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Elliot is supposed to be on break. Break, that one lovely hour of peace he gets sandwiched in between the endless hectic shifts of cooking up pizzas and zipping down streets on delivery duty. Time that he is supposed to be getting for himself, time that is exceedingly rare and precious and which flies by far too fast for his liking.
So of course it's reasonable for him to be slightly irritated when a very familiar mass of black and red pixels overtakes the window of the break room, brute forcing it open and spawning a ridiculously large cloud of dust. Elliot notes to himself that he should probably clean that later- that window hasn't been used in some time. Seconds later, a very familiar someone donning a very familiar burger hat is clambering through the open pane.
He's only barely able to get himself through, and after an extraordinary few seconds of heaving he slides unceremoniously onto the dirty pizza place floor. Quickly, he recollects himself, jumps to his feet and shuts the window with excessive force, dusting off his sweatpants and his face halfheartedly before at last turning to Elliot.
If Elliot had to use one word to describe how he looks right now, it would be "disheveled." And though he usually landed somewhere on that scale every time he decided he was going to show up (much to Elliot's own chagrin), today he definitely looks worse than usual. Weird.
Elliot watches him apprehensively, his arms crossed, from where he sits slumped in some chair in the corner. He's already counting down the seconds until something ends up exploding behind him or the walls take on the characteristic shade of graffitied, violent red. "Seven, what are you doing here." He swears he feels one of his eyelids twitch when he says his name.
"I- Listen, Elliot, please just hear me out for a second, I know I'm supposed to be blacklisted and all but I just needed to ask you something quickly, I know this is your break time and all and I'm really sorry for bothering you-" 007n7 starts vomiting out words so fast that Elliot has to hold up a hand to stop him- he definitely needs some time to collect his thoughts, anyway.
He already looks so grateful to see that Elliot hasn't immediately punted him out the door yet- Elliot is struck by an old memory, one of a past younger 7n7 who would have relished in seeing how hard he'd try to do exactly that, only to fail miserably. They aren't nearly as carefree anymore. It feels so strange to think about.
"You aren't getting me to let down my guard no matter how many pitiful words you spew, you know. I'm way too tired to be putting up with your shit." Elliot pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a long unamused exhale, his mind working overtime trying to process what Seven had just thrown at him. "So, how're you going to go about annoying me this time, huh?"
"No, no, that's not what I'm here for, I swear-" 007n7 immediately starts stumbling over his words again, and this time he makes himself pause for a breath before he continues talking. "Please, just- just give me a chance to speak. I don't wanna be here as much as you don't want me here." His eyes, blue today, stare at him with a bizarre, intense desperation.
Elliot can't say he isn't caught off guard by this behavior. Since the last time he'd seen him, Seven's demeanor seems to have become ten times more frantic, as if letting Elliot kick him out once would result in the end of his pathetic life. Even after he'd taken in that little red goblin of a kid, he'd never acted so… scared. This was getting really strange.
"Really, Seven, what is it now? Have you come to vandalize this place with all your stupid propaganda again? To magically stuff all the dough with plastic roaches? To cram a dozen cans of soda into all the ovens? Don't tell me you've brought your kid in here with you- the last thing I need right now is to clean up after his damn rocket launcher."
But at the mention of c00lkidd, 007n7 seems to visibly flinch, that stricken look in his eyes followed by a sullen, blank stare that betrayed his mind had gone down a distant path, one which Elliot could not see nor truly understand. Though they still faced each other as they had before, it felt as though a thousand walls had risen between him and Seven, locking him away in the isolation of his anguish.
It felt as though a dark, venomous monster of some kind had hooked its piercing claws deep into the old 7n7, dragging him down from his once towering pedestal, agonizingly slow. Down, into that endlessly spiraling, pitch black abyss of despair. A twisted, inescapable cage, a trap of his own making; one which Elliot suddenly felt he could name.
That was how Elliot came to the realization that something had gone horribly wrong. Because what he saw was grief, grief for someone dear to Seven's heart. To think that once, he would've never believed a person like him could be capable of such a deep connection as love.
"Seven? You, uh, you good-" Elliot lifts himself off his chair, suddenly feeling terrible for his earlier outburst. He approaches Seven, who's just standing there with his eyes downcast, staring at the floor like he could see something in it besides the pattern of the oak planks. "I didn't mean to like upset you or anything-"
"You're fine. It was reasonable of you to react that way to me, anyways." 007n7 reaches into one of his jacket pockets and pulls out a sole crumpled paper, gently smoothing it out before extending it to Elliot. "I- I just wanted to know if you'd seen him around at all."
Elliot's eyes widen considerably when he first notices the face smack dab in the middle of the poster. It's c00lkidd, holding up a multicolored lollipop, grinning devilishly at the camera, looking so innocent and overjoyed that he wonders how this is the same child whose hobby is blowing up his workplace. He looks up, and the first word he sees is exactly what he thinks it is.
MISSING, in bold red capital letters. c00lkidd is missing.
Elliot stares at the poster in his hand for a moment longer, then slowly turns to face 007n7. He's still standing there, absent of the projected horns and lashing tail he usually wears when he's messing around, staring off into space, trying his best to distract himself so he doesn't end up crying. Maybe he's just gotten softer over the years, but Elliot can't help but pity him.
He feels bad for Seven, he realizes. Elliot feels bad for the same person who'd tormented him ceaselessly for most of his working life, who had treated him as nothing more than entertainment, who had relished in seeing him suffer and then left him to pick up the pieces. Who had been too much of a pushover to stop his own kid when he started to do the same.
Worse, he feels a dreadful tugging within his heart, a voice that implores him to be the good person here. To comfort him. Because he knows that if it was him in Seven's place, if the happy child on the poster had been Mia, he would be acting the exact same way.
"I'm… I'm sorry. I haven't seen him." Elliot's voice drops to a whisper instinctively, his hands falling to his sides, still lightly clutching the wrinkled paper. "Listen, I'll ask my coworkers later, and I'll try to keep an eye out, okay? I'm sure you'll find him."
007n7 does not look convinced at all. He's probably imagining the worst has happened, and Elliot can't really blame him for that. "Maybe, but I… I don't know. I've been looking for days, and… nothing…" He runs a hand through his tousled hair, pushes his glasses up his nose, finally stuffs his hands into his pockets and starts to turn away. "I'll- I'll just go now. I'm sorry for wasting your time."
"Seven." Elliot stops 7n7 before he can stop himself, one hand shooting out to land on his shoulder. He immediately retracts his hand as though the fabric had burned him- he didn't want to overstep any boundaries- but it was already too late to take things back, so he braces himself and presses on.
"Listen, I know that we've never really gotten along, but I promise you aren't wasting my time. Clearly, c00lkidd means a lot to you, and… if there's any way I can help you through this, I will. You don't have to go through this alone."
007n7 is stunned into silence for a while. At first, all he can really do is stutter, fruitlessly grasping for words that elude him every time. Finally, he's able to muster up a single sentence: "You'd really do that for me?"
"I would, because it's the right thing to do." Because seeing Seven so distraught breaks something that he didn't know was in his heart. Because for all c00lkidd did to annoy him, he was only a kid, and he didn't deserve to die. Because, before anything else, Elliot has always been kind.
"But… I thought you hated me."
"Seven, I don't think I could ever truly hate you. No matter how hard you tried to make me hate you, no matter how much you want me to now." As the quiet confession leaves his lips, Elliot realizes that what he's saying is true.
He's never hated 007n7, no matter how much he convinced himself he did, because Mia always said he never had it in him to truly hate anyone. That if they showed up and asked for his help, he'd give it up without question.
And something seems to snap in Seven when he realizes it. When he sees that no matter how much he might have fucked up in the past, Elliot will accept him if he needs someone by his side. The next thing he does is lunge forward and wrap his shaking arms around Elliot in a hug, burying his head deep into the sweaty, greasy pizza place uniform. "Thank you. Elliot…"
Elliot, caught off guard by the sudden pressure around him, awkwardly adjusts himself to better reciprocate the hug, eventually getting into a more comfortable position and resting his hands loosely on 007n7's back. "Anytime."
He can hear 7n7 start to choke up a little when he speaks again- he'll admit, it feels a little weird to hear someone who was once your sworn enemy sniffling into your shoulder and trying not to burst into tears. "I don't deserve this. Not from you."
Elliot only sighs, wrapping his arms a little tighter, letting Seven lean heavily onto him as though if he let go he'd collapse and fall. "You've changed a lot since the first day we met. For the better. And I think I was wrong not to acknowledge that sooner."
Elliot feels his shirt growing damper with tears. "I- I'm sorry, Elliot. For all I've done. You've always been so kind to me, and I was too stupid not to realize that until now…"
"…I don't know if I'm ready to forgive you for everything yet. But I'll try. And maybe someday, we can fix things between us." Elliot lifts a hand to cradle Seven's head, holding him as he sobs silently into his shoulder, offering what little comfort he can. "But don't worry about that for now. I've got you."
⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅
They stay like that for who knows how long. Elliot only realizes how much time they've spent locked together when he glances at the watch on his hand and sees the end of his break creeping dangerously close. "…My break's almost over. You should probably get going soon, before one of my coworkers sees you."
007n7 disconnects himself from Elliot's arms immediately, looking guilty for having kept him for so long. Before Elliot can get out a word, he's already halfway to the open window, hands set firmly on the painted frame as he prepares himself to crawl through once more. "Right, sorry. I- I didn't think it'd been that long, I wasn't keeping track of the time…"
"It's no problem." Elliot offers 007n7 a small smile, and he suddenly becomes aware that it's the first true smile he's shown him, not born out of courtesy or the polite optimism his job requires him to show to every customer. It's the real, bonafide thing. "Good luck, Seven."
Just before he disappears into the scarlet-painted sky, Seven looks back, his facial features softening into a returning smile of his own. "Thank you, again."