solace [masky / hoodie x reader]

xi

"Why did you leave me?"

Hoodie turned his head towards you. You were laying down on the bed as per usual, after having taken a shower not too long ago.

Hoodie had returned almost right after you finished your conversation with Masky, and from there on, he had taken over the caretaking.

The first thing he did was offer you a shower, which you gladly took up. He had brought you some shampoo and even conditioner, which you were grateful for. While you didn't want to push your luck, you did take longer in the shower compared to usual, taking the time to wash your hair as well as scrubbing yourself clean, wanting to rid yourself of what had happened earlier. It was all in your head at this point, but you couldn't help but want to cleanse yourself of Masky and the feel of his touch on you.

After you finished with your shower, Hoodie took you back to your room, before handing you a clean, satin dress for sleepwear. Your eyebrows knit together as you looked at him, confused.

"Took it from one of my victims." he bluntly declared, and you frowned at the statement. You didn't particularly want to take clothing from someone who was possibly now dead. It felt disrespectful and uncomfortable. Hoodie must've noticed your hesitance because he then continued to speak.

"Ah, I was joking..." he mumbled, and he sounded embarrassed. And you felt guilty for a second for judging so fast, so you quickly took the dress from him, thanking him. He turned away from you, and you took that as a cue to dress yourself.

"I'm done changing, by the way." you let him know, and he turned back around, watching as you flopped down onto the bed, causing it to creak.

It felt good. It felt good being untied, being clean, being human again, and not just some toy for someone—Masky—to play with. It was then that you asked the question.

Hoodie walked over to the bed, sitting down on it as you moved to make room.

"I didn't leave you." he said softly, almost like a whisper.

"Yes, you did!" you yelled, raising your voice louder than you intended on. Hoodie put his head in his hands.

"I was running errands. I had to get you your things from somewhere." he replied, and you sighed, still upset, despite him having a valid point. You wanted to continue shouting at him and blame him for what happened this morning—but it wasn't really his fault.

At the thought of the event alone, you felt tears threatening to rise to the surface. It was painful just thinking about it. You found it difficult to believe that it hadn't even been twenty-four hours since it happened. Instead, you were still on the same day, the day seeming to last forever, the passing of time slowed by some unseeable force. You didn't say anything, just simply laid inanimate on the bed, watching the ceiling in silence.

"I'm sorry." he apologized. You weren't sure what to reply to him. Your reflex would have been to say 'it's okay', but it just wasn't, as much as you would've liked it to be. Nothing felt okay, and so you remained mute. The quiet seemed to stretch on forever, just like the day had. Seconds, and then minutes passed by, until Hoodie decided to speak again.

"Do you want to read?" he asked, gesturing towards a book that was sitting on top of his desk, unopened. You glanced towards it. Wuthering Heights, still. You could see that there was a yellow bookmark nestled in the later sections of the book, indicating that he was close to finishing it.

"Don't you want to finish it first?" you inquired. "You don't have to do all of this for me, you know." Hoodie chuckled softly in response, shaking his head. His laugh was actually quite pleasant, you thought.