Chapter Text
The rain picked up as Test Tube bolted across the field, which felt like it was stretching beyond her own vision. It was dark too, she had to squint and hope she didn't accidentally harm herself due to low vision.
Test Tube didn't have to follow the trail of blood and flowers to know exactly where he went, where else would he go when he was scared? Besides her lab, that is. She was no doubt diluted by now due to the pouring rain, but it didn't matter. Nothing did, not if he died here.
Had she been crying the entire time? She wasn't quite sure, but the tears felt old and new as they mixed with the rain. What if that was the last time she ever spoke to him, ever heard one the sound of his voice or how loud his laugh got when the two were alone. The pain in her heart was nearing a dangerous level, anxiety levels spiked beyond her own comprehension. This couldn't be the end, she needed Fan more than anything in the world.
Test Tube nearly kicked down the door to hotel OJ, earning a startled sound from the individuals inside. OJ's mouth opened to speak, possibly to protest against how close she was to damaging the door. But he wasn't allowed the chance as she shoved right past him, opting to skip the elevator in favor of racing up the stairs. Admittedly she wasn't thinking about how dangerous it was to rush as an object made of pure glass, the possibly of shattering was there! She clipped the edge of her side into the railing of the stairs, gasping as she heard a nasty crack.
Her vision darted down to her side, instinctively going to hold the wound with a gasp. It was a minor crack thankfully, not enough for any liquid to begin leaking out. She would have to patch that up once she was sure Fan was safe.
Test Tube pulled herself to the top of the stairs with more care this time. Curse Fan for wanting a room near the top of hotel OJ, something about the balcony view when it hit the late hours; she would give anything to sit on the balcony with him one last time, to listen to his voice pitch higher as he rambled about whatever theory he saw.
The carpet bunched below her as she whipped the corner, hurrying through the hall before she eventually found Fan and Paintbrush's room. She desperately tried the door handle, yanking as she listened helplessly to the lock jingle. Of course he locked it, it was like Fan knew he was going to die. Was he trying to stop her, protect her?
"Fan, Fan!" Test Tube's voice was hoarse as she screamed, desperately pulling on the handle and knocking on the door. The lack of replies from the other side didn't help her anxiety at all. Why wasn't Paintbrush there, the one time she needed somebody to help her.
"FAN!" She screamed out again, opting to try and slam herself against the door. A sharp hiss escaped her as she remembered the crack present on the side of her body. The last thing she wanted was to start bleeding out right outside her best friend's door. But what was the point if she couldn't get inside to save him? Was he even inside the room at all?
What if she was too late?
That last thought sent a spike of anxiety through her, strong enough to cause Test Tube to violently kick down the door with a loud crash, sharp paint shooting through her leg. No doubt she sprained her ankle at the least. Every single thought was blocked out as she saw the amount of blood and flowers that covered the room, instinctively shutting the door behind her as she felt frozen. Her gaze slowly, dauntingly followed the crimson trail to the closed bathroom door. If that door was locked she was going to throw herself against it.
Good golly her leg hurt so bad as she dragged herself across the room as fast as she possibly could, both hands on the bathroom door handle within seconds.
Shaky hands fumbled with the handle as she turned and yanked it in a variety of directions, not thinking clearly on which would even be the correct one. Eventually she forcefully tore the door open, stumbled back in order to not get hit by the swinging object.
Her glass felt cold, hands clammy as the sight inside made her stomach drop below her knees.
Fan was lying on the cold bathroom floor, blood displayed across the floors, walls, countertop as he was motionless. Flowers fit for a funeral spilled out around him like a cruel joke, a sickeningly beautiful display that cut right through her heart.
Test Tube threw herself onto the ground without a second care, her hand quickly grabbing his shoulders and lifting him into a sitting position. Her voice was shaky, filled with choked sobs.
"Fan! Fan?!" Her fingers caressed his face with much care, then quickly moving to feel for a pulse, a heartbeat or anything.
It was so painfully slow, but there at the least. Test Tube desperately shook him back and forth, hoping just for a moment to see some sense of the Fan she once remembered. A sharp cough escaped Fan as his eyes blinked open just the smallest amount.
"..test tube?" His voice was hoarse, no doubt from the amount of blood and flowers he'd coughed up.
"Fan!" Mild relief coated her voice, he was still here. But clearly dying. "You didn't show and- it's not too late! Golly get-," Her voice was a mix of worry, panic and frustration as she helped him settle against the wall. He looked so pale it made her flood with guilt, she should have known this would happen. She should've pushed him further to confess, maybe then this wouldn't have happened.
His expression was.. difficult to read. Fan looked both relieved to see her, and somewhat horrified in a way. Test Tube didn't want to think about it, but maybe he didn't want to be found, or saved at all.
"..I'm surprised you found me, how did you-?" Fan coughed harshly, flowers peeking out of the corner of his mouth.
"I broke down the door." Test Tube muttered quickly, mentally shoving that conversation aside. "Why didn't you tell me it got this bad? Fan this is the last stages of the disease!" Her hands gently held his face, prying his mouth open as she looked over the bloody insides, flower petals falling out gently.
"It's not too late!" Straightening up, she hissed as the side of her body still hurt from the crack. "W-who's your crush? I'll go get them right now, hang on!" She scrambled up, steadying herself on the countertop as she started to hurry towards the door, lingering for a moment to hear who's name he'd say.
"T-Test tube wait-" Fan leaned forward and hunched over in pain as he nearly threw up more flowers. "Fan who!" Her voice was harsher than she intended, but anxiety had ahold of every nerve in her body. Fan tried to force more words out, but it was pointless as blood dripped down his lips. "I. It's-"
Test Tube took one impatient step towards him, hands now bunched into fists. The minutes were counting down, Test Tube now worrying if she was going to have time to nearly fling herself down the stairs and find the unspoken individual, what if they weren't in their room? What if they were across the entire island! Just how fast could she run if Fan's life was on the line. Fan had gone quiet now, his breathing rough but no more coughing, or speaking. He wasn't even looking at her anymore, hands covering his face. Just as she felt her anger start to bubble up, the liquid inside of her about to boil over it all clicked in her head.
Of course.
Test Tube hurled herself onto the floor in front of him again, quickly and carefully prying Fan's hands away from his face.
"Fan. Fan is it me?"
She tried to insert herself into his point of view, but somehow he didn't seem to be looking at her at all. It had to be her, why didn't she pick up any of the signs? Golly she felt so so stupid; he came to her first for advice, the way he acted in the lab, rushed words.. he even invited her out to dinner!
And then he ran away. Fan ran away and locked himself up out of fear.
Fan's lips pressed into a thin shaky line, quivering slightly as he managed to force out a weak nod. Fan closed his eyes, refusing to make eye contact with her, worried what he would see. Test Tube felt like her head was suddenly spun in a sharp circle, whiplash hitting her hard. She barely even noticed the tears that filled her eyes as her hands swiftly cupped his face, mouth open but no words spilling out.
If she picked up the signs sooner would he have been okay? Could this all have been avoided? Surely she should've taken this possibility into consideration. Everything felt so loud, all too cold and too warm at the same time. The sight of her best friend leaned against the wall in front of her, blood covering his mouth and dripping down his front, staining the paper fan. It wasn't, but it all felt like it was her fault, she should have done something different to change the outcome.
Fan's eyes flickered open the smallest amount, like he was peeking to see her expression. Light eye contact was held for a moment, no doubt Test Tube looked like a teary-eyed mess, with a small shake to her body due to nerves. She couldn't help it, the sight of somebody she cared so deeply for so affected. Oh Fan.
Test Tube swiftly scooted closer and pulled , pressing her lips against his in a light, chaste kiss; like she was worried anything more would break him beneath her. Normally she would refrain from kissing somebody with blood trickling from their mouth, golly it was a literal bio-hazard after all! Yet in this circumstance, it would have meant nothing if Fan were to die in the end. Fan seemed to be just as surprised as she was, freezing up at the touch. For a minute Test Tube thought he wasn't going to kiss back at all, but the lightest bit of pressure was returned as Fan tried his best to return the affection.
She pried herself away from Fan against her better wishes, looking over his surprised expression with an awkward smile in return.
"..it is you, yeah." Fan croaked out awkwardly, sitting up straighter against the bathroom wall.
Test Tube let out a sigh of relief at his words, finally allowing herself to relax her muscles somewhat. All the pain that was previously muffled by adrenaline was slowly returning, like a burning sensation crawling up her leg throughout her side. Goodness that was going to be a pain to heal, curse her lack of consideration for the object healing process!
She was drawn back to reality as she noticed Fan's growing look of fear. Right! The disease, confessing, all of it!
"Golly Fan- I-I wish you told me sooner! I- we could've," She inhaled.
"I love you, Fan."
Fan's expression shifted immediately, his eyes softening as he sat up a little harshly. Test Tube was almost startled at how quickly he inhaled the air, coughing sharply for a moment. "The disease!" Test Tube gasped as she was suddenly right up in his face, embarrassingly trying to pry his mouth open to see if she could possibly see anything. "Golly! I hope there's some flowers or something I can look more into-!" She said, before pausing as she and Fan made eye contact. Quickly she reeled back.
"sorry." An awkward chuckle escaped her.
"It's fine Test Tube," Fan rubbed his jaw with possibly the softest look she'd ever seen on his face. An adorable mix of relief and shyness, it was an interesting change for his character. "I uh."
Fan inhaled.
"love you too." Test Tube felt one of her hands gently get taken into his as he spoke, a welcome silence filling the air as she allowed herself to settle down beside him, leaning against him. Her eyes trailed across the bathroom floor to the flower petals left over, no doubt she would take a couple back to her lab. The floor had flower petals, bits of blood and.. green liquid?
"Test Tube- you're cracked!" Fan's voice was quickly filled with panic as he sat up and hovered a hand over the crack on her side. "Golly! I nearly forgot," She said, quickly slapping a hand over the crack to prevent any more spillage. Within an instant Fan was up and holding out a hand to help her up, a soft hiss escaping Test Tube once she put pressure on her leg.
"What- Test Tube!" Fan squeaked again once he saw her twisted ankle. Test Tube hopped over to the countertop as he followed behind her, digging around for some bandages to wrap up her side. Soft laughter escaped the object as she tried to lighten the mood. "Jeez Fan, sorry. I was in a rush."
"It's okay.. I guess we're both a mess huh?" Fan commented with a knowing smile, using extra care as he wrapped up the crack present on her torso. A snort of laughter came from Test Tube as she nodded in agreement, she would do it again if it meant saving Fan. She hadn't even had a proper moment to let it sink in that he had a crush on her of all objects. Although it certainly made sense once she thought deeper into it. Fan splashed some water into his mouth and cleaned his face a bit, getting rid of the bits of blood leftover.
"I'll be okay, I just wanted to make sure you were."
Fan sat back a little with a guilty expression. "Sorry about.. all of that."
Test Tube shifted towards him and gently patted his side a couple times. "It's alright Fan. I'm surprised I didn't figure it out at all," She questioned curiously.
"You were too busy being a jeebweezer." He retorted. The two exited the bathroom, Test Tube limping with the help of Fan as they walked over to his bed and settled down on top of it.
She slightly smacked his arm. "Like you were any better." The familiar atmosphere was beyond welcoming after the horror movie of events the two just had to go through. Test Tube couldn't believe that for a moment she nearly lost it all, she never wanted to be at that kind of risk ever again. Fan was looking at her with a mix of a curious and expecting look, one that made her perk an eyebrow. What could he possibly want?
Although she didn't have to wait more than a second to get her answer, as she noticed him shifting closer with a hint of anxiety. With the way his gaze repeatedly landed on her lips it didn't take her long to figure out what he was about to ask.
So Test Tube beat him to it, gently tilting his face up towards hers as she allowed their lips to meet in a proper kiss this time. Blood free as well, scientist approved for the lack of biohazards! She let the connect linger for a sweet moment, Fan's hand gently running over her side as they avoided the bandages.
Fan laughed softly as he pulled away. "I'm surprised you kissed me before, with all the.. blood." He snorted. Test Tube couldn't deny the sleepiness she felt weighing her limbs down by now.
"Me either. Golly that had to have broken lots of health code violations-!" She gasped sarcastically, before her voice melted into a soft snortle of laughter shared with Fan. Test Tube enjoyed the view of Fan's warm expression, before scooting back further onto the bed. A silent understanding was exchanged as Fan followed suit and lifted the plush white duvet, allowing the two to settle under it together. Fan seemed hesitant to get too close to her, probably due to the various amount of injuries covering her now.
But she wasn't, she was honestly tired both physically and mentally so she couldn't care less! So she collapsed backwards onto the thick pillow, before practically yanking him down with her, earning a startled yelp from the other object. Limbs entangled with a series of mutual giggles, both equally tired yet slightly giddy about being so close to eachother. Nerds.
Test Tube chose to wrap one of her arms around his side, her other hand holding his gently as Fan nuzzled himself as close as he could get to her. She was more than ready to get some well deserved sleep "You still owe me a proper date," Test Tube whispered against him, Fan's nervous laughter sounding like music to her tired ears.
"Yeah, I guess I do huh?"
The concept of an actual date with Fan was enough to make her heart do one more flutter before she finally allowed herself to settle down against him, her face pressed nearly right against his as the two practically melted into eachothers' holds, the room going quiet as the two drifted off softly.