cw: fem!reader, she/her pronouns
from this
sae's stare is glassy as it pierces through the transparent border, where he sits alone in a darkened, dusty room on one side. the other encapturing a brightly-lit kitchen, where two individuals stand.
he watches with heavy eyes as you spoonfeed a dollop of your signature buttercream frosting into... "sae"'s mouth from the mixing bowl, blinking slowly when "sae" then cheekily takes a dip of it on his finger and dots it on your nose.
your laugh is muffled through the glass screen he watches behind, the melody of it not syncing with the movements of your lips and heave of your chest. time is slower where he is, to let him properly linger in his retribution.
sae breathes out slow when the "sae" on the other side of the glass licks at the bit of icing "he" placed. it feels odd watching himself do that, considering he'd never be so bold.
then again though, that's not exactly "him" in the first place, so he supposes that he doesn't really have the right to judge what is characteristic of him considering "sae" isn't... himself.
the room suddenly gets colder. sae's skin prickles with goosebumps, feeling a draft waft behind him, but he doesn't move from his rickety stool.
"she does look happier, doesn't she?" it silkily whispers with a mock pity, something that sounds like it was blocking a giggle.
sae doesn't say anything, continuing to watch the domestic scene before him through the glass. he feels his lips twitch when "sae" presses a kiss to your cheek, burrowing his face into the divot between your shoulder and neck as you pipe the cupcakes.
cupcakes that were meant for him.
he breaks his gaze from you and "sae" for a moment, eyes swatching to the calendar thumbtacked to the kitchen wall, where a large red circle around october 10th is gleaming brightly. he shifts in his chair.
it circles around sae, the ghostly coldness now spiraling around him. "she's beautiful when she's like that, right? smiles and all," it murmurs. "especially for a moment like today."
sae knows it's right at his side, this dark blurry mass that's waiting to be recognized. even so, he merely just keeps staring at the one-way glass, where you still haven't taken account the second pair of eyes that watch you, ones that mimic the "ones" you've been fondly staring into for the past couple of weeks.
"i have a gift for you, too," it says happily.
sae feels another presence walk into the draughty closet-like space, a brighter one this time. the clicking of shoes grow louder from behind him and a familiar perfume graces the air.
sae doesn't react when you suddenly appear before him, smiling gently as you usually do. or... something that looks like you.
the smile looks lipsided, as though stitched on. the hair looks too perfect, no stray hairs in sight. but perhaps what's most significant about the mimic is its eyes and the new, button-shaped pupils embedded into them. empty things—hollowed out and voided.
"she's just like the real thing, only better!" it chimes. "your own personal plaything accustomed to you and you only."
"you" greet him with the sound of his name. he'll be damned, it sounds like you too—with just an extra lilt of faux peppiness. but sae says nothing back, going to return his gaze to the looking glass.
"you" frown at his lack of attention.
"do you not like her?" it questions, the airy voice sounding disappointed. "sure, there's some rough edges here and there, but i did try—"
"no," sae lowly mutters. he stands up, the creak of the aged floorboards groaning from his weight. he gives you one last sorrowful glance from behind the glass, admiring the way your eyes glow brightly and alive as "sae" shows off one of his awkwardly-piped cupcakes.
he gives the mercy of giving "you", the one shuffling in the shy corner of the room, a spare glance, though he feels nothing but disgust when he attempts to take "you" in. something anchors achingly in his stomach—it feels wrong just by looking.
"i don't want it," he says bitterly, turning around to leave the room. "i just... want the real thing back."
sae grasps the loose doorknob, gripping it with whitened knuckles.
"i just want her," he hisses.
he opens the door widely, then slams it shut, trying to block out the sound of your voice coming through the looking glass.
