Work is almost through, then the commute, then [[home.]] Days aren't exciting, but they're a roof over your head. You don't have any customers left, and you won't get any more, but you can't close for 10 more minutes. You'll take the peace and quiet as it comes.Home isn't much. You just moved out of the house you grew up in, into a studio apartment with your best friend. It's cramped. Suffocating. (colour: "red")[[Intimate.]]You don't know how you feel about Robin. They've been your best friend since you could have friends. You aren't inseparable, by any means. Sometimes you don't see them for years. But they're part of your life, even [[when they aren't around.]]You don't know where they go. That's their business. They're there when you need them, and that's what matters.
The hour ends. [[Time to close up.]]It's an uneventful drive home. Which is good. Events while driving are almost universally bad.
You open the door. Robin is sitting in their chair. "I have a [[surprise.]]" They look happy. Proud. They don't, normally. It's good to see them smiling again. "Are you gonna show me?"
They scoff in the way they always do. Playful indignance. "Always so impatient. Give me a moment."
[[They open the closet.]](colour: "red")[[There's a dead body.]]
(colour: "red")[[There's a dead body in your closet.]]
(colour: "red")[[There's a dead body in your closet and Robin put it there.]]
(set: num-type $robinFear to 0)(if: $robinFear is 0)["Do you like it?"
Robin is smiling. It's the same smile they had when you graduated together, when they gave you your first tarot reading, when you shared (colour: "red")[[that night at the park.]] It's good to see them smiling again.
](else-if: $robinFear is 1)[Robin's smile is strained. The silence is deafening.
](else-if: $robinFear is 2)[Robin's smile is shakey. They've always hated when you get like this, and this is the worst possible time.
](else-if: $robinFear is 3)["...do you like it?" They aren't smiling anymore. They're scared.
]
[[what the fuck]]
(colour: "red")[[I love it.]]It's still a hazy memory. You were high, you aren't normally high. Only when you're with Robin, and only when they're sad. Robin is high a lot. Probably too much. [[You worry about them.]]
Why are you thinking about the park? (colour: "red")[[There's a dead body in your closet and Robin put it there.]] Stop daydreaming.
(set: num-type $robinFear to 1)They never knew how to take care of themselves. Neither did you, really. You've tried to take care of each other, and it makes things easier. But easier doesn't mean easy. You've gotten used to working though hangovers and [[sleep deprivation.]]
Robin is waiting for an answer. Their smile is faltering. (colour: "red")[[There's a dead body in your closet and Robin put it there.]] That's something you need to address.
(set: num-type $robinFear to 2)Nights in the park are getting more common. Sleeping is hard with Robin around. They probably feel the same about you. Or maybe they slept like shit before you came along too. But so did you. That isn't something you can pin on them.
Robin coughs. Right.
(colour: "red")[[There's a dead body in your closet and Robin put it there.]]
(set: num-type $robinFear to 3)