||FINISHED|| Pink Roses (JSAB Fresh x Reader)

(Y/N) - Stress

The therapeutic feeling Dumpling gave me whenever she purred in my lap was astronomical. The little kitten started tapping her little paws against the door an hour ago, and I happily let her in. The brown and black striped kitten nuzzled against me happily as I stroked her. She radiated calmness and peace. I was lost in the never-ending sea of serenity she radiated until all of a sudden I heard shouts coming from outside my bedroom door. They were hurried and panicky. Multiple I didn't recognise, until I heard Fresh's voice shout what sounds like orders. I poked my head out of the door and saw Fresh pacing down the hallway, fists clenched as his boots clacked loudly against the hard floors. His lips were parted into a scowl and he looked like he was very secretly shitting himself.

"Darling?" I called out. The word Darling spilled out of my mouth before I could stop myself, and I felt my cheeks drain of colour. It felt natural now, but I still wasn't fully accustomed to saying the sugary nicknames myself. "F-Fresh, what's wrong?"

He whirled around and sighed.

'They're here.' He said ominously.

"Y-You mean Tetra and the others?" I personally wasn't too nervous about it, but seeing Fresh freaking out about it sent a sense of unease through me. I don't think I've ever seen the guy so scared. With every breath he breathes he radiates fear. I just hugged him. He hugged back, not wanting to let go.

"Are you scared?" I asked.

'I've sent the three strongest voids down there.' He said, avoiding the question. 'Into the Zone. Vindicate me. Try this. They'll be fooled into thinking each one will do something, but they shouldn't be able to do anything. They won't. The three voids are strong to the point where they definitely won't survive. In the meantime, we'll hope for the best.'

Hearing Fresh say that calmed me down ever so slightly. But looking at him, I could tell that deep inside, he was extremely anxious, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

"God damnit, where's Barracuda when you need her?" He scowled. "That woman hasn't responded to anything, I'm thinking something's gone wrong, I think I'll go to the mountain myself to check up on her."

'No need.' A familiar voice interrupted. My heart jolted up when I heard those words. The two of us whirled around and we were face to face with a large woman covered from head to toe in dirty, tattered bandages. She looked exhausted, beaten and like she was going to collapse any second. She held onto her left wrist tightly, like she hurt something. Her makeup was smudged, smears of pink decorating her place in the randomise of places. Her sole visible eye was strained. There was no Snake to be seen. Fresh immediately ran up to her.

"Oh my god, Barracuda, what the hell happened? Why didn't you respond to anything I sent?"

'Got.... uh... Beaten...' She looked down ashamedly. 'I-er... Those bastards were slipperier than I thought... caught me off guard...'

He swore under his breath. "What happened to the Mountain?"

'It got...' Barracuda paused. 'Purified...'

"IT GOT WHAT???" Fresh roared. His shout reverberated off the walls and I jumped. My heartbeat was in my throat. "SO YOU GOT DEFEATED AND NOBODY ELSE DID ANYTHING? GOD DAMNIT, FIRST THE MOUNTAIN AND NOW MY OWN FUCKING INDUSTRY."

'From what I've heard... There was this guy who fell into the lava and got corrupted... Prochorus, I think his name was.' Prochorus. Rings a bell for me, where have I heard that name before? "And the weird thing is, for some reason that guy gave himself free will, became a boss and attacked them.'

"...Excuse me?"

'The guy ended up being able to talk freely, move freely, his eyes were like mine.' Barracuda lifted up a manicured finger to her eye.