Ignite The Flame (FNF Reader Insert)

~Chapter 2: Longing~

After a few turns, and lot of walking, you finally arrived at a small house in a dimly lit neighborhood. The house was a stone color, and a spruce roof. The roof, stairs, and fence was outlined in white, kind of like the other houses, but different colors and shapes. As you entered the house, you got a good look of the interior. The walls were a daffodil yellow, mainly empty apart from a few family pictures. The living room was lightly decorated, small plant here, TV there, couch in the middle. To your right, there were some stairs, probably the second story where the bedrooms were. And even farther to your right, was the door frame, leading to a large, spacious kitchen. It looked plain, but comfy and soft. A background you were not used to. Standing on a fluffy, rouge rug, you just stared into space, questioning your life. How was it that your mom said you had an expensive house, yet this woman's home seemed so much more inviting than yours ever could? Aren't things that cost more supposed to be better? Just then, you something grab your hand, looking up, you saw the same purple-haired woman, a tired, yet sincere smile on her face.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Honestly, you didn't know, but for some reason, she made you feel safe. Why was it when you were with a stranger, you felt more comfort than with your biological mother, who spread fear in her wake? You nodded, and she nodded back, leading you up the long staircase. Your assumptions were correct, as there were two doors that led to bedrooms. But looking over to the left, was also a bathroom, which is where she led you in. She started to get the tub ready, checking the temperature of the water and putting some weird liquid in. "Okay, so while I call the police station, you can go and take a bath, and I'll bring you up some clothes! You do know how to bathe on your own, right?" She asked? Although the way she said it, it didn't seem anything like pity or disgust. It was as if she was asking you a simple question, or willing to help you out. Were all people always this nice, a question you had yet to answer. Nonetheless, you nodded and she smiled, patting your head. "Alright! Call me if you need anything!" And with that, she closed the door, leaving you to your bubble bath. 

Looking back at the closed door, and looking at the cozy bath she had set up for you, you couldn't help but to smile a little as you took off your clothes and got in. Usually, you would hate bathing because it was so boring. But being surrounded by all this snow white foam, with this toy boat, and this rubbery ducky, you didn't think you'd ever be able to leave this tub. But just as the Floating Dinosaur had almost escaped from the Duckness Monster on his yacht, the woman came back it, holding a towel and a washcloth. She bent down to your level, surprisingly taller than the tub, then started washing your face and hair with the cloth, as you didn't know how to wash them properly yet. Normally, you would also hate this part, seeing how rough your mom was, but the way she used her washcloth, rubbing small soapy bubbles on your cheeks, making sure you closed your eyes before she ran the fuzzy feeling rag on your short bangs, you wondered why your mom never gave you such gentle care like this, rubbing your cheeks or stroking your hair with soap. 

After washing off your face and hair, she lifted you out of the tub, put some clothes on the toilet seat, then left again. After you dried your body and hair to the best of your abilities, you looked over at the clothing she had left out for you. A large, neatly folded, cobalt-colored, turtleneck sweater with the white words 'moe' in the internet friends font on it. The sweater was perched on top of some leggings with rainbow stripes on the sides. You put your clothes on, then pulled up a stool to look in the mirror. The clothes were a bit big for you, but the way the sweater hung off your body reminded you of your dragon costume, so you felt comfortable. The leggings were a good fit too. The only thing you hated was your ruffled hair. You always wore your hoodie so no one could see it, since your mom never did it often, or rather you didn't let her, since she always liked to burn you with the flat iron. You shuddered, hoping you wouldn't have to get your hair done. But just as you were about to leave the bathroom, the woman came in once again. You saw her in the mirror, and she was holding a hairbrush. 

"Come here" She said, motioning for you to sit on a stool. As you sat, you caught sight of a hairbrush in her hand. You gulped, fearing for the worst. But your your surprise, it wasn't that bad. It hurt, but only a little bit with the rough parts of your hair. But mostly tickling, especially when she brushed your ears and your tail, like grooming a cat. After she was done, she handed you a small mirror to look at your hair through. You gasped. Your short locks had been tamed, put into a small ponytail, but still having your short bangs. When you smiled, you heard the woman giggle a bit. "Do you like it?" You nodded, making her smile grow. She ushered you out of the bathroom while she cleaned up, leaving you to explore the house. As you peeked into another room. You could see Skid without his mask. He had midnight black hair, done into a bowl cut, wearing a dinosaur onesie. He was currently doodling on a piece of paper, small stubs of crayons and papers with finished works of art surrounding him. No Pump to be seen though, maybe he had went home. 

As you walked into the room, you noticed he glanced your way, but didn't come spiraling towards you. Part of you was relieved he didn't but the other curious.. You sat down next to one of his drawings, aware of him observing you as you did so. You picked it up. It was a drawing of him with the lady, assuming that was his mom. It looked really nice for a drawing done in purple crayon. "It looks nice.." you muttered, since that was the only thing you could really do. His slightly worried face was then replaced with the same smile you saw when you met him. "Thanks, I really like drawing! Wanna see the one I'm doing right now?" To be honest, you had no interest in his perfect family drawings that his mom probably loved and hung up on the fridge until years and years to come. But you had nothing better to do, so you nodded. He put the picture in your lap for you to observe. It was a picture of his mom hugging him, a scarlet red heart surrounding the two. Above it, were the words 'I love you, mommy'. And you didn't know why, but you felt a lump in your throat. 

You couldn't speak, and you couldn't breathe. It was just a bubbling burst of rage and anger growing in your throat, trying to make it's way up to your mouth. But as you went to speak, a cascade of flames erupted from your orfice. It burned the roof of your mouth and tongue, but it felt more like a spicy burn than a firey burn. By the time you were done, you held your throat, wheezing from the sudden outburst. Nothing had been damaged, but despite all this, when you  looked up at Skid after caressing your burning jaw, he was close to tears. Looking down, you saw what could only be the charred remains of a picture. Skid's picture. The one he had worked so hard on for his mother. Now realizing what you had just done, you dropped the picture down on the floor, backing away into a corner. You didn't mean to do anything. You just felt sad. It wasn't your fault..right? What was the feeling you had felt before it happened? It was like being hungry, but you didn't want food. You wanted what Skid had. But what did he have that you didn't? Money? Toys? Drawings skills..

..A good parent. He had a mom that loved him. That gave him baths with ducks and toy boats. That dressed him in comfy clothing. That made sure he was comfortable, fed, happy, healthy, loved. As far as you were concerned, your mom barely did any of that stuff. That was your dad, and even then, he was always so busy. You had learned to bathe yourself, to feed yourself, to love yourself. And yet Skid had a mom to do it for him. Were you jealous? This didn't feel like jealousy. When people are jealous, they usually feel mad. You didn't feel mad, you felt sad. Sad that you didn't have anyone that cared about you, or pitied you enough to care. Except the lemon man, but he was gone, and you weren't sure if you'd ever see him again. Then, you heard footsteps. You looked up to see Skid and his mom. Skid had a sad look on his face, and you could tell he had been crying. His mom looked sad as well, but not in a disappointed, or upset way. It was in a sympathetic way, like she knew you felt hurt. She knelt down, then pulled both you and Skid into a soft hug. She smelt like flowers, which was weird, because she didn't have any perfume on. And it felt like Skid was hugging you more than his own mom, like they could both sense your sadness. You wrapped your arms around her and Skid for a moment, small tears running down your cheeks, finally finding the feeling you were looking for...

Longing.

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Friendship Meter: Because something important also happened what the heck nugggets--

Skid - 56%
You felt a bit closer to him, but why was he being so kind to you, especially after what you did?

Lila - 79% 
She's really nice, and nice people are pretty nice to be with.

Lemon Demon - 93%
Where are you mysterious lemon man..