Work Text:
Test Tube was exhausted.
All nighters on top of many cups of coffee and energy drinks all on an empty stomach.
She couldn't be more stressed about this list of safety gadgets. She couldn't be more worried about something terrible happening before she could get even one piece of equipment out for the island.
Since Mephone lost his ability to regenerate those who passed, everyone turned over to Test Tube. The now OSC pushed an entire list onto Test Tube in hopes of regaining that sense of security and safety.
As smart as Test Tube was, she didn't have access to the materials that where needed for such advanced machinery. Part of her wasn't even sure if she was smart enough to even start making something from the list.
And that bothered her deeply, she started to doubt her abilities, she started to doubt if she really was the smart one.
Part of her thought that because it was a known fact that everyone was made from Mephone, that her own developed personality was now faltering from his power's absence.
And God, did that scare her the most.
The though alone caused a chill to run down her back, she tried to shake it off and continue tinkering with the almost airbrush looking gun. She decided that making a physical thing would help her figure out how to actually embed the desired features.
Of course, so far, she hadn't gotten a single idea.
A screw flew out of its spot, and she cursed under her breath and slammed the gadget onto the desk. She folded her arms over top the desk and buried her head into them. She sniffled a bit, feeling her brain be filled with all these angry and upset thoughts.
Golly. She really was tired.
She closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath, telling herself it will only be for a minute. Only 60 seconds. That's it, then she'll get right back to work.
Of course, in her state, she passed out as soon as she finished her thought.
Fan walked out not so long after she passed out, which quickly brought his mood down, yes, he loved Test Tube, yes, every time he found her passed out, he'd place a blanket over her and tidy up her workspace. But he was starting to get really tired of it. He had quickly gotten tired of telling Test Tube to take a break and her lying about planning too. It bothered him to his core, and he no matter stern he tried to be, clearly it never got through to her.
Fan didn't like being ignored, even if it wasn't really about him and his situation, it was angering when the people he cared deeply about ignored his advice.
Instead of placing a blanket over her, he started to pull her out of her chair, which quickly pulled her out of her unconsciousness.
"What..? Fan?" Test Tube mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she was forced to her feet, "What are you doing?"
"Bed, now." Fan said, guiding her over to her room. He really wished he was strong enough to carry her.
"No, Fan, I have work to do- I can't just leave."
"You can't work if you can't function, Test Tube." Fan said, leaving no room for arguing, Test Tube grumbled a bit, but let Fan continue to force her over to her room.
As the two entered, Fan sat Test Tube onto the bed, which she almost immediately laid down and nuzzled up into the soft blanket. Fan moved to her drawers, grabbing something more comfortable for sleeping. He knew from experience that sleeping in jeans and a bra was never pleasant to do. He walked over to her and sat her up; she let out a groggy groan and leaned her head against his shoulder. Fan started to unbutton her shirt and carefully pushed it off her body. He felt her shiver from the cool air, so he quickly slid on the t-shirt he grabbed and unclipped her bra from under her shirt, taking it off without exposing her. Yes, he's seen her naked before, but her being in a half-conscious state, it felt like taking advantage of her if he fully undressed her.
He slowly stood her up, making his loose his height compared to her almost immediately, making the next parts in changing a tad more difficult when Test Tube was practically limp against him.
"I'm going to be taking off your jeans, okay? I don't want you sleeping in your pants. I need you to hold your weight a bit more." Fan said, gaining a small huff of complaint from Test Tube as she stabled herself some more. Fan carefully pulled off her belt and undid her jeans; they quickly fell after that. Fan held Test Tube as she stepped out of them and allowed Fan to kneel down to position the shorts near her feet, allowing her to step into them.
"I could have very easily dressed myself..." Test Tube whispered, letting Fan push her back down onto the bed and a quiet chuckle escaped him.
"Really now? Yet you were so willing to let me do it anyways." Fan pulled down the covers and watched as Test Tube curled up into her spot.
"Maybe I liked it." Test Tube grumbled, she didn't even really notice she had said it. Fan paused for a split second, before giggling out loud and tucked her tightly into bed. Only then did Test Tube realize what she said. Her face quickly buried into the blanket. After a beat of silence, she finally added, "Will you come lay with me?"
"I will, once I get dressed though. Again, I don't want to be sleeping with pants." Fan responded, kissing the top of her head before leaving to change. He was gone for about 5 minutes, and despite the growing heaviness in her eyelids and the frequent dozing off, she forced herself to stay awake so she and Fan could get comfortable together. She knew Fan could be picky in positions, and honestly, the main thing she wanted right now was her boyfriend to hold her. She didn't want to risk him just sharing a bed because he couldn't get comfortable.
Test Tube smiled wide as Fan reentered, opening up the blankets and creating room for him. Fan smiled back, feeling a tad bit flattered she forced herself in enough consciousness to initiate cuddling. Fan laid down next to her, allowing himself to be swallowed in the thick blanket right next to his other. They almost naturally molded against each other, finding their default position before Test Tube allowed herself to fall asleep, she felt small pecks on her jaw and neck as she finally dozed off.
Test Tube woke up to the sight of Fan on his phone, which was a normal sight for the rare occasions Test Tube woke up after Fan. And when she did wake up after Fan, she immediately knew she had been sleeping for a lot longer than she wanted too. She blinked hard a couple of times.
goodness.
She was still incredibly tired.
She found herself to be in a slightly new position as well, which was odd. Odd in a sense that she would be in a completely different position, especially when sleeping with Fan, as he doesn't sleep still. Her being in a similar position meant Fan had manually moved her into this position. Which honestly made Test Tube feel special. She buried her head deeper into the side of Fan's shoulder. She wanted to go back to sleep, but her brain immediately went back to the overwhelming need to finish her task. She let out a small, defeated noise, which made Fan turn off his phone and pull Test Tube in a bit more.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
"I've been awake..."
"What's wrong then?"
"The job's I need to do, I have so much I need to get done." Test Tube could practically feel Fan's eye roll. He squirmed a bit before moving into a position to pull Test Tube as close as he possibly could.
"Maybe I need to keep you here for longer." Fan answered, moving his head to kiss her cheek and jaw.
"Hey- Fan!! You don't understand... This is a serious matter."
"I think I understand when my partner needs a much-needed health break."
"Fan-"
"No, listen. You have been sleeping what, only 5 hours in total within a week, I haven't seen you eat anything good for your body AND you have been drinking more caffeine than actual water. Your worried about people dying when you are actively killing yourself. And me and Bot have front row seats to watch."
"Bot and I..." Test Tube cut in.
"Quiet, Tube, I care to much about you to let you develop these habits, I've been there are done that, it's miserable, especially if it becomes a long-term habit outside of this stress." Fan sat up, looking down at Test Tube, "Everyone is scared of dying that they are walking around as if they are on thin ice. You have more time than you think. And think about it, If you die before you can make even a single thingy-mabob, everyone is going to die."
Test Tube opened her mouth to reply, before letting out a quiet sob. Fan immediately felt guilt that practically crushed his anger. He laid down to face Test Tube, gently moving his hands over her cheeks.
"I'm sorry.. I went too far."
"N-No.. It's not you." Test Tube let out a small squeak as she quickly took in a breath of air, "I just... I'm so scared that I'm not going to be able to do this. I'm scared I'm not as smart as how I'm perceived. I'm so scared of failing, Fan. And most of all, I'm scared of losing you and Bot. What if I fail at making something to protect everyone, and I lose you. What if Bot breaks and I can't fix them? You guys are my everything. I can't lose you guys."
"We feel the same..." Fan could feel tears burn in his eyes. He sniffled a bit as he pulled Test Tube into this almost bone crushing hug, "I feel the same. Watching you neglect yourself like this physically hurts me. I hate seeing you like this. Especially after I have told you many times about how important breaks are."
Test Tube hugged back with the same pressure he was. And the two stayed like that for a while. Eventually, Test Tube loosened her grip, moving her lips over to Fan's and pressing a small kiss against them.
"I'll take more breaks. Okay?" Test Tube said as she pulled away, Fan's face gleamed in response, which gave Test Tube a small glimpse of how important this actually was to him.
"Thank you. And I want you to shower and eat before you go back to work, okay? I'll make some food while you do so." Fan said, almost flinging himself out of bed, he seemed very determined to help Test Tube fix her habits. Test Tube slowly made her way out of the bed too, watching as Fan quickly ran down the hall, with the door being left open, Bot could be seen watching as Fan ran down the hall, before giving Test Tube a 'what's his deal' look, Test Tube shrugged in response, smiling to herself. Test Tube grabbed a new set of clothes and made her way to the bathroom.
Fan was quick to start cooking, He decided to make the most specialist thing to him, crepes, it was only really special to him though, because it was the first think he learned to make from scratch.
"Why did you run." Bot said as they came into the room, sliding into the stool at the island counter.
"Huh?"
"You basically ran from moms' room" Bot repeated.
"Is that a problem?"
"You don't run?" Bot said, grinning. They were clearly proud of their remark.
Fan stared at Bot for a moment, shocked, but impressed by how natural of a response it was. Unsure if he should be impressed for insulted. he turned back to his task, mumbling something from under his breath. Bot snorted.
"Come on! You where the one who forced me to watch the entirety of season one and two of I.I. You didn't run a SINGLE time!"
"I- jogged-... Occasionally" Fan murmured. Bot started giggling. Spinning around a bit in their stool.
Not long after Test Tube came out, she slowly walked over the last open chair at the island counter, the third spot was being taken up by Test Tube's work. Test Tube listened to Fan and Bot's bickering about Fan being an inactive person, holding back her own laughs whenever Fan desperately tried to defend himself from Bot's correct statements. Eventually Fan slide both Test Tube and Bot a plate of food.
"Marsh on Mars... Bot... You're lucky I'm still feeding you!" Bot giggled and thanked Fan for the food, Test Tube was suddenly sucked into thought at Fan's expression.
Marsh on Mars? That's not the first odd thing Fan has said that was honestly unnecessary and just plain odd.
Out of all phrases, why marsh on mars? That's so specific. Was it because it was an "Out of this world experience" (a phrase Fan actually used to describe it).
Or was it because that's when he found the baby shimmer?
It would make sense for him to make a reference to an important moment in his life.
But the phrase marsh on mars doesn't have any major ties to the baby shimmer, those who aren't nerds like him wouldn't think so hard about the meaning and come to the conclusion it's about the baby shimmer.
Golly, can't believe Mephone held that Shimmer power....
Mid bite, Test Tube paused.
"The shimmer energy-" Test Tube blurted out, covering her mouth to finish chewing.
"What?" Bot said.
"The shimmer energy! We have that small bundle of it, don't we?" Test Tube continued.
"Yeah..??" Fan said, leaning against the counter.
"I could use that! As the material for the features OJ, Cabby, and Suitcase want!" Test Tube was almost glowing with relieve and excitement. Causing Fan to smile back.
"Okay.. But finish eating before you start exploring that, okay?"