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Chapter Text

Alto Clef

Gender: male

Year of birth: 1970 (37)

Place of birth: Massachusetts (idfk)

Sexuality: Bi-romantic Asexual

Jack bright

Gender: fluid

Year of birth: 1968 (39)

Place of birth: site 17

Sexuality: Pansexual

Meri Wojeichowski (scp 166)

Gender: female

Year of birth: 1991(16)

Place of birth: Cornwall, England

Sexuality: Queer/questioning

Doctor Jack bright opened his eyes, to see the ceiling of the break room he knew far too well after all these years. He groaned and closed his eyes again before turning onto his side on the firm couch he was lying on, wrapping a soft blanket around him, tighter than it was before. He couldn't Just fall asleep and never wake up could he? He was doomed to this life for as long as the medallion remained intact, which would most likely be forever at this point. He just had to carry the stupid thing with his bare hands that day. He just had to be revived in that stupid D-class' body. the medallion wouldn't just let him close his eyes in that moment and rest, let him be at peace.

Bright tried to go back to sleep, but he wasn't getting anywhere with that, so he decided to get up and try to eat something. Pushing the blanket off of himself, he realised that he had slept in his work clothes. He sighed and went to get some clean clothes from a small chest of drawers near the kitchen and laundry area. He picked out a light pink shirt, brown trousers, a grey tie and some clean underwear before going into the mens bathroom and changing. when he was done, he examined himself in the mirror, only to see that he looked like even more of an instance of 008 than the day before. He sighed before picking up a hairbrush and untangling his long-ish, vibrant, auburn hair.

when he was done, he made his way to the canteen to get some breakfast. He passed Humanoid containment on the way there and almost went in before deciding not to. 'I'll visit him later' Bright thought to himself before turning a corner and entering the canteen. He scanned the room and spotted Clef, Kondraki and Rights sat at the table in the far right corner. He gave them a wave before going to get some food. Bright made his way to the counter and poured himself a bowl of coco puffs before going to sit down with his friends.

"hey," he sighed as he sat down next to clef and ate a spoonful of his cereal, "how are you?" He asked, sensing how the others were looking at him

Clef piped up, "Probably better than you." he laughed, and so did everyone else, except for bright, who slammed his head on the table hard, causing the canteen to go almost silent before the usual chatter continued, "Dude, it was...just a joke...I'm sorry." Clef said, a remorseful tone in his voice as he patted Bright on the back in an attempt to console him.

Bright managed to get out a small groan before moving the barely touched coco puffs to the centre of the table. "Bright, you need to eat, we are all worried about you," rights said trying to comfort the tired researcher, "At least eat half." It was something bright was willing to try if it shut them up. He moved the bowl back in front of himself and started to eat. They tasted of nothing, they were bland, just like everything in the facility, like the plain white walls, the floor, the accomodation, just bland. 'This is what you get when you sign up to work here though' bright thought. slowly, it became harder for him to swallow the cereal as it turned to mush and he began to feel sick. he once again moved it to the centre of the table and looked down at his hands, and the table was silent until finally, kondraki spoke.

"Right," he said while slapping his knees, "Rights and I should be off."

"Where?" bright questioned, he was just curious about where his friends are going to be, how much danger they are going to be in, or at least, that's what he told himself.

"049's due for testing, rights and i are conducting the test." He gestured to the researcher beside him as she started to get up.

"See you guys later" rights said as she and Kondraki made their way out of the canteen leaving just Clef and bright at the table. Bright leaned his head on the table once more but was interupted again by clef.

"We should get going too," He said, clearly trying to cheer bright up, "Our break room isnt going to clean itself," he stated before letting out a nervous laugh as bright turned his head to face clef.

"You-You go ahead, I'm gonna visit Tj." Bright said nervously, as if he didn't want to annoy clef. The 05 had only just let them be in the same room together after 'the incident', and he didn't want to start another one. Clef sighed.

"Yeah, you do that, tell him I said hi, ok?" Bright only looked more upset at this

"Yeah, I'll do that. He'll like that." Clef patted his shoulder before holding out a tissue

"thanks," bright said, taking it and wiping his eyes. The two left the canteen and headed towards the break room, but stopped when they reached humanoid containment, where Bright stopped, hesitant to see his brother in that state. "See you clef-" but clef had already left. Bright took a deep breath and showed his medallion to the guards as a form of identification and proceeded through the doors down the hallway until he reached the containment cell of his brother, SCP 590.

Bright took a moment to collect himself, then nodded to the guards standing outside the cell, who then let him in.

"JACK!!!" an exited voice screamed as soon as bright entered the cell and a boy about 16 years old in appearance ran up and hugged him. Bright hugged him back, he didn't want to let go of him, ever. "Ow, shit." Bright immediately let go and backed away, thinking he had hurt him, but then notices a bandage tightly wrapped around his ankle. 'those bastards used him to heal some useless prick.' bright thought, 'He doesn't deserve this'

"Tj, you shouldn't have ran up like that, you'll hurt yourself more." Bright's brow furrowed an he picked up his younger brother and placed him gently on the bed. Bright then looked to the desk next to them and saw an open pack of sketching pencils.

"Oh yeah, that, " Tj smiled up at Jack, as he almost jumped off the bed but was stopped by his brother. "oh, yeah.. can you get them?"

"Yep, " Bright said as he reached for the drawings, but when he picked them up, he almost burst out crying. On the page was a beautiful drawing of the bright family, before they had become divided. the people on the page had been labelled: Mom, Dad, Mikell, Claire, Jack and there was a tall, lanky figure of a brunette child without a name.

"I can't remember her name..." Tj said, pointing to the figure, "do you?"

Bright sighed, "I think it was Sarah" she was a still born baby, Tj was told to heal her in hopes of getting their daughter back. It only resulted in another bright anomaly. This was the start of the bright family's divide. TJ quickly added the name.

Tj looked away, "When will I get to see Claire or dad again?" those words hit Bright hard, their father had been killed on orders of the 05 council and Claire had defected from the foundation and joined the serpent's hand. Honestly, he couldn't blame her for running away, especially after what the foundation had done to their family, but he still hated her for abandoning them.

"I-I'm sure they'll come to visit soon." bright didn't want to hurt Tj, not when he wasn't in the right mental state to deal with this himself. "has mom come to visit recently?"

"yeah, she and Mikell were here yesterday, I gave them both one too." Tj held the drawing in his hands and smiled slightly, "can you give one to Dad, one to her and one to Claire?" Tj asked looking bright in the eyes

"Of course" bright smiled back, tears forming in his eyes as he took the drawings from his hands. "It might be difficult though, dad's busy with...05 stuff right now. Classified." He sat in silence for a while, "I need to go."

"Already?" Tj asked

"I'm sorry, but I have work to do, I'll visit when I can." bright said while getting up and tapping on the door 3 times, a signal that he was ready to leave

"Ok, bye!" Tj smiled faintly

"B-Bye!" bright stammered as the door opened and he exited the containment cell, the door closing behind him he turned to the guards "I need to give this to 321" he said, gesturing to the drawing. one guard nodded and led bright down the hall towards another cell. the cell door had a window in it and bright's unnamed sister looked out after a quick knock on the door, and the window hatch was unlatched and opened. "Hey! S-Sarah, umm.. Tj wanted me to bring this to you." bright stammered as he held out the drawing. She reached out, took the drawing, smiled and gave her brother a thumbs up. "S-see you later sis." he said as the guard closed the window and put it on the latch.

Bright left humanoid containment in a hurry, and ran back to the break room, hyperventilating and crying uncontrollably. When he got to the break room, he put the drawings on the coffee table and locked himself in the men's bathroom, not even noticing clef sat on the couch. "Bright?" Clef called out, trying to get through to him. But bright couldn't hear him through his sobs. "BRIGHT?!" Clef said louder, forcing his weight against the locked door, but to no avail. Defeated, he went to look at what Bright had put on the table, allowing him to calm down looking at the drawings on the table, and noticed that one of them read 'To Dad' on the back and on another, 'To Claire', and the last one read 'To Jack'. Clef now understood what made him so upset. Clef got up and knocked on the door, "Bright? Come out now, I want to talk to you."

"Just leave me alone, dammit!"

"OPEN THE DAMN DOOR OR I WILL SHOOT IT DOWN MYSELF." Bright cried harder.

Just then, Doctor Rights and Kondraki poked their heads into the break room. "OH MY 343!" rights exclaimed, putting a hand to her cheek, "WHATS WRONG???" Clef gestured to the drawings before going to try to talk to bright again.

"Jack?" Clef said and there was a pause from the other side of the door, "You need to talk to us. NOW."

"Rights and I just needed to get something actually, we are REALLY sorry Clef," Kondraki said while picking out a folder from a cupboard before the two of them dissappeared again

"WHA- YOU ASSHOLES!" clef yelled, bright continued crying again and he knocked on the door again. "Jack...Please, let me in."

"F-fine" bright sobbed and there was a shuffle behind a door and then a click before the door opened. Bright's eyes were puffy and red, and he still had tears streaming down his face. Clef ran up to him and hugged him.

"Jack, its gonna be fine." clef said while clinging onto him, he was about a foot taller than bright, so he was holding onto his head as it was the easiest place to hold him, but it must have looked really odd to anyone who could have happened to look into the bathroom.

"Alto" bright said between hiccups

"Yes?" Clef responded, letting go of bright and looking down at him.

"I need your help with something"

Chapter Text

Im gonna put my oc in here, don't worry, they wont be that important in the main storyline, they just kinda exist as one of bright and clef's best friends will give a character sheet tomorrow probably.

edit: I have gone in a completely new direction with this OC, they will have a few major moments in this book, but I am currently working on their own as of the 4th November 2022. I will try and only have their character arc take 1 or 2 chapters, and it may or may not have an impact on this story, I am still unsure of that, but I know where I want their story to go, I hope you understand.

"I need you to do something", bright said between sobs.

"I'm almost afraid to ask." Clef teased. Bright chuckled a bit, bringing joy to his tear soaked face.

"You have friday off right?" bright asked

"Yes?"

"can you come with me to give this to-to my dad?" bright said, sounding embarrassed while gesturing to the drawing labelled 'To Dad'

"S-sure," clef responded, " wanna go for drinks after?"

"Sure," bright laughed, "Lets hope I don't get black out drunk again." he said, looking away from clef's eyes. Bright went over and sat on the bottom bunk of a bed that they had set up for the extra long shifts. and wiped away his tears as clef sat on the couch. "Sorry, I'm really out of it today."

"don't apologise." clef snapped, "It's not your fault."

"but I can't help but feel as if-"

"Not. Your. Fault." clef said in that angry but encouraging tone.

Bright sighed and got up. "We need to get to work, A's probably wondering where we are, we wouldn't want to keep them waiting."

"ok, you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'm sure, lets go."

Im so fucking lazy rn im just gonna end it here

Chapter Text

my oc will be fully introduced in this chapter. Sorry not sorry for the shit ur about to read. (name is pronounced -Ay- btw

Clef and bright left the break room after putting the drawings in brights pigeon hole and set off for Heavy containment. They were on Keter duty after an incident regarding bright, clef, A, Chainsaw cannons, shotguns, shadow demons and 3 keter anomalies. On the way there, neither bright or clef said a word until they reached the guards, when they only muttered a simple 'hey' before being let into the sector. They reached the containment area labelled SCP-682 and both sighed before entering the observation room.

"WHERE ON EARTH HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Clef and bright both stood up straight, shocked at the sudden burst of noise. They saw a short, pale blue, researcher with half black, half light blue hair scowling at them. They spoke in an east midlands, British accent "I HAVE BEEN WORKING MY ARSE OFF DOWN HERE AND YOU HAVE BEEN DOING WHAT?"

"A, c-calm down, we can explain." Clef said, bright just looked at the floor, ashamed that he had taken up valuable time

"Go on then." A said, the look on their face was now less fury and more concern at bright's mood change. Bright and clef were never late, and they were never this quiet.

"Bright visited Tj and he...Got emotional, I was helping him in the break room."

"R-right, I see." they said as they stepped closer to bright and put a hand on his shoulder, "Look, I get it, He's your brother, But every time you go, you end up harming your mental health even more. It honestly pains me to request this, but you need to stop going so often, I suggest once every 3 weeks, ok?"

"A," Bright responded, "I- Thanks, I'll consider it."

"Good. Right then!" they said walking towards the observation window enthusiastically, oddly so considering what they were working on, "We need to fill out A LOT of paperwork, regarding the- ahem- incident."

"How much?" Clef asked, He hated paperwork, so did bright, it was just so boring. Both of them know that A hates it too, but its made twice as easy for them considering their abilities. A is a shadow bender, meaning they can manipulate shadows and use them to get around, A has named their shadow 'shade'. They have never shared their last name, however, the powers they possess have given them the name 'Dr Shadow', and their age is estimated 19, extremely young for their field of work. A often uses their shadow to help with paperwork, which many researchers feel is unfair, but the 05 have no issue with it as long as the documents are filled out.

"Too much, clef. Too much." A sighed, "Clef, yours is over there and bright, yours is next to it." A pointed to the corner of the room

"So A," bright questioned, "Why are we even here?"

"Good question haha" the laugh was clearly fake and they slammed their head into the wall in frustration, "I guess they want to make sure the message gets through, but personally, I think just the paperwork would have sufficed."

Bright picked up his 3 inch thick pile of paperwork and sat at a work desk next to A and Clef followed him with his own stack of documents. A summoned their shadow and split the paperwork into two piles, an gave one to the shadow along with a pen. Even with the shadow, A still had the most paperwork and finished 1 hour after bright and clef had finished. They stretched and dismissed their shadow before getting up and putting the paperwork in a folder and stuffing it in a bag. "Wanna go for drinks?" they ask

"I wouldn't mind," Clef said

"Sure, but make sure we are sober by the morning, heh." bright said back

"My turn to pay right?" Clef asked

"sure," Bright mumbled, "We still on for Friday? clef?" as soon as those words left his mouth, bright realised how that sounded, soon followed by A responding.

"Oh?" A had a curious and flirty tone in their voice

"Me and bright are going to see his..dad on friday, to give him something...from Tj." Clef slowly trailed off

"oh..." A stood in silence for a while, " lets go then" they slowly made their way to the door followed by the two other researchers.

They all made their way down the hall and out of heavy containment and to the break room where Kondraki and Rights were sat on their phones. Rights and kondraki turned their attention to bright, "Oh my 343 are you ok?" rights asked while cupping brights face in her hands, "you sounded really upset, what happened?"

"J-just something with Tj, thats all" Bright answered, his words slightly slurred by Rights' hand on his face. "We are gonna go for drinks, wanna come?"

"On a work night?" Kondraki asked, concerned

"the three of us have the day off tomorrow." Clef said

"sorry, shouldn't have asked, forgot you were working tomorrow." Bright said

"We best be off then," A said Putting on a coat and their bag, "We should leave before the rain gets worse"

"How do you always know its raining? there are no windows in here." Kondraki asked, confused

"I have my ways," A said, "I also have a weather app."

"oh. right. S-see you!"

The three of them left the site, got on the bus to [/////////] and removed all of their foundation identification badges. When they reached [/////////], they went into [///] bar and sat down. Clef got some tropical juice and vodka, because clef, Bright got the same and A had some Raspberry Gin and tonic. For a while, everyone was having a good time, but after about half an hour, when A and Clef were so Immersed in a conversation about Chainsaw swords, Bright ordered some more drinks and chugged them. In that moment, he felt like he did that morning and he couldn't describe why. he felt like he was worthless, like he was trapped. he needed those drinks, just to escape from reality...

Just for a little bit.

Chapter Text

When A and clef had finished their conversation, the bartender tapped Clef on the shoulder. "hey, so umm," He was young, probably no more than 17 and had a fairly low voice, "I don't mean to bother you, but I'm afraid it irresponsible of me to serve your friend anymore drinks." he gestured to bright who was now slumped over on the bar.

"Bri- uhh, Jack?" Clef asked, and bright lifted his head and immediately smiled

"Cle *hic* effff" he mumbled while going to hug him, a gesture which made Clef very embarrassed.

"Jack, what happened?" Clef asked, Genuinely concerned for his friend

"He wont let me have another drinkkk." Bright complained while pointing at the bartender.

"Alto," A said, "I'll pay, you get him home."

"you sure?" Clef asked, "It's my turn to pay?"

"I'm sure."

"O-oh Yeah!" bright piped up while being helped to stand by clef, "I left my keys at work..Hahah! oopsieeeeesss!" A and clef looked at each other before clef decided what to do.

"I'll deal with him, you're paying after all." Clef decided, while heading towards the door. A quickly paid and followed.

"I can get you guys to your house if you want, clef," A suggested, "it would be faster than calling an uber."

"Sure," clef mumbled while trying to support bright's now limp body, "he won't care, he's out cold." Clef laughed as A placed a hand on his back and the ground below them turned black and misty, and within seconds, they were outside Clef's house.

"See you, clef." A said before disappearing in the same black mist.

"Bye," clef sighed as he fumbled around looking for his keys. When he finally found them, he opened the door and turned on the light. He went into the living room and set bright on the couch before going into his room and finding some of the smallest clothes he owned. The smallest things he found were some grey sweatpants and a My chemical romance t-shirt that had been sat in a box in the bottom of his closet since his college days. When he got back to the living room, bright was awake and was attempting to stand up. Attempting to. Clef went over to him and held out the clothes. "These might be a little big, but they will have to do."

"Thaaaannkkk youuuuuuuu clefffyyyy." Lets just say that clef wasn't the most happy being called that, "I need a place to changeeee" Bright said, his words slurring even more with every sentence.

Clef sighed, "come on, you can get changed in the bathroom" He helped bright up after he too the clothes and helped him into the bathroom. After bright had changed into the baggy clothes, Clef helped bright to the guest bedroom and into the large bed. Without warning, bright hugged Clef Just as he was about to leave.

"Please," Bright said, "Don't *hic*tell anyone what happened to *hic*night."

"Well i wasn't planning on it," clef said, trying to get out of the hug

"thanks" bright said, clinging even harder to clef's Hawaiian patterned shirt even harder. This went on for about 5 minutes before bright had fallen asleep, still hugging Clef so tight that he till couldn't get out of it. Clef tried to get bright to let him go gently, but it didn't work.

"Goddammit bright." Clef snapped under his breath, bright move slightly at that before laying down, taking Clef with him, "are you kidding me?"

Bright was woken up by a beam of light coming through a gap in the curtains, directly onto his face. He had a fat headache and just wanted to move out of the way of the light before realising that he couldn't. there was something weighing him down. He opened his eyes and almost yelled out in surprise when he saw Clef clinging onto him, with his face buried into bright's chest and his arms wrapped around his upper torso. Bright looked at clef for a while before wrapping his arms around him 'nothing wrong with doing this with.....a friend' bright thought

Why did that last part feel wrong?

Chapter Text

Bright closed his eyes again and was about to fall asleep when clef stirred awake. Clef rubbed his eyes and looked up at bright before he realised what was going on. He quickly let go of bright and bright moved his arms away from Clef's body before speaking, "what happened last night?"

clef sighed while looking slightly annoyed, "you had too much to drink, like you always do." Clef shot a look at bright that made him feel as if he was going to pass out. Clef had never spoken to him like this before, he knew he messed up by drinking too much, but the fact that clef had said it made it feel so much worse, "You need to speak to a therapist bright, I don't want to have to help you out of a bar again, ok?" His tone was softer now, more like he was giving advice and less like he was pissed off.

"Yeah, I understand..." Bright muttered, ashamed of what had happened, "So, fill in the gaps for me, I remember leaving work and the ride to the bar but after that its fuzzy. And why am I in, what I'm assuming to be, your house?"

Clef chuckled and moved his hair away from his eyes, slightly exposing the third one that he concealed under his dirty blonde hair, "well, we sat down, ordered, we talked until me, and A got talking about something for about 20 minutes, and when we were finished, the bartender told us he couldn't serve you anymore alcohol, so we left. Oh! and you left your keys at work."

Bright sat there before clutching his head and getting up. The room had dusty brown roman blinds, pale mint walls and plain wood furniture, "nice place," bright said, "To apologise for taking up your time, should I make you breakfast?" bright smiled at clef

"With MY food?" Clef said sarcastically with a smirk, that of a Cheshire cat, on his face.

"I think the sentiment is still there," bright said, his smile faltering a bit.

Clef chuckled to himself before responding, "Ok, fine, it's still breakfast, I'll put some coffee on." As he turned to leave the room but paused, "you need anything? "

Bright responded almost immediately, "Can I have some ice water?" He responded while holding the side of his head.

"Ok, I'll get you some. You can come and cook when you're ready. " Clef exited the room leaving bright to himself.

Bright left the room and went down the hallway to find the bathroom and entered a room he thought may be the bathroom but was greeted by a room completely lit up with sunlight, dazzling him temporarily. When his eyes adjusted, he saw the room was filled with plants and fauna of all kinds and that all the furniture was plain wood. The bed was perfectly made and there was no dust on anything. Clef lived alone and this definitely wasn't his room, so it must be...

"What are you doing in here?" A voice came from behind bright, startling him. It was clef

"I was looking for the bathroom, " bright muttered, "sorry." Bright left the room with his head facing the ground and clef locked the door after him.
Clef walked him to a door just down the hall, "here's the bathroom. "

"Th-thanks" bright said. He knew who that room was meant for, but decided not to bring it up, "is it ok if I use your shower?"

"Sure," clef mumbled before leaving bright to put some coffee on.

When bright was done, he changed into the same clothes clef had given him the night before and made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Like the rest of his house, clef's kitchen was light and had unpainted wooden counters and furniture, the living room was right next to the kitchen in an opened space. The walls were dark green teal, and the couch and chair were brown leather and there was a huge wall mounted tv that clef was sat watching with a cup of coffee in hand.

"What are you gonna make? " Asked clef, "I'm hungry." That signature Cheshire Cat smile appeared on his face again and bright turned to the kitchen.

"I was thinking pancakes" bright smiled at clef and clef smiled back.

"The flour and sugar are in the bottom cupboard to the far left and eggs and milk are in the fridge. Oh, and pans are in the second drawer down" Clef said turning his focus back to the tv.

Bright found the ingredients and got a pan from the drawer before mixing everything together. Needless to say, Clef's kitchen was a lot tidier than his, so was the rest of his house. Bright could never find the time or motivation to tidy up, so his house was a lot messier. He was lucky he didn't rent, or he would have been evicted by now. When he had finished, he cooked and served up about 5 pancakes each and gave the better made ones to clef. Clef had set out some coffee and ice water on a low table in front of the couch. Bright sat down and started eating his slightly burned pancakes, occasionally taking a sip of lukewarm coffee or ice water, which didn't do as much for his headache as he had hoped.

"You...sure you are ok to go out?" Clef asked, "you seem really out of it."

"Yeah! I-I'll be fine!" Bright said, putting on a fake smile and making his voice sound enthusiastic. He ate some more pancake but slowly began to feel sick before he couldn't hold it down anymore and got up and ran to the kitchen and vomited into the bin.

"HOLY SHIT! ARE YOU OK??" Clef yelled, standing up and running to help bright.

"Yeah, I'm-" he tried to speak again before throwing up again.

"Bright, you can't go out like this." Clef said, concerned for his friend's health, "Stay here, we can watch movies or something."

Bright looked up wearily, "Yeah," he was out of breath

"I'd like that"

Chapter Text

As clef fetched a blanket, bright sat on the sofa hunched over a small bin, shaking uncontrollably.

"J-Jack?" Clef asked, poking his head out from the other room, "Are you sure that you don't need to see a doctor about this?"

"It's fine..." He looked at the wall for a while before Clef broke the silence.

"How long has this been happening?" Bright looked away before making eye contact again

"about three months now.." Bright tucked his knees up so that his feet could rest on the sofa, "Glass said it could be because of...my depression, and to be honest, I'm starting to think that its true..."

"Ok, don't move." Clef said

"Ok", bright sighed, and clef went back to his search for a blanket. Bright reached for the remote and turned on the tv. There was nothing interesting on at this time of day, a couple of right wing news channels babbling about vaccines, and some kids channels running early morning cartoons, but nothing that interested him. He switched to the apps menu and selected netflix, then browsed for a while before selecting a random show and waiting for clef to get back.

"Hey, so I only have this," he held up one massive, fluffy blanket, "Is it ok if we share?"

"Your house." bright muttered as he started playing the episode of Arcane

"Cool," Clef said as he walked up to bright and wrapped half of the blanket around him before sitting down and covering himself with the rest of the fabric and then turning to watch the show. About 5 minutes into the episode however, bright had fallen asleep, exhausted from vomiting. Clef looked over at bright and then to his half-eaten pancakes before getting up and picking up the plate and putting the pancakes into the kitchen bin. When he got back, bright had fully wrapped the blanket around himself, and laid down across the whole sofa.

Clef sighed and turned off the tv then left the room down the hall to his room. He paused when he got to the locked door, and turned to unlock it before walking in. he sat on the bed and put his head in his hands. "Fuck." He muttered. his third eye had begun to appear on his forehead, before tears started forming, "Why do I do this to myself, why can't i just...just...I don't even fucking know! why can't I forget this? why can't I tell people how i feel?" He paused "I need to move on...She isn't going to be allowed to leave..." He got up and wiped his tears, left and locked the door and went to his room before taking off his hat and falling asleep on top of his duvet.

When bright woke up, the sun was starting to set and the orange glow of the sun bathed the room in warm light. Bright sat up, still holding the blanket close to him, and looked around, but clef wasn't there. Bright worried about clef, he was concerned that he had caused him too much trouble and scared him off. 'Why do I care?' Bright thought to himself, 'He's just a co-worker and a friend' Bright got a sickening feeling in his stomach and he felt as if he would vomit if he wasn't already drained. It felt so...wrong, so...weird. But why? Did bright just not like him or did he...like him too much? Bright sat there, lost in thought, 'I want to get to know him more, thats all' he said to himself 'Nothing- Nothing more than that' It felt so wrong. 'Why do I do this?' he thought, 'I push people away so much, my mother, Mikell, even Tj... What's wrong with me?' he grabbed a pillow, held it to his stomach and laid down in the foetal position, 'I mean- I LIKE him, but- but what if he gets taken away from me, what if he doesn't want me back, then our- our friendship is ruined.' Bright buried his face in the cushion, 'I just...won't tell him, he doesn't have to know, he doesn't. have. to know.'

bright sighed 'I need to make an appointment with glass....' He reached into his pocket for his phone before realising he had left it in the room 'great...' bright yawned 'I'm still really tired...' He was just about to fall back asleep before-

*Ring!* *Ring!*

He looked around before noticing a landline phone lit up on the small table beneath the tv, and went to pick it up. 'A', why were they calling? "Hello?" bright answered

"Oh! Hi bright! are- are you ok?" A asked

"I- I'm not-" Bright burst into quiet sobs and collapsed on the sofa, "A! I-I fucked up! I fucked up big time!"

there was a pause on the other end before, "How? what happened?"

"I-I'm not sure..." bright paused...."I think I- I like Clef"

"Why are you crying?" A asked, "It's not a bad thing!"

"I-I just..." bright took a moment, "Can we talk about this at work tomorrow?"

"Yes, of course"

Chapter Text

Bright hung up the phone and placed it back on the holder before going back to the sofa and wrapping the blanket around himself once again and making his way up the stairs and back to the room he had woken up in. When he got there, he found his lab coat on the back of the door and pulled his phone out of one of the pockets and made an appointment with Dr Glass, head of psychology before climbing into bed and falling back asleep.

"Wake up sleepyhead!" bright heard clef's voice say, "We're gonna be late for work." Bright felt a nudge on his shoulder and he groaned, he wanted to fall back asleep, he was too tired to do anything, even to get up, "C'mon Bright, get up." Clef nudged Bright again and Bright opened his eyes to show clef that he acknowledged him, but wasn't going to budge. Clef eventually ripped off the blanket and threw him the clothes he had worn two days prior, "Get changed," clef had a hint of annoyance in his voice, bright only scoffed and sat up.

'Great!' he thought, 'I've got an appointment with glass today, A's gonna kill me for leaving them with clef, rights and kondraki' bright paused, 'Oh well!' bright hopped out of bed, feeling more energetic than the last few days, it made him feel better as well as glad that he could probably manage to eat more than a few bites that day and he got changed before going down to get something to eat when Clef stopped him.

"I told you, we'd be late, and now we are, hurry up, and get your shoes on." Clef was wearing a dark blue tropical shirt and khaki's under his slightly off white lab coat, a beige bucket hat perched on his head. "Got everything?"

Bright nodded, "Yep, and I'm feeling way better now!" he rushed out as he went to put on his shoes, "I think I'll be able to eat."

"You make it sound like it's a luxury," Clef muttered, Bright's smile faltered a bit before replying

"PFFFTT- HA who cares?" he said as he finished tying his shoes, "Oh yeah! and I have an appointment with Glass today so I'll be leaving you guys at about 11:30"

"Ok, well, meet us at the cafeteria at quarter to one then, ok?" Clef unlocked the door and gestured for bright to leave first

"Fine! whatever!" bright said sarcastically as he strutted out the door and toward the small minivan that had just pulled up outside the house, "What are we doing today?"

Clef left the house and locked the door while answering "A lot, like-"

"A metric fuck load?" bright said as he opened the door the the van

"Yes, Jack, just don't let the 05 hear you say that, anyway, as i was saying we have A LOT to do. I think It's new staff orientation, which you get to leave half way through, then lunch, then, 076-2 and finally, cleaning our break room, because the janitors have deemed it a biohazard."

"076-2? FUCKING FABULOUS!" bright hopped in and notice A sat in the back an went to sit next to them without making eye contact, "Hey A..."

"Hm? Oh hey!" A smiled before flashing a concerned look at bright, "You ok?"

bright turned to look for Clef, who was just getting in, before whispering a quick "No," followed by a louder "Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?" A laughed a bit, still concerned before Clef came and sat down next t bright. Bright looked over at Clef and smiled slightly, a gesture that A noticed and gave bright a sly smirk for. "OH SHUT UP A!", bright laughed nervously, and uncomfortably.

"Hm, what?" Clef was confused as to what the two of them were laughing about

"I- uh" Bright muttered

"Inside joke! you wouldn't get it Clef, trust me." A chimed in, and bright sighed in relief

"Ok?" Clef said, confused about what could possibly be an inside joke between those two.

"OH GOD CLEF! HAHA!" A exclaimed, "THAT SHIRT IS AWEFUL" clef laughed a bit before gripping it and pulling it lightly

"I thought it was rather fetching!" Clef said in an attempt to mock A's accent

"Shut up!" A wheezed, and bright laughed lightly, when the van went around a sharp corner, causing bright to lean onto clef momentarily.

"S-sorry!" bright stammered while his face started to turn a light shade of pink

AAAAANNNNNDDDD IM LAZY XD

Chapter Text

\\\\\TW/////

THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL HAVE HEAVY THEMES OF DEPRESSION, SELF HARM, ATTEMPTED SUICIDE

also sorry to all the hardcore scp fans, but Dr iceberg IS still alive, in this AU he attempted to kill himself, which will be discussed in a later chapter.

IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE READING ANYTHING MENTIONED ABOVE, SKIP THE NEXT CHAPTER AND I WILL SUMMERISE WHAT HAPPNED IN THE CHAPTER AFtER THAT

thank youuuu

Chapter Text

TW!!!

THERE IS HEAVY MENTION OF SUICIDE AND SELF HARM IN THIS CHAPTER, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

when they arrived at site 19, Bright went to the break room to see if there was any food, some leftover ramen, pizza, hell, even some toast would be good considering he hadn't been able to keep much down for a while. But when he got there, nothing was ok to eat, there WAS some leftover pizza, but he'd rather not find out how much mould was covering it, so decided to leave it. He sighed and went to check his watch, '11:15' he thought, 'I should get going', He picked up the lanyard with his ID, key card and house keys on that he had left at work two day before and left for Glass' office.

When he got there about 5 minutes later, he saw Dr. Iceberg leaving the room, wearing his signature blue scarf and thick jumper, his face pink from coldness "OH, hey bright," Iceberg said, in a slightly less monotone voice than bright was used to, "How are you?"

Bright sighed and collapsed onto a chair near the door, and iceberg sat next to him, "Shit," he said as he put his head in his hands, "I'm doing shit.."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Iceberg responded, something was... different about iceberg, he was showing emotions again, unlike one of the last times bright saw him, right before he tried to...

"So you're not an emotionless husk anymore?" Bright said, his tone more energetic

Iceberg chuckled and adjusted the pale blue scarf around his neck, "No, I'm not," He looked at bright and gave a faint smile, "after I tried to...You know...I was given leave, and I spent it mostly recovering, but someone I love-"

"Gears?" Bright said in a suggestive tone, his face covered in a chaotic grin

Iceberg's face turned even more pink than it already was, "Y-Yeah, gears, was given leave too, to help me recover. He was there to help me through it, and to be honest I think I helped him a little." Iceberg paused, "I think the thing that helped me through it the most was seeing the smile on gears' face for the fist time when I woke up...It showed me I have reason to live, after 10 years of working with him, I finally saw him smile."

"God that's cheesy as fuck." Bright said in an almost sad tone, yet still maintaining his joking manner.

"Do you have someone like that, Jack?" Iceberg asked, but bright only sighed.

"Yeah, but, he doesn't know." He looked at the ground in-between his knees

Iceberg seemed a little shocked, "He?" He teased, "I didn't know you swung both ways, bright."

"Yeah, well, now you do I guess." Bright looked at iceberg before being interrupted.

"Bright?" Glass' office door opened and an average height, blond man opened the door, a welcoming smile on his face, "Come on in!" Bright got up and waved goodbye to iceberg before entering the pristine office with a glass containment chamber in one of the rooms corners. Inside was a small orange blob, fast asleep in a sort of bowl. In the center of the room ws a desk with three chairs, one for glass, and two for patients, bright sat in the one closest to the orange SCP. "So, Jack, you didn't actually specify what this is for..."

"Um, it's sorta a mix of thing actually." bright looked glass in the eye, making glass mildly uncomfortable.

"Well, go ahead," Glass smiled sweetly, to tell him that it was ok to say anything he wanted to.

"Ok, I'll start with the worst I guess," Bright fidgeted a bit before speaking, "It's- It's getting worse.."

"The...struggling to eat and vomiting?" Glass asked

"Yeah, I struggled to eat pancakes. PANCAKES! I FUCKING LOVE PANCAKES AND I COULDN'TEVEN FINISH THEM!"

"I see.." Glass noted some things down on his clipboard before speaking, "I might have to refere you to Med.."

"I- Ok.." Bright paused again before continuing, "I umm, can I tell you something kinda...personal, Like really personal?"

Glass looked up from his clipboard and nodded, "That's what I'm here for."

Bright's stomach fluttered and he got nervous before responding, "I- I like Clef."

Glass stopped for a moment and looked up at Bright's pinkening face, "Ok... "

"Sorry, I just... Need to get it off my chest, " glass nodded

"Are you comfortable with me asking some more questions regarding this subject?" Bright nodded slowly, "How does being around Clef make you feel?"

Bright smiled, "He makes me feel important, wanted, like I'm not alone," Bright stopped speaking for a moment, "Like I have a reason to live."

"I see, do you often feel like you DON'T have a reason to live?" Glass requested

"I-Uh, guess not..." Bright's face dropped as Glass took some more notes

"Have you ever had thoughts of self harm or suicide?" Glass looked up from his clipboard and noticed that Bright had gone completely still and silent, "Jack?"

"yes, I have..." He pulled up his sleeve slightly to reveal some cuts up his left arm, "This is...just this body..."

"Yes, I know, Jack," Glass reached into a drawer and pulled out a leaflet with lists of suicide and self harm hotlines on the back and a ton of advice on how to take care of yourself, Jack only scoffed.

"You seriously think this is gonna help?!" bright was irritated and angry, he had been offered stuff like this but it hadn't helped.

"It might not, but there's a chance it will, Jack. Give it a chance." He then got up and opened the containment chamber for the small orange blob, picked it up and handed it to bright. Jack immediately felt pure euphoria and started smiling and laughing uncontrollably until his session was over, when he got up and said his goodbyes and made his way to the cafeteria to meet A and Clef.

When he got there, however, Clef and A weren't waiting outside, so he looked inside but they werent there either. He decided to go back t the break room, where he found them both. "What the fuck?!" A turned their attention away from the work on the desk and looked at bright.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! There was an incident with a trainee and a grenade, we have to deal with the paperwork." A sounded genuinely sorry, but when he turned to clef, he was sound asleep on the sofa, the blanket pushed onto the end.

'He's such an idiot, but a cute idiot' bright thought, before moving the blanket onto clef and laying down on the bed assigned to him before drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Text

OK SO,

if you didn't read the last chapter because you are sensitive to stuff like SH and suicide, here is a quick summary.

Bright and iceberg talked, and iceberg said some cheesy shit about love and partners and...love...IDFK ITS 2AM. Glass and bright talked and bright confessed to liking clef and to also SH. and he left, went to the cafeteria, but when no one was there, he went to the break room and found clef and A, clef was asleep. Bright put a blanket on Clef and fell asleep himself...NOW! ON WITH THIS SHITSHOW!!!!

Bright was woken up by a cold paper towel on his neck, one that had been in the freezer. His eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright, hitting his head on the bed above him. "Get up," A said, putting the frozen towel on Clef's neck, waking him instantly, "We have to go do stuff with able,"

Jack hated that name, hell, just hearing it made him feel nauseous, after all, Able had done this to him, forced upon him the burden of immortality, "Do I have to?" he muttered nervously

"I'm afraid so," A responded while leaving the room, quickly followed by bright and then Clef, "You won't have to do any of the talking if you don't want to."

"Thanks," Bright sighed in relief as they opened the doors to heavy containment.

The next few weeks were a blur, the only thing he really remembered was sitting with clef for lunch every day and a minor breach, but nothing THAT major. The hardest part however was bright hearing clef refer to him as a friend, and others could see the pain in his eyes as well. Iceberg had noticed, and of course glass and A knew, but nothing from clef. Bright wanted to tell him so badly, every day, he had to fight the urge, thinking that, NO, knowing that Clef would only push him away if he did. He attempted to suppress his feelings for him so much that they only became stronger, and he couldn't take it anymore.

"So," A sighed, "You guys going home tonight?"

"I was thinking about staying, I can't be bothered to go home today." bright muttered

"Same," clef climbed up to his bunk bed and pulled out his phone, "Besides, It's pizza tonight." A nodded

"I'm going to meet with Light, I'll probably be able to eat in about 10 minutes," and with that, A left down the hall. Bright lay down on the bed below Clef's and just stared at the wall, that was now perfectly clean. He thought about what had happened that day, and sighed. "You ok Jack?"

"Yeah, just REALLY tired." Bright yawned, closing his eyes, kinda shocked clef had called him jack.

"Well," Clef said, leaning over the side of his bed to look at bright, "If we get pizza now, you can go to your room and sleep relatively early." Bright nodded and got up as Clef hopped down from his bed and the two of them set off for the cafeteria. Bright put his hands in his pockets, he found the leaflet that Glass had given him, and he decided he would read it in the cafeteria. When they got there, the line was short, so they were able to get their food and sit down relatively quickly. "I'm gonna go get a drink, You want one?" Clef asked.

"Yeah, can I have some Fanta?" Bright asked, "I'll pay you back-"

"No need, this ones on me, besides, its only a dollar for both drinks." Clef piped up, producing four quarters from his pocket and walking towards the anomalous coffee machine on the other side of the room. Bright pulled out the leaflet and began reading, there was all the basic stuff, helplines, what to do instead of harming yourself, but one section caught his eye. It was a lot of stuff about taking care of yourself while working at the foundation, something he had never seen before. He started reading when clef sat down opposite him with two cups, "here ya go, jack!" Bright prayed that he wouldn't notice what leaflet he was reading but it was too late, Clef had already snatched it out of his hands and started reading the cover, "Jack, you know, I'm here for you, you'll always be one of my best friends."

'Best friends'

'best...friends'

It felt so wrong, so fucking wrong, it made bright start to tear up and shake before he finally snapped, "BUT WHAT IF I WANT TO BE MORE THAN THAT?!" He shouted, tears now flowing down his face.

SHIT

he realised what he had said when the rest of the cafeteria was looking at the two researchers and clef had a look of shock spread across his face, "I- uhh.." He turned and bolted out of the cafeteria door, almost knocking over A, who had been entering the cafeteria during the outburst. A walked over to Clef and gave him a guilty look

"You knew?" Clef said, irritated at A for keeping that big a secret. A only nodded, "You can have my food, I'm not hungry anymore." Clef handed his tray to A and shoved past them to follow bright, leaflet still clutched in his hand. When Clef left the cafeteria, there was no sign of Bright, he sighed and pulled out his phone to text him, but no messages were going through. He walked defeated to his room, put on some pyjamas and lay down on his bed, and became lost in thoughts and emotions, HE had never considered the possibility that he like him that way, but he admitted it felt right when bright said he wanted to be more than just friends. The thought gave him a fluttery feeling and made him feel...happy. He was still really confused, angry even, 'Why wouldn't he just tell me? was he scared I would hate him or something?' 'How long has bright liked me?' 'How long had A known for?' He curled up into a ball and tried to go to sleep, but he couldn't, his thoughts just woke him up every time he started to drift off, until, he somehow managed to silence them and fell asleep.

When he woke up, Clef checked his phone as he usually did, to see that bright had left him on read. He sighed, put his phone down and screamed into his pillow. He felt so guilty for not trying to stop him from running out, and for not saying something to calm him down. He got up, dressed and went to get breakfast. When he got there, Kondraki, Rights, Gears, Iceberg and Glass were sat at a table together, he gave them a wave and got some cereal before sitting down next to Glass and beginning to eat. "So, Clef," Rights started, "what was up with Bright yesterday, and where is he?"

Clef shrugged, "I...don't really know...I think he likes...me..., but im not entirely sure..." Clef was starting to turn a light shade of pink, "I tried to ask but I've been left on read..." Everyone turned back to their food and continued the conversation they were having before. Clef just sat there, he was still confused as to how he felt about all of this. He knew that what Bright had said felt....right...but he wasn't sure if or when he himself had started feeling this way.

He finished his cereal and put his bowl away before leaving for the break room to check his schedule, which hadn't been updated on his phone for some reason. When he got there, however, no one was in their usual spots, A wasn't doing paperwork and Bright wasn't sat on the couch moping, but there was a note placed on the coffee table. It read 'Hey clef, It's A. I'm unfortunately sick today and bright has taken impromptu leave. The work we were scheduled to do today requires at least two us to be present so you have the day off...don't question how this note got here' Clef sighed and flopped onto the sofa, and was about to order a ride home, but stopped and went over the corkboard where schedules and addresses were kept and looked up Bright's town, [REDACTED]. he then sat back down and ordered a ride to the nearest grocery store to where bright lived, picked up his stuff and met the driver outside.

when he got there, he went into the store and found a box of chocolates he thought Bright might like. He smiled slightly at the thought of giving them to Bright, and decided to get some flowers as well. He browsed the flowers before selecting a bouquet of wildflowers and bringing the items up to the till. After he paid, he started the walk to Bright's house using google maps. He began to feel even more nervous the closer he got that maybe he had misunderstood the situation, that maybe Bright didn't like him like that, and before he knew it, he was stood outside Bright's house. He knocked on the door and waited for an answer. When the door finally opened, bright was stood there, his hair in a loosely tied and scruffy ponytail, wearing pink sweatpants and a white t-shirt. His eyes widened at the sight of clef at his door holding a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates.

"Bri- Jack, I can't stop thinking about what you said yesterday and how right it sounded to me," Clef's face flushed slightly more pink, "I was wondering if you wanted to...maybe...go out, like on a date?"

Bright's face was now a dark pink, and he stepped outside of the house and hugged him tightly, "You wanna come inside?"

Chapter Text

Sorry if the writing is a bit bad on both this chapter and the one before, the UK is experiencing a really bad heatwave and it's difficult to concentrate because of it, just the other day, my area got up to 43 degrees, and yeah, it sucked. once again, sorry.

A/N 2 sorry again! I forgot I was leaving to go to a channel island for a week! That's why the chapter took so long after the heat wave had ended, once again, (◞‸◟ㆀ)ˢᵒʳʳʸ

(time of writing July 2022-August 2022)

Clef handed the gifts to bright, who then lead him inside and went to find a vase while clef sat down on the sofa. Bright's house was nice, everything was colourful and stood out and the house was HUGE. Clef knew that bright had inherited the house when his father died and his mother and brother moved to the residential facilities at site 19 permanently, and a lot of the photos were still there. He found one of Bright, Tk, Mikel and his parents in front of a school, with bright holding a certificate reading, 'biology Ambassador' while smiling, showing a mouth full of braces. picked it up and chuckled a bit, when bright came through the door holding the chocolates and realised what he was looking at, "HEY!" his face had begun to turn pink, "G-give that back!"

"HA! No way, this is priceless!" Clef said, amused before bright managed to get it out of his hands and put it on as high a shelf as he could reach, which with him being about 5'4", wasn't very high. He sat on the sofa, put the chocolates down on the coffee table and started smiling just as hard as the bright in the photo. He rested his head on clef's shoulder, Clef looked down at him, smiled softly and put his arm around him, embracing him tightly. He then remembered the chocolates he brought. He picked them up and turned Bright to face him, before opening the box and feeding him one. Clef smiled more when Bright seemed to enjoy it and opened his mouth slightly for another one, which Clef fed him. This continued until there was one left, which bright gave to Clef as a sort of thank you. "So, just out of curiosity...", Clef said

"Oh god.." Bright jokingly muttered, receiving a laugh from Clef

"How long have you felt like this about me? And, why take leave today?" Bright's face dropped slightly as he formulated an answer.

"Well, you've felt like this to me for a while I guess, I just never thought about it until the whole drunk thing," Bright's face flushed a bit more, "As for taking leave, I couldn't bring myself to face you or anyone who saw that I guess, so i was planning on staying home until everyone forgot about it but, HEY! here you are!" he smiled slightly at that last part, making Clef feel even happier.

"Cool," Clef said, "Wanna watch some TV?"

"Sure! How about we binge the new season of the office? I still haven't seen it yet." he smiled shyly

"yeah, sure, I've been too busy to watch it," Clef said wrapped his arm around brights shoulder as he put on the first episode. Soon, the first became the second, the second became the 5th and the next thing they knew, it was 3am.

Bright yawned checked the clock on the wall, "holy sh- we.. Should go to bed.. "

Clef looked at bright, "what? You too weak to pull an all nighter?" Clef said in baby talk, causing bright to pull a face as if he had been force fed a lemon.

"First of all, NO! Second, what on earth was that voice? Ha! You sounded like a whiney little prick!" Alto laughed with Jack, and nodded in agreement, pulling him into a close hug.

"You wanna keep watching or not?" Clef asked, "it's ok if you don't."

Bright smiled and yawned again, "I think I wanna go to bed" he got up and paused, "I haven't set up the guest bedroom though, so we might as well just stay up, I cant be bothered tonight- this morning? What ever.

Jack sat down and Alto pressed play, embracing the short man sat next to him again. Within a few minutes, they were both asleep in each other's arms.

Clef was awoken by brights ringtone, which he tried to pretend wasn't cpr by cupcakke. (Bro, I forgot this was set in 2007 when writing this, but its too funny to get rid of so it's staying)

Bright stirred slightly, but didn't wake up, so clef picked up the phone. It was Dr light, site director of sites 19 and 17, and their boss. Clef picked up the phone and answered, "Hey sofia... " he muttered, still barely awake

"Clef? I'm sorry, I meant to call bright-" she said, sounding a little embarrassed

"No, you called him, but he's still asleep..." Clef explained, still not realising what he had said or what he was doing

"Oh.. Uh... Well, can you tell him that you both need to come in today and that he is due for a body change in about three hours?" She said, still trying to process the whole conversation

"Yeah I will, bye Sofia."

"B-bye!"

Clef put the phone down and was about to shake Bright awake when...

"FUCK!" Bright jumped awake, startled at Clef's outburst

"What? What's wrong?!" Bright was sat bolt up right, his hair messy and untamed.

"LightjustcalledonyourphoneandIanswered! SHIT!" Clef blurted out, but Bright just looked confused, "I said you were still asleep and that's why I answered, she's gonna fucking think that we are- that we did-"

"Oh... " he sounded slightly disappointed, "are we not telling anyone about... Us?" Clef could tell that bright wanted to let people know, but he didn't know if it was what he wanted yet

"I mean, I was gonna suggest we go on a couple dates first..." Clef looked embarrassed, his cheeks flushing a light shade of pink

"Ok," bright was still half asleep and struggling to comprehend some of the conversation, "does this count as a date?"

"If you want it to," Clef smiled back, sweetly this time, instead of his signature smile of a cheshire Cat, it was a smile of love and happiness. "Oh and we need to be in today, you need a new body in about three hours so... 11:45."

"I can do math, genius." Bright stated playfully as he got up off the sofa and went up to his room to get changed and Clef sat on the sofa. "Shit, we don't have a way to get to work," bright said a few minutes later, "it's too late to call a lift right?"

"Yeah," Clef muttered, "should we call A to get us there or are they still sick?"

Bright considered it before reaching for his phone and calling A, who picked up immediately, "Hello?" They sounded groggy and tired, "before you ask, no I'm not in today."

"Oh, that sucks," Bright said, " I was just calling to see in you could get me and Clef to work, but if you're still sick don't worry about-"

"No, I'll get you there, " they said, before hanging up. A portal opened next to Clef and A walked out, their hair a mess, the black dye completely gone, and dressed in sweats.

"Thanks A, you're a life saver!" Clef said as A stretched out their arms and opened another portal, barely able to stand

"Yeah, whatever, just go through before I pass out." And with that both Clef and Bright walked through the dark portal before them and within moments were in the break room. The portal closed behind them and they walked over to the schedule on the cork board. There were only two things to do that day, bright getting a new body and Clef having a meeting with Light later that afternoon, so for now, they could both just relax.

"Damn," bright sighed, "we should really get that online schedule thingy that Gears was on about a couple weeks ago, huh?"

Clef didn't say anything, he just climbed into bed and attempted to fall asleep to pass the time, when bright seemed to appear on top of the covers next to him, "mind if I stay here?" Bright asked. Clef shook his head and pulled bright into a hug, as the shorter researcher buried his head in the base of his neck. Bright needed this, he had had basically nothing to live for, for 2 painfully long years of his life, and here it, or rather, he was, someone he truly loved and cared for, someone who made him feel valued. Not only that, but someone like him, crazy eccentric, anxious, depressed and...immortal. (Oh yeah sorry lol I forgot to mention but clef is immortal and a reality bender :/ ) it also made him feel kinda sad, he had no one for so long and everyone else he had cared for in this way had left him and the others he held dear had all distanced themselves from him, his family a perfect example of that, so to have someone like this was so comforting that he fell asleep almost instantly, soon followed by Clef.

Chapter Text

***mention/implications of SA/rape later in chapter, if you are uncomfortable with this, skip when you see the first line and continue reading after the second (like this \/)
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"Hey... Jack? You need to get up," Clef spoke softly as to not wake him up too harshly. Bright slowly peeled open his eyes and looked directly into Clef's before burying his face into his partner's chest. "C'mon, up, now," bright groaned, stumbled down from the bunk and grabbed a hairbrush. Clef pulled the duvet off of himself and followed, bright handing him the hairbrush on the way down

"There ya go..." He mumbled, turning to get some fresh clothes to wear when he was in his new body, "wait a second..." Bright turned to look at Clef,
"Why are you getting ready? You still have like...what? an hour?" Clef chuckled slightly as he brushed his hair.

"Well, I thought I might come with you this time," he smiled warmly as he put his lab coat on and located his bucket hat, "aha!" He said triumphantly as he placed it on his head.

Bright smiled and put on his lab coat before leaving with Clef, "thanks, it means a lot more than you would think...heh" they walked until they had reached the cloning room, where Clef had to wait outside. After about 45 minutes, bright walked out, his appearance the exact same as before, aside from a pair of half rim glasses that he was wearing.

"New glasses? " Clef teased as bright flexed his fingers, getting used to his new body, it was identical to the old one, but it still took some getting used to.

"Har-Har" bright responded sarcastically, as Clef stood up and walked with bright to site director Light's office, where bright sat down outside to wait for him.

Clef knocked on the door, "come in!" Dr light answered and Clef opened the door. "Good afternoon, Dr Clef, I want expecting you for another 10 minutes," Light was tall, brown haired, slim and fair skinned, she sat perfectly upright in her chair, "please, have a seat. " Clef did as he was told and sat down as Light pulled out a file from her bottom left drawer that read SCP-166.

Shit.

She placed it flat on her desk and slid it over to Clef, who sat there in complete silence, staring at the file, a look of fear spread across his face. "your request to be moved to scp-166 has been... denied," Clef's eyes filled with tears and he buried his head in his hands, "but, the 05s have reached a compromise." Clef looked up, tears streaked down his face that was now showing a hint of hope as light continued, "You may come into contact with her ONCE, if that goes well, they will consider making your visits more frequent." Clef nodded eagerly

"thank you, so much!" he was so overjoued and overwhelmed with other emotions to the point where a third eye had appeared on his forehead.

Light smiled softly, "I shall let you know when this will be, have a good day, Dr Clef." with that, Clef got up and left the large office and met bright outside, the grin and extra eye non changing.

Bright was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the extra eye, "your... eye," Clef attempyed to hide it with his hair, his smile faltering slightly, "no! you should keep it like that, it suits you!" Clef's smile returned fully as he and bright started walking to the break room to get some items they left behind. "So, what's with the grin?" bright looked up at the tall man next to him.

Clef looked down, "The 05 are going to let me see Meri!" he skipped a little while saying that and bright smiled widely.

"That's great! Do you know when?"

"No, but Light will let me know, " Clef turned his attention back to the hallway and they walked in silence for a few minutes. when they got to the break room, he walked over to the coffee machine and turned it on, "you want any?" he asked bright, who was taking off and putting on his new glasses repeatedly.

"Yeah, I could go for some coffee," bright replied, "but, I'd much rather have it at a proper coffee shop than in a shitty break room..." he said Flirtilly, a smirk spread across his face as he leaned against the counter.

"are you asking me on a date right now ooorrr..." Clef said, knowing the answer yet wanting to get a rise out of the small man.

"You know I am asshole!" Bright replied, slightly annoyed, yet struggling to hold back laughter.

"True, where did you have in mind?" clef laughed, it was ages since he had been to a coffee shop and here he was, being asked out to one by someone he truly cared for.

"there's this nice café near where I live, it's called Mary & Edith's and it's run by this sweet old lesbian couple who've put real love into the place." Bright said craning his neck a little to look up at clef, who turned off the coffee machine and grabbed his things before calling a lift.

"we really need to get our own cars," Clef muttered, which made bright laugh a little. When he got the notification that the van was waiting he got up and bright followed. As they were walking down the hallway, bright brushed his hand against clefs, which caught the taller man off guard, however, He grabbed jacks hand and held it until they had reached the small coffee shop an hour later, seeing that it was empty through the window.

"Eye." Bright said quietly

"Oh, yeah." Clefs eyes glowed a little as he used his abilities to conceal the third, "good?"

"Yep."

As soon as they opened the wooden door to the small café, the smell of baked goods filled their noses alongside comforting sent of coffee and herbs. The lights glowed warmly onto the deep brown, empty tables, chairs and sofas, refracting off of small crystals hanging around the room. The walls were painted a dark turquoise, amplifying the tone from the light, and giving the room a cosy feel similar to a vintage shop. Clef was looking around, admiring the aesthetic of the place, when a short, plump, dark-skinned elderly woman walked out from the kitchen and smiled as she saw bright, "Jack! Welcome back! Who's this?" She asked, looking up at Clef

Bright chuckled and grabbed Clef's hand again, "This is Alto, my...umm...partner?" He held up the hand for emphasis on the word partner and the woman beamed with joy.

"Mary! Jacks here! He's brought his boyfriend!" She said in a singsong voice, Clef just stood there blushing, hand still being gripped by bright. Another woman emerged from the kitchen, she was pale, tall, thin and had short, ginger hair that had gone almost entirely grey, neither of the women could have been over the age of 70.

She quickly walked over to the two of them and clapped her hands, "Hello dear, it's so nice to meet you, what's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Alto, it's nice to meet you too," he smiled back at her and held out his hand, she shook it and led them to a table in the window and gave them a menu each. Clef scanned the drinks and decided he was just going to have a black coffee while Bright decided on a Mocha, "Jack, what are you gonna have to eat?" Clef asked, looking at the many cakes and desserts on the menu.

"I was thinking maybe a scone? I've never had one," he paused, "What is it?"

Clef laughed, "It's like a biscuit but you have it with jam and cream, I used to have them a lot when I lived in cornwall."

Bright smiled softly, "I think I'll have that then, it sounds nice." He put the menu down and waited for Clef.

"I'll have chocolate cake," he put down his menu and bright smirked

"Basic, much?" He teased, "seriously though, its amazing." Clef smiled back as the women he presumed was Edith walked up to take their order.

"What can I get for you two?" She beamed, pulling a notepad from the waistband of her purple 50s dress. She looked at bright after he had ordered, "you sure you can keep it down, sweetie? I don't want you to hurt yourself." She asked, a concerned look spread across her face.

"I should be fine, besides, I'm pretty sure that Alto will stop me from eating if he thinks I'm gonna throw up." Bright chuckled nervously at the end as clef nodded.

"If you say so," she chuckled slightly and walked away before coming back moments later to ask questions, "how long have you two been a thing? How did you meet?"

"E, I could use some help getting food ready!" Mary shouted from the kitchen

"Hold on mar', I'm getting information!" She said as she pulled out a chair and cocked her head to the side slightly.

"We have been together... Like... A day? And we met through work." Bright answered, "it was really embarrassing how he found out I liked him though..." Bright was beginning to turn the same shad as the gem in his medallion.

Edith smirked a little, "pray, do tell dear," she said as she turned to face Clef.

"Well," clef smirked as bright Burriued his face in the palms of his hands, "I got some sodas and when i came back he had a leaflet..." He looked to bright for approval and bright nodded slowly, "...on self harm and suicide prevention. I told him he was one of my best friends and that I would always be there for him and he just shouted and I mean SHOUTED, 'what if I want to be more than that' and ran out. And... Yep that's pretty much it I guess."

"Well, you showed up at my house with flowers and chocolate the next day, really sweet of you by the way." Bright smirked as Clef's face went even more pink.

The short woman went quiet and placed a hand on bright's shoulder, "if you ever need to talk, we will always be here" she decided to leave them to themselves and walked to the kitchen to go and help her wife by preparing the food.

Bright smiled a little before turning to Clef, when his glasses fell of his face and landed on the table with a small thud. Bright groaned and put them back on his face, "stupid things,"

Clef chuckled slightly, "contacts are a thing you know?"

Bright looked up at him after fixing his glasses, "oh hell no, they make my eyes itch," he shuddered a bit at the thought of them, he didn't like the thought of thing being actually ON his eyes, it was just wrong, "besides," he rested his chin on his hands and smiled up at Clef, "I look way cuter with these on, wouldn't you say?" He stuck his tongue out a little for emphasis, making clef blush while laughing a little.

"Y-yeah, I would," he muttered sheepishly as bright smirked up at him before sitting up right.

"Awwwe, thanks Al." Clef looked at him, unsure of what to make of the nickname, I mean, he didn't hate it, it would just take some getting used tto

After talking for a few minutes the food was given to them, and bright cut his scone in half before shrugging and reaching for some clotted cream, "What the fuck are you doing?" Clef asked as Bright put a dollop of cream on one half of his scone.

"I... Um.. Did I do something wrong? " bright asked as he set the knife down.

Clef reached over the table and put the cream back in the small dish before picking up a teaspoon and scooping jam onto each half, "that's how it works." Bright looked confused.

"But... Surely the cream should act kinda like butter?" He gestured to the cream slightly.

Clef paused and laughed a little, "sorry, I lived in Cornwall since I was 6 so that's why I get a little defensive of this," Bright just looked more confused, "there's this massive debate between Cornwall and Devon over which goes on first,"

"But... Why?"

Clef just shrugged and ate a fork full of chocolate cake. Bright took a bite of his scone and washed it down with a sip of his mocha.

When they had both finnished, they got up, walked over the the counter to pay, "your total comes to $12.50" Edith smiled

Clef got out his wallet,"woah, woah, WOAH!" Bright exclaimed causing clef to look at him, "I asked YOU out today, I should pay." He stated defiantly.

"But I've already got my wallet out," Clef smirked as he pulled out his card.

Bright pulled out his wallet, "so have I-" Clef tapped his card, "Asshole." Bright muttered while smiling a little, just enough for both Clef and Edith to see, and shoot each other a look over at each other.

"See you guys again soon!" Edith sang joyfully as the two opened the door.

"Later E!" Bright waved as he left, and so did Clef.

"So what now?" Clef asked, seizing Bright's hand again and walking with him.

"Umm, we go our seperate ways home?" Bright was genuinely confused, how did Clef not know what happened after a date?

Clef sighed, picking up the energy from bright, "sorry, I've just... Never been on a date before..."

Bright paused, "You have... A daughter though."

---------------------------------------------------------

Clef paused as an image of his past wife popped into his head, he tried to get rid of it but it stayed there, becoming more and more clear as time passed, "I didn't really get a say in whether I was with lilly, I was scared of what would happen if I didn't go with her..." Bright looked up at him, he looked scared, yet also, deeply saddened, bright clutched his arm and lent his head against it, "and I didn't exactly get a say in our daughter either... " he began to tear up, but he wouldn't cry, not in front of Bright, he couldn't, 'Jack's got enough going on as it is' he thought, but was interrupted by bright sniffling. They both stopped walking before, suddenly, bright hugged tightly

---------------------------------------------------------

"I-I'm so sorry that happened to you," he hugged him tighter.

Clef couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out crying and his third eye having appeared on his forehead also began to weep. Bright walked them both over to an Uber pickup place and called Clef a van to his home before snuggling up to Clef, to comfort him. They had about 20 minutes, and bright was going to try his best to make sure Clef was ok by the end of it. "Sorry." Clef muttered as he wiped away his tears and leant his head on bright's, starting to calm down.

"Don't be." Bright smiled a little as he thought of ways to calm the taller man down more, "hey, remember that time when Kondraki thought it was a good idea to try and ride 682?" Clef chuckled a bit, hiccuping slightly.

"Yeah, I-I do, heh, he damn n-near almost died," Clef smiled a little and the two of them, once again got lost in conversation.

When the van finally arrived, Clef said his goodbyes and climbed in. There were a few others this time, however he only recognised two faces.

Dr Gears and his boyfriend, Dr Iceberg, who was asleep. Clef shrugged and walked over to them, before sitting next to Iceberg.

"Good afternoon, Doctor Clef." The monotone voice of Gears was unmistakable, however, you could never tell what he was thinking or what he wanted, which sometimes, was frustrating.

Clef, already being upset, immediately assumed he was in the wrong and went to stand up just as the van had begun to move, "S-sorry", he said, begining to choke up again, " I-I'll sit somewhere-"

"No, it's fine, you can sit back down." Gears stared at Clef as he sat back down, not breaking eye contact once, "Why are you upset, Doctor?"

Clef looked at Gears and muttered, "Just... Something from my past, something I'd rather not talk about, not with you..." Clef then realised what he had said, "I uh... no Offense! Haha," gears looked slightly more annoyed than usual and put a finger to his lips as Iceberg stirred a little, "right, sorry."

Chapter Text

Clef sat in silence for a moment, feeling overwhelmed by the days experiences, first, he had been permitted to see his daughter at somel point in the near future, then he goes out on a pretty much perfect date with bright, but then he ends up reliving some of the worst trauma he had ever experienced. Gears seemed to notice this and quietly asked what was wrong, as to not wake up the man asleep on his shoulder.

"Nothing, I'm fine," clef stuttered a little. He never stuttered. Gears knew this.

"Are you quite sure, doctor?" His brow was slightly furrowed, probably the most emotion clef would ever see from the man.

Clef sighed slightly and managed to choke up a laugh, "no, I'm not, but at the same time... I am?"

"Hm... Can you explain? If you don't mind me asking, doctor." Gears sounded genuinely indifferent to the conversation, as if he didn't care, but clef knew, deep down, that he cared ever so slightly.

"So, well, I just went on a date with bright and we got talking about... My life before the foundation-"

"Dammit" Gears mumbled, as monotone as ever. Clef's brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the older researcher.

"Hm? What?" A tired iceberg managed to mumble.

"I will be cooking dinner all this week," Alto swears that just for a second, gears smiles at his husband's confused face, before he gestures to Clef.

Iceberg's face lights up as his eyes go wide and a smile forms on his face, "I told you he was who Bright liked! I knew it!"

"Wait wait WAIT. First A and now you?! You're all a bunch of traitors!" Alto jokingly said, causing a laugh from Julian. "I might have to report you for disloyalty to a senior researcher Icey!" Iceberg burst out into a fit of laughter, and frozen tears begin to prick at his eyes before he wipes them away.

"Anyway, you were saying, doctor?" Gears reeled him back to the conversation they were just having.

"Oh, yeah, so me and bright got talking about my life before the foundation and it... Brought up some memories, stuff I'd rather not talk about in a minivan filled with other people." He gripped his upper arms and clenched his hands, digging his nails into his arms, causing thin, crescent-shaped marks to form.

"Oh, we already know about that stuff, and, I'm sorry, Alto, I really am, no one should have to go through that." Iceberg embrased Clef, the cold was oddly comforting, comforting enough that clef didn't realize he was tearing up again.

"Wait, how did you-"

"Well I mean, you don't do half the foundation's paperwork without snooping a little..."

"Once again, You're a traitor!" The two men burst out laughing, Gears however, pulled out a book and started reading.

"Hey, I just wanted to know how you got higher clearance, but hey, I got what I wanted!" He smiled, sickly sweet.

"DR CLEF! YOUR STOP!" the driver called out. Clef waved goodbye, stepped out of the van, went inside and flopped down on the sofa, when his phone buzzed.

Jack: hiii!!! Did you get home ok?
⁵ ᵐᶦⁿᵘᵗᵉˢ ᵃᵍᵒ

Alto💖: yeah I did, thanks for today, I mean that :)

Jack: yeah I know you do :D

Alto💖: you get home ok?

Jack: yep! Lying in bed rn lol

Alto💖: lol, you're not going to sleep already are you?

Jack: maaaaayyyyybbbeeeee

Alto💖: hehe lol

Jack: I'mma go take a nap, see you tomorrow?

Alto💖: yep, see you tomorrow, bye :)

Jack: bye❤

Jack laid back down in his bed before putting his phone back down on his bedside table and closing his eyes. Today had been perfect.

Chapter Text

It had been a few months since they had started dating, and it was possibly the best few months of Bright's life. Clef was caring, sweet, kind, albeit mostly to Bright and Bright only, but it was a difference, and the past few dorm movie nights had ended with the two of them falling asleep together on the massive sofa, covered in a cuddly blanket. Bright had also finally solved the thousand peice puzzle that was his gender identity, or at least, he hoped he had after years of questioning. He figured out he was genderfluid, and had promptly told his division that his pronouns may change from time to time, however, he would probably be on the more masc side of the spectrum most of the time.

(A/N I KNOW ITS LAZY WRITING TO HAVE IT WRITTEN LIKE THIS, and I also know it's very sudden just to drop the bomb like this, but I forgot he was genderfluid lol. As a non-binary-genderfluid person, I will try my best to write his genderfluidity well :D)

Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY knew about Clef and Bright, except, by some miracle, Bright's family, specifically, his mother. Bright didn't care what she would think, per say, but rather what she would do, being rather old fashioned, it would probably be something harsh, maybe even convincing her golden child Mikell who just HAD to be an 05 to fire Clef, or worse. But hey, maybe he was just over reacting, right? I mean, when he had tried to tell her he liked boys about...10 years ago she totally flipped, but she might have changed... 'yeah, no.' Bright thought as he tried to fall asleep, desperately thinking of ways to tell his family. Mikell wouldn't care and would probably be supportive, TJ would be excited to have a new member of the family, and the rest would probably just go with it. Bright ended up coming to a conclusion, 'Next code brown, I'll tell them,' he swore to himself before turning onto his side and falling into a restless sleep.

The next morning, the rest of his dorm mates and his boyfriend were watching something on the TV while eating breakfast, there was an empty spot next to Clef, which Bright quickly occupied and snuggled up to him. "So," Bright started, "You know how me and Clef have been dating-"

"ReAlLy?" Kondraki interrupted through a mouthful of cereal, "I hAdN't FuCkInG nOtIcEd!" Clef shot him a quick, glowy eyed glare and he shut up.

"as I was saying, next code brown, I'm gonna tell my family, also about the whole gender thing!"

A looked at him nervously, and shifted in their seat, "Ok, just, be careful, if I know your mother, and I do, she won't be happy, and that bitch has worse anger issues than Konny."

"HEY!" Kondraki stood up, spraying froot loops everywhere.

"Even though it might be hard to believe..." Clef muttered as he used his reality bending abilities to clean up Kondraki's mess and put it back in the bowl that kondraki had now picked up. Bright nuzzled up to Clef as others began to finish eating and go to work, "Eat something," Clef muttered to Bright before his peanut butter toast was almost snatched out of his hand, "NOT MINE!" Clef got up and held it above Brights head, who then scoffed and walked into the kitchen to get some food.

"Oh gods, you two are cheesy," A was sat scrolling on their phone.

Clef sat next to them, "you're just jealous 'cause you're single AF," Clef nudged A, almost hitting them in the face with half a peice of toast in the process.

"Watch it," they muttered as Clef managed to shove the whole thing into his mouth. Bright returned with a plate full of ready made pancakes doused in syrup. So. Much. Syrup. A got up and put their lab coat on, "I'll be in my office if you need me, I have some reports to write though, so interrupt me when you don't need to and I'm telling Light about the 420-j you two keep growing." Bright and Clef nodded and A disappeared.

The day was mostly uneventful up until about 1:30, when bright swore he saw Mikell, but both of them brushed it off until about half an hour later. "Code brown, all Bright family members meet in conference room B"

Clef put his hand on Bright's shoulder, "you've got this," he smiled sweetly, yet still showing his sharp teeth.

"Yeah, no, I really don't, I'm gonna get my ass beat," he started to walk to the conference room.

"I'll be in my office! Come find me after and tell me how it went!" Clef semi yelled down the corridor.

"Yep!" Bright shouted back.

Why did he already have a terrible feeling about this?

When he stepped into the conference room, about half of the family was missing, 'Nobody', Claire's kids and Mikell's son. Claire was sat at the far end of the table, away from the rest of the family, Tj was waiting for Jack, Mikell was stood to the left of his mother, Evelyn and Tamlin, a fairy haired, purple robed man with a stupid goatee, was sat next to him. Jack walked over to Claire and sat next to her, Tj followed.

"Hi!" Bright greeted her, yes, she works for the serpents hand but that doesn't mean he cant

"Right, now that everyone is here, we can begin." Evelyn exclaimed, she still looked immaculately young, had Mikell been letting her drink from the fountain of youth? There was no way that an almost 65 year old woman could look like that. Defined cheekbones, no wrinkles, hair still a crisp shade of brown, her skin fair and not a single freckle or mole. Yep, she had definatley had some access the the fountain. No doubt about it.

She stood up and began walking around the room, "it's the anniversary of your fathers death in two weeks-"

"Can't make it." Clair said coldly, jack's heart sank, he said he'd give the picture to dad, TJ didn't know what happened to him.

"W-what?" Shit. Tj was now on the verge of tears, "when did he-? How did he-? Jack?! D-did you know?" Jack hugged Tj, possibly tighter than he had ever done before.

"I'm sorry, I'm so SO sorry," Jack was almost crying himself.

Evelyn scoffed, "Sarah, what about you?" she was...mocking someone.

Jack pulled away from the hug, "I'm sorry, but who the fuck is Sarah?" From the corner of the room, SCP 321 stepped forward. "GAH! WHAT THE FUCK?! Give me a fucking warning next time sis!"

She nodded and smiled a little, her neck braces clanking together slightly as she did so. "Do you honestly not remember?" Evelyn asked, mockingly, "her name is Sarah."

"I...didn't remember, no." Jack sighed.

Evelyn looked at Sarah and began to walk up to her, "well, since the meeting was here this time, I thought I'd ask," She finally turned to Jack, "And you?" she sounded annoyed.

"I um," He shuffled a little in his seat, "I don't think I can..." He could feel his mother's eyes searing into his skin as he looked at his fidgeting hands, "But I can do something another day, maybe even take Tj with me."

"SERIOUSLY?! It's the 15th anniversary of his death and you 'don't think you can make it', that's a pathetic excuse." Evelyn began, about to go on a tangent before she was stopped by Tamlin.

"Now, now, I'm sure Jack is very busy with work, Evelyn, and I'm sure that He will keep his word and go another day," He walked over to Evelyn and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Right then," Evelyn said sternly, "If we are done here-"

"Actually, I'd like to say something," Jack stood up.

"You've said enough," Evelyn walked away and picked up a bag from next to her seat.

"No, It's completely unrelated to this actually," Everyone in the room stood still, signalling for him to continue as he fidgeted slightly, "So, I... I'm both Genderfluid and Pansexual and I have...a boyfriend...heh..." Tamlin smiled, so did Tj, Mikell's face twitched in a way that COULD be interpreted as a smile, Claire patted him on the back and his mother looked absolutely livid.

"No, Jack, you are not. you are just a scared, confused little kid and deep down you know it." She was spitting more than speaking as she walked towards her son, "And what are we even supposed to call you now that you've decided to be 'Genderfluid'? hm? she? him? it? oh I know, How about...A GODDAMN EMBARRASSMENT!"

SMACK

She had brought her hand down across Jack's right cheek. hard.

"MOM!" Mikell had ran over to the other side of the table to stop her from once again, hitting Jack, who had backed away and was now cupping his cheek.

"Look at him! He's a goddamn disgrace!"

Mikell was now clutching her wrist tightly, "It's not a big deal, just leave him alone." He sounded angry, something that only happened when Jack had royally fucked up.

"Why did you hit him?!" Tj was starting to cry again, and Claire was trying to get him out of the room.

"Yeah, what the hell woman?! are you fucking crazy?" she said when Tj was outside, and in the company of two passing researchers on a late lunchbreak.

"Everyone Calm down! Eve, Jack has done nothing wrong." Tamlin desperately tried to diffuse the situation as it escalated.

"Like hell he did nothing wrong!" She turned back to Jack, "I want to meet this guy. NOW."

Mikell looked at Jack, "I'll admit, I am slightly curious."

"Y-you know him...so does Tj, I think." Jack barely managed to get another word out before he was dragged out by the collar of his tight black turtleneck.

"Where is he?" Evelyn demanded

"In his office," bright muttered, defeated. His mother gave him a look as if to say 'lead the way' and Jack did just that as Claire retreived TJ from a very confused Iceberg and an indifferent gears, who were drinking a chilled coffee each.

"Shoooouuuullldd we do something?" Iceberg asked as TJ walked away from him and Gears with his sister.

"Family matters stay in the family, Dr Iceberg," Gears answered as he began to walk.

"Ok," Iceberg shrugged as he followed gears.

When the Bright family reached Clef's office, Mikell gave Jack a look and a nod for confirmation, and Jack nodded back. Mikell smirked and leant against the wall, fully aware of what was about to happen. Jack punched in the code and as soon as the door opened, his mother had barged in. "You."

Clef looked up from the paperwork he was doing, "me?" Then he noticed Jack beside her, the red mark on his cheek slowly turning purple, and he immediately knew what had happened.

"Yes, you. You are to never go near my son again, and I will have him transferred away from here, back to site-17."

Clef scowled and stood up, towering over the woman, "look, lady, I don't care who you are, or what your relation to my boyfriend is, get out," all three of his eyes glowed and Jack was suddenly behind him. Clef knelt down and cupped Bright's cheek, "did she do this to you?" Jack looked to his mother and then to Clef before nodding. Clef's eyes filled with rage as he stood up and turned to the middle aged woman, "leave, final warning."

Evelyn scoffed, "fine, come, Mikell."

Mikell stayed put where he was, "No, you can see yourself out,"

Evelyn stormed off, muttering to herself as she left towards the entrance zone.

Mikell shifted slightly, "I'm sorry I couldn't do more to stop that," he muttered.

Chapter Text

Hello everyone.

As some of you may know, I am discontinuing this fic and orphaning it.

I will also be removing any mention of my OC by now canon name so I am unidentifiable.

Some chapters have been deleted.

I do not want to be associated with this fic anymore for various reasons, so do not come looking for me expecting to talk about it if you know who I am.

Thank you.