Crowned [Inanimate Insanity Fanfic]

Arc 3, Chapter 61: Drifting.

// TW \\

TORTURE

BLOOD

MANIPULATION

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Nickel walked beside Baseball, nervously stressing about what to believe... He felt like he may be obsessing, as he thought before. He looked up at Baseball every now and again, nervously thinking over every detail of his relationship. Perhaps he was desperate for love? Balloon was there for him when his parents had shown up and... Made him feel appreciated. Then again... That could've been a ruse. He bit his lip and whined in worry.

Baseball noticed his clear distress and felt bad... Nickel clearly was stressing over conflicting thoughts. He didn't mean for this to happen. But... It did. And perhaps... Just maybe... There was a way for this to work in his favour. "You okay...?" Baseball asked softly, "you've been silent ever since... what happened back there." He said in a quiet and careful voice.

"I'm just scared... Am I obsessing?! Is he?! Are we both?! I'm scared this is all one big— waste! A lie!" Nickel cried, wiping a tear away with a magic claw and looking up at Baseball.

"I don't like how upset this is making you..." Baseball muttered narrowing his eyes. "Maybe you should take your mind off of things if Balloon is making you that upset." Baseball commented.

Nickel whined once again and kept on walking, "Maybe you're right..." He admitted silently to himself.

Baseball sighed and gave Nickel a smile, before thinking of topics to speak on. "Are we still... Friends?" He asked nervously, a hint of fear laced into his face.

Nickel flinched, and sniffled. "What? Of course...! Why wouldn't we be...?" Nickel asked softly, still upset. He was shocked this even came up.

"Y-you've just been... I dunno... Ignoring me lately." Baseball gestured that he was upset and lonely because of this.

"Sorry... A theres just been a bunch on my p-plate recently... I should've took the time to explain everything— I-I'm really sorry..." Nickel frowned.

Baseball narrowed his gaze and sharpened it slightly when asking, "What even happened? You must have quite a bit to get off your shoulders, yeah?"

Nickel winced at the question... Remembering horrid  times and memories... But good ones surfaced too, only to be drowned out by anxiety and doubt in his relationship he questioned to be flawed. "Well... For starters, The whole card magic thing..." Nickel started, he then hummed thinking of the following events. "Fan... and Paintbrush's situation, followed by Balloon being stressed. Then there was... Balloon getting kidnapped... Lightbulb saved us and then, the government, Balloon was really injured so I had to help..."

"Had to?" Baseball raised a brow, "Or forced into." He said with a fake tone of skepticism.

"What?! No! He never... He never forced me..." Nickel spat, a bit hurt Baseball assumed that. But then again... what if it was? "I don't... Think he did..." Nickel muttered.

"Are you sure? Even the smallest things could be guilt tripping..." Baseball placed the thought into Nickel's head, which made him flinch and panic.

"Balloon wouldn't do that..." Nickel mumbled into his sweater, it was more of a whine though as he pondered the terrifying thought. He trusted Balloon so much... Balloon—Balloon wasn't a manipulator or obsessive, surely...