, Yellow's tears finally fell and he accepted Alan's gift to him. A daffodil. 

Alan's sure that Yellow didn't know what a daffodil symbolized, but he won't tell him. He's sure Yellow will learn what it means in the far future. 

"Wanna try making flower crowns?" 

Yellow rubbed his tears away, "Yes!" 

Alan realized that these were truly sheltered kids who knew nothing about the world, afraid of the unknown, afraid of not knowing the unknown. 

Alan placed his hand to gently soothe Yellow. 

When a child expresses their desire to learn something new, don't stop them. Encourage them. Help them learn what they want to learn and guide them along the way, help them develop a love for learning so that they won't be afraid when something unknown comes their way. 

Alan's sure of it. 

He can learn how to love Yellow. 

______________________________________

Their dynamic changed again. 

Blue and TSC greeted him eagerly, but what was new was Yellow dashing towards him, eager to tell him about something he had learned. 

He spoke about what he learned with such confidence and amazement at the new knowledge he had learned. Alan complimented him for being so brilliant and learning so much in just a few days. 

Now, the three of them were close while the remaining two felt too distant towards him to join their conversation. 

But Alan didn't mind that, soon it'd be their turn and Alan would finally love all of them. 

Alan smiled at the sight in front of him. TSC, Blue, and Yellow eagerly shared their ideas and talked to each other like close friends. Their affection for each other was as clear as day that which warmed Alan's heart. 

DJ really was right, taking the first step was the correct decision. 

Alan chuckled, perhaps he should treat DJ to a snack sometime. 

______________________________________

When it came to Green's turn, it wasn't Alan who approached him first but rather Green. 

He was making his way towards Green but was caught off guard when Green leisurely walked towards him with a smile on his face. 

"Is it finally my turn?" Alan's eyes widened at Green's words, he hadn't expected Green to notice what he was doing. 

Green took his expression of surprise as confirmation and shrugged, "Don't worry about me. I noticed it as soon as you approached Blue. I gotta say, I commend what you've been doing. It's a real help." 

Green placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a warm smile, "I've been watching from the sidelines. I've seen what you've done for them and I've seen the changes you made on yourself so you could stop looking at us with bloodlust in your eyes." 

Alan flinched at Green's words and took a step back, he hadn't expected to be called out on his desire to kill them a few days ago, he thought he had hidden it well but Green had noticed it. 

Green scoffed at Alan's reaction and removed his hand, "Don't get me wrong. I mentioned that to praise you. You've done a good job trying to change what you've felt for us. I know it was exhausting too, looking after lowly beings that didn't know how to behave." 

Alan felt like he had been struck by a knife. One of the very beings he tried so hard to hide his own feelings for had noticed through his facade. His ugly personality was noticed yet Green hadn't told his friends that Alan actually wanted to kill them again at some point. 

Why was that? 

"...why haven't you warned the others about me?" Green hummed in reply as his eyes turned to the left, Alan clenched his fists. 

"I wasn't sure about you. Clearly, you were capable of caring. You cared for Orange, yet when it came to us, none of that care could be seen. I wondered why that was. Now I know that was just because we hardly know each other. Unlike with Orange, we have nothing that connects us, right?" 

Green held up a hand in front of Alan as if he were offering a handshake. 

"So let's start again for the third time. My name is Green, nice to meet you." Alan stared at the smile Green had on his face. 

It was not coy, yet his words made it seem like his smile was coy. But Alan knew that a coy smile looked like and Green's smile looked nothing like that. It was clear that Green really wanted to start again and make a proper first impression. 

Alan accepted Green's handshake, "I'm Alan, nice to meet you." 

Since Green knew what Alan had been doing, he went straight to the point. 

Green shared about how fascinating other skills were. He enjoyed discovering his talent in other things and wanted to try his talent. 

He talked about how he sang, how he composed, about how he tried animating briefly but was reluctant to fully commit to learning it because there was a chance that Alan might hire him like Orange and make him as sleep-deprived as Orange. 

Those words made Alan laugh a bit, finding Green's reasoning to not fully learn animation amusing. Green talked about the others as well. 

About how Blue tried making flower crowns with Yellow, how Yellow eagerly shared new information he learned with Green, and how the other two were just thriving in this new environment. 

But he hadn't mentioned Red at all. 

"What about Red?" 

Green looked at Alan as if he was expecting him to ask about Red, Green sighed and looked at where Red was, he was currently sparring with TSC, their expressions full of thrill yet Green looked at this sight with worry. 

"Red... he might seem like he's the one who adjusted the most out of all of us but he's actually the one who hasn't moved on. In fact, I dare say he hasn't changed at all." 

Alan's eyes widened at Green's words and he looked back at Red, he clearly looked as if he was enjoying himself. How was that the look of a being who hasn't yet adjusted to his new surroundings? 

"What have you noticed Red doing?" 

Causing chaos, destruction, ruining his hard work... 

"...fight." 

Green nodded. 

"Exactly. All he ever did was fight. If he pranked me, all he wanted was to spar. If he couldn't spar with anyone, he'd refine his combat skills and that's all he did until it was time to rest." 

Alan failed to notice what was wrong with that. If Red liked fighting so much, what was wrong with him doing it a lot? 

"Can you recall what we are? We are fighters. Born to fight, live to fight, die to fight. If Orange hadn't barged into our lives, all we would ever do is fight." 

Alan started to get the gist of what Green was trying to tell him. 

"Blue started exploring, Yellow started learning, and I started to try my hand at different things. But Red? All he does is still fight, fight, and fight. As if that's all he ever knows." 

Green looked down and started to speak softly. 

"And it wouldn't be wrong to say that fighting is the only thing he knows." 

Green spoke those words with a tone so soft that Alan wouldn't hear them if it weren't for the gentle breeze carrying Green's words. 

Alan realized just how serious the situation was. He thought Red was just fighting because he liked to do it, he hadn't considered that Red only fought because he didn't know how to do anything else.

"That's why I've been bickering with him. I've been trying to stabilize him, I was trying to get him to familiarize this new environment. I was acting as his anchor." 

Alan was surprised at Green's words, he hadn't expected that all the bickering had a hidden purpose to it. He thought it was just a meaningless argument but Green was actually trying to help Red. 

Alan saw Green in a new light and admired just how much he cared for his friends. 

"So when I saw that you did for the others what I was trying to do for Red, I wanted to thank you. And I also wanted to tell you to please help Red." 

Alan nodded softly at his words, "It goes without saying. I'll help Red as best as I can." Green chuckled and turned his gaze towards him. 

Green took a step forward and embraced Alan with all the gratitude he could muster. Alan, now familiar with this gesture, wrapped his arms around Green and reciprocated the hug. 

"Thank you, Alan. Thank you so so much. You've done a lot for my friends and me. I don't know how we'd ever repay you." 

Alan smiled at Green's words, "There's no need. I did this because I wanted to, not because I wanted something in return." 

Green truly was a caring friend, he thought about others and was extremely observant. This trait of Green was really honorable. 

Alan could learn how to love Green, just like how Green loves his friends. 

______________________________________

Alan took a few steps towards Red, he'd been wondering what to do for Red. He didn't exactly know what would serve as a substitute for fighting. 

He also wasn't skilled when it came to dealing with Red's type of personality. Boisterous, loud, energetic, fiery, wild, etc. 

But yesterday, the solution came to him in a dream. He thought about Red's personality, a fierce and energetic being who excelled at fighting. 

A fierce lion. 

Now if Alan dumbed that down, what he would get is a kitten. 

That's right, Alan had prepared a box of kittens for Red to play with. 

If a child needs a playmate, consider giving the child a pet.

Kittens suited Red best. 

Alan approached Red, "Hey, Red?" 

Red stopped practicing his moves and turned his gaze towards Alan. "Alan! What's up?" 

"I want you to do something for me, so I'd appreciate it if you could stop practicing your moves for a moment and help me with this." 

Red stiffened as he dropped his fighting pose and looked at Alan, "You want me to do something?" 

"That's right." Alan opened the box full of kittens and an image of pure cuteness erupted, Red was not immune to such cuteness. 

The kittens' mewls were loud and it caught Red's attention, Red immediately dropped to his knees and gripped the sides of the box. 

"Kittens?!" 

"That's right." Alan nodded. 

"I want you to take care of them for a bit, I believe you'd be well-suited for the job." Red stared at the kittens in awe but then his expression faded. 

"I'm not sure if I'm the right person though... maybe Blue or Yellow would be more suited... not me. I only know how to fight." Red looked down to his knees and clenched the sides of the box tightly. 

The fierce grip was quickly released when one of the kittens rubbed itself against him. Red's shock at the kitten made Alan giggle. 

"I'm not mistaken. You are the best person to take care of them. After all, you need to fight them too." Red's head snapped up at Alan's words. 

"Fight?..." 

"That's right. You'll be fighting the kittens with these." Alan revealed the cat toys he hid beneath his back and waved one of them to the kittens. 

The reaction was instant. A kitten jumped high enough to reach the cotton ball and dangled itself with its claws clinging to the ball. 

The kittens underneath pawed at the feather, meowing at the feather. It was a sight to behold, Alan saw an affectionate look blossom in Red's eyes. 

"So, what do you think?" 

Red snapped back up at him and then back to the kittens, "Well... sure... I suppose." 

Red accepted the cat toy and waved it in front of the kittens. Immediately, the kittens started to play with the toy and Alan watched as Red laughed at the kittens who started to exit the box and surround him. 

Alan spent the entirety of it just watching Red play with the kittens, he finally saw a different side of Red who only ever fought and caused trouble for him. 

Right now, he saw the kind and caring Red who cares for others so strongly that adoration basically dripped from his whole body. 

Alan smiled at the cute scene in front of him, he was starting to think that Red had finally discovered something he enjoyed other than fighting. But just as he thought that, he stopped waving the cat toy around and sat silently. 

Alan knew just what was going on in his mind. 

"You're quite talented at this, Red." 

Red raised his eyes to gaze at Alan who was already staring at him. His expression was full of surprise and wariness, not wary towards Alan but rather wary of the words that claimed he could be good at something other than fighting. 

Red's head dropped, "I doubt it... I'm sure the others would be better at this than I am..." 

"That's nonsense, Red. What you've displayed was basically the pinnacle of how to play with kittens. Not even others could be as good as you are in your first try." 

Red stayed silent as the kittens continued to paw at him. 

"I only know how to fight..." 

"But you know how to play with kittens now." 

Red raised his head, "But you said I had to fight with these kittens?" 

"You are play-fighting with these kittens, you're technically not fighting them." Alan grinned at Red's shock. 

Alan observed the person in front of him who had a dejected expression. Red believed that his only value was fighting and insisted that the only thing he was good at was fighting. 

Green was right, and Red was hesitant to let go of the only thing he knew. 

"Red, why do you believe you're only good at fighting?" 

"Because I don't know anything else." 

Alan softly smiled. These immature children, seriously. They needed to hold a hand to guide them.

"Do you want to learn something else?" 

Silence. 

"Let me rephrase, do you want to remain not knowing anything else?" 

Silence once again. 

Perhaps it was a good thing that Red ended up last. Red had clearly seen what the others were doing that wasn't fighting and got curious but was too hesitant to do something other than to fight.

"You don't have to stop fighting, you know. You just have to broaden your horizons. Fighting just won't be the only thing you know. Fighting will be one of the many things you know." 

Alan stood up from the ground, he knew that himself alone wouldn't be enough to encourage Red to take the leap and step out from his cage. 

Alan offered a hand to Red. It takes a village to raise a child. 

"Come with me, Red. The others are waiting for you." 

"They're waiting for me? Why?" 

Alan smiled, "They want to show you what they've learned. Come on, aren't the five of you friends? Aren't friends supposed to grow and learn things together?" 

Red's eyes widened as he stared at Alan's offered hand. 

"You're not alone, Red. Just like you, the others only knew how to fight. But that's not the only thing they know now, all of you will learn more about the world as you grow." 

Red's eyes started to water at Alan's words, "But the others already know something else... I've been left behind... I don't know anything..." 

"Nonsense, don't you know how to play with kittens? The others haven't even seen these yet, you're the first." 

Red gasped, "Really?" 

Alan nodded, "Really. Now get up and come with me. Your friends are waiting for you. They never left you behind, they were waiting for you right by your side." 

Red sniffled as he accepted Alan's hand and stood up. Alan placed a hand on Red's head and gave him a gentle pat. 

When it comes to dealing with children's insecurities, make sure to encourage them and give them confidence. Make them aware that there's a structure beneath them that'll bounce them back if they ever fall. 

"I'm here for you, Red. If you ever need someone, find your friends or me. We're here for you. You'll never be alone. You will learn more about this world together with your friends, you'll discover that you're much more than just fighting, you'll discover everything that'll give you happiness and joy. And I'll be there to carve that path for you." 

For the first time, Alan took the initiative and embraced the person in front of him. 

"Now won't you join us for lunch?" 

______________________________________

"What's with the feast, Alan? You usually don't buy me this much food..." DJ stared at the food in front of him, wary of how many there were. 

DJ lifted his gaze towards Alan, "Is this my last meal?" 

"Just shut up and eat, DJ." 

DJ obeyed and stuffed his mouth with food, no one could resist delicacies after all. Alan smiled at DJ. 

He silently thanked DJ, if DJ hadn't given him advice a week ago, he would've never discovered just how lovable those kids were. 

So young and new to the world yet so brave and determined as if they were on a conquest to conquer the world. 

"What are you smiling at?" 

"Shut up." 

______________________________________

Their dynamics have permanently changed. Now when Alan came to his domain, the kids were already eagerly waiting for him and greeted him with so much enthusiasm. 

"Alan! Check this out! Red learned how to dunk!" Blue grabbed Alan's hand and led him to their makeshift court. 

"Alan, help me!" TSC's wail catches his attention as his eyes dart around to try and find TSC. His eyes stop at the basketball hoop where TSC currently was, hanging pitifully. 

"Get me down!" 

...was this how friends play basketball? 

"Watch me do a trick-shot, Alan!" Red dribbled the ball around while TSC kept on wailing, Alan was confused about what to do. 

"Alan, what's that book you dropped?" 

"Alan! Help me!" 

Behind Alan, Yellow picked up the book that fell from Alan after the portal closed.

"Alan, your book dropped! It's 'How to Raise Children: A Guide on How to Be A... Proper... Parent...'" 

Red's dribbling stopped and Alan felt all gazes turn to look at him, even TSC's wails stopped. Alan felt himself start to sweat. 

"...what's the matter?"

The silence continued until Green spoke up. 

"This means that Alan is our father, right?" 

"What?!" 

"Definitely!" Red exclaimed, burying Alan's shout with his own. 

"Since he had a book about how to raise children... It's only fair to assume that Alan saw us as his children and himself as our parent..." 

"Yellow! Don't put words into my mouth!" 

"Really, Alan?! Can I call you dad?!" Blue hugged his arm and smiled at him happily. 

...how could he dare say no? 

"I'm calling Alan Dad too!" 

"Who knew that Alan would become our dad at some point?" 

"I suppose it's only fair for me to call Alan dad too." 

"You guys! Stop messing around and let me down so I can hug my father!" 

Alan had no idea how this situation escalated this way and ended up with him being referred to as father by mere creations. 

As soon as TSC was let down, TSC hugged Alan so hard that he felt like he couldn't breathe. The other four joined in on the hug and made it harder for him to breathe. 

But for some reason, Alan didn't mind at all. There was a warm feeling in his heart. 

"Thanks for everything, Dad." 

"We're grateful for everything you've done. 

"Thank you for caring for us." 

"I'm glad you're our dad now. 

"We love you, Dad." 

Alan stayed silent but the wide smile on his face was loud. He returned their hugs and affection a hundredfold. 

Alan was sure of it now. He loved these five. He loved them as a father would. 

From now on, he was their father.