Work Text:
Clown was fine.
He absolutely was. Why wouldn’t he be? He was just…organizing.
That was it. He was organizing. Being productive. That was good. Productive was good. Productive meant he was doing something for his team that he didn’t really know yet. Minute. He didn’t know Minute. He knew Leo. Minute was the thing.
He was good. Smart, strong, fast, everything you’d want in a teammate. Skill could be shown and proved very easy. Trust was much harder. Clown could already tell Minute trusted him. The problem being, Clown didn’t trust him.
So he tidied. Made him feel like he was doing something important. He shouldn’t feel the need to prove himself to Minute. Or Leo, for that matter. He knew that. But he couldn’t help himself. It calmed him down. It usually did. It usually did.
Why wasn't it calming him down?
Everything felt loud. And quiet. And fast. As he dug through chests and reorganized them, everything felt wrong. Textures felt wrong. His clothes itched. He was hot and cold at the same time. He felt like he was on fire and also being dumped into an ice cold river.
Someone was watching Clown. He could feel it, prickling under the skin at the back of his neck. They were behind him. Without missing a beat, Clown summoned his scythe and swung around at the person. He would’ve decapitated them if they didn’t duck.
“Woah! Jumpy, much?” Leo grinned, the white colorati raising his hands. Clown visibly relaxed a little, but didn’t reply. Or put away his scythe. That was worrying. “So…what are you doing, exactly, Clown?”
Clown seemed to stare into space for a moment, behind his mask, before replying tersely. “Organizing.”
“Uh huh.” Leo flicked his tail and gave Clown an unimpressed look. “You’ve been ‘organizing’ for the past two hours. Why, exactly, have you been…”
Leo was still talking.
Clown should be listening, but noise was building in his ears, drowning out the words. His costume itched. His gloves itched. He wanted to take them off and change. Maybe then he wouldn’t feel like he was drowning on dry land, suffocating in a mask he’d made specifically so he could breathe easily in it.
Someone touched his arm and he flinched back. LeoWook. Leo was here. Leo was talking.
“...-wn? Clown? You good, man?”
A question. A yes or no question. He could do that. He nodded. “Fine. I’m fine. I’m…going to change.” He darted out of the suddenly too-small room before Leo could say anything else. Clown moved quickly down the hall, going straight for his bedroom.
He shut the door firmly behind him, not bothering to lock it. His hands quickly fumbled with the clasp that held his mask in place, then yanked it off his head and discarded it unceremoniously on the floor. His gloves were next, tugged off by his teeth, then his platform boots. He almost frantically took off his jester costume, cursing under his breath, which left him in his undershirt and pants. More like leggings.
But that didn’t matter and he couldn’t find himself to care.
Clown took off his socks, then padded over to his dresser, searching for something that wouldn’t itch and make his skin crawl. He grabbed a decently oversized shirt and sleep shorts then pulled his undershirt over his head. He put on the oversized shirt then took off his leggings and pulled on the sleep shorts.
This was better. He didn’t feel like total crap anymore, but breathing was still proving difficult. His lungs were tight. They weren’t working properly.
Clown stumbled to his bed and promptly collapsed. His eyes slipped shut, likely due to oxygen deprivation. This was fine. Clown was fine. He’d be fine.
------------------
Clown woke up in warmth. More than usual for his bed. It was softer than usual as well. He opened his eyes and blinked for a moment, taking in his surroundings.
He was on his bed, which he guessed. What he didn’t guess was that he was in a nest on his bed. A good one too, blankets and pillows piled just right to be incredibly cozy. One other thing he noticed was that not all of the items in and on the nest were his. One blanket was white, and therefore Leo’s considering neither Clown nor Minute had any white blankets. There was also a small to medium sized bat plushie tucked close to him. Minute’s considering the thing had a little red bowtie.
Most everything else was Clown’s, from the black and red blankets, to the pillows, and…a purple diamond shaped earring. And a small chicken plush. He grabbed those, quickly clipping on the earring and he held the plush close to his chest. He was leaving Branzy alone this season, letting him do his own thing without Clown. That didn’t mean he didn’t miss him though. A little bit.
Not the time, though. Clown stood up, still holding the chicken plush, and left his room, walking to the main room of the PMC base.
It had a three seated couch-technically two seated, but they made it fit three-and a smallish TV. A random movie was on and Leo and Minute were lounging on the couch. Minute, despite being significantly taller, was tucked against Leo’s side, one of Leo’s arms around his shoulder. They looked at Clown when he walked in.
“Hey.” Leo smiled a little. “Words?”
Clown hesitated, but shook his head. He still had the chicken plush in a death grip.
Leo nodded, getting up and walking to a nearby chest and grabbing a whiteboard and dry-erase marker. He sat back down and beckoned Clown over to do the same. “Scoot, Min. You’re hogging the entire half of the couch.”
“It’s meant for two people! I’m taking up the correct amount of space!” Minute grumbled, but sat up, making room for Clown, who sat down silently. Leo handed him the whiteboard and he quickly made a short list of questions.
-Who made the nest?
-How long was I out?
-Where’d you guys find the earring & chicken?
-I’m picking the next movie, this 1 sucks.
He handed it to Minute, who showed it to Leo. Leo nodded to Minute, and the Enderian answered. “From top to bottom, I made it, about two hours, Leo found them in your bedside drawer, and you absolutely can because it does suck, Leo.”
“It was just for background noise! You guys are so picky…” Leo muttered, but handed Clown the remote. He quickly chose another, far superior movie.
“This one? Really-?” Leo started but was cut off as Clown shoved the whiteboard at him, grinning. On it was a, slightly edited, quote from the movie.
‘You demonstrate a level of ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic! And I mean that in a very caring way.’
Leo snorted. “Alright, alright! Point taken, I guess.” Leo handed the whiteboard back.
After a moment, Clown set down the board and leaned on Minute’s shoulder. Minute froze, then wrapped one bat-like wing around Clown, tucking him into his side. Leo smiled, then rested his own head on Minute’s other shoulder. Then, Clown’s eyes started to shut again.
He was tired. But he felt safe. He was with his team. He could trust them. He would be okay.
His eyes slipped shut and he promptly fell asleep.