Work Text:
A certain memory stuck with you.
It happened recently; your partner Noob just recently vented to you. It was a very vulnerable moment for both of you. You remember the before, and definitely the after. You remember the signs of them struggling, the isolation, and the unusualness of coming out of his room, refusing no matter what was offered.
You remembered what they told you, how their life back out in the realm was okay, but not great. How they suffered from a form of depression even before coming here, how they lost his best friend. The works, you remember comforting him through it all; it was a tough moment for both of you.
Noob was still quite sad even now; you've been keeping an eye out for him, taking your time to always make sure you're around. This time, today you wanted to make Noob a gift.
You remember that during their venting, Noob mentioned they had a cat. Its name was Tac, a black cat. That comment stuck with you, and today you decided to make a plushie that looked similar to Tac in the best way you could make it.
Usually, if you wanted things, either you would just pout or beg The Spectre for stuff. Usually, despite how evil The Spectre was, it would sometimes give things up if you begged enough. But this time, you wanted to make this gift with your own hands.
You dug around your room, searching for anything to help you with this project of yours. You didn't have much to work with, only a needle and a few balls of black yarn. It would have to do; maybe you could ask around and see if anyone had more stuff.
ฅ^>⩊<^ ฅฅ^>⩊<^ ฅฅ^>⩊<^ ฅ
It took a long while for you to even halfway finish.
You got the head done; its beady eyes stared back at you in a pitiful, non-living way. You only really sewed occasionally, not much to make you truly good at it. But enough to get you to know the basics. You knew most crochet projects took forever, so you tried to make the process as speedy as possible.
You didn't even know how much time had passed at this point, only that by the time you were done staring at your half-done creation, your stomach began to groan with complaint.
I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a tiny break, just get a quick snack and continue. You stared at your creation one last time, smiling at the thought of Noob’s reaction before stepping out of your room.
The lobby was as chattery as usual; a game of poker with Chance, Guest, and Dusekkar was underway. Each of their faces was particularly focused, with a few spectators watching. You smiled to yourself as you walked down the stairs, Elliot giving you a smile and a wave as you walked to the dining area.
You smiled and waved back, digging through the stocked cabinet. A wide variety of snacks weighed on your options: cookies, muffins. Anything your hungry stomach desired. You grabbed some cookies for yourself. Taking a step back, you originally went to head back to your room, but you noticed something.
You took a closer look at the spectators watching the game of poker; almost everyone was there but 3 people. 007n7, Two Time, and Noob. 7n7 and Two Time you weren't quite so shocked about, there usually not in many social gatherings or anything that has to do with being with people.
But Noob, it made your heart slightly weary. You encouraged Noob to come out of their room; they did agree to do such a thing. You weren't mad at all. But just weary. You looked back at the cabinet full of snacks, grabbing an extra bag of cookies for him.
You rushed out of the dining area, glancing one last time at the game going on. So far, it looked like Chance was winning by a long shot; if you were going to be honest, Chance was probably, aka 100 percent cheating.
You smiled to yourself lightly, reaching Noob’s door in a few strides. You held the cookies in one hand, and with the other you knocked softly.
Knock, Knock, Knock.
You waited eagerly for an answer, but nothing came. Not even a soft noise. Your eyebrows furrowed as your heart beat faster. You shouldn't be so worried… Maybe you should.
Without waiting another second, you quickly opened the door. You quickly calmed down as you saw Noob peacefully resting on his bed. You smiled lightly, practically mentally hitting yourself for worrying so much.
Your legs timidly walked over to Noob’s nightstand. Placing the cookies down onto it. You didn't want to wake them up just yet; maybe you would once you were finished with Noob’s gift.
Before you left, you genuinely took a good look at Noob. His face was softer than you had seen in ages, an almost peaceful resting face as if they were safer than anywhere they could have been. A small smile formed in his sleep.
You let out an affectionate “awhh…” Taking a step towards Noob to give him a kiss on the forehead. Your fingers gently traced his hair.
As quickly as you did the action, you pulled away. But almost reverently. You didn't like leaving Noob, I mean, after all, why would you? But regardless. You were busy; you couldn't afford to waste any more time.
The reaction Noob would give was sure to be worth all the time you put into this cat.
You slowly walked out of the room, making sure to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake them. As you closed the door, your fingers curled around the cookies you still held in your hands, the ones that you didn't give to Noob and wanted for yourself.
You tore open the package with your fingers and took a large, almost greedy bite of the cookie as you walked back to your room. A smile lingered on your face from the events in Noob’s room.
When you opened the door, the crocheted cat greeted you with an innocent smile. Although not complete, as you closed your door and walked over to the cat, you cradled it and imagined Noob’s reaction.
Would they be happy? That was a most definitely yes; they were happy with almost any gift you gave. Even if it was just something as simple as a flower or a book, they practically fawned over it. You remember Noob told you they kept all of your gifts in some special part of their room.
You wondered how else they would react; perhaps maybe Noob would tear up just a bit, get super hyper? Every short scenario of each reaction made your heart flutter in its own ways; you didn't even notice you were grinning softly until you finally snapped out of it.
You shook your head, walking over to where you put all of your sewing supplies, sitting down on a chair you had in your room and continuing to sew, each piece of the process of this little gift of yours making you sway your feet.
⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪
You were about done at this point; cookies lay by you as you focused on sewing.
The gift, or Tac, looked as cute as you had tried to envision it. With all the details Noob gave you, safe to say you were pretty sure they looked as close as you could physically make this cute cat.
Your fingers trembled as you added the last part of the string to the tail. Your smile was one of relief as you finally finished. Quickly setting the needle aside on your desk as you stood up, cradling Tac in your hands.
A black cat with a yellow collar, one that you thought would be a nice touch since yellow always reminded you of Noob. The thought made your cheeks change a hue of pink, but regardless, you practically trotted out of your room with the fake Tac in your hands.
Survivors from below the balcony chit-chattered, the conversations of which you could barely make out. Unfortunately, Noob was nowhere to be seen in said crowd. Just the rest of the survivors, excluding a few.
You let out a tiny sigh, bringing your eyes' attention to Noob’s room. No noise could be heard from inside, like the last time you visited, which you just suspected was Noob sleeping in like they were before.
Your fingers tapped on the crocheted fur of Tac; pride bloomed in your heart. It looked cool, not disheveled in any way. Maybe a few strings stuck out here and there, but that wasn't much of an issue for you.
When you approached Noob’s door, you politely let out a soft knock. A few seconds of silence passed before a groggy voice came from inside. “Come in…”
You let yourself in, a small smile that always failed to go away whenever you were with them. As you closed the door, you heard a small, curious hum come from Noob. You turned around, suppressing a giggle as you trotted over to Noob, who was currently still in bed.
“Hey, Nooby!~ Made you something!” A small, affectionate giggle escaped you when you glanced at Noob’s face, a tiny, curious expression detailed on their face, a tiny tilt in their head as they tried to study the black object in your hands.
You excitedly plopped down on the bed with Noob, ushering the fake cat in there hands. Noob’s expression slightly widened in surprise at your insistence, but didn't refuse.
Noob took a few seconds to just stare; you noticed them glance at the collar, where the name ‘Tac’ was labeled. You could see Noob’s face contort into multiple expressions before settling on something unknown to you.
Noob finally glanced up at you, that expression never leaving his face, but with tears sparkling in his eyes. A complicated, wiggly smile on Noob’s face.
“T-This… This… Thank you, [Name.] God, thank you so much…” Noob’s voice cracked with gratitude, your expression contorted. A smile never left your lips as you scooted closer to Noob, putting a hand on his waist affectionately.
Noob cradled the fake Tac in their hands, staring back down at the gift with a glassy, happy expression plastered on their face.
You started to feel teary yourself; the sheer emotion coming out of Noob was almost spreading onto you like an onion of some kind.
You felt an almost selfish desire to hold them in your arms for even just a second, and despite the lingering guilt of having to get Noob’s attention, you did so anyway. Tapping his shoulder and spread your arms out.
Noob raised their head to look at you for just a second, before understanding your silent plea, scooting onto your lap, still admiring the gift you made. They seemed quite happy to sit on your lap anyway, resting their head against your chest.
You put your head against their shoulder, letting out a sigh of relaxation and wrapping your arms around their waist. Noob merely let out a tiny, happy hum at your actions. Noob was drumming their fingers on the cat.
You almost wanted to speak, ask if they enjoyed the gift, and how long it had been since they got up out of bed. But the silence was too peaceful for your worn-out brain, and Noob didn't seem to mind anyway.
Plus, if you were going to be honest. You found yourself getting quite tired; after all, you stayed up quite long in order to finish this gift of yours. You closed your eyes slowly, a gentle smile on your face as you nuzzled into the crook of Noob’s neck.
Noob glanced their attention over to you for a second, they themselves putting on a tiny smile, letting out a giggle, looking at your sleepy, happy expression. You never dared to raise your eyes to look at Noob despite you feeling their gaze on you.
“I love you, Noob. Hope you enjoy the gift…” You mumbled sleepily into him. Your consciousness finally giving up and shutting down, your soft breathing filling the room like a melody.
“I love you too, [Name]...” Noob mumbled back softly, taking the cat and nuzzling it to his face as a silent confirmation, even if you couldn't see that.
You knew they would cherish it anyway.