Chapter Text
1
Natsuki Subaru woke up with a sense of determination. Today is the day, Subaru. You can do this! he thought, emerging from his bed. “Alright! Let’s start the day smart, Beako!” Close beside him, Beatrice muttered lazily, “Let me sleep a little longer, I suppose.” Subaru simply smiled at her words, proceeding to tickle Beatrice before she even got the chance to defend.
“Ah! Alright, alright, Betty’s awake, I suppose!” Subaru ceased his tickle attack, only to get a taste of his own medicine seconds later. A hearty laugh echoed from his mouth, though an outsider wouldn’t be able to tell if it was one of joy or pain. “Okay, Beako! I give! I’m sorry! I’m sorry I woke you up with tickles again!”
“Hmph. Very well, I suppose. You are truly foolish sometimes, Subaru.”
“Well, it’s the most effective way of waking you up, Beako. You can’t blame me for resorting to such methods. So, I’ve woken you up because I have planned something absolutely incredible for Emilia-tan that I need your help with!”
“I see… I suppose I shall help you… But before we go any further, what exactly does this entail?”
“Her birthday’s next week, of course! I hope you didn’t forget, Beako.”
“Betty cannot bother with remembering every single detail about every single person in this mansion, I suppose. So, what is it you want to do?”
Subaru paused for a moment and sighed. “I was talking about how exciting my plan was, but the truth is, I don’t have anything planned besides a normal party. So really, I just need your help! What do you think Emilia-tan would like on her birthday, Beako?”
Beatrice simply huffed pridefully, an expression of confusion plastered on her face. “Betty would not know what to do, in fact. I suppose Betty never bothered talking to her till this year.”
Oh, that’s true… Subaru mulled things over in his head. He hadn’t really thought far enough to consider that Emilia and Beatrice were not-so-chummy due to their prior history. Her bond with Puck had held her back from trying to ever develop a relationship with Emilia, so Subaru had to admit this was a poorly thought-out plan.
“But if you are asking Betty’s opinion, I suggest something simple, I suppose. Something overly flashy could end up being overwhelming to her, Subaru.”
Subaru knew she was right. Emilia had said that she didn’t want special treatment from him. But it was a special day for her, right? It was his duty to make it as special as possible. If he didn’t make it a good day for her, he’d look like an idiot, right? He’d seem cold and uncaring towards her, and he didn’t want that. Even though it’d been long since they first met, the royal selection didn’t allow much downtime between the two of them. Emilia needed a break, and the idea of her working on her birthday sent a shiver down his spine.
“But, Beako- Emilia’s been working so hard lately… If it’s not special, I-”
“You’ve been having a hard time as well, haven’t you, Subaru?”
While Subaru refused to admit it in his head, Beatrice had hit the nail right on the coffin. He was more stressed than he had ever been in a while. While being knighted was a great opportunity for him, the responsibilities had been piling and piling up in his mind. Recently, the number of nightmares he had was happening more frequently, constantly waking up Beatrice in the middle of the night. Every time Subaru would try to apologize after the fact, she would always deny these apologies. And while her contractor would never reveal the cause of these nightmares, she still understood that he was in pain. He was in pain so much that he had started harming himself soon after these nightmares. But Beatrice didn’t mind healing every scratch he gave himself. She didn’t want her contractor to feel hurt, so she did it. So when he only suggested an idea that would stress him out even more, Beatrice knew she could not accept it.
“W-Well, maybe, but it’s nothing compared to Emilia’s stress, I’m sure! I’ll be fine, okay? Let’s just-”
“Do not lie to Betty. You should not be planning parties in a state like yours.”
“Huh? What’s with the sudden change in attitude, Beako? C’mon, it’s not a big deal! I said I’d be fine.”
“Can you promise Betty that?”
Subaru paused. He couldn’t. But if I don’t promise, she won’t listen to me… But his thoughts didn’t matter, as the hesitation in Subaru’s eyes was enough for Beatrice.
“I expected as much, I suppose. You are not “fine”, Subaru.”
Subaru tried to protest, but no words came out. He already knew there was no arguing against it.
“Okay, Beako… I won’t plan anything today. I promise.”
Beatrice looked straight into Subaru’s eyes and said confidently, “You’d better keep it, I suppose. Now, Betty’s hungry! We should eat breakfast, Subaru!”
Subaru smiled at the spirit’s enthusiasm. He couldn’t deny he was hungry.
2
Despite Beatrice not needing to eat, her tastes in food were quite similar to Subaru's. It had only been since her contract with him was formed that she even bothered to admit that she loved mayonnaise. Subaru would have it every single day without fail, never getting tired of the condiment’s tangy taste. Beatrice, for some ungodly reason, somehow hadn’t gotten tired of it.
After eating breakfast (appa crisp & mayonnaise), Subaru didn’t hesitate to start walking away as fast as possible, while still attempting to look natural.
“Where do you think you’re going, I suppose?”
Shit. Subaru froze. Turning around slowly, he tried to play off his escape. “Oh, just need to use the toilets…” Chuckling nervously, he continued to walk away.
“You aren’t going anywhere until you tell the truth.”
“Ugh… You won’t let me go, huh, Beako? Can’t live without me, huuh?” Subaru teased, in an attempt to shift the conversation away.
“Do not flatter yourself, I suppose. Betty will not fall for your tricks.”
“Fine… I just was going to do my daily radio calisthenics with Emilia-tan…”
A look of surprise washed over Beatrice’s face. That’s it? Why would Subaru try to hide something like that from me?
“Then Betty will join you, I suppose.”
“What? No, Beako, I’m not a child; I’ll be fine.”
“I never said anything about you being a child. Betty just wanted some exercise, I suppose.”
Beatrice’s words left no room for argument. She knew that Subaru wasn’t lying, but he also wasn’t telling the whole truth. Ever since she woke up this morning, Subaru had seemed even more stressed than usual. She thought Emilia’s birthday was the main cause, but the way Subaru quickly dropped it led much to be inferred. And it wasn’t just his responsibilities. It wasn’t just the nightmares. There was something else that Beatrice wasn’t seeing, and she wasn’t going to let her contractor out of her sight without finding out first.
3
“Alright, then! Victory!”
“Victory!”
In the mansion garden, Beatrice, Emilia, and Subaru all raised their arms in the air, revved and ready to go for the day.
“You usually aren’t here for morning exercises, Beatrice.” Emilia pointed out the odd occurrence immediately. The spirit simply scoffed at the sentence.
“Hmph. There’s no reason to explain, I suppose. Betty just wanted to try something new, in fact.”
Emilia turned her head with curiosity. “Well, I don’t mind. I’m rea~lly glad that you’re here, Beatrice.”
“Oh, you’re so cute, EMT! My heart melts every time I hear your voice!”
“Subaru, what’s got you so riled up in the morning?”
“Who says ‘riled up’ in this day and age?” Despite the retort, Subaru laughed, with Emilia smiling at him.
“Oh, Subaru… You rea~lly are a handful sometimes, aren’t you?”
“Emilia-tan, you’re going to make me lose confidence in myself…”
As Emilia and Subaru’s banter continued, Beatrice was lost in thought. She wanted to know what was bothering Subaru. He’d been in worse states, but this one felt different. It didn’t feel urgent, but she could tell her contractor had seen better days. So she tugged on his tracksuit.
“Subaru.”
“Oh. What is it, Beako?”
“Betty would like to talk to you, I suppose.”
“Right now?”
“Betty can wait. But you aren’t leaving Betty’s sight, I suppose.”
A few seconds later, a sudden gasp came from Emilia.
“Oh, no! I almost forgot! I have a meeting with Roswaal re~ally soon! I need to get ready! Sorry, Subaru, Beatrice!”
Emilia dashed off in a hurry, but Beatrice saw right through her act.
That girl is more perceptive than I thought.
“Okay, Emilia-tan! See you later!”
Emilia waved goodbye while still running. Luckily, she didn’t run into anything while looking back.
4
Beatrice decided not to bother Subaru for most of the day. Even though she asked to talk with him, she was constantly met with “Later, okay, Beako?” or “Not right now, Beako.” or “Just lemme do this first, Beako.” She was starting to get sick of it. Eventually, after supper, even the housemaids began to take notice of her problems. Frederica was the first one to bother her.
“Beatrice-sama, if I may, I would like to ask what troubles you?”
“Betty does not need your advice.”
“As you wish, Beatrice-sama.”
Beatrice knew she was being abrasive, but she wasn’t going to ask for help in this situation. Her contractor needed help, but Frederica wouldn’t be the right person. She was dignified and strong, but not someone very close to Subaru. She doubted she’d know what the matter with Subaru was. But…
“... Wait.”
“Yes, Beatrice-sama?”
“Have you noticed anything odd about the mood of Betty’s contractor lately?”
“Hmm… I don’t know if my opinion has any weight, but I have noticed Subaru-sama has been drifting away in conversations. He has been lacking focus.”
He has? Beatrice thought back to the past few weeks. Subaru had been having trouble sleeping…
“Fred, I got some of th’ stuff ya asked for- Oh, what’s up, Boss?”
Subaru looked up from where he was sitting and smiled. “Oh, hi, Garfiel.”
Beatrice rolled her eyes. A very troublesome tiger had appeared from the kitchen, with a box in his hands. Garfiel simply looked and smiled, his sharp teeth on display.
“You could learn to respect your elders, I suppose.”
“Huh? Whaddaya talkin’ ‘bout?”
Subaru turned his eyes to the box Garfiel was holding.
“So, what’s in the box, Garfiel?”
“Sorry, Boss, but I ain’t tellin’ ya!”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Sorry, Boss. Can’t tell ya that either.”
“Everyone’s being so mysterious today; can’t I have something to do?”
Before the conversation went any further, the door opened to reveal Ram and Petra, carrying even more boxes. Subaru simply gaped.
“Please tell me I can know what’s inside those boxes!”
“Don’t be foolish, Barusu. You’d only corrupt what’s inside.”
“I don’t have any corruption powers! C’mon, Petra, you’re on my side!”
“I’m sorry, Subaru-sama, but I promised Frederica-neesama I wouldn’t say anything.”
Subaru let out a cry of disappointment. Admittedly, even Beatrice was a little curious about what was in these boxes, but that could wait. It was getting late, and she needed to talk with her contractor.
5
After taking a warm bath, Subaru was dressed in his sleepwear. He also made sure to shave. He had trouble with how many times he’d prick himself from overshaving, but it didn’t matter. A little prick was nothing compared to being eaten alive. Ugh, I don’t want to be thinking about that right now. As he washed his face off in the mirror, he just looked at himself. What’s wrong with me? I thought I’d finally stop thinking about it today, but I’ve already lost that game… Subaru thought back to the first day of high school.
Well, I’ve got a fresh start, so it’s fine. No worries. No one will know about that. But… was that true? Did Beatrice somehow figure it out? Subaru was scared. Scared. So scared he could scream.
He walked out of the baths, only to see Beatrice standing right in front of him.
“Oh, it’s just you, Beako… You almost gave me a heart attack.”
“Of course it’s me, Subaru. Did you hit your head, I suppose?”
“What- no.”
“Okay, let’s talk, I suppose.”
Subaru gulped. He was not looking forward to this.
“Now, Betty isn’t mad, in fact. Betty’s just wondering why you’ve felt so… strange, I suppose.”
Subaru stiffened at the question. In a manner that had become reflexive at this point, he retorted quickly,
“Strange? I’m fit as a fiddle, Beako, don’t worry! Maybe a bit sore in the legs…”
The spirit frowned at the response. Noticing her expression, Subaru started to feel a bit guilty for lying… But he couldn’t let her worry! His weird thoughts were the least of Beako’s problems!
“I trust you, Subaru… But I had hoped there would be secrets between Betty and her contractor anymore…”
Subaru’s guilt intensified. But he couldn’t worry her. He couldn’t.
“I promise, Beako. I’m fine.”
Beatrice narrowed her eyes. Subaru hoped the reassurance would be enough for at least today.
“Betty is not done with this conversation, I suppose. But perhaps we can… postpone it for a couple of headpats?”
Subaru was more than happy to oblige. After all, thoughts were just thoughts. Nothing more to it. He was fine. That, at least, wasn’t a lie.
Was it?