Chapter Text
Niffty sat in a chair next to Baxter lab bench, spinning in the chair she was given. When she got too dizzy to keep spinning, she stopped, moving to fidget with her long gloves instead. She picked at the black fabric till Baxter’s voice got her attention.
“Now, my dear, I have a new formula– better and more stable than my previous attempt– and this one is ready for human trial!” Baxter held up and small beaker like a trophy, looking up at the small glass while pushing his goggles up with his other hand. He cleaned his throat and looked at Niffty, eyeing her hands and they tugged on her gloves.
His voice softened as he raised her chair to be at a more proper height, placing the beaker on the table. “Please, Niff, this will go smoother if you stop fidgeting.” He took a deep breath before continuing, his voice a little louder and more confident. “Now, if you are ready, we shall begin the process!”
Niffty her best to stay still, which made Baxter give a content smile, which made her smile back. She rolled her glove down to her wrist and pushed her sleeve up, giving him a perfect view of her shoulder. Niffty took a few deep breaths before feeling the pinch of the needle entering her skin just below her left shoulder.
“Very good, daring.” Baxter discarded the empty syringe into a container on the lab bench. He reached to the far end of the bench to grab a clipboard with the experiment’s information papers on it. He flipped past the contract he had Niffty signed, as well as the list of things in the injection, before settling his fingers on the paper with the blank “test results” list.
———
Baxter waited a minute, kept track by his stopwatch next to him, before turning back to full face Niffty. He clicked his pen open and cleared his throat. “Do you feel anything immediate, daring?”
Niffty gave a small wince, raising her right hand to her chest. “My chest hurts… b-but that might be anxiety.”
“Okay…” Baxter scribbled down her words in a small box on the paper. He then set the clipboard down and grabbed Niffty’s half-gloved hand, interlocking their fingers. “Say, do you have any plans after this? Y-you got the day off, yes?”
“Oh, I did! But I really can’t wait for tomorrow, I’ve been slowly tweaking my cleaning routine and I think I’ve got the perfect one to finally beat my record for fastest cleaning time!” Niffty’s smile grew at the words of her plan. “Why? Did you have any idea of what to do~?”
Baxter opened his mouth to speak, but Niffty quickly blurted out another question, her smile fading slightly and her eye widening. “Wait! This isn’t going to mess my plans up, is it?”
Baxter couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at Niffty’s biggest concerns being her cleaning routine. He patted her hand as he finally answered her questions. “I thought that maybe if this went well, we could maybe watch a movie or something. As for your plans tomorrow, this should wear off by tomorrow. Nothing in the injection should cause harm and you should be back by tonight at the earliest.”
“Okay!” Niffty’s smile came back, a little smaller, but still present. She looked at Baxter, her expression the most timid he’d ever seen. She giggled, of few words spoken through the giggles. “I’d like to go to the movies with you.”
“Me too-“ Baxter said. He was about to ask her for movie suggestions, but the lights suddenly flickered before shutting off. Baxter’s esca quickly blinked a few times before illuminating the space, showing his annoyed face. “What the FUCK?!”
His reaction made Niffty giggle louder. Once Baxter had realized how loud he was, he blushed from embarrassment and cleared his throat. “The power seems to have gone out. But, we shall be okay in here for I am part angler fish!”
Niffty’s giggles turned into full laughter at that. Keeping a grip on Baxter’s hand, Niffty reached over to her phone and picked it up in her free hand. Charlie had gotten all of the hotel staff their own so they could have a group chat. Opening the group chat, Niffty was met with one new message, which she read out to Baxter. “Charlie says, ‘A fuse was blown and the power will be out for a little bit’.”
Baxter nodded, but could pick up on Niffty breathing speeding up slightly. He gently pulled the phone from her hand, setting it face down on the lab bench. He took both of her hands in his own. “Panicking won’t do you any good, darling. The power will be back on soon enough. And in the meantime, I can give us enough light to stay comfortable.”
“I-it’s not that…” Niffty shakily replied. She took a few deep breaths that helped a little before opening her mouth again. “I can’t feel my legs…”
Baxter’s eyes widened behind his goggles. He quickly grabbed his clipboard and jotted down the current results, mumbling as he did so. “Okay… five minutes… numb legs… I didn’t think this would happen…”
Niffty’s breathing only continued to pick up. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She pushed her gloves up her arm, and then back down, repeating the up and down until Baxter had to force her hands away from her arms and pulled off her gloves. He folded the gloves and placed them neatly next to her phone.
Baxter gently took both of hands, placing one of hers in each of his. He took a deep breath of his own. “Darling, I know this isn’t what I thought would happen. B-but that’s okay, because we’ll figure this out. Alright? Can you take a few breaths for me?”
Niffty nodded and slowly took a few deep breaths. She slowly calmed down, her eye meeting Baxter’s before quickly darting down. He let go of one of her hands to reach out and grab her chin. He gently tilted her head up, his voice almost shockingly soft. “Hey… you okay?”
She gave another nod, which seemed to be a good enough response for Baxter as he returned his hand to cradle Niffty’s. He looked at Niffty, her eye shining like she might cry. Baxter gave a small smile.
He continued to hold her hands, his anglerfish esca illuminating the space just enough for him to see her hands and the shimmering of her big eye. He cradled her hands gently in his own gloved ones. Niffty rarely took her gloves off, so her fingernails, painted a bright blue, were a sight for the mad scientist.
“You… paint your nails…?” Baxter asked, running his thumb over the back of her hand.
“I used to always keep my nail painted when I was alive. It was originally just for my husband, but over time it became for me, I could match the color to whatever dresses I had in my closet, and he liked it even more! But, when you’re always cleaning… the polish gets chipped easily. I went through a lot of polish, many colors, many styles. Glitter was always my favorite…” Niffty paused, her eye starting to fill with tears that shimmered in Baxter’s esca.
She cleared her throat, her grip tightening on Baxter’s gloved hands. “B-but, as I said, it was a while ago, I-I was still alive. It’s not important, e-even though I still remember everything. Th-The hospital visits… the medications… the… surgery…”
Baxter’s eyes widened as Niffty spoke. His esca’s light grew, making it easier to see her nails. The bright blue color, slightly scuffed at the tips from them brushing against things from her work. Baxter brain never stopped his train of thought. His experiment, his words, all made her think off her life, which by the way she made it sound, was horrible. He felt horrible for making her think of it. Baxter parted his lips, having to take a second before pushing the words out. “I… I’m so sorry, darling.”
Niffty slumped forward in the chair, falling into Baxter’s chest. She silently rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck. She felt numb for a moment. As numb as her legs as she leaned into Baxter, until she felt the wave of emotions she hadn’t felt in a long time flood through her.
She let the tears fall. The pit in her chest that blossomed was an alien feeling, something she hadn’t felt since her death decades ago and something long forgotten. But, it felt nice. Baxter was different from her husband. And despite knowing Baxter was the worst person for comfort, being heavily introverted and quiet outside of his experiments, and that she was feeling the worst she had in years, he was somehow the best person and she somehow felt the best she had in forever.