Omnia Faculty - SMG4 Highschool AU

by BrianWrites

Summary:

An AU where most of the SMG4 cast and popular characters are teachers at Omnia Academy, teaching basic classes to students and forming friendships and more.
However, some of our teachers have some unresolved tension with one another...

Chapter 1: Hired

Puzzles hummed as he drove his car through the city, waiting patiently at every stoplight and sipping some take-out coffee he'd gotten from BarStucks as he drove through.

The producer had just recently been hired as a teacher at the famous Omnia Academy, a well known high school that taught the greatest of scientists, mathematicians, and other important people. He had noticed a listing for professors while job hunting, and he just had to apply as the school’s film professor! It would really put his skills to use. After a short interview, he had been hired rather eagerly by the principal. More good news for him!

After a few more minutes of driving, Puzzles finally arrived at the academy, pulling into the parking lot of the school and strolling cheerfully into the school’s front office, taking a sip of his coffee as he looked around the empty office. “Hm.” He hummed softly and curiously. “Where's all the employees?” He asked, turning his CRT head left and right before noticing a robotic janitor with dirty brown plates and a feather-ended tail nearby brushing away dust off of the wooden floorboards, a do-rag on his head and mud-stained overalls on his body as he focused his attention on cleaning. Puzzles approached the janitor and tapped his shoulder. “Excuse me, sir?”

The janitor turned to face Puzzles. “Eh? Yeah?”

“Could you please guide me to the employee lounge? I received an email last week to meet there today for my lesson plans.” He explained, and the janitor hummed for a moment before answering, pointing his tail down a hallway. “Take a left at the first cross, it’s the first door on the right. Should be labelled Staff Lounge.” The janitor answered, and Puzzles’ screen flickered to a smile as he nodded. “Thank you, sir!” He hummed, wandering down the hall. As he drew closer to the lounge, his mind wandered. Who were his coworkers going to be? Was he going to have a teacher’s assistant like the ones in movies did? He was eager to meet them!

Finally, he arrived at the lounge door, attempting to peer in through the thin window before deciding to enter. Placing his hand on the handle and turning, Puzzles stepped into the lounge, putting on a grin.

The lounge was scarcely decorated. A few mission statement posters decorated the staple littered walls, and a singular long table surrounded by chairs and chattering coworkers sat in the middle. About a dozen other people stood in the lounge as well, which Puzzles took his time to get a good look at.

There was a white-furred man with digitigrade legs and a long tail wearing a plaid sweater vest and rolled sleeves chattering with a droid with a triangular head and no mouth. There was a plush-like person sitting down near a fat man with a bushy mustache, the both of them looking so similar Puzzles would’ve mistook them for brothers. There was a tall man made mostly of metal leaning against the wall, wearing a cannon-like hat on his head while a shark tail thumped behind him. There was also a purple mushroom standing next to him, scrolling on his phone and occasionally showing something to his partner. There was a man with an oversized hoodie and a box on his head standing in the corner of the room, somehow reading a book despite the box not having any eye holes. There were two fat men in another corner, talking about whatever while the bearded one spun a pen in his hand. The other, who bore crack-like scars on his face, paid attention like his partner was the only other person that existed. There was also a skeleton sitting at the table too, a sunhat rested comfortably over his eyes while he seemed to be taking a nap. A man with black hair and dressed in a fancy suit stood near the door with his hands clasped, glancing at Puzzles as he entered and giving him a polite smile.There was a purplish figure with a haircut that reminded Puzzles of try-hard emo teenagers, and next to him was—

Puzzles paused, his gaze landing on the inkling next to the purple figure. Gray tentacle-like hair that hung over his eyes, a band of black just above his nose that looked like a mask on the skin of his eyes, and a glaring cyan gaze that met Puzzles’ own when they saw each other.

Puzzles frowned, but forced himself to keep a good mood, shutting the door behind him as he walked to sit down. The mustached man nearby looked up from his arms and smiled. “Never seen you around before! Are you a new teacher?” He asked, and Puzzles perked up, smiling back at him. “Oh, yes! Tomorrow is going to be my first day. Are you also a new recruit?”

The man chuckled. “Oh no! I’ve-a been working here for years. If you ever need directions, feel free to ask!” The man held out his hand to shake. “Name’s Mario! What’s yours?” Puzzles hummed and shook his hand. “Name’s Mr Puzzles. You can call me Puzzles.”

“Alright then, Puzzles! Pleasure to meet you.” Mario grinned, crossing his arms on the table. The man next to him smacked his arm, prompting Mario to pull his arms off the table. “Don’t get grease on the table, Mar.”

“Oh, shove a sock in it, Marty. Telly will end up cleaning it when we go home anyhow!” He huffed, and the both of them began to bicker in a language Puzzles recognized as Italian. The skeleton on the other side of the table, who Puzzles assumed was asleep, began to snicker and make comments in Spanish. Bewildered, Puzzles just shifted his focus to his hands, idly fiddling before he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Puzzles looked up and turned his head, confusedly looking at whoever had pulled him from his distraction. Almost immediately, he frowned at the inkling in front of him. “Wren.” He spoke his name bitterly.

“Puzzles.” The inkling replied blandly. “I didn’t realize you got a job here too.” He commented, glancing at his rather lazily put together outfit of a white dress shirt, a gray vest, trousers, and sneakers. His tie wasn’t even tied all the way. “Still dressing like a homeless man, I see?”

“Go fuck yourself.” Puzzles hissed. Wren simply scoffed. “You’ve abandoned the swear filter? How bold.”

“What do you want, Wren?” Puzzles huffed irritably, glaring at the man beside him. Wren just shrugged. “Just wanted to know why you’re here.”

“For the lesson plans, you dimwit. That’s like asking a chef what he was doing in the kitchen.” Puzzles retorted, and Wren noticed Mario hide a snicker at the remark. Marty just rolled his eyes. Wren frowned. “God forbid an inkling attempt to converse with an old friend.” He huffed. Puzzles shot him a glare as he noticed someone approach the door to the lounge. “Well, next time, maybe don’t open your greetings with an insult about my clothes.”

“Whatever.” Wren huffed, walking to sit down far from Puzzles as the lounge door opened, a tall figure with a floating chest for a head wandering in. Almost immediately after he entered, the other employees took their seats. The figure himself looked odd in its own right; A floating black and red chest for a head, with silver-white glasses perched on nothing in front of lidded zeros for eyes? Puzzles would’ve made a snide remark to himself about his appearance, but then again, he had a TV for a head, so he wasn’t really one to talk.

As soon as everyone was seated, the figure cleared his throat and spoke. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m Mr GodBox, but I’d prefer you refer to me as Mr GB.”

“Odd introduction.” Mario muttered to Puzzles, and the adware chuckled softly.

“Tomorrow will be the first day of the 2025-2026 school year, and many students will be returning while others will be entering for the first time. Most of you current teachers will already know of your lesson plans, meanwhile our new employees will have papers handed to them now.”

Puzzles noticed a woman with blue bunny ears enter the lounge holding a folder of papers, setting it down and handing out stapled collections to Puzzles, Wren, the skeleton, and the purple figure seated next to the inkling. GodBox nodded at the bunny as she hummed and walked to stand beside him. GodBox continued. “Included in your packets, new recruitments, is a map of the ship school, your lesson plans, and a list of rules for dress code, lesson adjustments, and classroom decorations.”

Puzzles looked at his packet and shuffled through the pages, humming and scanning the rules before Mario tapped his shoulder. “Psst. The only rule set that actually matters is lesson adjustments. Mr GB doesn't actually care what you or what you decorate the classroom with, so long as it isn't offensive or political.” Mario hummed, and Puzzles nodded. “Thanks for letting me know.”

GodBox continued his speech. “Again, tomorrow is the first day of school, and for the sake of practice, I recommend all of you visit your classrooms and look through your lesson plans to familiarize yourself with your courses.” GodBox adjusted his glasses. “Feel free to talk to your coworkers and make some introductions. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or the vice principal, Blue.” He hummed, stepping aside as chatter started up again. Puzzles chose to occupy himself with his lesson plan while everyone else talked to each other. Wren turned his gaze upward from his papers to stare at Puzzles, his brow furrowed as he stared at him, noting every change since he had last seen him a few weeks earlier by chance at a restaurant.

The purple figure sitting next to him tapped his shoulder, suddenly pulling Wren from his thoughts.

“Hey mate. Name’s Niles. What's yours?” He asked, and Wren hummed absently, glancing back at Puzzles. “Wren. Wren Ink.”

“Wren Ink, eh? Well, how fitting! Are students going to call you Mr Ink?”

“Maybe.” Wren muttered, looking back at Niles. “So, what are you going to teach? Does your plan say?” He asked blandly, and Niles checked his papers before answering. “I'm working with coding. I'm pretty good at making a working program. You?”

Wren glanced at his papers. “Computer engineering.”

“Oh hey, we're in the same classroom!” Niles exclaimed, pointing a finger at the classroom number before then glancing back at his paper. Sure enough, they both had the same room. Wren rolled his eyes. “So what, are you my assistant? Or am I yours?”

“You better hope I'm yours, cause I don't know what I'd do if you were my assistant!” Niles chuckled, giving Wren a suggestive look that caused the inkling to shove his hand into his face, pushing him away. “Pervert.” Niles just laughed.

Mario gently tapped Puzzles’ shoulder, pulling the adware from his reading. “Hey, TV Man. What are you going to be teaching?” He asked, and Puzzles glanced at his papers again before answering. “Uh, it says here I'll be a ‘film creation professor.’ I guess that fits, considering I'm a producer myself.” He remarked boredly, and Mario smiled. “Oh, really? I think I've seen a few of your movies.”

“Well, that's pleasant.” Puzzles smiled, his screen flickering as he looked back at his papers, before looking up and around at the people in the lounge. “Ah.. I hardly know anyone here now.. Breaks during lunch are certainly going to be awkward.” Puzzles chuckled nervously, and Mario smiled. “Don't worry! I'll help.” He hummed, pointing at the various employees.

“The white furred one is Brian Drawz, our theatre teacher. The droid is Ominus Drawz, his sister. She teaches language arts.” Mario explained. “That purple guy right there is Niles Zero, the guy with a box on his head is BCL... At least that's what he told us to call him. No one knows his real name.”

“How mysterious.”

“The guy with black hair near the door is Miyamoto, he teaches game design. The skeleton is Diego, he's our mythology teacher, and our translator for the Spanish students.” Mario hummed, glancing around. “The mushroom and fish are our P.E. coaches, Mr WPNZ and Anti. Those two guys in the corner are SMG3 and SMG4. Four is the art teacher and Three is our counselor.”

Mario looked back at Puzzles. “Make sense?” He asked, and Puzzles nodded. “Yes, yes.” He hummed, and Mario glanced at Wren. “You-a seem to already know the inkling. Have you two met before?”

Puzzles flinched, his screen flickering as his smile faltered. “Ah, we’re... Er, acquaintances.” He muttered coldly, refusing to look at Wren as Mario blinked. Marty rolled his eyes. “Way to go, Mar, you ruined the mood.”

“Oh, shut up! I'm gonna feed you a dirty sock, Marty!” Mario retorted, and Puzzles sighed and stood up from his seat. “I'm gonna go and find my classroom. Pleasure meeting you.” He hummed, his voice cold as he walked to the door. Wren noticed his departure and stood up from his seat as well, following him out and grabbing his vest. Puzzles glared back at him and pried his hands off his clothes. “What is it now, Wren?” He asked harshly, and Wren frowned. “I just... I have a question.”

Puzzles frowned. “Pitch.”

“... How is Rango?”

Puzzles’ scowl deepened. “Why do you want to know? Do you suddenly care for him?” He hissed, glaring at Wren. Wren just frowned and stepped back. “God forbid I want to know how my kid is feeling! You took full custody, you know.”

“You surrendered full custody, Wren.” Puzzles corrected. “You wanted nothing to do with him. And now, just like you had back at that restaurant, you're here to nag me about your son. How heroic!” Puzzles huffed, turning away from Wren. Wren growled. “It was my idea to create him, Puzzles! I'm the reason we had him at all!”

“And yet you couldn't bring yourself to even fight to keep him?” Puzzles remarked, turning back towards Wren and grabbing his coat, gripping the fabric tightly. “You gave him up, just as you gave up everything else.” He hissed. “That's all you ever do, Wren. Give up.”

Puzzles released his coat and walked past him, aiming to leave. “Leave me alone, Wren. I don't want to see you unless I have to.” He ordered firmly, and before Wren could protest, Puzzles was already leaving the building. Wren sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets and leaning against the wall, kicking his foot.

“Stupid adware.”

Chapter 2: First Day

Summary:

It's the first day back to school, and both Wren and Rango are displeased to see each other.

Notes:

I LOCKED IN YOU GUYS I WROTE THIS IN LIKE 4 HOURS
Anyway next chapter is going to be Puzzles POV again

Rango leaned his cheek into his palm as he gazed out the window of the car, his metallic fingers tapping on the steel of his cheek as he watched buildings speed by, the corny movie music from the radio filling the car as Puzzles spoke. “Are you excited, sport? First day of senior year! You just have to get through this year, and then you’re free for life.” He hummed, turning down the volume on the radio. Rango mumbled something under his breath before replying. “I’m not thrilled. But I’ll live, as I always do.” Puzzles chuckled nervously, his shoulders tensing slightly as the car became quiet, save for the rumbling of the engine.

Puzzles cleared his throat as he stopped at a light. “A-Anyway, have you taken a look at your class schedule yet? Do you know if any of your friends are your classmates?” He asked curiously, glancing over his shoulder at the boy in the backseat. He was dressed in a worn black and gray uniform, the cotton fabric barely fitting the cushioned fat of his arms, legs and stomach, with a few visible stitches here and there from Puzzles sewing up the uniform when it tore. His black hair was synthetic, made up of silicon and plastic strands to mimic actual hair, which often hung over his eyes.

Rango shrugged. “I’ve got all the basic ones and a few extracurriculars like coding and track.” He answered, and Puzzles brightened. “Ah, coding! How terrific. It’s rather fitting since you like to make so many changes to your favorite games so often!” Puzzles laughed, and Rango frowned and hid his face. “Dad, shut up about that, I was 15.” He huffed embarrassedly, and Puzzles chuckled again. “Oh, relax, it’s just a tease.” Puzzles hummed, turning and pulling into the parking lot. Rango grabbed his backpack and hopped out of the car as Puzzles circled to follow him. “Before you go in, though, I must warn you... Your other father is working here as well...” Puzzles sheepishly admitted, and Rango gave him an angry look. “And you’re telling me now?! Wren’s going to be following me all day!”

“No he won’t, because we still have that no-contact contract in place from the divorce.” Puzzles explained, crossing his arms. “The only exception to it now that he’s working here is that he can only talk to you if it’s in regards to your education. Nothing more.”

“Whatever.” Rango huffed, turning to walk away before Puzzles set a hand on his shoulder. Pulling him into a soft hug that Rango didn’t return, Puzzles hummed, “Remember, kid. Here at school, you don’t have to call me or him your father, okay?”

Rango sighed. “Okay.”

“Good.” Puzzles stood up and patted his head. “Have a good day, sport. I’ll meet you out here a few minutes after the bell.” He said, walking up the steps into the front office. Rango waved goodbye and turned to walk through the student gates, traversing the school grounds alone once more.

Rango rustled through his bag for his phone, scrolling through his schedule for a moment before hearing a voice call out behind him. “Rango! Over here!”

Rango’s head spun in the direction of the voice, and he smiled upon seeing his best friend approach with a smile. It was Froggie, a sophomore with similar white fur to Brian and wearing the lower uniform, this time adjusted to be shorts instead of trousers. Froggie happily bounded over to Rango and hugged him tight, and Rango cackled and squeezed him back, pulling a squeak from the scribbling. “Hey, Froggie, good to see you! How was your summer, man?” Rango asked, ruffling the sophomore’s hair as Froggie swatted away his hand. “It was pretty fun. Me and Abba went out to the pool last month and swam around in the water for a while.”

“That sounded fun.” Rango leaned down to Froggie’s height. “Did you prank him like we agreed?” He whispered, and Froggie nodded. “I got grounded for a week, but it was worth it.” Rango laughed. “Hell yeah! Guess I owe you 30 bucks, eh?”

“You certainly do. I expect my payment by Friday.” Froggie explained, acting business-like while Rango giggled. “Alright, you’ll get yer money!”

A shrill ring suddenly echoed across the school grounds, and both boys flinched as Froggie tightened his grip on his bag. “Ah, I gotta rush out to Ms Ominus’ class! See you at lunch, Rango!” He yelled as he ran away, and Rango shrugged and began to stroll to his class, checking his phone again.

“Room 76-B... That’s in the B wing.” He hummed to himself, walking down the hallway and scanning every classroom label. Miss Katphish’s business course, BCL’s Religious History course, Mr Four’s art class...

Rango stopped just in front of the door to the computer engineering class, which just so happened to share with the coding professor. Rango shrugged and entered, pushing open the door and looking around the classroom.

It was semi-populated with students he both did and didn’t know, including Melony, a sleepy senior who was meant to graduate last year, but as far as Rango knew, she was held back due to terrible grades, and Hartley and Rita, a computer and mouse who, at least from what Rango knew, were snoops. Pretty useful for their role in the school’s newspaper.

Then Rango noticed Wren at the desk at the end of the room, sifting through papers while Niles, who was probably his assistant, Rango assumed, rambled to him. Rango frowned and took his seat in a back desk, setting his backpack against the wall and crossing his arms. As the bell rang again, Wren stood up from his desk, pushing Niles out of the way as he addressed the class. “Good morning, students. You all can call me Mr Ink, and I’ll be your computer engineering professor.”

Niles stepped up as well, his hands in his pockets. “Heya, kids! Name’s Niles, I’ll help y’all out with coding.” A few students snickered at his casual, almost playful voice, making him sound like a teen playing the role of teacher rather than an actual teacher. Wren rolled his eyes before noticing Rango in the back of the class. Rango frowned at him, glaring at him distastefully as Wren turned his attention back to the board as Niles leaned against the wall. “For our first lesson...” Wren began, lifting a marker to the whiteboard.

---

The hours passed by relatively quickly. Lectures came in and out of Rango’s ears, since he didn’t care to pay attention and just wanted to go to lunch where he could see his friends, and more importantly his boyfriend, Ghost. As he wandered through the hallways of the B-wing, making his way to the cafeteria, he felt a hand grab his arm.

“Rango.” Wren’s voice chirped behind him, and Rango scowled and ripped his arm out from his grip. “Wre- Mr Ink.” He corrected himself swiftly, remembering what Puzzles had told him before. Wren buried his hands into his pockets. “I want to talk to you about your... daydreaming earlier in class.” He hummed, holding up a notebook. Rango’s eyes widened; He must’ve left it in the classroom.

Wren held it out. “I took a look at your notes... Or what should’ve been in place of notes.” He huffed, sounding disappointed. Rango snatched the notebook from his grip and shoved it into his backpack, much to Wren’s displeasure as his frown deepened. “You should really start paying attention to the lectures. It’s only the first day, and you dozing away into your head is a bad impression to leave on your teachers.” He explained matter-of-factly, and Rango was feeling a rather strong urge to sock the inkling with his backpack. Despite this, Rango took a deep breath and nodded. “Right... Understood, Mr Ink. I’ll take it under consideration.” He huffed, turning around to walk to lunch before Wren called out to him again.

“Rango. How’s everything at home?” He asked, and Rango glared back at him. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

After that, Rango marched away to the cafeteria. Wren frowned, turning around and returning to his classroom. As he shut the door behind him, Niles looked up from his phone and tilted his head. “Ah, welcome back, Mr Ink!” He greeted him cheerfully, waving his hand as he put away his phone. “Why the long face, Wren? I’d say the day’s been successful so far!” He chuckled, watching Wren sit down at his desk and rub his eyes. “I’m fine, Niles.” He huffed, and Niles sat up. “You sure? You sound like you missed your morning coffee.” He commented, and Wren shot him a glare that made him laugh. “What? I’m just pointing out what I see.” He chuckled, standing up from his seat and wandering over to Wren, placing a hand on one of the armrests of his chair. Wren raised an eyebrow at this, looking up at Wren with a mix of annoyance and intrigue. “Chillax, Wren! It’s only the first day. ‘M sure it’ll get better here on out!” He smiled politely, his fingers tapping on the armrest. Wren just scoffed. “You’re far too enthusiastic.” He commented, and Niles rolled his eyes. “And you’re too pessimistic. Would it kill you to put a smile on that face for once?”

Wren forced an intentionally shitty smile. “Happy?”

Niles’ grin faltered slightly. “... You’re fucking pathetic, you know that?” He commented. The remark brought Wren to his feet as the inkling grabbed and forced Niles down to his height by the tie, glaring at him angrily. Before he could begin to scold or insult him, however, Niles grabbed his coat and kissed him, calming his spewing anger.

When Niles stepped back, Wren blinked, face flushing red with embarrassment and confusion. Niles’ grin returned. “Been meaning to do that! Anyway, I’m off to lunch!” He declared cheerfully, grabbing his jacket from a chair and strolling out of the classroom. When the door shut, Wren flopped back into his chair, groaning in irritation as his blush dissipated. “That fucking twink.”

Chapter 3: Lunchtime Talk

Summary:

After almost witnessing an argument between Puzzles and Wren, Mario invites the adware to the kitchen to chat.

Notes:

More food for y'all, eat up

The shrill ringing of the bell interrupted Puzzles’ talking as students began to pack away their things and make for the door, chattering with each other as they all poured out the door. Puzzles sighed, shrugging as he walked to his desk and collected his stuff. “I think that was rather successful.” He told himself with a hum, grabbing his phone and a granola bar as he left the classroom, walking his way to the employee lounge, passing by students and supervisors alike. His gaze followed every interesting person he passed; The janitor he’d greeted the previous day to ask for directions, who he’d learned was named Telly, was mopping up a juice spill. There was a small fish climbing his locker to open it. A woman with a scar spanning her entire left side sat on the floor, watching everyone in the hallway, including Puzzles as he passed. Puzzles made a mental note to avoid her.

As Puzzles entered the front office, crumpling up the wrapper of his granola bar and dropping it into a trashcan, he wandered to the lounge and stepped in, noticing GodBox and BCL standing at the end of the room, holding books. GodBox was telling him something, his voice barely audible. But before Puzzles could process what he was saying, BCL noticed Puzzles’ presence in the door and audibly squeaked, causing GodBox to look at Puzzles. Puzzles blinked. “Uh... I can come back later...” He muttered, but GodBox waved his hand. “No no, it’s fine. I was just about to take my leave.” He hummed, stepping away and strolling past Puzzles out of the lounge. Puzzles glanced at BCL, and the box-headed professor just shrugged in confusion.

“Well, that was... Odd.” Puzzles muttered, walking into the lounge and sitting down. BCL sighed, the marker-drawn expression on the box changing to look exasperated, a low howl coming from underneath it. Puzzles chuckled. “Er, don’t sound like that... Want a snack?” Puzzles asked, pulling another granola bar from his pocket and offering it out to BCL. The expression on the box changed again to a happier expression, and he eagerly walked over to take the snack and eat it, bringing it under the box to have a bite. Puzzles’ screen flickered a smile as he reserved himself to read.

As the minutes passed, more employees came into the lounge to chat and to eat their lunch. Two shorter individuals, one with blue skin and a boxy head, and the other with yellow skin and a scar over their eye, climbed to sit on the table as they chattered. SMG3 wandered in to lean against the wall and scroll on his phone. And at some point, Mario had come into the lounge with boxes of bags of chips, which the other professors eagerly took from.

Puzzles tossed a chip into his vent as Mario sat down beside him, sighing. His screen flickered slightly. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the cafeteria?” He asked, genuinely curious rather than patronizing. Mario nodded, taking a chip bag and opening it. “Yeah, but one of the students from Mr Di Lupo’s cooking class volunteered to serve today, so for once, Mario gets to have a break.” He chuckled heartily, grinning widely. Puzzles noticed a gap in his teeth, and found it oddly charming as he chuckled with him. “That’s good, then.” He hummed, and Mario took a look at his head. “Say, what are you, if I-a may ask? I’ve-a never seen a guy with a TV head before!” He hummed, and Puzzles perked up, not noticing Wren enter the room and take a bag of chips from the box on the table. “Oh! It’s rather simple, believe it or not! I’m half-cyborg, you see, most of my body was built by myself...”

As Puzzles continued his rambling, Mario listened intently, his chin resting in his palm as he nodded along. Wren was seated across from them both, frowning as he ate through his chips.

“... And, as a result of that, I can only consume food and drink through this little vent right here!” Puzzles hummed, tapping the small vent on the front of his head. Mario nodded, intrigued. “Wow... Is there a limit to what you can-a eat?” He asked, and Puzzles shrugged. “As far as I know, only hard foods like most candies or pop rocks. Everything else just takes a bit of effort to crush and swallow.”

“Effort, eh?” Wren interjected, earning an annoyed look from Puzzles. “Funny, I had no idea you were capable of it.” He commented, and Puzzles’ screen flickered to a scowl. Mario looked between them again, his expression dropping to something of concern. Puzzles glared at Wren. “Well, it’s not like you’re capable of it either, Wren.”

“Hey-!”

“Alright!” Mario burst up, stopping the argument before it began. Both Puzzles and Wren glanced at the Italian as he brushed off his apron with a huff, and Mario turned his full attention to Puzzles. “TV Man, why don’t you hang out with me in the kitchen! I’m certain that volunteer is overwhelmed, and you could get some extra snacks!” He cheerfully offered, and Puzzles stammered to decline. “Oh, Mario, you don’t have to-”

Before he could finish, however, Mario grabbed Puzzles by the arm and hauled him out of the office, causing the adware to yelp as they left. Wren watched them both exit with a frown, and as Niles entered in after them, he pointed his thumb behind him. “Wanna bet 20 bucks they’ll bang?” He chuckled, and Wren glared at him. “Shut up before I choke you with a chip bag.”

---

Puzzles felt rather awkward standing near Mario as they both stood at the lunch booth, students lining up for their meals as Mario served each one with a smile and a wave. The kitchen was made up mostly of freezer cabinets, each door holding shelves of cold food that would later be reheated in the ovens in the back. The cafeteria itself was filled to the brim with tables and chairs, with the exception of a small stage on the northern side. Puzzles fiddled with his vest.

“So, er, is this all you do? Serve food to students?” Puzzles asked awkwardly, watching the last few students disperse from the booth and to the tables. Mario set down a soup ladle and smiled. “You bet! I also do lots of cooking in the morning, so that every lunch is fresh and hand-made!” He boasted, wandering away from the booth and beckoning Puzzles to follow. Reluctantly, Puzzles did.

They walked together to the back of the kitchen, near boxes of snacks such as chips, donuts, and juice boxes. Mario fished through one of the boxes and offered Puzzles a wrapped donut. Puzzles took the snack and unwrapped it, taking a piece off and chucking it into his vent. Mario smiled, pulling out a juice box and leaning against the wall as he had a sip. “Good stuff, right? Even though it’s factory made, you have to give them credit for being high quality.”

“And delicious.” Puzzles smiled, having another piece. Mario smiled back, squeezing the juice box. Both of them stood alone for a while; The seconds ticked by slowly as they both ate their snacks, with Mario eventually chucking his empty juice box into a trash can and pumping his fist when it landed inside. “Hoop and score!” He exclaimed, laughing. Puzzles chuckled with him. “You’re rather cheerful, aren’t you. Such a stark contrast from most everyone else in the staff.” He commented, and Mario shrugged. “I like to see the positive side of things! It helps me to keep getting through the day, even when it isn’t going great.”

“Heh. My son could learn from your advice for sure.” Puzzles chuckled. Mario tilted his head. “You’ve a son? Does he go here?” Mario asked, and Puzzles nodded hesitantly. “Er, yes. He looks more like his other father than myself, but there are similarities...” Puzzles chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his neck as Mario gazed at him. “Hm. Is he the robotic boy with rainbow teeth and eye mask?” He asked, and Puzzles nodded. “Yes, him. His name’s Rango.” He hummed, tugging at his tie. Mario seemed to be thinking, gazing at Puzzles and then at the ground.

Then he spoke. “Is Rango Wren’s son as well?”

Puzzles flinched, nearly dropping his donut. He cleared his throat. “... Yes. He is.” He mumbled. Mario’s brow furrowed, as if he was debating whether or not to follow up. “... Are you and Wren..?”

“Divorced? Yes.” Puzzles muttered in reply, his fingers digging into the plastic wrapper of his donut. Mario winced. “Sheesh. Good thing I pulled you out of the lounge then.” He hummed, and Puzzles looked at him. “I wasn’t going to start-”

“I’m not saying you were going to start arguing!” Mario interrupted. “It’s just that you shouldn’t force yourself to sit in the same room as your ex. Take this from a man who had to share an apartment with his ex for a week before he got to move out!”

“Gosh, how’d that happen?”

“Peach was growing rather bored of my snoring.” Mario replied, and Puzzles barked out a laugh. Mario chuckled with him.

“Oho, I haven’t laughed like that in ages.” Puzzles giggled, wiping a smudge off his screen as if he were wiping away a tear. Mario grinned proudly. “Glad to see I could put a smile on that screen, TV Man!” He laughed, wiping down his apron.

“But back on what I said... You really shouldn’t force yourself to be around Wren if you don’t have to.” He said, his tone growing rather serious. Puzzles’ chuckles died. “Aha, I know... I’ll see if I can avoid him for the year. But knowing Wren and his... Recent behavior, he’s going to jump at every opportunity to ask about our son.”

“Your son.” Mario corrected, causing Puzzles to look at him oddly. “Rango is your son. Not Wren’s. Sure, they’re related, but I’m technically Miyamoto’s son, but I don’t call him my papa.” He shrugged. “Unless Rango chooses to call him his pops, you shouldn’t let Wren have that victory of you referring to Rango as his son too.”

Puzzles was left stunned. Mario’s words were repeating in his head like a mantra, and it took him several minutes to snap from his trance and reply. “I- Uh- You’re right.” He mumbled, finishing the last crumbs of his donut and throwing away the plastic. “Wren doesn’t deserve the title I’ve been giving him.”

“That’s the spirit!” Mario grinned, glancing at the clock. “You should head back to your classroom. Bell rings in 8 minutes, y’know.”

“Uh?” Puzzles glanced at the clock before realizing he was right. “Ah, yes! Thank you for the snack.” He hummed, waving goodbye as he turned to leave. Mario smiled and waved goodbye as well. “No problem! Feel free to hang around and chat anytime!” He called back and Puzzles nodded as he left the kitchen and bolted for his classroom. Now alone, Marty poked his head out from one of the aisles of freezers. Mario glanced at him.

“Are you done playing up to the TV yet? I need your help getting these cheeseburgers into the top shelves.” Marty demanded, and Mario rolled his eyes, walking to help.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll help you out- I was not playing up to the TV, you pervert!!"

Chapter 4: Counselor's Office

Summary:

In light of Melony's sleeping problem in his class, Puzzles decides to talk to the office in search of accommodations.

{Finished by Michael}

Notes:

If you recognize the writing style changing near the end of this chapter, that is because it's been finished by Michael, one of Brian's alters. I apologize for the lateness of this chapter, but I hope you enjoy.
- 💀👻

The weeks passed. Puzzles was enjoying his role as a teacher, and he had already begun to take a liking to some of his beloved students, who he often referred to as his audience when he began a lecture. Some students liked it, others found it nagging. Puzzles didn’t really care, however, he was enjoying the job.

As Puzzles continued his ramblings about film strips, he noticed Melony, an older girl with lime green hair and a watermelon-pink hoodie, dozing away at her desk in the back of the class. His screen flickered slightly, making a mental note to himself to wake her when the bell rang.

When the shrill ring did eventually echo across the classroom, and students began to pour out the doors to their next class, Puzzles made his way to Melony’s desk and gently shook her awake. “Darling, wake up now.” He coaxed, and the girl sat up wearily, yawning and rubbing her eyes. “Mngh... What time is it?” She asked with a low voice, and Puzzles patted her shoulder. “It’s time for your next class, but before you go, can we talk?” He asked, and Melony nodded, taking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. Puzzles stood up straight and clasped his hands together. “Is everything alright at home? I’ve noticed you’ve been sleeping in my class much more these days. Have you been getting enough rest?”

“I’ve been sleeping fine, Mr Puzzles.” Melony replied, rubbing her eyes. “It’s just that I have narcolepsy, and it kinda makes it hard to stay awake sometimes.” She hummed, and Puzzles nodded, his antennae twitching. “I see... Is your condition registered with the school?”

“My mum sent in documents two years ago, and a doctor's note at the start of this year. Yet the office isn’t that much willing to make accommodations.” She complained, her brow furrowing. Puzzles’ screen flickered again. “Well, that’s no good. Have you talked to the counselor?”

“I keep having to reschedule our appointments because of homework.”

“Hm. Then how about this!” Puzzles placed his hands on Melony’s shoulders and guided her to the door. “You continue with your day as usual, and I’ll talk to SMG3 on your behalf about accommodations. Sound fair?” He offered, and Melony nodded. “That would be nice. Thank you, Mr Puzzles.”

“No problem, star! Now run along now, don’t wanna be late to your next class!” Puzzles smiled as he waved her off, watching her disappear into the crowd of students before leaving the classroom and making his way to the office. As he passed students and staff alike, Puzzles noticed Rango and one of his friends lingering near a locker as he passed. Puzzles waved with a smile. Rango didn’t wave back.

As Puzzles entered the office, he passed by Blue, who was darting out of the counselor’s office while wiping her face with a handkerchief. He thought nothing of it as he entered the office, noticing how SMG3 was wiping his cheeks as he stepped in. “Good morning, SMG3!” He greeted him with a smile, and SMG3 jolted and tossed away the tissue he was using to wipe his cheek. “Ah, Puzzles! Didn’t expect to see you here! What’s the issue?”

“Well, I wanted to discuss learning accommodations for Melony.. She confessed to me this morning that she's got a condition that's been making her fall asleep in class, thus the drop in grades.” He explained, sitting down in the chair across from SMG3 as he placed his hands in his lap. “I asked her if she was registered with the school, and she said it was rather unlikely.” SMG3 gave a soft hum.

“Hm.. I think I know what you're talking about.. Her mom's visited plenty of times to discuss accommodations, but since GodBox hasn't been doing much in the way of paperwork for said accommodations, we haven't been able to get them. And Swag is really persistent on having doctors notes if he's going to hold medication for students.” Three explained, and Puzzles’ screen flickered to a frown. Now he's caught at a dead end; He can’t send Melony to the nurses’ office for medication, he can't send up paperwork to request accommodations, he was stuck.

Then he had an idea.

“Well... If the school can't give us accommodations, I'll just make my own.” Puzzles hummed, standing up from his seat. Three tilted his head. “What do you mean?” He asked, and Puzzles dusted off his trousers. “I know a few tricks to keep people awake in boring situations, I've had to use them plenty of times when Rango had to sit in a waiting room in court.”

SMG3 blinked. “Why would you... You know what, whatever.” SMG3 sighed and shrugged. “You do know that if GodBox finds out about your makeshift accommodations, he'll have your head, right?” He asked, and Puzzles’ screen flickered determinedly. “If Mr GB has a problem with it, he can come take it up with me himself. I'm not afraid of confrontation, and I value the education and well being of my students.” He huffed, placing his hands on his hips. Three looked him up and down before shrugging. “Alright then. Before you leave though,” He began, “I can give you Axol’s number in case you need advice on how to keep Melony awake and you're having trouble.”

“Axol?” Puzzles tilted his head in slight confusion. He'd heard the name before, but he didn't think Three knew them. Three nodded. “He's one of the school’s graduates from last year. He and Melony were meant to graduate together, but thanks to her grades, Melony stayed back. I've got contacts with him and the other graduates too.” He hummed, and Puzzles nodded. “Ah, okay. I would appreciate the help from someone who knows her better, heh.” Puzzles watched as the counselor wrote something down on a piece of paper, and after he finished, Three held the paper out to Puzzles. “I recommend you send him a text introducing yourself first before anything else.”

“Course, course.” Puzzles nodded, folding the paper and pocketing it as he heard the next bell. “Ah, that's my curtain call. Thank you for the help, SMG3.” He hummed, waving his hand as he stepped out of the office. Three waved back. “Good luck.”

As the door shut, Three looked down at the folder on his desk, peering at it. He sighed. “Jeez. Can't GodBox make time for one student to be accommodated?”

Chapter 5: Fight

Summary:

After a long day of teaching, Wren finally gets to go home for the weekend. However, upon seeing Puzzles in the parking lot, he decides he wants to talk.

Notes:

Heya heya! Sorry for the sudden hiatus and lack of updates, my motivation plummeted into the negatives and I basically got nothing done for most of last month. But I'm back!

Hopefully I'll get the next chapter out within the next week or so. No promises!

The hours passed by slowly, agonizingly, with every student staring at the clocks in their classroom as the seconds ticked by, waiting for the bell that signaled that their school day would end. Wren tried to churn through the last parts of his lesson, ignoring how Niles was leaned back in his chair, napping with a beanie over his eyes as he snored. Wren groaned, asking himself how he had gotten here.

Finally, the bell rang, and students burst up from their desks and darted for the doors, pouring out of the classroom. Niles jolted awake, his beanie falling off his face as he looked around. “Whuh, what happened, what time is it?” He asked, noticing Wren begin to pack his things and sling a bag over his shoulder. Wren gave him a disappointed look. “You slept through the entire class. Now the day’s over, and I'm going home.”

“Oh, finally! I was getting bored of your rambling.” Niles chuckled heartily, standing up and stretching. Wren simply rolled his eyes as he walked out of the classroom, trailing behind a group of students as he walked to the doors. Wren lingered in the classroom for a moment, wiping away his writing from the whiteboard before he set down the eraser, turned off all the lights, and left.

As he wandered through the school, avoiding the crowds of students and taking shortcuts so he could get to the parking lot faster than he usually could. Spending a month in the school had quickly taught him to use shortcuts, just so he wouldn't get lost on his way to his car.

After some time of weaving through students and avoiding the crowds that lingered in doorways, Wren finally made it outside to the parking lot, coincidentally seeing Puzzles as well as he chatted with Rango and led him to the car. Wren’s brow furrowed, watching them walk through the parking lot before he stepped forward and called out.

“Puzzles. Can I talk to you?”

Puzzles looked back at Wren, good screen flickering between confusion and frustration to annoyed acceptance within a second, and he quickly pushed Rango towards the car before turning around to approach Wren.

“Wren. What do you want?” Puzzles asked as formally as he could, masking the annoyance in his voice with a bland tone, which just made him sound like he was dead inside. Wren shoved his hands into his pockets. “It's about Rango's grades.” He lied. “I've noticed that he's starting a habit to skip my classes, and when he does attend, he hardly pays attention and disturbs the lesson frequently.”

“Alright, and how does that affect his grades?” Puzzles asked, and Wren tugged at his collar. “What do you think, beanpole?”

“Don't call me that.”

“Rango skipping out on classes and disturbing the lessons means that he has a low grade in my class, an F at worst, a D at best.” Wren explained, crossing his arms. Puzzles’ screen flickered to an interrogatory look. “You can't give me a specific grade?”

“N-No. I only just made the change, and it has yet to register into the system fully.”

Puzzles became suspicious. He took a step closer and tilted Wren's head up towards him, the inkling flinching at the sudden contact as he was glared down. Puzzles frowned at him. “Very funny, Wren. I already checked Rango’s grades earlier today, and so far, he's had perfect grades for all of his classes. You're a pretty bad liar.” He huffed, flicking his forehead. Wren made a yelp of pain and glared at Puzzles. “Hmph. So what if I lied? You're completely oblivious to the rest of the shit he pulls.”

“I'd rather find out about that by him or someone else instead of you.” Puzzles remarked, beginning to walk back to his car. “Honestly, this interaction just proved yourself as incompetent. Congratulations, Wren, you're a dumbass.”

“You're spoiling him. You're being too gentle with him-!”

“DO NOT CHANGE THE SUBJECT INTO HOW I PARENT HIM.” Puzzles snapped suddenly, his screen flickering as his sharp gaze pierced straight through Wren, shutting him up instantly. The adware took a second to calm down, the flickering of his screen slowly fading as he looked back at Wren in annoyance.

“Do not bring up anything about my parenting. All of our conversations are going to be strictly professional.” He hissed, turning around and walking to his car, hopping and driving away. Rango peeked out of the passenger side window to flip off Wren before he was yanked back in. Wren watched the car disappear into the distance before he growled and kicked a rock. “Damn it.” He muttered, his fists clenched.

“That was pathetic.” Niles said, sitting on the steps in front of the school. Wren swiveled around to glare at him, pointing a finger at him angrily. “I don't want to hear a word out of you about that!!” He shouted, and Niles shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

Frustrated, Wren turned back around and walked to his car. He just wanted to go home already.

Chapter 6: The Photos On The Wall

Summary:

After a long day, Puzzles and Rango are ready to relax... Or as much as they can given the experiences of the day.

Notes:

I finished this chapter in a car on my way to pick up my dog from surgery lol

Puzzles pushed open the door to the apartment, sighing in exhaustion as Rango breezed past him, hanging his backpack on a hook on the wall before rushing away to his room, not saying a word. Puzzles didn't comment on it; This was Rango's usual routine ever since school had started. Puzzles just stumbled to the couch and sat down, undoing his tie and resting it in his lap, sighing and resting his head back.

Their apartment was small, but nicely decorated. There were photos of Rango and Puzzles on the wall from various vacations, some of which had drained Puzzles’ poor wallet to empty, but had brought a smile to Rango's face. The furniture was scratchy and covered in patches, but comfortable. The armchair in the corner of the living room had an indent in the seat from Puzzles sitting there with Rango in his lap, reading him stories until he had fallen asleep. Puzzles gazed at that armchair for a long moment, sighing as his screen flickered to a solemn expression, reminiscing on the memory. He smiled softly, remembering how Rango would stumble up to him holding his favorite storybook, and he would climb into his lap as Puzzles began to read it aloud. He had developed a habit of dimming his screen when he sat in that chair, just for those stories.

Puzzles hummed as he stood up, popping his back and stretching as he looked up at the clock on the wall. 3:30. He should probably start on dinner before he forgot.

Walking to the kitchen, which was separated by a wall from the living room, Puzzles wandered to the cabinets and looked around, debating on what to make. He wasn't in the mood for anything savory, so he shoved aside the soup cans and pulled a box of mac n cheese from the back of the cabinet. He knew this was going to give him a stomachache later, but he didn't really mind.

As for what Rango would eat, he wandered to the drawers near the fridge and pulled a container of bolts and screws and poured them into a bowl. Rango could only eat metal thanks to a fault in his internal digestive systems, and Puzzles couldn't afford the tools to fix it.

He shook the bowl, the metal bits making clinking noises against the ceramic. “Rango! Your dinner’s ready.” He called, and after setting the bowl down on the table to make his own food, Rango emerged from the hallway, dressed in pajamas. Puzzles gave him a look. “Really, Rango? It's 3 o’ clock... You don't need to be in your pajamas.”

“I didn't want to be in that stupid uniform anymore.” Rango replied, sitting down as he tossed a screw into his mouth. Puzzles rolled his eyes and turned on the stove. “You could've worn something other than your pajamas.”

“I don't have any clean clothes.”

“Why didn't you do your laundry? It's a part of your chores.”

“The washer broke, remember?”

“I replaced it last week.” Puzzles corrected, clenching the wooden spoon he had grabbed to stir the mac n cheese tighter. His screen was flickering with slight frustration, but he took a breath to calm himself down. Rango, however, didn't care for his answer, tossing another bolt into his mouth and crunching on it. “I'll do it when my bin is full.”

“You're supposed to do your laundry when it's halfway full. That way, you always have clean clothes.”

“It always comes up to halfway, though! It's a waste of time-!!”

“RANGO!” Puzzles suddenly shouted, slamming the spoon down and glaring at the stunned robot, his screen glitching before he took a few breaths to calm down, running his hand along his screen. Rango just looked at him in bewilderment, his expression molding into silent regret for arguing.

After a moment of silence, Puzzles spoke up again, his voice calm. “You're doing your laundry after dinner. Understood?”

“Yes, Dad.” Rango muttered, putting another bolt into his mouth as the house fell silent. Puzzles sighed and finished making the mac n cheese, sitting down across from Rango and eating in silence, the tension only occasionally interrupted by the crunch of metal in Rango’s mouth.

After a while, Puzzles spoke. “I'm sorry for yelling, Rango.” He apologized, his screen dimmed. Rango glanced at him for a moment, his lenses tinging blue. After a moment, he replied. “It's fine.” He muttered, crunching on a screw. “What's up your ass today?”

“Language.”

“My bad.” He raised his hands in surrender, dropping a bolt back into his bowl. “But really, what's got you so pissed off?” He asked, leaning on the table. Puzzles spooned a bite of his food into his vent and swallowed before he answered. “Just... It's been a long day.”

“Oh yes, teaching a bunch of highschoolers must be sooo hard.”

“Don't give me sarcasm, young man.” Puzzles huffed, giving him an annoyed look as Rango chuckled. “Whatever.”

Puzzles sighed, resting his head in his palm. “I have no doubts you saw that argument between me and Wren, correct?”

Rango's grin faltered, and he nodded. “Yeah. I heard it too.” He added under his breath, “he's got the nerve to accuse me of skipping class...” He took a breath and looked back at Puzzles. “Hm... And of course, he brought up-”

“Your parenting? I heard.”

“... Yes.” Puzzles grumbled something inaudible. Rango took a screw from his bowl and twirled it in his fingers, thinking.

“... Dad.” Puzzles looked up from his bowl. “Yes?”

“Do you still remember when we were... An actual family?” Rango asked softly, his lenses fully turning a sad blue. Puzzles’ screen flickered as he looked up at the boy in surprise before he shook it away, nodding. “Yes, I remember. It was a short time, but such an enjoyable experience.”

“Despite how fleeting it was.” He added, sadly sighing as he took a bite. Rango took a bite from the screw he was holding. “How often did Wren ever actually visit? Once every month? Twice?” He asked, and Puzzles remained silent for a moment. He fiddled with his spoon. “If he kept his promises, you'd be right.”

“Hmph.” Rango's brow furrowed. “But he was never one to keep promises, was he?”

“What else would he be if he was?”

Rango grumbled, finishing his bowl and standing up to put it back in the cabinet, wiping out the metal shavings and setting it back where it was. Puzzles looked down at his food; He still had half a bowl. No longer feeling hungry, he stood up from the table and moved to put the remaining food into a container and put it in the fridge. After washing his bowl, Rango lingered in the hallway entrance, looking at Puzzles. Puzzles met his gaze, placing his hands on his hips. “You're going to do your laundry now, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Rango huffed, turning around and disappearing. Puzzles sighed and walked around to the armchair in the living room, sitting down and sighing as he melted into the soft, slightly worn cushioning. His screen dimmed, again out of habit from those late nights when Rango was younger. He looked up at the wall of photos, his gaze focusing on the cracked frame of one of him, Wren, and a toddler Rango at a park, enjoying a picnic.

Puzzles buried his face in his hands.

“Why can't we go back to the way it was?”

Chapter 7: Flawed Discussion

Summary:

During Niles' lunch break, he decides to strike up conversation with Godbox, unknowingly bringing himself into unknown territory.

The day came and went, and Niles ignored most events that happened during the classes. Leaned back at his desk, watching the students take their notes, and occasionally interrupting Wren’s lecture to scold a few gossiping students into paying attention. Besides that, he didn't do much for his job. He flirted with Wren, he laughed aloud at jokes in his head, and he made a mess of his desk. The students liked his chill personality, but Wren disliked him.

When the lunch bell rang, the students were quick to scramble out of the classroom to the cafeteria, and Wren followed Rango before branching away somewhere else. Niles stood up from his desk and stretched, walking out of the classroom and whistling as he made his way to the breakroom, his hands in his pockets.

As he approached the teachers lounge, he saw Hartley and Rita chattering near the door, holding clipboards and occasionally peering through the window into the lounge before ducking back. Niles raised an eyebrow and stopped by the door, staring at them. Rita waved her hand. “Well, hey there, Mr Niles!” She greeted casually, attempting play off hers and Hartley’s snooping. Niles waved back. “Hey there, scrubs. What's with the snooping?”

“Ah-” Rita stuttered for a moment before Hartley answered calmly. “Me and the rest of the newspaper club noticed some oddities happening between BCL and the principal, and we're trying to see what's going on.”

“Hartley, you weren't supposed to tell him!” Rita snapped, and Niles laughed. “Oddities, huh? Y'know, you can always ask someone on the inside for help like myself.” Niles hummed, moving his hair out of his eyes. Rita’s expression brightened, her ears perking up. “Really? You'll help?” She asked, and Niles nodded. “Yup! For a price-”

Hartley pulled 20 dollars from his pocket. Rita rummaged through her skirt pockets and held out 5 dollars. Niles blinked in subtle confusion before grinning and taking the money. He pretended to tip his hat, which he didn't have one, and entered the lounge as Hartley and Rita giggled and waited outside.

Inside the lounge was one person; Godbox. Perfect. Niles approached the principal and sat down near where he stood by the whiteboard, propping his boots on the table and leaning back. Godbox gave him a look. “Put your feet down.” He ordered, and Niles rolled his eyes, following his command. “Can't a guy relax on his break?” He teased, watching the principal write something on the whiteboard. Except... They were incomprehensible scribbles. Odd, but Niles persisted.

“What's with the scribbling, boss? Are you stressed?” He asked condescendingly, raising an eyebrow at the marker in his hand. Godbox didn't answer for a moment, looking at what he had drawn as if memorizing it, before grabbing the eraser and wiping it away. “It's none of your concern.”

“Do you draw on the whiteboard every time you're tense?” Niles asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched Godbox scribble something else onto the board, staring at it in silence. Niles also stared at the scribble, wondering what was so interesting about it.

After a moment, Godbox erased the scribble and looked at Niles, his gaze cold. “Do you really want to hear what's on my mind, Niles?” He asked in a hushed voice. Niles’ interest piqued, and he nodded, leaning forward. “Of course, doc. I always wonder what’s going on in that chest-head of yours.” He quipped, chuckling as he watched Godbox place his hands on the table, his fingertips pressing against the wood as he leaned forward. There was a long silence before he finally spoke.

“This world,” He mumbled, “Is flawed. Wars waging over insignificant reasons, famine and drought plaguing the lands over the idiotic decisions of those in power, innocent people dying by the hand of a man with a crown and scepter...” Godbox stood up straight, turning back to the whiteboard and drawing a large circle, dark and intimidating against the sheer white of the board. Niles’ smile faltered slightly as Godbox turned back to him, his gaze still cold. “I intend to fix that.”

Niles stared at him for a moment before he coughed to clear the silence. “A-And how will you do that? You’re just one guy.”

The principal chuckled. “With some help... From a friend.” He then turned and walked away, stepping out of the lounge without another word. Niles watched him leave, his brow furrowed and smirk completely gone. As he sat up and processed what Godbox had told him, he looked back to the whiteboard, of the scribble of the circle and how out of place it looked against the rest of the whiteboard.

Concern settled into Niles’ stomach the longer he stared at the circle, and of the remaining flecks of marker from the scribbles Godbox had drawn before. Something wasn’t quite right.

He was suddenly yanked out of his thoughts by the sound of the rest of the teachers entering the lounge, with Mario carrying a box of snacks and Puzzles holding papers of homework, and Wren, with his hands in his pockets and grumbling as he sat next to Niles. After a few minutes of silence between them, Wren finally spoke up.

“You’re unusually quiet today.” He muttered, snapping Niles out of his daze again as the teacher turned to him and forced a smirk. “What’s wrong with a little bit of silence? Do you miss my voice, Wrenny~?”

“I’m starting to regret talking to you now.” Wren groaned, pushing Niles’ face away from him as the man laughed. Niles chuckled and grabbed a bag of chips from the snack box Mario had brought in, tossing a chip into his mouth as he glanced at the dark circle on the board again, its presence looming and killing his mood again. He frowned at the circle before getting up and grabbing the eraser, wiping it away. Wren noticed the circle right as Niles wiped it away. “Was that always on the whiteboard?” He asked, before receiving an odd look from Niles. The look quickly transformed into a smirk, and Niles leaned over him. “Who cares about that? Are you free tonight at all, Mr Ink?”

Wren nearly jumped from his seat at the question. Was Niles asking him out?! In front of all of the other teachers?! He stammered for an answer. “Y-You- Why the hell are you asking this here-?!” He hissed to him quietly, and Niles cackled at his fluster. “If you want, I can bring this somewhere more private~”

“Can you two stop trying to fuck each other, this is the break room, not your bedroom!!” Mario suddenly shouted at them both, startling them out of their bubble as Puzzles and a few other teachers burst into giggles. Wren’s face flushed a deeper red as he burst up and stormed out of the room, and Niles, flusteredly, followed after him.

Once he made it to the door, he lingered for a moment, staring back at the whiteboard and ignoring the mass of giggles and laughter.

Whatever it was that Godbox was talking about...

He should probably investigate.

Chapter 8: Moonlit Walk

Summary:

While on their walk through the campus, Niles and Wren grow ever closer, all the while Niles decides to start his search.

Notes:

wreniles shippers come get your food

Wren didn’t know why he agreed to this.

Standing outside the school grounds by the gate to the student parking lot, he watched his own breath rise in the cold night air as he waited for Niles to accompany him. After school had ended, Niles had approached the squid and asked if he wanted to take a walk around campus after dark. Surprisingly, Wren had agreed.

Was it pity over the fact that Niles had been hitting on him for weeks, and Wren had constantly denied his advancements? Was it his own loneliness from constantly failing to bother Puzzles, and his desire for companionship? Or was it because he was starting to genuinely feel something for Niles?

Whatever it was, why exactly did Niles want to walk around the school?

Wren sighed, checking his phone for the time. 10:30 PM. He looked around the street, finding no sign of the man that he was supposed to be walking with. His brow furrowed. “Where the hell is that flirt...” He muttered to himself, looking around before gazing up at the cloudy sky, trying to find the speckles of stars that would normally paint the navy blue of the night. He, of course, failed.

With a final sigh, Wren put away his phone and shoved his hands into his pockets, readying to leave before he heard a voice rushing towards him.

“Wren! Sorry I’m late!” Niles shouted, darting up to the squid, out of breath. He was dressed for the cold weather, with a dark trench coat and a sweater underneath. He also had a red beanie on his head, ruffling his lavender hair slightly under the fabric. As he caught his breath, Wren turned back to him, grumbling. “What took you so long? I’ve been standing here for nearly half an hour.” He huffed angrily, and Niles stood up straight and smiled down at the squid. “I had to grab a few extra supplies.” He answered, pulling a flashlight from his coat and turning it on, pointing the light at the sidewalk. “Can’t take a walk without a light!”

Wren rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He muttered, watching Niles approach the gate and climb it, encouraging Wren to follow. “Don’t be shy, squid~!”

Wren grumbled again under his breath, climbing the fence after him and hopping down next to Niles, and Niles grinned as he pointed the flashlight forward and started their stroll. Wren ran after him.

The walk was mostly quiet. The quiet chirping of crickets in the grass and crows of birds in the night silence was a nice break of tension in the otherwise awkward quiet between them both, and while Wren’s boots made thumps on the concrete below him, Niles’ shoes made no sound at all.

Wren exhaled and watched the cloud of air rise before he spoke. “So, why did you invite me on a walk here? There are plenty of parks and stuff you could’ve brought me to for this.” He huffed, trudging along as Niles waved the light around, glancing at him. “What’s wrong with a walk around the school? We already know our way around campus, so we won’t get lost, and we’re less likely to get interrupted by joggers passing by! Plus, we’re all alone, so we don’t need to worry about keeping secrets from snoopy students.” He explained, whistling softly as he walked. When they reached a staircase that led to the hills outside the school, Niles stretched his hand out to Wren, and the squid took it, letting Niles lead him up. He felt a little stupid, being led by the hand by another guy, but he didn’t seem to mind it all that much. Besides, Niles was much nicer like this. He wasn’t as smug or arrogant as he was in school, which was nice.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Niles glanced back at Wren, smiling at him softly. The moonlight that reflected on his face left a slight glow of purple in the dark, and the sight was... Oddly beautiful to Wren. The squid’s stern expression slowly softened the longer he looked at Niles, and when Niles noticed this, he let out a soft giggle. “I’ve never seen you so relaxed, Wren.” He stated, and Wren blinked, trying to regain his cold demeanor, but failing. “S-Shut up. Don’t get used to it.” He muttered, feeling his cheeks grow warm, a clashing feeling against the cold night air. Niles laughed a little louder, continuing to walk. Wren rushed to catch up.

“Anyway,” Wren began, kicking a few rocks as he walked. “You’re a pretty laid back teacher during work hours. Why’d you become a teacher if your head isn’t in the game?” He asked, and Niles thought for a moment, looking up at the sky as he contemplated the question. “Well... I guess I was just feeling bored.”

“Bored? That’s it?”

“Yeah.” Niles shrugged. “I’m doing pretty well financially. I already have a bunch of money from fuck tons of lawsuits from my younger years, and some smart investing has me sitting on beds of dough.”

“Don’t rub it in my face, rich boy.” Wren scoffed, and Niles let out a snort. “Anyway! I think I realized at some point that I was... Not too happy with my life. I didn’t have a job, I didn’t have a hobby, nothing. All I ever did every day was do coding jobs for small businesses and IT work to rake in extra cash to hand to friends.”

“And you chose teaching... Why?”

“It seemed interesting. Lots of dumb kids looking to learn something new from an adult that knew what they were talking about, it seemed right up my alley.” He hummed, putting his hand in his pocket as he pointed the flashlight at a poster on one of the buildings. “So I applied to be a coding teacher, did the interview with Miss Mayberry, and got the job. Easy squeezy!” He ran a hand through his hair. “And so far, it’s been interesting. The beef between some of the students is really entertaining.” He chuckled out loud, and Wren found himself staring.

“... Right. Glad it’s lived up to your expectations.” He muttered, and Niles paused his walking right by the front office, his flashlight pointed at the glass doors, lost in thought. Wren stopped his stroll and turned around to face him, raising an eyebrow. “Niles. Are you alright?”

“... Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” Niles muttered, approaching the doors and pressing his hand to the handle. Surprisingly, the doors were unlocked. Wren flinched. “H-Hey, what’re you doing?” He asked, walking towards Niles and grabbing his arm, readying to pull him away from the doors. Niles looked back at Wren, his expression shifting from concern to a smug smirk. “Aw come on, Wren! We have more to explore inside, and don’t you want to get out of the cold?”

“There are other places we can go to avoid the cold, Niles.” Wren huffed, his brow furrowed. But before he could yank Niles back, Niles did it first, pulling Wren close and hooking an arm around his waist, pressing him to his chest. Wren let out a yelp, his face instantly turning a darker shade of red. Niles smirked, though the faintest hint of blush was on his cheeks as well. “Don’t be so uptight, Wren. We don’t need to be professional anymore.” He hummed, his smug tone slowly shifting to genuine care. Wren stared at him for a moment before sighing, resting a hand on his shoulder as he adjusted his standing. “Fine.”

“Great!” Niles lifted the squid onto his shoulder with ease, surprising the squid as Wren shrieked and clung to his head, pulling a laugh out of Niles as he entered the office, bending over to make sure Wren wouldn't bump his head. While the office wasn't as warm as they wanted it to be, it wasn't freezing cold like the outside, and they were willing to settle with it.

Niles set Wren down and began to look around the office, his hands in his pockets as Wren followed him. “What's so interesting about the front office to you?” He asked, following him down the hall. Niles glanced back at him, grinning smugly. “I like a little bit of adventure! You ever wonder what the principal’s office looks like?”

“... No.”

“Well, you're free to stay behind!” Niles exclaimed before stopping for a moment, thinking. Wren tilted his head at the pause.

“... Though I would appreciate it if you joined me.” He added after a moment of silence, his voice holding a tinge of sadness. Wren’s expression softened for just a moment, and he sighed, walking forward next to Niles. “Fine.”

“Sweet.” Niles smiled, opening the door to the office and stepping in.

The office was small, and scarcely decorated. The only pieces of furniture were a bulky mahogany desk, two chairs in front of it, a chair behind it, and a curtain on the wall behind it. There were no lamps, no potted plants or photos on the walls or desk, nothing.

Niles grimaced as he looked around. “This is the saddest office space I’ve ever seen.” He muttered, walking around the small office and running his hand along the wall and poking his head out the singular window facing the thick brush of bushes and trees on the side of the building. Wren lingered in the doorway as he watched Niles look around, watching him move and rustle through a few drawers. He recognized his focused look as a determined search, and his expression dropped into a frown.

“Niles.” Wren said his name quietly, yet Niles had managed to hear it, the teacher springing up from the desk to look at Wren. “Yeah?”

“Is this actually a date between us, or are you using me as an alibi for your snooping?”

There was a long, uncomfortable silence between them both. Niles’ eyes had widened slightly at the question, while Wren’s expression was shifting into a scowl the longer he was left unanswered. Niles wasn’t sure how to answer either; Should he tell him the truth, or lie and risk him leaving?

Finally, he sighed, leaning on the desk.

“... It’s a mix of both.”

Wren raised an eyebrow. “Elaborate.”

“On the one hand, I did want to take you out on a date.” Niles began, standing up straight and meddling with his coat. “I’ve been bothering you relentlessly with flirting without actually taking you out and I just decided, ‘why not try and make the knot,’ eh?” He shrugged, rubbing at his neck. “And I think it’s been going great so far!” He exclaimed, circling from around the desk to approach Wren slowly, his hands raised in the air as he walked towards him. “I’ve never seen you so relaxed throughout the school year, and I think we might actually have something going.”

Niles gently took up his hands and held them tightly, smiling down at Wren as the squid stared back at him, his expression blank. “So yes, I still think this is a date, and I think it’s going great.”

Wren paused for a moment, taking in his answer. He did think the date was going well too, but he still wanted another answer.

“And the other reason?” He asked, tilting his head. Niles’ smile slowly faded as he looked around at the office.

“... I was talking to the principal earlier today in the break room during lunch. It was just me and him, and while we were chatting, he told me something... Odd.” He mumbled out as he crouched down to Wren’s level, and the squid’s interest piqued. “Really? What did he tell you?”

“It was some shit about how the world is flawed and how he intended to fix it... Not only that, but he kept making scribbles on the whiteboard as he talked, staring at them like he was memorizing a phrase, then wiping them away. It was weird.” Niles shuddered, sounding uncomfortable. Wren’s brow furrowed. “That does sound a little odd.”

“And before you and the others came in, he drew one last thing on the board before he left.”

“Was it that circle you erased?”

“It was... It felt less like a circle and more like... Some sort of pit.” Niles muttered, running a hand through his hair as he watched Wren enter the office and look around behind the desk, his gaze fixated on the curtain on the wall. “... I see. But why has that brought you to snoop around in his office?”

“... I feel like he’s hiding something.” Niles admitted, his fists clenched. “He’s already secretive enough as is, he’s our principal, he can be as mysterious as he wants, but that little chat we had about the world being flawed? It ticked me off about something.” Niles walked to the curtain and lifted the fabric into his hands, feeling the scratchy material under his fingers. “... He’s hiding- No, planning something. And I wanna know what it is before it happens.”

Niles and Wren stared at each other in a long silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the rustling of the leaves outside and the quiet chirps of crickets, along with the wind carrying bits of leaves and some trash from the day. Wren sighed.

“You’re delusional, but I can’t say I disagree.” He muttered, and Niles flinched. “W-Wait, you believe me?” He asked, and Wren shrugged. “Barely. Your explanation for why we’re here was rather far stretched, but then again, I’ve heard some rumors about Godbox and his odd drawings. I can hardly avoid hearing Rita and Hartley talking about it.”

Niles cracked a smile. “Okay, good... I was hoping you wouldn’t call me nuts.” He sighed in relief, and Wren turned his gaze to the curtain on the wall. Curious, he slowly moved it to the side and found a blank corkboard, inhabited by a single sticky note reading a date: December 12th.

“Hey, what’s this?” Wren asked, pulling the note off of the board and staring at it. Niles looked at the note as well, moving to stand behind Wren so he could look over his shoulder. Niles’ eyebrows knitted together as he frowned. “That’s the day the Winter Prom is supposed to take place.”

“And how do you know that?”

“I sometimes chat with the students in ASB to get ahead on planning for events.” Niles answered, and Wren sighed as he put the note back. “I see. Do you think that’s a hint for anything?”

“Not really... My only idea right now is that that date is a deadline.” He huffed, moving some hair out of his eyes. Wren stared at him, enamoured by his appearance before he shook out of it and replied. “It very well could be. That gives us... 4 months to figure out what Godbox is planning, right?”

“I think so.” Niles hummed, looking back at the squid and noticing his smile. “What’s got you giddy?” He asked, chuckling as he looked down at him. Wren’s smile just widened into a smirk. “I’m just admiring the view. Is there a problem?”

“AH.”

Niles felt his face flush deeply at the comment, and Wren let out a cackle. But before Niles could think of a retort, the sound of the doorknob rustling to open startled them both, and without thinking, Niles pulled Wren to the window and shoved him out, watching him land in the bushes before jumping out after him.

“Oof-! At least give me a warning next time-” Wren tried to scold before Niles fell directly on top of him in the bush, keeping him trapped between the leaves as Niles shushed him and looked back up at the window. Both of them watched as Godbox peeked out of the window, looking around in confusion before grumbling something and shutting the window, locking it.

After a long moment of silence, Niles looked back at Wren, pushing out of the bushes and pulling him out as well. Wren huffed and swept his coat with his hands, brushing away the stray leaves that stuck to the fabric before Niles spoke. “Um, Wren?”

“Yeah?” Wren looked up at the figure before him. Niles rubbed his neck nervously. “Sorry for kinda ruining the date with my delusion. If you want, we can... Head back to my place and watch a movie?” He offered, smiling lopsidedly as he held out a hand to the squid. Wren blinked, blushing slightly at the invitation, before smiling back and taking his hand.

“Sure.”

Niles’ smile turned into a wide grin. “Nice. I’ll get us a cab, now let’s get out of here!” He laughed, pulling Wren along as they ran through the empty campus, leaves blowing past them and twigs snapping in their wake.

Chapter 9: Agreement

Summary:

As Niles and Wren try to figure out what to do, Puzzles' curiosity gets the better of him.

“So the Winter Prom date is on December 12th.”

“Yes.”

“That’s about 4 months from now.”

“Correct.”

“And depending on what Godbox is planning, that’s either ample time to prepare to stop him or not enough at all.”

“Yep.”

Wren bit at his thumb in thought, looking at the ground of the lounge while Niles leaned against a wall, watching him. “... And do we have a guess on which is which?” He asked, and Niles shook his head. “‘Fraid not.”

“Damn it.” Wren glanced at the whiteboard on the wall, then at the clock. It was 5:45 in the morning, far too early for any teacher to need to be present at the school. Wren’s brow furrowed as he looked back at Niles. Niles tilted his head. “We’re not even sure what we could be dealing with. Is it magical? Is it political? Is it eldritch? We have no idea!” Niles threw up his hands in frustration, grumbling as he dropped them again. Wren huffed and began to walk around, thinking to himself. Niles groaned as he sat on the floor. “At least that movie yesterday was a nice distractor, right, Wren?” He asked, and the squid nodded. “Yeah.”

He stopped his pacing and looked at Niles, smiling slightly. “It was nice.”

Niles smiled back.

As time went on, both of them continued to chat and theorize, sometimes agreeing with each other, other times not. By the time the clock hit 6, some of the other teachers and staff were beginning to arrive, though some didn’t come straight into the lounge.

Niles leaned onto the table of the lounge and sighed in exasperation, almost yawning. Wren noticed the slight tiredness in his voice and spoke up. “Are you alright, Niles? Did you sleep at all last night?”

Niles shrugged and waved his hand. “I fell asleep at like... 2 in the morning, man. What do you think?”

Wren’s brow furrowed. “You really didn’t try to head to bed at all after I left?”

“I was trying! It was just tough.”

“Mhm, sure.”

“Why do you have to be so skeptical all the time, huh?” Niles nagged, standing up and poking the squid. “Can’t you just believe me when I say I tried?”

“Given that you lied to me last night about what that date was about, I have every right to be skeptical.”

“I told you eventually what it was about!”

“And you waited until we were already in the office to do it!!”

The door to the lounge suddenly opened, and both Niles and Wren turned their heads to find Puzzles standing at the door, holding a few stacks of homeworks and a cup of coffee. His screen flickered as he blinked at them both. “... Am I interrupting something?” He asked politely, gesturing to them both and their defensive stances. Wren and Niles immediately relaxed and stepped away from the other, and Niles shook his head. “Nah, you’re good.” He replied, and he watched as the adware stepped into the lounge and sat down, sipping his coffee and grading the homework he’d brought with him. Niles looked back at Wren with a sour expression, his voice lowering to a whisper. “I have a feeling we might need a bit of help with investigating.”

“Help?” Wren replied. “And where would we get that?” He questioned, and Niles ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe from someone who knows all about the school? Maybe Miss Mayberry?”

“I have a feeling she wouldn’t tell us anything.”

“What about the students in ASB?”

“They’d be clueless.”

“BCL? Hartley and Rita told me he and Godbox have been having odd conversations.”

“BCL can’t talk.” Wren huffed. As they continued their hushed conversation, Puzzles’ attention was slowly pulled from his grading to watch them, his screen flickering and antenna twitching. He looked up from the homework at the mention of SMG3, the counselor, and he finally stood up and approached the two, his hands on his hips. “May I ask what it is you two are discussing?” He began sharply, startling both of them as Wren scowled at the adware. “It’s none of your business, Puzzles, buzz off.” Wren hissed at him, and Puzzles’ expression flickered to one of frustration before he turned to Niles. “What is it you two are discussing?”

“Don’t ignore me-MMPH?!”

Niles slapped a hand over Wren’s mouth, an idea popping into his head. He grinned at Puzzles enthusiastically. “We’re discussing interviews! I talked to the head of ASB, Meggy, earlier this week, and she said she wanted some extra stats for her psychology studies. What better way to do it than interviewing the graduates from last year!” Niles threw up his hands, and Wren gave him an odd look before playing along. “Yes... She asked us specifically to try and find a way to talk to the graduates, since she apparently couldn’t contact them herself.”

“And we ourselves are too occupied with our own teachings to try and schedule an interview with any of them.” Niles explained, still grinning at Puzzles. The adware’s screen flickered in confusion as he replied. “O-Okay? Well, I wish you luck with tha-”

“Hang on a minute!” Niles grabbed the strap of his suspenders and yanked him back, causing Puzzles to shriek as he was pulled back into their group. “You could help us! You’ve got a looser schedule than we do since your class is an elective and not a requirement, so on one of your free periods, you could talk to SMG3 and get in contact with the graduates!” He exclaimed, bouncing up and down like a child. Wren groaned internally before he spoke. “We could use your help.”

Puzzles looked at them both as he contemplated their request. “... What do I get in return for this?” He asked, crossing his arms as Niles released his suspender and stepped back. Niles glanced at Wren expectantly, and the squid frowned at him. “Why are you looking at me?”

“You’re the one who beefs with him, not me. Your offer will matter more than mine.” Niles huffed, pushing him forward. Wren stumbled for a moment before he looked up at Puzzles, shrinking slightly under his cold glare. After a moment, Wren sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“If you do this for us, I’ll leave you and Rango alone. For good.” He huffed, and Puzzles’ antenna twitched. “... You promise?” He asked, leaning to his level. Wren scowled, but a quick glare from Niles prompted him to nod. “Promise.”

Puzzles leaned up, silently thinking before he nodded. “Alright. You had better keep that, Ink.” He hissed before looking at Niles. “I’ll do your interview. Are there any questions you want me to ask specifically?”

Niles pumped his fist before beginning to tell him the plan. All the while, Wren was standing off to the side, scowling at the floor with his fists clenched in his pockets. Of course Niles had to bring him into this. They had no idea if Puzzles would snitch if he found out about the true plan, and if he learned that they went snooping in the office late at night? They would be fired for sure. Yet, he could do nothing about it. After all, he promised Puzzles he wouldn’t bother him or Rango, and Niles would be pissed if he broke that.

Puzzles gave a slow nod. “Got it... Odd questions to have, but I’ll try to follow your request.” He hummed, shaking Niles’ hand before he turned around and collected his belongings from the table. “I’ll schedule it at lunch.”

“Sweet! Thanks for the help, Puz!”

“Don’t call me that.” Puzzles muttered, though his screen did hold a smile. “I’ll get back to you when the interviews are done.” He hummed, waving goodbye to the duo before walking back out the door. Once the door shut, Wren glared at Niles. “Why did you decide to drag him into this?”

“Because,” Niles began, grabbing the squid’s collar and shaking him aggressively, pulling yelps from Wren, “He has more time to get information than we do!! And besides, the graduates could have information that we could use to find out what Godbox is planning. They’ve been here before, surely they’d have heard a few rumors!”

“But why Puzzles of all people?”

“He’s talked to the counselor before, and SMG3 has told him about the graduates.”

“How do you know that?”

“SMG3 is a bit of a chattermouth if you ask me.” Niles muttered, clapping his hands together. “And besides, he’s probably going to get better results than if we tried to interview the graduates. So he’s our messenger!”

Wren groaned, rubbing his eyes. He couldn’t do much about this arrangement; After all, Niles was right, and Puzzles was always better at confrontations than he was. And it was likely for the better that Puzzles interviewed the graduates instead of him and Niles.

“Fine.”

“Alright!”

The bell for the first class suddenly rang out, and Wren and Niles flinched at the shrill ring that echoed through the lounge. “Ah fuck, we gotta go.” Wren huffed, turning and walking to the door and leaving. However, Niles lingered behind, glancing at the whiteboard and staring at the specks remaining of the scribbles from before.

Then, without another word, Niles left too.

Chapter 10: Interviewed

Summary:

Puzzles conducts the interviews, and learns more about what Niles and Wren are really doing.

Notes:

Two chapters in one day? Your boy might be possessed/j

Puzzles stood quietly in the counselor’s office, waiting with SMG3 as the counselor made a few extra calls and wrote some things down. The producer himself was holding a clipboard, the questions Niles had requested him to ask scribbled down in neat handwriting. As he stood patiently, waiting for the graduates to arrive, SMG3 spoke up.

“Tell me again why you wanted to interview the graduates?” He asked, standing up from the desk and brushing off his sweater as he looked at Puzzles. Puzzles’ screen flickered slightly. “Ah, yes. Niles came to me a few days ago and requested that I interview the graduates for some psychology stats for Meggy.”

“Why didn’t Meggy do this herself?” SMG3 asked as he tilted his head, and Puzzles raised a hand to answer before he paused and looked down at his clipboard in thought.

“I’m... Not sure.” He shrugged, and SMG3 just rolled his eyes as he walked to the door. “They should arrive in about 10 minutes. Make yourself comfortable, I’m going to see Miss Mayberry.” He huffed, walking out as Puzzles blinked and sat down behind the desk, enjoying the leather. “Hm. Fancy seating for a counselor.” He muttered, setting down his clipboard and waiting. His antenna twitched as he watched the clock tick by.

After a few more minutes, someone entered the room, prompting Puzzles to sit up straight. It was the graduates; Two of them had one eye and baseball caps, dressed in vests and shorts like matching twins. Though the only difference was that one was red and the other was blue. The third graduate was an axolotl, wearing a sweater and cargo pants with bulky boots, his frills twitching.

The graduates waved at Puzzles as the producer smiled. “Hey there, mister!” The red one exclaimed. “You’re our interviewer, right?”

“That is correct. I’m Mr Puzzles, the film teacher.” Puzzles introduced himself, holding a hand out to shake. The red one smiled and shook it.

“Nice to meetcha! I’m Fred, this is my buddy Zero, and this is Axol!” He hummed, and Zero and Axol waved again. Puzzles nodded. “Pleasure to meet you all. Thank you for sparing the time for this, by the way.”

“Of course! Our lives have been pretty boring since graduation, and it’s always nice to meet the new teach!” Fred grinned, and Puzzles nodded, straightening out his papers.

“Of course. Now, which one of you wants to go first?”

---

The interviews came and went.

Fred had told the adware about how there were rumors of affairs happening between the janitor and the weightlifting coach. Zero talked about BCL’s quiet attitude and how he’d only heard him talk once, and it was complete gibberish. Axol’s interview produced nothing much either.

Puzzles adjusted his tie after a moment of silence, gazing at the papers and his notes before looking back up at Axol. “Alright... And did you ever notice anything out of the ordinary here?” He asked, and the graduate looked up at the ceiling in thought for a moment before answering. “... There were a lot of rumors surrounding the cooks in my junior year. We kept hearing them fight all the time during lunch, and there were lots of noises like pans were being thrown around. It was like watching two apes fight in a cage.”

Puzzles nodded, looking back at the clipboard and writing something down. “I see. Anything else?”

Axol’s brow furrowed. “... The kitchen storage room. Throughout all of my years at this school, no one has ever entered it. There’s even a rule in the handbook that says that no one, student or staff, could enter it.”

Puzzles perked up. “Really?” He questioned, tilting his head as he set down his pen. Axol nodded, his hand holding up his head. “Yeah. The popular rumor surrounding that room was that there was a dead body in there, or maybe some illegal drugs that the administration was hiding. And the suspicion was only heightened when Mario told Zero that neither he nor Marty were allowed in there.”

“Oh... That’s certainly interesting.”

“Yeah, it was. But by the time my senior year came around, the rumor completely died out. I think Principal GB shut it down, or maybe someone finally went into that room and found nothing but boxes. I don’t really know what it was.” Axol shrugged. Puzzles wrote something down again before he spoke. “Duly noted. Anything else?”

“If Godbox summons a demon, Fred owes me 20 bucks.”

Puzzles let out a snort. Axol stood up, readying to leave with a smile as Puzzles replied, “Well, you should expect to never get that money, kid.” He hummed, standing up and shaking his hand. “Thanks for agreeing to this. I hope you have a good day.” He smiled, and Axol nodded as he strolled to the door. “Thanks, and you too!” He hummed, walking out of the office.

Once he was left alone, Puzzles sighed and sat back in the leather chair, looking at his notes. The only thing that stuck out to him was Axol’s report of the kitchen storage room...

Come to think of it, why did Niles want this information again?

Curious, Puzzles stood up from his seat and wandered out of the counselors office, just as the bell was ringing and students were pouring out of classrooms for lunch. As he walked through the hallways, weaving around hungry teenagers and scrambling supervisors as he walked to the lounge, finding it full of teachers. Wren and Niles were in the corner of the room, chatting with each other. Puzzles took a deep breath and approached them both, holding the clipboard tightly.

“Niles, Wren.” He greeted them simply, and both men looked up at the adware. Niles put on a smile. “Ah, beanpole! How’d the interviews go? You got anything interesting?” He asked enthusiastically, and Wren rolled his eyes as he watched the adware hold out his notes. “Not much, I’ll admit. Just a bunch of rumors and some tidbits about the staff.” He stated calmly, and Niles looked over the notes. His tongue stuck out for a moment as he read, and then his interest piqued. “Ooh, the kitchen storage room, huh? I wonder what secrets are hiding in there- GHACK!”

Wren swiftly punched Niles in the gut with a scowl, silencing his comment and startling Puzzles as the producer stepped back. Puzzles’ screen flickered to a frown. “Jeez- Are you alright, Niles?” He asked worriedly, and Niles stood up straight, putting on a pained grin. “Peachy! Thanks for the help.” He coughed, looking back at Wren. Wren rolled his eyes and took the notes into his grip, looking them over and muttering something Puzzles couldn’t hear.

Puzzles had to admit; He was curious. What was it Niles and Wren needed this information for, and why was it important? More importantly, why did Niles mention a secret?

He had to find out.

“Niles.” Puzzles spoke sharply, snapping their attention back to him. Niles blinked, surprised that he was still here. “Oh, uh, yeah?”

“May I ask what it is you both are doing? It seems this rather trivial information is important for something.” Puzzles interrogated, and Niles and Wren exchanged glances. Wren gave Niles a glare. Niles winced and rubbed his neck. “Ah, it’s really nothing you should worry about! We’re just... Uh...”

“Project planning.” Wren interjected, frowning at Puzzles. Niles nodded. “Yes! Project planning. We needed dialogue ideas.”

Puzzles’ screen flickered slightly as he stared at them both. “... You both aren’t very good actors.” He huffed, and Wren pointed an angry finger at the adware. “What we are doing is none of your business, alright? So piss off.”

“Actually,” Puzzles began, pushing his hand away, “It is my business.” He leaned forward to their levels, his screen dimming ominously. “You are the ones that recruited me to get this information, and by default, that also includes me in your little schemes.” He poked Wren on the forehead, pulling a growl from the squid. “So tell me now what it is you both are actually planning, before I take those papers and shred them.”

There was a long silence afterward. Puzzles was glaring down at them both, his screen flickering between several expressions while Niles and Wren debated in their heads. Niles was tempted to give in. Wren wanted to leave him out of this.

After a moment, Niles spoke.

“... Fine, we’ll spill.” He muttered, and Wren shot him a sharp glare before he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Puzzles’ antenna twitched as he waited for him to talk, and Niles took a deep breath.

“There’s something... Odd going on with Godbox.” He began slowly. “A while ago, he and I had a chat and he said something really weird that ticked me off.”

“And what was that, exactly?”

“Something about the world being flawed and how he was going to fix it? He was really cryptic about it.” Niles shrugged, glancing at Wren. “Later that night, we kinda snuck into the school and snooped around his office to try and find something, but we just found the date for the Winter Prom in December.”

Puzzles’ screen switched to an expression of surprise. Niles continued. “Me and Wren figure that that’s our deadline to try and find out what Godbox is planning. And with this new stuff about the storage closet, we might get more clues.” He explained, rubbing his neck as he looked up at the adware. Wren prepared for a shout.

Instead, Puzzles just tilted his head, intrigued. “A mystery, hm..? You’re quite bold to think you’ll do this on your own.” He stated, crossing his arms as both men looked up at him in confusion. Wren’s brow furrowed. “... Pardon?”

“I’ll help you out.” Puzzles stated simply. Wren nearly choked on his spit, and Niles’ grin immediately returned. “Wait- Really?! You’ll actually help?” He exclaimed, bouncing up and down as Puzzles sighed and nodded. “Yes, I’ll help. Admittedly, the little interview you had me do piqued my interest... And who am I to deny a mystery to be solved?” He smiled. Wren just sighed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Anything to get this done faster.” He huffed, looking up when the bell rang again. Puzzles looked back at Niles. “Mind telling me the plan after school?”

“You bet!” Niles hummed, grabbing Wren by the arm and dragging him out of the lounge, startling the squid as he yelped. When it was just Puzzles, the adware sighed and glanced at the whiteboard, noting an O shaped scribble with 4 dots around it, and a dot in the center.

Before he left, he wiped it away with his hand.

Chapter 11: Can We Dance?

Summary:

The plan is set: Niles and Wren do the sneaking, while Puzzles does the distracting.
Though, at the end of it all, Puzzles realized he might've liked it more than he let on.

Notes:

The entire time I was writing them dancing, I was hearing 'The Ol' Jitterbug' song and imagining them dancing like that

Niles waited patiently outside the school entrance, tapping his foot to a rhythm in his head while he and Wren waited for Puzzles. Wren seemed less than pleased at the adware’s involvement in their investigation, but considering Niles was depending on him to not cause an issue and ruin their plans, Wren couldn’t do anything about it.

Niles glanced at Wren after a few minutes of nothing, and he tilted his head curiously as he stared at him. Wren noticed the staring and spoke. “What’s your issue?” He asked sourly, and Niles shrugged. “I could ask you the same thing, squid.”

“My issues are none of your concern.”

“Well, considering we’re partners in crime now, and maybe more after the movie night, I think your issues are my concern.” Niles stated matter-of-factly, pulling another grumble from Wren as he leaned down to his level. “Now spill the beans. What’s up with you?”

Wren scowled at him. “You’ve no right to bring Puzzles into this. We could’ve gotten that information from the graduates on our own.” He hissed, and Niles rolled his eyes, standing up straight. “Wren, you and I both know that we’re not subtle. It’s obvious enough with how I flirt with you and how you treat that robot kid. What’s his name again, Rango?”

Wren pointed a finger at Niles angrily. “Do NOT mention him.”

“Why are you so obsessed with him anyway? He’s Puzzles’ kid, right? What business do you have with him outside of school?”

“SHUT UP.”

“Come to think of it, why are you obsessed with Puzzles at all? You’re always finding time to bother him-”

Wren suddenly and swiftly grabbed Niles by the collar, yanking him down harshly and glaring him down. Niles shrieked at the pull and almost lost his balance, managing to regain it before he fell. Wren growled at him. “Shut. Up. We are not discussing this.” He hissed, releasing his collar and letting Niles stumble back as he shoved his fists into his pockets. Niles stared at him in momentary shock before he brushed it off, fixing his collar and shirt as he noticed Puzzles returning to the school. He waved him over, putting on a smile. “Eyy, beanpole, you made it!”

“Hard to pass up on an opportunity for adventure.” Puzzles joked, stopping just in front of them both. Niles chuckled. “That’s the spirit! So,” Niles clapped his hands together. “Here’s what we have to do.”

He made a few gestures in the air as he spoke, and Wren forced himself to look at his partner as Niles explained, “Our subject of suspicion is the storage room in the back of the kitchen, which is currently locked as reported by one of Mario’s volunteers. It’s also being guarded by Mario and Marty at the moment, so in order for us to reach that room, we need to distract them.”

He clapped his hands together. “Marty already clocked out an hour ago, so he’s not going to be an issue. Mario, however, is working overtime thanks to some rowdy fight that happened at lunch today, so he’s our main obstacle.” He looked up at Puzzles. Puzzles tilted his head. “What are you looking at me for?”

“Bait.” Wren spat. Niles shot the squid a glare before looking back at Puzzles. “Well- Kind of. If you want, you should distract him and focus his attention away from the kitchen so that me and Wren can sneak in.” He explained, looking through his pockets and holding up a bobby pin. “And don’t worry about stalling for time too, because I know how to pick a lock.”

Puzzles stared at them both for a moment before sighing reluctantly. “I suppose I can distract him. Is there a specific way I should do it..?”

“I could give less of a crap what you do! Dance with him, spin him around, act out a scene from John Wick, do whatever you want.” Niles waved his hand dismissively, and Wren visibly tensed at the mention of dancing. He frowned.

Puzzles nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Shall we go?” He asked, and Niles grinned and nodded, beginning the stroll to the cafeteria. Puzzles and Wren followed close behind.

As they walked through the empty campus, leaves crunching under their feet and bits of trash being kicked away as they walked, Wren avoided looking at the adware next to him, frowning as he focused his attention on the passing bushes, now illuminated by bright sunlight instead of dim moonlight like he’d seen before. Puzzles’ gaze was focused on the clouds, and the odd shapes they made as the wind blew past.

When they arrived at the front entrance to the cafeteria, Niles peered through the crack in the doors to see Mario in the center of the room picking up wasted food, seemingly grumbling to himself. Niles snapped back and looked at Puzzles. “Alright. You’re going to enter through here first, meanwhile me and Wren will take the side doors. Just make sure that Mario doesn’t notice us or return his attention to the kitchen, got it?”

Puzzles nodded. “Understood.”

“Great. Come on, squid!” Niles grabbed Wren by the arm and dragged him away, the squid grumbling as he was pulled around the cafeteria. Puzzles turned his gaze back to the doors and took a deep breath before he entered, pushing the doors open and walking into the cafeteria.

It was certainly a mess. Cheeseburgers and milk cartons and lunch trays were scattered all around the floor and the benches, and Mario, standing in the middle all by himself, was crouching to wipe up a spill on the floor. He didn’t seem to notice Puzzles entering, since he was more focused on scrubbing the stain out of the tiles than the adware. Puzzles gently cleared his throat.

“Mario? Do you need some help?”

The Italian’s head snapped up as he looked at Puzzles in surprise. “Oh-! No no, I don’t need any help.” He insisted, wiping up the rest of the stain and straining out the towel he used into a mop bucket. Puzzles looked around at the mess again, grimacing slightly. “... I don’t know, you definitely look like you need help.”

“I’ll be fine!” Mario exclaimed, tossing the towel into the bucket thoughtlessly before he paused and grumbled. “I’ll get it all cleaned up by tomorrow. I don’t even need Marty anyway! Or Telly! I’m fine!” He yelled, and Puzzles’ screen flickered to a frown. Slowly, he approached the Italian, stepping over banana peels and candy wrappers as he pulled the Italian to his feet and brushed off his apron. “I think you deserve a break. After all, you’re supposed to clock out much later than the other staff, right? You’ve got the time to sit down and take a breather.”

“Hmph...” Mario grumbled again, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at the mess around him. Puzzles tilted his head. “So what happened, exactly?”

“A fight broke out between the rich kid and that kid with the plastic swords and cloak. They started throwing food, which prompted everyone else to throw food and start fights. Godbox had to come in and stop the fight himself, though he did it by shouting gibberish.” He muttered, and Puzzles hummed with sympathy. “I see. And Marty didn’t help you clean up?”

“He told me that the lunchroom was my responsibility, he was only in charge of the food quality.” He hissed, his fists clenched. Puzzles patted his shoulder, his other hand on his hip. “That’s a terrible excuse.”

“That’s what I said!” Mario shouted, but his rant was interrupted by the sound of one of the side doors clicking open. Before he could move to look, Puzzles jumped and grabbed both his arms, spinning him around in another direction and disorienting him. Mario shrieked as he spun, and once he was stopped, he groaned dizzily. Thinking quickly, Puzzles moved a hand to one of the dials on his head and turned it, his speakers starting to play an upbeat melody from one of his shows. “Hey now, you’re really pent up, I can tell. My therapist used to tell me that moving around a lot such as dancing helped release that stress!”

He pulled him to his feet and bounced along to a tune playing from his speakers, and Mario stared at him in subtle confusion before bouncing along. Puzzles smiled. “So why don’t we dance, huh? Just for a little while.” He grinned, taking his hands and weaving around the mess on the floor, the music guiding their steps. Mario slowly began to grin and laugh, following his lead as the lunchroom was filled with music.

Wren and Niles lingered by the counter of the kitchen, watching them both. Niles laughed quietly. “Haha, it’s working! Come on, squid, let’s check out that storage room!” He beckoned, attempting to pull Wren away from the counter, but his grip was firm. Wren was scowling at them both, his fingers digging into the countertop and his nails scratching the marbled surface. Niles’ tried again to pull him back. He failed again. “Dude, what the hell is up with you right now? Puzzles is distracting him, let’s go before Mario notices us-”

“Nothing is up with me!!” He snapped loudly, and Niles flinched. Mario noticed the yell and turned his head to look in the direction of the kitchen, but Puzzles swiftly spun them both around to direct his attention back to their dance. Niles grabbed Wren’s arm tightly and yanked him back from the counter, leading him past the fridges of food and making it to the back of the kitchen, right in front of the storage room, labeled STAY OUT.

As Niles crouched to the floor to pick the lock, he began to speak. “Seriously, dude, what the hell is up with you? Do you have something against Puzzles and Mario, or is it just the way they’re dancing?” He asked, noticing how Wren’s fists were clenched and shaking. Wren hissed through gritted teeth, “I’m fine.”

“You’re obviously not! I get that you have some weird beef with Puzzles, but you almost got us caught, and we’re trying to avoid that!” Niles huffed, continuing to fumble with the bobby pin. “I get it, you don’t like that he’s on our team now and you obviously have some beef with him that goes way back, but you need to get your head into the game and stop acting like you’re divor-”

Niles paused. Looking up at Wren with a furrowed expression, Wren glared back at him, daring him to say it.

“... You two are divorced... Aren’t you?” Niles said slowly. Wren growled at the man before him. But he said nothing. Niles blinked.

“... So that’s why you two are always fighting. Your issues run deep.” Niles muttered, returning his attention to the lock. After a long, uncomfortable silence between them both, it was abruptly interrupted when the click of the lock sounded. Niles stood up. “There it is. Now let’s see what Godbox is hiding in here...”

Niles grabbed the doorknob and slowly opened the door, finding...

Boxes. Lots of unlabeled boxes.

Wren peered into the storage room and frowned. “Really? That’s it? Just a bunch of boxes?” He scoffed angrily, and Niles stepped into the small closet, confused. “T-This can’t be it... Maybe it’s what’s in the boxes?” He asked, crouching down by one of the boxes and pulling the flaps apart, which had been folded in of each other, only to find notebooks. As he lifted one of the notebooks and opened it, all he found was more scribbles similar to what he saw on the whiteboard. His grip tightened on the papers.

“No no no no no! Damn it!” He threw the notebook back into the box, tugging at his hair as Wren watched. “I thought this would have our answers... I thought this would be our solution!”

“This isn’t a kid’s mystery novel, Niles.” Wren huffed, lifting the notebook he had thrown and looking through it. “There’s going to be more that we have to look for. Maybe one of these notebooks can give us another clue, or point us in the right direction for our solution... And sure enough, look.”

Wren crouched down beside him, holding the notebook out. Niles took the notebook and scanned the page, watching Wren tap a small slip of paper that had been taped in. It was a conversion alphabet, with every letter corresponding to a scribble. Niles’ eyes widened. “It’s a conversion chart. This is another language that neither of us could seem to recognize, and Godbox must’ve made this chart for his own reference.” Wren explained, watching as Niles’ expression gained a hint of hope. “If we ever find more of those scribbles that he’s been drawing, we’ll be able to decipher it.”

Niles nodded. “Yeah.” He shut the notebook and clutched it to his chest as he stood up. “Let’s get out of here. I’m pretty sure Puzzles and Mario’s feet are getting sore.”

Wren grimaced at the mention of his ex, but he nodded and stood up as well.

As they crept out of the cafeteria, Puzzles noticed them leaving, and Niles gave a signal that they were done. Slowly, his systems made the music die out, and Mario laughed as he stumbled back. “That was fun, haha!” He laughed, wiping sweat off his forehead and moving curls out of his eyes. Puzzles chuckled and nodded in agreement, waving his hand to cool his head as his internal fans spun. “Indeed, heh. I do hope you’re feeling better.”

“Better? I feel great!” Mario exclaimed, bouncing around with fervent energy. Puzzles laughed again. “That’s good, then. I’m glad I could help.” After staying silent, he began to turn to the doors. “I-I should be going. Rango’s expecting me to be home, after all-”

“Wait.”

Mario suddenly grabbed the producer’s hand, startling him slightly as Puzzles looked back at the Italian holding his wrist. Mario’s cheeks felt warm as he cleared his throat.

“Um... This was really fun, despite the fact that I still have a mess to clean.” He hummed, releasing his wrist and adjusting his apron awkwardly. “Do you maybe want to... Go out for dinner in a few weeks?”

A red heartbeat line spread across the middle of Puzzles’ screen like a blush, the red line glowing softly as his screen brightened with a surprised expression. His fans picked up speed and his antenna twitched as he tried to formulate a reply. “O-Oh, um-! I- Well that’s-” He cleared his throat, forcing his blush to settle. “... Of course. That would be lovely.”

“Yahoo!” Mario bounced up with his fist as he cheered, before dropping back down and clapping his hands over his mouth in embarrassment. Puzzles let out a cackle as he ruffled his hair, feeling the curls under his fingers. “Tell me where and when to go tomorrow, alright?” He hummed, and Mario nodded sheepishly, his blush still present. “Of course!”

Puzzles smiled down at him, his hand lingering in his hair for a moment longer than it should’ve before he pulled it away, turning around to leave the cafeteria. Mario waved as he strolled out the doors, and even as he returned his attention to the mess all around him, his cheerful mood never faded away.

He still kept that giddy smile as he resumed scrubbing the tiles.

Chapter 12: Forest Fight

Summary:

Camping trip! Puzzles and Wren are employed as chaperones for a camping trip for the students of Omnia Academy, and under their supervision, surely nothing would go wrong!

Right?

Notes:

3 things to say about this chapter:

A. I suck at writing arguments, I've realized

B. The argument turned out a little different than I planned, but fuck it we ball

C. They're very SpamTenna core and it's completely unintentional

The week passed without much happening. Puzzles had been informed of what Niles and Wren had found, and Puzzles offered to help Niles out with translation if he ever needed it. Niles had happily accepted the offer and told he would come to him directly if he needed it. And with that part of the investigation over, Wren did keep his promise; Puzzles couldn’t remember the last time he or Rango had been bothered by the squid. It was actually quite nice, not having a grating voice talking his auditory sensors dry about shitty parenting and useless arguments. Puzzles enjoyed the silence.

At least, up until he and Wren were drafted as chaperones for a camping trip.

“I’m not working with him!” Both of them shouted at the same time, glaring at the short red mushroom in front of them as Shroomy yelped and jumped back, holding onto his scout sash. “N-Now, come on, mates! This field trip requires at least two chaperones to supervise the students, and since none of the parents that signed the forms volunteered, we had to pick from some of our own staff. It’s not my fault it happened to be you two!” He exclaimed, gesturing to them both as he put his hands on his hips. Wren clenched his fists. “Do you really expect me to spend a whole night out in the woods with this lanky boxhead?!”

“Boxhead!? You’re getting real creative with your insults, inky!” Puzzles retorted, his screen flickering as he and Wren exchanged glares. Before the fight could escalate, however, Shroomy grabbed them both and yanked them away from each other. “Enough! Look, none of us have a choice in this matter. The teachers were chosen at random, so it was out of my control who would come with.” Shroomy huffed, crossing his arms as he glanced over to the buses and watched students bounce around in excitement, holding their own camping gear. He looked back at Wren and Puzzles. “For the sake of the kids and the sake of our jobs, you two are gonna have to get over whatever beef you have and join us.”

Puzzles and Wren were silent. They shot each other a final glare before Puzzles relented. “Fine.”

“Good. Substitutes have already been assigned to your classes. Buses leave in 10 minutes, go grab your stuff!” Shroomy cheerfully declared, turning on his heel and jogging back to the buses, declaring to the students to take their seats. Puzzles and Wren turned and walked back to their classrooms.

When they returned with their bags, Wren shot the adware a glare and speed-walked to the first bus, climbing onto it without bothering to wait. Puzzles just sighed and followed after him, stepping onto the bus and greeting Shroomy in the driver’s seat. “Those two front rows are for you both! So have a seat, get comfortable, and enjoy the ride.” He hummed cheerfully, watching in the rearview mirror as they both settled in. Puzzles clicked his seatbelt. Wren didn’t.

As students poured onto the bus and into the seats, with Shroomy giving a lecture about the bus rules and how important it was to wear a seatbelt, Puzzles noticed Rango in the line of students pouring in. Confused, he followed him to his seat.

Rango stared up at him with a frown as Puzzles leaned over the seat. “Rango? What are you doing here?” He asked, tilting his head as he waited for the robot’s answer. Rango shrugged as he held onto his bag of stuff, his fingers digging into the pockets that were bulging with his supplies. “Going on a field trip. What about it?”

“I don’t remember signing a form.”

“You didn’t. This was a free invite.”

“They didn’t give you a form to sign?”

“Nope.”

Puzzles could tell the boy was lying. “Rango, tell me the truth. How did you get permission to get on this bus?”

“It was a free invite!”

“I didn’t get a form to sign, and this field trip clearly has forms to sign!”

“He had me sign it.” Wren chimed suddenly, and Puzzles snapped his head to glare at him. The squid smirked. “He knew you’d say no, so I signed it.”

Puzzles looked back at Rango. Rango just rolled his eyes and scowled at the adware in front of him. “There’s your answer. It’s too late to pull me out of the field trip now anyway, so you’ll have to get over it.” He huffed, and Puzzles’ screen flickered with static for a moment.

“... You’re grounded when we get home.” Puzzles hissed at Rango, returning to his seat as the boy shouted angrily in protest. Wren watched the adware slump back into his seat by the window, his gaze turned out towards the hills, and chuckled. “Doesn’t feel nice when your kid goes behind your back, does it?” He nagged, feeling victorious—

“Shut your mouth before I rip off your jaw and feed you your tongue.”

Wren shut his mouth, thoroughly intimidated by the sudden static and growl in Puzzles’ voice. As the bus began to move, rolling away from the school, the tension between them was silent, only interrupted by the excited chatter of students.

---

It was easy to notice when the bus was nearing the final location for the trip. Grassy hills and busy highways turned into bush-filled plains and dense forests, and the signs that pointed to the campsite were growing increasingly more worn from human touch, and graffiti. Luckily, Shroomy seemed to recognize all the signs with their obscured directions, and managed to make it to the parking lot without a falter. Throughout the entire trip, Puzzles had never spoken a word, not to Wren, not to Shroomy, and not to the students that sat behind him that kicked his seat and asked annoying questions to piss him off. His screen had been filled with static, as if he was zoning out of the situation, before a sudden jerk of the bus slammed his head against the window and produced a crack onto his screen.

“Ow! Fuck!” He swore out loud, and thankfully, the curse was only heard by the adults in the front. Shroomy appeared to fiddle with the control stick for a moment before the bus moved again. “Sorry, everyone! Seems our wheels are getting caught in the brush of wildlife, haha!” He laughed cheerfully, keeping his gaze focused on the path in front of them as they approached the bus’s final destination. Wren glanced over the adware in the seat across from him and noticed the crack in his screen. “Yo, beanpole, you alright?” He asked, only to receive no reply as the adware grumbled and looked out the window. Wren frowned and leaned back in his seat. “Okay fine, frownface.” He huffed, watching the trees pass.

As the bus finally slowed to a stop, Shroomy stood up from the driver’s seat and yelled for everyone’s attention. “Alright, kids, here’s how this is going to go!” He called out, watching as the students and adults turned their attention towards him. “We’re all going to pour out of the bus in a single file line, out onto the trail path where you’ll stand and wait for me and the chaperones to lead you to the campsite! I recommend you carry everything you brought with you, as leaving anything on the buses is a bad idea because they can’t be locked!”

As Shroomy continued his spiel of rules, Puzzles sat up straight and rubbed the crack on his screen, wincing at the flickering and groaning. What a wonderful start, he thought.

When Shroomy finally finished and opened the doors, Puzzles stood up from his seat and hopped off the bus, walking to a tree to lean on it as he watched Wren, Shroomy, and the rest of the students pour out of the bus, the woods quickly filling with excited chatter and laughter as Shroomy attempted to keep their attention. Wren walked to where Puzzles was standing and took a look at the crack on his screen, his brow furrowed.

“That crack looks pretty bad.” He quipped, and Puzzles glared at him. “Good to know.” He said sarcastically, avoiding his gaze. As Shroomy began to lead the students into the woods, giving educational rantings as he did so, Wren followed after immediately while Puzzles waited to trail behind in the back.

As they strolled through the forest to the camp site, with Shroomy giving lectures on the flora and wildlife, Puzzles took a moment to admire the scenery, his screen flickering slightly as he gazed at the flourishing environment, bushes of flowers and tall grass, the towering trees providing plentiful shade from the hot autumn sun, the slivers of sunlight that shone through lighting up the leaf-littered path as his shoes crunched the orange leaves below him. He even saw a small fawn stare at him before bounding away into the woods, startled by the laughter of the students. A flickery smile graced his screen.

Finally, the students arrived at the small campsite. Several dozen tents large enough for two people were perched in circles around 3 unlit campfires, and a cabin meant for the chaperones was positioned perpendicular to the first circle. The tents were all in different colors, some were inhabited by sleeping bags and lanterns, others holding full size mattresses. Almost immediately, the students darted to the tents, opening the entrances and diving in, claiming their spots. Two girls poured into a blue tent and giggled. A boy and his friend scrambled for a green tent and began to wrestle for the lantern. Rango and Ghost walked towards the third circle and sat down by the campfire, holding hands. Shroomy clapped his hands for their attention. “Alright, kids! Everyone pick a tent and let me know where you’ll be sleeping for the night, and if you’re quick, choose a partner to sleep with as well!”

There was a burst of laughter from a group of boys in the third circle. Shroomy scrambled to correct himself. “I mean in the same tent! Don’t take it the wrong way!” He shouted, causing more laughter to erupt from the students. Wren let out a chuckle while Puzzles was silent, though he also found the slip-up funny.

Shroomy sighed and rubbed his eyes before regaining his cheerful expression. “Anyway! Our day is going to be packed full of fun camping activities for you all! If you would like to know what they are, you can refer to the activities board by the cabin!” Shroomy gestured to a large corkboard littered with old posters, with a paper in the middle detailing a list of activities. As students ran to the board and looked at the paper, chattering as they did so, Shroomy turned and held out copies to Puzzles and Wren. “And here’s your own references, fellas! Just so that you don’t get bumped around by kids when you try looking at the schedule.” He smiled cheerfully, and Wren accepted the paper with a grin. “Thanks for that, Shrooms.” He hummed, watching the mushroom walk away as he scanned the schedule.

“Berry picking at 4, campfire lighting at 5- Ooh, the kids are gonna learn to fire arrows! Ain’t that sick.” Wren cackled, folding the schedule and putting it in his pocket. Puzzles scanned the paper before packing it away as well. “That can’t be safe... Is that activity approved?”

“Hell if I know.” The squid shrugged, strolling towards the cabin and sitting on the steps up to the porch, watching the students. Reluctantly, Puzzles followed him, unsure of what to do as he leaned on one of the support pillars. The crack in his screen caused his display to flicker, and he winced and grumbled. Wren shot him a look again. “... Did you bring replacement screens at all?” He asked. Puzzles didn’t look back at him, nor did he answer as he turned his head to the woods. Wren frowned. “You didn’t, did you?”

No answer again. Wren rolled his eyes and scoffed. “I thought you were the responsible one.”

Puzzles whipped his head around to glare at the squid, his screen flickering. “I am plenty responsible.” He hissed at him, his fingers digging into his crossed arms. Wren raised an eyebrow skeptically. “If you were, you’d have a replacement with you. You’re seriously not going to walk around with that crack, will you?”

“It’s none of your business.” Puzzles huffed, turning his gaze back to the forest. Wren scoffed. “You keep looking away from me. Didn’t your mother teach you to look at someone when you talk to them?”

The tension between them thickened. Puzzles’ fingers dug deeper into his arms, and Wren was almost sure that if he had skin under there, it would be bruised. He could see from the glow of his screen out into the woods that his display had flickered and glitched, and Puzzles turned his gaze back to the squid, his display tinted a faint red. He was deathly silent.

Wren frowned at him as he stared at the display of his screen and waited for a response, the red tint slightly hurting his eyes as he averted his gaze for a moment. “And will you quit with that red tint? It’s hurting my eyes.” He scowled, and almost instantly, the tint faded. Puzzles sighed and circled to a different side of the cabin, leaning against the wall again, but away from the squid. Wren just scoffed and went back to watching the students and chiming in on Shroomy’s lectures.

---

Several hours passed, and so did the planned activities. The berries that were picked by the students were made into delicious jams that could be eaten right out of the bowls, and many of the students marveled at how firm Puzzles’ hands had been with the berries, mushing them up enough so that the delicious juice was left. When the campfires were lit, Shroomy had used some leaves and sticks to light the first, and the students were immediately relieved by the heat of the fire against the clashing cold of the forest. By this point, Wren had started putting on layers of jackets, which made him look like a ball of fabric, and Puzzles laughed at this revelation. When Shroomy taught the students how to fire an arrow at the trees, one of the students accidentally hit a squirrel. Wren and a few boys burst into laughter, Shroomy and Puzzles helped the culprit bury the squirrel, while other students made jokes and fake-barfed at the corpse.

As the sun set over the horizon of the forest, with the campfires blazing and billowing smoke into the cold nighttime air, some of the students crawled into their tents to settle for the night or text their family or friends, while the rest circled around the fires and told stories to each other and gossiped. Rango and Froggie were in the third circle laughing at each other and poking the other with sticks. Shroomy, Wren, and Puzzles were all seated on the cabin’s porch, with the mushroom leaning on the fence railing, Wren sitting down on a bench with a thick blanket around his shoulders, and Puzzles standing up and leaning on a support pillar. As they watched the students and chatted, with Shroomy occasionally yelling at a group to stop their teasing, the mushroom noticed one of the campfires losing its light. “Uh oh, one of the fires is fizzling out.” He said, wandering to the side of the cabin to look for firewood. To his shock, he found none. “Oh boy. Seems we’re out of firewood.” He lamented, walking back to the front of the cabin and looking at Wren and Puzzles. “Can you two head out to the north shed and grab some firewood? We’re all out.” Shroomy hummed, and Puzzles nodded as he stood up straight. Wren groaned, but reluctantly stood up as well, the blanket falling from his shoulders as he grabbed his jacket and threw it on. “Of course, Shroomy.” Puzzles replied, and Shroomy grinned. “Great! There should be a trail just behind the cabin here. Follow it for about a mile and a half, and you’ll find the shed! Try to bring back as much you can in one go.”

“Sure thing.” Wren huffed, bouncing off the porch and circling around the porch to the trail, and Puzzles waved goodbye to the mushroom as he followed after him.

The walk down the trail was slow and long. Puzzles figured it was going to be long, since Shroomy said they’d have to go north for a mile and a half, but for some reason, the silence made it stretch. Wren was walking ahead of him, his hands in the pockets of his coat as puffs of air rose with each breath. The only sounds that surrounded them was the quiet ambience of the forest.

They were alone.

The shed Shroomy mentioned was slowly fading into view. Eager to get out of the cold as quickly as possible, Wren ran towards the shed, slamming his hands onto the wood and trying to push the door open, having little luck in succeeding. “Hey! Is this stupid thing jammed?!” He yelled, struggling with the door before Puzzles approached and pulled on the knob. It opened with ease.

Wren blinked, embarrassed. Puzzles chuckled as he walked into the shed and grabbed a few logs. “That’s pathetic, Wren. I thought you knew how to open doors.” He poked fun at the squid as he brought the logs into his arms, and Wren growled at him angrily. “I do know! I couldn’t see the hinges on this door though.”

“That’s perhaps a design flaw, then.” Puzzles hummed, turning and walking out of the shed to allow Wren to stroll in, watching the squid gather logs before muttering under his breath,

“You’d think you’d know how to open a door with how often you left our house.”

Wren froze, turning his head to glare at Puzzles. “Excuse me?” He said coldly, and Puzzles’ screen flickered into a frown. “I thought you heard me clearly.” He said calmly, and Wren just growled at him again. “I’d like to hear you say it, since you think you’re sooo bold.” He hissed, stomping up to the adware and dropping the wood he’d grabbed, pointing a finger at his screen. Puzzles pushed his hand away. “I said, I thought you knew how to open a door, since you used to leave so often.”

Wren’s eye twitched. “Me? I’m the one that left?” He yelled, and Puzzles noticed his voice rise. “You were the one who had all of those demands! ‘Buy me this, get me that, oh we need this-’ They were all useless!”

“Useless to you, maybe, but they were vital to me!” Puzzles retorted. “All those little mechanical parts I told you to buy were practically lifesavers for me, and especially for Rango.”

“Why didn’t you buy them yourself?!”

“You think I had the time?! I was juggling taking care of our kid, my script-writing gig, and dealing with your problems!” Puzzles poked a finger right at Wren’s nose, and the squid swatted his hand away. “My problems?!”

“Yes, your problems!! Believe it or not, you were always leaving something behind for me to clean up when you left!” Puzzles huffed, placing his hands on his hips. “Bits of trash from your trips, disgusting smells from god knows where, and so many fucking cigarette butts! And here I thought my smoking problem was bad!! What were you even doing out there?”

“That’s none of your business!” Wren snapped, turning his back to Puzzles and crossing his arms, looking like a pouty child. Puzzles’ screen flickered.

“I think it is my business, Wren, considering you never explained to me what it was you did outside of the house.” He hissed. “Not to mention, when you left, you would be gone for weeks at a time, which eventually descended into months.” Puzzles said, his fists clenching at the firewood in his arms. “And when you’d return, you’d act as if you were never gone at all.”

Wren glared at him. “We’re not talking about this.” He huffed, grabbing the firewood he’d dropped. Puzzles’ screen flickered, and the crack extended slightly. “No. We are.”

“We’re not-”

“We are.” Puzzles snapped, dropping the logs. The thudding sound they made as they clattered onto the floor startled Wren as he turned around to face him. Staring up at the adware just a few feet away from him, his screen was flickering, the crack from before having spread slightly, and billows of steam were rising from his vents. It was almost cartoonish, and Wren would’ve laughed at the sight if Puzzles’ expression didn’t depict something half-realistic, with glaring eyes and a toothy scowl unlike his usual colorbar mouth. Wren had never seen this expression before, and he wasn’t eager on finding out what it meant. Though he didn’t have much of a choice.

“You were gone for months. We would spend one night, maybe two at the most with each other, pretending everything was normal and we were a happy family, before the next morning when you would be gone.” Puzzles’ fists appeared to shake. “Do you know how it felt every time? Waking up in the morning just to find your side of the bed empty?” He asked, his expression flickering to something solemn before returning to that terrifying, intimidating scowl. Wren forced himself to put on an angry expression as he yelled back, “You were too much, and way too clingy! Can’t a man breathe every once in a while?!”

“Leaving for 4 months ‘just to breathe’ is a bit overkill!!” Puzzles retorted, stomping his foot to accentuate his point. “And, ignoring how I felt for just a moment, do you have any idea how Rango felt?!”

Wren shut his mouth, the remark he was going to make dying in his throat.

“Every single time you left, he would be confused! Asking me, ‘Where’s Papa gone,’ and I’d have to force myself to lie to him, to tell him you’d be back soon! And the disappointment on his face every time you weren’t home, every time he’d stare at the front door from morning to evening, just to find out you weren’t going to come back, it was heartbreaking.” Again, his screen flickered, his expression looking sad and betrayed before it again returned to that terrifying display. “He trusted you. He trusted my words, my empty lies that you would come back, because he still loved you as his father. And- And I still loved you as my husband!” He confessed, the crack spreading just a bit more. Wren tried to think of another retort, but his words kept dying in his mouth.

“T-That’s- That doesn’t-”

“And I get it, I was flawed as well!” Puzzles yelled, not letting him finish. “I had a smoking problem and used to blow some of our money on cigarettes. But you should know now that I’ve quit that habit!” He huffed, more steam billowing out of his vents. Wren could start to see the crack on his screen spread out across the glass, his frustration molding into concern. “Uh, Puzzles-”

“No, you shut it!!” He practically screamed, his emotions pouring out as his screen began to glitch erratically. Wren flinched and took a step back in fear.

“I spent years of our marriage worried for you, Wren. Waiting in our room for the sound of the door opening so I could make sure you were okay. Feeding and caring for our son. Sleepless nights staring up at the ceiling. Listening to your insensitive demands when you did come home!!”

“Years of forcing myself to listen to you, to take responsibility for what you abandoned, to not ask questions, I’ve had it!!” He shouted, stomping his foot in the dirt as he ominously began to approach Wren, to which the squid scrambled back in fear, watching the crack spread to the edges of his frame.

“So tell me now, and honestly, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?”

CRASH.

Puzzles’ screen suddenly shattered, the onslaught of heat to his head and the shivering cold having caused a shock to the glass and shattered it, sending shards flying. Wren shrieked and dropped to the floor, covering his face and head as shards of glass flew into the ground, the trees, and the shed. Puzzles stumbled back, falling onto his butt as the wind was knocked out of his chest, rendering him out of breath from the fall and his screaming.

The forest was deathly silent after that. The wildlife had scurried away from their location, away from the duo. Wren slowly peeked up from his curled up position, looking at the adware just several feet in front of him as Puzzles stared at the ground, static dripping from his frame and his display glitching.

Then there was a sob. Wren’s eyes widened at the sound, his hands lowering into the dirt as he crawled towards the adware, stopping just in front of his feet as Puzzles reached for his sleeve and grabbed it, clutching it tightly. Wren flinched, but didn’t move back. There was no more frustration in his expression now. Only regret.

“... Why di-id you leave u-us...” Puzzles asked through sobs, his voice glitching and stuttering. Wren watched the static drip onto the dirt, his words dying in his throat. He didn’t know how to reply. He didn’t want to reply. Puzzles just sobbed in the silence of the forest, his display dim, and expression cycling between faces of frustration, rage, sorrow, and others.

Hesitantly, Wren raised a hand to his head, feeling the hot metal under his fingers. “... I’m sorry.” He muttered quietly, knowing well it wouldn’t change anything. “... I just... I’m sorry.”

“Why-y did you leave?”

“I’m sorry.”

“We were supposed to be ha-happy.”

“I’m sorry.”

“We could’ve been happy...” Puzzles’ sobs quieted as he said this, his speakers letting out a sniffle. Wren just reluctantly sat there, letting Puzzles clutch at his sleeve and cry.

After a long, agonizing silence, Puzzles finally sat up. His display was still glitching, as without his screen it couldn’t remain a stable image, and the static was leaking out the bottom of his frame and onto the dirt and his slacks. Wren pulled his hand back from his head, feeling Puzzles release his sleeve. With another sniffle, he finally spoke.

“You left for a reason. One that I don’t know. But if you’re going to come and reconnect with Rango, who’s already disregarded you as his father, there’s going to be an issue.” He muttered blankly, looking down at the squid in disappointment. Wren’s brow furrowed, but he was in no mood now to argue. “So let’s just strike a deal.”

Puzzles brought himself to his feet, and pulled Wren to stand as well, moving to gather the logs they’d dropped. “Our conversations from here on out are going to be strictly professional.” He hummed, bringing the firewood into his arms and keeping a tight grip on them. Wren lifted the logs as well, watching him. “And your conversations with Rango will be for his education and his education only.” Puzzles began to trek back to the camp, and Wren followed behind him, silent.

“If you really want to show that you care now,” Puzzles huffed, glancing back at him, “Then you’ll leave us alone.”

He stopped in his tracks. Wren stopped too.

“Understood?”

Wren swallowed.

“Understood.”

Puzzles nodded, resuming the walk back to camp. “Good.”

Wren followed after him. The walk was silent, interrupted only by the sounds of the forest.

---

The campfire crackled and danced as students gathered around the circle of stones holding the fire, laughing and telling stories to each other as they sat together. Shroomy was throwing sticks into the empty campfire and blowing to keep it alive, so that when Puzzles and Wren eventually returned with firewood, he wouldn’t have to relight the fire.

Rango approached the mushroom slowly, his hands in his pockets as he watched him crouch over the stones. “Mr Shroomy?” He called out, directing the mushroom’s attention to him. “Ah, yes, camper? What can I do for you?” Shroomy burst to his feet, looking up at the robot in front of him. Rango rubbed at his neck. “It’s been like, nearly an hour since Da- Puzzles left with Wren to get firewood... Where are they, exactly?” He asked, his lenses flickering blue before returning to their normal orange. Shroomy just shrugged. “They’re likely on their way back! The firewood shed is only a mile and a half away from the campsite, so it should’ve only taken them 30 minutes. I’m sure they’ll be here any minute now!!”

“Mr Puzzles, what happened to you?!”

One of the students exclaimed, and Shroomy and Rango whipped their heads around to see Puzzles and Wren returning from the shed, holding logs of firewood. Puzzles’ screen was shattered, his display dripping static from the edge of his frame and his face glitching as he smiled at the students. Wren was avoiding eye contact with everyone, his head low and his gaze directed at the ground. Shroomy shrieked and ran up to them both, his hands waving as he fretted over Puzzles’ screen. Puzzles just laughed and patted his head. “I’ll be alright! I just got a little overheated out in the cold. Glass can shatter when the temperature difference is too high!” He explained matter-of-factly, walking to the empty campfire and dropping the logs into the pile of sticks. Immediately the fire burst to life, and some of the students scrambled back to the fire excitedly. Rango stared at Puzzles for a moment before glancing at Wren, seeing his dejected expression.

Before he could move to confront him, though, a hand grabbed his shoulder. It was Ghost, his boyfriend. “Hey, where are you going?” He asked, swirly eyes molding to form a confused expression. Rango’s eyes widened for a moment before he chuckled, taking his hand and letting Ghost lead them back to their tent. “Oh, nowhere in particular.” He answered, letting the boy bring him into the tent.

After the fire was lit, Shroomy glanced again at Puzzles and Wren, who were entering the cabin to rest for the night. He couldn’t bring himself to bother him; Some instinctual feeling in his gut was telling him to leave them alone.

Puzzles fell down onto the squeaky mattress in the cabin, groaning as his head hit the pillows and bounced slightly. Wren flopped onto a bed opposite of Puzzles’ on his stomach, his arms sore from carrying the firewood. “Urgh... My arms hurt.” He complained, grumbling as he adjusted to sit fully on the bed and lie on his back, staring at the wooden supports that held up the roof of the cabin. Puzzles sat up and began to rummage through the nightstand drawer, searching. “I hope there are some towels in here, I don’t want to get the static on the pillows.” He muttered, still searching before he felt a towel hit his back. Turning to look at Wren, he saw the squid pushing a plastic storage box back under his bed before turning onto his side, facing away from the adware. Puzzles sighed and took the towel, laying it over his pillow and making sure it wouldn’t slide before he laid down, gazing at the ceiling.

His screen dimmed slightly as a few minutes went by, the cabin boringly silent. He glanced over at Wren, still lying on his side. He looked back up at the ceiling, wiping some static from the edges of his display. Seeing the weird, goopy substance on his fingers, he wiped it away on the towel and shut off his screen, sighing as he dozed off.

Chapter 13: A Friendly Chat

Summary:

While Wren and Puzzles are out on the field trip, Niles and Mario decide to chat.

Notes:

I think they'd be friends if Revelations didn't go the way it did in canon SMG4. Imagine the gossip they'd share about their guardians!

“Flawless.”

Niles muttered the word while chewing on his pen, staring at his notebook filled with scribbled notes and traced letters from that translation chart he’d stolen from the kitchen storage room, having managed to finally, after constant struggling to connect the dots, he’d translated a word into English: Flawless.

Niles gazed at the word with furrowed brows. “Flawless. It’s that same word Godbox used during that ramble the other day.” He muttered, leaning back in his chair as he set the notebook down and pulled out his phone. Earlier that morning, he’d found Godbox scribbling something onto the whiteboard of the lounge, and managed to snap a photo of the words he’d written before the principal wiped them away and left. While it probably wouldn’t give him much, Niles assumed he could at least practice the translation while he could. He didn’t have anything else to do currently, Wren was out chaperoning for a field trip.

Niles gazed at the translation chart. Each letter corresponded to a different scribble, just like how those children’s food maps associated a letter with an animal or object, only without the fun visuals. The scribbles looked almost hurriedly drawn, which made it tougher for Niles to figure out what scribble meant which letter. Despite this, he’d still managed to translate a word. He should get a medal, he thought to himself.

His thoughts were immediately snapped away from the translation when he heard the lounge door open, his gaze snapping up to see a bouncing Mario enter the break room and sit down a few seats away from Niles, beaming. Niles hid the notebook under his legs and grinned at the Italian. “What’s got you in a good mood, mustache?” He asked, and Mario didn’t seem to mind the otherwise annoying nickname as he replied, “I’ve-a got a date with the film teacher this week. I’m really excited for it!” He bounced, his hands tapping on the table as Niles processed this. Puzzles landed a date with Mario?

“Sweet.” Was all he said to the Italian in reply. Mario giggled almost childishly. “Thank you!” He hummed, and Niles pulled his notebook back out, staring at the scribbles and that word again. Mario noticed the notebook and attempted to peer at the page. Niles noticed and quickly shoved it away. “Anyway!” He declared, startling Mario back into his seat, “What is it that you see in Puzzles, anyhow? He’s a little on the uncanny side, no?”

“Maybe so, but he’s got a certain... Charm to him that makes it bearable.” Mario replied, leaning on the table with his face in his hands, like a highschool girl lovestruck with a boy. “The way he talks, his confidence, his love for the kids here, it checks the boxes for a guy I want.” He hummed softly, and Niles’ sassy expression softened into something more vulnerable. “Heh, those do sound like attractive traits. Who doesn’t love a guy with confidence, huh?” He chuckled, and Mario nodded. “I see you around Wren a lot. I know you two teach a class in the same room, but I’ve hardly ever seen you two apart.” He hummed, and Niles nodded. He couldn’t deny that.

“Is there anything you like about Wren?” Mario asked, and Niles seemed a little surprised at the bluntness of the question before chuckling. “Well, he’s rather cocky. If he’s presented with a disagreement, he’s fighting tooth and nail to prove he’s right. If he isn’t though, he still argues until someone pulls him away from the fight. Talk about determined.”

Mario laughed. “Well, he’s gotta accept defeat at some point, but that doesn’t mean he will without a fight.” He giggled, and Niles nodded. “Yep. Not to mention, he’s rather handsome~” Niles grinned, leaning his cheek into his palm as he fantasized. Mario shrugged. “To each their own, I suppose! Though I shouldn’t be talking, Mario’s-a daydreaming about a TV.” Both of them laughed.

When the laughter died, Niles sighed and leaned back in his seat. “It’s a little funny to me, honestly. Both Wren and Puzzles are divorced, and we’re already getting involved with them. Talk about a rebound.” He chuckled, and Mario shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Well, it’s good that they’re starting to move on, isn’t it? Even if they’ve been divorced for years- I don’t really know how long, and I don’t think Wren’s told you yet either- It still takes a lot of courage to throw yourself back into the dating scene.”

Mario then paused. “... Or accidentally fall into it.”

Niles nodded. “Yeah.” He pulled his notebook back out, thinking. Staring at that same word, Flawless, the letters feeling like they’d catch fire if he paid any more attention to them, he closed the notebook and set it down on the table. “Neither of them are perfect, I’ve gathered that much.” He said quietly, bringing Mario to look at him again. Niles took a breath. “But it’s those little imperfections that make them attractive to us, isn’t it?”

Mario nodded in agreement. “Yeah, s’pose. No such thing as a perfect partner!” He smiled at Niles, and Niles grinned back. “Yeah. No such thing.”

After a moment of silence, Niles stretched out his arms, making a few grunts of effort as the tension in his shoulders and ligaments finally eased. “Anyway, where are you gonna take Puzzles for your date? I assume somewhere fancy?” He asked, staring at Mario as if waiting for gossip. Mario blushed and laughed nervously, rubbing his neck. “Ah, well- There’s a nice restaurant that serves pasta downtown, and I was going to get a reservation...”

“You need a reservation? Don’t blow out your wallet before you blow out his back, dude.”

“NILES!!”

Chapter 14: Date Night

Summary:

Puzzles and Mario finally go on their date!

Notes:

funnily enough as i was finishing this chapter i brought my puzzles plush to school, and another kid with a mario plushie made them smooch

Puzzles stood awkwardly in his bedroom in front of the mirror, fiddling with his tie and smoothing out the fabric with his hands. Tonight was his date night with Mario. A good distraction from the fight a few days prior in the camp. His outfit was simple, yet still holding the “formal” aspect he wanted to keep; A grey vest over one of his white dress shirts, dark trousers, and black and white sneakers. He felt that dress shoes would be him overdressing, so he decided on sneakers instead. He would have to put something on the soles to prevent them from squeaking, though.

With a defeated sigh, he pulled off the tie and threw it onto the bed, opting to adjust the rest of his outfit anxiously. At some point during this, Rango had begun peering into the bedroom, an eyebrow raised as he chewed on a scrap metallic plate. After a few minutes of silence and nervous adjusting, Rango spoke.

“You’re trying too hard.” He stated simply, and the ring of his voice in the otherwise dead silence startled Puzzles, making the adware jump slightly before he relaxed. Puzzles gave an exasperated sigh. “I suppose I am, am I..? It’s just- I haven’t been on a proper date in years. I’ve kind of forgotten how to dress for these things.”

“Is it at a restaurant or a park?” Rango interrogated. Puzzles’ screen flickered. “... Mario said it was at a restaurant downtown.”

“5 star or casual?”

“It sounded like something in between those?”

“Do you think Mario is also dressing formally?”

“I assume so?”

Rango sighed and walked up to the adware, tugging at his vest and making adjustments, rolling the sleeves of his shirt and folding the collar and dusting him off. “Again, trying too hard. Just be casual, don’t try to be overly polite, and just...” Rango stepped back, nodding in approval as Puzzles smoothed out his vest. “Be yourself.”

“Thank you, Rango.” He said politely, smiling at the robot in front of him. Rango just rolled his eyes and took another bite out of the scrap plate. “Whatever. Just don’t kill your gears while you’re gone or whatever.” He huffed, turning around and leaving the room. Puzzles sighed, shaking his head subtly. “At least he said hello.” He muttered, taking one last look into the mirror before moving out of the room, grabbing his keys and walking to the front door before shouting, “I’ll be back at 10!”

“Don’t die!” Rango shouted back through the walls of his room. Puzzles gave a soft chuckle before he stepped out of the house, locking the front door behind him before he drove away.

---

Mario patiently waited outside of the restaurant, standing just by the doors of the building as he watched the passing cars and some pull into the parking lot, looking to see if it was Puzzles before finding it was just a stranger. He was about 5 minutes late, but Mario didn’t mind; He knew traffic could be a hassle, and if Puzzles ended up more than an hour late, he wouldn’t be mad at all. He found plenty of entertainment in looking up at the night sky, watching the clouds pass and the stars shimmer and the moon glow in the nighttime.

After several more minutes, another car pulled into the parking lot and Puzzles stumbled out, smoothing out his clothes and wiping down his screen as he approached the Italian. Mario turned his gaze towards the adware and smiled, taking in his outfit. Puzzles did the same.

Mario was dressed similar to him, though slightly more colorful; A silver-colored jacket and a red tie, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His slacks were also the same color as the jacket, and he was in his work boots, though he’d taken a cloth to the leather to make them look cleaner.

Puzzles cleared his throat. “You look...” He struggled for words for a moment before he finished. “Stunning.” Mario sheepishly grinned and rubbed his neck. “Thanks. You also look pretty good.” Puzzles smiled at him and glanced at the doors to the restaurant, gazing at the glowing sign. Mario took a step towards the doors. “I’ve already gotten us a table, I’ve just been waiting for you.”

“AH! I apologize for being late, then.” Puzzles hummed, and Mario just laughed and waved his hand. “It’s only been 10 minutes, you’re quite alright!” He reassured him, holding out a hand to the adware. “Anyway, let’s head inside before the clerk gives away our table.” He smiled up at Puzzles politely, and Puzzles smiled back, slowly resting his hand in Mario’s as he let the Italian lead him inside.

After registering once again and passing through the doors into the dining area, Puzzles marvelled at the grand decoration that was spread across the restaurant, from the lanterns hanging from the high ceiling, to the candles on the tables, to the intricate patterns of the rug on the floor. His screen brightened at the sight. “Wow... You really managed to get a table here?” He asked, tearing his gaze from the wallpaper to Mario. Mario smiled and nodded. “Yup! Had to borrow some money from Marty to afford it, but it was worth it!” He beamed a grin at Puzzles as they found their table, located in a corner near one of the windows that faced the city. The glittering lights of every building in the night only seemed to mesmerize Puzzles more. Mario took a seat on one side, and Puzzles took a seat on the other.

Mario tilted his head, still smiling at the adware. “Enjoying the view?” He asked, and Puzzles seemed to jump back to attention. “Oh! Yes, yes. I’ve never seen the city like this before.” Puzzles hummed, looking back out the window at the glittering buildings. Mario chuckled. “It is quite the sight when the sun sets. Do you live out here in the city?” He asked, and Puzzles shrugged. “Hard to say. My home is just on the outskirts of the city border, so it’s technically off-the-grid, but I still pay the city bills.”

“That definitely sounds complicated.” Mario hummed, and Puzzles nodded. “Oh, it is. It was also a hassle to figure out who I had to contact to rent the place. Do I contact the city landlord, or the guy who offered it up? It took me two months to figure it out.” Puzzles sighed, glancing at the white table cloth. Mario noticed a waiter approach their table and ordered, asking for some pasta while Puzzles just requested water. When the waiter left, Mario tilted his head, tapping his fingers on the table. The silence felt a little awkward, at least until Puzzles spoke.

“You’ve been working at the school for a while, yes?” He asked quietly, his voice tinged with curiosity as Mario perked up and nodded. “Yup. About 10, 11 years going strong.”

“My my. You must know a lot about the school, then?” He asked, leaning on the table as he tilted his head. Mario leaned back in his seat. “Well, yeah! I can tell you every rumor that’s ever gone to pass! And about cool secret rooms that the staff never closed off to students.” Mario boasted proudly, and Puzzles thought of the storage room from the kitchen. His curiosity once again overpowered his politeness, and he spoke. “Do you think you can tell me about that storage room in the kitchen?”

Mario paused, blinking at him. “... The storage room? How’d you learn about that?”

“Well, I remember seeing it when we talked in the kitchen several weeks ago, and I interviewed some of the graduates last week as well, and they told me about it.” Puzzles explained. He felt a little bad not telling him the entire truth about how he knew, but this was enough to throw Mario off his trail. Mario hummed thoughtfully. “Well... The thing is, I don’t know much about that room. Not me, nor Marty.”

“How come?”

“Well, I’m certain the graduates told you that the room is closed off to both staff and students, right? Marty and I are forbidden from going in there, and Godbox told us when he hired us to store the boxes of food in the frozen sections of the kitchen, meant for the pizzas and salads.” Mario explained, lifting a fork from the table and waving it around subtly to accentuate his point. Puzzles hummed as he took this in. “Do you have an idea on what’s inside?”

“Not really. I’ve tried looking, but Marty’s a stickler for the rules and always defends that door with his life.” Mario seemed to groan at the mention of his partner, and Puzzles stifled a chuckle. “You don’t seem pleased with Marty.”

“He’s insufferable. Always strict about rules and the food, trying to tell me how to cook the lunches, and he starts shouting loudly if he ever hears a student say something against the rules. Not to mention he doesn’t care at all if the kids get their nutrition.” Mario grumbled. “If he was the one serving at the booth, I’m certain he would be giving those kids chips and beans every day without fail.”

“That’s gross.”

“Exactly.” Mario sighed. “But that’s off topic. That storage room has always intrigued me, and I’ve been dying to know what was inside there! I’ve tried peering through the gaps, but the inside of the room is too dark.” He hummed, thanking the waiter when his food was brought. Puzzles nodded and had a sip of his water. “I see... Have you ever seen anyone else enter?”

Mario thought for a moment, bringing some pasta into his mouth and chewing. After swallowing, he answered. “Only one person. BCL.”

Puzzles perked up. “The guy with the box on his head?” He asked, and Mario nodded. “I had to stay late a couple years ago to clean up a mess the students left in the cafeteria when I heard him enter. He didn’t see me in the dark since it was already 9 o’ clock and I was using a flashlight with half-dead batteries to see, but I saw him enter the kitchen and into the storage room. He fumbled around in there for several minutes, dropping a few things and picking up a few others, before he left. I don’t think he had any idea that I was still there.”

Puzzles processed this information for a long moment, his cup in his hands and his fingers tapping the glass. “... Did you catch a glimpse inside the storage room while he was in there?” He asked, and Mario shook his head. “I wasn’t close enough. I didn’t want to tick off BCL about my presence and scare him away, so I kept behind the booth and watched him.”

After that, Mario cleared his throat. “I feel like we got off topic there! Is it just me, or did it turn into an interrogation instead of a date?” He remarked with a smirk, and Puzzles laughed at his comment, a faint red line spreading across his screen like a blush. “Oho, you’re right! My apologies, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Mario reassured, having another bite of his food. “I’ve never told anyone about what I saw. Can’t tell Marty, he’d yell at me for hours. Can’t tell the teachers, they wouldn’t believe me because the room is off limits. Most certainly couldn’t tell Godbox because he’s weird enough.” Mario shivered. “It’s just been sitting in the back of my head, festering. But I’m glad I managed to tell somebody.” He smiled brightly at Puzzles, and Puzzles gave a gentle smile back. “And I’m glad you trust me enough to tell me such. I won’t tell a soul about this.” He hummed, though his heart twisted at the lie. He was probably going to end up telling Niles about this; This was the kind of information he would’ve wanted, right? If whatever he was worrying about was a big deal, every bit of information would count, he couldn’t risk secrets.

“Puzzles?” Mario’s voice snapped him from his thoughts. “You zoned out for a minute. I was asking if you were gonna eat something?” He hummed curiously, and Puzzles processed the question before shaking his head. “And add to the bill, which I’m certain is already expensive? I think I’ll pass.” He smiled a little wearily, and Mario frowned. Poking his fork into his pasta and twirling, he lifted it up again with a bite, holding it out. Puzzles’ screen flickered. “W-Wha-”

“Open that vent or wherever you put your food. I’m not letting you go home hungry after tonight.” Mario huffed determinedly, sitting up in his seat to reach. Puzzles’ blush deepened at the offer, his confusion replaced with flattery. “W-Well, I- Ah...”

Finally, he relented, leaning forward and letting the pasta fall down his vent. Mario pulled the fork back and smiled. “Is it good? Mario finds it hard to tell since I eat pasta so much.” He chuckled, and Puzzles took a moment to register the taste. “... It’s pretty good.” He smiled. Mario beamed at him and held up another bite. Deciding to save himself the effort, Puzzles just took the fork from his hand, their fingers touching for a split second before he pulled the utensil from his grip and took a bite. Both of them flustered at the small moment of contact, but both quickly regained their composure. Mario cleared his throat. “Mario can call over a waiter for you to order properly if you want!” He offered, and Puzzles snickered at his words. Mario blinked. “What’s so funny?”

“You just spoke in third person, my dear.” He pointed out, and Mario quickly flushed, his gaze turning to the window. “O-Oh, yeah. It’s just a habit.” He chuckled nervously, and Puzzles smiled. “Oh, it’s fine. It’s rather charming, I’ll admit.” He hummed, and Mario grinned at him.

As the date went on, Puzzles did order himself some food, and while he ate and listened to Mario ramble about a TV show he used to watch as a child, he found himself enamoured with the Italian. That silly, idiotic smile of his, his messy curls, that bushy mustache that could never hide his grin, Puzzles adored him. His screen displayed an expression one could only describe as lovestruck, and his posture was leaned forward on the table, wanting to be closer.

But the longer he adored him, the more the guilt ate away at him.

He lied to Mario about the storage room. He had distracted him with that dance that day in the cafeteria just so that Wren and Niles could get something from that room. And what had they found? Just some notebooks and a translation chart. The longer he kept it to himself, the heavier his conscience became, and eventually, he couldn’t take it. He couldn’t lie to him.

“Mario.” Puzzles spoke his name quietly, pulling the Italian from his rambles as Mario looked at him. “Yeah? What’s up?” He hummed, and Puzzles seemed to tense. He had no idea how this was going to go, and he was afraid of the worst, but he had to tell him.

“... I haven’t been... Entirely honest with you.” He muttered nervously, his screen dimming slightly as he pushed his plate of half-eaten food forward. Mario blinked, his smile fading. “What do you mean?”

“... That dance we had, in the cafeteria?” Puzzles began, taking a deep breath to steady himself, “It was meant as... A distraction.”

Mario’s brow furrowed as he tilted his head. “A distraction? From what?” He asked, and Puzzles tensed. He could lie here and brush off the whole conversation. He quickly discarded that thought and clasped his hands together, fiddling with his gloves. “... The storage room. I- I was sent out by... Some coworkers to keep your attention away from the kitchen so that they could have a look inside.” He dipped his head. Mario’s expression shifted to one of slight disappointment. “... And what did they find?”

“Just a bunch of notebooks.” Puzzles muttered, before looking back up at Mario. “I... I deeply apologize for lying to you.” He said quietly, standing up from his seat. Mario stood up as well, looking concerned. “But that dance we had really did mean something to me, if that’s what you want to ask.”

“Puzzles.” Mario interrupted his spiel with his name, and Puzzles paused to look at him. He didn’t look angry at all. Just intrigued and concerned. “... While I don’t appreciate that you lied to me, it does mean a lot that you opened up about it. And that dance meant a lot to Mario too.” He smiled at him softly, the friendly gesture bringing a brighter blush to Puzzles’ screen. “... Good to see you aren’t mad then.”

“Like I could ever be mad at you, you’re too sweet.” Mario giggled, fishing through his wallet for some cash. “Let’s pay and get out of here.”

“Oh- Yes, yes.” Puzzles hummed, following the Italian to the front counter as he paid, and they both left the restaurant. Wandering through the parking lot, they were silent, but it felt like conversation wasn’t needed. They were both comfortable in the quiet, and Puzzles couldn’t enjoy it more.

“I used to hate it when it got too quiet.” He admitted, stopping his walking to look up at the sky. Mario directed his attention to him, before following his gaze to the cloudy sky. “It usually meant something was wrong, or that Rango had broken his voicebox while swallowing something too big for his throat.” He chuckled at the statement. “But now, standing out here in the night with you?” He turned his head to look down at Mario, and the Italian smiled at him. Puzzles smiled back. “It’s actually quite nice.” He admitted, sighing contently. Mario’s smile widened. “Glad I could make ya feel that way, TV man!”

Puzzles laughed at the nickname, light clouds of steam coming up from his vents in the cold air. Mario smiled at the sight, simply staring at Puzzles before he noticed the adware lean to his level, his screen dimming so he wouldn’t blind the Italian. Gently, he took up his hand into his own and pressed the bottom of his screen to his knuckles, and Mario felt a light zap on his skin. A kiss. His face turned red as Puzzles stood back up, blushing, but smiling.

“Thank you for the date, my dear.” He said kindly to him, wandering to his car and lingering by the door, watching as Mario just stood there, stunned by his gesture. “I hope we can unite again sometime?” He offered, and Mario nodded, a large, idiotic smile making its way onto his face. “O-Of course! Mario would love to.”

Puzzles chuckled. “Alright then. I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” He hummed, finally getting into his car and driving back home. Mario stayed there in the parking lot, glancing at his hand and bouncing around, giggling like an excited child as he darted for the bus stop to go home.

Chapter 15: Compromise

Summary:

Niles and Wren have a chat before the weekend.

The final bell rang out across the school, and students were swift to pour out of every classroom in the school. Wren, exhausted, was looking forward to the weekend for once. 6 straight hours of dealing with unruly, dense, or otherwise ignorant students had really drained his batteries down to zero, or maybe even the negatives if it were even possible. With a groan, the squid stood up from his desk and began to pack his things before Niles’ voice snapped him from his trance.

“Leaving already, squid?” He asked, smirking as he walked to the desk and placed a hand on the wood, leaning over Wren as he grinned. Wren looked up at him with a blank expression. “Why are you still here?” He asked dully, and Niles shrugged. “Coding club. The club leader wants to host today’s meeting in here, so I’ve got to stay for supervision.”

“Ah.” Wren just hummed in reply and resumed packing his stuff, and Niles moved to sit on the edge of the desk, watching him. He turned to look at the whiteboard, thinking.

“... How was the camping trip?” He asked, and Wren flinched. “... It was fine.” He answered simply, and Niles glanced back at him, his expression holding doubt. “You sure? Ever since you got back from that trip, you’ve been...” Niles paused to pick his words. “... Dull.”

Wren sighed. He had been rather quiet the past few days since the camping trip. His presentations to the classes had been boring, and Niles had to take over each one to keep the attention of the students. Not to mention Wren wasn’t talking much to Niles at all, about the scribbles or otherwise. Niles’ brow furrowed with concern. “What happened at the camp?” He asked, and Wren grumbled. “None of your business.” He huffed, shoving a notepad into his bag and zipping it closed.

Niles pouted. Moving off the desk and around to Wren, he wrapped his arms around him from behind, his head resting snugly in his hair. Wren flinched at the contact, looking up at him. “What the hell are you doing?”

“If you’re not gonna tell me what went wrong at the camp, I’m just gonna do what I can to make you less boring.” Niles explained, holding him tighter. Wren groaned and reluctantly leaned back in his arms, still gripping the bag he was holding. Surprisingly, this embrace was making him feel a little better about it all. Maybe it was just the fact that Niles had been the one smacking some sense into him about Puzzles, or keeping him grounded on better objectives. Either way, whatever it was Niles was doing, it was helping.

Wren groaned again. “Fine, fine, I’ll tell you.” He huffed, and Niles let go of him as he sat on the desk, watching Wren sit in his swivel chair and lean back. “Me and Puzzles had a fight at the camp. We were supposed to get some firewood, he made a snide comment about how I left, and it all spiralled from there.” He huffed, trying to keep it simple since he wasn’t fond of the subject. Niles simply hummed in acknowledgement. “Yeesh. Like I said, your issues run deep.”

“Don’t get cocky with me, shitbag.”

“I’m not, I’m not!” Niles raised up two hands in mock surrender, and Wren watched them fall after a moment. “I’m just saying. Why’d you feed into the fight anyway? Couldn’t you have just ignored the comment and avoided the fight entirely?”

Wren paused for a moment. “... I could’ve done that. But I wasn’t really thinking straight.” He admitted in a grumble, sinking further into his chair. Niles gave a look of sympathy. “I get it, man. He said something that pissed you off, and you pounced to start a fight. If someone told me something petty like whatever he told you, I’d probably also be pissed.” Niles shrugged, stepping closer to Wren and leaning on his chair. “But you still should’ve stopped to think about what was happening, even if just for a split second.”

“You think I didn’t?”

“I’m not saying you didn’t.” Niles hummed. “But I just want to know, when did you start to think about what was happening?” He asked gently, his tone clear enough to Wren that he wasn’t patronizing him. Wren sighed. “... I guess it was after his screen shattered from his head overheating? It kind of slapped some sense into me about the entire fight.” He muttered, his fingers toying with the lapel of his coat. Niles hummed thoughtfully. “I see. Did the fight end after that?”

“... Sort of. He just... Broke down crying right there in the grass. Took him 10 minutes to calm down before we got up and carried the firewood back to the camp.” He explained, sighing. “We didn’t talk much after that.”

Niles nodded solemnly, taking in the information before speaking again. “What is your goal with Puzzles?”

“What?”

 

“What’s your goal with him? There has to be a reason why you’re always bothering him, and why he’s been ignoring you for ages.” Niles explained, gazing at Wren intently for his answer. Wren seemed to hesitate on answering. It was none of Niles’ business on why he was so obsessed with Puzzles, and he could choose to ignore the question and leave like he originally planned. But the way Niles had been talking to him so far, his attention being focused entirely on him and how he was easing him through the problem he otherwise would’ve left to fester?

Wren felt obligated to answer, despite better judgement.

“... I feel... bad for leaving him.” He reluctantly answered, running a hand through his hair. “I wasn’t sure if our relationship was turning out how I wanted, so I started... Taking vacations from our house.” He admitted awkwardly, and Niles’ attitude shifted to slight disappointment. “Dude.”

“I know, I know! It was an asshole move to leave him alone with a kid, especially since our budgets were plummeting from how often Rango needed a repair.”

“Dude.”

“But I just- I didn’t feel satisfied, y’know?”

“Doesn’t justify you basically noping out on Puzzles and his kid. Come on man, he was your husband!” Niles huffed, giving Wren a flick on the forehead, causing the squid to yelp and rub the spot he was hit. Niles frowned at him. “Puzzles has every right to be pissed at you man, jeez.”

“I know.” Wren grumbled, looking down at his boots before Niles took his chin into his hand and turned his gaze back to him. “Look, Wren. If you want to rekindle some lost connection, you can do it in other ways than bothering him relentlessly. It’s pretty obvious you’re not going to be able to get back with him, he’s already moving on with the chef of the school.”

“He’s what now-”

“So maybe instead of retrying to relight a dead flame, you just look to be friends with him instead, k?” Niles offered, letting go of his chin and smiling at him politely, the gesture friendly and welcoming. Wren seemed to think for another moment before sighing and nodding. “Y’know what, sure.” He hummed, and Niles grinned and leaned closer to him.

“Wonderful! And that means I can have you all to myself~” He flirted, and before Wren could give a snarky remark, Niles pulled him into a tender kiss, both hands on his cheeks and holding him close. Wren eventually leaned into it, placing his hands onto his waist and leaning into it.

When they separated, Wren lifted his bag of things and left the classroom. Niles waved him off, wearing a large grin on his face.

Chapter 16: From Student To Teacher

Summary:

During a visit to Rango's home, Froggie chats with Puzzles.

Notes:

I'm not exactly proud of this chapter since I was... Very zoned out while writing it today but don't worry the next chapter will be better

unexpected gunshow anyway

Puzzles sighed as he slumped into his armchair, his screen dimming with exhaustion at the week’s end. Finally, he could spend some time just relaxing, at least for some time before he had to do anything important. Rango was in his bedroom, hanging out with Froggie, who he had invited to hang out while Froggie did homework for the news club. As he sat there in the armchair, staring at the photos on the wall, his screen flickered with annoyance.

Standing up from his seat, Puzzles walked to the wall and began to take down the photos, piling them into his arms and glaring at Wren’s presence inside them. Picking each photo out of the frame, Puzzles tore Wren’s face out of each one, his screen glitching slightly with the sound of paper ripping. “I should’ve done this sooner.” He huffed, making a tear on one of the vacation photos before pausing. Seeing the smile he and Rango shared, and how close that tear was to ripping them apart, he set the photo aside, sighing. “What the hell am I doing..?” He asked himself with a groan, his antenna twitching at the sound of paws pattering into the living room. Looking up, he saw Froggie, holding a snack bar and staring at him with a deadpan look. Puzzles’ screen flickered. “Do you need something?”

“No. Just wondering what you’re doing.” Froggie simply replied, taking a bite of his snack bar. Puzzles sighed, sitting up and beginning to place the photos back in the frames. “Just making some adjustments to my decor. How’s your homework going?” He asked curiously, clicking a back panel into one of the photo frames as he walked to hang it back on the wall. Froggie shrugged. “It’s going fine. I’m writing an article for the upcoming winter prom.”

Puzzles glanced at Froggie, momentarily forgetting that the prom was a school event and not a secret. “Wait, you know about the winter prom?”

Froggie gave him an odd look. “... Yes. Godbox sent us an email about it and told us to write a segment for it in the newspaper before month’s end.” He answered, his tail flicking behind him as he crumpled up the wrapper for his snack bar and absorbed it, and Puzzles watched the plastic disappear into his arm. “You concern me when you do that.”

“I can spit it out as crystal sugar later.” Froggie shrugged. Puzzles sighed and continued to reframe the photos, all the while Froggie watched. “So why’d you ask if I knew about the winter prom? Doesn’t every teacher know about it yet?”

“... Godbox hasn’t really announced it to us yet.” Puzzles sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as he rehung the last photo. Froggie raised an eyebrow. “So it’s word of mouth that you guys found out?”

“W-Well, yes! That, and some weird snooping from Niles and Wren-”

Puzzles clamped a hand over his speaker, muffling his words as he fell silent. Froggie blinked him, eyes widening with a newfound curiosity. “Snooping from the coding teachers, huh?” He interrogated, tilting his head as he leaned back against the TV stand. Puzzles tensed slightly. He knew how difficult it was to lie to Froggie; He’s heard the stories from Rango trying to get out of a scolding with him after a fight. So rather than try to lie, Puzzles just gave in. “Er... Yes. Don’t tell anyone else, but they both snuck into the principal’s office and found the date for the winter prom.”

“The date? Funny, Godbox didn’t announce that in his email.” Froggie noted. “When did it say prom was?”

Puzzles hesitated, registering this was still a bad idea before answering anyway. “December 12th. It’s about a month or so from now, I believe.” He muttered, feeling more like an awkward teenager than an adult. Froggie seemed to think for a moment, his tail swaying idly behind him while floppy bunny ears rested on his shoulders. “... Hm. And why do you know about this before the other teachers?”

“... Uh... You can ask Niles about that.” Puzzles huffed. Froggie gave him a weird look before shrugging. “I just might. This seems like good material for the school paper.”

“I don’t think Godbox would approve of that.” Puzzles muttered, and Froggie just shrugged again. “Godbox doesn’t control the paper. Only the seniors in the club do, Godbox just gives them a quick read-over before copies are printed and handed out.”

“Don’t you think he would notice if you put in a different segment then?”

“He won’t if I put it in the back.” Froggie hummed, and Puzzles just sighed and sat down in the arm chair again, his screen dimming. “Well... Who am I to stop your investigations?” He huffed, sitting up and crossing his arms. “Rango’s told me how persistent you are when you’re curious.”

“Indeed I am, Mr Puzzles.” Froggie cheekily grinned, and Puzzles sighed and shook his head, watching the boy turn around to go back to Rango’s room. “I’ll ask Niles a few questions and investigate your little secret. I’ll come back to you when I find something.” Froggie stated cryptically, disappearing down the hallway as Puzzles watched him leave.

Once he was gone, Puzzles let his screen glitch before it settled, displaying an expression of exasperation. An unsettling feeling was beginning to form in his gut as the day of the prom drew closer and closer. Was this what Niles felt like during that freakish monologue he’d told him about? Whatever the case, Puzzles couldn’t do much to make it subside, besides maybe smoke a cigarette or make something to eat.

...

After a moment of decision, he decided to get up and make himself some biscuits. He had the ingredients!

Chapter 17: Gym Buddies

Summary:

After being convinced to supervise the track class by Anti, Puzzles finds himself outside with Mr WPNZ, the weightlifting coach.

Notes:

Sorry for the shorter chapter! I swapped out my original plan for chapter 17 in favor of this idea since I realized I've been giving the main characters(Wren, Puzzles, Niles, etc) too many chapters without much side character action, so you guys have been gifted with GunShow friendship.

And don't worry, Marware is still happening.

“It’s just for an hour! I’ve got a bone to pick with Miss Mayberry and the only time I can do it is during track.” Anti explained, leaning over Puzzles’ desk as the adware processed his request, still grading a paper. The purple mushroom was requesting that Puzzles watch over the track students for the period while he talked with the vice principal, and while Puzzles was one to want to help, he didn’t want to leave his students without a teacher. He shuddered just thinking about the mess he would return to.

“Anti,” He began, setting down his pen, “As much as I would love to help you out, I have my own responsibilities at the moment. It’s far too late to call in a substitute to take my place, and even then, I’d only be gone for one period.” Puzzles hummed, clasping his hands together over the stapled essay under his arms. “Can’t you convince your partner to supervise the track? Mr WPNZ?”

“He’s already watching the other kids in the class do their weightlifting outdoors, but it’s not his responsibility to keep track of my kids!” Anti huffed, leaning back. “Just, please, if you do this, I’ll pay you back.”

Puzzles gave a glance at the clock, then back at Anti. He sighed. “Fine. I’ll call someone over to watch my kids.” He huffed, standing up and walking to the whiteboard to write Study Hall onto the pane. Anti pumped his fist and grinned. “Thanks, beanpole! I owe you one!” Anti exclaimed, turning on his heel and darting out the door as Puzzles sighed. “Well... Beats talking for the next hour about camera effects.”

---

It was nice outside, save for the chilling breeze that signaled winter’s arrival, and the lack of sun thanks to the storm clouds rolling in overhead. Puzzles found himself standing at the edge of the track field, watching students run their laps and playfight in the grass. Just nearby, where the football players were tackling dummies and playing catch with their helmets was Mr WPNZ, the weightlifting coach made of metal and bearing a shark-like tail that dragged behind him wherever he went. Admittedly, Puzzles had never gotten to know the coach that well; Their schedules and subjects of teaching didn’t line up in a way that would allow them to converse regularly. But here, Puzzles had a chance to get to know the man, and he would take it.

Walking across the track and the grass, dodging some thrown helmets and a few tackles, the adware managed to make it to WPNZ’s side, and the coach gave him a glance and a grin. “Ey, you’re one of the new teachers hired this year! Pleasure to meetcha, I’m WPNZ.”

“I’ve been working here for nearly a semester- But it’s nice to meet you too. I’m Puzzles.” Puzzles held out a hand to shake, but WPNZ opted to slap him on the back instead, his larger hand knocking the wind out of the adware as he stumbled. WPNZ quickly caught him and pulled him back before he could fall. “Sorry, man! Didn’t mean to make you stumble.” He grinned and cackled, and Puzzles’ screen flickered as he chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his back where he’d been hit. It stung a lot, but at least WPNZ apologized. “You’re fine, you’re fine.” He smiled politely at the coach, and WPNZ gave a toothy grin back. His teeth resembled a shark’s, being sharp and pointed and very yellow. Puzzles chuckled. “Your teeth are rather yellowed... Is it some sort of condition?”

WPNZ just cackled. “Oh, no, they just look like that! I can assure you, I brush my teeth more often than not!” He boasted, elbowing Puzzles’ side as the adware chuckled. “If you say so.” He hummed, turning his attention back to Anti’s students, who were now conversing with WPNZ’s students and playing games, running around like schoolchildren. Puzzles took another glance to the sky, noticing how the clouds were getting darker, and the distant rumble of thunder in the sky. He gave a groan.

“Oh great... A storm is coming, and I don’t have an umbrella.” He complained, taking off his jacket and holding it over his head. WPNZ watched him do this and chuckled. “Yeesh, can’t get wet, can you?”

“Sadly, no. The contents of my head are extremely susceptible to water damage. If anything gets wet, I risk exploding into bits.”

“Damn.” WPNZ raised his larger hand and began to fiddle with the chamber on his arm, the appendage making a few clicking noises as Puzzles watched his metal hand retreat into the chamber and be replaced with an umbrella. His screen flickered with surprise. “You can do that?” He asked, taking the umbrella from the coach as his hand returned and he held it out to him. WPNZ grinned. “Yup. One of the many perks of being robotic is that I can store just about anything, and whip it out at a moment's notice!”

After an awkward silence, WPNZ cleared his throat. “... As in, tools and objects.”

“Uh huh. Nice save.” Puzzles chuckled, opening the umbrella and holding it over his head. “Are you going to be staying after school? I wouldn’t want to keep this from you when you need it-”

“Nah, you can keep it!” WPNZ sneered, elbowing the adware as he felt a plink onto his headpiece. “I’m waterproof. Got the upgrade several years ago so I could get this job.” He hummed, looking up at the sky and watching the rain fall. Looking back down, he noticed the students begin to clamor, taking their jackets out from around their waists and holding it over their heads. And as if on cue, the school bell rang out in the cluster of buildings as well. WPNZ gave a sigh. “Looks like that’s the bell. Hopefully Anti will be back for next period, cause we’re spending it in the gym.” He chuckled, giving Puzzles a clap on the back. Puzzles smiled down at him, resting a hand on his shoulder as they both walked back to the buildings. “I hope so too. I’m not looking to watch this class again.”

WPNZ let out a cackle as Puzzles split off from the path to the gym, spinning the umbrella in his hands as he walked back to his classroom.

Chapter 18: Shopping Spree

Summary:

With the announcement of the winter prom, Rango and Puzzles decide to go shopping!

Notes:

pspsps, Ghost, come get your ghostguns pspsps

Anyways, 2 chapters left to go, I am SPEEDING through this lmfao

The months seem to go by like seconds. September was filled with chatter about the spooky season, along with various announcements about the events that October would entail. October and November were filled with breaks, and for once, Rango could relax in his bed in the morning instead of worrying about where his uniform was, along with a small Halloween party held at Froggie’s that entailed several kids getting exhausted and seniors wasted.

And when December rolled around, so did the announcement of the winter prom.

Rango was seated in Wren and Niles’ classroom, half-listening to their lecture of HTML when the ring of the loudspeakers interrupted the chatter. All eyes looked up to the ceiling, and Niles grabbed a notepad from his desk, flipping through it with a frantic speed. Rango gave him an odd look as Godbox’s voice rang out.

“Good morning, students and staff of Omnia Academy. Hope everyone is having a good day today, as we’re glad to announce that the Winter Prom, which will end the first semester of the school year and the year in general, will be hosted on December 12th. Tickets are 50$ per student, and ASB members and staff have free admittance.”

As the announcements droned on about dress codes and sport events being rescheduled in favor of the dance, Rango noticed his boyfriend Ghost lingering outside the classroom, waving for him to meet him. Rango grinned and got out of his seat, taking advantage of how Wren and Niles were whispering to each other near their desks and not paying attention, as he snuck out of the classroom and greeted his boyfriend.

“Ghost~! What’re you doing here, babe?” He asked, holding him by the hips and kissing his cheek. Ghost laughed and pointed to one of the speakers in the ceiling. “Winter Prom’s finally been announced. I wanted to ask if you wanted to go shopping for suits after school today.”

“Uh, yes?! How is that even a question?” Rango cackled aloud, pulling Ghost closer and into a hug, his thick arms enveloping the slender senior twice over. Ghost laughed along with him and hugged him back, floating off the ground to reach his face to kiss him. “Great. Make sure you come up with a good lie to tell your dad.” He crooned, bumping their foreheads together as the click of the speakers signaled that the announcements had ended. Rango smiled and nodded, letting go of Ghost and letting him rush away as he reentered the room.

---

“Oh, suit shopping? I can help you out with that!” Puzzles smiled as he put the last of the dishes into the dishwasher, shutting the door closed as he stood up straight and looked back at Rango. Rango’s grin faltered slightly as he stood beside him, holding his bundle of cash he’d earned as an allowance. “Y-You really don’t have to do that, Dad. I know my size, you don’t have to help.”

“Please, I insist! Besides, if I’m going to be driving you out to the mall to buy your suit, I may as well try and help out! And maybe grab something for myself too!” Puzzles explained, his screen flashing to a prideful expression as Rango’s face soured. “I don’t need supervision to get a suit, Dad. I’m a senior, I’m 18! I can handle walking around the mall on my own.”

“Okay then, remind me how many times security came up to me with you because you got lost?” Puzzles asked with a raised eyebrow, and Rango frowned in embarrassment. “T-That was one time!”

“Three times, my dear. I’m going whether you like it or not.” He huffed, and Rango began to protest. “But Dad—”

“Ah ah, no buts!” Puzzles interrupted, giving the boy a flick on the forehead. Rango grumbled and glared up at him in frustration. “The fact that I’m allowing you the chance to go to the dance at all is a privilege, Rango. I can always revoke that permission slip, you know.”

“You wouldn’t.” Rango hissed, and Puzzles gave him a firm expression. “I will if I have to. I’m coming with you for suit shopping, alright?” He repeated, holding a hand out to Rango in a gesture of truce. “And if your allowance money isn’t enough to pay, I’ll gladly pay for your suit on top of mine. Deal?”

Rango’s sour expression let up slightly, and after a moment of silence, he sighed and shook his hand. “Deal...”

“Wonderful!” Puzzles exclaimed, clapping his hands together as a cheery smile illuminated his screen. Rango rolled his eyes as his father strolled past him, waving his hands theatrically. “Let’s get ready to go, darling! We leave at 4!” He declared, disappearing into his room with a slam. Rango groaned. “God, do you have to be so weird about it?”

Puzzles then peeked his head out of his room and grinned at Rango. “Yup!”

---

The mall was packed, as it always was. People of all sorts poured in and out of shops, and Rango and Puzzles found themselves in one of the many fancier boutiques, browsing the suits and making comments about the fabric. Rango was distracted from Puzzles’ rambles about custom suits, sending Ghost a text that asked, “Where are you??”

A few moments later, Rango felt a tap on his shoulder and wheeled around to see Ghost himself, smiling and holding a glittery red vest. Rango grinned and shushed him quietly, beginning to follow him into the depths of the store and away from Puzzles.

But his departing footsteps weren’t unheard.

Puzzles turned his gaze away from the suit he was criticizing to watch as Rango disappeared behind a bundle of clearance vests, his screen flickering as he hung the suit back on the rack and followed the boy to the back of the store. He weaved through the displays, following the heavy thuds of his son’s boots before finally finding him near the wall in the back, talking to Ghost and marvelling at the vest chosen just for him. Ghost smiled and gave his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek, which Puzzles happened to see. After a moment of going undetected- Which Puzzles seemed surprised at, since he wasn’t hiding behind anything- He cleared his throat and made his presence known to the two boys.

Rango nearly shrieked, his speakers shrilly ringing before he scrambled to explain. “Dad! I-I can explain- Uh, this is just a friend- We were going to be shopping for suits together, and-” As he stumbled over his words, Ghost put a hand to his mouth, shutting him up as Puzzles just chuckled and shook his head. “Calm down, calm down! I don’t see why you should be panicking.” He hummed, giving a glance towards Ghost. “Is this your boyfriend?”

“No! Yes! I mean, uh-” Rango stammered again, and Ghost laughed. “I am his lover, yes. You’re Mr Puzzles, the film teacher, correct?”

Puzzles nodded. “That, I am. And you are?”

Ghost took a bow, pulling off his small black top hat and holding it to his chest. “My name is Ghost. I’ve been courting your son for well over a year now, albeit behind your back.” He explained, standing back up straight and letting his top hat return to floating above his head, chuckling at Rango as the robot groaned into his scarf. Puzzles smiled at the boys kindly. “I see... Rango, why did you hide this from me?” He asked gently, crouching in front of him as Rango shot him a glare. “Mmgh, none of your business.”

“He feared judgement.” Ghost answered simply, and he was promptly met with a punch to the arm. He laughed, and Puzzles looked back at Rango. “Why would you think I’d judge you? Ghost seems like a nice boy, I wouldn’t keep you from him.”

Rango just gave another grumble. Ghost smiled and patted his shoulder. “We were mostly hiding it so that we wouldn’t be bothered by anybody. It’s less an issue of judgement, and more an issue of privacy.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Anyways,” Ghost began, folding the red vest over his arm, “We were going to do some of our suit shopping by ourselves. If you’ll leave us...” He made a vague gesture and Puzzles nodded, stepping back. “Ah, of course! You two have fun!” He cheerfully exclaimed, strolling away back to the front of the store while Ghost and Rango resumed their conversation.

Once Puzzles found himself alone, staring at the suits on the racks and thinking about his son and his boyfriend, he grinned with pride.