A/N: This is the first in many oneshots I will hopefully be posting! All Ib oneshots :) probably mostly Ib/Garry, maybe Ib/Mary, but it'll also have non-romantic stuff and basically just oneshot central xD requests can be made :) Ratings will vary for each so it may go up to M, but anyway! Please enjoy! Mostly just fluff, haha :)

cover image: go onto my profile and click on the link :) yes, I have looked for the original artist to credit, even doing a reverse image search, but came up with nothing. If anyone knows who it is, lemme know and I will either credit them in full or remove the image altogether :)

Prompt word: Home

Ages: Ib is 21 and Garry is 28

Summary: Garry and Ib have broken up, but it turns out neither of them really want to be apart.

Home

Let me come home... let me come home to you again...

Ib tossed and turned, her bed feeling uncomfortably warm. She desperately wanted to sleep; she'd had a full on day, going to a ritzy art gallery with her parents, and now she was exhausted. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw the artwork and the people from the gallery... as well as his face. She groaned aloud, rolling onto her stomach and pulling her pillow over her head.

Of course Ib would be thinking about Garry. Again. He was all she thought about whenever she got a moment to herself, and her heart soared yet ached whenever she did. Ib knew she was torturing herself, but... They had ended things for a reason. Well, she wasn't sure it was a valid reason. Ib truly believed Garry, who was seven years her senior, was better off without her, while Garry believed she deserved someone younger and who could give her the whole world.

Ib had tried to fight back, but her reasoning stood firm in the front of her mind, and it ended up being a mutual decision. A horrid, stomach-clenching mutual decision, but they both agreed nonetheless.

That didn't make it hurt any less.

Right now, though her chest hurt, and she shivered where she lay, trying to put Garry from her mind. Ib didn't lie to herself; she wanted to call Garry right then and there and ask to see him, but she was afraid of what he would say. What could he say? She was already hurting, there was nothing that could make her cry more if he tried. Ib sighed, pulling her spare pillow to her chest and hugging it tightly. Maybe she would cry for a little while.

Ib tried to think of the gallery instead, of the intricate detail and the sound of her mother's voice talking happily about each piece. About the way her father gazed at her mother. About the way Garry used to gaze at Ib...

A squeak escaped Ib. Her eyes were tightly shut, and she hugged the pillow even tighter, feeling her body beginning to quake. She tried desperately to control her emotions, but it was like trying to bail water out of a sinking boat in the middle of a heavy storm; horrible and unavoidable. She shook her head hard, burying her face into the pillow she clutched. She had to calm herself down, to think of something that would take her mind off Garry.

There was one thing that always easily distracted her...

Taking another deep breath, Ib relaxed her face, allowing memories to come over her. Memories of a room with paintings of bugs along one wall, and a small ant that crawled around, talking happily to Ib about its portrait. It mentioned it was nearby, and Ib had gone to find it, using it as a bridge to get a key. The ant had been so disappointed... Just like Garry had been when things ended between them.

Sitting up abruptly, Ib placed the pillow in her lap and let out a shriek of frustration, hitting the pillow hard with her fist. She was so frustrated and angry with herself, not to mention lonely. Yes, Garry was better off without her, but Garry... He'd always been a rock, ever since they met. A light in the dark. He'd helped Ib with schoolwork and learning to drive, as well being a friend, a mentor and a lover.

She'd kissed him for the first time when she was nineteen. Garry had freaked out, cursing himself for allowing him to be momentarily physical with a nineteen-year-old, and asked Ib to wait a little while longer until she was twenty. To ease Garry's mind, Ib consented, and the first thing Garry did when they were alone after she turned twenty was kiss her, his hands going through her hair, down her shoulders, along her skin and cheeks and lips...

Ib shivered at the memory, quickly putting it out of her mind. She couldn't think about it. She wouldn't think about it. She wouldn't think about him. Ib tried to convince herself of this, and bit her lip so hard that her skin began to hurt. Right now, she would have gone through Guertena's gallery a hundred times over rather than go through the pain of never seeing Garry again.

In her mind, Mary's laugh echoed. Of course it did. In Ib's lowest moments, the blonde-haired girl crept into her mind, her blue eyes dancing mischievously as eh sang and drew things with her crayons. She sometimes visited Ib in her dreams, offering Ib crayons, and the two would draw and talk and sing and play in the snow together. All the things Mary couldn't ever do since her painting had been destroyed.

She was a cruel reminder of a low, scary point of Ib's childhood, and never let Ib forget it.

Ib lay back down again, placing the pillow over her face, allowing Mary's singing to get stuck in her head. She remained like that for a long while, mulling over Mary's various songs, and soon began to drift off. Ib was relieved, but did not allow Mary to slip from her thoughts. It was better this way... It was be-

A loud banging noise interrupted Ib's thoughts, and she leaped up in fright, the pillow flying to the end of the bed. She sat there for a few moments, shivering, and listened hard for the noise. It sounded again, making Ib jump even higher, and she tossed her blankets back, creeping out into the hallway and toward the front door. A shadow stood in front of the glass, looking blurry behind the intricate design on the window, and they knocked again.

Ib was nearly leaping of her skin, sliding her feet across the wooden floor till she stood in front of the door. Standing on tiptoe, she leaned up, peeking through the peephole. Standing outside was a familiar purple-haired male, his fist raised to knock again. This time, he spoke. "Ib! Ib, open up! Please... I just wanna talk."

Ib hesitated for a few moments. Why... How... Maybe... She leaned against the door, listening as Garry asked again for her to open up, but did not knock again. His voice was like a calming breeze on a hot day, and Ib closed her eyes in comfort, content to just listen for a few moments.

Only he didn't speak again.

Ib heard his shoes over the porch, moving away from the door, and she quickly threw the door open, looking out at Garry as he turned at the sound of the door opening. She didn't say a word - she didn't have to. Ib barely spoke as it was, but Garry appeared to be able to read her mind most of the time. He looked back at her, his one eye that was uncovered conveying all of his emotions, and Ib swallowed heavily, her hand clutching the door handle.

"Garry," she managed to whisper, loud enough for him to hear.

His eye widened a little, surprised that she spoke at all, and he took a small, tentative step toward her. "Ib..." he whispered, stepping up the porch steps to stand in front of Ib, gazing down at her. "Ib... I'm so sorry," he stuttered, raising his hand to run it through his hair. "I should never have left you like that. Why did we do that? Yes, you do deserve better than me but... but all I know now is that I will love and cherish you, and everything in between."

Ib stared at Garry, unable to find the right words. This is what she had always hoped for, been craving ever since they ended things, and now Garry was here, waiting, watching her, and she stepped forward, placing her hands on the sides of his face and kissing him with all the strength and passion she could muster. Garry returned the kiss immediately, his arms wrapping around Ib and pulling her closer, tighter, like he was afraid she would disappear.

Minutes passed, but to the two it was like eternity, and they finally pulled back to look at each other, and both laughed with relief and happiness. Ib hugged Garry tightly, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Welcome home, Garry."