You don’t want to overwhelm it, that’s for sure…but…this feels important.

You’ll keep it simple.

But you can't stop yourself there.

 
The gravity of your past starts hitting all over again, and even though your next words are soft in volume, they come out heavy, and every syllable feels like you can't possibly hold it back.

Roulette turns its head just enough to look at you,
lens opening once more.



It takes a long time, looking you over.

An ice cold feeling runs down your back.

Everything seems to slow down, and when you manage to choke words out, they're horribly strained.

The robot's voice is shaky, turning more often into unintelligible, quiet static.

It rolls over onto its side away from you, pulling the blanket up over itself.

You stare down at your wings, silent for what feels like way too long to be comfortable.

How do I…respond to something like that?

It’s not its fault, how could it ever-

The robot keeps itself well-hidden under the blanket,
electronic voice somewhat muffled.

Under the blanket, its posture curls up some.

You're quiet again, wings in your lap.

You nod, figuring that's as satisfied as you're going to get with this.

It finally pulls the blanket off from over itself, seeming to have calmed down relatively.

All of a sudden, there's a knock at the door, and a familiar voice.

The bot lowers its voice to an electric whisper.

It points, the vivid night sky hanging above you.

You manage a smile at that, nodding.

It braces itself momentarily,
taking a few seconds, rubbing its claws down over the sides of its head.



It walks to the door,
placing a claw on the handle.

The camera lens looks back at you, Roulette giving you a near-motionless wave,
then turning the handle.

The robot's flat affect is back in full force,
making you aware of its absence throughout the bulk of your previous conversation.

As it speaks, it casually shifts past Timothy out the door.

By this point, it's already reached the stairs.

It nods to Tim, then makes its way down.

The scottie dog gives it a friendly expression as it passes, turning to you with wide eyes.

He flops onto the bed with you, shuffling into a cross legged position.

Tim’s own tone seems reluctant, and you can’t help but give him a look.

He sighs, rubbing a paw against the side of his face.

He trails off, his voice growing quiet.

That cheers your canine friend up significantly, his ears perking up.

There’s quiet, and the two of you flop back onto the bed, looking up at the skylight.

Roulette’s right- the stars are beautiful from here.

The line about scolding his boyfriend gets a laugh out of you before you can help it, but the smile that comes with it fades quickly.

When you glance over to your side, you see Tim looking right at you, attentive and listening.

You nod, turning back up towards the stars. They’re just…little glowing cutouts in the sky, but there’s something about them that gives you something to hold onto.

You pick out the biggest one, and as you start to talk again, you hold onto it like a raft, keeping you afloat through the nerves.

You nod again, and Tim’s muzzle scrunches up.

Your voice hitches, and the weight of Roulette’s confirmation starts to hit you in full force.

A flash of your near-fight with Cindi makes you feel a bit sick.

It’s Tim’s turn to be quiet, and after a few moments of silence, you can’t help but look over in a panic-

He’s staring up at the ceiling, paws resting against his forehead.

You turn back to the stars.

The big one’s still there, twinkling away.

…you wonder if Tim’s watching the same one.

The idea of sweet ol’ Tim wailing on anything is almost funny, but you don’t dare laugh with how serious he sounds.

The look Tim gives you is dead serious, his eyes focused on yours.

You manage a nod, and he sighs- not out of irritation, but a different emotion you can’t place.

The look on your face tells him more than your words could.

No one speaks for a few moments, your eyes on the stars.

You rub your wing against your beak, your anxiety clearly shining through.

You can hear him shuffling around beside you, and when you glance over, you can see your canine companion holding a pillow to his chest, giving it a squeeze.

He sits upright at that, giving you a determined look.

After you give him a grateful nod, he flops back over, getting back to squeezing and squishing the pillow.

You don’t talk much after that, just…watching up above.

It’s comfortable, more than you could have expected.

When you get home, you crash into bed and almost immediately pass out, not even bothering to kick off your shoes.

When you dream this time, it’s good. For fucking once.

What do you see?

There’s the sound of a familiar, rhythmic beeping…soft and gentle, resembling what you’ve been told is a heartbeat…

You open your eyes, slowly, and smile as soon as you see your favorite shade of purple.

Cross is sleeping, your partner’s display showing a pixel character curled up under a blanket. Her arms are wrapped around you, and even though it’s a more rigid position than it would be if she was projected, it’s still…

You close your eyes again, focusing on the sensations around you.

The beeping, lulling you into a sense of warmth and security.

Ridged plastic arms, perfect for you to run your wings across.

Soft rubber buttons, lightly squished against you but not enough to actually be pressed.

Your wings on her waist, feeling the curve there.

She stirs slightly as you snuggle up to her, pixel character shifting a bit.

She leans in to kiss you on your forehead, her screen smooth against your rubber skin as she lets out a little beep.

It’s your turn to give her a kiss back, going for the plastic right to the side of her screen- her cheek, in a sense.

Both of you grow quiet, but it’s still just as warm…

Something shifts, Cross’ hand shaking a bit against your back.

Before you can get a good look at her screen, liquid plastic splatters against your face, her head splitting open and falling into a hood-like shape around her neck

You can’t even react, frozen in horror as a skull head unfurls, more canine than usual-

I’ve seen this before.

Taking a deep breath, you try to steel your nerves as the rest of her body shifts, growing larger and nearly encompassing you. Her ridged plastic arms may end in flaming claws, but they’re still smooth to the touch, and the fire’s warm, not burning. There’s still those cute little buttons, albeit far less little now… and to top it off, her now-humongous wings surround the two of you like a blanket, making a cozy cocoon.

She’s got me.

You can hear the beeping now that the panic’s wearing off, that little heartbeat just as soft and sweet as before.

Prickles of tear-paint start to form at the corners of your eyes at that, those words meaning more to you than you’re ever ready for.

All you can do is nod, holding onto her tighter.

She runs her hands up and down your back, the flames somehow soothing even with the tingly feeling that comes with them. It’s enough to make you feel like you’re melting.

She leans in, her jaw opening just slightly, getting closer and closer-





Your alarm starts blaring, the expression on your face as your eyes snap open only describable as “irritated”.

I was just getting to the good part! Fuck!

…guess I’m kind of into the idea of monster Cross too…

 You aren’t sure how to process that right now, that’s for sure.

Speaking of the devil, you’ve got some texts.

You set your phone down, trying to take inventory.

No work today, bar’s closed for some sort of bank holiday.

You’re still totally wiped from the party anyway….but there’s still a lot to do. Too much to do, really.

Your phone buzzes before you can get too far.

You close your phone with a sigh, albeit a content one.

Showering and getting yourself dressed up is mundane at this point, some of the gloss worn off of the routine after being here for a month. All the same, you can’t help but enjoy the process- there’s something about having the structure of it all that grounds you in your morning.

It’s good to have things to hold onto.

…the thought that you won’t have this on the road passes into your head as you’re putting on your boots, making you frown.

...I’ll find new habits out there.

And then I’ll come back home, and maybe then I’ll be able to get a like…real apartment here…yeah.

Yeah, this’ll work.

You double check to make sure you’ve got everything before heading out the door, wings in your pockets. Walking to Laurie’s office is a slow endeavor, the hallways seeming to twist and turn more than usual-

-but you do get there, a little bit of tinsel around the doorplate.

Minnie waves at you idly from her usual spot at the front desk, gesturing for you to come closer.

Both of you jump a little as the door behind you opens and closes, followed by the sound of boots on tile and the click of a cane tapping the ground.

It’s been a bit since you’ve seen the club’s owner, and never fully out of his office before. The tiedyed bean bear stands taller than you’d expect, wearing a thick winter outfit and a faux fur coat, holding a cane in one hand for stability.

W-walking over with my boss?! I-

It’s more than a little intimidating, even with all Laurie’s done for you-

But his eyes are warm.

You and Laurie step out into the outside world.

It’s cloudy today, not too bright- and thankfully, warmer than what you had to deal with last night.

Your boss starts to lead the way, albeit slowly.

His voice is chipper- he seems genuinely excited to talk to you.

…he also appears to be leaving the conversational ball in your court.

The bear immediately turns to look at you as he walks, nearly bumping into a mailbox without much reaction. His eyes are twinkling- you’ve caught his interest.

He shakes his head.

It gets a laugh out of Laurie, albeit a bitter one.

The ferocity in his voice makes you straighten out your posture on instinct, the bear catching your eye again and gesturing with his cane to something in the skyline.

Following where his mobility aid is pointing, you see-

A billboard, with a smiling face and the words “VOTE FOR SADDLER” in big, chunky letters. The more you look at it to try and discern details of his appearance, the more your head hurts. Even with the poor photo quality, you can make out a clay, canine face with a wicked grin made of sharp, pointed teeth- surrounded by slicked back faux fur.

His voice softens, but his gaze does not.

You can’t help but smirk a bit, Laurie giving you a confused look.

The bear’s face softens at that, seemingly relieved you weren’t laughing at the situation itself.

That gets a snicker out of Laurie, the bear almost bumping into a fire hydrant in his giggles.

The two of you walk in silence, the conversation’s mood gone back to feeling dire.

Laurie’s quiet as he thinks things over, glancing over at you occasionally.

Laurie’s quiet for a few moments, the only sound being his cane tapping along the sidewalk.

…you realize that you kind of did think that, a little bit. The whole…becoming a monster goal, it just seemed too out there-

Laurie laughs, catching you off guard immediately.

You huff, it coming out more like a strained squeak.

You feel even more confused than earlier.

How does anyone make sense of this guy....

A little twinkle shows up in his beady eyes.

Laurie blinks his beady eyes.

You think back to your time Cross put you in a corset, imagining the changed shape it gave you…

He gestures with his cane to an upcoming building, two stories made of molded plastic bricks with some kind of colored flag in one of the windows.

Even with his bad leg, he manages to lead the way, holding the door open for you.

The space inside is absolutely covered in work in progress garments, reams of fabric stacked high enough to reach the ceiling. Something about it fills you with a sense of wonder-

How much stuff could you make here?!

The voice that follows is muffled, a stork bean buddy barely managing to poke his head out from behind a pile of supplies.

As the stork steps out of the mess, you notice two things immediately-

One, he’s wearing a cute, strappy outfit, decked out in suspenders and a pleated skirt.

Two, he is tall.

He extends a wing, his expression soft.

You extend your own wing to meet his, the stork giving you a nice firm shake.

Nice to meet another bird…

That gets painted blush to spread all across your face, torn between being shy about it or feeling proud of the bond you’ve built with Cross.

He winks.

When we come back…

…what is it going to be like, when we come back?

You hadn’t really thought about it before now- Cross would be a monster, then.

Would she still be able to get the job?

Featherweight seems to pause as he looks at your expression, only to be distracted by Laurie wandering off to poke at various fabric reams.

You step away from the two men bickering, wandering through the shop yourself.

There’s so many colors, and with just how valuable fabric is…you can’t help but wonder how such a store stays stocked. Just being around this many sewing supplies makes your wings itching to make things…

You take a turn and stop dead in your tracks, hiding behind a stack of materials.

Cross is there, working at a little sewing machine miniature and looking very intent on her work. Her chain tail thumps the ground at even intervals, a tell you’ve come to recognize as her deep, deep in thought.

She hasn’t even seemed to notice your arrival to the shop, completely immersed in it.

You don’t approach right away, choosing to watch for a little while.

You realize after a moment that she’s actually humming to herself, a soft chime that just slightly varies in pitch and volume.

Never seen that before…

It’s so cute…

You get the feeling you could listen to it forever.

The feeling lingers, filling your chest with a warm, fuzzy sensation. You know through your vague memories that you’ve felt something similar, a long time ago- but it still feels new and special now, this strange and beautiful emotion that may be a little scary, too. Right now, though- you don’t feel any fear.

Just her.

She makes a noise all of a sudden, and you almost startle, immediately assuming a cool leaning pose against the material stack.

Gotta look cool-

But she doesn’t look up, just fussing with the needle on her machine.

It’s at least a few more minutes before you clear your throat, the sound coming out a little squeaky.

Cross looks up with a happy expression on her screen, recognizing the sound immediately.

You lower your eyelids and waggle your brow, getting a beeping giggle out of Cross immediately.

You notice that her posture seems to hunch over, just enough to be noticed.

Cross shakes her head, gesturing to the mess of fabric surrounding her.

Cross looks down at her hands and sighs, tapping the edge of the sewing machine.

Cross points to a nearby table, still within earshot.

You settle in at the station after a bit of gathering, having to grab materials from their precarious stacks. It takes a moment before you remember how to start, but once you get to stitching, it feels more natural than you could have imagined.

There’s a little bit of amusement in her voice when she says it, the virtual pet resuming humming and working her sewing machine. The sound of the machine stitching is…comforting, in a way, and you feel a distinct warmth at being able to share the space with her like this, working in your own little areas.

Cross seems to catch on immediately, her shoulders drooping.

She nods, just enough to be noticed.

Cross is quiet, not saying anything at first-

Did I fuck up?

-and then she lets out a long, stretched out beep- something you’ve learned to recognize as a sigh.

You can’t even pause for a moment to take that word in, Cross barreling on.