Archive of Our Own ^beta

*DING*

The elevator halted with a somewhat concerning, wall shaking slam and the doors parted, revealing a colorful, decorated room. Although it appeared set up for some celebration, no one currently resided within.

Pest stared straight ahead, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Poob move from their corner of the elevator to the doors, about to depart. But just as they were about to cross the barrier, they suddenly whipped back around, calling out to Pest.

“omigosh, i almos forgot! hay pest!!”

Shit…

Pest chittered, but it wasn’t at all discouraging for Poob. They just walked right over to the irritable insect with a big smile on their face.

“...What.”

“i got u sumthin!”

Pest raised his brow at that, but otherwise said nothing.

“well, c’mon, hold out ur hand!”

“Why?”

“so i can giv u da present, silly!”

A very audible, prolonged sigh escaped Pest at that.

“No.”

“c’mon!!”

“I don’t want it.”

“but u havnt even seen it..”

“Don’t care.”

In any other normal interaction with any other normal person, that would have been that. Pest had firmly rejected three separate times, a sort of “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” type thing. But he was on the Regretevator, and it was Poob he was talking to. Even if for a moment, it seemed like Poob could have been worn down by Pest’s stubbornness, they quickly rebounded with a new trick. After sparing a quick glance back at the still open elevator doors, it was like a light turned on in their head.

“pessstt the doors are gonna close soon! i cant go until i giv u this or i mite forget again!”

Bargaining.

So that’s how it was. Trade compliance for peace. It was a done deal for Pest; even if there were others in the elevator, no one was as annoying as this hyper yellow thing. And who knows, there was the off chance that the gift could be something of actual use.

“...Fine.”

“yayy!!” Poob cheered and jumped up, blowing on their party horn with glee. “ok, now hold out your hand..”

“Eugh, do I really have to…? Can’t you just… toss it over or something?”

“ten it wdnt be special! just hold out ur hand, i promis ill be quik!”

Pest slowly and begrudgingly obliged with a quiet, warning chitter. He stuck his hand out, palm facing upwards, arm outstretched towards Poob. He felt ridiculous; like a dog begging for treats.

The moment Poob reached out not to simply place something in his hand, but to instead take his hand into their own, Pest felt fight-or-flight kick in. Hard. But he was too strong-willed to let a stupid, irrational instinct like that win, so the energy that was meant to either punt the freak across the elevator or sprint out himself just jolted right up his spine.

Even Poob could sense that they were playing with fire, as their fingers suddenly twitched inwards, as if they could feel the same jolt, though they soon relaxed and quickly continued with their actions. Their hand, placed under Pest’s own, moved with a gentle grip, rotating his wrist so that his hand now faced downwards limply. The stiff, splayed position of his fingers naturally relaxed, yet the nervous energy still had his hand shaking.

Poob reached for something in their pocket, watching Pest closely for a sign of… something, anything, but his face was utterly unreadable; just staring blankly at the hand that grasped his own. The only signal Poob could pick up on was the subtle jittering of that cold, clammy hand.

pls dont hit me pls dont hit me pls dont—

Despite the repetitive, nagging thought and creeping fear, Poob appeared no less confident nor less happy; unlike Pest, who was frozen like a deer caught in headlights.

The whole ordeal felt like it lasted an eternity. Though soon enough, it would be over. Poob found what they were rummaging in their pocket for, bringing it out. It was a handmade bracelet, decorated purposefully with a pattern of black, white, and red beads. Its centerpiece was four white cube-shaped beads, spelling out with black letters:

[P] [E] [S] [T]

Although, Pest wouldn’t see it until it was brought right to his hand, as his eyes were still fixed firmly upon the touch.

Poob put the bracelet about halfway down their fingers, stopping just before the middle knuckles so they could spread the bracelet out. With the hand supporting Pest’s, they both lifted and moved it a little closer so they could slip the bracelet on. When their hands overlapped, Poob’s nerves came back, even though it was strangely the only instant Pest’s hand had stopped twitching.

And just like that, it was done. The bracelet slid the rest of the way down, Pest watched it, turned it the other way, looked at his own name framed perfectly between the pattern of beads. It was like he just couldn’t believe any of that happened at all, or that he even allowed it to happen to begin with. He was at a complete lost.

“i told u id get us frenship bracelets!” Poob said, cheerfully as ever. “see? i made a matching 1!!”

Finally, Pest looked at Poob for the first time since this whole gift-giving thing started. He narrowed his eyes at the matching bracelet Poob was showing off, put together with a more colorful arrangement of beads. And of course, right there in the middle, little cubes with black letters spelled out:

[P] [O] [O] [B]

“wel,, bai bai!! gota go!!”

And off they went, the doors closing as if on cue, leaving Pest behind speechless and confused.

He looked back at the bracelet that, for some mysterious reason, he hadn’t just immediately ripped off and crushed under his feet. Pinching one of the stupid plastic beads, he turned it around, tugging at the elastic band that held it all together; yet he never pulled back enough to break it. Instead, after some thoughtless introspection, he discreetly tucked the thing under his long sleeve.

The curious look and quiet purr of the only other regular passenger of the Regretvator currently here with him, DrRETRO, went entirely unnoticed.