Writer's note: I thought this was my last set, but I happened across more more prompts that were added later on the list! Yay for extra prompts! Shout out to kittysfigurines24 for helping me come up with an idea for one of these! Thank you everyone who's been reading/reviewing :)
Things You Said Too Quietly
It was common knowledge in the arcade that even video game characters were prone to getting a cold, but that didn't stop Tamora from snarling about it. She woke up with a sore throat that morning, but didn't think much of it. Yelling orders the entire work day was the norm for her; maybe the day before she yelled a little too hard.
By the afternoon she was feeling a bit rundown. It was a weekend and the players weren't giving any game a chance to rest in-between quarter alerts. As she trudged home to her comfy townhouse and cheerful husband, she was feeling downright awful.
Tamora tried to hold her chin up as she walked through the front door, thankful Felix was milling about in the kitchen. She climbed the stairs, which felt more like Mount Everest, and removed her armor as quick as her fatigued limbs could muster. Left in only her undershirt and shorts, she collapsed face first onto her pillow and disappeared under the covers.
"Tammy?" she heard Felix call from downstairs, but ignored his inquiry. His boots rapped against the wooden stairs all the while as Tamora wished he'd just stay away. He'd want to take care of her; to fix the problem and coddle her. Tamora wanted none of that. She just wanted to sleep. "Tamora?" he called as he pushed the bedroom door all the way open.
"Go away," she muttered, her command muffled by the pillow her face was planted in.
"What's wrong, honeybadger?" Felix asked, concerned, as he hastened to the side of the bed.
Tamora's face emerged from underneath the comforter. "I feel like cow-pies."
Felix gasped, whether at the choice of words or from the hoarseness of her voice, Tamora didn't know and didn't care. "You're sick, Tammy!"
"Bingo," Tamora stated sarcastically before disappearing under the bedsheets again.
"Chicken soup, coming up!" She heard Felix's footfalls grow farther away. Good. Cooking the soup would occupy him for a while.
With the silence of the room surrounding her, Tamora slipped into glorious unconsciousness. The sound of a paper rustling was the first thing she heard when coming back into the land of the living. She groaned, slowly pulling the covers from over her head.
"Welcome back, sleepyhead," a soft voice greeted.
Tamora opened her eyes to find Felix sitting beside her on the bed, back propped up on a pillow against the headboard and an open book sitting in his lap. Well, that explained the sound of paper.
"How do you feel?" Felix asked, placing a bookmark in his spot and laying the book on the nightstand.
Tamora sat up for the first time since she collapsed in the bed. "Still awful," she replied, not at all surprised that her voice sounded like a choking frog. "Good thing it's Monday tomorrow or I'd be up bull cheek."
Felix helped arrange a couple of pillows beside him so Tamora could lean her back on the headboard as well. "Looks like we won't be doing any game jumping tomorrow."
Tamora snorted in response, which was a bad idea being her throat was still sore. She made herself comfortable as Felix poured a mug of soup from a thermos. Knowing her husband, he'd probably been waiting for her for hours to wake up, and just like a boy scout, he was always prepared.
The soup was warm and soothed her hurting throat. Now that she'd had a good few hours of sleep, she was glad for the company. She patted Felix's knee giving him a small smile, which Felix returned. "Thanks, Fix-It."
"No problem, darlin'."
Things You Said When You Were Crying
There were no graves in Hero's Duty, just a marble memorial wall alongside the church with names of the lost etched upon it. The names were of those who had died in the backstory, and thankfully, no existing soldiers had joined the long list.
Tamora had only visited the wall in her backstory. She tried to avoid the urge to be swallowed by her grief, and that's why she never laid eyes on it…until now.
It was late evening, after hours. Tamora scanned the list of names, finding the one she was searching for. She reached a hand out toward the middle of the first list, fingertips gently brushing over the etched letters. She rubbed the gold ring on her left hand with her thumb, finding comfort in the touch.
"He asked me to marry him yesterday," she began to tell the name on the wall. "I said yes. Fix-It's a good guy." She snorted, a ghost of a smile crossing her lips. "Cute as a button and it drives me crazy. But we're good together. He loves me, almost blindly sometimes, and takes care of me. He knows exactly what I need, even when I don't tell him."
She removed her fingers from the name, standing with head held high and arms at her sides as if at attention. "I love him more than I can say. I'm looking forward to being his wife, and I want to say I'm sorry for that, but I can't because I'm not. You were never real. You feel real to me, but you never were. Fix-It is real. I can hold him, feel his touch, kiss him, remember him as more than just pieced together scenes."
Tamora closed her eyes, tears escaping down her cheeks. She held back a sob that threatened to emerge, and quickly swiped away the wetness with her gloved hand. She opened her eyes again to gaze at the etched name of the person that never existed to begin with.
"It cuts me deep to feel that way about you. I can't let a programmed memory hold me back from being happy. I know the creators' of this hellhole programmed me this way for a reason, but they're not in control of who I am and who I can be on my own."
Tamora straightened to attention again, saluting the name respectively. "Good-bye, Brad."
Things You Said Too Early
Three months into their relationship, and Felix wished desperately to tell Tamora he loved her. She was everything he never realized he wanted or needed. All he wanted to do was proclaim his love for her at the top of the Niceland Apartments for the entire arcade to hear!
But he chose not to all because he knew how fragile Tamora's emotions could be. Her PTSD was unpredictable at time, especially with certain words (as Felix learned the hard way). Telling her of his love too early could mean disaster, so Felix kept the secret to himself.
It was a normal weekend evening for them. The arcade's business was slower and shorter during the weekdays than the weekend, and game jumping as they often did was less tiring when they didn't have to work the whole day. They always chose to stay in on weekend nights.
Cuddling on the couch usually turned into kissing, which usually turned into a heated make out session. Felix climbed onto Tamora's lap for better access to her oh-so-delectable lips, his need to proclaim his love for her nearly overflowing inside of him. "I have really deep feelings for you," he skirted in-between kisses.
Their lips met again in a fierce kiss. They broke connection barely a fraction of an inch from each other, and Tamora whispered against Felix's lips, "I love you, Fix-It."
Felix's eyes shot open and he pulled back to gaze at Tamora, slack jawed. From the shocked expression on his girlfriend's face, he reckoned she was just as surprised at her admission.
Tamora gently set him on the couch next to her and stood as if she was in a hurry. "I need to go."
"Tammy, wait!" Felix called after her, but Tamora's long strides had her out the door and blasting away on her cruiser before he could catch up.