Hey guys.
I've got another episode of Stay, I hope you like it!
DISCLAIMER: Little Nightmares does NOT belong to me, nor the image I'm using for the fanfic.
VII:
Dependant
"Mono?"
He stopped walking and turned to look at her.
"Yes, Six? Are you okay? Are you hungry?"
She was actually going to say she was cold, the ache in her stomach was so often that she learnt to live with it. She unconsciously hugged her stomach with her left hand, since she was holding his hand with the right one.
"I have some food, you know?"
She widened her eyes. Did he really? He gently pulled her as they went near a building that would cover them from the rain. He guided her to the corner and sat together. Mono finally let go of her hand and searched through his trench coat.
"I always save some stuff in my pockets. It's not much but…" He had a piece of bread and offered it to her. She accepted it in silence and blinked, then looked back at him. "Don't worry, I have some nuts for myself."
She didn't say anything, and started to eat. Even if the bread was a little stale, she savored it. She didn't remember the last time she ate, and honestly, she was so glad she got something to eat after what happened in the school. She was exhausted, those dolls beat her up and tied her so they could hit her with sticks.
But Mono came to save her.
She honestly thought he would abandon her, but he didn't. And when he saved her, he was so upset and worried. Six never met someone so expressive and selfless as him.
"It's raining a lot…" She heard his voice. "Aren't you cold?"
She was, her sweater was wet and so was her hair. She kind of envied Mono being too prepared for this kind of situations: always bringing food around, his coat was useful to bring keys and it kept him warm from the cold weather. She raised her head as he got up and took off his coat and offered it to her.
"Here. You can dry yourself with it."
She frowned. She was awfully dirty, after everything he did for her, she didn't want to pay him back with leaving his clothes all stinky. So she shook her head.
"Are you sure? You're shivering?" She shook her head again. "… At least, you can cover yourself with it. I'm not wet, so…"
She was going to protest, but he put his coat over her head and shoulders, covering her almost completely. Then, he sat really close to her, their arms were pressing together. She looked at the paper mask, and he flinched.
"S-Sorry! I know I should've asked, but if we keep ourselves close, we can warm up! If it makes you uncomfortable…"
"It's fine." She interrupted him. He was right anyway. The sooner she'd feel better, she'd return his coat faster before she made it smell. She finished her bread and pressed herself harder against him, while Mono held her hand.
"Why are we holding hands?"
"You don't want to?"
"It's not that." She shrugged as she leaned her head in his shoulder. He was warm. "I'm just curious."
"Umm… I like holding hands with you."
She briefly glanced at him, then at their hands.
"You do?"
"Yeah! I… I know it sounds silly, but… I really don't like being alone. I tried to be in groups, but…" He stopped, and she sensed his memories weren't pleasant. "… The thing is, being with you makes me feel at ease. I know you're with me, and I can keep you close in case we run into danger… I'm sorry when they captured you, I was careless and…"
She interrupted him by tightening the hold in their hands.
"Shut up."
"O-Okay."
She closed her eyes for a few seconds, hearing the rain and Mono's warmth… she could feel his heart beating strong against her. Six wondered why it was beating so loud that even she could feel its palpitation.
But she didn't mind.
If they weren't stuck in a city where children were in danger all the time, she'd wish to stay in here, watching the rain, leaning against her friend forever.
He hadn't moved… for a very long time now.
Six would walk around, trying to get his attention, but it seemed Mono gave her the silent treatment. So, after unsuccessful tries, she started to do the same. She played with the duck toy, tore the plushies Mono used to sew, and then… nothing.
Most of her life she had survival "hobbies", now that she was in a safe place, she wasn't sure how to react or feel. It really felt weird. There were some times she and her friend could rest for a while, but deep down, they knew they weren't out of the woods yet. They still were afraid.
She really had savored this moment of peace, always keeping her treasure close, enjoying her time, spending time with her friend… but now, she didn't know what to do.
Mono really hadn't moved, not even to sew back the teddy bears she destroyed, nor to just… do something. He was sitting, looking at the ground. He almost looked like a statue, she even doubted he was breathing, but she was relieved that he was, since she could hear him perfectly humming.
Humming?
She turned in a moment of panic, but relaxed at seeing the music box intact. It kept winding… but Mono's voice, even so soft and hard to hear sounded clearer in her ears than the actual melody. Looking back at her friend, she flinched at his appearance, his eyes…
His eyes were glitching.
"Uü̵͖̘͌̀̚ͅư̷͕̮͔̹̌͆̏́͝ẖ̷̨̜̺̃̚… Hmmm… H̴͕͉̪͠ṃ̷̨̟̣͙̒̀ṁ̵͓̕m… H̴͕͉̪͠ṃ̷̨̟̣͙̒̀ṁ̵͓̕m… hmmm… hmmm… hmmm… hmmm… hmmm… hmmm… hm, hm̵̢̛̳̙̦͖̆̇̒̿͠… hm, hm… hmṁ̵͓̕m…"
She opened her mouth to call his name, but only a growl came out of her mouth. Frustrated, she crawled towards him, but she jumped as the place started shaking violently. She held her breath as she saw some of the wood and part of the ceiling breaking, like…
Like before.
Why? Her music box wasn't broken! Why was this happening? She saw Mono not moving, he didn't seem to notice what was happening around him. She stretched her deformed hand to reach for him, but the ground that kept their distance broke, and Six froze as the flesh… those eyes… stared warningly at her. She snarled back at the monster of the Signal Tower and tried to get nearer to her friend, but the wood broke completely, and she screamed as the flesh swallowed her.
Mono blinked, and stopped humming.
".̴̛͍̓̓..̶͓̱̥̎̔̀ Uh?" He murmured, and looked up.
The music kept winding. He looked around, the music box was there, then moved to look at the monster that he was taking care of.
"Six?"
The creature had crawled herself into a ball, shaking uncontrollably, covering her head with her long and distorted fingers. He got up and walked towards her.
"Six?" He called louder, hoping she'd hear him.
The only sound that came out of her was something like a whimper and he frowned.
"Six, are you okay?" He moved one of his hands to touch her right one, or, at least, one of her fingers.
She visibly flinched and uncovered her eyes, looking at him.
"What happened? Did you have a nightmare or something?" His question was stupid; he knew better than anyone that the tower did not allow sleep inside. It just needed the mind to break, and the power to grow. Why was she behaving like this? He frowned, realizing that he accidentally spaced out, he didn't know how long, but…
His thoughts were abruptly stopped as the monster launched at him and trapped him between her hands. Unlike the last time, her hold wasn't hostile. She grabbed him, desperate.
"Six?"
She was sobbing, and he couldn't understand the reason of her despair. Did something happen while he was…?
What was he doing during that time? He couldn't remember; he really tried to relive what he was doing, but it was useless. Mono considered maybe it was the Tower's doing. Did it attack Six? She didn't seem hurt.
Six, for her part, was so glad that her friend finally got out of his trance and held him close her. She was so relieved that he was back at her side, putting aside how much she had hurt him, he still cared.
While she was trying to calm her sobs, she visibly relaxed and closed her eyes for a moment.
Mono's heartbeat was against her fingers, alive, with her.
… And the music box kept winding, but… she couldn't care less at the moment.
Six is starting to think and consider some things that took for granted, while, it seems, Mono struggles against the Tower... will he summit to its influence?
I hope you guys liked it!
Rossana~