"𝔻𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕨𝕒𝕪."

Eumoirous

It was odd, to be with Mark again. 3 assumed there'd be changes to the human's behavior, he no longer thought it was Cesar, but it'd hoped that he'd at least be more... Talkative? Friendly? Sure, it knew it didn't deserve it, having been the one to kill Mark's friend, but... It just wanted everything to go back to normal.

3 wasn't expected to do much as what was technically a freeloader, since just by being around Mark, it was already repaying that, but the human did teach it how to do some household chores so it was pulling its own weight. It did Mark's laundry and dishwashing, and sometimes food, if the human was really tired.

On those days it could just sleep next to him for a bit. It really missed his hugs, his warmth, and ever since its identity was revealed, Mark had been understandably unwilling to give those to it again. It had just been a few weeks after the incident, so 3 was hoping that after a few months or so, it'd be back to what it was before.

There were a few times when it fell asleep there, curled up around Mark. The human never mentioned them, but when it woke up, it always found itself back in its sleeping bag, as if the whole ordeal had just been something it'd dreamed up. It was always a bit unnerving when that happened, because for all it knew, it may have actually dreamt the whole thing up. Was it just that lonely?

It knew that Mark didn't like how it looked without its disguise, but he liked it keeping it on even less. It took a while for its instinct not to be to shift into 'Cesar' when Mark was nearby, but the human was noticeable less rough around the edges every time it remembered to do so.

The first time that Mark hugged it again was three months after the incident, and a month after it had finally stopped accidentally shifting into its disguise in front of him. 3 had been getting Mark's clothes out of the washer, putting them in the bin for the human to fold and put back in their respective spot.

"Mm, thanks. I didn't actually expect you to keep doing the laundry all this time."

"Well, I... Am living here for free, so it's the least I could do."

It smiled, looking down at the human, trying to appear as friendly as possible. 3's features weren't made to be warm or welcoming, only to make others afraid. It didn't want that for Mark, who just looked up at him, chuckling.

"Fair enough. Still, you don't have to do it so often. Twice a week is enough."

"Oh."

The alternate looked down sheepishly, Mark smiling lightly at the gesture. He'd gone in to give it a pat on the back, but... A hug seemed more appropriate, somehow. 3 stilled, gently returning it, as if the hug were something that could be broken with one wrong move. They stayed like that for a few, blissful seconds, before the human seemed to realize what wss happening, letting go as if burnt.

"Uh-... Good job on the laundry."

"... Yeah."

It'd take a while for Mark to get comfortable with it again, to see something that wasn't just Cesar's killer in it, but... Oddly, 3 felt rather optimistic of its chances.

It'd all be alright.