Chapter Text
Silence was a concept Bijou was not unfamiliar with. Having spent thousands of years locked away in The Cell, she had grown accustomed to the eerie silence that permeated the prison. On its quiet days at least.. The silence during those times was suffocating and was only an uneasy calm before the storm of suffering that would often come about at the hands of their warden.
However, despite all of that, Bijou would take that silence rather than the kind she was now experiencing in a heartbeat. The silence was dull with an air of boredom and a small yet ever present feeling of awkwardness that was becoming increasingly harder to ignore. Even as she stared at her phone's home screen, having already closed and reopened the same three apps five times consecutively, the silence still weighed heavily upon the rock’s shoulders.
She breathed a deep sigh from her nose and let her phone drop from her hand and onto the couch below, as she lifted her head and looked about the living room of Advent’s hideout. The space was currently devoid of any life, with Bijou being the only soul in the room.
It was such a strange feeling, being alone in a house that was usually bustling with the activities of her and the other Advent members that lived here. Sure they all had their own homes, but there was something about the hideout that brought an innate sense of comfort and safety to the former cellmates, a feeling that as long as they were together everything would be okay. A feeling that was now missing.
Bijou groaned as she leaned back on the couch's armrest, staring up at the ceiling. She knew it was only temporary, she knew the others would only be gone a few days. Shiori had gone off with Mumei to aid the owl in her civilization duties and archive any events that took place, while Nerissa and Mococo had gone off on a “romantic trip”. Where to? No one knew except for Nerissa, simply stating that she wanted it to be a surprise for her girlfriend. That left Bijou and Fuwawa as the remaining two members in the house.
Unfortunately, the elder Abyssguard twin was the source of Bijou’s awkward feelings. The rock considered herself to be close with all her genmates, however for her, Fuwamoco was an enigma as she had never really interacted with either of the twins on an individual basis, no doubt due to the way the two were practically joined at the hip, rarely apart from one another.
Upon Nerissa and Mococo’s departure, they had left Bijou and Fuwawa in an awkward opposition as neither girl knew what to do or even say at that point. The silence only being broken by Fuwawa simply stating that she was heading to her room before she walked away, leaving Bijou alone in the living room for the last five hours with no idea what to do. She couldn’t stream as today was her day off and she didn’t feel like making a new thumbnail for a guerilla stream, especially not one so late in the night. She didn’t feel like playing any video games either. As a result, the rock was currently left with her thoughts to languish in boredom. But what she did want was to talk to someone, and since she didn’t know how to approach her genmate, that left only one other option.
She stood up from her spot on the couch, making sure to grab and pocket her phone, before making a B-line for her room. Upon shutting the door behind her, she sat in front of her computer and opened Discord as she put on her headphones, immediately opening her most recent dms and hitting the call button.
It took only a few short moments for the other person to answer, and a familiar low, accented voice spoke up on the other end. “Hello Bijoe!”, “Kaela!” the rock answered back instantaneously. “Whatcha doing?” she asked, the feeling of awkwardness quickly ebbing away. “I’m just currently playing Holocure, I need to prepare myself for whenever the next update drops.” The blacksmith answered pointedly, “Wait, do you even know when the next update comes out?” Bijou asked confusedly. As far as she was aware, Kay Yu hadn’t given an exact date, “No, but you can never start practicing too early,” Kaela stated matter of factly, causing Bijou to laugh in response.
“How are you doing? I didn’t expect you to call so suddenly, especially not on your day off,” Kaela inquired innocently enough, though for some reason it caused Bijou’s shoulders to lightly tense up at being called out. Nevertheless she responded, “Oh? I was just kinda bored and wanted someone to talk to,” the rock answered smoothly. Satisfied with her response she continued, “It’s a little too quiet with everyone else gone, you know?” Bijou smiled to herself, the tension in her shoulders dissipating as she spoke. “I thought Fuwawa was still at the hideout, no?”
Whatever tension that had left swiftly returned with a vengeance, and the earlier awkward feelings made sure to remind Bijou of their existence. Her mind blanked immediately, it was true that Fuwawa was in the hideout alongside the rock, she was quite literally just two doors down from her, and it was true that if Bijou wanted someone to talk to she could just walk across the hall and start up a conversation. But then there’s the issue of Bijou not really knowing how to approach the fluffy demon dog. It was much easier with the twins together, as they very easily bounced off one another when talking with someone, coupled with the fact that Bijou had rarely seen them apart since meeting them in The Cell.
What if she said or did something weird and made Fuwawa uncomfortable? What if she froze up from not knowing what to say to her? What if- “Bijou!” Kaela’s voice cut off the rock's ever intrusive thoughts, and made her realize that she had been quiet for an uncomfortably long time. “Oh uh.. Yeah! Yeah, I’m fine, sorry. I just got lost in thought is all,” she answered quickly, desperately trying to save face.
Kaela’s only reply was to hum in response, and Bijou instantly knew that the blacksmith saw right through her. “Did something happen with Fuwawa?” Kaela asked gently, “NO! No! No- nothing happened, it’s just..” Bijou trailed off after her forceful denial, “It’s just that..” She pulled her feet up onto her chair and tucked her knees under her chin as she hugged herself, “I don’t really know how to talk to her.” She answered honestly, deciding there was no point in dancing around the subject. Especially not with Kaela.
“What do you mean you ‘don’t know how to talk to her’?” Kaela questioned after a brief moment. Bijou could only bury her face in her knees as she spoke, “I don’t know it’s just.. I’ve never really spoken with either of the twins individually before, and now that I’m alone in a house with her I don’t really know how to approach her,” her thoughts once again strayed to her fluffy genmate, briefly wondering what she could be doing right now. “Do you want to talk to her?” Kaela’s question once again cutting off Bijou’s train of thought, before it fully processed in her brain, “Yes, of course I do!” the rock answered instantly, her head flinging up from its spot in her knees.
“Then just do it!” Kaela practically shouted from the other end of the call. Bijou made to turn that idea down only for the blacksmith to promptly cut her off, “ She’s your genmate! You broke out of jail with her, bodoh!” Kaela scolded as Bijou could only try and fail to get a word in, “Are you not the same Bijou that called me out of the blue not even five minutes ago because you were bored?!”
Bijou had no good rebuttal or excuse. Everything the blacksmith said was true and the rock could only slump back in her chair as she admitted it to herself. Kaela did have a point however. She and Fuwawa have known each other for thousands of years by this point, they had escaped the unimaginable horrors of The Cell together, and the two along with the rest of Advent had joined Hololive together, after crashing their escape car into the old studio that is..
The point being, they had been through literal hell and back together. They already shared a bond from their mutual experiences and trauma. Why should a little awkward tension stop them from becoming closer as friends. A nervous yet confident smile etched its way onto her face, and the gem on her chest turned an ocean blue from beneath her shirt.
“You know what Kaela? You’re right! I am gonna go talk to her! This is no problem for The Jewel of Emotions!” Bijou addressed the blacksmith, her small chest puffing out with a feeling of gusto. She could hear short puffs of air on the other end of the call, a tell tale sign that her friend was laughing. “Yes, you can do this! Ganbatte!”, “Yeah!” Bijou cheered back enthusiastically and she stood from her chair, “Thank you for that Kaela, I needed to hear that. I’ll catch you later!” she gleefully thanked her friend and she moved her cursor to the ‘End Call’ button.
“I’ll catch you later Bijoe! I’ll make sure to text you after my stream,” the blacksmith responded happily, and Bijou’s body stilled like a statue upon hearing her friend’s words. “Wait-” she managed to choke out, “Have you been streaming this entire time?” She dreaded the answer despite already knowing it. “Yeah, you didn’t know that I was?” Kaela answered, a tinge of amusement in her voice. Bijou immediately opened the first browser on her hot bar, heading straight to the YouTube tab and typing Kaela’s channel into the search bar.
To the small rock’s horror and embarrassment, the first search result was an ongoing livestream. One with over 6 thousand people currently watching… “Dang it!” She promptly ended the call trying to spare herself from any further embarrassment upon realizing that over 6 thousand people heard their conversation. How had she not considered that Kaela could be streaming. It was Kaela for crying out loud! Her gemstone swirled with both soft red and yellow hues as her cheeks burned a bright red.
Nevertheless, she quickly brushed off her embarrassment, deciding she’d deal with that later. She had more important matters to deal with. She stepped away from her desk and walked to her bedroom door and pulled it open, her crystalline feet making melodic clinking sounds as she walked across the hardwood floor and down the hallway stopping in front of a familiar black door with a blue and pink paw print dotting its surface.
Having been separated during their time in The Cell, the twins refused to sleep in different rooms upon their escape. After Mococo had started dating Nerissa though, she had begun to sleep in the raven’s room more often but still made an effort to sleep alongside Fuwawa whenever she or her sister needed it. But now, Mococo was away and currently, the room was only inhabited by the elder Abyssguard sister. Bijou inhaled a deep breath to soothe her nerves as she raised her hand and gently rapt her knuckles on the door.
. . .
Fuwawa had completely given up trying to sleep hours ago. After going almost two whole weeks without needing her sister with her, she had been confident that she would be okay the duration of Mococo and Nerissa’s trip. She had even confidently stated to her fuzzy twin that she would be able to sleep just fine, that she didn’t need to worry. It seems the universe had different plans however.
The sun had already set by the time the two lovers left, and Fuwawa had figured that she may as well catch up on sleep and head to bed early. Unfortunately for her, sleep wouldn’t take her. She had spent nearly 4 hours just tossing and turning, desperately trying to get comfortable under the covers, and even when her mind would begin to drift off, she would remember that Mococo was not with her and cause her to flashback to her time in The Cell. The times of her curled up on the cold floor alone and crying from the overwhelming hopelessness, desperately wishing to have her younger sister by her side.
Now, she had resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn’t sleep tonight, as she laid on her bed idly scrolling through her phone in the dark room. She had been on Twitter for the better part of an hour by now, simply checking what randomly popped up on her For-You page, before deciding to look at the Fuwamoco art tag. She couldn’t help but to smile as looked through all the different posts. She always loved seeing the different artworks the ruffians would draw of her and her sister, and seeing them was always able to ebb some of Fuwawa’s anxieties.
As she continued her mindless scrolling, she began to see more artworks of her and Mococo with the rest of Advent. She clicked on a picture that particularly caught her interest, and as she looked over it, her pink eyes fixated on the smallest of her genmates, Bijou.
Fuwawa had wanted to talk with the short rock, considering that they’d have the hideout to themselves for at least a week, but didn’t really know how to approach her. After their genmates had departed and left her and Bijou standing awkwardly in front of the door, neither of the two girls really knew how to cross the gap that was left between them.
It didn’t help that Fuwawa had never really spoken with Bijou without her sister around. Sure she had spoken with Shiori on her own multiple times, usually while the Archiver was studying in the library. But those were during times when Mococo was still in the house, and Nerissa had confided in Fuwawa multiple times about her feelings for the younger twin before the two started dating. Realistically, the fluffy demon should have no problem striking up a conversation with Bijou. But this time, Mococo wasn’t here. She wasn’t even in the hideout. Leaving Fuwawa without someone to fall back on if things got awkward.
She groaned to herself, silently cursing her rampant anxieties before focusing her attention back to her phone. Her eyes widened upon realizing that in her daze, she unconsciously tapped on Bijou’s art tag and had begun scrolling through and liking the posts. Her cheeks burned bright red, blaming her tired brain for getting her here, her thumb however continued scrolling and liking more pictures, trapping Fuwawa in the repetitive pattern as she began to actually look at the different artworks.
Fluffy ears perked up at the sounds of melodic clinking from out in the hall, indicating that the subject of her mind’s current fixation was up and about. The clinking got slightly further away before abruptly stopping at the sound of a shutting door and a soft sigh left Fuwawa's lips as she refocused on the screen in her palm. Her thumb’s scrolling came to a halt as a particular piece of art appeared before her eyes. The artist style was soft and easy on the eyes and somehow managed to capture Bijou’s likeness perfectly.
Her thumb tapped on the post before her mind could fully process the action, enlarging the image and making the little details all the more clearer. The picture consisted of Bijou in a slightly different style than what she usually wore on stream. She was sitting on a couch wearing light gray sweatpants and a white tank top that was cropped just above her flat stomach, with a light purple and white letterman jacket over top to complete the outfit. The look was somewhat tomboyish, yet perfectly fit the rock’s personality, especially with the smug smile that the artist had given her.
The piece was truly amazing, and the artstyle only complimented it. But Fuwawa found that her eyes remained fixated on her genmates face. The artist had really captured Bijou’s cute and smug likeness perfectly. As her eyes continued to fixate, so did her thoughts begin to wander. Did Bijou’s eyes always look that radiant? Or was it just a stylistic choice?
The sounds of melodic clinking once again caught her attention, but Fuwawa chose to pay it no mind, figuring that her genmate may be getting a snack from the kitchen. The clinking stopped in front of her door however, and a sudden gentle knocking on the door forced the elder Abyssguard to rip her eyes from her phone screen and focus on the door across from her.
“Come in!” she called out habitually, only to then process what she had actually said and quickly moved her fingers to close Twitter, her phone’s brightly colored home screen momentarily blinding her right as the door to her room opened and the main lights flicked on blinding her again. She rapidly blinked the spots out of her eyes as her pupils adjusted to the sudden change in brightness.
Once she could properly see again, she sat up from her spot on the bed and peered at the now open door, being greeted by the sight of the person she had just been thinking about standing in the doorway. “H-Hi Fuwawa!” Bijou greeted sweetly, ignoring the nervous stutter in her voice. Fuwawa took a moment to look over her genmate, surprised to see she was wearing roughly the same outfit as the one in the artwork she had just been staring at, minus the cropped tank top as she was wearing a simple oversized t-shirt.
“U-um.. Fuwawa?” said girl was ripped from her thoughts at Bijou calling her name again, making her realize that she had been silently staring for a little too long. “Oh, hi Biboo!” Fuwawa answered back quickly, trying to salvage the situation as she continued, “Sorry you just startled me is all.”, “Oh, I’m sorry for startling you,” the rock wilted slightly as she spoke, but quickly recovered, “I just uh.. wanted to talk and see how you were doing.”
Fuwawa’s heart lightly jumped in her chest at the words. Had Bijou been thinking the same thing she was earlier? “Oh! Yes we can talk if you want..,” she said, briefly maneuvering to sit up against her headboard. “Um, Biboo, you can come in, you know..” Fuwawa said, seeing as Bijou was still standing in the doorway, lightly pulling on the sleeves of her jacket. The rock’s face brightened immensely and lightly flushed red at Fuwawa’s words, as she quickly stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.
She made her way over to Fuwawa, her crystalline feet silent against the carpet. The fluffy guard dog watched as her genmate slowly approached her, hands still fiddling with her sleeves. A soft smile broke its way onto Fuwawa’s face as she observed the endearing display, patting the spot in front of her on the bed. Bijou took the hint and sat down on the bed, her body visibly stiff. In fact upon further inspection, Fuwawa noticed that the gem on the rock’s chest was lightly glowing with a swirl of light pink, muddy red, and small slivers of ocean blue.
While the elder Abyssguard had never interacted with Bijou on an individual basis, she had still known her long enough to know that muddy red was a sign that the girl in front of her was very nervous. It may even be a show of anxiety, given how much of the color there was. Worry ensnared Fuwawa’s brain as she lightly frowned, and her mouth blurted out words before she could even care to think, “Are you okay, Biboo?”
Bijou lightly flinched and glanced up at the gentle words, seeing her friend’s pink eyes fixated on her and filled with concern. “Y-yeah I-” She stopped herself, knowing lying would do nothing to help her. Her body was a reflection of her current emotions, and Fuwawa could see them on full display. Releasing a deep sigh from her lungs, Bijou readied herself for what she was about to say, “ No.. no no I’m not okay,” she answered honestly as she dared to look her genmate in the eyes. “I’m so nervous it’s killing me..”
“Why are you nervous though, Biboo?” Fuwawa’s soft voice questioned, and Bijou turned her whole body to fully face the other girl. “Because I want to talk to you… but I don’t know how to and now that it’s only us in the hideout this week I wanna learn more about you, but I don’t know how to start the conversation and I just… I don’t know..” the rock slowly shrunk in on herself as her small rant slowly trailed off. She silently observed the other girl's reaction, waiting for some form of a response.
What she got instead was a tiny snort before Fuwawa erupted into a fit of adorable fluffy giggles, her eyes closing as her cheeks darkened to make up for the new lack of pink. Bijou could only stare incredulously at her giggling genmate, her own cheeks taking up a pink hue as her gem swirled a similar color. “W-what? Why are you laughing at me? I’m trying to be serious here!” the rock blurted out as the taller girl continued to laugh. “I know, I know,” Fuwawa answered quickly, trying to stifle her giggles, “It’s just that, well, you’re already doing that right now, Biboo.”
The rock’s mind blanked out as the girl’s words processed, and it finally dawned on her that she had already said everything she wanted to say in her mini rant seconds earlier. Her face could only further flush in embarrassment.
Fuwawa’s giggles eventually stopped, and she started softly at Bijou. “You know I was thinking the same things you were, Biboo?” She asked as she pulled her knees up to her chest to hug. The smaller girl could only stare at her dumbly, “Really?”, “Yes really,” Fuwawa lightly giggled, “I was actually just thinking about you before you came in here,” the blush on both girl’s faces deepened at her admittance, “I.. wanna get to know you better too, Biboo.”
The softest of her friend’s voice and gaze, the validation of her feelings, and the flurry of emotions was almost too much for her, but still Bijou lunged at Fuwawa, trapping the other girl in a tight hug. A hug that only became tighter as the other girl lowered her knees. A sense of relief and mirth washed over both girls upon realizing that they had been nervous about the exact same thing, only to find out they had nothing to worry about. Once the hug ended their mouths wouldn’t stop moving as they talked up and down for what felt like hours, their words naturally bouncing back and forth between each other, and Bijou’s gem shone a brilliant emerald green as they bantered.
Eventually a low yawn escaped from Fuwawa’s lips, reminding her that she still hadn’t slept. “You getting tired Fuwawa?” Bijou asked, letting out a small yawn of her own, “Mmm, a little bit,” Fuwawa admitted softly with a small rub of her eyes, “What time is it?” she asked, digging through the blankets in search of her phone. Bijou promptly pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the time, “It’s 3:31,” her purple eyes widened as she read it out.
Another yawn broke from Bijou’s lips as she pocketed her phone before raising her arms above her head in a stretch. “Well I should probably get some sleep, I have a meeting in the afternoon.” her arms dropped as she stood from the bed, looking down at her fluffy friend, “Well you have a goodnight Fuwawa, I’ll talk to you in the morning!”
Fuwawa couldn’t respond due to the feeling of her chest tightening around her heart, her anxieties of sleeping alone from earlier still persisted. She didn’t want to feel scared tonight. She didn’t want to go back to the Cell. She didn’t want to be alone. She reached out and gripped Bijou’s sleeve before the other girl could turn around, her head hung as her friend looked back at her. “Fuwawa?” the small rock asked as she carefully observed the sullen pup, “Are you okay?”
“A-Actually, Biboo…” her naturally soft voice was a near inaudible whisper as she gathered her words, “c-could… could you sleep here with me tonight?” She said it. She had said and could never take it back. Bijou was silent and the room suddenly felt much colder. She felt the smaller girl move and reach past her, and the click of a lamp turning on reached her ears. Fuwawa’s eyes lifted as Bijou turned and walked away, forcing the pup to release her grip on her jacket. She watched as her genmate crossed the room before reaching the light switch before flicking it off. The room only then illuminated by the dim light of the lamp.
Bijou turned back and approached the bed, a smile etched onto her face. She crawled onto the bed and scootched towards the pillows before slipping under the blankets. “Alright, I’ll stay” she simply stated as she snuggled against the pillows, her back turned to her fluffy genmate.
Had she been any more tired, Fuwawa probably would’ve cried. Instead she layed down and pulled the covers up to her chin. She still felt cold though, she needed just a little more before could fall asleep. A small thought momentarily crossed her mind, and Fuwawa could help but to blush. It was a risk. One that could cross a line in her and Bijou’s very recently ignited friendship. Still, she needed it.
She slowly scooted forward until her front was pressed against her friend’s back. Her face flushed red as Bijou didn’t say a word, only scooting back to close any remaining gap left between the two. Fuwawa’s heart felt lighter as happiness overcame her, and she couldn’t help but to wrap her arms around the small rocks waist and bury her face in her long silver hair. Tiny sniffles could be heard as a small voice spoke up, “Thank you, Biboo…”
The small rock could only smile, “No need to thank me. Goodnight Fuwawa” The fluffy demon didn’t utter a response, only small even breaths could be heard, which could only mean she had fallen asleep. Bijou though, was grateful of that, as it meant Fuwawa couldn’t hear the incessant pounding of her crystalline heart. Still, sleep called to her and so she closed her as she gradually fell into slumber, the room remaining illuminated by only the dim lamp and the gem on Bijou’s chest, which glowed a soft pink hue.