[AN: As of 25/2/2015, I have updated the previous eight chapters. If there's anything I can do to make a character less OOC, please tell me! This series is going to be under edit for a long time, so please, make suggestions! I might not use all of them, but they still help! This chapter was a little difficult to find a topic for, so it's a little boring at first the entire chapter. As of this moment, I'm working on 4 different chapters at once. I won't even try to write Noodle's accent into the dialogue because I'd mangle it horribly. I don't know Noddle's personality much, so any help would be great. I'm not going to study the canon layout of Kong Studios, so pretend I know the layout. Also, can I get input as to what you think Noble looks like? Hair, face, skin tone, ethnicity, etc. She's 157 cm and 60 kg (5'2" and 132 lbs) and has a bit of acne. All previous warnings apply.][PS: Shoutout to RainyZ and HorrorFan13 for being my first reviewers! Thank you so much! Every bit helps!][PPS: I've set up a tumblr! Shoot me questions and submissions at queerpressiontheauthor on tumblr.]

Noble woke up. It was still early, and at first she wasn't sure why she had awoken. Then she tried to move and realized. The scratches down her sides were scabbed over and cracked when she moved. She didn't have to look to know.

She tried sitting up slowly. She winced as she did so. She stood up, trying not to move her torso too much. She picked out an outfit to wear— black tee and cargo pants, both from the men's section. She cleaned her wounds gently, but couldn't do much due to the pain and gave up after a bit. The cracks in the scabs oozed lymph, but no blood. She at least changed the bandage on her neck. She washed her face and didn't bother trying to put on makeup. She brushed her teeth and did her hair so that it obscured the bandage on her neck, her bangs over her bum eye.

It was still early in the morning. The clock in the kitchen said 6:04 AM. She made herself a cup of tea and sat at the table, wondering what she was going to do with herself. She wasn't tired anymore— she'd gotten her second wind. The tea was comforting.

She was pondering what she might be able to have for breakfast when she heard the door open from the entrance. She turned in her seat to watch the kitchen door, heartrate picking up. She knew who it was.

Murdoc walked into the kitchen, shirtless. He glanced at Noble, then went to the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice and took a swig. He sat at the table across from her, just eying her, not saying anything.

She sipped her tea, holding his gaze. It was hard to do.

After a couple minutes, he broke the silence. "How'd yew do that?"

"Do what?"

"Don't play coy, yew know what I mean!" He leaned back, rubbing his face. "The whole act yew put on! Yew were so calm! But then… Urgh!" He held his head in his hands, elbows on the table. "I nearly shat myself!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Last night!" He rubbed his temples.

"What happened last night? I was asleep." She set down the tea.

"Yew were in my room. I remember it."

"Maybe it was just a bad dream. I hear chamomile is good for that." She set her head on one hand, arm propped up on the table by the elbow.

"Stop trying to gaslight me and fess up!" He slammed one hand flat on the table.

She leaned back a bit, startled. She noted the term 'gaslight.' She kept up the act, tilting her head to the side and frowning quizzically, saying, "About what? I have no idea what you're talking about."

He grabbed her free arm by the wrist and gave her an intense look.

She froze.

He glared at her for a minute, then let go of her arm.

She caved in. "Why should I tell you?"

"Because— I don't know! I just…" he looked at the table, still holding his head.

"You don't care." She said it in a quiet voice, holding her elbows and looking away.

He looked up at her. "Says who?"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, then sighed. "I detached. I… I detached." She didn't know how to explain it to him. "It was hard. The moment you said something about it, I snapped back. And it made me angry that you'd noticed." She picked up her tea again. "That's all you'll get out of me." She sipped her tea, not looking at him. "Do y'all have eggs?"

He sighed. "Yeah."

She got up and found a pan and opened the fridge to look for the eggs, but shrieked at what she saw.

Murdoc let out a short laugh.

She stared at the organs for a while, the shook her head to refocus. She found the eggs and went to the stove. She melted a bit of butter in the pan and cracked two eggs in a bowl and mixed them with a fork. She paused. "Do you want some?" She was painfully aware of his presence in the room; she fought hard to keep her cool.

"Sure, as long as yew don't poison me."

She chuckled and cracked two more eggs into the bowl and stirred more. She poured them in the pan and scrambled them.

Murdoc watched her cook. Neither said anything.

She divvied up the eggs onto two plates and placed one in front of him. She grabbed ketchup and put a bit on her plate, then placed the bottle on the table. They ate in silence for a while.

"Uh… the eggs are good," Murdoc said in an attempt at conversation.

She shrugged. "I'm not used to real eggs. I usually only have powdered on hand."

They sat in silence, eating their eggs. They heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

Russell looked at Murdoc. "Murdoc, you're up— whoa!" He just then noticed Noble. "Everything alright in here?"

"Yeah." She swallowed the bite of egg she'd been chewing. "Do you want eggs? I can make more."

He looked between the two. "Nah, I'm good." He made himself a bowl of cereal. He sat beside Noble.

Noble felt safer now that she wasn't alone with Murdoc. She looked at him from across the table. "You look exhausted."

"I didn't sleep at all last night, thank yew very much."

She laughed, just a breath through her nose.

"What?" Russell looked between them again.

"I gave him a piece of my mind." She sipped the last of her tea. "I think he got the message." She grinned at Murdoc.

"Yes, I did, so please, don't do that again." He rubbed his face.

"Do what?" Russell was oblivious.

"Doesn't matter. All that's important is that he gets the picture." Noble got up and made herself another cup of tea.

Murdoc sighed in exasperation. He watched Noble as she sat back down. "Say… when'd yew get that outfit?"

"Yesterday." She blew on her tea.

"Yesterday." He cocked an eyebrow. It was a question posed as a statement.

"2D and I took her shopping," Russell supplied.

"Ah. I see."

2D came through the door.

"Speak of the devil." Noble sipped her tea.

Murdoc rolled his eyes.

"Uh…" 2D rubbed his eyes. "G'mornin'?"

"Morning." Noble sipped her tea again. Her heart was still pounding, but at least it was slowing down.

2D made himself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the side of the table.

They ate in silence for a while. Noodle came down after a bit.

Noble turned to greet her. "Good morning. Do you want some eggs?"

She was a little caught off-guard by this, but answered, "Sure."

Noble got up and made eggs while Noodle sat down across from 2D. Noble put the plate of eggs in front of Noodle and took a seat where she'd been before.

They in silence for a while, then Noble spoke, looking out the window. "Nice view."

"Yup," Murdoc answered. "Cream of the crop."

"What's a normal day here look like?" Noble said through a mouthful of egg. She swallowed. "Or, rather, what will today look like? I don't want to be a bother."

"Well," Russell said, "we don't really do much these days. Read, watch TV, listen to music, stuff like that."

"Ah." She thought for a moment. "I'll just play on my Zune."

"Zune?" 2D piped up.

"Yeah. It's an MP4 player. Plays music and music videos. It's got a few games on it. I can show you if you'd like."

"That sounds fine. Something to do around here."

"He probably won't be able to figure it out," interjected Murdoc.

"Mudz!" cried 2D. "That's not very nice."

"I'm not very nice," Murdoc retorted.

"It's a pretty simple device," Noble said, ignoring Murdoc's remark. She bit her tongue against making an underhanded comment about just how 'not nice' he was. "If I can figure it out, anyone can."

"Hm." Murdoc put his dish in the sink. "Good luck with him. You'll need it." He walked off to some other part of the house.

Noble got up and washed all the dishes that had accumulated in the sink. "Well, I hope today will be better than the beginning of my week."

"Yeah," Russell replied. "I hope so too."