No Mask Required

Always Yours

Always Yours

Chatterbox wakes up with the sunlight shining through the curtains at the funhouse. He turns from his side, expecting for Ray to still be lying there beside him.

Turning over to find an empty bed turns into his heart dropping into his now sickening stomach. 

Sweat forms as he tries to swallow. ”Don’t panic Chatterbox, don’t panic it’s okay”

Chatterbox sits up on the bed taking in deep breaths to keep himself from hyperventilating as he had done in the hospital a few days before. ”I can’t do this yuck again” Chatterbox swings his legs over the side of the bed, places his feet on the floor realizing he still had his shoes and socks on. 

How Long have I been asleep, What the yuck is going on here” 

“Cups! You up here?”
Chatterbox’s heart begins to beat out of rhythm as his breaths become more shallow. Beads of sweat forming on his more paling face, just as his head hits the floor he hears, “Chatty!” 

Blurry eyes clearing, the feeling of weakness that overtook his body slowly diminishes as his eyes open. “Cups!” 

“I’m right here! No need to yell for me!” 

Chatterbox almost gasps as he realizes his head is laying in her lap.

“What the fuck happened to you Chatty!”
His cheeks turn embarrassingly red as he now has to admit that he panicked over nothing. “I woke up, and you weren’t here, and all of a sudden I couldn’t breathe, and well you saw the yuckin’ rest.”
“Yeah, I did! I didn’t mean to scare you Chatty, Sooty brought us some things and I happened to be awake when she opened the door to the bedroom. So I went downstairs to help her get everything in and yeah… I didn’t leave you. I promised multiple times I wouldn’t do that!”
“I yuckin’ know, but I can’t yuckin’ lie, Ray, and neither can you. You’ve been pretty yuckin’ close!”
“Not her fault, Chatty.” 

Chatterbox again hears but ignores the fact that there is an obvious issue here. He wants everything to be okay more than words could possibly express.
Ray Mond goes to move and help Chatterbox up out of the floor. Chatterbox closes his eyes with the movement of her legs.
“Wait Cups? Could I lay here just a little bit longer? I still feel dizzy.” He opens his eyes to see the biggest smile on her face. “What are you yuckin’ smiling about, Cups?” Ray Mond plays with his hair still smiling. “I’m just thinking about the day you told me you loved me.” Chatterbox then couldn’t contain that she holds this memory; he smiles from ear to ear excited to see that she holds something in her mind only his cups could remember! “Oh yeah? What about it, Cups?” Ray Mond continued to play with his hair. You could almost tell she was paying the memory over in her mind. “Well I was sitting on the bed, and I had our weighted blanket that you got because I was scared to come into the house after my meeting with BonBon. I told you you couldn’t trust me any more, and you said only you could decide that….” Chatterbox continues to smile. He never thought he would hear her memories played back to him wanting her to say more and more. “What happened after that?” Ray Mond looks down at Chatty as he still smiles up endearingly into her eyes; she knows they are deeply connected, she just can’t put the pieces together as well as she would like. “Um well. I believe you said something like you didn’t want me to be afraid to tell you anything, and you wanted me around for a long time because ... .You L word me…Then I smoked you with a wrench!” Chatterbox sits up from Ray’s lap. Turning to face her. His eyes softened even more. Tears begin to form in his eyes, but never touch the air completely holding them back as he asked. “Do you remember anything after that?”  Ray Rubs her head. “Does your head hurt?” “No, I’m fine Chatty I’m just trying to remember! I think I took you to the hospital, and then we went and got food and then you said you wanted to show me something but you wanted it to be a surprise, and then I said let's go home handsome…” Ray Monds cheeks suddenly turn a bright crimson burning bright in the sunlight coming through the window.  “What is it, Cups, why you’re cheeks so red!” Ray looks down at the ground breaking eye contact. “Nothing, I just realized I probably didn’t say that to you out loud.” “You’re right, or you didn’t think you did. I heard every word, Cups.” Rays cheeks grow even brighter. Gulp “You did?” Chatterbox nods his head in acknowledgement that cups Under her breath weren't as quiet as she assumed.
“You wanna know a secret, Cups?” Ray Mond shakes her head smiling happily at him. “Always!” She reconnects eyes with him as he brings his hand to her face. “Well, in my head I said, “Let's go home beautiful” and you never knew!” “Yes I did Chatty! Well I mean not right then but if I remember correctly, you did tell me that later on that evening right? OH Wait, that’s when you kissed me isn’t it?!”
Chatterbox cannot contain his smile, it makes him so happy to see her remember, little by little she’s coming back to him. “I most certainly did; under the northern lights as a matter of yuckin’ fact.” “Then I had a panic attack because I didn’t want to leave, because I thought I would come back and your mind would change, and Oh fuck it was me I fucking forgot you how the hell do you still love me?! I don’t understand!” Ray is overtaken with emotion as he pulls her into a hug holding her just as he did underneath the northern lights what feels like so long ago now. “I still love you because only I can decide that! We’ve already had this conversation, and I know you remember it because you just yuckin’ told me about it. I love you because I know you. I need you, and I promised you I would not forget and could never even if I tried. You saved me. Do you yuckin’ understand that? I was very different, Cups, but I also love you, because I know you love me too.