#maskwrites

As soon as the employees thought Phobos was out of earshot, he could hear many of them reprimanding Tom for not shutting his mouth when he had the chance, it did make a grin tug at the corner of his lips, thinking the way most just immediately jumped on Tom for being a little too positive about your abilities and being caught was absolutely hilarious. However, if you truly were as good as Tom claimed, then you might just earn your spot in the Tower, yet another stepping stone for his plan of achieving Godhood.

When Tom came to you with the story, you… didn’t exactly know how to feel, flattered Tom spoke so highly of you? Annoyed he dragged you into this situation? Or scared of what Phobos might do to you if you didn’t meet his expectations… Either way, anxiety shot up, you had been questioning whether to apply to Nexus Core though, maybe actually get a full-time job instead of living off freelance, so this was the best time than any other to actually get that job. Or suffer Phobos’s wrath.

You dragged Tom inside your home to explain to you how the machines in Nexus Core looked so you didn’t have any surprises when going over. It was very bare bones; Tom knew nothing of machines aside from basically what they did, but it was enough to help you through and figure it out yourself.

When the next day came, you put on your self-assigned work clothes and got a ride with Tom to the Science Tower, yawning the majority of the way there. Tom had to go in early as shit due to his status, meanwhile, you usually got to sleep in unless you had a job, you weren’t used to the early routine, but nothing a cup of coffee on the way there didn’t fix.

Going through the Tower was long-winded, to say the least, the thing looked bigger on the inside, and the number of floors… Christ, you were starting to reconsider this opportunity on the 10th flight of stairs you had to go through, and you weren't even in the middle of the tower yet. But going around the rooms you normally would’ve never had clearance to as a normal visitor to the museum part of the place was good to know which type of electronics you’d be working with; they seemed… complicated, and it made you nervous.

Tom had been leading you by the hand because he just didn’t want you to get lost, and then get yelled at for it, so before you knew it you were faced with the Director’s entry doors. The guards were cold in their tones, requesting Tom state his business before letting you both through, and honestly, you were not surprised to see how huge the office was, what you didn’t expect though was to see other scientists working around in the same room, just right there next to the Director, you wondered if these were high-rank employees or if this was a way of keeping them under Phobos’s personal surveillance.

The Soldat let go of your hand and gave you a look of reassurance before you both looked at the towering silhouette at the top desk, seeming to admire his city out the window; the scene looked like something almost out of a movie. Tom took a deep breath before marching up to his office, with you following suit, pausing only for a moment to hear the G03LMs announce your approach.

As you approached his desk, he didn’t turn to you both just yet. Glancing at the other two Soldats standing guard to his sides made you double-take; they looked almost exactly like Tom did in uniform, only these guys seemed to have more buttons and pins on their uniforms than Tom did, those must be a bitch to take off every laundry day. Tom cleared his throat lightly before bowing his head to the Director, motioning for you to do the same before speaking.

“Director, I have brought the engineer you requested.” Tom announced almost as if talking to a king. 

Phobos turned from his wide window to look at you both, the light from the dawn outside highlighted very few parts of him; it almost looked like a painting if it didn’t look oddly terrifying. He seemed to take a moment to analyze you before lifting his hand and lowering it a couple of inches down. “At ease, Lieutenant. You too, Engineer.” he boomed, allowing you both to stand straight again. His tone was sharp, but not harsh, simply an order.

Phobos retracted his hand into his cape, you’re not too surprised he actually wears the thing, Tom’s told you about the times he accidentally or intentionally knocked people over with his cape whenever he came around for lunch. 

“I will take it from here, I’d like to get to know our… Possible recruit. Return to your duties, Lieutenant.” he ordered again, your eyebrows furrowed a bit as Tom nodded and spun on his heel, giving you a pat on the shoulder before marching away. Your anxiety spiked as you were left to stare up at Phobos on your own.

Okay, I'm getting too carried away here, let me speed things up a bit.

Phobos gives you an interview himself, normally it would be someone lower in rank due to his schedule being SO busy with paperwork, but again, Tom gloated about you so much he just had to see you with his own eye, completely valid reason, right? Yea, yea sure. Also, escaping from the amount of paperwork from their projects and agreements with other companies was a little nice.

He got your basic info, you answered his questions, that he had written in little slips of paper with basic answers under them he had a handful of the engineers write, he’s by no means a “tech nerd” like you engineers, but he did his best to grab the essential answer from your longer explanations with a smile on your face, you seem to enjoy mechanics, good, the ones with more passion seemed to give better results.

After all of that, he got up from his chair and walked around his desk to you, damn he was far taller than you anticipated. He said he’d give you a tour of the place and have you fix a couple of things with the other engineers, under his monitoring; we don't need you going somewhere you don't need to be, of course.

So the whole day you followed him around, grouped with a couple of random engineers in the facility; you successfully fixed something — which as much as these machines looked complicated they had pretty standard problems to be fixed so far. Around lunchtime, he took you back to his office which was mostly empty aside from some scientists finishing up work before quickly leaving to get their food and finish it within the 2-hour break Phobos gave them, which was surprising, most jobs didn't even give an hour. You may have off-mindedly muttered about that being nice, Phobos, seeing it as an opportunity to make a better impression and gloat a bit, claimed it was because he understands how huge and time-consuming getting up and down the tower to the food court and back was, plus, he enjoyed the time to himself that the break gave.

One long and unnecessary speech about how great of an asset you’ll make to Nexus Core, how he sees great potential in you, and how he can see you climbing the ranks quickly later… You're hired! Congrats, you work for the minion look-alike now. Yippee.mp3. He gave you a handshake, let you know where you could get the proper uniform for your work, and set you free to go home, saying you’d start that next Monday. Telling the good(?) news to Tom on your way out, he took you out for a celebratory lunch at your favorite place. At least he was happy you’d get to see each other more often; work always got in the way of your hangouts.

Either way, working at the Tower isn’t as bad as you thought it would be, most of the time at least; you got to know a couple of Tom’s other friends and co-workers around your first day, setting you up with one of his most “trustworthy” engineer friend. Much to their dismay, Tom begged them to babysit you until you got the hang of things in return for like… 5 favors he’d owe them in return. We’ll call this one Kai. 

Kai did as promised, giving you a more in-depth rundown of how certain machines worked and what their most common problems to fix were just to give you a heads up, claiming they were feeling generous enough to let you know. Allowing you to take the lead in fixing some of these machines similar to how Phobos did in your interview, quizzing you from time to time on the machines, what they did, or how to fix a certain problem.

As much as they were incredibly monotonous in their voice, you could tell they were just as passionate about mechanics as you were.

Something you did notice throughout the day, however, was that the Director himself was around very often.

“Yep, that’s correct once again, great job [Name].” Kai gave you a tired nod and praise as you answered their question about the cloner in front of you correctly, glad you were paying attention to their ramblings about the machine earlier. You smiled at them behind your mask, hoping they saw how your eyes squinted to know so before they began to speak again.

“Now, this one has been having some problems with faulty wiring, I’ll fix this once since this equipment is so delicate, but I need you to watch and learn how it’s fixed so you-” Their thought process was interrupted halfway through unscrewing the machine’s control panel, raising their head and looking into space for a moment before looking at the doors to the room expectantly, cycling through every couple seconds, did they hear something? You mostly just heard the beeps and scribbles from the machines and the scientists, though… you felt some slight vibration at your feet. “.. is something wrong?” 

“... The Director’s coming… again… don't do anything-” 

“stupid, I know.” you finished their phrase as they continued with their work, feeling the vibrations of his footsteps approaching far clearer than before, ‘there are 3 doors leading to this room, two on the east and west, and one north-east up a staircase, it doesn’t feel like the footsteps are coming from above but I can’t tell where the sound of his boots are coming from, but… I’m willing to bet the… east door?’

The sound of a door opening to your right had half of the people in the room looking towards it, mainly those who were so lost in their work to notice, including you and Kai. ‘huh, it was the east… lucky guess..?’

You didn’t dare look at the Director for too long, after all, you had to focus on what Kai was doing… Kai, who was inspecting what the much taller grunt was doing with interest for a minute or so before going back to work with a light huff, sounded.. Baffled? You wondered what was wrong as you watched them mess with the wires, disconnecting and reconnecting a couple of set wires before starting to close the panel again, they worked fast that’s for sure.

“See? It’s pretty easy once you know which must be reconnected or switched around. Sometimes in a hurry some other engineers or scientists who don't know what they're doing mess up the wires and make the machine faulty.. The nerve of some people…” they muttered with a disappointed look, making you chuckle briefly before nodding in agreement, not before you felt a familiar looming presence behind you, though.

The large hand on your shoulder made you flinch as the Director’s voice nearly reverberated in your chest with how close he was, like a loud bass in giant speakers. 

“Heyy, how’s the work going-... [Name]..! Liking this magnificent Tower so far?" His tone was far friendlier than you’ve heard before, a smile clear in his tone; it seemed like he struggled to remember your name for a moment but you wouldn't blame him if it was the case, with so many workers here and this being your first day…

“Oh! Uh- great! The work- well, the introduction is going great! I do.. Enjoy it here!” you answered a half-truth with a nervous smile behind your mask, you knew he probably couldn't see it but expressions die hard. “Good! Good! And- hello to you too….. Kaaaailee, yes, Kailee.'' The pause with Kai’s name was longer, and the confidently incorrect answer made it painfully obvious he genuinely didn't remember their name; it was almost charming, just a bit.

“Close yet far, sir.” Kai mumbled to themselves as they gave him a small bow “Hello, Director.”

“How’s your work?” he questioned with a small tilt of his head, his hand still firmly placed on your shoulder. 

“Nearly done, sir. I’m just teaching Ms. [Name] here how our cloners work.” Kai gestured to you as Phobos nodded with satisfaction. 

“Good good, delightful. Anyway, I must get back to my duties. You treat our new engineer well, Kailee, we don’t want a 2-week’s notice so soon!” Phobos’s laugh echoed through the room, sounding almost cartoonishly villainous as he gave two firm pats on Kai’s back before walking off through the west door.

You gave him an awkward wave even if he didn't see it, a hand lingering on the warm spot from his hand on your shoulder for a moment, ‘... that was weird’ you thought before turning your attention back to Kai, who looked to be in slight pain, leaning against the cloner for support.

“... you good?” your hand placed on their shoulder gently, concern starting to lace your voice, Kai let out a small groan in annoyance. “He never knows how to regulate his strength… either way, that was quite the odd interaction.” They stood back up straight. 

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t be clueless. You noticed him following us too, right?” You paused before nodding with an unsure look, “Yeah- well, I mean.. It could just be a coincidence, right?” Kai shrugged their shoulders, 

“Maybe, but the patterns are just too convenient…”

“Patterns?” you questioned, giving them way to elaborate “Well, when he comes around, he scans the room quietly before he focuses in our direction, then tries to act natural by looking over other people before gravitating to where we are. Looking over us or- like he just did, and maybe strikes a conversation.”

“It is a little odd when you put it like that, but doesn't he monitor new people like me too? Surely this is normal-” Kai held up a hand, something you caught on to mean he wanted to stop you mid-sentence before speaking, interrupting you but not at the same time. “Not really, no, at least not that I’ve seen.. He never did that with me at least, nor with any other engineers that I’ve trained before.”

You were about to speak before another engineer passed by you, butting into your conversation. 

“I think yer thinkin’ into it too much again, Kai. Yer scarin’ the poor gal.” he softly punched the taller engineer on the arm, holding a box labeled ‘parts’ under his other arm, the thick southern accent being the first thing you noticed before processing his appearance, he turned to you. “Don’t ye worry yer tiny head about it, rookie, I’ve seen Ol’ Bos monitor some other newbies more closely like that befo’. Seems he does this stuff to ones who he thinks are troublemakers or ‘ave had a bad impression o’ him or Nexus as a whole! Ye don’t seem like the trouble kind, he’s probably just tryna give you a good impression or sumthin’.” he shrugged, stealing your bonnet for a moment to ruffle your hair lightly with a laugh before handing your hat back to you and walking off without another word.

Kai sighed with a shake of his head, rubbing the spot he was punched at as you fixed your hair with a light chuckle, “he’s in good spirits at least.” you mentioned as you repositioned your bonnet on your head, “I guess… he could be right, or not, Phobos is… a bit unpredictable at times… I hate it.” Kai complained as you chuckled again, he motioned for you to follow again, your shift wasn’t over yet and there was more machinery to fix.

I love expanding like this, even if this is probably not what you wanted, I’ll try to speed this up again.

Even after your first day, Phobos kept… lowkey stalking you through your first week, especially after Kai stopped holding your hand through things; you boiled it down to just being him making sure you're not getting into any trouble by yourself, though, it started becoming a bit more obvious that wasn’t the true intention as he started ‘accidentally’ bumping into you on the halls or taking the same elevator to places, sometimes even walking into you seemingly without noticing as you tried getting to Tom and Kai, who often invited you to have lunch with them at the break room if you weren't getting food at the patio.

Phobos didn't understand why he felt compelled to see you, he’s monitored newbies a few times, so this shouldn't be any different, yet… it was.

Most would try to get away as soon as possible unless he actively requested to have a talk with someone, no one dared stay around for long, they feared him, it was always the intent, to be feared, respected, to be this City’s GOD. Yet you were different, you weren’t scared; nervous at most, but it didn’t seem to be directed towards his presence completely. You consumed his thoughts when he was attempting to do his work, his mind gravitating to your face, your mannerisms, your laugh… It was frustrating, what had you done to him? It’s only been a couple of weeks and he’s enamored by you, he’s been attracted to other people before, albeit before he became Director, but it never seemed to go past their appearances, but this? This was bigger, this was more.

It didn’t take long for him to make sense of his thoughts, sure, a couple frustrations didn’t go unexpressed as he seemed to be unpredictable around. One day he’d be all gleeful and conversational with you, the other he’d be distant and judgemental, you assumed he was simply having stressful days… but your gut said to ask, to figure out what was wrong with your boss, especially since some of your coworkers found themselves with the short end of his temper.

So you asked, slipping into his office after the doormen left for lunch, you knew he was in there, he said he enjoyed the time for himself. The office was empty aside from his hunched-over shadow up at his desk, he didn’t hear you slip in as your boots clicked against the floor, making your way up to him.

He had his head resting in one hand as his other held a pen to a paper he didn't seem to read, simply staring straight down, taken by his thoughts. Soon you stood in front of his desk, holding his (allegedly) favorite cup of tea you had gotten based on his orders from the cafeteria in your hands, trying to find a way to gently snap him out of his thoughts without it backfiring harshly on you. Pulling down your mask from your face and letting it lay over your upper chest as you called out his name softly.

Took about 3 times and light taps on his desk for him to see you were there, irritation shifting to surprise to see you in his office, much more without your mask, he hadn’t seen your face properly since the interview… Clearing his throat, he asked what you were doing here, you explained that you were worried about him, and how stressed he was lately, so you came to ask if he wanted to talk, to rant, anything to make him less stressed just so he doesn’t end up killing anyone for a minor mistake sending him over the edge.

… You… wanted to talk… with him? I mean of course you would, he’s Nexus’ God-Emperor and Director after all, why wouldn’t you? Your words warmed his chest, you cared? You didn’t seem like the lying kind, and he had no reason to believe you would lie to him…

Of course, your request to spend time with him was accepted with a welcome, if you were anyone else he might have thrown you out of the window though. Your lunchtime was spent listening to the Director rant about anything he felt like telling you, about the worries of a certain grunt going against his cause, the stress of his goals, and the annoyance that was needed to cater to MERC and their demands for G03LMs, the angry and poorly written emails from their manager still sat in his drafts as he tried to word an unhostile email, it was hard!

He didn’t elaborate on certain things, but you didn’t pry, maybe if you did he’d get more stressed, that wasn’t your current goal. Though you couldn’t help but feel charmed by his demeanors, obviously he didn’t pass on opportunities to gloat about himself, but after he was done ranting, he asked to know more about yourself. It surprised you he was interested in your life at all, but he insisted, so you complied.

You both lost track of time, talking and laughing about funny stories from your lives and even gossiping about things outside and in the tower. Your previous image of Phobos had been broken, that intimidation and nervousness vanishing like smoke in the air, he was just like you and the others, if not a little up his ass but he was still a grunt like everyone else; He liked to gossip, he enjoyed technology and what it could do, he enjoyed comedy, horror, and action movies.

The more you talked, the more the both of you fell for each other, at some point he had forgotten to drink his tea, by the time Lunch was over and his guards came back wondering what you both were laughing about, the tea was cold.

You were disappointed to need to go back to work but you had machines to work on, Phobos suggested you pick up your conversation again the next day. And so followed your new routine, you’d come to work, do your thing, and stay with Phobos for the lunch hour until you went back to work, he even started messaging you after a while to send you goodnights or for you to elaborate on certain things he was really curious about from your conversations earlier.

It took a few months for him to ask you out, and even longer to finally ask you to be his. He made a big deal out of it, of course, it was something private between you both but he went all out on it, flowers, tuxedo, your favorite treat, the works. You made it official on the Tower’s rooftop, watching the sunset together.

He loves you just as much as he loves himself, dare I say even more, his diamond, his queen, he wants you to rule alongside him when he achieves Godhood. He hasn’t told you the full extent of his plans though, you know it's important but he won't elaborate on what he’s trying to do.

He loves PDA, getting a kick of showing others you’re his and only his, kisses, handholding, gentle touches along your sides and shoulders, etc. he doesn’t care about who sees you together, in fact, how dare they stare in the first place.

Phobos can be a bit of a jealous partner, getting protective and possessive of you at times if you hang out with your friends for what he deems to be too long. Later when you're both alone, he’ll remind you of who you belong to with long, deep kisses, and hold you against him, trapped in his arms. It’s nothing too rough to overwhelm you, he’d never forgive himself if he dared hurt you, he tries to take it lightly and playfully, trying to make you giggle even if he’s serious about his words.

Regardless he just wants you well, if you’re in any pain at all he WILL just give you the day off, mayhaps he’ll even excuse himself to keep you in his bedroom, staying with you and getting you anything you need, painkillers, water, anything you crave at the time. Spoils the HELL out of you, and will cling to you as long as you're comfortable.

Speaking of that, he’s a HUGE fan of physical touch. He’ll trace his nails along your back and gently rub your thighs when cuddling, trace his thumb along your knuckles when holding hands, touch legs when just sitting next to each other, and can't hold hands, rest his head on your shoulder and hug you if you're sitting on his lap. Playing with your hair… He’ll never admit he’s a fan of romance books, he’s always wanted to do this with someone, and with you he can finally relax and be soft-ish for once.

Also, he’s big spoon when you cuddle, he enjoys holding you more than anything, but if you insist on him being little spoon he won't protest much, being held is nice too.

If you have a spot when you keep your things at the tower he’ll take the time to leave you little gifts, mainly small things that you mentioned you’d like to buy some time or something, flowers, treats, even just little notes to lift your spirits. He enjoys being romantic, and if it means it’ll bring a smile to your lovely face then so be it.

Some of your co-workers are slightly concerned about your relationship, warning you of his manipulative ways at times, others can't be bothered to say anything because you keep Phobos in good spirits, and keep them from being yelled at so whatever. But he’d never manipulate you I’m sure… right?

Nicknames! My Dear, Starlight, My Love, My Queen, anything to do with your name, usually he’ll put “My” before the nickname because he enjoys reminding himself that he somehow managed to bag such a lovely person. It’s the only thing he questions about how he got so lucky.

He loves you beyond everything. It’s really gonna sting when he dies… Hope you’re ready for that.

You sighed before opening the door to the “Store” room, a familiar tune filling your ears and your heart with relief, Figure had been more aggressive today for whatever reason, you wondered if something upset it or if it was just in a bad mood?

You didn't have a clue, but that didn't matter now, you just hoped they would calm down until you reach the warehouse, for now, you can breathe again. Jeff looked over from his stand, visibly lighting up in mood as he waved an arm at you, turning towards you as Goblino greeted you from his seat.

“¡Oye, amigo! Good to see you in one piece!” the goblin yelled, counting the coins he had snatched from drawers, you waved, about to say something before the goblin turned to the skeleton beside him “what’s that? … HAHAH! Yeah, Bob says you sure don’t look alive!”

It made you chuckle a bit, you knew you didn't, you were getting tired of all these runs and repeated cycles, the adrenaline only fueled you so much, and the runs you actually got to the elevator weren’t feeling as satisfying as they used to be. You silently agreed with the goblin as he went back to counting his coins, sitting on the chair Jeff pulled up next to his counter

Noticing how tired you looked, he moved the radio across the room to the table next to the duo, lowering the volume a bit more to make it ambience noise for you both, you appreciated the small gesture, as much as you liked his music it was starting to give you a headache

He pointed at the items on the counter as his head tilted with a chirp, you shook your head

“Not now at least, buddy, I’m just-... tired…” you said leaning against the counter, he nodded in understanding, moving the items behind the counter, leaving only one of the pillows he previously had set a crucifix on.

His arms pulled a notebook from behind the counter and a pen, gifts from you, it made you smile a bit as you faintly remembered the day you gave him that to talk with you, he looked so happy, though you were brought back to reality when he turned the book to you

“Figure angry tonight, because of Ambush I thinks, you okay? They hurt you?” as you read, he made worried rumbling sounds at you with worried eyes, seeming to look you over for any injuries. His gentle concern was appreciated, smiling warmly at him despite your tired eyes

“I noticed, they didn’t hurt me, I’m alright, I just… I dunno… just tired, this cycle is getting exhausting, I might be starting to realize I won’t ever be able to leave this place…” you let out a couple sad laughs, looking down at the counter, it was true, the possible harsh reality was setting in, and you didn't know how to take it, but it wasn’t well, you may never see your family again, if you even had one, you barely remembered, this place fucked with your memories and you hated it.

Out of your view, Jeff seemed saddened by your mention of leaving, he tried not to think about it much himself, but the idea of you leaving made him scared, sad. He didn't want you to leave, but he knew that this place wasn't built for your survival in the first place. Silence hung thick in the air for a moment before you heard scribbling again, the notebook sliding into your view, “Have you eaten? Drink water? Want anything, friend?” The hospitality made you scoff a fond laugh, shaking your head again, “I'm fine, Jeff, thank you though.”

You heard him chirp again, closing your eyes just for a moment, you felt his arms gently tug at your arms up, you looked surprised as he silently asked you to raise your arms a bit, pulling the pillow still on the counter to you before scribbling again, “rest head, tired friend, you need it. May I play with hair?”

You laughed, warmth rising to your cheeks as he put an arm on your shoulder, gently tugging you down, “sure buddy, god how I am so lucky to have met you?”

He let out a happy thrill as you laid your head on the cushion, sighing as he played with your hair, another arm gently rubbing your back as you crossed your arms over your head, slowly slipping into sleep, he wouldn’t mind if you took a nap, would he? Nahhh…

Jeff looked over your relaxed form, completely forgetting anything else around them as he focused solely on you, your hair, your face, your mannerisms, looking over you softly, love struck as ever, letting out gentle thrills and almost purr-like rumbling, he knew he was completely infatuated with you, he knew his kind’s mannerisms regarding love, he just needed the perfect time and words to let you know

El Goblino and Bob had long moved on, figuring to give the two of you some privacy, despite Jeff completely forgetting they were there in the first place. The lights in the room dimmed with a flick of an arm before gently wrapping around you, pulling another cushion for himself as he laid his shadowy head beside yours, glowing eyes gently casting light on your face for a couple of moments, seeming to either have really fluffy, long hair or fur sprawling on the makeshift balcony as he slipped into sleep himself

I was very tired and sleepy when I wrote this, can you tell I think falling asleep near each other and cuddling is the biggest sign of trust? It's also my favorite thing in couple scenarios, I think it's so cute

Anyway, his shop room is completely off limits for other entities, really only Rush kinda breaks that rule sometimes, he just has no other way to go through, Jeff understands but it's a pain to replace the lamps

Jack can’t do shit if he finds you two being sappy with each other, Jeff isn’t someone he can control like that, he’s a business partner, and he can't just kick the guy out because of something so “petty” in the eyes of other entities, also too much paperwork

He CAN however make the entities go nightmare mode on you out of no where, increased difficulty mf good luck

But he won’t find out, why? Because Jeff is very good at hiding things, including other entities and players, so you’re the only one allowed behind his counter

He’ll hide you behind there if he feels Jack’s presence approaching, it's so dark in there that if you make not sounds he wouldn’t have less of a clue you're even there

I’ll be honest I don’t feel like writing how he confesses atm, so I’ll be owing y’all this one, but let's get into the dating hcs before those ideas cease existing in my mind

Jeff is the softest coziest entity to cuddle with, he goes neck to neck with Rush in that department, with Rush only being a bit tougher due to whatever he is, meanwhile Jeff is all soft all around, squishy

Like the other he has two forms, I like to think as much as he may have smooth tentacle arms and shit, he’s a fluffy ball of shadow, and in his humanoid form, that fluff goes to hair

It's long too, like that shit almost drags on the floor, he loves when you play with his hair just as much as he likes playing with yours

He’ll actually melt in your hands if you play with his hair or trace his face

Usually he wears a long coat in his humanoid form, like a cartoonishly shady seller on the street, not much under it aside black pants and, oddly enough, a ruffled white shirt, he doesn't even wear shoes

He likes cuddling with you in the dark of the room he stays in, it's a comfy little room just like the other bedrooms you can find, it's just different in ways that it's personalized to Jeff’s liking, it’s also connected to the kitchen

Cooking? Amazing. With you? Even better. He’ll call you over to help him cook you anything if you want to, give you a headlight and batteries for it, and get to work!

Best cook for sure, he’ll cook and bake you anything you’re craving, just give him a name and maybe a recipe and he’ll do it

Gift giving and quality time are his love languages, for sure, he adores listening to you ramble about anything you like, explain lore of any media you like for hours, he’ll listen and write down questions for you to answer, sometimes he’ll tune out and just look at you with the dumbest love struck expression ever.

Anything he finds in the hotel floors and stuff that remind him of you are going directly to you when you get to his room, even of how he found it is… less than conventional

“Hey Jeff, how are you, hun?” *happy chirping as he gives you a shiny brooch* “oh that's cool, thank you so much!- why is there blood on it.” *confused thrilling*, he thought he cleaned it well enough, ofc he got it off a corpse

You are not immune to receiving comfy knitted sweaters and scarves from him, he knits as a hobby too, anything he makes for you will be to your preferences and sizes, it can get pretty cold in the hotel sometimes!

Surprisingly, Guiding Light is not a worrywart if you ever tell them you're with Jeff, they like Jeff and knows he’s a good… entity, so he gives you both their thumbs up of approval

The other entities, though? If Jeff ever tells them, it's a lot of mixed feelings

“Oh hey Jeff what's going on?” *chattering and chirping* “oh that's cool glad your business is going we- FUCK YOU MEAN YOU'RE DATING A PLAYER?!?!?!”

BUT LIKE, THEY CAN’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, I mean, this guy is associated with Jack so for all they think, they work under him too, they sometimes fear what he could do if they dare fuck around with him, as much as he’s a sweetheart. Don't hold it against them, though, they're not used to constant niceness from entities like him

You weren’t sad per se, more in pain than anything, he figured the pain was enough to bring you to tears, it stung his heart to see you this way. He looked at you softly as she tilted his head slightly, offering his hand to you, you took it as he silently led you to the next room, the library that would be usually falling apart when players came by, now intact had many bookshelves, chairs, lamps and drawers, including a big couch he sat you down on

He opened the window next to you both, taking a first aid kit from one of the tar covered arms that usually showed themselves on the last stretch of your lover’s chase, he closed the window as the arm slithered back into the void outside, sitting down next to you as he opened the kit and reached a hand to you, silently asking for your injured arm as you rubbed your eyes from their wetness.

“So… tell me dear, what happened?” he spoke softly lifting your sleeve and taking a look at the damage, your arm still soaked in blood, he could assume a chunk of skin was missing

“... I got scratched by Ambush…” you leaned against the couch as you winced at the burning sensation the air hitting your wound gave you, Seek gave you a side glance, he wanted further explanation, you let out a sigh “I got ambushed by Ambush, almost buffered my timing and his particles grazed my arm real bad-” you hissed in pain and tensed as Seek suddenly had a warm wet towel in hand, patting your wound gently, you got confused for a moment before realizing the arm probably brought it to him again, you could feel light cold spots on the towel caused by it getting wet by the rain outside

“I see, well I am glad you didn’t meet your demise today.” he stated as he cleaned the blood, he could see the wound more clearly now as the blood was mostly clean aside the new blood starting to pool again, you had a chunk of skin missing as if someone had ripped part of your skin with wax or something similar, the skin under incredibly reddish and sensitive

He was surprised to hear that Ambush had caused this, he was almost certain that Screech was the culprit, this critter sometimes took out more than he could chew, including chunks of skin or flesh. 

The entity heard your nails scratch the couch as you gripped the seat, he felt your arm tense in his hold as he patted the wound with a dry towel before applying an antibiotic to it, stopping for a moment to press a kiss to your temple as you groaned in pain

“My dearest apologies this hurts so much, but as is the nature of healing, I have to do this, Dove.” He said, gently rubbing his forehead to the side of your head as he continued to apply the ointment, the burning was going away, but it was still there to sting, like needles to your arm, you winced before laying your head on his shoulder as he began bandaging the injury, sighing in relief as the pain subsided a bit, there was nothing he could do if this lead into needing stitches, he’s no medical profession nor can those claws of his sew at all

Leaning his head on top of yours as he took your hand in his, he spoke

“Due to the nature of the hotel, You’ll heal far quicker than you would usually, however we’ll still need to treat it and change the bandages until it is healed.” You hummed in exhaustion, acknowledging what he told you as you relaxed against him, at least you were with him now, you could relax for a while until he had to go again to do whatever with the other players that came around.

“Thank you, Seek…” you mumbled as he moved to hold you, deciding to pull you on top of him as you laid himself down on the couch, you obliged and moved yourself as he silently wanted cuddles. He made sure your injured arm wouldn't be disturbed or put any pressure on as he held you, your head on his chest as he laid kisses on your head, you giggled, there we go

“Hm… Other than that unfortunate event, what else did you do today, my dear?” he moved a hand to rub your back, your legs tangled as you sighed over the comforting movement along your spine, “Well… I talked with a couple new people that end up here, poor guys were freaking out…” you chuckled, “but otherwise things were fine, same old, I did see Halt today, it’s always interesting to see them as they don't often show up…”

Your lover hummed, delightfully surprised at the mention of his ghostly friend, “ah, they came around, how lovely. Have you ever tried striking a conversation?” he looked down at you softly as his hand moved to play with your hair now “I tried yea, but they never respond, I see they get surprised at it though, I don't think they expect anything other than silence from Players that know their deal or freaking out to themselves.” you laughed, Seek let out a chuckle as well

“Ah yes, they are never one to chat too much, it’s alright though, I’m sure they’ll come around eventually if you really want them to.” he assured, closing his eye as he felt your heartbeat and warmth against him, he was usually always cold, it comforted him to feel your form against him, assure him that you're still here, alive and breathing.

You closed your eyes as well, both resting in comfortable silence as you feel the rise and fall of his chest, once you mentioned his constant stillness whenever you two cuddle is slightly unnerving, so he makes an effort to imitate breathing, something he hasn't done in so long, it took him a while to get used to it again, but he says it's also comforting to him, reminding him he’s still human in a way, you wonder how he does it.

Eventually he felt your hand that rested on his shoulder slide and fell to the cushions, he chuckled silently as he opened his eye to find you comfortably asleep on his chest, he went back to rubbing your back as you cuddled more into him in your sleep. One of the big arms opened the window quietly and draped a blanket over the two of you before slithering back into the void and closing the window, Seek listened to your gentle snores and the rain hitting the walls outside, for such a day to end in comfort and warmth, he never thought he’d have a moment like this before you showed up.

He carefully moved to press a kiss to the top of your head before laying his head back down, maybe he could get some shut-eye himself, he doesn't quite remember how sleeping feels like anymore, what a lovely way to try that again.

-> Before you knew it, he had picked up bridal style and began bringing you along the corridors he had to run through, lifting the fallen furniture and putting out the fires with arms that formed out of the same inky substance dripping from the walls. The eyes seemed to look among themselves in confusion as they witnessed Seek bring you along the halls in his arms, were they not his? Or did they have a mind of their own?

-> By the time you got to the last stretch the door was still closed as the arms put out the fire from the fallen chandeliers and cleaned the broken glass from the ground. Though there were three fewer arms than usual, you didn't know that, you didn't know those three arms were supposed to be there in the first place.

-> You coughed from the smoke still floating around the hall that slowly cleared through the broken windows. It wasn't long until Seek put you down sitting against a wall next to a window, where another arm came through the broken window to hold you there.

"Stay here." He spoke, voice echoing around the room as he walked off through the end door, bringing the red aura he emitted to the next room. You were confused and terrified, what was he going to do to you? Was he keeping you alive for shit and giggles? Giving you false hope that you'd survive only to kill you at the end? Thoughts ran through your head as you began to panic more and more, you nearly jumped as the hand holding you rubbed your arm with its thumb, attempting to soothe you as it seemed to sense your fear, which only confused you more

Which reminds you- how could Seek speak? He had no mouth to speak from? And why were the arms fixing the place up? You watched as the multiple arms put up new chandeliers on the ceiling in place of the old ones as if they were fixing a dollhouse, the carpet didn't even look like there was a fire on it just a second ago either... You shrunk slightly at the sight of the eyes on the walls staring directly at you, sometimes looking among themselves as if talking with each other. You wondered if they were Seek's, if he was making sure you wouldn't escape

Later you realized Seek was back as the red aura entered your peripheral vision, the eyes looked at him too. He carried a handful of bandaids and a bottle of disinfectant spray and a bit of cotton, he sat in front of you as the arm holding you slipped back through the window

"... May I?" He looked from your injured leg to you, did he want to heal you? You could only nod slowly, afraid of what could happen if you said no, and so he lifted your pant leg and sprayed some disinfectant into a piece of cotton, gently wiping at the bite marks Screech left on your leg, you hissed in pain at the burning sensation of the solution.

Seek glanced occasionally from your leg to you every time you hissed or flinched, but slowly patched up your leg. It wasn't long before you spoke;

"... Why... Why are you helping me?.." he paused, causing you to tense when he looked up at you "... They left you for dead. I felt pity, so I'll give you a chance to survive some longer." He stated, finishing with your leg and pulling your pant leg down again, he simply sat in front of you now

"I can tell you have more questions... I'll answer some of them, but once I am done, I won't answer anymore. Understood?" He asked, having another arm pop up through the window next to you and take the dirty cotton and spray away, along with the paper from the bandaids and bandaid he didn't need to use, it went way with the materials in its large hand. You could only nod, it wasn't every day you could get any answers to what this place was...

-> The more you two seemed to talk, the more you both drifted away from your initial topic. Not like Seek didn't notice, of course, he did, but he found himself enjoying your conversation, it had been too long since he properly talked with a human.. he can't help but wonder how long it's been since his death and addition to the Hotel's "staff"

-> The eyes were still on the walls, though there were a lot fewer than before the room was clean. Though after some time of talking, he knew he had to go away before Jack realized he was "slacking on the job" and kill you himself.. he's retired, not harmless though. So Seek got up after a while of talking

"I must go." He said, offering a hand to help you up, as your leg wasn't too well still, you took his hand as he pulled you up. "already?" You asked with a small pout "well, it was nice chatting with you, you're really chill!" You smiled at him as he chuckled, flustered and averting his eye to the side

"oh- uh.. before you go- do you know what happened to my friends?" You were still worried about those people? What a heart you have. ".. they were caught by my arms, my apologies, but they should be waking up back down in the lobby." He stated, lowering his head momentarily as your heart sank a bit.. I guess you're by yourself now "oh.."

A small silence broke between you too as you furrowed your brows in worry, you glanced at the door to the next room. "It's- it's fine... I'll be okay, I can do this alone... Thank you- for the help again, sir.." "Seek. It's what most of you call me, I find it fitting." He shrugged, holding his hands behind his back, you nodded "Seek, alright, I'll keep that in mind. I'll... See you some time I guess..." He nodded, and you began lightly limping your way to the door to the next room, making sure to check the number before you went through

As you opened the door, the lights in the hall flickered as wet, sploosh-y sounds echoed through the room. You looked back, only to find an empty, intact hall, Seek was gone, and so were the eyes, and the windows somehow were fixed. It confused you, but not much of a surprise, this hotel is the weirdest you've ever been to.. how'd you even get here again?

-> After that day, Seek found himself thinking about you often.. he'd never spared someone before, so you can imagine that moment stood out quite a bit. he wonders if you made it to the end or if you were caught by Figure.. or maybe someone else, new people seem to struggle in the greenhouse and you seemed new to the hotel.. to an extent at least, you weren't surprised or confused by when he said he caught your companions and that they should've been back in the Hotel's lobby

-> Though it wasn't long until you met again, this time you were alone, you stood at the end of the hall, looking as he emerged from the ground. He saw you wave at him with a small, worried smile, he figured you didn't know if you both were on good terms or not, if he was going to chase you or if you'd chat again... to your luck, he felt especially tired today

-> So you both sat down in the hall again, talking away to your heart's content, laughing with jokes and stories about the Hotel and it's residents. You realized how none of the other entities were just monsters hunting for whatever they could get a bite out of, that they were human once, but remember nothing of their past lives and got desensitized to killing as they slowly began to see this place as a game, anyone who was killed would reappear within a certain amount of time. So what did it griefing matter? They can't truly die here anyways.

-> Some of the stories he told you were morbid sure, but you enjoyed your time with him. Even if it's usually cut short by the Eyes on the walls making some noise that caught his attention, seeming to listen for something then saying he needed to go somewhere. You figured he could sense other people coming through the rooms and to your location, so you obliged, albeit sad you had to cut your times short, quickly making your way through the now not-so-dangerous obstacle course from his chase, the main differences being that there was no fire in the rooms you speed through, and the final hall had no arms, though you could see them waiting outside the windows if you looked out.

-> And so the cycle began, every time you met with Seek you mainly chatted before he had to go attend to other "Players", as he called them, you walk off and continue through the hotel until meeting him later on before the garden. You found yourself looking forward to encountering him, you've memorized what number of rooms his crescendo would usually show up in, and tease him about being late if his Hall came nearing door 40 or 80.

-> He finds you amusing, you've grown on him but he won't admit it, often making jokes that he could kill you right that second if he wanted to, he doesn't understand how you enjoy being in his presence, how you're not scared of him. You challenge him, saying he wouldn't cuz he doesn't have the balls to do so, which prompts him into chasing you around playfully until he inevitably catches you and begins pretending to attack you with tickles. By the end of it, you're both on the ground, calming down from fits of laughter, occasional giggles leaving you both.

-> He's been feeling warmer and warmer around you lately, a fuzzy feeling in his chest he can't quite explain whenever he looks at you, a mere smile from you leaving him breathless- which confuses him even more given he doesn't have lungs anymore, or any organs for that matter. So the fact you manage to make his metaphorical heart skip a beat shocks him beyond belief

-> Seek often goes to his brother to gush and try to make sense of what he's feeling, Hide sometimes never hears the end of it, though they managed to pin down it was love- Hide still made fun of his brother for behaving in such an unorthodox fashion compared to his usual behavior of "I hate the Players, they are annoying.", Seek would roll his eye.

-> He clutches a hand on his chest as you wander back into his mind, your face, your hair, the way you laugh... he can barely describe how perfect it all is, how perfect you are... You're just... Too much for him to even begin describing, how whatever influence is out there led him to meet such a beautiful soul as you is beyond him, but is he complaining? Not at all.

-> You've been getting closer and closer to each other each day, every time he even gets the slightest contact with you anymore makes him struggle to get a word out, which doesn't go unnoticed by you, of course. Youve got his usual behavior down well enough so it's obvious something's up with him

-> He shrugs it off when you ask about it, of course he does, but his pride won't let him admit it. Not yet. And sure as hell not like this.

-> He comes from the late 60s, and was raised to be a gentleman, and even if he knows of a lot of the new world and its culture (aka 2000s-2020s stuff) his old habits still die hard since he's never really changed since his living times. So if he confesses his love to you, he'll do it right... He knows what he feels for you is love, he just barely knows how to handle it, it's overwhelming- he didn't think it would hit him this hard- give him a moment

-> One night, he planned on confessing to you, so one night Jack finally made it not storm for once, he would invite you out to the garden. It was risky- especially since ever since Jack implemented the Greenhouse, he's been hanging around there doing god knows what- but it was tonight, this was just a perfect, beautiful night, when would he get a chance like this again?

-> So after a good hour practicing how'd he'd invite you out to the garden and confess his feelings over a mirror- also with Hide's help. He finally mustered up the courage to seek you out and put his plan in motion;

Seek traversed the Hotel under the floorboards and within the walls in search of you, he requested aid from Hide for extra eyes on areas he couldn't see. But you were nowhere to be seen, which made him anxious, were you not doing another 'run' through the Hotel today? Was lady luck really cursing him today?

But to his relief, one of Hide's eyes pooped up within the wall he was inside, peeking through the crack to see if you were anywhere but only found other Players confused by Dupe's traps as they didn't remember which room they were in. Hide whispered to him you were already in the Garden, to his convenience and surprise

Seek thanked his brother as the eye slipped away into nonexistence, before he peeked again through the boards, watching as one of the Players decided to wing it and walked into one of Dupe's rooms, getting bit in the process as the other two freaked out and laughed at the other who fell to the floor on his ass, completely dumbfounded. Seek chuckled in amusement, their misery is funny to him. Anyways, he has to get to you quick before you choose to come back inside

He slipped through under the door and gates to the Garden, only slightly forming to be able to peek and look around for you. Almost immediately found you lying on the grass, looking up at the oddly star-filled sky with a slight smile on your face, his eyes squinted in a smile a bit, gazing at you as he reformed into his usual form, fixing his tie before making his way towards you

He got closer, you turned your head in his direction with a slightly confused expression as you heard the crushing of grass, you smiled, his heart skipped a beat.

"hey." Such a short greeting, but your tone said more than that, a warm, comforting tone, if only you could see the stupid little grin he has on his face. You looked just so beautiful under the lighting in the garden. ".. hello... Are you alright?" He asked, sitting beside you as you looked back up

"yeah... Just. Taking the scene in." He looked up at the sky, lying beside you to admire the scenery better ".. it is beautiful isn't it?" You nodded "almost as beautiful as your eyes."

You took a moment to process before laughing a bit "oh that was cheesy!" He turned his head to glare playfully as you laughed, he could see a pink tint forming in your cheeks "what? You dont like that one? Alright, do a better one then!" He poked your arm lightly

"oh fine, you're on!" You said between chuckles, looking back up to think of a pickup line. You hummed "... Yknow, I adore the stars, they mean so much even if being so far away from where we are.. I guess you're a star then." You thought that was smooth enough, not perfect but good enough, Seek's eye widened slightly, it was tough to know when he was blushing due to what he was made out of, but his behavior and stammering gave away that at least your flirt landed

You giggled at his behavior "alright, your turn." He cleared his throat, thinking for a moment before he got an idea

"If I were to kiss you then go to Hell, I would. So then I can brag with the devils I saw heaven without ever entering it." He turned his gaze to you as your face got redder, you stammered, sitting up "that's- that's Shakespeare, isn't it?-" you glared at him a bit, a smile growing on your face "mmmaybe." He chuckled as you grumbled at him, lightly punching his arm

".. it is true though... About the kiss thing.. and the beautiful one too.." he sat up, if he had a heart it would be racing right now, he could still feel the adrenaline coursing through his body as if he did though. You stared at him in slight shock, he continued

"... Nothing can compare to how I feel around you. You make me feel warm, every time you spare a glance at me-.. my heart would skip beats if I had one- though I still feel it as if I did... I didn't know it would even be possible.." he paused, a chuckle escaping him "your smile makes me melt, your gaze makes me feel as if I swallowed butterflies.. Your laugh is music to me, your little quirks and habits make me fall further for you- you are simply perfect in more ways I could imagine to describe..."

As much as he may seem calm now, believe me, he's freaking out internally, pushing out words as much as he could before he couldn't make himself speak anymore. You averted your eyes in embarrassment, covering half your face with a hand. He gently took your chin in his hand, pulling your attention back to him as he moved your head to look back at you, it only made your blush worse

He took a deep breath silently "I love you... There's no doubt about that, I'm deeply in love with you... But I-.. I must ask if you do too..." He looked into your eyes, gaze never broken, he felt anxiety, worried you'd reject him. He'd respect your wishes of course, whatever they may be, but he couldn't help praying that you'd love him too

You took only a couple of seconds to respond, and though it felt like an eternity, you kicked yourself mentally to say something. "I-I..- I love you too-.." you muttered, barely above a whisper, you were so close.. ".. c- come again, dear?" He requested, he heard you, just didn't quite believe it just yet-

The nickname made your heart skip a beat, you swallowed the lump in your throat you didn't even realize was there, "I love you. I love you, too." You repeated, making sure that time he could hear you clearly

You saw his eye shine as he smiled, feeling him sigh in what you could assume was relief before he embraced you, holding you close as you buried your face in the crook of his neck, wrapping your arms around him. You both were incredibly happy that night, and ended up spending the night together in one of the halls connected to bedrooms, cuddled as you talked about anything as always until you both drifted to slumber.

-> finally to general dating headcanons YIPPEE

-> PDA is a bit tough for him, it makes him embarrassed and as much as he'd love to give and receive affection while not in the confines of a room with no other entities with it- he can bring himself to, he gets too embarrassed and stammer-y, the least he can handle is holding your hand or your waist if you're walking somewhere or if you're with him while he's talking to someone

-> but if you're in private... oooooh prepare thyself cuz this man is SO touch starved. he wants your attention and is quite clingy if you dont have any boundaries you'd like to establish regarding personal space. you will be getting Kisses, hugs, you'll be held as much as you'd like him to, you are not immune to cuddling either- HE LIKES TO HOLD YOU IS THAT SUCH A CRIME??

-> You are his first relationship... at least as far as he can remember- the feeling of romantic love is familiar to him so he's felt it before, he just doesn't remember if he's been in a relationship while he was alive

-> He can be a little Jealous, and a little possessive at times- it's nothing he'll ever bring up to end up starting a fight or anything, he has no doubts or concerns about you cheating or anything- he knows you would do that he trusts you deeply. He likes your attention and gets a bit grumpy if you give another too much of your attention, it's enough that you can notice he's a bit upset, sometimes his mind can't help overthinking so its good to give some reassurance sometimes, if not by words then just give him affection of any kind, kisses, a tight squeeze on a hug, hold his hand, its the little things that find their way to reassure him most

-> About the possessiveness- its nothing to worry about too much, max that'll happen regarding that is: him hugging you or slightly tightening his grip on you if he notices another entity looking at you (what he deems is) weirdly, and glaring at them slightly until the cease that. Something that will end up happening 70% of the time after that happens is him being a little more passionate with his kisses, a lot of praise, and sentences with the range of "You're mine.". Take that as you will.

-> ANYWAY, he's a sweetheart, a big gift giver, whatever he can find that he knows you'd like he's taking it to give it to you, no questions asked. if you both met while living he'd be the type to spoil the shit out of you, mention something you'd like to get about your favorite media or something you found nice in a store, I dare you, within that same week it would be in your hands. he still is the type to spoil, if Jeff manages to get his hands on human items to up in his store Seek knows you like he's immediately getting it for you, especially if it's food you've been craving, he'll personally ask Jeff to help him make that for you if he can find the recipe to make it

-> He's a great cook, he doesn't remember where he learned culinary but he's one good cook. Though he doesn't have access to the Hotel's kitchen- one Jeff does for whatever reason, so if he wants to make something edible he has to ask for Jeff's permission, even so, it's really dark in there and Jeff is pretty sensitive to too many lights so if Jeff is to help him make the dish then he kinda has to tape a flashlight to his head so he can see where things are. if Jeff needs to stay in the shop but Seek gets his go ahead then he's fine to turn on the lights as long as he keeps the door to the kitchen closed

-> Date nights with him include dinner he makes and/or going out to the garden to listen to the rain, he enjoys quality time with you as much as he loves you, so as long as you're happy, he couldn't be more pleased

-> Have any hobbies? Drawing, knitting, writing, etc? He is thrilled to know about your hobbies and interests, he enjoys watching you do what you love and enjoy. want to infodump about your media interests? He'll lend you an ear, talk his ear off, he wouldn't mind, he'll try his best to understand what you're explaining to him and try not to get lost in gazing at you and you talk passionately about your interest, he thinks your voice sounds heavenly please don't stop talking.

-> He may even ask you to teach him how to do one of your hobbies, gaining interest in seeing you do it so often. I will say, he'll struggle so much with knitting and crocheting if you try to teach him, those hands were not made for strings, you'll have to untie his hands a lot from the yarn you give him

-> He may or may not tangle himself up on purpose sometimes, call him an attention whore all you want, he can and will go to pathetically funny lengths to have your attention at times. and he'll play the innocent card

"So then you loop the yarn around the-" "uhm... darling-...?" he interrupted you hesitantly, you looked over with a confused smile on your face before it was replaced with one of shock. He was completely tangled in the yarn you were teaching him to knit, his project of a scarf hanging from his head with the needles as the yarn tied around his upper body and arms, how'd he get like that?? You looked away for one second-

"wh- how'd you manage that??? Jesus Christ-" you dropped your needles and project beside you on the couch you both sat upon, hovering your hands back and forth above his form, trying to figure out where to start detangling the man. You heard him laugh softly "I guess the yarn doesn't quite like me." he joked as you attempted to detangle him from one side "God, babe, the hell am I gonna do with you?" you giggled, he looked pretty funny tied up the way he was, looking at him with a warm 'really?' look, you knew he was doing this on purpose at this point

"I dont know.. what ARE you going to do with me?" he asked, a challenging look in his eye as he gazed down at you, you hummed, pulling a string you found that undid the knots around your lover, the yarn fell around him as you grabbed his face with both hands, pulling him closer to yours "I dont think I know yet, I'll figure it out soon though~" you sang, gazing into each other's eyes warmly as you both closed in for a quick kiss, he pulled you into a hug "mm.. I guess this is enough lessons for a bit, until the yarn is not so angry with you anymore, of course." you both laughed softly "sure, my love. thank you for freeing me from my entanglement, by the way." "Anytime, babe."

-> He asks Hide to keep an eye on you when he can't, make sure you're alright and all, yeah? he doesn't trust the other players in this Hotel, what if they hurt you? "what if"s course through his mind as he thinks of every possible outcome. It's what makes him a good planner, but it can also ruin any way for him to see a positive result in a situation, he thinks Inside the Box a little too much- Hide keeps an eye on you through the eyes when you're to meet your Lover and peeking out slightly through closets before quickly disappearing into the darkness when you need to enter one

-> Seek has questioned if he should tell the other entities of your relationship. On one hand- he's scared someone will rat him out to Jack- intentionally or accidentally, on the other, it would be best to tell them so they dont outright kill you. He rather they at least knock you out rather than outright kill you, since killing you would send you back all the way down to the lobby, whilst if they knock you out it makes him be able to quickly snatch you away and nurse you back to consciousness

-> You'll get a headache or be generally sore afterward but who wouldn't after being hit hard enough to pass out, right? Besides, being killed hurts more in the aftermath than being knocked out so you can't quite complain

-> Eventually he does tell the others. Like with the Ambush fic I wrote a while ago, some are supportive, some are indifferent and others are quite hesitant about the idea, but if it makes you happy then they can't complain.

-> I will say it now, Screech is not his kid, never was, fortunately, or unfortunately for some of you. Screech and Sally both have a situation of "It takes a village to raise a child", the village being the adult entities, they all take care of the two in their own ways though Rush seems closer to Screech than the rest. While Seek does well with kids, Screech can be a little much at times, especially with the huge difference between their generations but he tries to understand the little critter. If Screech is with him it's one of three situations:

Screech had a question and no other academically smart entity was available to answer his question

Screech is being lectured for doing something dumb that- let's be real he's likely to do that- Rush encouraged because it would be funny. Sometimes Rush is also being lectured with Screech

Or Screech is just vibing in his general area while he reads a book or watches Screech go about whatever he's doing, the kid claims: "Uncle Seek, Halt, Eyes, Dupe, and Ambush are the most chill to vibe in silence with, but none of the others were free to vibe so Uncle Seek it is!" he says innocently, leaning his smaller form against Seeks arm as the one-eyed entity reads a book with an amused look on his eye

-> It's sweet how they all care for the little ones, even though Screech bites- learning about how almost every entity in this place was human once makes you feel.. kinda bad for him and Sally really, also a bit disturbed, Jack seems to run the shots from what Seek told you, as well as he's the one who turned them into entities in the first place, is this Jack dude really that terrible to have ripped away a child from it's family and life? maybe I'll elaborate more on Screech if he gets requested for platonic hcs or smtg

-> Anyway, some of the entities enjoy your presence around, and you're loved to bits by your lover, honestly for how your first impression of the Hotel went, this is much better than you initially imagined.

"Ey! Arent ya gonna help us get the shit to Doc??" The shorter grunt motioned to the trunk with a hand, Hank barely looked over his shoulder ".. you have arms, you can do it yourself, you don't need me for that." Hank walked into the building oddly stiffly, leaving a crossed-armed Sanford and irritated Deimos behind

Walking inside, they read the living room with their eyes, finding it strange no one was there even after looking over the couch, Doc was likely where he set up the makeshift medbay as always so he didn't feel the need to stress over that, next was the kitchen, they peeked in only to find it barren, now they were starting to get nervous, where are you?

He went room to room in your search, growing more and more anxious with your missing presence, leaving the medbay for last he speed-walked his way to the corridor where the rooms were and opened the door to your shared room, relief washed over his body once he saw you mid folding your clothing and staring at him startled, he sighed

"Hank? Good to see you back but you alright?" You said while finishing folding a shirt in your hands and putting it down, walking over to him as he leaned down to gently bonk his forehead with yours "mhm.. I just got worried you were sent out for a mission and we weren't told, I didn't find you anywhere in the main rooms.."

"oh, well you have nothing to worry about, I'm fine!..." You looked down at his hands, who found their places on your waist, feeling them slightly shake with a tense grip "... You sure you're okay? You seem.. tense?" Hank huffed, he was hoping you wouldn't notice "I just... I'm not even sure, I'm hyperaware of everything touching my skin right now.. it happens at times and I don't have any idea why." He explains, letting go of you and closing the door behind him, walking to your shared bed while undoing the belts around his gear

You hummed in thought, averting your eyes not to look at him while he undressed from his gear "well.. you may be overstimulated." You mumbled, stopping Hank in his tracks "... The fuck is overstimulated?"

"It's like, you were exposed to too much visual, auditory, and/or physical stimuli, so much your brain is kinda short-circuiting in a way, which can make more irritable and easy to anger than normal, it may have a different effect on different people but that's what I've usually seen it described as."

He took a moment to let the information sink in, eyes moving ever so slightly between the floor and you, then shrugged "sounds about right, I don't know much about this kind of thing so I guess I'll trust your judgment."

You nodded, a small silence before you talked again "say, you go take a shower and cool off, I'll get your clothes to the laundry." You said, stepping over to Hank, taking his coat he had carelessly tossed on the ground, as well as his Bandana and mask, he nodded once you looked at him, he got up from the bed, briefly pressing what was left of his lips and jaw to your head before the took a set of clothes from his bag and walked out to the bathroom as you went out to the laundry room in the basement

As soon as you were back, Hank was waiting for your arrival, sitting on the mattress you call a bed waving his feet under the thin blankets you've had to stack for some sort of warmth during the cold nights. It was oddly funny to witness, it made you snicker as you made your way to the mattress yourself, Hank let himself fall onto the shitty pillows behind him—which made you jump due to his weight, you giggled as you laid down as well

Hank covered themselves up to their shoulders, laying on their side and snuggling their way to you, nuzzling into your chest with a sigh as you wrapped an arm around them, a hand gently petting their head in comfort

They wrapped their free arm around your waist, they sighed again, the cold of their jaw and hot breath felt funny through your shirt

".... I missed you." They mumbled as your hand worked it's way to gently massage their back, their thumb making gentle circles on your back

"I missed you too.." you mumbled, pressing kisses on his head "so, so much." A low rumble came from him, slowly getting louder, it was comforting, you let out a sign of your own. After a moment of silence, you spoke again "are you feeling better?"

He nodded into you with a hum, you were always so tenderly soft with him, Hank J. Wimbleton, Nevada's most wanted criminal and killer, melting into someone's arms? He thought it was impossible. He never of the day he'd meet someone as great as you

You hummed, closing your eyes as you two soaked into each other's presence, Hank stayed awake a bit more after you fell asleep, wondering how he was so lucky to have a partner such as you before he eventually fell asleep, feeling the safest and calmest he's ever felt with you in his arms.

Later that day, you all finished packing the peanut butter bottles just in time for lunch. Walking all together in silence to the Cafeteria and dropping off the bags, you four went to sit at the circular table far off to the corner, the one Christoff, you, and Hofnarr would sit to discuss your plans without being heard by people a lot, you 3 would lower your voices and over the many conversations around the room, no one could listen to your plans, and if they did, they couldn't hear very well

As you four sat around each other, you looked nervous, bouncing your leg as the anxiety creeping in had you manually controlling your breathing, the other three just sat in silence looking at you, Christoff seemed to be lost in his thoughts, Hofnarr looked at you with worry and a bit of pity while Crackpot actually looked concerned for you, he's never seen you this nervous before

the silence was deafening and a bit awkward, you were starting to get lost in your own head as well, what if the Director was actually angry? what if he's fuming with anger?? what if he's trying to give you a false sense of security before he takes you to an Alleyway to kill you?? those thoughts swarmed your head quickly as tiny beads of sweat began to form on your forehead of how scared you were. it wasn't until Crackpot's voice snapped your attention back to reality

".... what day is it again?" he spoke, looking at you all with concern "it's Thursday..." Christoff said absent-mindedly, still lost in his own thoughts before realization hit him with a brick, eyes slightly widening as he gazed into nothingness with raised eyebrows

"holy shit it's tomorrow-"

"oh no, it's tomorrow..." you echoed, voice just a bit above a mumble as it wavered, okay yea, that only shot up your anxiety

Hofnarr put a hand on your arm "it'll be okay, [L/n]! Im sure he just- maybe doesn't want to bring a bodyguard this time?-..." you and Christoff stared at him as if he had three heads, Hofnarr held an awkward smile before it fell, taking his hand off your arm

"yyeahh I know that was stupid to say-- I have no idea of what to do either-" you four fell silent again, thinking of what to do

"hey... what if we stalk them from afar?" Crackpot raised the option, the three of you looked at him with a face of 'bro wtf no' "Dont look at me like that! I know it sounds weird, but hear me out! Let's do like those movies where the friends stalk a couple from afar to make sure the date goes well or something along those lines. So then we make sure the Director doesnt kill [L/n] and we still get to see what happens!"

You three fell silent, Christoff looking at Crackpot with a deadpan, before he actually began thinking about it "... Its not that bad of an idea-" you spoke, bringing their attention to you

".. it'd- make me feel a lot safer at least-..." Christoff hummed, he glanced at Hofnarr, Hofnarr nodded with a small smile "Alright then, we'll do that, but we'll need to disguise ourselves better than just fake mustaches, Crackpot, if you need to really wear a mask everywhere you go- at least dont wear the dissonance helmet there, it'll give you away, youre the only fool here that wears that thing everywhere."

Crackpot gasped dramatically, putting his hand to his chest "how dare you call me a fool!-" "boys please, dont bicker now! Not the time." Hofnarr interrupted Crackpot before he went on a tangent, Hofnarr looked at you with a smile

"dont worry, [L/n]! We'll be there for you!" You smiled, nodding, still not being able to shake off the anxiety from your chest, but youre so glad to have friends like them

--------

And so, the so waited time came, you tried finding something nice to put on or find a nice combo of clothing you had that looked nice, thankfully you did find the outfit you got on nice enough! Sometimes you made the occasional self-awareness of thinking you were putting an awful lot of effort into this, but you excused yourself with 'Phobos would probably want me to look nice for this- it's fine.'

As the time he said he'd come to pick you up came closer, the more nervous you got, sitting at the edge of your bed, leaning on your arms which were resting on your thighs, bouncing a leg again, you mentally prepared yourself until then

And as soon the clock hit 10 pm, there was a knock on your door, you immediately got up and opened your dorm door, and there he was, Phobos in all his glory as always. He wore a different coat than he usually used, this one was still the grey he always wore, having a few medals near a pocket on his left side of the suit, having more of a tail coat than on the back, kinda more rectangular and coming down mid-calf, usual black pants, dark grey shirt with white tie, black fingerless gloves, helmet, goggle and bandages on his face as always, as well as his red cape, though this one was a bit different than the one he always wore, being separated on the front with two golden Nexus Core buttons on the sides draped over his shoulders connected by a golden chain. Welp now you know he has more than one cape for occasions, Crackpot owes you 40 bucks

"Ah, there you are, [L/n]-... You.. look stunning…" he said a little strained, you looked down, bowing a little as you fiddled with your hands behind your back, were you hiding a bit of blush? Yeah, a little bit

"th- thank you, sir.-" "Phobos, you may call me by my name for tonight, as long as I may call you by your first name for tonight as well." He said, reaching a hand down for you to take, you hesitated a little before gently setting your own hand on his

".. sure, Phobos. Of course." You tensed slightly as he enveloped his hand around your own, almost making your hand disappear within his. He let out a pleased hum as he gently pulled you out of your room, you closed the door as you stepped out and locked it

"shall we get going then?" He asked, looking at you oddly softly, you almost thought this was an imposter, you gulped silently and nodded with a hum, he let go of your hand and offered a folded arm to you, you looped your arm around his, not that you could fully do that, as your hand rested just above his bicep

He chuckled "you look nervous, though I understand, it's not every day The Director asks one out." Aaand there it is, an opening to rub his own ego, yea this was your Director alright. He lead you among the halls of the dorms, you almost struggled to keep up with his long strides. Though your doubts were confirmed, this was indeed a date of sorts

"Why yes, Phobos, your- presence is quite nervewracking." You deadpanned internally, he laughed softly "I am quite aware, and it is what I strive to achieve in my employers... However, not tonight."

He spoke a bit more quietly on that last part, you wondered what exactly he meant by that, people walked on eggshells everywhere he went, he's a bit tricky to please

You hummed, falling silent as you really had nothing else to say, though you found yourself looking around when he wasn't looking, searching for any sign of your friends as you both headed your way. The silence was broken half your walking way to the bakery by Phobos

"Now that it came to mind, tell me [Y/n], what exactly gave you the idea to fill my office with Peanut Butter containers?" He asked calmly, even though your anxiety shot up again as the topic was brought up, your fears of him being overly angry at you for that coming back within seconds

"w-well I-.. I just-" you struggled to get your words out, stammering as you kept your eyes on the ground, afraid to look up at him, your hands lightly trembling

"I- just thought it'd be funny-..." You breathed out, your voice becoming quieter with every word, The Director gazed down at you, studying your behavior and movements, feeling your hand twitching and trembling on his arm, he simply hummed after a few moments of silence, looking back forward as you both walked

"... I need you to keep in mind I'm not angry at you for that, as I said, it was quite amusing to see." You blinked, stunned for a second as you finally looked up at his bigger form, he didn't move to look at you, though you didn't mind that, you just nodded "y-yes, si-- Phobos, my apologies-"

"do not apologize, you have no reason to, once more, your little stunt was amusing to me, I am not angry over it." He repeated as you finally saw the Bar & Bakery come into view, you just fell silent again, once you both entered, you could feel a few eyes on you both, a paranoic feeling that crept in your chest but you knew it was just people who noticed the Director coming in, especially all dressed up for the occasion

Phobos simply let you to one of the farthest tables in the corner, having you sit with your back to the corner and he sat in front of you, he explained briefly it was something about the privacy of his own face, these people did not need to see his mouth. You understood, though that could be avoided by going somewhere private- you were still glad to be somewhere public

You glanced around about what you could see of the place, having to double take when you saw three people covering their faces with the menu, the shortest one peeked out and discreetly waved at you, they had a weird clownish hairstyle though it was black instead of being colorful like you'd expect, contrasting with the light grey overalls and green sweater they wore, you recognized the face as Hofnarr, the two others peeked from their menus as well. the tallest one you recognized as Christoff- but with a full head of hair tied in a man bun probably a wig and shades on, wearing a black coat and pants with a dark grey shirt. While the other one was obviously Crackpot, he wore a jacket composed of shades of grey, a hood over what you could see to be ginger strands of hair, a white polo shirt with an orange overcoat, he wore green goggles, and a white face mask as well

You gave them a knowing look before shifting your attention quickly back to Phobos, who had a menu in his hands "this drink looks good, what do you think?" He turned the menu to you and pointed at a fancy-looking drink... Kir Royale? Of course, that'd catch his eye.

You took a moment to read the drink's description, nodding with a small amused grin "it looks quite nice, it suits you as well" you chuckled lightly

He let out an amused soft laugh, thankful he had his face covered by bandages "well then, I know what I'm ordering for the drink, would you like one of these as well?" He turned the menu back to him, browsing the food part of the menu "ah- no- Id- rather not have anything alcoholic for tonight-.."

Phobos nodded in understandment with a hum "understandable.. but what drink will you order?" He leaned against the table, it creaked slightly and dipped a bit on his side due to his size, he didn't seem to notice too much

You looked at your menu, humming in thought, this place has a lot of drinks you didn't really know about- though thankfully the bakery side of the menu had a few lighter options than the bar

"Uhm... Maybe this milkshake?" You mirrored what he did earlier, and pointed at the milkshake you wanted to show him. He looked at the description of the drink, just a milkshake of your favorite fruit, nothing too special, though it seems the Bakery did put effort into it’s decoration

Phobos nodded in approvement "It looks nice, it suits you too." His gaze trailed back to you, the same look he gave you back at his office yesterday, you couldn't help but feel a bit of heat rising to your cheeks and that odd feeling on your stomach, you leaned back into your seat as you looked back at the menu for the food

A while later, a trembling waiter came over to your table, questioning what your orders would be in stutters. After ordering, the waiter scrambled away

You both engaged in quite interesting topics on the meanwhile, talking about some work-related things, but as well things about life in general, Phobos seemed to make most of the questions about you, it was almost uncharacteristic of him not to be talking about himself like he always did

He looked interested too, genuinely, you had never seen him so interested like this aside from when you and your friends were reporting Progress on your more important projects. It gave you that odd fluttering feeling on your stomach again

Of course, he didn't waste opportunities to show off his own experiences and stroke his own ego, which you amusedly contributed, even if accidentally or on purpose

You both were so lost in your own bubble that you were almost startled when the waiter came back with your drinks and food, a brief thank you to the waiter as you both fell back into your conversation, the waiter was even surprised when Phobos thanked them as well before skittering off when Phobos made a dismissive motion with his hand

You were actually loosening up, forgetting about that creeping anxiety you had before about the date, it felt like talking to a friend you hadn't seen in years, you listened with interest to the stories Phobos had to tell you about his own life before becoming a director, of course, there were things he didn't elaborate on, and as much as you curiosity tried to pry you to ask about it, you didn't, though keeping a mental note about them, you didn't want to anger him about something that could've been something private of his

While he told you the story of how he got one of his metals, he gestured with his hands a little too strongly and knocked his partially eaten pastry on himself, you gasped lightly and quickly covered your own mouth as he quickly stumbled to take the treat and put it back on his plate, he sat the stiffly, his fingers lightly gripping the edge of the table, a silence dragging between you both at you stared at each other

You tried to keep your snickers from being heard, though you failed miserably, a smile tugging at your lips under your hands as you snickered, which turned into tiny giggle fits, you felt Phobos lightly glaring at you

“Don't laugh at me.” he said, struggling to keep serious as you could hear a smile in his tone, which only made you wheeze as you tried to keep your laugh quiet, eventually you heard small chuckles coming from the Director himself, leading you both into fits of laughs you both tried your best to keep quiet about. Phobos softly gazed at you again, as he leaned on the table for support, a hand on his head to support it as he laughed, you still had your eyes closed and a hand covering your mouth as you laughed

He had no idea how you had such an effect on him, your laugh always felt so contagious, he couldn't help but laugh along with you when you fell into giggles, back at the Tower, your laugh always made him look your way, made a smile tug at his lips as he heard your voice, sometimes finding himself staring at one of the cameras of the tower he could see you in, or how he'd catch himself daydreaming about you when he had paperwork to finish. You made him feel things he couldn't even tell what they were when they first started, you were never that intimidated by him like most of the scientists and agents were when first hired, even going as far as ask how his day had been going if you happened to bump into each other and go the same direction for a while

No one had really done that for a really, really long time, it was… heartwarming? Was that the word again? Took him a while to realize what he was feeling, and an even longer while to muster up the courage to ask you out, it frustrated him how he found himself weak at the knees when he wanted to simply ask you if you could have coffee with him later, the side that strived for Godhood yelling in his mind about how he would almost lower himself to you anytime you were around, it was almost infuriating how someone like you could have such overwhelming effects on him-

He snapped out of his daze when he catches you moving to hand him a napkin, cheeks pink from laughing… why- oh yeah- the slice of cake that had fallen earlier, he took the napkin from you and took a moment to clean whatever residue of the pastry on his pants. You sighed, breathless from your giggles, you spoke

“Im- so sorry, sir-”

“Hm? Sorry for what?” he looked back up at you as he folded the dirty napkin and placed it beside his plate

“For- laughing earlier, I just- couldn't help myself-!”

“Don't apologize, I admit, it was quite funny. I was caught off guard by the flying cake slice- and what did I tell you about calling me ‘sir’ tonight?” you giggled again and mumbled an apology as you took another bite from your jelly-filled pastry, a smile tugging at his exposed mouth as he finished his own as well, taking a few sips of his drink

You looked out the window as you finished your milkshake, it was pretty dark outside, you wondered how long you'd been there… “hey Phobos?” he hummed, looking back at you “do you have the time?”

He grinned “why yes, I have all the time in the world for you~”

Awkward silence, he was still grinning, though you could slightly see the bit of his uncovered face turning red by the second, you couldn't help but blush either, trying not to grin at the flirt

“I- meant the-”

“I~ know-” he quickly interrupted, pulling a sleeve to look at the watch on his wrist, the red from his cheeks beginning to disappear as he realized what time it was “Oh dear- it's almost 12:30.” You flinched at his words “12:30 already?? Oh fuck-” you quickly finished your pastry as Phobos took the last few sips of his drink and wrapped his bandages back over his face, getting the same idea you had. You got up from your seat and adjusted your clothes, he soon got up after you and adjusted his cape, he glanced at you, double-taking as he saw a bit of jelly on the corner of your lips, he quickly took another napkin “wait-..”

You barely had time to react before he bent a bit to your height and held your face with one hand and wiped off the jelly with the napkin with the other, your cheeks flushed again with how close he was, though it was short-lived as he crumpled the dirty napkin in his hand and threw it on the plates at your table, he offered his arm to you again, which you took after a moment of being stunned, confused on what happened just then but quickly pushed it aside. The Bakery part of the place was mainly empty, some of the patrons going over to the bar side or had gone home already

As you both walked to the cashier, you caught a glance of that table with your friends, double-taking, you completely forgot they were there- Christoff glanced at you from looking at the TV, the other two looking at the TV as well so the Director wouldn't see their faces, you gave him a knowing look as you and Phobos headed out

Phobos looked happy, you looked up at him as you both walked the empty sidewalk, he glanced down at you once he felt you looking at him, you shot him a small smile before turning your attention back to where you were going

The walk back to the Tower was quite silent, a peaceful kind of silence as you both just enjoyed the night breeze hitting your skin

Soon you were back at the Dorms, the Director escorted you back to your room, once you were in front of the door, you turned to him

“.. Tonight was great.” you smiled up at him “it- really was.. You're great company.” he said softly, you chuckled “thank you, you're a great company as well… thank you for tonight, Phobos, this ‘punishment’ was the best I've ever received.” you air quoted the punishment part with a grin, he let out a softly laugh

“It wasn't much of a punishment, now was it? Oh well, it is what it is.” he simply shrugged, leaving you to giggle some more

“Goodnight, Phobos.” you opened the door to your room and stepped in, when you were about to close the door, Phobos spoke

“Wait!-” ahem “you- would you like to- walk with me at the park one of these days? Maybe- grab some coffee as well?” he held his hands behind his back, hiding the anxious fiddling he was doing with his hands, you looked up at him, smiling softly as pink dusted your cheeks again

“I'd love to.” He seemed to brighten at your words, a smile being heard in his voice “.. okay, cool- Good- Goodnight, Dr. [L/n]--”

You laughed “what happened to the whole first name thing for tonight?”

“Ah- right. My apologies, Goodnight, [Y/n].” he began to walk away from your room “Goodnight!” you said between chuckles, closing your door behind you. You kicked off your shoes and sat at the foot of your bed, contemplating what just happened, soon there was a rhythmically knock on your door

“Its.. open…” you said, Christoff opened the door, pushing Hofnarr and Crackpot in as he closed the door behind him after he walked in

“What. the fuck. Was that???” Crackpot said, all three of them looking at you in pure shock

“YOU THINK I KNOW???” you yelled, yanking a pillow to you and slamming it on your face as you fell back into your bed

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

Phobos entered his quarters, turning on the light and closing the door behind him, unclipping the golden chain from one of his cape’s buttons and hanging it on the coat hanger beside the door while unwrapping the bandages around his mouth and taking off his helmet, he walked over to his large bed, turning around and throwing himself on his bed, he let out a dreamy sigh, one hand gripping his chest

He chuckled, almost in disbelief, you accepted going out with him again??

He smiled and sighed again..

“... dear gods.. You really are something, aren't you, [Y/n]?” he closed his eye, thinking back on the date... Until his poor attempt to flirt came back to his mind, he grimaced, letting out a groan as he grabbed a pillow, stuffing it on his face over and over again

“Stupid, stupid, stupid… that was horrendous…”

-> As time went by, and a lot of him watching you from a distance- his interest in you grew into a desire to actually meet you, know who you are, your interests, your likes, pet peeves, so on. You barely bump into other Players around the Rooms and Halls you go through due to the Hotel's nature- you enter an elevator alone and it's going to be just you and you alone unless the Hotels falters and shoves you with someone else you may or may not know at all. he has no idea how the real you is like since he's only seen small comments or curses you throw at certain entities like Screech or El Goblino if you even stop for a chat

-> And so for the past few times you passed around he's been trying to muster the courage to go talk to you or ambush you when your guard is down in hopes he can catch you for a chat. He's kind of socially awkward with people he knows dont like him or have never directly talked to him so it's a bit of a struggle for him- then he ends up just impulsively charging at you, which of course prompts the little 'game' every player does to avoid him in response

-> However, on one particular day, you slipped up. you entered the closet too soon- and Hide wasn't in a good mood that day, Ambush ran the first time to the door but before he could bounce back to the previous rooms, Hide pushed you out, you hit the floor with a soft 'thump' and a groan as Ambush stood there in shock. he looked at the closet as Hide's arms slithered back into the confines of it, then looked back down at you, who had the same expression of shock and terror as you stared at him with wide eyes, face softly lit by the green and purple light he emanated. you looked beautiful...

-> You both stood in silence before he moved slightly toward you, making you close your eyes and brace yourself, waiting for death... but death never came. You opened your eyes again when you heard footsteps hit the carpet.. footsteps? Ambush doesn't have feet- peeking from behind your arms, you were shocked to see.. Ambush, but- with a body-... waht

-> He wore a light cream-colored button shirt with a dark green vest and pants, black dress shoes along with a light green ribbon to top it off. behind his head, you could see slightly translucent tentacles that seemed to mimic hair? they glowed within the darkroom along with the same.. matter making up Ambush's neck, was that what caused the glow he emanated when he bounced by?

-> He was crouched in from of you, both knees on the ground as he hovered a skeletal hand over your shaking form.. you didn't even notice you started to shake. He attempted to speak- though only his signal yell sounded for a brief moment, making you wince since he was so close to you. He cleared his throat, seeming to avert his eyes to the side briefly as his mouth closed side to side- which made sense but it still looked weird to you-

"are... are you alright?" his voice finally came through, it was hoarse and a bit scratchy, as if he'd screamed his lungs out yesterday and lost his voice, which again- makes sense with how he screams, it had a hint of a Boston accent too

"uh....-" you were speechless, wondering if you were in a dream, and even in a dream you can't escape this place? damn. he read your confused expression and averted his eyes again "it's... hard to explain.. yknow- this?" he motioned at himself "but we're not exactly corporal, so it is possible for this to happen.-- anyway- Hide- pushed you out pretty hard-..."

He offered a hand for you to get up, you stared at his hand, unsure of why he was trying to help you, you dont know if you can trust him- after all, as far as you know he's tried to kill you. "... why... why are you helping me?... aren't you supposed to have killed me by now?" you asked, fixing sitting up from the ground a bit, Ambush looked a little apprehensive, his hand twitched slightly away

".. I- I know it may be hard to believe but... you interest me.. you caught my eye, and I wanna learn more about you." you sat there confused at his words "why me though?" the room fell silent, only the faint buzzing from his form barely hitting your ears as he looked at the ground, seeming to think about your question, he shrugged a few moments later "... I can't.. explain... you're just-... interesting."

-> after that little moment, you walked to the other room that was lit so you didn't run the risk of getting yourself bit by Screech and just- talked, about anything really, though most of the conversation was you asking questions about him and the other entities, after all its not every day you get to have an actual conversation with one of these beings that usually are out to kill you. though you still expected this to turn out to be a dream, you expected to wake up in one of the beds in the hotel or back in the Lobby

-> After that day- you half expect things to go back to the usual normal of the Hotel, Rush zooming by, Screech occasionally being an annoyance, the usual. But you were surprised by Ambush tapping your shoulder at Door 2 on your next run, scared the shit out of you-

-> And it's been like that ever since, he'd tap on your shoulder every time you came back around the first 15 doors and accompany you through the rest of the run- aside when it was dark rooms, Seek's chase, or the Library- anything that involved other entities that could see him with you- he would just- vanish until you got passed them... he didn't want to risk being isolated for talking to a Player instead of killing them.. the others could even understand a little if he explained well but- if Jack got hold of that information... he might be as well as dead again

-> You've begun to enjoy his company, you'd joke around and talk about things from before you got stuck in the Hotel, and he'd occasionally drop some of his lore as well- though he doesn't remember much from before he became Ambush

-> It wasn't long before he realized he'd gotten feelings for you, love, that was it, he remembers the feeling but he didn't even know if he could still feel it... glad to get that uncovered- now difficult if going to be Confessing his love for you. as I said, his social skills are kinda below average- so it takes him a lot of hyping himself up and chickening out to figure out how to confess... meanwhile with you- you were so incredibly confused about how you fell for the alien skeleton looking entity in the first place, maybe it was his voice or the way he was so kind to you? you really didn't know-

-> The day he confessed was a day like any other, you both sat in the garden before the Greenhouse, the rain a little less aggressive than usual as it hit the roof of the pathway, sitting towards the statue you heard other Players theorize could be a representation of the Guiding Light. At the moment he was sitting beside you listening to you tell him about the mentioned theory, he softly gazed over your smaller form, resting his head in one of his hands, a smile curling up on his lips as you chatted away about theories you and other players have come up for the hotel

-> Soon you finished talking, finally looking up at him to see his reaction as you had been looking everywhere but at him as you talked. a sudden feeling of warmness overtook his body, feeling as if butterflies fluttered around his stomach the more you stared at him, as much as he wanted to look away as he got more overwhelmed with that warm, fuzzy feeling- his body made no effort to glance away, he wanted you looking at him, he craved your attention.. he wanted to hold you, he wanted to love you

-> "... god, I love you...." he blurted out, not even realizing what he said until your face grew red, then his face just glowed in a green blush, he tried to explain himself but all attempts were futile since the more he tried to speak, the more flushed he got. Eventually, he just sighed in defeat..

"... there's no out of this one... its- its true- [Name], I love you, I really do... you're just- I can barely even explain- you're perfect in every way I can think of, your voice sounds heavenly, your quirks are incredibly charming- you're the most amazing person I've ever met... I understand if-- if you dont feel the same but- I needed to get that outta my chest.." he sighed, looking at you with eyes that pleaded with you not to hate him, not to snap at him with insults and 'why would I even like a monster like you?', though he still braced for the worst

though surprise hit him full force "I... I love you too, Ambush-... I... I do, I really do..." you looked at him softly with a small smile, you spoke a bit more- feeling as if you needed to also express what made you fall for him the way you did, even though you struggled to put it into words- he only looked at you with bewilderment

You heard a small... rumbling sound, like a purr almost? but not quite at the same time, you trailed off, trying to figure out where the sound came from before you realized- it came from Ambush, you were about to ask about it but before you could, he gently leaned his forehead on yours, purr growing noticeably louder as he nuzzled into you, wrapping his arms around you in a hug

he thanked you, so many times, he sure sounded happier than ever before right now, you chuckled, wrapping your arms around his neck to hug him back. you sighed contently, I guess now you two were a couple.

-> And now for dating headcanons because I took too long on the meeting shit

-> He loves being in your presence, hanging around you or so much as knowing your in the next room over counts I guess

→ He's not the biggest on PDA but its often that he'll at least bw holding your hand at times in public or stand pretty close to you in general. He does get flustered really easily if you give him kisses when he doesnt expect it or is in a public setting

→ Speaking of Public, he told Rush about your relationship at the very least, and he was ecstatic, his bro finally bagged someone? Color him surprised! He didn't bag shit. Actually- a little too excited- he told most of the Hotel next you knew... Minus Jack, Jack doesn't get to know of it. None of you know what he'll do to you or Ambush if he knows..

-> Some support your relationship (such as Rush, Screech, Sally, Dupe, Jeff, and Bob), others are apprehensive of it but if it makes You and Ambush happy then so be it, they'll try to remember your face and not kill you too brutally if they can help it- (Seek, Hide, Figure, Eyes, Halt and Goblino), others dont like the idea at all either because they think it's too dangerous or you shouldn't be together in general (Guiding Light and Jack(if he knew) respectively)

-> But you bother are happy with each other and aren't going to break up any time soon I'm sure

-> While he does run very fast for a decent period of time- Ambush gets pretty bad fatigue once he's done, which is why he usually appears once and fucks off for a while to rest up after so- usually if you're not going through the Hotel and is just chilling in a room somewhere he's likely to join you for cuddles if he's not with you already, sometimes this man will just refuse to get up to hunt other Players if you're already cuddling

-> As much as he's the most logical and... less energetic between him and Rush- he's just as stubborn. need to get up to continue your run? 5 more minutes with him, cmon you've done this plenty already, take a break. need to go over to Jeff to buy some food cuz you're hungry? nope, you just stay there, Ambush will get it for you- AH AH- stay there, he'll be back in seconds. Want to go check out what the Rooms are all about-- Do Not. Please. No. Don't go there.

-> He's very touch starved and at the same time touch repulsed- only very few even get to tap his shoulder without him flinching away and getting upset at them or getting straight-up killed(if you're a random player with no links with him), so if you want to give him Physical affection- tell him you want to(at least at the start of your relationship), it's fine when he's consensual about the contact or initiates it in the first place. Later on, he gets more comfortable with you and he'll accept you initiating contact without needing to ask all the time

-> He also enjoys laying on you when cuddling as you gently caress his face or his head, it fills him with so many butterflies you have no idea. and he'll return the favor in kisses and do the same to you when it's your turn to lay on him, also give him kisses while holding his face in your hands, and he will melt /pos

-> He's also very attentive to detail, he'll remember the tiniest of things about you and your likes and what you dont like and use that to get you gifts from either players he killed that had something you liked or random trinkets he thinks you'd like that spawn around the Hotel at times

-> He's also very interested in fashion, he knows quite a bit about color theory and clothing combos so if you dont know what to wear, he's the guy you can count on to help you. Just give him a general vibe you're aiming towards and he'll do his best to find good options for you around that. He also learned how to tailor outfits with Glitch, the perks of being one of the oldest entities of the Hotel, he will make you an outfit do not test him

-> Remember when I mentioned the tentacle thingies on the back of his head? yeah those act like hair, they feel smooth and a bit rubbery and act like how Splatoon hair works, you can cut it, braid it, tie it up, anything- it has no pain receptors so he wouldn't feel pain if you cut it or tied it too tight, though it still kinda moves with his emotions or just idly

-> He loves you a lot, and he's glad you choose to stay with him. he promises he'll try his best to make you happy :]