Work Text:
Facty, Lightbulb and Martian were your first trio. When things got rougher and you couldnt pay your bills, they helped you get back up on your feet and get a job. You now work at an ice cream parlour! It was quite fun for a while, before you knew how annoying the factors of the job could be.
The taste testers that made you use their spoon that was much larger then the regular spoon, as they just stood there holding up the line, knowing damn well they weren’t gonna buy any ice cream anyways. The Karens that screamed at you if they didn’t get enough chocolate in their chocolate chipped ice cream. They all screamed for ice cream alright. And then there was your boss.
He wasn’t exactly mean or rude, just very enthusiastic about his job. No problem with that until he couldn’t take your answer of no when you said you didn’t want to come to a shitty party held in the work place you’re in for multiple hours a day.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll have some fun! You can even have free ice cream!” He smiled, all giddy with excitement as his rotunded belly shook with laughter. His cheeks were pink and round. Fat ass looking like Santa Claus being all that jolly. You already didn’t like crowds or coming to work and now they’re mixed? Sounds like your version of hell. But saying no would sound mean, and you can’t be mean to the fat embodiment of happiness. So you say yes. Even though you don’t want to.
“(Y/N)! We’ve been working on this, you’re meant to say no if you don’t feel like it! I say no all the time, and nobody thinks I’m mean.” Facty frowns. You have been working with them to learn how to make boundaries. Or just saying no, for that matter. Alas, your kind empathetic nature doesn’t allow you to. “I know, I’m sorry! I didn’t wanna say no, he looked at me with such pride in his eyes! Practically begging like a puppy!” You don’t think puppies are of that size, but you digress. Facty sighs and heads to the bathroom.
They come out a little later in a suit and tie, it’s a cute pink colour, almost like strawberry ice cream. You do raise an eyebrow, though. “You’re going to bed.. in a suit?” You curiously ask, half expecting them to say it’s a weird fact and that it helps your sleep schedule. They laugh, “No, silly! That would be stupid, sleeping in a suit is fairly uncomfortable. I’m going to the party with you, I don’t want you feeling alone.” Oh right. You told them how you hate all your coworkers. Nervously, you run your hands down your outfit to take out the creases (suit or dress, or something else if you want, idgaf).
“Are you sure about this?” You murmur, letting them know they aren’t forced to come. You’re both standing outside the parlour doors now, hearing the music bleeding through the glass doors with chipped painted ice cream cones as handles. “Yes! I love parties.” Of course they do.
You almost get whiplash from how loud it is. Caught off guard, you didn’t expect so many people to come to a shitty work party. You take a minute to look around and then head straight to the drinks. The faster you’re drunk, the faster you’ll feel more calm is what you think.
Facty is gone. They didn’t follow you to the drinks table and who the fuck knows where they are in the crowd. A pain in your chest begins to bloom and you try drown the anxiety out with some wine. Scanning everywhere for Facty, your train of thought goes empty as a very drunk man spills beer all over you. Everyone is now staring at you and “oooo”ing upsetly. “Sorrry..” the man’s breath is hot and smells absolutely minging, like beer in the sun.
You’re now sticky. You notice how unusually bright the lights are, and how they're shining the most ugly colours of the rainbow. The colours begin to blur as tears fill your eyes, you think someone is whispering about you to their mates. Before you know it, you’re hyperventilating and being dragged outside by Facty.
Broken sobs tear from your throat as Facty leads you to a bench outside. They must’ve noticed that you’re uncomfortable with how sticky you are and wipes you down with a wet paper towel he must’ve gotten from the bathroom at some point. “Okay, in for four and out for five. I know you can do it. We do it before bed, remember?” Thats true. They said breathing exercises are good before bed to get you into a calm sleeping state, and makes you do it with them sometimes.
You begin to calm a little, but worry yourself into thinking you aren’t breathing well enough and panic. So Facty takes a different approach. They don’t do the “Name five things” bullshit, they just hold you against their chest as you cry so you can hear their heartbeat. “Did you know that your heart beats about 100,000 times every single day?” You pause and think. No, you did not know that.
They carry on by telling more and more facts about the heart, so many that you didn’t think they’d run out. “Poison Blue Dart Frogs must be my favourite amphibian.” You giggle at their change of topic. They smile warmly. “Unlike most frogs, they are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day. Maybe if we take a trip to Brazil, we can see one!” They seem excited about a trip you haven’t even agreed to yet, let alone planned. “Maybe so.” You mumble. They’re very glad to hear you talking, you can tell by their energy and tightened grasp on you. “I’m very angry at that man. He smelt like beer.” They scoff, holding you tighter. You giggle. You’re unsure if you’ve ever seen them so angry, let alone angry at all.
“Can we go home?” They straighten up and carry you princess style. You yelp in surprise. “Of course babe,” they grin. “The lemon ice cream is horrible, by the way.” They mumble, sounding quite upset. Well, we did fuck up one of the best flavours. “Yeah.” You agree. “We have a joke that our fat ass boss pissed his radioactive piss in it.”