Archive of Our Own ^beta

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"And the OTHER DAY she told me she was 'GOING BANANAS FOR MY NEW SHIRT!' What does it MEAN?!"

Dr Retro hummed, pulling a syringe from the drawer beside her as she rolled around on her chair about the room. Bive was seated on the hospital bed behind her, rambling to her as she did every time she came for her HRT. It had taken her a while to trust the feline, but eventually she did. "I think Split's gone sweet on you" she purred in response, finding the vial of estrogen she was looking for before rolling back to the bed.

It took Bive a minute to think of what she meant by this. "Sweet as in, SUGAR?!" she asked. The doctor laughed and shook her head, "Trousers down, and no, like she likes you, she has a crush on you." Bive undid her trousers and sat patiently, thinking about what she said, before pulling them down enough so Dr Retro could administer the shot.

"Ghk...DOC? Split's a...LESBIAN!" Bive sputtered out. The doctor, who was separating clumps of hair from her thigh looked up at her with confusion. "WELL...lesbian is a sexuality, not a...YKNOW...romantic thing. She WOULDN'T BE ATTRACTED TO ME..." she mused, quite sadly really. Dr Retro hummed, thinking for a moment. "Sugar, am I a girl to you?" she asked. Bive nodded enthusiastically, "OF COURSE! Why wouldn't you be?" "Exactly. Bive, you know I've been through the exact same things you have when it comes to changing your gender. I know how good it feels to finally be seen as what you feel like, and I know changing your body is a big part in that. If Split really does like you, then it means she sees you as the woman you are." By the time Dr Retro was done speaking, she had already administered the shot and cleaned the prick.

Bive took a moment of silence before standing up and pulling her trousers up again. She shuffled awkwardly over to the doctor, who was busying herself with cleaning something, and gave her a small hug from behind. "HGH...THANK YOU..." she got out, before scrambling out the door. Dr Retro smiled, Bive had a long way to go before she learnt to love herself for who she was, but she was sure Split would help, by loving her too.

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Bive stood staring at her corkboard, muttering to herself as she rearranged some pins, allowing Polaroids to flutter to the floor as she scuttled about picking them up, putting them into bundles and stacks alongside other various papers and documents.

A few moments later, three knocks sounded, she tensed up and dropped her papers. Soon after the three knocks, two short quick ones followed. She relaxed slightly and went to unlock the door, but kept the chain on. She opened it slightly. Gregoriah was standing there.

"What's the password?" She asked him. "BIVE! It's obviously me-" he replied. "I'M JUST MAKING SURE! Besides, you could have been kidnapped by the CLOWN MILITIA and they could have duplicated you AND-" "Green apples, there." She paused momentarily, satisfied with the creature's answer, she closed the door again and took off the chain.

She opened the door once again and stepped aside to let Gregoriah in, she checked the apartments halls cautiously to ensure there were no onlookers before closing the door once again.

Bive turned around to see that Gregoriah had already made himself at home on her tattered couch, kicking his legs up on the stained coffee table. "What uhm...brings you here?" She asked timidly. He shrugged, "Just wanted to see you! It's been a hot second, besides I'm a busy guy and I have the emporium to run, I gotta catch a break with my fav hairball!" He exclaimed.

"GHK! Hairball? Big talk coming from YOU! You...uhm..." She trailed off mid sentence. "I didn't mean any offense Bive! You're pretty cool for a hairball." He assured.

Her grin spread wider. "You...you...IMBECILE! You're just saying that so you can GET INTO MY MIND!" she shrieked, but the genuine fear and paranoia had dissipated from her voice a long time ago for Gregoriah.

At first she believed he was just like the many other creatures she had met along her investigations, but something about this thing was different. He shared a lot of similarities with her, his paws, large teeth, furry complexion, it felt all too familiar to Bive, but it made her feel at ease.

For someone so paranoid, who knew that all it took to calm her down a bit was some time with Gregoriah. The pair were unlikely friends and were polar opposites to everyone, but they found their similarities.

Bive had a liking for conspiracy theories, and when nobody else was around to listen, Gregoriah would be more than happy to tune in.

Gregoriah had an interest in an anime known as Yo-Kai Watch, and when people didn't want to hear his rambling, Bive would offer to listen.

The pair worked together like a well oiled machine, they complimented each other perfectly despite their differences and would always have each others back, no matter what.

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Enphoso hummed a cheery tune as he finished wiping down the store's main checkout. He was quite joyful today, as he had arranged to meet MR after work for a small date. Strolling into the break room, he gave himself a quick glance in the mirror before turning to his belongings he had left there.

He couldn't wait to see his husband. Well, they weren't really husbands, MR believed that marriage was superficial, 'We're far better than that' he had said (Although the pair did have matching rings). He had gladly gotten over his initial fears of being in a relationship with Enphoso, gone were the days he insisted it was a purely business based relationship, he was more than happy to pull him aside and tease him nowadays, whispering in his ear and making him giggle, Enphoso honestly couldn't be happier.

Enphoso knew of MR's bloody past, but he shared one much akin to it. A small part of him hopes that maybe one day in the future the pair could go on a slightly romantic killing spree of sorts, but it'd take a millennium for MR to agree to something so reckless and so romantic.

Speak of the devil himself, the front door chimed and there he stood, waiting for his beloved with a bouquet of flowers under his arm. Enphoso hastily grabbed his things and darted out of the break room, ready to have a wonderful night with the being he loved most.

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Carolina reached over to her bedside table to gingerly pick up the glass of water kindly left there for her by Pilby. She didnt usually use the glassware but she had briefly mentioned to Pilby how she wanted to get over her fear of breaking the fragile things in the facility, and they had kindly offered to help.

She took a sip and placed it back down, drawing her attention back to her book she was reading. It was quite interesting actually, a science fiction book with just the right amount of action to keep her interest. It had been recommended to her a month or two ago by Retro and she had only gotten around to reading it now. The doctor had seemed very enthusiastic to share it with her.

The more she thought about her newly expanding social circle, she smiled slightly. Her job hadn't allowed her to get out much, but she had a lot more time on her hands now that her main threat had been neutralized. She had spoken to others whom she wouldn't have even dreamed about speaking to, but overall knew a lot more interesting folk now that she had more time on her hands.

Speaking of interesting folk, her bedroom door creaking open didnt escape her notice, she simply kept her head down in her book and subconsciously shuffled over to the side of the bed to make room. A shadowy form made her way from the doorway and crept closer to the bed. Carolina knew not to say a word, as not to scare her off (Folly insisted she wasnt scared, but Carolina knew better).

Folly reached the bed and immediately crawled over to Carolina, who lifted her book enough to give the demon room to rest her head on her lap, and wrap her hands around her waist. Carolina smiled and withdrew one hand from her book to stroke Folly's thick curly hair. Folly hummed as she curled in closer to the brunettes body.

"It's nice to see you." Carolina whispered. Folly made a quiet noise of content before muttering "Carol" under her breath. Carolina smiled to herself and resumed reading her book. It would take time for the demon to progress to showing more vulnerability, but this was a good start, one that Carolina was more than happy to engage with.

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Carolina sighed, tapping her pen rhythmically against her polished oak desk, glancing at the office around her. Her gaze rested on the paperwork in front of her, some application for a new stop on the Regretevator, absolutely riveting stuff, yet she couldnt bring herself to engage with the subject. It had been slow today, visitors had become increasingly infrequent as of late and she found that the lack of company made the day draw on for longer. She looked up at the clock above the entryway, and found she officially had three hours left before she "clocked out" as the others called it.

Carolina groaned in exasperation, a five minute coffee break wouldnt hurt. She heaved herself up from her desk chair and grabbed the mug on her table, wandering through the door behind her desk into a kitchenette type arrangement. She filled the kettle with water and set it to boil as she drummed her fingers against the counter, waiting for the high pitched squealing to begin.

As she waited, her eyes darted towards the doorway through which she first came from, as she saw a figure move in the other room. Carolina immediately stood to attention, raising her hand and summoning her ban hammer to her grasp as she cautiously crept into the office once again. Alas though, there was no cause for concern.
There stood Folly, shifting nervously as a bouquet of red flowers rested in the crook of her arm. The moment her eye saw Carolina her anxiety dissipated as she walked towards her. Carolina smiled as she rested the hammer against the wall beside her, and allowed the demon to approach her. Folly gently took Carolina's hand in her clawed one and brought it up to her face as if she were to kiss it. Carolina smiled wider, "Quite the flattery for me, what's the occasion?" she said, motioning towards the flowers.

"There is no occasion." Folly responded, handing the flowers over to her. Carolina took them and set them on her desk beside her. She came up close to Folly once again and motioned for her to bend down, which she did. She planted a small kiss on the demons cheek, to which the demon stuttered for a moment as Carolina took her hand again. "I have the kettle on, you want something to drink?" she asked. "Hhmhmhhm...yes" Folly replied, still not over the display of affection as she was led to the kitchenette.