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Geez...

This guy, was really starting to... come over a lot.

Ever since he’s changed up the menu to have healthier ingredients and more alternative options... Nidai had been coming over more. And Teru, needless to say, was back on his bullshit.

He’d tried his very BEST to keep his emotions in check. But like the fool he was, he could feel a crush developing towards the SHSL Coach.

As such, he was... TRYING to maintain a professional distance from Nidai, trying to preoccupy himself with other things...

But it would take just one look, a meaningful touch from Nidai, and he’d be back at square one.

how do people do this regularly

I’ve been breeding cleffas for days and the one nature I want has yet to appear.

“Hey, Monika?”

Teru had swung by to the other’s school, ignoring the nondescript students that walked by. He wasn’t here for them. He was here for her. 

“I brought you something.” in his hands a bag full of chocolate chip cookies. “I made them especially for you. Ehe, I tried a new baking technique to really bring out the flavor.”

He didn’t know if Monika could really TASTE food that wasn’t from her own little bubble. As such, he’d taken extra special care to verbally describe how they looked and felt as the ingredients were being mixed, as well as how they would taste and feel as one ate them. As if it were a spell to help her actually taste it.

“Let me know how you like ‘em, ok?”

“Maybe you’re better off not knowing?”

Getting in touch with one’s creator… or at least something similar, was such a scary prospect for Monika that she pretended it was impossible. Whether this ‘patron’ was more a maker, or a player she wasn’t sure. It was all the same really. Somebody wanted Teru to stick around. Maybe for their own amusement, maybe because they genuinely cared about him. She wasn’t sure, and neither did anyone else. 

It must feel incredible. To be wanted like that. The separation from that one who wants you must be crushing. Separation… That’s basically Monika’s entire being. A separation from the world around her. She knew how it felt, and the fact that someone wanted Teru badly enough to bring him back fom the betaverse made her a bit… envious. 

“I mean.. I get how you feel, but… you’re here. Isn’t that enough? Someone cared enough about you to make that happen. That’s pretty incredible, Teru.”

“I mean! Don’t get me wrong! I’m so incredibly grateful that they’ve done all this... For someone they’ve never met. For someone they’ll probably never meet. But...”

It was the age old issue: man meeting their creator, in a way so intimate that they could never quite fathom it properly...

“...I just wish I could thank them. For everything.” He smiled gently at Monika. In all honesty, thinking about it was... amazing. Was this what it to really, truly be loved unconditionally? He’d never felt anything quite like it. “I just can’t even find myself being sad because I’m here. The air Im’ breathing ,the way I look and have color to my body... I...”

He felt his face, noticing tears dripping down his face. 

“Oo-oops. Sorry. I... I kinda get emotional sometimes. Especially since I have someone I can talk to about this sort of thing!” Yes... Monika understands. She knows what life is really like. That there’s more to life than any of them could hope to imagine... 

“Ah... Sorry. I don’t do that stuff anymore. After the uh. Incident.”

“I have a confession to make.”

Sometimes, when things are quiet. I can feel eyes in the back of my head. Every single thing I do... Cooking. Studying... Someone is watching me.”

“I think I know who.”

“I don’t know who they are. What their name is, their affiliation, nothing. But I call them the Patron.”

“I THINK they’re the one who brought me onto the Train. The one who read my pleas. My wish fulfilling story.”

“I know they don’t mean me any harm. And there are times when I can’t feel the gaze. Which is fine but the longer they’re gone? THe more I more I miss the feeling. Because if they aren’t watching... Are they still actually there? Am I alone once again?”

“It’s arguably the most frightening thing I’ve ever felt. And I can’t tell anyone... Because no one will ever believe me.”

“Can you hear me, Patron? Are you out there...?”

“Please tell me if you’re there.”

“Ugh, listen to me. I must sound CRAZY, just staring up into the sky, calling for someone I don’t even know exists...”

“But...”

terutoo:

“N-no! We got no beef! No beef here! Please not the face…”

Even though he’s quite tall, he’s also a twig. And twigs break in half quite easily…

“Good to know, but quit yer cowerin’, already! I ain’t gonna actually hit ya!! …not in the face anyway.”

At the very least she deserved a little credit- It wasn’t like she was going to deck his scrawny ass in public where any potential witness could happen upon them.

“Good, to be honest. Sorry i’m just really bad with violence...”

He can’t help but feel like that, he was always so used to being ready to flee for his life back in the streets... 

@terutoo

“Got somethin’ ta say pal? Goofin’ around a bit on the job is the only way I can keep sane! You try walkin around in them goddamn heels ‘n’ a stupid maid outfit for five hours every day without gettin’ the urge to kill someone!”

“N-no! We got no beef! No beef here! Please not the face...”