Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue
Typing noises rattled across your small one room apartment. You had a final occurring the next day, and you had the bright idealistic plan to finish before daybreak. Your head throbbed having stared at a pixelated screen for hours. you continued typing when you had a familiar noise ring.
You’ve got Mail~
You groaned knowing that it was another distraction. You ignored it and simply moved on with your assignment. You continued in with your work. It was nearly five a.m. and knowing you awaiting fate, you hit the print button and threw on your clothes knowing you could rest on the bus to class.
You’ve got Mail~
You had forgotten about your e-mail and thought about opening it. You had time to spare, because your dilapidated old printer took about an eternity to print just about anything.
The email in question brought you to a website describing a place that would make you happy. What a ridiculous thought. How could one place make your happiness reappear… but on the other hand it did interest you.
You thought about applying to the joint, but at the same time you would be leaving everything. What did you have to lose? At the end of your thought, you heard your printer release a sigh. You grabbed your papers and ran to the bus stop. You made it to the bus in time. You rested your head on the faded blue chair. Something was off though. You looked around and saw a short man with dark blue hair, a face mask, and some doctoral scrubs. He had a stack of fliers next to him. The bus came to a halt and a few people walked off. After everyone sat down, you saw the man shuffling around and grabbing the fliers that were scattered about.
“Do you need help with these?” The man nodded. You helped the poor fellow and he repeatedly apologized.
“Oh, don’t worry about it.” You smiled at him.
“Thank you…Uh…” You told him your name.
“Ah, thank you. I am Kamal Bora.” He shuffled his papers.
“Again, it’s really no problem.” He handed you a flier and he sat back down. It was a paper version of the email you had received earlier. It must have been fate.
You finally reached your stop and hopped off the bus.
Your class was not the easiest to deal with, but you had finally finished your collage classes. You had to show up for graduation in about a month and a half. You put your stuff back in your bag and rode the bus home. You threw your bag on to the floor. You were done and was ready to go into the world, but It hurt to know that you were all on your own. Your head was spinning. You grabbed your bag and remembered the flier and said ‘screw it’ you were going to apply. What could go wrong, it opened in two months anyways.

Chapter Text

You had received your diploma and moved out of the smallest apartment in the world. You were stressed out of your mind. You had just moved into this strange place with paintings scribbled across the walls and ceiling. There were creepy posters of lips on some of the walls. You had been there for about a week. You woke up early and walked out your apartment door.
“Morning Dallas, how’s your new painting going?” You said rubbing weariness out of your eyes.
“Mornin Duuuuude, its going greatttt. What aree You up too?” Dallas said.
“My entrance sheet wasn’t turned in so the doctor’s assistant, is setting up an appointment for me.”
“ahhhh well good luck mannn.” He said waving at you. You walked down the stairs to see Kamal waiting there for you.
“So, with your appointment, you will have to fill out a slip in the lobby, and then the doctor will talk to you for a bit. Oh, and heads-up he has a migraine, so he won’t turn on any lights.” Kamal said leading you to an elevator. You thought it was quite odd, but you shook it off. You walked to the elevator and Kamal pushed the button.
“I’ll go grab the paper you can just get comfortable.” He says awkwardly. You did so and he returned quickly and handed you a clipboard and pen and walked back into the doctor’s office.
There was a section where it had a photo of yourself, and it asked you to write why you were sad.
I am unhappy because I don’t know what my purpose is.
You walked up to the door and knocked quietly.
“Come in :-).” It was a baritone voice that had an accent that you couldn’t quite pinpoint.
You walked in a saw a desk illuminated with a small lamp.
“Please Sit Down.” You complied and put your paper on the desk. The doctor grabbed the paper and you saw a glance at his hands. They were huge and claw-like. You looked up and saw eyes, that glowed? Strange.
“so, u r saying that ur confused of ur porpose?” The Doctor said. He scribbled something down.
“I just got out of college so I’m a bit knew to the world I guess.” You replied sighing slightly.
“Ah I hav been out of college 4 a few years now.” He paused, “eye understand that feeling.”
The doctor mumbled a few things to Kamal and thanked you for your time. Kamal opened the door for you and the light burned your retinas Kamal quickly escorted you to the elevator.
“Hey um… Could you do me a favor?” Kamal asked. You nodded.
“There is a new pair of residents that came here last night, do you mind showing them around?”
“Sure, it’s not a problem.” You said. He told you of an Adult male and a young girl’s arrival.
“The Man should be in the lounge, or at least outside of it, and the girl should be near the apartments.” Kamal said, while the elevator door opened. You walked out and waved at the anxious assistant.
You walked out and when to the lounge and asked the bar tender about the new residents.
“Well they sure are strange. The dad keeps yapping on about the sun being awful, and his daughter keeps flipping my co-workers off.” The bartender, Jimothan, said. He grabbed another glass to clean. He continued talking on. You listened.
“Ah, I should go and talk to them.” You said stepping off the barstool. You waved.
“See ya around kiddo, good luck!” He waved. You never understood why he called you that. You went back to the task at hand. Greeting the newcomers. You walked out the bar and saw a slim lanky man with olive green hair. You walked up to him.
“Um Hello, you must be the newest habitician.” You said holding out your hand. He took your hand. You noticed that he had long claw like nails.
“Oh, it quite nice to meet you.” He held a potted plant in his arm. “My name is Trencil Varnnia, and yours?”
You gave him your name with a handshake.
“What a lovely name, did you happen to meet my daughter?” You shook your head. “Ah, she is probably in the apartments somewhere, do say hello to her for me.”
You waved back to him, but you did get an odd feeling from him. He had sharp teeth. You began your trek up the stairs and to your room, until a small girl bumped into to you.
“What the He- oh. Sorry about that.” The girl said.
“Oh, your new here, right? I was told to show you around if you needed.” The girl gave you a dirty look.
“Did my father tell you to do so?” You shook your head.
“Nope, the doctors assistant asked me to.” She looked at you in slight shock.
“You seem cool, Names Nat, Nat Vancey, and you?” You told her. Odd that she didn’t have the last name, but it wasn’t quite your business.
“Nice name, well I’m going to unpack and stupid stuff like that, so see you around.” She said
“Also, your dad says hi.” She looked slightly annoyed but left soon after. Odd Child. You walked to your room and closed the door. You opened your window as the sun was setting. The air smelled odd. Like coins and candy. You saw a note on the back of your door.
‘In ur inturview u said that u wanted a porpose. Wel eye I have position 4 an greeter for the habitait. Kamal will give u a sheet to fill out in case u want 2 tak the job. I hope to heer from u soon :-)
Dr. B. Habit ‘
Huh, sound interesting. You would have to think about. That possibility was interesting. A breeze flew through your room and shut the window before the nightly P.S.A came on. It had a puppet that look and sounded like the doctor, but if the puppet were acting childish. The puppet itself was adorable, but it was unnerving in its words. That must have been the doctor.

Chapter Text

It had been a few days since the doctor’s assistant left you that note. You were highly temped to take the job. It would give you a reason to talk to the newest members. You paced about the apartments. Soon after you managed to swiftly bump into Nat.
“Are you kiddin- Oh hey it’s you. You okay? You’ve been acting quite odd the last few days.” You sighed.
“I received an offer to work here and well I don’t know If I should.”
“What’s the position for?”
“Greeter.”
“Ah. You would do great, why don’t you go for it.” She asked.
“I don’t know something freaks me out about the Doctor. He is quite ominous.”
“I could see why now. He freaked me out when I saw the P.S.A.s even if that isn’t actually him.” You continued to talk with Nat when suddenly you saw Kamal leading a group of four people. You eavesdropped on him.
“And here are the apartments, Oh and currently me are refurbishing the Roof so we cannot end our little tour there today, sorry folks. Well that is the tour of your new home. Oh, Ronbo, Tiff, I can show you to your workstation in a bit.”
The ones named Ronbo and Tiff walked down the stairs.
“Oh Kamal, I was meaning to talk to you about that job.”
“Wha… What job?” Kamal asked.
“What do you mean I have a note saying I could be the greeter.” You handed him the paper. He looked slightly distressed.
“Where did you get this from?” He said shaking the paper.
“At Sundown I looked at my door, and I saw it taped to the back of my door. Is that a problem?” You asked. He pondered for a moment and looked back to the paper.
“Don’t take the job, trust me. It’s not worth the price and not worth the risks.” He said.
“Why is that?” You asked. He had a look of fear upon his face.
“HEY, YOU!” A tall lady walked towards you.
“Yyyyes?” You said. She was quite scary.
“I have no place to set up my portfolio, do have any recommendations?” You were startled, you looked over to Kamal and he was as startled as you.
“Uhhhh how about- “You looked around quickly. “How about that window over there?”
Her eyes wandered over to the wall.
“Ah, thank you That’s perfect. Names Mirphy Fotoparat. How bout you there?” She held out her hand. You said your name and soon after you were been shaken violently.
“ItS NiCe to MeEt YoU- “You said head spinning. You saw a woman walk down the stairs.
“Oh, you must be one of the new residents!” You said.
“Oh Hello, are you here for an autograph? Here, she pulled a pen and paper out of nowhere and wrote down her name. You were handed it, and she left towards the lounge.
‘Lulia Fame’
Huh interesting. You had two more people to meet.
“Hey please heed my words don’t work for him.” He left for the roof while you went down the stairs. You were greeted by a tall man dressed in traditional clown attire.
“Are you Ronbo?” He took a puff of his cigarette.
“Ye whatsitoya?” Ronbo spoke. He had a heavy city like accent. Odd that a clown would be so rude to you.
“I just wanted to meet my new neighbors.” You said twiddling your thumbs.
“Nah I don’t live here, it’s just a gig.”
“Oh, well I hope to talk to you soon.” You waved at him. He looked away and took another puff of his cigarette. It was getting late, so you decided to get some food at the lounge before heading to bed. You opened the door to see Lulia, Jimothan, and an unknown woman in the corner taking a sip of a martini.
“Hey Jimothan, how’s it going?”
“Its going good, we now have a live performer, only problem is that all them sweet tunes are teeth related.” He said putting down his glass. “So, what can I get for you?”
You gave him your order when the woman walked up to the bar.
“Can I have a refill Barkeep?” The woman asked. He went to fetch some more. “Are you new here sweetie?”
“I’ve been here for about two weeks.” She nodded. “What’s your name?”
“Tiff Webber, and you?” you gave her your name. “Do you work here?”
“Nah, well sort of. I was thinking of getting a job here, but I don’t know.” You said.
“Hey, you do you. I work here as live entertainment. If I were you, I would read over the contract at least twice.” You nodded. Jimothan brought your food in a bag and refilled her drink.
You decided to walk back to your room. You walked up the stairs to see a man sweeping about the floors, you had met him once late one night.
“Hey Wallus.” You waved. He waved back before you walked back into your room. You unboxed your food and dug in. It was about eight. An all familiar sent wafted through your room. Coins and Candy. You soon went to bed.
You expected to sleep through the night, but the problem was that you felt as if something was watching you. It was a bad case of sleep paralysis. Your eyes wandered across the room, until it came across a shadow demon. It was tall and had glowing orange eyes and a dark orange line down its face. It walked towards the door and smiled. It had terrifying teeth.
“Shhhhhhhh.” It opened the door and left. You wanted to rush after it, but your body felt like it was limp.

Chapter Text

You woke up quite groggy. It was morning, but the light hadn’t poured thru your window yet. It was around 5:30 a.m. You looked out the window to see the sky filled with clouds. The air smelled as it was about to rain. You might as well get up and get ready. You went over to the bathrooms and grabbed your hairbrush and tooth supplies. You were getting ready and that’s when you saw Nat sneaking out of her room. You finished getting ready and walked down to the lounge area. It began to rain.
“Nat what are you doing.” You asked seeing her attempt to pick the lock to the carnival.
“I see a dog on the other side of the fence, it might be hurt.” She got the lock off.
“Didn’t know you cared.” You had never seen Nat be so caring. She walked toward the giant set of teeth and you followed. There was a small Pomeranian with a scarf on trapped by a comedically large screw you freed him and picked him up. He looked as if he hadn’t eaten in a few days. You brought him into the lounge.
“Hey Jimothan, do you have any dog food or like a towel?” He shook his head.
“I do have some leftover chicken and some rice.” He said. “Here’s a towel.”
He handed you and towel, and you proceeded to dry the poor pup. He handed you the food. You walked towards the stairs and let the now dry dog into your room. You heated up the food and while it heated you made a little bed for the dog. You looked at the dog’s scarf.
‘Sabastian. Huh’ You said. The microwave beeped and you pulled the food out. You placed it on the floor and the dog began to eat. You pulled out a small bowl and filled it with water. You let the dog rest a bit before you left. You forgot that it was raining so you went back to grab an umbrella. You were shocked to see a young boy lying on the floor. He wore a dingy overcoat and boots caked in mud. He had rice on his face. You tapped his shoulder.
“Huh HAH DON’T HURT ME!” He backed up into a corner.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I’m simply curious of you came from, and where Sabastian went.”
“Wait did Sabastian attack you I’m so sorry.” He said.
“He didn’t. Is he your dog or something?” You asked.
“Nope I’m Sabastian, well sort of. I’m Trevor Garbo. I’m the local were-wolf.” You were shocked. You wouldn’t consider that small Pomeranian a wolf.
“Do you have a home?” You asked. He gave a small whine.
“No, I don’t. I’ve been roaming the streets for a while now.”
“I can see if I can get you a home here.” He nodded.
“Alright I’ll go get a slip for you to fill out you stay here.” You said. “There’s water and some food in the mini fridge. Help yourself.”
He nodded as you left the room. You headed towards the elevator. Unbeknown to you the young boy was resting until another child around his age walked into your room.
“Yo You know who that dog’s owner is?” She said. She saw him. They both screamed.
“WHO ARE You.” They both asked.
“I asked you first.” Nat said.
“I’m Trevor, and you?”
“Nat Vancey. Where’s Sabastian?”
“Funny thing- “You walked in.
“That was fast.” He said.
“Well I did bump into the doctor’s assistant so…yeah uh he said he can get you set up now as a temporary member.” You noticed Nat.
“Uhhh Here you go Trevor. Kamal Is uh, waiting for you in the hall. He’ll get you set up.”
“Who the heck was that?” Nat asked.
“It’s a long story.” You said. “Oh, and Nat, your dad is waiting for you. Have no Idea why.”
You went back to your room now that you had stopped babysitting. You heard the small pitter patter of rain upon your window. You forgot to eat that entire day. You walked back towards the bar and you walked into the room. Trevor was sitting at one of the tables. He was scarfing down a bread roll as he saw you come in. He swallowed his food.
“Hey thanks for saving me out there!” He said.
“Oh, its really no problem, also It was Nat’s Idea.” He blushed.
“Is….is that really true?” You nodded. His blush deepened.
“Hey, Jimothan, can I get the usual.”
“Sure thing.” He said getting his ingredients ready.
“So, what’s it like being a were-wolf?” He was slightly taken aback but he sighed.
“Its not fun, everyone is scared when you change, and no one cares about you.” He said taking a melancholy bite of food. You gave the kid a small hug.
“Its okay I’ll be here for you.” He smiled slightly.
“Oh! I bumped into that Trencil guy. I think he’s a vampire.” He said.
“What’s so bad about vampires? Besides the whole blood sucking thing.” You said.
“They’re evil, plus us were-wolves have an ongoing grudge with them.” He said.
“Funny thing about Trencil.” You said.
“What, can you confirm my theory?” He asked.
“No, but Nat just so happens to be his Daughter.” You said. He looked devastated. Jimothan came to you with your food soon after.
“She’s too cute- I mean nice to be related to that demon.” He gave a small growl in retaliation.
“Whatever Romeo.” You said with a slight chuckle. His face turned a bright shade of red this time around. It thundered loudly and you heard a small whine come from Trevor.
“Hey if you get scared and you need someone to talk to, I’ll be here.” He nodded before you left back for your room. It poured outside. If Nat didn’t find Trevor. You shuddered at the thought. You went back up to your room. You got ready for bed after finishing your food and noticed the scent was almost nonexistent. It continued to poor and you fell asleep to the sweet sound of rain.

Chapter Text

It was the first day that it had stopped raining. You went to get ready for the day, but you couldn’t find your toothbrush. You were thinking of helping out Trencil with his gardening, but something stopped you. There was a man sobbing. You went towards him.
“Are you okay sir?” He didn’t respond. You tapped his shoulder as he sat. He was startled.
“Oh I am so-rree for bothering u with my cry-ing.” He said. You knew that voice. It was the Doctors.
“Your crying didn’t bother me, are you hurt?” You asked.
“No, but Martha is.” You assumed Martha was the statue of teeth. “I must keep up the scrubbing. She mustn’t be dirty.”
He scrubbed at the spots of rust on Martha. One of the spots was giving him trouble. He couldn’t remove the rust.
“Do you need help?” You asked. He nodded. You picked up a brush and began scrubbing in circular motions. It took a while, but you managed to get a small section off. You continued to help him till all the spots were gone.
“Um… thank u 4 helping me. Did u habben to get the letter eye taped 2 ur door?” You nodded.
“Are you Dr. B Habit?” You asked.
“Yes eye am. I was thinking of making that position more im-portant.” He said.
“What do you mean?” You asked.
“I need a stu-dent. An intern in fact.” He said.
“I…uh…. Sure, I’ll work here.” He held out his claw like hand. You took it and shook it.
“Eye should get ur uni-form. U should come with me 2 grabb an Eye Dee card.” He stood up. He towered over you. He walked toward the gate. You followed. He led You towards the elevator. He led you towards his office and grabbed you one of his spare lab coats.
“Oh, that may b a bit large 4 u.” He shuffled thru his lab coat wardrobe. He pulled out a smaller lab coat that fit you perfectly.
“This was Kamal’s old coat.” It had Kamal’s name tag still stuck to it.
“Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.” You said.
“U can call me Boris :-)” He said with a slight smirk.
“Oh a-bout that Eye Dee card. It will let u use the ele-vator. I can help u mak it.” You nodded.
“All eye need u to do, is 2 get a picture of urself and fill out dis form.” You took it. It had basic information, like first and last name, age, and natural hair color. It had many spelling mistakes. He led you back to your room to get started. It wasn’t exceptionally long of a form.
You walked up to Mirphy.
“Hey, could you take a picture of me?” You asked.
“You came to the right person, mate, but why do ya need it?” You showed her the form. “Oh, It’ll just be a moment, I’ll need your help with something though.”
“Okay.” She took your picture and handed to you.
“Thanks! That helps a lot.” You said looking at your photo.
“So, about that favor.” She said. “There’s this odd resident who keeps watching me. Could ya ask him why?”
“Who is it?” She pointed to the stairwell.
“He has long hair and a spotty mustache.” It took you a moment, but you figured out who he was.
“Dallas? He’s harmless.”
“Nah Mate just ask him for me.” She said firmly.
“All right then.” You said walking towards the stairs.
“Hey Dallas?”
“Oh, Hey duuude what’s uuuuup.” He said.
“Mirphy’s wondering why you’re watching her; she thinks it’s a little creepy.” You said nonchalantly.
“Oh! My bad duuude, she’s just like my muuuuse. I’ve been in such a bad art block, like, you know maaaaan.” He said.
“Alright I’ll go and tell her.” He blushed brightly. You walked away. You tapped her shoulder.
“Hey, Mate have you gotten the info?” You nodded and proceeded to repeat what had been told to you.
“Ah he could have at least asked, then I wouldn’t have been that freaked out.” She said laughing slightly. “Glad to know it’s nothing too terrifying.”
“Glad to help, thanks for the picture.”
“No Prob Mate.” She waved as you left.
You walked back to the elevator. You called for it and waited for the door to open. You took the lift to the top floor and was greeted by the doctor.
“So hav u gotten ur picture, and form? :-).” He asked.
“Yep. Uh do you want them now or uh- “You held out the paper and picture. He grabbed them.
“Yes, these will do simply fine.” He said. “Come with me.”
He led you into his office. In the back corner there was a copier with a slot for cards. He turned on the machine and began to print your card.
“So have u ever worked as an intern?” He asked.
“Not previously.” He nodded. The card finished printed and handed it to you.
“Here you can put this onto the scanner and it will call for the ele-vator. You can call for it at any-time.” He said holding your form and picture. Kamal walked in.
“Hey, boss I’m sorry I’m late I-.” He looked at you. “Can I talk to you privately?”
He pulled you outside his office and sighed.
“Why did you agree to work for him? Why didn’t you listen to me?” Kamal asked.
“He was crying what was I supposed to do?” You said.
“Wait, why was he crying?” Kamal said interrupting you.
“His statue, Martha, became rusty. I helped him clean it. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“How did you clean it?”
“With too-“ You were cut off by Boris opening his office door.
“Hey Kamal, could eye hav ur help with my com-putor?” Boris asked. Kamal sighed and walked towards the office door. Boris closed the door after waving at you.
You walked back to your apartment. It was getting pretty late so you quickly grabbed food from the lounge and walked to your room. You saw Wallus mopping up the floors.
“Hey Wallus, how are you doing tonight?” You asked.
“Not too bad, how about you?” He asked.
“I don’t know really, I might have gotten into a fight with Kamal. I just wasn’t thinking and got hired by the doctor.” You said. Wallus looked shocked.
“Why did you do that?” He said. You sighed and shrugged. You were starting to regret your decision. You talked to Wallus a bit more and then walked into your room. You weren’t hungry anymore and put it into your fridge. You didn’t know what was going to happen and it made you sick. You went to bed and rested.

Chapter Text

It had been a few days since you had last talked to Kamal. It was quite hard to avoid him since he was technically your superior. The doctor seemed to be completely oblivious to what had occurred between you and Kamal. You needed to talk to him but couldn’t find a proper time to talk to him about it. You walked into your bosses office. It had been about a week since you had been hired. There had been plenty of new residents that had arrived. You greeted each and every one of them.
A tall woman named Borba, a young girl named Millie, and the new bouncer, Gillis, were among them.
It was the middle of your shift and you were bringing food to the doctor, when you heard a loud noise erupt from inside of the ominous office.
“You can’t just take my stuff, ruin it and then make fun of me for the problems it caused.” Kamal said.
“O-kay cyan grin.” Habit said in a mocking tone.
“Its your fault that its blue!” Kamal said loudly. It didn’t really occur to you, but Kamal’s teeth had changed to a completely different color. They continued to bicker. You silently left the food walked towards the door. One of the floorboards near the door creaked and gave away your position. They both stared at you.
“You know what, since you’ve clearly replaced me you can take my job back.” He shoved his coat into Habit’s arms. “I quit, I regret ever being friends with you, and I regret helping you build this damn place.”
He quickly pushed you aside and stomped out the door. Habit sighed.
“I loathe him.” He said before siting down. He excused you and you went back to the courtyard. You talked with the other residents for a bit before you stopped by the bar. You wanted something, maybe a drink. You never cared for alcohol so maybe just a soda. You went to sit down at the bar. You were interrupted by drunk mumbling. You looked and there was Kamal. He had half a beer bottle next to him.
“Kamal?” You tapped his shoulder. He looked up at you.
“Who are you?” He said slurring his words. He had tears streaming down his face.
“Kamal are you okay? You seem quite drunk.” You said, he didn’t respond. “Kamal… I’m sorry about what happen between you and the doctor.”
“What now? Who’s the doctor?” He said. He sniffled quietly.
“Oh, this has happened before.” Jimothan said. “The day this place opened Habit and he came here to drink. It took half a beer for Kamal to get blackout drunk. He forgot where he was so Habit carried him back to his room. Habit on the other hand continued to drink. It took him seventeen beers to even get any semblance of tipsiness. That’s the last time I’ve really seen him.”
He chuckled slightly. You asked for water and a towel. You knew you were going to have to carry him back up to his room.
“Kamal I’m going to have to have you go back to your room.”
“Who’s Kamal?” He asked.
“Just follow me.” He nodded slightly. He stood up and immediately came crashing down to the floor. You sighed and picked him up. He was surprisingly exceptionally light weighted for the average adult. He couldn’t have weighed more than 100 pounds. You brought him up to his room and sat him down on his bed. You walked back to the door when you suddenly heard a noise come from his direction. He mumbled something. He hiccupped loudly.
“Hey… make sure… to … lock your door…tonight.” He stated.
“What? Why?” You asked turning around. He had passed out.
You turned off his light and shut the door. You went back to your room and heeded his drunken words.
You went to bed. The nightly sent was unbearable. It hurt your head and made you nauseous. It reminded you of your dentist trips and having to smell the awful laughing gas. You were at that point, that you were so tired that it took mere seconds to fall asleep.
A key clicking noise woke you from your slumber. Your door swung open and the large shadow demon entered. This time, you knew it wasn’t sleep paralysis, because that would have been too coincidental. You acted as if you were still asleep.
“I know you are still awake.” It said. You sat up. You eyed the lamp next to you.
“Trust me, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You wouldn’t like what you’d see.” You laid back down. You felt his gaze pierce your eyes. You had to do something. You bolted upright and dashed out your door. You couldn’t tell whether he was following you or not. You rain through the halls until you bumped into Wallus.
“Oh, goodness you startled me.” You looked at you and noticed your tears. “What happened?”
He held your arm. He pulled a tissue out of his pocket. You looked behind you and panicked.
“Did someone break into your room?” You nodded wildly. “Here let me go and see.”
“No, it was terrifying. Please don’t.” You pleaded. “It’s a demon creature, it’ll kill you.”
“Here I have a safe zone if you’d like to come with.” You nodded and he led you down the stairs. You made it to the bottom of the stairs, when you suddenly heard the all so familiar clicking noise.
“We should get going.” He held your hand tighter and walked a little faster. He led you to the elevator to Habits office.
“No not his office.” You begged.
“Not even I would go into that sick bastard’s room.” He said. There was an exceedingly small hole in the wall. He pushed in and the wall opened. The monster walked past your hiding spotting and scanned a card to the elevator. It was gone within a matter of seconds.
“What was that?” You said in a panicked tone.
“The doctor, unfortunately. He becomes a completely different person at night. He becomes more dangerous.” Wallus said. “You should stay here for now, but I must get be getting back to work.” He said opening the wall. You were left alone with your thoughts. You didn’t sleep well that night.

Chapter Text

You couldn’t abandon your job just yet, so you had to go to the doctors dreaded office. Why did you even think it was okay to work for the man. The red flags were so obvious, but you continued to ignore them. You opened the door to see the doctor’s puppet smiling at you.

“Gah that thing is horrifying.” The puppets smile faded slightly.

“Ah, that was rude, say u r sorr-ee.” Your boss said, startling you.

“YYesss Sir Right away sir.” You said stuttering wildly. “I’m sorry…”

The puppet seemed to perk up at the sound of your words. Odd. You looked around and saw Habit going through a very tall cabinet.

“So uh what’s the agenda for today?” He stood up straight with one file.

“I ask of u 2 wel-com this new resident. They hav only put they’re nick-name.” He handed you the file.

“Flower Kid? I know them, their Father is my older step-brother.” You said excitedly.

“Ah so this shall b no pro-blem. They should b in their new room. Top floor.” You nodded and rushed to see your relative. You looked at their file, they had their father’s eyes, and their mother’s smile. You hadn’t seen them since the funeral. You made it towards there room and knocked. They quickly opened the door.

“Hey kiddo long time no see.” You said. They wrapped their arms around you. “Come with me, I’ll show you around.”

You held out your hand and they took it. You led them down the stairs and to the courtyard.

“So here is the lounge. Hey Gillis.” You tried to lead flower kid into the lounge but was stopped.

“Password?” You were surprised.

“Since when?”

“Since this morning. That furry kid bit poor ol’ Jimothan. So, I must stand here. Strict rules.” Gillis said.

“Shoot! Well we can check the boiler room if you’d like.” They nodded. “The boiler room isn’t much we have water system over there and- .”

You bumped into Trevor.

“Hey Trevor.” He nervously waved and tried to get past you. “I know about the lounge incident. Come Clean.”

“I’m so sorry, he was antagonizing me- I mean Sabastian and he bit him.” He said defensively. You sighed.

“I believe you. Ill see if I can get you some food at the end of the day or something. Just don’t have him bite anyone else K’.”

“Okay.” He said nodding.

“Sorry ‘bout that kiddo. Here why down we go down to the carnival area, they should be setting up now.” You led them down the hall and to the gate. You tried to swing open the gate, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Hey Ronbo, what gives?” You said annoyedly.

“Boss wants the carny closed until the vendors arrive. He won’t even let me have my locket with the key back until then.” Ronbo said taking a puff of his cigar. You gave a clear and audible sigh of disappointment.

“Well we can check out the roof.” You said. They held your hand and you led them up the stairs. You made it to the stairwell just to see Lulia sitting there crying.

“Yeah this isn’t a good time kiddo, I’ll try to show you around when more things are open.” They nodded. You led them back to their room and let them rest. You hadn’t realized how late it was getting. You still had to deliver the doctors food and then get your own. You almost forgot about Trevor’s as well. You quickened your steps and walked up to Gillis.

“I was never told the password and I still need to get the doctors food.” You said.

“Well do you have your work I.D.?” Gillis asked. You held up your card. He opened the door for you and you walked in.

“Hey Kid. What can I get for you?”

“Just the usuals, also whatever Trevor usually gets.” He nodded and began to cook. You had a few spare coins and decided to play some music. You shuffled through the selections and stopped when you heard one you liked. You sat down and rested your head for a moment. You heard humming coming from the walls. Twenty or so minutes later you had gotten your orders and went towards the elevator.

“Hey, Trevor, I got your dinner.” You said handing him the Styrofoam container.

“Thanks.”

“No problem kid.” You said walking towards the elevator. You scanned your badge and boarded the elevator.

“Here’s your dinner boss.” You said setting his dinner down on his desk. You handed him a plastic fork when he began to talk.

“Here, eat with me :-).” He said pointing at the chair in front of his desk. You sat down anxiously.

“So how r u liking ur stay here?” He said, taking a bite of his food. You had never really been able to notice it, but he had several rows of teeth, many of them being quite sharp.

“I uh am liking it. Yeah… uhh…” You didn’t know what to talk about.

“About Yesterday, I am sorr-ee that u had 2 cee me fite with Kamal.” He said, prodding his food with his fork.

“Uhh…” You didn’t know how to respond. He noticed how uncomfortable you were.

“So, uh… how was ur day too-day?” He said awkwardly.

“It was nice, I got to hang out with my only close relative.” You said with a slight smile.

“That’s go-od. I understand that family can b quite trick-y.” He said taking a bite of his food. The entire meal was quite awkward with little talk filling the silence.

“About last night…” You began.

“What about last-night?” He asked.

“You broke into my room and chased me.” You said. He looked genuinely puzzled. “Do… Do you not remember or something?”

He nodded.

“I would never chase you. You r 2 nice :-).” He said trying to reassure you. “I have never met such a nice flower, such as urself.”
The tone he had with his words unnerved you immensely. You should have headed Kamal’s words.

Chapter Text

Fall harvest was coming up and everyone was getting ready. With the change of seasons, you had a few new residents join the habitat. This time around you had five new residents.
You were set in charge of preparation with Jimothan. You were tasked with asking everyone what they would like to bring to the holiday potluck, and if they would like to help. A lot of people signed up for stuff, and you assigned the kids a task of their own.
While most of the adults planned on attending, but four of them weren’t. You knew about Wallus and Kamal going to their families for the week, and Habit not being the most social of hosts, but you didn’t know why this man wasn’t attending.
“Um excuse me?” The well-dressed man said.
“Oh, its Parsley, right?” He nodded. “What’s up?”
“I can’t exactly participate in the Potluck, but do you think you could possibly get a doggy bag for me or something? Sorry for uh bothering you.” He said scratching the back of his neck timidly.
“Of course, it really wouldn’t be any problem. Do you mind me asking why?” You questioned.
“Well its my dad, he’s the old bartender, and well… we don’t exactly mesh well together.” He said awkwardly. He seemed quite timid.
“Oh.” You really didn’t know how to respond to that. “So, uh what do you do for a living.”
“I am a lawyer in the town that’s north from here. Mostly for divorce though. I do on occasion do banking.” He said. You wouldn’t have expected this man to be a lawyer with his timid demeanor and quiet voice. He interrupted your train of thought with a question of his own.
“I heard that you work for the doctor here, what’s your job like?” He asked.
“Well I’m the one who gives tours around here, make sure the kids aren’t getting into too much trouble, and I help get stuff like food and supplies for the doctor.” You said.
“Oh, you watch the kids. Do you mind telling the one with the punching glove to stop hitting me? Oh, and that strange green haired kid stole my wallet.” He said.
“Wow, getting into fights, are we? Its no problem I’ll talk to Gerry and Putunia about those things later.” You said jokingly.
“Well its best I get going, oh and please don’t tell my dad about me being here.” You nodded as he walked towards the apartments. Before the event happened, you needed to round up the kids that roamed the habitat and escort them to Flower Kids room. You walked towards the boiler room, when suddenly you were hit in the head.
“Ow.” You mumbled.
“Are You okay?” A girl, about the age of seven, ran up to you with a golf club in her hand.
“Yeah I’m find it’s just going to a hurt for a bit.” You said rubbing your head.
“Sorry, I was aiming for that stupid clown over there.” She said pointing directly at Ronbo. He gave a frustrated sigh.
“Millie, aren’t you supposed to be meeting up with Flower Kid soon?” You asked.
“Oh shoot, I totally blanked, sorry about that. I’m going to head up there now.” Millie said fleeing the scene of the crime. Well back to rounding up the kids. The boiler room seemed like the best place to start, as it was farthest from Flower kid’s room.
“Hey Trevor! Hey-“You looked around to see Sabastian sleeping in the corner of the room. You had forgotten about the full moon last night so you would let him sleep a little longer. Well you might as well move onto the carnival grounds.
Well once you walked through the carnival gate you were ambushed by the small hero in training Putunia.
“IVE GOT YOU SERVANT OF THE GREEN MENANCE! PREPARE TO BE TAKEN DOWN!” She yelled as she jumped on to your shoulders.
“Putunia what are you doing?” You asked, trying to get the small child off your shoulders.
“YOU WORK FOR THE EVIL MAN WHO LIVES IN THE TOWER! HE YELLED AT MY FRIEND.” She said, starting to pull your hair.
“Yes, I work for him, but I haven’t seen him do anything bad so far, also who’s your friend?” you said trying to calm the kid down.
“OH, YOU MEAN DR. BORA HES THE COOLEST SUPERHERO EVER HE EVEN GOT ME HERE AND HE LETS ME STAY UP TO WHATEVER TIME I WANT!” She said.
“Wait you mean Kamal?” You asked. She pulled you down to her level.
“How do you know his secret Identity? Did the green menace teach you that?” She whispered.
“Oh, Kamal is- I mean was one of my friends. Wait before Friday, where was the last place you saw him?”
“NO, I WONT REVEAL DR. BORA’S SECRET LOCATION. YOU’LL JUST TELL THE GREEN MENACE!”
“No, no, no I… I just want to apologize; I sort of got into a fight with him.” Her expression softened.
“Oh, Well I guess I could tell you. He used to hang out around the carnival grounds, but he moved up to the rooftop, I haven’t seen him since.” She said.
“Thank you, this means a lot. Oh, Flower Kid is waiting for you in the apartments, you should probably go and talk to them.” She nodded and headed towards the apartments. “Shoot, I forgot to tell her to stop punching Parsley.”
You walked up to one off the other kids, well you assumed they were a kid.
“Hellurn there, can I offer you any of my wares here?” He said pulling out a stash of broken objects
“No thanks, I’m here to get Parsleys wallet back.”
“Well maybe if ya purchase somethin’ I might be inclined to give it to ya.” Gerry said. You were confused by his logic, but gave in.
“Fine what do you have?” You said agreeing with his deal. You didn’t see many useful items, but one caught your eye. It was a yellow scrunchie with two beads attached to it. You handed him two dollar and sent him off to Flower Kids room for their task. You bumped into Parsley on your way back to the building.
“Hey Parsley, I got your wallet back.” You handed it to him, and he went through it.
“Wow the money is actually in it, thanks for getting it back for me.” He said sticking it quickly in his suitcase.
“No prob Pars. See you around.” You said waving at him. You went back to the boiler room to see if Trevor was awake and to your surprise, he had a friend with him.
“Hey Trevor, who is your friend here?” You said waving at the two.
“Oh, this is Tim Tam, they just arrived.” You noticed a small child with thick black hair covering their face. They pushed it out of their face, but it continuously slipped.
“Here.” You handed them your new scrunchie. They put their hair up and grinned slightly.
“Flower Kid is helping with the harvest party, Trevor you should bring Tim Tam to go meet Flower Kid.” You said. He nodded and walked towards the apartments. Next you had to go and help Jimothan cook.

Chapter Text

Now helping Jimothan was a completely different challenge then simply rounding up the habitat’s children. In the kitchen, Gillis, Trencil, and Jimothan were working on baking pies, while Tiff, Lulia and, one of the newest residents, Jerifina were dressing and preparing a turkey. You, Dallas, and Ronbo were tasked with setting up the chairs for the various groups that would be attending. As tradition states, the kids would be sitting at their own tables while the adults would do the same. Habit rented decorations, tables, and chairs for the occasion, so all you really had to do was set them all up.
“Hey Dallas, where exactly are we even supposed to set this stuff up?” You asked.
“Sorry mann I thought you, like, knew.” He said shrugging. You sighed knowing where you had to go.
“I’ll go ask the doctor really quick, you guys can still unload if you want.” You said heading towards the boiler room. You hated going to the boiler room, but it was part of your job. You scanned your card, but the elevator didn’t come. You scanned it a few more times. Before the elevator came down to greet you.
“Huh that’s odd, it doesn’t usually take that long.” You thought stepping into the small elevator, music playing quietly in the background. When the elevator stopped you were greeted by a messy waiting room with chairs strewn all over the place.
“Habit? Dr. Habit?” You called out. You opened the door to his office. He wasn’t moving at his desk. You tapped his shoulder, but he still didn’t stir.
“Oh no.” You checked his pulse. He was still alive. You shook him and he woke up.
“Thank goodness you’re alive.” He rubbed his head.
“What happened?” He asked.
“I don’t know, I came up here to ask you something, and saw the waiting room was a mess.” You said. You pulled a water bottle out of his mini fridge and handed it to him.
“Do you know how the waiting room was messed up.” You asked.
“I really do not know.” He said, taking a handful of medication. “That’s the seventh time this month.”
You noticed the doctor’s speech pattern was off. He wasn’t acting right.
“Did you get enough sleep last night? Are you coming down with something?” You questioned the doctor.
“It can’t be that. I always go to bed at the exact same time, nine P.M. sharp.” He replied rubbing away a migraine.
“Well, what about you getting sick? You’ve been working around the clock recently.” You asked. He considered the possibility.
“That could possibly be it.” He winced and went back to rubbing his head. “I should rest.”
He wandered over to what you assumed was a simple closet. He opened the door and it led to a large master bedroom.
“Woah this place is huge, how did you afford this place?” You said looking at the beautify decorated bedroom.
“Inheritance, being a robotic programmer, dentistry, stuff like that.” He continued to rub his head.
“Wait you program robots?” He nodded slightly.
“Yes, one of the models is going to be running the carnival stands soon.” He said going into his actual closet.
“Oh, before I leave, I need to ask you a quick question.” You said at bedroom door. “Where are we supposed to set up for the dinner?”
“At the carnival sight. You should be able to figure it out from there.” He said stepping out in a fresh pair of pajamas. You went back to setting up for the party.
“Dallas, the doctor said that that we can set up in the carnival area.” You said walking towards him. You helped him pick up a couple of chairs and brought them to the requested area. The way it was set up had all the children at two large tables, and the adults split into three groups. You could smell the turkey coming out of the oven, so you and Dallas continued to set up until all there was to do, was to bring out the food.
“Oh, shoot I forgot something, I’ll go and get it.” You said rushing towards the apartments. You ran quickly to Flower Kids room.
“Hey Kiddo, did you and your friends finish the center pieces?” They nodded and let you in. You were surprised with the details on the kid’s center pieces.
“Hey guys could you all bring them down the carnival area? I might need help with setting the dishware.” They all agreed to help (except for Putunia, who was asleep on the couch.) You picked up Putunia and led the kids towards the carnival as you saw the table lined with different foods. Your stomach growled and you were so really to eat. Jimothan finally brought out the last few things from the kitchen. He set them out and then quickly pulled you aside.
“Do you mind doing me a favor?” You nodded. “My son lives up in the apartments and I’m worried about him not eating enough, so could you bring up a box of food I made for him? He lives in the apartment across from yours, and it would mean a lot to me.”
“Of course. It would be no problem.” You said. He went over to the table and prepared food in a container and handed it to you so you could deliver it. You went back to the apartments and knocked on Parsley’s door. You heard a quick inhale.
“Hello? Parsley? I brought you some food.” You said knocking a little louder. He opened the door slightly.
“Thank you.” He said quickly grabbing the box of food. Something was off about his demeanor. You rushed back down to the party and saw everyone getting settled in their seats.
“Hey sit with us.” Trevor said waving you over. You grabbed your food and walked over to them. You began to eat when suddenly Jimothan stood up.
“I would like to make a toast, To the lovely secretary who has been helping us ever since they arrived, and to flower kid who has been bringing joy to us all.” He raised his cider glass. Clapping erupted from the tables.
“Cheers.”

Chapter Text

Poor Parsley. You hadn’t seen him since the party, and you were starting to get extremely worried. You needed to do a wellness check on the poor lad. You had not only been asked by your boss, but Parsley’s father, to go and check on him. It had nearly been three days, and he rarely left his room. You walked to the apartment with a food container, snacks, and a couple of water bottles. You walked up to Parsley’s door and heard faint sobbing. You knocked on his door and you heard shuffling. He cracked the door.
“Hello?” You looked down and saw you. “Oh, hey.”
“I brought you some food, and some water. May I come in?” He opened the door wider and nodded. His apartment was medium sized and messy.
“Sorry that my apartment is a mess, I just didn’t really expect anyone to actually come here.” He said anxiously. You dropped the food and water down on his table.
“Pars, are you okay?” You asked. “Don’t lie. I just want to help. You have people who really care for you.”
He began to tear up. You gave him a hug and he began to sob. You handed him a tissue.
“What happened?” You asked.
“It’s my dad… I… It’s simply hard to talk to him… about my divorce… with my ex-husband. He didn’t know about it, or that I am…you know… Gay.” He said, wiping tears from his eyes.
“Your dad would be accepting of your choice no matter what. You don’t need to hide and hurt yourself.” You gave him a small side hug.
“Thanks… That means a lot to me…” He hugged you back and you walked down towards the bar with Parsley right behind you. You got up to the door and Gillis let you into the lounge with Parsley in tow. You walked in to see Jimothan chatting to Jerifina when he suddenly stopped and mumbled something to Jerifina. He walked over to Parsley. He stood quietly. You noticed Parsley nervous expression matched yours.

The heavy air was suddenly cut when Jimothan suddenly hugged Parsley.
“I missed ya son.” Jimothan said.
“I…Missed you too dad.” Parsley said holding his dad tight. Jimothan led his son over to a stool, and they began to converse.
“You’ve gotton so talk Pars, I bet girls are swooning over ya.” He said cleaning a glass.
“Funny thing… I uh… I’m more into dudes.” Parsley said.
“Well, I bet guys swoon for you too. You sure did get the ol’ Botch family genes in ya.” He said chuckling slightly.
“Oh… I though you would be mad.” Parsley said rubbing the back of his neck.
“Why would I be mad?” Jimothan stopping in his tracks.
“You always wanted me to… well marry a girl, have a family…” He rambled on.
“You are my son, and I would accept you. I understand that in the past, I didn’t care to understand you. I didn’t help and I was cruel for trying to force that on you.” Jimothan said putting down his glass. They once again hugged. You grabbed your bag to leave them to talk. You saw Jimothan mouth something.
“Thank you, kiddo.”
You smiled as you walked out the door of the lounge and the crisp air struck you.
It was roughly around 3 p.m. and the winter air was like a slap in the face.
“Holy cow, its freezing cold.” You said regretting not grabbing your own coat. Th office wasn’t that far, and you could easily just finish work and then walk home. You walked up to the elevator and hit the button to reach the floor you needed. It was warm within the elevator making it a nice change to the temperature.
“Hey boss, the wellness check went well.” You spoke.
“That’s good. Any-thing else 2 report?” He asked. You were about to speak but a sudden sneeze interrupted you. He handed you a tissue.
“No, I don’t believe that there is anything else.” He looked at you odd.
“U look ill. R U okay?” He put his hand up towards your forehead. His hand was warm.
“Ah! U have a fever! Go back 2 your room. Here.” He handed you his oversized coat.
“Oh, I’m fine, I don’t need it. I’ll be fine.” He shushed you.
“If u do not rest, I will have 2 carry u back 2 ur room.” You sighed and was stopped by a thought. “wait, how are you going to get your food?”
“I can go and grab it :-). I’ll grab u food as-well.” He said opening the door for you. He smiled slightly
“All right, All right. I’ll go back to my room.” You said laughing slightly. You closed his door. His coat was quite warm. You walked back to your room. You looked back to the lounge and you saw Kamal walking into the Lounge. Something bothered you but you continued to walk towards your room. You sat down on your bed and it struck you.
“Oh No.” You thought. “Kamal is at the bar, and Boris is heading there right now.”
You got up and wrapped the doctor’s coat around your shoulders and walked towards the door. You dashed down the stairs and bumped into Boris.
“Oh, there u r! You should b lying down right now.” He chastised. He spun you around and led you back to your room. You sat down on your bed and he handed you a box of food. He sat at your desk and ate his own food. You coughed slightly and he pulled out a face mask.
“No offence, but I will not b of any assist-ance if I get sick.” He said laughing slightly. You chuckled. He held up his food and you held a small cheer.
“Thank you for the food doctor.” You said, putting your food down.
“Is the food good? Do I need 2 get more?” He asked.
“No, no, everything is great.” You spoke.

Chapter Text

After you had gotten better from your mysterious Illness you were tasked with welcoming the last few habiticians. It would be the last time you would do so, as the habitat could only fit 22 people (excluding you, the doctor, and your family.)
You had finally finished leading the newest people around, and you noticed a girl who seemed out of place.

“Hello there.” You said, waving at her.
“Euh… Bonjour je suis Questionette.”
“I’m really sorry. I don’t quite understand.”
“Oh, c’est euh… très bien.”
“I can see if I can find a translation book, if you would like.” She nodded wildly. “Alrighty, I go and see if I can find one.”
You decided to check with the doctor first. It was likely he had one, as he had received her resume. You had walked to the doctor’s office.
“Hey Boris, do you happen to own a translator? One of the new habiticians cannot speak English.”
“Yes, I have 1 left. It is a set of ear-pieces and a mic that will translate it im-mediately.”
“Thank you, but isn’t this technology, well, undiscovered?” You asked. “That could solve a lot of problems in the world right now.”
“I uh… Invented it after I moved here. I didn’t know much English, so it really helped.” He spoke. “I don’t exactly need it anymore.”
He shrugged.
“If that doesn’t work, I do have a book that has basic phrases in French.” He quickly shuffled through his desk drawer, and He handed that to you.
You used the elevator to reach the first floor. You ended up bumping into Wallus when the doors slid open.
“Oh, I’m sorry about that Wallus.” You said helping him up. He touched his ear and began to panic wildly. He went back to the ground and scrambled around till he found what he was looking for.
“Its okay, I was just worried I lost this.” He pointed to his ear, which revealed a small hearing aid.
“Oh, I never realized you had a hearing aid before.” You said.
“I usually cover it with my hair, so I can pretend I’m listening.” He chuckled slightly.
“That’s pretty smart.” You remarked. He saw the book in your hands.
“What’s the book for?”
“Oh, one of the new habiticians can’t speak English, so the doctor gave me two ways to understand them though I don’t believe I will need the book though.” You said showing him both the microphone and ear buds.
“Could I possibly have the book? It might help me if I bump into them.” You agreed. You handed him the book. He thanked you as you went to go talk to the mysterious lady.
You finally caught up to them on the roof. You noticed Tim Tam, Lulia, Borbra, and Kamal also on the roof.
You handed the lady an ear bud, and you put yours in. the instructions were taped to the microphone. You set it up and spoke into the microphone.
“can you understand me?” She nodded.
“Can you understand me?” the electronic voice said in your ear. You also nodded. You learned that the lady’s name was Questionette. You talked with her until the sun began to set. She talked mostly about how she wanted to write a book of her adventures in a different country. She had heard of the habitat and thought that would be the perfect place to start her book. You both departed to go back to your own apartments. It was late and you were quite tired. You shut off all your lights and tried to sleep, but you were interrupted but a shadowy creature.
“Hello?” You saw the shape, but you didn’t see his eyes. You thought it was just your mind but that was quickly disproven.
“hello :-)” It said. Its eyes lit up.
“Um… Why are you here? I thought you went to bed at nine?” You asked. He tilted his head as if to show his confusion.
“Do you remember when you were sick, and you said that?” You asked.
“Eye do not re-member that? Do I have a look-a-like?”
“I don’t believe so.” You pondered for a moment.
“Does habit forget stuff at night? Does he have a twin?” You were interrupted by his voice.
“Eye came here 2 ask u a question.” He spoke.
“Okay…”
“Do u think eye am scar-ee?” The question surprised you.
“I…uh… Am I supposed to think that?” You were stuttering wildly.
“No. every-one thinks I’m am scar-ee. I don’t want 2 b scary.” He spoke.
“Do you mind if I sit by you?” You asked. His eyes widened.
“ok-ay.” He shyly said. You sat down next to him and you noticed his hand. It was wispy, it looked like as if it were touched it would dissipate.
“I’m sor-ee if I have scared u.” His eyes teared up slightly. You touched his hand and he flinched.
“I was just startled. I just get startled when people are in my room, unknowingly.” You said. He wiped the tears out of his eyes. He leaned over and his hair flooded your face. You laughed slightly.
“You have so much hair. How do have so much?” You said pushing it out of your face.
“Eye can’t really do any-thing with my hair.” He sighed moving slightly.
“Here, do you mind if I braid your hair.”
“I..uh…” He became extremely flustered. “okay.”
You got up and grabbed a hairbrush and a couple of hair ties. You started to brush, and he flinched.
“You have way too many tangles in your hair, do you brush often?” You said continuing to brush.
“Its quite diffi-cult 2 do so.” He admitted.
It took you at least 30 minutes to get his hair to a manageable point. You finally braided all of his hair.
“Thank you. That helps me a-lot.” He looked at electronic alarm you had.
“I should leave, Its nearly 1 am.” He said.
“Hey, will you be returning tomorrow?”
“I am un-sure, as I do have to set up the ‘Big Event’ and put out the Calas tomorrow.”
“The whats?”
“they r the attend-ants 4 the Carnival.”
“Ah! Well, I hope to see you again soon.”
He smiled, in a genuine sort of way. He wished you a good night and closed the door after leaving.

Chapter Text

You woke with a fright. What was that? You looked around your room and noticed that the sun had not risen yet. The clock had the time painted on it.
5:29 am.

The trees shook quite loudly as you stumbled out of your warm bed It was a bit hard to navigate over to the bathrooms but somehow you made it.

You were quite tired, but no matter how hard you tired, sleep would not return to you. You grunted angrily and began to get ready for your day. You put on a coat and put on a pair of boots. It was snowing lightly outside. You walked towards the carnival and saw Habit working on a paper mâché mechanical being. He didn’t see you walking up to him. You tapped his shoulder softly and he jumped.

“Oh, its just you, you startled me pre-tty bad-ly.” Habit said with a small laugh. “Its is a bit earl-lee 4 you too be up yet.”
“I couldn’t really sleep, I guess.” You gave a small shrug. Habit stood up and quickly scribbled something on the face of the robot.

“How does this look?” He said, fidgeting with his sharpie.

“It looks good, but is there going to be a second eye? “He looked confused until you pointed towards its face.

“Ah I c what u are talking about. I would draw the other side, but I cann never quite get the other I.” You thought about it for a minute or two. You stole the sharpie from Habit and drew a small spiral for the other eye.

“How does this look Boris?” He nodded with happiness.

“That looks very good!” He clapped excitedly. You smiled brightly. You smile was contagious and caused Boris to do the same. Your small smile festival was interrupted by the two of you sneezing. Of course, that synchronized sneeze made you two laugh quite loudly. You quickly shushed Boris as most of the Habititians were sleeping.

“We should probably head inside before we get ill.” You stuck you hands in your coat pocket quickly, as the cold bit at your hands. Boris and you swiftly walked into his office. It was quite warm within his office. Habit pulled back his curtains letting the now rising sun come up. While he opened the window curtains, you began to brew some nice warm coffee.

“Hey, do you want creamer or some sugar in your coffee?” You asked handing him a mug. The mug looked wildly small compared to his large hands. You grabbed yourself a small mug and fixed your coffee to the way you enjoyed.

“So where did you get the Carlas?” Habit stopped sipping his coffee.

“How did you know about the Carlas?” That reply caused you to stop drinking your coffee.

“I…um… I thought you told me.” You replied tapping the side of your mug anxiously. It took a moment or two before the conversation picked back up.

“I cre-ated them a while ago, but I didn’t have a prop-er shell set up 4 them.” He took a sip of his coffee, waiting for what you were going to say next.

“Holy cow, that must have taken forever. So, what are their duties?” You sat leaning back in your chair.

“I made them so the Carni-val could b run on its own.”

“Oh…I thought that Ronbo ran the carnival though.” You said, staring longingly into your now empty mug.

“Nope :-). I thought a clown would bring Cheer-ie smileys to the courtyard.” He said with a small smile. You nodded slightly in understanding. After a long hour of chatting, you finally started to wake up.

“So… what is on the agenda for today?” You asked picking up Habit’s and your mugs. You put it in the small sink that sat to the side of room.

“I hadn’t really thought about that.” He yawned loudly. He leaned his head to the side slightly and his hair swayed wildly. It wasn’t as chaotic as it normally was. He pulled it back to no avail.

“Here would you like me to help you?” His face darkened. He nodded and quickly shoved his hand into his pocket. He pulled out two rubber bands from his pockets. He pulled a small brush from his drawer and handed it to you, attempting to avoid eye contact. You took the small brush and tried to go through his long hair. It was quite cute to see him that embarrassed, but It did sadden you that he didn’t have many people to help him. You were lost in thought when you tried to put his hair up. Suddenly the frail rubber band snapped and left a sharp pain on your hand.

“Ouch.” You said alarmed. Boris sat up quickly and looked straight into your eyes.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have had you do that.” He panicked holding your hand.

“Boris, I’m fine. I didn’t get cut or anything.” He looked over your hand with a somber look. That snapped Rubber band did leave a decently red mark.

“I’m so sorry you got hurt.” He grasped your hand even tighter.

“It didn’t hurt that much; I mainly was startled by the sudden noise.” You led him back to the chair and he sat down. This time around he put his head down. You used the second rubber band to tie his hair up once again.

“All done sir.” You put the brush back on his desk quickly. He kept his head down though.

“Boss?” You moved his head slightly to reveal he had simply fallen asleep. He must have still been tired from your last night chat. Although you still suspected that he had no memory of the previous night. You took his hat off his head, laid his coat over his shoulders, and left the room silently.

The coffee kept you from going back to bed, so you chose to see if anyone else in the habitat needed help. Wouldn’t hurt to check…Right?

Chapter Text

You headed into the lounge to get a quick refill on your coffee. You walked in to see Jerifina sipping a drink. Wasn’t it a little early to begin drinking? You walked over to her and she looked over to you squinting.

“Oh heyyyyy…Good Eveninnggg…” She drunkenly said, with flirty means.

“Um…Isn’t it morning time?” You questioned. She looked over to a clock that you never noticed on the wall. She squinted and had a puzzled look on her face.

“I’m sorrrrry… I lost my sexxyyy teacherrr glasssess somewhere and can’t find itt.” She mumbled something that you couldn’t understand.

“I can try to help if you’d like.” She put up a weak thumbs up. You decided to check on the roof first and make your way down the stairs. Sounded like a good plan, maybe you could check up on your family as well.

“Hey flower kiddo, what are you planning to do today?” They smile and they respond.

“I was planning to help Gillis win a plush bear. He acts so tough, but I want to make him my friend.” They signed. You knew they didn’t care to talk, so you nodded.

“Hey, I was wondering if you saw Jerifina’s glasses anywhere. She lost them, and I want to return them to her.” Flower kid pondered for a moment or two and then began to speak.

“I saw something shiny on the roof, but I don’t know if that is what you are looking for.” They pointed towards the stairwell. Luckily for you, you were already heading there. You looked over towards Kamal. You should probably ask him, but on the other hand, you didn’t want to bother him. You started by the chairs and nothing was found. You turned around to see a small room with chains. You could probably jump over the chains, but one thing caught your eye. It was the pair of glasses. You needed to get the glasses, so you vaulted the chains. There were curtains next to the entrance. You closed the curtains and while doing so you triggered a button on the wall.

“What is going on?” You mumbled. You quickly grabbed the glasses and suddenly a slide show began. The first slide held a simple image of flower you had not recognized before. The second slide was an image of habit as a child.

“Awwwe” He was so adorable when he was young. The next slide was of Boris with the unfamiliar plant. You pressed the button once again, and the next slide made your heart stop. Boris had a grim look plastered on his face. It was a look of fear. The next slide held a shadow being, similar to Boris. It must have been his father. You couldn’t see the man’s face, but your stomach developed a pit.

“Oh my…” You saw the little plant smashed on the ground. You fears started to increase. Tears flooded your eyes when you pressed the button once again.

“Oh no. What the hell happened Boris?” The young boys face was bloodied, and tears rolled down his cheeks. He was hit. The slide show cut off and you fell to the ground. The curtains were parted, and Kamal stood at the entrance.

“So, you learned the truth, huh?”
“Who was that?” Your face flooded with tears. Kamal helped you out of that small room. You hugged him, but you couldn’t stop your arms from shaking.

“That was Habit’s father.” Your heart broke. It wasn’t right that he had to go through all of that. You sat down and all of the emotions you had held in flowed wildly. Maybe that was your purpose. Making Boris smile. He wanted to make everyone else smile, but now all you wanted to do was help him. You dried your tears and began to start your quest.

You walked to the bottom of the stairs and went to the lounge.

“Hey Jerifina, I found your glasses.” She clapped and you handed her red glasses. She put them one and thanked you with a kiss. You blushed wildly and left the lounge. On your way out, you were hit in the head with a golf ball.

“Owww what the heck.” You rubbed your head and Millie ran up to you.

“Oh, my goodness I’m so sorry, I wouldn’t have hit you if this stupid pipe worked. I have to hit that got dang clown” She threw her club down in frustration.

“Hey, if I aim the pipe, with you stop pelting me with golf balls.” Millie nodded and you turned the crank for the pipe. Millie swung and the ball shot out and smacked Ronbo in the head.

“Sorry Ronbo!” You called to him.

“Don’t apologize to that demon.” Millie hissed. She handed you something and stomped off. You palm now held a small tooth shaped seed. You did have a planter box in your room after all. You tried to find flower kid and lo and behold they were ‘chatting’ with their new friend, Gillis.

“Hey kiddo, I need some help with something?” They nodded and you walked them up to your room. “Millie gave me this bizarre seed and I was wondering if you knew what this was.”

They didn’t know but they suggested that you give the plant water and kisses to help it grow. Jerifina had given you a kiss earlier maybe you could get a drink from Jimothan. That was your game plan and after getting the drink you walked up to your room and shoved the seed in the planter. You poured the drink on top of the seed and gave the small plant a kiss. You had no clue of what that would happen to the plant. Maybe it would make a good gift for Boris. Maybe not. You didn’t know what that flower was going to be for. It was late to worry about these things anyways…

Chapter Text

Upon the next morning’s arrival, you were greeted the sight of a small lip shaped plant grinning straight back at you. It of course startled you when you first woke up. You sat up and touched the plant lightly and realized that the grins ‘teeth’ was simply created by lightly yellow petals. Could you possibly wash the teeth? It would hurt to try right? You grabbed a spare toothbrush from your desk and grabbed some of your toothpaste.

You didn’t know if it would work and quite frankly you didn’t feel like looking stupid, so you quickly slammed your door shut.

“I hope I don’t hurt the plant.” You lightly brushed at the discolored petals and to your surprise the petals fell away to reveal a fragile yellow lily. You quickly cupped the flower in your hand.

“Oh I…I did it!” You quietly hopped around your room. The moment your relative was awake you would show them your flower. Were there any small pots or anything around? You might as well look around for a spare one. You headed up to the roof and found some behind the saddening room. You saw Kamal asleep in his hiding spot. He was shivering ever so slightly, and you shook him awake.

“Huh… Oh hey.” He sat up and stretched.

“You should probably head inside and rest, it’s way too cold out here.” He stood up and yawned loudly. You walked him down the stairs, quickly to his room. You walked down to the main area and saw Ronbo fiddling with his costume.

“Oh, hey kiddo!” You were handed a heart shaped balloon.

“First day of the carnival opening, how do you feel about that Ronbo?” He shrugged.

“I don’t know really, but do you think Tiff is going to show up?” He said moving his hat slightly. You nodded knowing that she had a song gig later. He smiled lightly and opened the gate doors to let you thru. There were two game stalls and a fortune area. Along with the tents you saw the Carla you helped with earlier. Walking yourself over to the fortune hut, you were greeted by a Carla with a wig.

“He-llo flesh parental being.” The Carla waved. Your face warmed and deepened in color. You waved and continued along your routine. You checked out the other stalls and made sure all was supposed to be, and you continued up to Boris’ office. You stepped into the elevator.

The doors slowly slid open and led you into a messy waiting room. It was becoming a more common instance. You tidied up the waiting room and opened the door into the main area. It wasn’t as messy, and you continued into his office. He had his hair tied back and he was cleaning some broken glass up off his desk.

“Hey Boris- oh what broke?” You said tying your balloon to the door handle.

“Just a small mug. I was frustrated and dropped it by mistake.” He spoke clearly. He swept shards of glass into the palm of his hand and dumped it into his trash bin. You welt the vibe of the room turned harsh. You didn’t want to push him farther, so you let it be.

“Do you have any plans for today boss?” You asked. Boris shuffled through his drawer and pulled out a few Band-Aids. He began to patch up his hands.

“Not really. I am going to b work-ing on the beeg event.” He said tossing small pieces of glass in his bin.

“Oh, do you need help or anything?” He shook his head, and you began to leave.

“Wait- I could use asistiancey wi-th clean-ing the office.” He gave an awkward smile. He grabbed a nearby broom. He winced slightly. The Band-Aid on his hand slipped and you saw a large piece of glass. You grabbed his hand gently.

“Oh, Boris you still have a piece in your hand.” You grabbed towards his drawer. You glanced and saw medication, your picture, a handful of pens, and a pair of tweezers. You looked back towards his hand and slowly plucked the big piece out of his large hands. His hands were quite warm.

“Alrighty that should have been the last bit of your mug.” You put a clean Band-Aid on the palm of his hand. You grabbed the broom and began to sweep in his office while he began to dust his shelves. Sweeping was no problem, until you mistakenly knocked over a small picture frame. Luckly the glass didn’t break.

“Hey boss. Who is this?” You handed him the small frame.

“Oh.” He pointed towards the shorter man. “That is my unkle Grigory, and thos r my younger twin cousins.”

The sight of his family caused him to give off a small melancholy sigh. He put the frame down and he continued to dust off the rest of his shelf.

“You okay Boris?” You put your hand on his arm. He flinched.

He said nothing.

“Boris?”

“I’m fine, its nothing.” He sighed. “Really I’m- “

You hugged his arm. At first, he pushed you away, but he soon accepted the hug.

“I’m sorry, family is a bit of a tough subject.” You tugged at his coat.

“Here I may have something to cheer you up.” He tilted his head slightly.

You grabbed his hand and quickly let him up the stairs to your room. He closed his eyes as quickly you positioned him.

“Alrighty you can open your eyes now.” He looked at the flower. You couldn’t quite tell what he was feeling.

“You read my diary. Didn’t you.” He said looking away.

“What diary, I don’t understand.” Confusion flooding your face.

“How else would you have known how to take care of such a delicate plant?” He said angrily.

“I-I got help from Flower kid. They helped me grow it.”

“Of Course, It just had to be them! They always have to meddle with my plans.” He walked out angrily and mumbling. Three words were easily made out.

Damn Flower Brat

Chapter Text

The day was cloudy. Boris locked you out the towers he resided in leaving you to do your job on the ground. You were worried about him. He barricaded himself within his tower for a week. Worry had flooded your mind as you worked. Your perfect little world was falling apart. Ronbo broke up with Tiff, and Wallus went missing. A lot of people had left before the big event and left you with a mere 13 people left. You bumped into Flower Kid.

“Hey Kiddo.”

“Hey are you okay?” They stopped you in your tracks.

“I…Uh… no. Boris stopped talking to me, and I get I’m just worried about him.”

“I gave him the flower, but he didnt take it too kindly.” You shrugged sadly. “He thinks I took some sort of diary. I’m worried about him.”

“I have his pages…” They handed it over to you.

“Why…Why do you have these?”

“I was given these from the others.” You scanned over the notes and cried at what you saw. What happened to you worried you about him.

“How do I help him. Oh gosh…” You panicked. “Please what do I do?”

“I think you should talk to him. Explain what happened.” They gave you a small lipstick container.

“Whats this for?”

“Give this to him.” They were called by Nat, leaving you to your thoughts.

You walked over to the hole in the wall that the janitor resided in.

“Wallus? You there?” You tapped the wall.

“Oh I'm just packing up, what is up?” He gets out of the wall. “You look upset? What's wrong?”

“I've upset Boris. I don't know what I've done.” You shook your head.
“He's quite a baby. He can't handle anything.” He said holding your hand. “Please leave before he loses it, he's unhinged.”

“I have to fix this, I don't want to hurt him.” You said. He handed you his elevator keycard.

“Please, just be safe. I'm going to leave tonight.” He said, shoving more supplies into his bag. “Good luck with all of that.”

He left you to do what needed to be done. You walked off to the rooftop to consult kamal. He was Boris’s past assistant. He had the best knowledge of Boris’ personality.

“Kamal? Kamal?” You spotted him soon enough. He was sitting by the awful slideshow.

“Kamal I need your help.” He panicked.

“What happened, did he hurt you?” You quickly answered his questions.

“Everyone is leaving, you are the last person who has interacted with Boris, besides Jim.”

“He's finally going to do it huh. His damn plans huh.” Kamal muttered.

“What do you mean? What plans? Is he going to be fine?” He shook his head.

“If he does go through with it, no one is going to be fine, we might not even be alive.”

“Kamal answer me. What is going on?” He anxiously pulled at his dark hair.
“The big event, I was fooled.”He continued to mutter. He couldn't have been any more help.

“It's happening tonight. Isn't it?”

“We just have to hope that that's not the case. I can get you into his office, but I don't know if I could get you any farther than that.” Kamal said. “Flower kid is planning to talk to him as well, but I'm worried about what he may do. What if he hurts them.”

“I think he's the one who's hurt. The slides, the murals, the diary. It all points to his past. This isn't a place to heal others, it was a place to heal himself. Kamal don't you get it? He wanted someone to find his diary, the murals, even the plant. He needs help. He needs our help.” Kamal's eyes lit up.

“How could I not have seen it? I was so focused on my own anger, I didn't see him. Oh gosh I ..I feel terrible.” His panicked expression returned to his now flushed face.

“What should I do?”

“I'm sure he's watching us now, considering the cameras, but I know he can't hear us. I think that you should confront him tomorrow morning. I can get the other people to leave, but I can't go myself. It…it would be too painful.”

You nodded and proceeded to help him to pack his stuff. The front doors were open at night incase of emergency so that was the evacuation plan. Kamal hadn't brought much to the habitat, a light bag was all he had. You talked to many other habitions and begged them to leave. Many of them agreed, and Trevor hitched a ride with nat. Most everyone was going to leave. Sadly, not everyone was happy. Poor lTiff still had her contract. You had to help her before she could leave. The contract wouldn't be too hard, just rip it up from the bars that held them and you would be done with that. Of course it couldn’t be that easy, your hands could not reach between the bars.

“Come on! Why can't I reach it?” You mutter. Your shirt was tugged on.

“Flower kid? I thought you were packing?”

“I want to help. It was my fault for ruining your relationship.” Flower Kid held your hand.

“No no you wouldn't have known, besides I should talk to him.” They shook their head.

“Just be careful, okay?” They let go of your hand and handed you a big camera. They quickly left you before you could argue with them.

“Why did they hand me this? Wait…” You quickly glanced at the bottom of the contract. “Photosensitive?”

You quickly snapped a picture of the paper.

“It faded?” You did it a few more times until it was washed away. You rushed down to the lounge as fast as you could. The sun was setting and you only had a little time left to help get Tiff out of here. Lucky for you she had what she had brought hidden away.

Now it was just you, flower kid, and Boris left in the habitat.

Chapter Text

Despite all of your anxiety you were off to sleep quickly. It was going to be your last few hours at this place. You were thrown out of bed by Kamal.

“Kamal? Why are you here? What's going on?” Your words ran faster than your mind leaving your mind in a mess. It was still dark. Your head was in turmoil.

“Where's Flower Kid?” He shook you awake. You shrugged and he gave a scared expression. He mumbled something and grabbed your hand.

“Oh no.” You got up and ran, Kamal tried to trail after you. You swiped your keycard quickly hoping that the doors would open. Why wasnt it working? Your keycard finally worked and you prayed that nothing absurd happened. Kamal tried to dash quickly into the elevator but couldn’t make it. You had to make it quickly to the top so you couldn't wait for him.

You anxiously sat down in the elevator and waited to reach the top.

The door rolled open slowly. You walked down the hall and you walked up to the doors that lead to his offices. You opened the door and saw Boris standing there with a handful of tools.

“Boris? What are you doing?” He stuttered and backed away. Kamal soon caught up with you and rushed into another room.

“Boris please. Talk to me.” No words. He moved.

“Boris? I want to help you. I understand what is going on.” He didn’t talk.

Kamal and the flower kid quickly shuffled out and to the elevator. With a small ding, they left you two in the large empty room.

“It's just you and me, Boris. I want to help.” He backed away on to his balcony. You walked up to him.

Suddenly the balcony snapped and he fell.

You held on to his hand. Despite the looming danger, he avoided your eyes. You successfully pulled him into the room and gave him a swift hug.

“I’m ….so sorry “ Boris hugged you back quickly. His breath felt cold.

“Never scare me like that again. Listen to me, you are going to go down there with me and we are gonna help you. I can’t let you hurt yourself again.” He avoided your eyes. He nodded silently. You walked him down to the ground floor, never letting go of his hand. Despite all of the things that happened, his hands had the same sweet warmth. He wasn’t such a mad doctor as everyone thought. He just needed a helping hand.

It had been a few weeks after the whole incident. You made sure to check in on Boris at least once a day, but other than that you didn't talk much, until you got a temporary job in your family's old shop. It was a normal Saturday and the shop was slow. There was only one person in the shop. It was him.

“Boris?” He whipped around. He looked startled that you worked there.

“I'm so so sorry I didn't know that this is where you worked im so so-” You hugged him. His voice was husky and strained.

“I'm glad to see you, I was worried after you did not respond to my email this morning.”
“I didnt mean 2 worr-y you.” His voice softened and returned to its normal state. You pulled out the lipstick container that Flower kid gave you.

“I meant to give you this.” You looked him in his eyes.
“Oh? Did i leave some-thing back at-” His face deepened in color. You kissed him on his forehead and hugged him once again.

“I uh… would u lik to go out to coffee or something?” He asked anxiously.
“I would love too doctor.”