My mind just went from “hey I wonder if I could make One miss Four” to “it’d probably need Four to be missing for a while” to “hey what if Four had been dead for a while how would the romanced ROs react.”
So yeah! How would all the ROs react if Four had been dead for like a year or something? Would they have moved on by then? Does it differ if they’re in a relationship or not?
tw: mention of self-harm and unhealthy coping mechanisms!
If Numbers were not in a relationship with Four, they'd move on "fairly quickly" (probably around a year for Zero and Five, but around 6 months for Three and One as they were not as close and they're pretty used to grief).
(below it applies both in polyamorous relationships and monogamous ones)
If in relationship, Zero would be heartbroken--losing their cool more and more often, doubting the point of the missions, being more reckless with their safety and health and not caring for themselves in the slightest. As they cannot die, they would be devastated that they've lost a part of their soul forever.
One would be on a self-destructive spiral--from reckless and dangerous behavior to overworking themselves during trainings and smoking more than ever. If before they had a short fuse, now it's non-existent. They use physical pain and the burn in their lungs to cope.
Three would try and pretend as if they were not affected--throwing themselves into work and projects, never mentioning Four or keeping any reminders of them, almost as if they never existed. And if anyone tried to burst their bubble--well...
Five would isolate themselves from everyone--cutting off all Numbers and staying in their room unless absolutely necessary. Nothing has any meaning or sense for them anymore, nothing seems important in the light of their grief. They wallow in their sorrow, prefering to be alone in the dark to at least imagine Four is there.
