Work Text:
Pin chewed the bread that had been her regular lunch for four months. She was in a foul mood: just recently, they had tried to escape from TLC, but their escape had been futile. She took another bite, but immediately spat it out in disgust. The piece she'd been given was soaked with river water and tasted like a sponge. But for some reason, everyone around her was eating it, if not with relish, then at least without wincing. She realized she was the only one who got wet bread (or someone had tossed it to her), and threw it away in frustration. Then she leaned back and began to drag it along the metal wall, making a sharp scraping sound. Just then, Match's plaintive whine came from the other side of the cell:
"Ow, my ears are like, bleeding!" She glared angrily at the source of the sound. "Pin, stop!"
But who was Match, that her orders would have any effect on Pin? So she pressed even harder against the wall, and then other objects joined in the complaint. From all sides, they kept shouting, "Pin, stop," "You're making too much noise," "You're so annoying." She couldn't face the crowd; she could only sit up straight, offended. Of course, she understood the general indignation, but the irritation inside her wouldn't let her rest. It emerged when she was nervous and angry, and she wanted to pierce something with her sharp point. And anyway, why was Eraser allowed to scratch the walls with his pathetic half-pair of scissors out of boredom, but she couldn't?
Her sullen mood was interrupted by the sound of something rolling to the side and then a punch to the side. Irritated, she turned away and saw the guilty face of the coin next to her.
"Sorry," he sat down. "What are you doing?"
Pin raised an eyebrow in surprise. How stupid would you have to be to ask such a question?
"I'm sitting here. There's not much to do here."
"Oh, I see," he drawled. Then he sighed. "Too bad we couldn't escape, huh?"
She shrugged.
"And you were scratching the wall, why did you do that?" and, without waiting for an answer, exclaimed, "Oh, I have an idea!"
He abruptly picked her up, causing Pin to squeak involuntarily, and jabbed her with all his might against the wall. It didn't budge, an unpleasant vibration ran through the thumbtack, and a loud Ding! resounded throughout the cell, causing everyone to turn their heads again. Pin jumped out of his arms, pushing Coiny away. All he could say was:
"Oops."
"What was that for?" she glared at him aggressively.
"I thought it would work!" He spread his arms. "You look really sharp."
"I am sharp!" Coiny glanced at the wall with a small dent.
"Not really." She couldn't stand this anymore.
"Ugh, why are you bothering me?! Go bother the others and leave me alone!"
She returned to her seat, crossing her arms. She was sure that after her outburst, the object would leave, and she didn't expect to feel him sit down next to her. What's wrong with him? Pin, without turning around, muttered:
"I said, go away." Coin just awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Oh, no, I won't. You see, everyone's here for now..." He glanced awkwardly away. "Don't like me."
This caught her off guard. He wasn't a crowd favorite, but why would everyone hate him?
"Why?" He made a puzzled face.
"Because I said the trees would stop us, and then we ended up in the canal? And then I blamed it all on Blocky, so he's especially mad at me." Pin felt embarrassment.
"Oh, I didn't notice that."
"See, you're the only one who isn't mad at me." She frowned, causing him to quickly add, "Because of the failed escape."
"Oh, well, now I'm mad about that too." Coiny just rolled his eyes.
"Oh, come on, as if you're the life of the party."
Pin couldn't respond to that, only looking down. Really, why would she chase away the only object who had a normal conversation with her instead of complaining to her face about how annoying she was? He had quieted down next to her, studying her intently, and Pin thought she saw genuine regret and maybe even sigh of sympathy in him. But, as if nothing had happened, he lightly nudged her with his elbow.
"So we're in the same boat."
She turned fully toward him, meeting his an uncertain smile. Well, that wasn't the worst choice, was it? And her chuckle instantly made him glad:
"That's right."