Work Text:
Why does my mind hurt me so
Another cold snowy evening in the town of Copper 9, most shops had closed up for the night and due to the snow beginning to fall. Not many people stayed outside, many preferring the warmth of their homes.
Though for one such young man, even in his home. A large manor house as it may be, it often felt like it held no warmth…at least every little.
It mainly came from his youngest sister and his Akita dog named Biscuit, his other sisters were far too busy with their own lives for him to bother them with such small matters.
And there was no way he could talk to his kid sister about this ... .and as much as he loved his dog friend ... .it would not be the same.
This young man was Neo Elliott mainly known as N, oldest and only son to the Elliots, the richest family in town by far.
Yet he tended to keep his issues , especially his mental issues to himself much of the time. He did not want to bother anyone with his problems if he could help it. He also hid the fact he was from a rich family from his co-workers and friends, no one knew other than his family he was rich.
People treat you much differently if you have money.
N wanted people to like him for himself, he was tired of people showing their fake sides to him in hopes of getting something in return.
Though his sister Jane often said he was far too kind and trusting….he knew that ... ... ..but he did not have it in his heart to be cruel.
He knew what that was like to be treated poorly ….and he never wanted to make others feel that way.
N had decided to spend a little bit longer in the park, sitting on the bench watching the sky. He always enjoyed watching the snow fall, it was often a peaceful way to spend an evening.
The cold did not bother him much due to his bio-enhancements, while it gave the bonus of basically enhanced strength, speed, hearing, eyesight and smell . The only side effects were he was sometimes a little hot and needed to cool down by eating something sweet. His sisters had bio-enhancements too but their requirements were different, Jane for example needed sour stuff while Vicky needed spicy ..himself needed sweet stuff.…he did not know why…bioengineering was just weird that way.
He also had unnaturally pale white skin, golden eyes and silver hair. He looked like a vampire from one of those odd teen movies at times.
His sisters also shared this as well, it was odd but he liked these side effects.
Sure it brought unwanted attention at times but he did not mind much.
Unusual appearances is actually what due his attention to his new friend Uzi, she works at the bakery he liked to visit. But he was always too shy to go In and talk to her whenever she was on the till…until one day he got The courage to talk to her.
That was when she spoke Spanish and …to put it bluntly she said he had a nice butt, she clearly did not know he could understand her and it led to an embarrassing moment and she passed out….
But he did get to know her after and it made him very happy to get a new friend at least, his heart did sink a bit when he learned she had two kids.
And he was ashamed to admit he got a bit happy learning her husband…the kids' father ... .was…well….no longer among the living.
That thought made him feel so guilty….how could he think something so cruel….so horrible…
It made him feel even more guilt when he saw that Uzi was wearing something around her neck on a chain ... .it was her and her late husband's rings…they were crushed in the accident that killed him and took Uzi’s right arm and leg .
So for him to feel ... .any amount of joy…even if it's just the smallest of sparks…he felt.like a monster.
It reminded him of when his parents were alive…while his father was the one that gave physical beatings…it was his mother who gave the verbal ones…and those ... ... ..were the ones that stuck with him even after she's gone.
“Perrito?”
A soft kind voice broke though the messy noise inside of N head, he slowly looked up and thought his teary eyes he could see…her
His lighthouse Iñ the sea of darkness he found himself in.
Uzi.
She was standing not too far away from the bench, holding a shopping bag which seemed to be full of her evening food. She had a very concerned look on her face as she got closer, reaching a hand to his cheek and gently rubbing the tears away.
“ Why the tears Perrito?, I gotta say I'm.not use to seeing you without that big goofball smile of yours”
Her voice had a slight teasing tone to it, but it was mostly soft and sweet. Not like she was talking to a child but still calm, her heart of gold shines bright again. N could not help but smile a bit as he leaned forward and rested his head on her shoulder, forgetting his manners for a moment as his heart and head were too heavy right now.
With the way Uzi’s human hand rubbed through his hair while her robotic one wrapped around his shoulder to squeeze him….she did mind either.
She was always so kind and listened to his little rambles, she actually looked like she enjoyed listening to his info dumps about dogs.
Uzi had a bit of an angsty nature and sure public affection was mostly a no no, but here and now she could see he needed someone and she was here to provide that.
Rubbing her hand through his hair , letting him hold her….she was even humming something…he was not sure what the song was though.
“ What….what song is that?”
He asked in an almost sleepy tone, his mind was still messy and his heart was heavy but it felt like it was slowly easing up a little the more Uzi was holding him.
The song was very soothing to his heart as well, it sounded both sad and happy at the same time.
Uzi was blushing a bit right now as she looked away a bit, holding his head against her softly as she muttered softly into his ear like she was embarrassed if anyone other than him heard, even though there was no one around in the cold empty spot in the park at night.
“ It's called Puff the magic dragon…..the kids loved it as a lullaby…it always helped then calm down…my …late husband thought it was a funny song because it sounded like another word for drugs but It always worked with the kids…me too..I sang it a lot when I needed to feel better…i thought it might…help you”
She was blushing a bit more, looking away as N stared at her. His eyes all starry as another arrow hit his already arrow filled heart, he hugged her a bit more tighter and buried his head in her hoodie. Hiding away his own blushing face as he was smiling, the tears rolling down his face still but he felt much better now.
N decided to speak about something that had hurt him deeply as a child, he wonders how Uzi would react upon hearing it. He took a deep breath holding onto her more tightly as he moved his head to the side, he was enjoying the feeling of her hand running though his silvery white hair.
“ When I was a kid ..I had this dog plush….I loved this dog plush more than anything…it was a knock off from a show I liked given to me by my favourite…ma…babysitter growing up….she was quite an old lady could only afford this and but she wanted to give it me for my 8th birthday…well i loved it ….I took it everywhere with me…it was my comfort…
Then one day…I can't remember what I did…I think I must have misbehaved or did bad in school or something ... ... ... ... ..but I was being punished by my father…he was yelling at me…he…he beat me and made me go to bed early.
He broke one of my dinosaur toys first….and then he grabbed my dog plush and….he ripped it apart…I..I was hurt by this…it was like my safe space was taken from me….and i could do nothing…i think my sister tessa tried to fix it..but it was just a reminder of that day now..it no longer brought me joy….so it went away into a box…and..it just became something that collected dust…i…i am scared that the things that bring me joy now…i will ruin them…and it will no longer make me happy…”
He breathed deeply as he never shared that story with anyone that was not his sisters…because well..they saw it happen…his babysitter…which and been his maid at the time had been fired shortly after that…he never saw her again… his parents had never been good parents…and he felt guilty when they died because…there was a part of him…that was…happy they were gone…and that ate away at his soul and made him feel even more guilt…
He wondered what Uzi would think of him if he ever told her that…would she hate him?...Would she understand?...part of him was too scared to find out.
Uzi had listened to his story intently and once he was finished she pulled him closer into a hug, she rubbed his back and hummed that same lullaby-like song again. Rubbing his back and running a hand through his hair, it was comforting…he almost would fall asleep if it was not for the cold air, Uzi then gently placed her hands on either side of his face and made him look up at her. Dazzling purple eyes bore into his golden ones, they were so full of care and comfort…there was anger in there too…but he knew it was not towards him…she was angry for him.
But she was keeping that down for the moment because she knew he needed comfort inside, so she gave him a warm smile. Brushing some hair out of his face with a grin, she spoke softly.
“ You're not broken, you are strong. You will find comfort again…you will be able to happy and feel cared for…you have your sisters…you have our friends…you have me…and my twins…we will always care for you and be a source of comfort…we won't be broken more dusty…heck the world tried to break me and i came back kicking and screaming i am too stubborn to go like that”
She grinned as she lifted her robotic arm and pulled a pose, which made him chuckle a little as he seemed amused by her antics. She was definitely a stubborn lady…he knew that from the moment he met her…she was definitely a good friend and he knew he could count on her…
“ thanks Uzi…your the best”
He said softly as he was tired now, the cold air did not help either. He was a little confused by that…he should not be bothered by the cold this much…, he felt himself blush as Uzi put her forehead against his a moment her eyes were closed, he was too stunned to speak right now. But she pulled away and pouted a bit at him, it looked like a motherly look…not the scary kind he was used to but…the kind but stern mother look.
“ looks like someone might be getting a cold because of sitting in the freezing cold so long…come on….come back to mine, my kids are going to be quite happy to see you that's for sure “
She said with a grin, N felt a little nervous at this but he had been friends with Uzi a while now…and she trusted him enough to come meet her kids? He felt quite happy about that.
On the slow walk to Uzi’s place , they began talking about random things. What their favourite foods were, what they liked to watch and that led to what their favourite movies were with Uzi saying they could watch a studio ghibli box set if he liked and she would start him on her favourite which was spirited away.
N enjoyed how much she would light up when she spoke about something she cared about, she really seemed to glow when she talked about her kids the most. Which made his heart flutter a bit, it was good to see a parent that actually cared about their children…the closest he ever got was his sister Tessa as a motherly figure…
They soon came to the conversion of favourite colours, N could not help but grin a bit as he looked at her up and down a moment.
“ I think your favourite colour is…..hmmm purple?”
He said with a sly grin as Uzi rolled her eyes and gently pushed his arm a little, she did not seem annoyed as she was grinning almost as wide as he was.
He leaned forward to her a bit grinning down at her with another wolfish grin, he enjoyed being this close to her…it felt warm…and comforting.
“ well i bet you can’t guess mine, it's impossible to get right”
N said in a matter of fact tone, he was still grinning and watched as she seemed to look him up and down and then go into a thinking pose with her tongue out a little and her robotic arm tapping her chin as she thought hard. felt bad for doing this…because well he..
“ yellow!”
She suddenly cried out, the biggest smile he had seen on her face so far. Huge smiling ear to ear as she actually looked like she came down from heaven itself to bless him with that smile…his heart skipped many beats as he stared at her with wide eyes…well…he did not have a favourite colour really….but…seeing the way she just yelled it out…and how happy she looked…he could not help but smile too.
“ yes…that's right”