WARNING: this is a Date Everything fan story! If you haven’t played the game there may be some spoilers ahead!! Not to the game characters! :) Enjoy!
Bean stared down at the fragments before them. Pink, rose-colored shards scattered the kitchen tile, while a cracked brass frame lay discarded inches away. It had been a few hours since the lenses crashed to the floor, and the human seemed…unbothered. Or, maybe they hadn’t noticed the glasses breaking over taking their leave in such a rush. The floors practically buckled from the slam of the front door.
The borrower cast a cautionary look around the hall. No human to be seen…their ears twitched. Nor heard. Strange. It was midday, normally the human was still milling around, or coming home from…wherever they went. Slowly, Bean peeled away from the wall, approaching the smashed spectacles. They knelt, collecting a few fragments between clawed fingers. Interesting. Pink glasses. Their head tilted, quizzical. But…weren’t they normally clear? How could a human see through them if they were pink…? Maybe these were for a different reason… But why had the human thrown them so hard?
Collecting a few pieces, larger ones, Bean made their way back to their hiding hole home. For a long time, they studied their bounty. Nothing…amazing. Just pink slivers of glass that refracted slightly in the light. Gentle paw pads lifted one to their eye. Bean squinted a moment, focusing their eye as they peered around their humble abode.
Instantaneously, the world was enveloped in an electrifying rose hue. Wooden walls carved by claw became blush pink. Dazzling lights fluttered absently by the lens, like bits of flour when the human dropped the bag on the floor. Unlike flour, however, the floating, flickering orbs never fell. Instead, they waltzed before Bean’s eye, spinning and twirling brilliant yellows and golds and pinks before vanishing out of sight. Bean lowered the lens, blinked.
It was gone. Gone were the pinks and reds and yellows-their nook’s wooden walls warped back to their simple forms. Bean used their free hand to rub at their eye. What…? Lifting the glass again , they squinted. The same, rosier version of their home smiled back at them. Even the sounds of the house, normally looming and foreboding, had a…twinkle? Their ears twitched, lowering hesitantly. The room sounded…happy to see them. They lowered the lens again, putting it back onto the pile as they pressed their calloused wrists to their eyes. Bean shook their head. Maybe the human had the right idea throwing the glasses away…
A weary sigh filled the silence. That would be easiest. There wasn’t any reason to keep them, was there? They shook their head and began to like the pieces into a stack. No, it made the most sense to get rid of them now. Anything the human was afraid of couldn’t be good news. They placed a final chipped fragment atop their pile, brushing dust off their hands.
And yet…Bean regarded their pile of pieces. They couldn’t just…throw the lenses away. They tutted softly. What a waste of good material. Surely…it could be fashioned into something. Surely. Their eyes fell to a twisted mangle of wire and wood they’d scavenged for future projects. Hmm… They lifted some twine, shifting until the metal was an appropriate length. With a grunt, they bent the wire into a circle, bending the wire from the outer rim. They huffed as it formed a single, tiny ring. Holding it to their face, Bean settled it on their nose. Perfect.
Nodding decisively, the borrower got to work.
—
It took several tries and re-adjustments, but after some time, the wire finally resembled exactly what Bean needed. Two –just slightly uneven— rosy lenses nestled into a twisted frame. With sore arms, Bean collected some of the lens fragments, large enough they had no cracks. With some bending, and several swears, Bean popped both hunks of glass into their frames. It wasn’t perfect. Bean didn’t need the to be perfect; they were usable. Carefully, they lifted the lenses up to their face and balked as their room transformed. The warm, pink hues swirled around them once again. Bean grinned.
They walked over to a shard of glass they used to see themself-humans called it a mirror. Same old Bean-crabby, patchwork clothes covered a lanky, long-armed body. Curly brown coils of hair fell around their shoulders, and tired brown eyes gazed at their reflection. Still, even the mirror seemed to smile on them, giving their usually exhausted, anxious appearance a certain hue. The glasses were a little crooked-Bean took a moment to adjust them. After a moment they turned away to see what else these strange glasses had to offer.
The warm twinkle of the house welcomed them once more. Bean turned, slowly observing every nook and cranny of their little house they could from their hole. It was…amazing. They turned to the entryway, hesitating. Even during their work, they hadn’t heard the human stir. Had the human even returned? The house was silent. Maybe…it would be worth it to observe the outside. Just to see.
Slowly, Bean pulled themself out of their entryway in the wall. Brown eyes scanned the quiet horizon. No sign of life. They stepped out, eyes darting around the silent emptiness. They could feel their whiskers trembling, fur on their arms and legs nearly on end. Yer nothing happened. No stomps, no shadows, just stillness. They crept out further.
“Hello!”
They shrieked as a voice called out behind them, whirling around. In their rush, they nearly knocked the glasses off their face. Standing behind them was another borrower. She wore a fancy suit, like something a human would wear. Slightly shorter, brighter, and with straighter hair than Bean. Bean stared at the strange borrower and reached for their glasses. Can’t let her take them-!
“Wait-!” The strange borrower called. She vanished the moment Bean took the glasses off. Bean jolted. Their head whipped around, trying to locate the newcomer. While she hadn’t been armed that didn’t mean she couldn’t be dangerous. Seconds passed. Then more. The house had fallen cold and silent again. Bean frowned. What…?
Their eyes fell to the glasses. They turned them around with a frown. Slowly, they lifted the frames and placed them back on their face. Instantly, the other borrower returned. She held her hands out, paws displaying no weapons. Bean, though tense, stared at her warily.
“Who…who’re you?” They tried to growl, though the sound came out more of a squeaky snarl.
The stranger smiled brightly. “I’m Christina, your new…” she trailed off, looking Bean over. Then herself over. She looked back to them, then her eyes peeled away and looked around the rest of the house. “I…” her face flickered between confused and concerned. “I’m sorry, what…what are you…? What am I?”
Bean took a step back, hand grasping for their pin-point sword. Just in case. Bean hesitated, using their chin to gesture to her. “Don’t recognize your own kind?”
Chris shook her head, “No no, I’m not…I guess I’ve never-I wasn’t…” she faltered, pressing her palms to her forehead. “Ooooh…how to explain this…” She sighed- “I’m…used to interacting with humans, and…last I was made aware, you-we are a little small to be humans…so I’m a little…confused.”
“What are you?” Bean growled, the hair on their neck and arms raising defensively.
She reached up, tapping her eyes, “This will sound silly, but I’m your glasses. Didn’t you notice how I vanished when you took them off?”
They narrowed their eyes. Bean knew of borrowers who could do magic, but she seemed sincere. Still enough reason to be wary.
“Why are you here?”
Chris threw her arms out, causing Bean to flinch back. Her eyes widened momentarily before she groaned, turning away from them momentarily. When she turned back around she looked tired. Drawn. She paced to one side, paused, then paced back as she began to speak. “I was sent here to be used by the human that lived here… It’s complicated, but now you’re here, and you have me, and I’m not…sure what that means for me…or-well, it doesn’t matter now.” Chris stopped, staring at them. “I can still do my job.”
“And that is…?”
“To help you use the glasses,” she smiled. “I’ll teach you how they work, and then you can use them all you like!”
“The…glasses?” Bean echoed.
“Mhmm!” She grinned, tapping an identical pair on her face. “So, what do you say?”
“I-“ Bean looked around, their eyes warily trailing over the door. Still no signs of the human… The newcomer seemed harmless enough. Gnawing their lower lip, they looked Chris over again. Despite her obnoxiously bright clothes and brighter smile, nothing else was off about her. She looked like a regular borrower. Whiskers, tail, mousey paws., and just a little shorter than Bean. Another borrower…wouldn’t lead them wrong, right?
Bean frowned, catching Chris’ expression waver to something more unsure. They’d been quiet too long. Before thinking, they blurted-
