HELLO AGAIN INTERNET!
That's right, i'm back with more fanfiction. This time it's Fantube! And it takes place in episode 14 of season 2! Enjoy!
And that was it.
Fan had been eliminated the night before... or was it this same day? Honestly the game is starting to be hard to keep track of now that every single possible pattern it once had has been shattered. And if the game was unstable, of course Fan's perception of time would also be troubled. Especially now that he had a wicked headacke. Actually- how did he get there?
All he knew is that he had makeshift bandages all over his body, and his once again best friend had just been eliminated. Oh! he also had the best phone ever now. That's a lot of "best" things to keep track of, huh?
"Stir up some chaos for me." Test tube consoled Lightbulb, but didn't dwell on it. Afterall, they still had to leave.
Fan waited for her to come closer. When she did, they shared a glance. There was something comforting about how despite the bad circumstances, they weren't too upset about it.
They were together again.
It would be alright.
All that's left is the first step.
They glared back at the swirling portal, the same one that seperated them in the first place. Except this time, Fan wasn't being thrown out, and Test Tube wasn't crying in anger. This time they walked in, pinky finger's intertwined.
Though, really, it didn't take long before they let go of eachother. Beyond the portal was... Microphone!?
"There they are." She pointed at the two of them, making way for Paintbrush to see them properly.
Fan was so shocked he didn't even let Paintbrush speak. "Wait- What are YOU doing here??"
"I uh... quit the game, hahah." She fixed her hair awkwardly.
"Because killing me for immunity WASN'T enough, right Microphone?" Test Tube stomped over to Microphone and poked her in the chest accusingly. "You just HAD to put an even BIGGER spotlight on yourself with your sorry show."
"Didn't you hear what I JUST said?!" Microphone raised her voice. Meanwhile, Fan was trying to wrap his head around all of the scattered pieces of drama he definetly missed. "I made mistakes today, and i'm not proud of it! But if you think admiting to that is a sorry little show, then the only thing i'm sorry for is that you're so unforgiving!"
"And I'M sorry you're so-"
"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP!!" Paintbrush's fire outburst was enough to stop the fight momentarily. The three of them stared at Paintbrush with eyes widened as they recomposed themself.
"It is 4 a.m. in the morning." They continued in an agitated whisper. "Everyone is asleep, but I couldn't get ANY sleep because of YOU. Where were you this whole time??" Now it was Paintbrush's turn to point fingers, and their victim was none other than Fan himself.
"I thought I told you! I left to go to the game and find Egg!"
"Yes, but you left five hours ago! Do you have any idea how wo-" Paintbrush stopped themself from finishing the thought, but instead sighed in annoyance. "You still owe me an explanation as to why you have that thing on your head. Also- what happened to your shirt?"
"I have it." Test Tube called out from Paintbrush's back, holding up the very burnt up remains of Fan's favorite blue shirt. "And of course, you have lovely innocent Microphone here to thank for that."
"It was YOUR lazer gun. Why would you even build anything like that in the first place?" Fan was starting to imagine their bickering would be a recurring theme for the next few weeks.
"Maybe because I had good faith that nobody would be dull enough to steal it."
"Ok wait. Let me get this straight-" Fan spoke before they could have the chance to start yelling again. "After I got abducted by the Prime Shimmer, Test Tube came and crashed the ship with her own DIY rocket, and then Microphone... killed Test Tube and... shot me with a lazer gun to the chest?" Fan tried to look at Mic for any sign of confirmation from the accused, but her reaction left much to be desired. Looks like he'll just have to make some theories to fill in the gaps!
"Yes. I assumed you hit your head and passed out, that's why I bandaged it with my labcoat as well, just in case."
So that's why it looked so bad. All this time, Test Tube had been going around wearing her labcoat, but it's sleeves were missing. And until now, Fan hadn't made the connection that he had those same missing sleeves tied to his very body.
"You got abducted?!" At this point, Fan had honestly forgotten Paintbrush was even in the conversation to begin with. Much less the fact they were totally in the dark about all of the wacky shenanigans that happened. "Actually- No, I don't want to hear it. It's too early for all of this. You two need to go to your room." Paintbrush gestured to Test Tube and Microphone as if shooing them away.
The pair stood in silence for a heartbeat.
"You mean our rooms, right?" Test Tube dared to ask as the realization dawned on Fan.
"No, the both of you are sharing a room. Problem being that OJ keeps the rooms locked and only opens them when the next contestant is eliminated, so you two will have to wait until he wakes up." This couldn't end well. Test Tube isn't the type of person to give up easily, Fan knew that better than anyone else. And if she was dead set in being angry at Mic? There could be catastrophic repercussions!
"There is NO WAY i'm sharing a room with this- jeebweezer! OJ will just have to deal with being woken up." Test Tube started to angrily make her way towards the other side of the room, but stopped abruptly as Paintbrush blocked her path with arms wide open.
"Love your enthusiasm Test Tube, really, I do. But OJ has never accepted a room switch. Do you think Trophy WANTS to share a room with Tissues?" Test Tube's piercing gaze softened only a little. Props to Paintbrush for challenging it, because Fan knew he couldn't. "And if you want to try to pursuade him anyway, I'm willing to bet you'll have better chances when he's not being woken up in a hurry at 4 a.m."
"Okay... good point." Microphone intercepted their talk, much to Test Tube's dissatisfaction. "But we still need somewhere to sleep. I know atleast i'm beat."
"Probably from all the backstabbing you did..." Test Tube muttered under her breath, but instead of taking the bait, Mic simply ignored the comment.
"Not my problem, you three sort this out. This conversation has taken away all of my sleep, i'm gonna go make breakfast." Fan almost wanted to leap and plead for Paintbrush to take him with them as to not get caught in the crossfire, but he didn't have any strenght left in him. Sadly, he was also desperately in the need for some sleep. Even though he did try to, his dreams had haunted him too much that night to let him get any actual rest.
Suddenly, Test Tube grabbed Fan by the wrist with a smile on her face. "Then it's settled! Fan and I will sleep in Paintbrush's room."
"...And me?" Microphone asked with little hope.
"Oohhh right, you! Well, heh, there's always the couch. If you don't like the floor, that is." Test Tube's grip on Fan grew tighter, but all he could do was accept it quietly in hopes Test Tube wouldn't snap at him too.
Microphone and Test Tube stared at eachother for what felt like forever. The air was so thick that Knife could cut right through it if he wanted to. But Microphone must have been tired of arguing too, and sure enough, she made her way to fluff up the couch's pillows without another word. Test Tube watched her work at it for a moment, to stand her ground, only giving up and leading Fan into the hallway when she felt she'd won the battle.
Test Tube sighed when they had gained enough distance. "Sorry about that, she just... UGH! She has some nerve." Fan already imagined Test Tube didn't have the best relationship with Mic after she told him Mic had stolen equipment from her secret lab, but he was so in his little world with Egg that he didn't realize it was that serious. And now... Test Tube is all he has left, so he'd better start paying more attention to these things.
"It's alright. Sorry I uh... didn't say much."
"No- Fan, you shouldn't apologize for that. I'm the one who got you wrapped up in this. You have nothing to do with it."
Fan took advantage of the fact that Test Tube's grip on him had gotten looser, and freed himself of her grasp, only to hold her hand properly. "Well, in my Professional Best Friend Opinion-" Even though he was the one who said it, calling her his best friend felt... insuficient. But he kept going. "You don't have to deal with your problems all on your own."
Test Tube smiled. Fan hadn't realized how much he'd missed her smile. Sure they exchanged happy glances a lot that day, but before that, he hadn't seen her this happy since...
Right. Not since that time on the vending machine. Suddenly, holding Test Tube's hand felt less natural than he anticipated it being. But that vending machine was in the past. They agreed to not talk about it again. Because there wasn't anything to talk about! Because it didn't mean anything! Just like Fan's new found nervousness also doesn't mean anything. And, of course, the same way that Test Tube's smile also doesn't mean anything.
Shaking away all of those unnecessary thoughts, Fan let go of Test Tube's hand to introduce her to his room. "Here it is! Mi casa es su... well, I guess it's not really a casa, but you get the idea."
Fan was hoping the room wouldn't be as bad as when he left, but it was even worse than he imagined. His bed was an absolute mess, and baxter had left tiny little claw prints all over the floor! Looks like he also went on his own little adventure. It was kind of embarassing that this was the state in which he was having guests over. But at the same time, that guest was Test Tube, and her lab is the textbook definition of a mess, so his room was probably tidy by comparison.
Fan layed down on his bed, absolutely exhausted after everything that had happened. He'd barely gotten any time to process all of it. Test Tube took off her torn labcoat and put it on Paintbrush's bed. "Guess i'll be needing a new one." She commented, but Fan didn't respond.
He took his shiny brand-new phone out of his short's pocket. Fan was mesmerized at how quickly Test Tube had fixed it; and how awesome it looked, of course! Suddenly, Fan remembered something very important he needed to do! He turned the phone on and scrolled through his incredibly vast collection of apps as fast as he could. The readers of The Fan Blog NEEDED a status update! How could he have forgotten- what had he turned into?! He opened Tumblr and immediately typed "Update" in a bigger font size, consistency is key, after all. But, weirdly enough, Fan couldn't think of what to write next. There was just so much he could say, so many complex feelings he could express!
Like, how Egg was gone now. It had been finally reunited with it's long lost family, and that family couldn't include neither Fan nor Test Tube. Of course Egg still cared about them despite it, but they had different paths to follow. And even though Fan had made peace with that, it still felt like something was missing from him. He loved taking care of Egg, it gave him something beyond the game, something deeper, something more... loving. How was he going to let go of all of that?
Or how he'd finally made up with Test Tube after their dissagreement, and the whole "who's taking care of the kid after the divorce" thing (well it- wasn't actually like that, but it sure felt like it.). Fan was embarrased to think about how jealous he was of Lightbulb during the mining challenge. Test Tube didn't make a big deal out of it, so why did he? ...But hey, atleast it got him to talk to Suitcase. Plus, now that they're together again, they'll be stronger than ever.
Maybe he didn't need to let go, but simply... start look for that love in his other relationships.
"So... I love my new phone." Fan wrote. It was just the kind of sweet thing his readers would adore, too. Maybe he could introspect on all of those weird feelings after he was well-rested.
Fan snapped out of the abyss known as his mind when he realized Test Tube was looking at him over her shoulder. He looked back, to her surprise.
"O-oh! Sorry, I was uh... thinking." She tried explaining herself. Of course she was also contemplating the situation. It's almost as if they shared the same mind, except Test Tube had gotten the smart half, obviously.
"How's your head doing?" She came closer to the bed as Fan sat up, feeling the muddied cloth that covered his hair.
"The headache is... better than before atleast, hahAH-" Fan was startled by Test Tube laying her hand on his chest and pressing it gently. Fan's face grew redder than usual, despite his best efforts in not making a big deal out of it. Suddenly, he became very aware of his elevated heart rate, hoping she didn't notice it too.
"How does that feel?" She asked as she pressed harder. Fan winced at the jab of pain it caused. "Not good, i'm guessing. If it's still bad in the morning i'll run to the lab and get some of my equipment back. And also a few spare clothes..."
Test Tube examined the outfit she came with, not very satisfied with it. She was wearing gloves, the signature black turtleneck she usually wears beneath her lab coat, and blue jeans. Not really the most comfortable thing to sleep with...
"I have a spoiled lemon shirt if you want it." Fan suggested. "Just for tonight of course, that baby's limited edition."
"Like you have to worry about that. This thing's 3 sizes above mine." She held up the shirt she'd found in the closet. Test Tube tried it on top of the turtleneck she was already wearing, snickering at how it almost looked like a dress on her slim self.
It sure looked comfortable though, so mission acomplished! Fan looked away quickly as she began to remove the turtleneck from underneath the shirt, turning his head towards the wall on the opposite side. He began wondering if she was doing any of this on purpouse, or if he was too tired to think properly and his mind was playing tricks on him. Nontheless, he covered his face with his hands, trying to hide how it was brighter than his badly dyed hair.
"Wait. Where are the bed sheets?" Test Tube had already changed when she spoke. And apparently she also found some grey sweatpants from Paintbrushe's side of the wardrobe. She looked through it again, but had little luck in finding anything but clothes. "Oh come on- it's freezing! Was Paintbrush sleeping in here with NOTHING??" She grew more annoyed as she checked under the bed.
"Maybe they took it to wash when they got up?"
"Who washes their bedsheets at 4 in the morning?!"
"I don't know- i'm trying to help!" Fan watched as she basically turned the room upside down in an attempt to find the covers.
Finally, she sat on the floor in defeat. "Great. Perfect-o, even. I'll just sleep in the cold."
"I mean... my bed's big enough for the two of us. We can share the covers." Fan lifted up his own bedsheets to show her. Test Tube stared in thought for a few heartbeats.
"Nooo no it's- it's fine really hyehyeh, i'll just bother your sleep so..." She fixed her posture awkwardly.
"Nonsense! I don't mind, c'mon." Really, he didn't. But now that he was thinking of it, they would be pretty close to one another. Which... was it really nothing at all? In all of his favorite fanfiction this kind of thing usually means something...
Test Tube finally gave in, laying on the bed to Fan's left side, turning to face him. Fan copyed her. Sure he was absolutely exhausted, but he didn't mind talking for a little longer.
"Tell me atleast you got some sleep." She prompted.
"Not... exactly. I tried, but was way too restless. And you?"
"I kept replaying it all in my head... Trying to understand you and all of that. Actually- can I take an MRI of your brain later? I could use a new reseach topic, and you'd be the perfect subject now that you've gone through all of this fresh emotional baggage."
"Not that I don't love being your designated lab rat or anything, but couldn't you just run tests on yourself? You went through it too, you know." Fan was only teasing of course. The idea of going back to their regularly scheduled programing excited him. But...
"Not a chance! That would only lead to squewed results. Besides!" She held out her open hand on the bed. "Why do it alone now that the best duo in the game is back in town?"
Did he want more than that?
Fan repaid the gesture, snickering. "What's so funny, eh?" Test Tube said, trying to contain her own laugh.
"No, it's just- you said it like we've been apart for years now when it's been what? 10 hours?" Fan felt comforted by the coldness of her hand, knowing that even if everything else changed, at least that would stay the same.
"7 hours, actually. Well- if we're counting the Prime Shimmer encounter, that would be 6 hours." Test Tube traced Fan's hand methodically, sending shivers down his spine.
Maybe.
"Don't you count it?" He asked, trying to not make it obvious he had to catch his breath.
"Tecnically, I only gave you a proper apology later on."
Fan smiled. "Just don't go stating it around willy-nilly. It makes us sound awfully clingy. Like-" He brought Test Tube's hand closer for dramatic effect. "Oooohhh Test Tube, I just can't bareee to live more than 7 hours without youuuu~"
"My bad, next time i'll glue us to eachother, since apparently the universe will put us together again anyway." She shut her eyes.
Yes. Gosh, yes.
"That time on the vending machine... did you really not mean it?" Fan said in a whisper, but made sure Test Tube could still hear what he'd said. She opened her eyes again, slightly startled.
"...i'm not sure If I even know what it could have meant." She looked to the side, trying to find the words. "You're... the first person that ever... cared. You know?"
"Probably better than anyone." Fan smiled, trying to reasure her. His heart skipped a beat as she squeezed his hand a tiny bit. But not in a nervous way, it was something... warmer.
"And what does that make us?" Test Tube neared her eyes at him.
Fan hadn't really thought that far, if we're being honest. He loved their friendship, obviously, but he also loved Test Tube. But to label such deep and complex feelings just as love felt... weird. It went so much deeper than that. It's impressive how he didn't see it before, really. Almost like a gravitational pull, a mutual force that only brought them infinetly closer and closer. Can you guess who's to thank for why he could make that comparison?
"Two people who love eachother?" Fan dared, though, he wished he could describe it more accurately.
"That was already the case though." Test Tube inched closer.
And he came closer too. "But it's good to say it, right? More than just platonically, at least." Fan could hear Test Tube's heartbeat sincronized to his. He knew she had the same feeling about them.
"Maybe we can figure it out as we go." He continued, both coming even closer. "And just... do whatever's the most natural...whenever it's most natural."
Test Tube pulled Fan into a close, but not tight hug. "I think I can work with that, yeah."
"And that would include..."
"What we're doing right now?"
"Yeah. And maybe a little more." "...Can I-"
Test Tube cut him off, sure, but Fan wouldn't have wanted it to happen any other way. He ran his fingers through her long hair, wanting the moment to last forever. Fan assumed Test Tube would be rambling on about star collisions right now if she weren't so busy with one of her own. He thought back to their first kiss from two days ago. Well- now his deffinition of a "kiss" was way better, so it probably didn't apply to that situation; But at the time, as simple as it was, it felt like the most important thing in the world. And right now? He couldn't be happier.
They let go of eachother for a few heartbeats, breath heavy with exhilaration. Fan gave her a few light kisses, as payback, obviously.
"Alright, alright- we should actually get some sleep." She pulled her head away lightheartedly.
"Do we neeeeeeed to?" Test Tube couldn't help but smile at the horribly dorky grin Fan had on his face.
"If you don't want to wake up looking like a zombie, yes. Those bandages already do half the job too." She rested her chin on the top of his head, eyes probably closed.
He let himself melt even further into her hug.
"I wouldn't... mind..."
Fan really did try to finish his sentence, he truly did. But alas, the comfort levels the situation had provided were more than enough, and his mind drifted into the softest of dreams before he got the chance to do so.
Epilogue
Paintbrush spread out light strokes of red on their canvas, trying to capture their excelent model with as much precision as possible. They had never really given painting a try before that challenge, which deffinetly shocked Lightbulb, to say the least. But Paintbrush couldn't help but be proud of their creation from that day. So there they were, trying to replicate that slimmer of happiness before the accident. And who knows? Maybe it would make a good gift for their bright friend.
They dipped their tool in water as someone approached.
"'Morning Paintbrush." OJ spoke with a yawn. He'd clearly just woken up. What time was it anyway? "Do you know if there are any... hey, that looks pretty good!" He stared at the work in progress.
"Oh, this old thing?" Paintbrush let themself brag a little. "It kind of just happened naturally, really simple stuff."
"Just don't let Salt see it, day's already rough enough as is." OJ shivered at the thought. Paintbrush didn't really understand Salt and Pepper's horrible trauma of crabs, like c'mon, it was just one challenge.
"Right, oh! I just remembered. Test tube and Microphone got eliminated earlier today, they need their room opened." Now that Paintbrush thought of it, they hadn't seen Mic nor Test Tube after they arived.
OJ squinted in thought. "...Those were contestants?"
"For goodnes's sake OJ, you hosted an entire challenge!"
"And I was good at it, wasn't I? So point not taken. Anyway, I'll go get the key. Do you know where they are?"
"Not sure, but i'll go find them. I need a break anyway." OJ gave Paintbrush a thumbs-up and left the auditorium.
Paintbrush waited for OJ to be far enough, then leaned closer to their ever so stunning model. "You'll protect the painting, right Baxter?"
Baxter clicked it's claws. "I'll take that as a yes."
Paintbrush walked through the halls of the first floor. Some of the room's doors were still closed, but mostly everyone had woken up at that point. Trophy stood in front of his Pickle's room, trying to talk to him, even though he was clearly ignoring Trophy.
Trophy turned his attention towards Paintbrush. "Hey Paintbrush! Where's your flat face'd roomate? I need to have a few words with him." He clutched a fist near their face, trying to intimidate them.
"Yeah, sure. I'll let him know." Paintbrush walked away unfazed. Though, they should warn Fan to not go too near Trophy. Otherwise they would have to go all the way to the competition and ask Mephone to recover him. Well, IF that were the case, they would get to see Lightbulb again... maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all.
They stopped at the living room's entrance, where videogame sound effects blasted from the TV. Among the people who would usually be bored enough to play games first thing in the morning, Paintbrush saw Microphone.
"Oh hey! good morning." She paused the game as Paintbrush came closer.
"What gives! Our match wasn't over Mi-cro-phone." Cheesy complained from the other side of the couch.
"Good morning to you too. Do you know where Fan and Test Tube are?" Microphone's expression dropped significantly.
"Oh, they ditched me here and went to Fan's room." She rolled her eyes. Atleast she didn't have to spend the night with Test Tube, even though Paintbrush had no idea what had happened between them to prompt such one-sided rivalry. "But it wasn't actually that bad, someone left their bedsheets here for some reason."
Riiigghht. Paintbrush completely forgot they took their covers to the living room when they got too cold while waiting for Fan to come back. Not like they didn't try to sleep on it, but every time they woke up at night, Fan was still missing, so they grew tired of waiting in the bedroom.
"OJ went to go open your room by the way. I advise you to get a head start before Test Tube shows up."
"Good idea! Let me just crush Cheesy's spirits here before I go check it out." She unpaused the game without any warning, causing her opponent to complain from being caught off-guard.
Paintbrush took the covers that Microphone was kind enough to leave on the table, where no one could see they were taking them. As they walked up the stairs to the second floor, Paintbrush thought of all the weird things Mic, Fan, and Test Tube said had happened that night. Sadly, they would have to endure the duo's annoying rambling to understand any of it. Well, it they had managed to resolve their differences, that is. But considering Test Tube only had an interest in arguing with Microphone, they assumed Fan's little adventure had gone well. Or atleast as well enough as an adventure where you end up all bandaged can be.
Finally, they arrived at their own room. But when they went to open the door-
SNOOOORRREEEE
...Fan must have been awake at that point. There was no way he was sleeping with the background noise of a pig being strangled to death.
Paintbrush turned the doorknob with more confidence. Looking at their bed, it was strangely empty.
They focused their attention to Fan's side, only to find him and Test Tube curled up together on the bed.
Paintbrush left the room without a word.
Test Tube let her eyes get slowly used to the darkness in the room. She was still resting on Fan's head, while he himself was basically drowning in her hug. She watched his chest rise and fall with the rhythm of his breathing.
"I could get used to this." She thought fondly.
There was only one problem. Test Tube had grown really hungry after last night. Actually, when was the last time she had eaten? Better question, what time is it?
She looked beyond Fan and realized his phone was sitting right on top of the bedside drawer. But calculating the distance between her, Fan, and the phone, she concluded that leaving the bed was the only option. Dangit.
She glanced back at Fan. He was basically passed out, which was fair enough, taking into account everything that had happened. But how was she suppossed to not disrupt his sleep, while still getting up to check the time?
Test Tube veeeeery slowly retreated her arms from him. They felt a little bit numb from having stayed in the same position for so long, but she didn't mind it much. Seeing as the action had failed to cause an equal opposite reaction, she sat up with caution, still not letting Fan out of her sight. And when she felt confident enough, Test Tube got out of bed.
Walking on her tippy toes, she quickly grabbed Fan's phone and turned it on.
4:34 p.m.
Jeepers! No wonder she was so hungry. Test Tube's initial idea was to check the time and maybe try to sleep again and ignore her body's warnings, but that definetly wasn't going to happen now.
"Test tube...?" Fan called out quietly.
"Heyyyyy buddy." Test Tube hoped he was still half asleep. Sure it was absolutely unnaceptable for him to still want sleep after so long of doing just that, but the way he said it made Test Tube pity him."Do you want some breakfast?"
Fan groaned in agreement. Well, at least that was settled. Test Tube put the phone back to where it was before, and left the room.
Finally finding the kitchen after definetly not getting lost, Test Tube just so happened to bump into Soap and Paintbrush.
"Oh heyyy Test Tube!" Soap stopped mopping the floor to greet her, which only left Test Tube confused. Didn't Soap not like her for actively sabotaging her in the triathlon?
"Uh- hi?" She tried to repay her kindness.
"Did you... just wake up?" Paintbrush asked, back leaned into the countertop. They had a weird look on their face. The kind of look someone has when they're hiding something.
"Well- yeah, but it's probably fine." Test Tube opened the fridge and grabbed a carton of, you guessed it, orange juice.
Preparing some scrambled eggs, Test Tube could still feel Paintbrush's stare looming over her. Suddenly, she remembered she was still wearing their sweatpants!
"Oh! Sorry for borrowing your sweatpants Paintbrush. I didn't really have anything better to wear to bed, sooo..."
"No that's- that's fine. Just... out of curiosity though-" Paintbrush cleared their throat. "What's with the shirt?"
"Well- Fan had this shirt to spare and, again, didn't have the best clothes to sleep with." Test Tube stuffed bread with the eggs she'd just made.
"Right, right..." They responded, not sounding very convinced. Test Tube wondered what was up with them, but didn't dwell on it too much, after all, she had food to deliver!
"Welp, see you later!" She hurried out of the kitchen with her two plates. One for her, and one for Fan.
Getting close to Fan's room, Test Tube shivered as she noticed the door to the room right next to it was wide open. Right. After all of that was said and done, Test Tube would still have to share a room with Microphone. Well- there was always a chance OJ would let them switch, but seeing how he performed in hosting the cleaning... non-challenge, that probability wasn't very likely.
Test Tube decided to ignore the fact she would still have to set up her own room for now. Going into Fan's room and closing the door behind her, she was surprised to find out Fan had fallen asleep again.
She left Fan's plate on the bedside drawer and went to sit on the bed. Test Tube tried taking a bite out of her egg sandwich when Fan suddenly squirmed like a worm in an attempt to reach her, only to wrap his arms around her waist
"What are you doing?" She couldn't help but smile as she turned to see Fan faceplanted on the bed.
"Checking if i'm not dreaming again..." Test Tube barely managed to piece together what he'd said through a muffled mess of words, but she was glad she did.
"Was it a good dream, atleast?"
Fan let go of her and looked up, staring with a face redder than a tomato. "Well uh, it- it was pretty good, yeah!"
"Aw phooey, I wanted your brain to be trauma-fresh for that MRI scan." Test Tube leaned down and gently touched her lips to his forehead. "Eugh- Golly why did I do that? your hair smells like mud, bleh!"
He glared at her, completely dumbfounded. Until suddenly, something clicked. It was actually interesting to see someone's thought process so clearly.
"I SAID ALL OF THOSE THINGS?!?!" Fan punched the bed in surprise.
"Affirmative."
"AND YOU-"
"Correct."
"And then we-"
"How many more synonyms to 'yes' are you planning on making me use?"
Fan stared at her for what felt like forever, only to hide his face between his hands, making noises that were truly incomprehensible. Test Tube took the opportunity fo finally take a bite out of her sandwich like she planned to. It was kind of amusing how being sleep deprived had caused his mind to associate the following occurrences as a dream.
While Fan was just starting to understand the reality of the situation, Test Tube also came to a realization of her own. That, fairly enough, she was pretty excited to go back to nerding out about science with her... more than best friend. That was a horrible title though. They would have to work on that. Tbd, for now.
"What are you eating?" Fan sat up. Seems like he took the news well enough.
"Scrambled egg sandwich! I made you one too, it's on the drawer"
Fan stood still for a few heartbeats. "...wasn't there ANY other ingredient you could have used?"
"Wait, why..." "Oh!-" "Ppfffttt-"
"You KILLED Egg!!!" Fan shook Test Tube dramatically.
"I didn't! I didn't!! Hyehyeh- I promise!!" She played along.
"You're under arrest for- MURDER!" Suddenly, Fan tackled Test Tube and made her fall onto the bed on her back, the two of them laughing like little kids.
And yep, that's the story on how Test Tube was done for. There was no going back after that; not that she wanted to, anyway.
Test Tube loved this. She loved how their connection felt so strong, so... natural! Like a gravitational pull, a mutual attraction between masses that causes them to accelerate towards eachother. And because of it, she could laugh as much as she wanted to without anyone leaving snarky remarks on how dorky her laugh was. Because Fan understood it perfectly. Because Fan was usually the one who caused her to laugh in the first place.
Because Fan loved her...but he didn't JUST love her.
And Test Tube didn't just love him too.
It just took them a while to realize it.