Hidden in the Depths

Chapter 32

Techno stood in the doorway of one of the rooms, arms crossed as he leaned with his shoulder against the doorframe. "This will be... weird." Two beds stood in the room, one on each side, facing towards the middle of the room. Fully grey, a single thin pillow, no blanket. Although temperature isn't a problem for them, as it was quite warm in the base and surrounding reef, but it still would have been nice to have that extra comfort. A little childish, understandably, but the comfort of a blanket would have eased all their unease, if just a little. Cellbit beside him nodded, still holding the PDA he and Quackity had been using for their discussions. "Seeing a bed after so long is kind of weird honestly, you're right. It's too normal." Too normal is one way to describe it.

They had all slept side by side pretty much since the start. Him, Tubbo and Fit already squeezed together in the pod while caring for the youngest's injuries, then Cellbit and Pac joining the already crammed space. Even when they had first created the base and had much more room, they all decided to huddle together every night and made a nest structure for them to lay down in. Having each other's comfort had been so reassuring, a constant reminder that at least they weren't alone. That someone was there to share the fear of the unknown just outside these walls. Having a whole bed for each of them now is... odd. It feels like separation, at least to Techno.

The Brazilian seemed to sense his hesitance and nudged his shoulder, smiling. Looking at him with such care despite only knowing each other for such a short time. Relationships and trust can grow fast in situations like these, Techno was well aware. They were dependent on each other, they had to trust that when it came down to it, each and every one of them would try their damn hardest to protect each other. "If this turns out to be too much or uncomfortable as hell, we can always go back to the nest. No need to get rid of it yet." Techno hummed in agreement. It could remain as a comfort thing, if one of them felt like shit or nightmares start plaguing them once more. At least until they needed the space for something else.

Then again, was getting used to group sleeping even a good idea? They had to separate eventually after all, once they get home.

There was laughter from the other room, where Fit was helping set up the other beds and Tubbo was having too much fun messing with him. Despite how shaken they both had been after their talk, the teen was now obviously in a much better mood than before. Which was a change greatly appreciated. "Hey, if you need to talk about what happened in the wreck..." "I'm fine." He was most definitely not fine, the sight of the dead body still replayed in his mind, but he really does not want to talk about it. Not now at least. The others weren't aware of the corpse and Techno would like to keep it that way. Still, the offer managed to make him feel a little better, knowing someone was here that was willing to help. "Thank you though, for offering." Cellbit hummed, just staring ahead into the room. "I know this is a lot. Many things we can't even begin to understand. But no matter what happens, we have each other, okay? The visions, the creatures, the weapon and infection, we'll figure it out."

As long as they manage not to tear each other's throat out on the way there. It's unlikely him and Tubbo will be the only ones that argue. But that can be dealt with when they get there. For now, everything was good between them all. Hopefully that will last for a good while this time, since they need to start exploring further and going deeper soon. Possibly another trip to the Q.S.M.P, as they physically can't go that deep without some form of transportation or enhanced suits. He knows there are reinforced diving suits somewhere, but the most likely place to find them was once again the main wreck. And that was guarded by that aggressive leviathan. Foolish will hate them for going near there again.

But that was also something he can worry about later. Something like that needs to be a group discussion. Instead, he decides to focus on something else first that was more fitting to the current conversation. "Can I ask you something?" Cellbit hummed once again, turning his head to look at him. His hair had gotten so wild over the past weeks... maybe they should see if they could cut it as well. Worked out fine for Techno, even if he still missed his braid sometimes. Focus Techno, don't get sidetracked. "You were really calm when we found the body. Handled it well, got me and Fit out of there. It's fine if it's too personal but, any reason for that?" Cellbit stiffened up immediately, looking almost panicked for a second before calming back down. "Hey, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it-" "No, it's fine."