April 2023 Multifandom Oneshots

Chicago (Stage Version) #3

**Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, Roxie and Billy being assholes
Chronology : Post-canon
Pairing : Amos & Mary Sunshine
Headcanons : Autistic!Amos, MTF!Mary Sunshine
Author's note : Me? Venting about my RSD through fanfic? NEVER!!

Roxie, Mama, Billy, Velma, Amos, and Mary were all sitting in the bar together after one of the jazz killers' shows, catching up and having a laugh.

At one point, Amos piped up to say something. There had been a beat in the conversation, so it was the perfect opportunity to bring up a point that had been on his mind from the most recent part of the conversation and also to remind the others that he was there.

"You know, that reminds me of this thing the guys did the other day in the garage with this engine that was broken..." he started, and he kept talking from there. It felt nice to be able to talk to people like that, especially since at least Mary, Mama, and Velma seemed to be listening.

Roxie and Billy, however, could not stand the man. Not because he was doing anything wrong, mind you. Quite the opposite- He'd hardly spoken the whole time (or rather, had tried but got interrupted), so it would be unrealistic to say he was hogging the conversation. No, they just didn't like him.

"Holy mother of God, Amos" Roxie cut him off, exasperated. "Do you ever shut the hell up?"

"Seriously" Billy agreed, even though Amos looked about ready to cry. "No one cares about your cars or whatever you're on about"

"Right" Amos said quietly, shrinking back in his seat a little bit. "I'm sorry"

And, with that, the conversation went back to the others and Amos became quiet as ever. No one seemed to notice this change or the fact that he left to go to the bathroom a few minutes afterward.

Mary Sunshine noticed, though.

She followed after him and stalled in front of the men's bathroom. She hadn't gone there in a few years and worried about what could happen if she entered. So, she cleared her throat a few times, quietly practiced her "man voice", and cautiously knocked.

Amos opened the door and she suddenly felt really silly as she realized it was a single's bathrooms.

"Hey" she said quietly as she shut the door behind her. Amos just weakly smiled at her. "For the record, I think what Roxie and Mr. Flynn said to you was very out of line"

"It's alright" he shrugged. "I was being annoying"

"No, you weren't" Mary shook her head earnestly. "You were telling an interesting story and they squashed that for no reason"

Amos just stared at her for a moment. Then, he began to cry. And by cry I mean sob. And by sob, I mean this was one of those cathartic sobs.

He didn't cry when Roxie cheated on him or when he found out the baby was fake or when he slept alone that night, but somehow this was the tipping point.

He didn't even know why. Maybe it was because he felt seen? No, that wouldn't make sense. Velma visited him once a week just to hang out with him. Why did this break him?

Regardless of the reason, he cried and he couldn't stop and, most notably, Mary didn't leave. Not only did she stay, but he treated him with kindness, pulling him into a tight hug and rubbing his back as he sobbed uncontrollably.

It was such a far cry than how Roxie would react when he would cry. She'd roll her eyes and tell him to grow up. He wondered if that's why he was crying now. Because Mary Sunshine felt so safe in a way no one else really did.

"It's okay" she told him in a hushed voice as he cried, the only sounds being his occasional gasps and the jazz music that got through the crack under the door in a muffled hum. "Everything's okay. I see you, Amos"

"I'm sorry" he said, and then, "Thank you"

"No need"