Chapter Text
It wasn’t every day that one got transferred from one dark world to another, and that in such a sudden and unceremonious way. One day he was working under the diamond king in a big, gloomy castle, and when he woke up the next day, he was surrounded by artificial lighting everywhere, glittery walls, and electricity. His new superior, while he wasn’t royalty, still towered way above him – considerably more so in fact – his hands so big that he could easily and effortlessly crush him in one of them if he wanted to.
He quickly learned not to question his new boss too much, as he held a deep routed distrust towards any and all Pippinses – no matter how seriously they took their duties. Which, in all fairness, weren’t many of them. He was among the few who did as he was told, no slacking off, no leaving early, just follow orders and hope his head won’t get cut off. Back in Card Kingdom, he remembered many times where others were threatened with this if they dared to disobey, although he wasn’t sure if anything like this ever happened, or if those sentenced were merely thrown into prison to rot. But in this new world, and especially considering his boss’ temper, he would rather not want to find out the hard way if failure to follow orders would end up in execution or similar things.
As a result of being so dutiful, many other Pippinses would see him as boring, as a party pooper. They would first try to convince him to quit work early, join them for a few rounds of poker, go to the bar with them, yet he would always decline. Leaving work early just sounded like an excuse to get himself killed, gambling wasn’t his thing anyway (especially with his very consistently bad luck), and he never liked socializing with others of his kind. In his former world of residence, Pippinses were nothing but troublemakers, they annoyed him, they made fun of him for being the only green one. Even back then, they’d try to sabotage him and his work, and when that didn’t work out too well, they resorted to name calling. He had the feeling it would all be the same here eventually.
It had only been a few weeks at that point, and the green Pippins still wasn’t quite used to the new layout of his workplace. He had already asked for directions a few times, and still he felt like he was running in circles. Had he been to this room before? Did every door look like this or did he run past the same one for the fourth time? He felt like he was losing his mind.
As the Pippins rounded a corner, he bumped into a tall figure, falling backwards and dropping his notepad in the process. He held his head, and the figure turned towards him, offering a large, gloved hand. It belonged to a Zapper, one of the darkners working as guards in this world – broad shoulders, snake tails, and intimidating, expressionless faces. Or rather, no discernible faces at all. They had a reputation for being strict and at times uncaring, showed no mercy for rule breakers, and were especially not fond of Pippinses, much like their boss. At least that’s what he had overheard others saying.
“Youse okay, lil guy?”
He froze for a second, for once completely glancing over the fact that someone just called him little. Why weren’t they mad at him? Weren’t they supposed to yell at him for running into them? What was that Zapper’s plan?
A moment of hesitation, and he wordlessly stood up, ignoring the other’s hand completely and dusting off his clothes. The Zapper just tilted their head as they retreated their hand awkwardly, taking a step (or a slither?) back. Once his attention was back on them, they sheepishly handed him the notepad and pen he had dropped, an expression he had no way of deciphering on their featureless face.
“Uh, thanks”, he cleared his throat and averted his eyes, taking his belongings back and clutching them to his chest. The line on the other’s forehead seemed to curve upwards ever so slightly when he glanced back up to them. Was that an attempt at a smile just then? He was never very good at correctly identifying other’s facial expressions, and the complete lack of a face certainly didn’t make things easier for him.
“I’m uh. I’m gonna go now.” He looked back onto the ground, a light dusting of mint green in his face, and the Zapper just nodded as they stepped aside, leaving enough room for the Pippins to go through. They then raised their hand in a quick wave, “See ya ‘rounds, den”, before both their hands wandered behind their back. He took another cautious glance at them, before he hurriedly went on his way, quietly pondering their motives. They must have planned something, right? Why else would they be so nice to him?
---
“An’ what was dat s’posed to be?”
The stern voice of their colleague startled them, making them jump before they turned around to face him. Another Zapper, standing before them with his arms crossed over his chest, the line on his head furrowed in irritation. If their kind had legs, he’d be tapping his foot on the ground repeatedly. Instead, his tail thumped against the ground once or twice, but by the way it appeared to be strained, it was clear he was holding himself back from emoting any further through the appendage.
“I’s fink he’s new, sir”, the tip of their own tail curled in on itself, their hand guiltily rubbing the back of their head as they stared at the floor in embarrassment. Holding direct eye contact among Zappers, especially in a situation like this, would be like challenging the other to a fight. And while they were pretty strong, they didn’t want to fight anyone if it could be at all avoided. Many other Zappers thought of them as a weakling for that reason, and if they had witnessed the current situation, they would think even lower of them.
“Prolly jus’ ain’t used ta-”
“Stop makin’ up excuses fer a measly Pippins! He’s shoulda known better ‘fore runnin’ into ya!”
They cleared their throat once more, holding themselves back from saying anything else, instead just nodded submissively. It wasn’t worth it to start an argument with another Zapper, especially when trying to defend a Pippins. While they were sure the little green one didn’t do it on purpose – why would someone willingly run into another like this anyway – their colleague would definitely not want to hear any of it. They found it a bit sad that their kind wouldn’t even consider giving those little scamps a chance. Yes, they supposed they caused trouble more often than not, but could it hurt to be a bit more nice and/or polite to them every once in a while?
“If I’s catch ya doin’ somethin’ like dat one more times, you’se gettin’ demoted.”
With that, the Zapper slithered away, leaving the other standing in the otherwise empty corridor. Once he was out of earshot, they let out a defeated sigh, deflating a little bit. Sometimes they truly hated it here.
Over the course of the next few weeks, the Pippins and Zapper kept seeing each other while on the way to their work stations, just long enough to exchange a quick wave and perhaps even a smile – the Pippins still couldn’t be sure with the other’s lack of facial features. And while he still didn’t fully trust them, still convinced there was some sort of plan to get back to him somehow, it felt strangely nice to just be greeted, be acknowledged every day, without a random insult or mean-spirited nickname thrown at him afterwards at least.
On their way to grab lunch, the other Zappers were already deep in a conversation about something or other, which they didn’t really care about, zoning out immediately. Their discussions tended to be about the same topics over and over again: work, rules, and what kind of trouble some of the Pippinses caused for them again. They suppressed a sigh as they quietly followed behind the group, and wordlessly took a tray for their food.
The canteen was already full, most darkners sitting with their respective kind – a few tables for the Zappers, the Shadowguys, and the Pippinses, and a few more for the more unique among them. Namely Shuttahs, the weather duo, and that bartender nobody seemed to really care about for some reason. It wasn’t originally intended this way, but the various groups just automatically banded together like this over time, and it had stayed that way ever since.
The Zapper was about to (reluctantly) join the others of their kind at one of the tables, when they spotted that green Pippins sitting alone at a vacant table, stabbing into his meal with clearly visible disinterest. They looked back once more, contemplating for a short moment, before then deciding to slither over towards the empty table, sitting down on the other side of him.
When he glanced up to see who had joined him, his former look of utter annoyance quickly changed to one of mild panic, eyes widened as his movements stopped for a second. Why was there a Zapper sitting with him? Wasn’t that the same one he kept seeing on his way to work? Did they finally come to get revenge on him?
They merely nodded at him and didn’t say another word, focusing on their meal instead. The Pippins’ eyes darted from his tray to the other's face nervously, confusion slowly overtaking the panic in his mind. They… didn’t want to hurt him? Was this a game, a trick? Why didn’t they say anything? Should he leave? Would it be rude to leave? What the heck did they want from him??
“Is… it okay if I sit here, or…?”, he started awkwardly, as if he was the one who just invited himself to the table, grabbing the sides of his tray in the expectation to be told to leave. If it had been any other darkner, he would have already done so, but this one, this particular Zapper, something about them felt off, made him nervous, gave him a weird feeling. They acted so differently from the others, which wasn't quite unlike him if he thought about it.
“Yeahs, sure. Don’t see why not”, the line on their forehead curved upwards again – perhaps it really was meant to be a smile, “Jus’ needed ta get aways from da otha Zap’s fer a bit. D’ya wants me ta leave?”
“No it’s uh. It’s fine, I-”, he fiddled around with the button of his capelet, twisting it around in between his claw-like fingers, “You can stay if you want.”
The other merely returned a nod and a hum, redirecting their attention back to their food, yet seeming a bit more content than before. No other words were exchanged between them, the silence unexpectedly comfortable, until the Pippins quickly finished his meal and left with a short wave of his hand.
This would happen over the next few days, the two spending their lunch breaks alone together in almost complete silence, with no pressure to communicate if they didn’t feel like doing so. The Pippins was still slightly suspicious, but that feeling soon wandered further and further to the back of his mind, getting less and less nervous about the other’s presence.
It was on one of those lunch breaks, that another darkner spotted the odd pair sitting on an otherwise empty table, furrowing their brow in what seemed like curiosity. As one of their kind bumped an elbow into their arm, scolding them for never saying anything in response and accusing them of being rude and never listening, they let out an annoyed sigh and decided they wanted to be just anywhere else at this point. It had always been the same situation, the other Shadowguys were always loud and talked a lot, sometimes speaking over one another so it was difficult to tell where one conversation started and the other ended. To outsiders, it sounded like a cacophony of random brass notes, as if every single musician played a completely different song at the same time.
They rather stayed in the background, though. They weren’t a talker by any means, and preferred to listen, maybe occasionally giving a nod or a thumbs up in response if they were asked. But beyond that, having a conversation with others of their kind was… difficult, to say the least.
Finally, they decided to join the two other darkners at the otherwise vacant table, hoping to find at least a bit of peace and quiet there. They lifted their hand up in a lazy greeting, which the Zapper returned shortly after, while the Pippins only nodded after taking a bite of his sandwich. The Shadowguy took in a long breath, immediately relieved by the lack of questions or otherwise complicated topics they had no way of replying to or joining in on. Even if the Zapper had asked them something, there was no apparent pressure for them to answer, and the other two seemed fine with that at least. Instantly, just by sitting with the two, they felt way more welcome in their small group than they had anywhere else.
That feeling would only grow from here, as over the next few days, the three were starting to hold longer conversations, or at least the Pippins and Zapper did, while the Shadowguy listened. It felt nice, finally being respected and accepted for not contributing to any talks – at least not verbally. It did genuinely show interest in what the other two talked about, and did so from time to time with various gestures. And even if it didn’t always contribute much, it always felt included rather than talked over.
“Wait, I jus’ realized…”, the Zapper began one day, scratching the side of their head, “I’s don’t fink I gots youse guyses names.”
The green Pippins tensed a bit in embarrassment, “Shit, I don’t think so either”, he then scratched the back of his head, a little hesitant. The two did seem like genuinely nice darkners to be around, and he didn’t know how much time they would get to spend together before he was transferred again (or if he even would be), but seeing as they seemed to be getting to know each other better, might as well make some friends. Belatedly, but still.
“Anyway, uh. Battat.”, the Pippins started awkwardly, raising his hand in a short wave and sort of regretting the move a second later.
“Da name’s Jongler.”, the Zapper continued as they made a motion as if tipping their imaginary hat. Battat grimaced a bit, but thought better than to judge. The name sounded to him like it was chosen rather than given to them, much like his own name was.
The two then looked over to the Shadowguy, who was now pressing its index fingers together with its head leaned to the side and downwards. A short pause followed, and it had the uneasy feeling that one of them would try to force it to speak when it wasn’t comfortable enough to do so.
“Oh, wait”, the Pippins pulled out a notepad and a pen from his pockets, wordlessly sliding both over to the other. They hesitated, then opened the notepad to a blank page and wrote down the name Pluey in swirly letters, holding back on adding a little heart next to it. The two others gave a nod and a short hum as they read it, and Pluey slid the notepad back towards the green one.
“Oh, uh. You can keep it if you want”, he simply said, “I’ve got a bunch more in my room.” The Shadowguy tilted their head, then nodded gratefully, giving a thumbs up as they smiled. They already felt like the three of them would get along well.
Over the following few months, the three darkners grew ever closer, spending more than just their lunch breaks with each other. Sometimes their paths would cross while they were all working, and with every day they met, they would become more open towards each other. Outcasts of their own kind, finding comfort and understanding within each other’s company. Although, it didn’t last long for things to change around them.
It was no secret that their boss and his business partner always had a closer relationship than they would ever let on. The two blatantly flirted with each other on the job, addressed each other with sickly sweet nicknames or petnames, and the amount of PDA gave even the most oblivious darkner a healthy dose of second hand embarrassment. Many disliked Tenna’s partner for varying reasons, and even more so when what was later collectively known as The Big One inevitably happened.
Couples fought. Sometimes a lot. For these two, it was no different. But unlike any other fight before that between them, this one was intense. The details were hazy by now, a phone call was involved, and at the end of a long, violent shouting match, Tenna’s partner left the premises, never to return again. The CRT was a mess. His mood went from furious, to uncaring, to devastated in mere minutes ever since that day. He did have moments like these in the past, but they were never this extreme.
If things weren’t chaotic enough, Tenna had also started to mention somebody named “Mike” ever since, ordered him to do little things in the background, and if he didn’t respond, he would lash out on other employees. Nobody else knew who this elusive Mike was, if he was just a figment of the boss’ imagination, if he was somehow connected to his ex partner leaving. Sometimes, the things he would ask of him would just happen out of nowhere, or Tenna would do it himself with a frustrated sigh and a snap of his fingers. And if that wasn’t enough, all evidence of the former mailman was ordered to be destroyed, likely in a fit of rage. So even if Mike was connected to him, there was no way of knowing or finding out anymore.
It drove Battat crazy. This Mike guy couldn’t just disappear like nothing, could he? And where did he even come from? How has nobody seen him in all those years of working here, despite him apparently having his own dedicated room, as he had recently discovered? There had to be an explanation for all of this, right?
He knew he had to get behind this eventually. Nobody else seemed to be at all interested in this mystery like he was, writing Tenna off as just “being in one of his moods again”. But it wasn’t a satisfying answer to him, there had to be more to it. A guy who doesn’t exist wouldn’t have such a big, flashy room for himself, a guy who doesn’t exist wouldn’t be so important to the boss that he kept asking him to do things for him. If he wasn’t important, Tenna would have forgotten about him and moved on after a week or so. But it had been months at that point, and the boss’ more and more frequent outbursts had taken a toll on all his employees.
He needed to intervene. There had to be something he could be able to do, something to calm him down, something to keep him – and by extension all those who worked for him – happy and satiated.
The Pippins had only one idea he could try that could possibly work out.
Battat didn’t appear as often during lunch breaks anymore, as Jongler and Pluey noticed. The few times they did see him, he looked utterly exhausted, and in all honesty, they couldn’t really blame him for that at all. The Big One made everyone a bit miserable, and it was hard not to feel that way in times like these after all. The two did miss their little friend whenever he was absent, and during the next few weeks, it got increasingly more worrying. Something was wrong, they felt.
Even after his shifts, he wouldn’t join the two often anymore, and if they saw him, he’d always tell them he was busy, seemed overly nervous, and kept looking around as if he was hiding from someone or something. Once he left, he did so in a hurry.
Jongler had a few theories as to why their friend had started acting this way.
Number 1: Battat had a crush on one of them and didn’t know how to handle it.
Number 2: Battat was planning to leave TV World and didn’t want anybody to find out.
Number 3: Battat killed the mailman and was hiding the evidence.
And by the Angel, the two hoped it wouldn’t be number 2. Oh, and maybe not number 3 either, of course. That also didn’t seem too good.
A few more weeks passed, and Tenna’s mood seemed to have stabilized by a bit. Less tantrums, less fired employees, less destruction of property. It almost felt like a breath of fresh air. Sure, he still had his outbursts, but the frequency of them had decreased drastically. Had he finally gotten over his ex partner? Could he just have forgotten him from one day to another? Maybe it was unlikely, but one could never tell with him.
---
It was a morning like every other, and Jongler was on guard duty in one of the hallways. Where they were stationed, there was barely anything happening all day, so it could get pretty boring. There was one room at the end of that hallway if they remembered correctly, but they had never seen anyone go in that direction before. They couldn’t lie, though, they had gotten curious a few times, but never really dared to investigate. Maybe it was just a storage room for old props belonging to long forgotten or canceled shows. They were pretty fond of that one cowboy show, a little peek into it couldn’t hurt anyone now, could it?
It could also be the mailman’s room, and while they didn’t particularly like him that much, they couldn’t say they weren’t at least a little curious as to how the inside of it looked.
Maybe it was the room where Battat hid his body.
…
Or perhaps it had just been a normal, everyday broom closet anyway. The possibilities were maybe not exactly endless, but at least there were a few that came to mind.
Jongler’s thoughts halted when they felt someone bumping into them from behind, and they turned around to see a relatively new face now sitting on the ground, holding his head. They had seen him a few times already, mostly walking alongside Tenna like a loyal guard dog. The current situation felt familiar to them, but they couldn’t quite put their finger on it. Nonetheless, they crouched down, and offered the other their hand while taking the clipboard he had dropped into the other.
“Sorry, lil guy. You’se arright?”
The microphone shaped darkner froze for a second, a slight frown on his otherwise empty face. He seemed nervous for a moment, but quickly regained his composure, “Watch who you’re callin’ little, big guy!”, he then jokingly scolded, accepting their hand and letting them help him to his feet.
“The name’s Mike. Motormouth Mike. Don’t ya forget it!”, he snapped his fingers and pointed at them, a broad grin now plastered onto his face. The Zapper merely nodded as they handed him his clipboard back, which Mike gratefully accepted.
“Anyways, I better get goin’, Mike’s runnin’ a little late!” With a wave and a slightly shaky smile, he squeezed past them and hurried off towards the green room, presumably to meet Tenna in his office later. Jongler hesitantly waved back, watching him round a corner, when something else had caught their attention. They bent down to pick up the item on the floor, calling out to Mike for it, and when no answer came, they decided to take a closer look.
… Well, that was certainly interesting.
The Shadowguy sat down next to his friend with a slight grimace, pointing at the vacant seat on the other side of the table. The other merely shrugged, then placed a hand on his shoulder and patted it a few times as if trying to console him.
“Haven’t seen ‘im todays either. Sorry, bud.”
Pluey held his head in one of his hands, audibly exhaling through his nose in disappointment. The one time he’d actually found people he could consider friends, and one of them just seemed to vanish into thin air. Well, at least he still had Jongler, they probably wouldn’t leave like anyone else he’d ever gotten close to. At least he hoped they wouldn’t.
“Ah, I jus’ remembered!”, the Zapper pointed their index finger in the air, then sat up a little straighter, pulling something out of the side pocket of their jacket and handing it to Pluey. “Ran inta Mike today ‘n he’s dropped dis. Kinda weird ‘f ya ask me’s.”
The Shadowguy studied the card they just got handed in contemplation. It looked like an ordinary employee ID card, but it clearly belonged to their little green Pippins friend, his name and photo printed on the front. Why did Mike of all people have this? They pursed their lips in thought, then quickly took out their notepad and wrote something down.
Battat friends with Mike?
They showed it to the other, who let out a short hum as they shrugged again.
“Maybes. But I’s dunno if dat explains Mike havin’ it, ya knows?”
Pluey tapped the end of the pen against their chin, then took the notepad back, scribbled out and added some words, and pushed it back over.
Battat friends with dating Mike?
Again, Jongler just returned a short hum, their hand idly scratching the side of their face as they entertained the idea for a second. It would kind of explain the Pippins’ recent behavior and absence. He probably wanted to spend as much time with his lover as he could, even at the expense of his friendships. Things like that happened from time to time, especially in the early days of relationships. At least that’s what they’d heard in some of those romcom shows that used to air some time ago.
“Could be”, the Zapper then said after a pause, a little more convinced, even if the thought made them a little sad. Not that they minded him having a partner, but… they just really hoped they wouldn’t end up losing a friendship if things continued this way. Just when they were about to drop the topic again, their shadowy friend tapped them on the shoulder, once again sliding the notepad over for them to read.
“…Guess you’se right, yeahs.”
---
After their shift, the both of them met in the green room, where most employees came to enjoy the rest of their evenings after work. Some simply relaxed, a few were playing video games on the couch, and a few more had visited the bar in hopes of forgetting the stress of the day. Pluey felt a little uneasy, but it managed to hold itself together, if only because of the other’s presence.
“You’se doin’ okay, buddy?”, the Zapper leaned over when they noticed their friend’s nervous stance, placing their hand on its shoulder, “If ya ain’t comfy here, I’s can give it ta ‘im myself, no worries.” The Shadowguy looked up at them, pressing its index fingers together, then shook its head. As much as it disliked being in the presence of so many others, it still wanted to spend more time with them before leaving for their room. Getting to be with them just a little while longer couldn’t hurt. It definitely wasn’t because being near them tended to make it feel all happy and warm inside, not at all!
While letting its gaze wander, the sight of an unfamiliar darkner squeezing past the crowd and threatening to disappear in the next hallway made it raise its head, excitedly tapping the other’s shoulder to get their attention, then pointing in the direction the mysterious figure went in. Jongler barely caught a glimpse, then proceeded to take their companion’s hand, quickly following the small one.
The pursuit led them down a barely visited hallway – the same one the Zapper had been guarding this morning – and finally a room with big doors, “MIKE” written on it in glowing, colorful letters. How had nobody ever noticed a room this flashy and prominent? The two watched as the microphone shaped darkner entered the room, following behind before the doors could close, Jongler calling out to him.
He finally turned around, startled out of his metaphorical shell, “What’re you two doing here?! Didn’t you read that door??”
“Sorry, Mister Mike, sir. We’s jus’ got a-”
“MIKE! Are you there?”
It instantly fell quiet between the three, if only for a second, before Mike swore under his breath, pulling the two other’s into the room in a panic. He held a finger up to his mouth, “You two better shut up”, he whispered, before almost slamming the door shut, effectively trapping the two within. The inside was pitch black, the only source of light coming from underneath the door. From the outside, the two heard the muffled voices of Mike and their boss Tenna, although they couldn’t exactly decipher what they talked about. There must have been some good noise cancellation equipment installed in here.
Pluey inched closer to their Zapper friend, grabbing their arm as if seeking comfort. Being a Shadowguy, they were used to deep darkness, and could usually navigate through dark rooms such as this one with ease… but only if they were familiar with its layout. In completely new, never before visited rooms, their navigation skills were as useful as a shower in the middle of the ocean.
The voices had stopped, and a pause followed. If they’d be able to see anything, they would have looked at each other in mild confusion and curiosity. Did Mike forget to let them go again? Did they just let themselves get imprisoned here, and would anyone come for them? Or were they going to die here? Considering how the both of them weren’t exactly the most liked in their respective groups, the latter felt more likely to them.
With a click, the door leading outside opened again, yet the small darkner hurriedly squeezing in slammed it shut immediately after, leaving the three of them in complete darkness once more. Footsteps sounded, and shortly thereafter, light finally flooded the room, revealing the Zapper and Shadowguy almost cowering while holding onto each other in what seemed like slight fear.
“Okay, one more time. What the hell are you two doing here?!” Mike wasted no time interrogating the two intruders, angrily placing his hands against his hips.
“Uh, ya sees…”, the Zapper began as they rubbed the back of their head in shame while reaching into their jacket, “You’se dropped dis in da mornin’. Jus’ wanted ta gives it back…”
The smallest of the three huffed as he swiped the card out of their hand, grumbling and giving it a good look over. His face instantly fell, and if he had eyes, they would have widened in shock. Oh, this wasn’t good, this wasn’t good at all!
“We’s figured ya might be close-”
“You can’t tell anyone about this, got it?!”, Mike interrupted, voice inexplicably higher than before, then he grabbed at the sides of his head and pulled on it. His head came off with seemingly no effort, revealing the familiar face of a green Pippins underneath.
The other two stared wordlessly for what felt like an eternity in near silence, before Jongler cleared their throat and spoke up once more.
“You’se Mike?”, they pointed at Battat, who could only drop the foam head on the ground in confusion, blinking a few times before his face shifted into one of irritation.
“What’re you- Don’t act like you’re surprised!!” The still partly disguised Pippins waved his arms above him, one of his gloves loosening and splatting on the floor, “What else does this look like, a costume party??”
The Zapper pointed to where their chin would be, a lightly embarrassed blush spreading across their face, “Well, Plue an’ I thought youse ‘n Mike’s a couple or sumn’…”, a moment of silence, the Pippins staring at the two in utter bewilderment, “or dat Mike killed ya. One a’ da twos…”
All Battat could do was slap his hand against his forehead. He supposed it could have gone far worse, if anyone else besides these two bozos had seen him drop his ID, he would have been found out in an instant. It would have only made Tenna way angrier, and there would be no chance of redemption for him from there on. The way he’d crash out after word would inevitably get to him… Battat didn’t even want to imagine it.
And exactly for that reason, he couldn’t let anyone else in on this secret, two people were already enough! He had to make sure nothing would get out about this, not another soul could find out who Mike truly was.
“If you tell anyone else, I swear I’ll-”
“’Ey, calm downs, buddy!”, Jongler held their hands in front of them as if attempting to shield themselves, “We’s ain’t gonna snitch, no worries. Our lipses are sealed!” They made a motion over their face as if zipping something closed.
The Pippins stared, unimpressed. “You don’t have a mouth, ya idiot.”
“Dat guy does!” As they pointed to the figure next to them, Pluey demonstratively pursed its lips and made an exaggerated kissy face while folding its hands up next to its face. If it had eyes, it would have blinked a few times for added effect.
“Ugh, whatever!!”, Battat turned away from the others, if only to hide the growing color on his cheeks. He didn’t know why that Shadowguy was suddenly so sassy, almost flirty even, but if he ignored it, he was certain it would stop acting like this eventually.
“Anywayses…”, Jongler then began, suddenly nervous, “If youse Mike, s’dat mean we’s ain’t get ta see ya no mores?” The melancholic, almost disappointed way they had sounded, paired with the frown on the other’s shadowed face, made his chest feel heavy, although he couldn’t explain why. Did the two actually genuinely like being around him? They both did choose to sit and talk with him during their breaks and after their shifts, and they did bring him his ID card back (even though they thought he had a thing with Mike for some reason), instead of reporting it to Tenna directly. It almost felt like they… liked him, like they cared about him.
“I… I’ll see if I can make some time.”