(Archived) Poth Short Stories and One-Shots

A Brewtiful Beginning - Chapter 14

Goth perked up from his book upon hearing the rattling of the front door. Bookmarking his page and setting the book down, he greeted the taller skeleton as the door opened, "Welcome home, how was-"

He stopped short at the expression on Palette's face. His companion looked like the energy had been sapped from them, their dull starry eye lights set in a far-off stare, never leaving the ground.

Uncurling from his seat on the couch, the smaller approached the taller monster, "Is everything alright?"

Palette's skull shot up as if he only now realized where he was. Planting a rictus smile on his face, the artist seemed anxious as he said, "Oh, yeah, I'm okay. It was just a long day. I should get some sleep."

"Already?" Goth checked his phone to make sure he wasn't mistaken in the time, "It's only nine thirty-seven, plus you said you wanted to work on one of your assignments when you got home. And what about supper? Do you feel sick?"

Goth edged closer, moving his hand to check the taller's forehead. Palette's smiled seemed to become a bit more genuine as he raised his hand to remove the smaller's, "No, no, I'm okay. I just want to make sure I'm rested for work tomorrow. Sleep's important after all."

"Oh...," the smaller lowered his hand, deflating a bit as the artist retreated to his room, "I suppose that's true, but shouldn't you at least try to eat something first? Sleep is important, but so is food."

"I already had a big lunch, so you don't need to worry about me. I'll see you tomorrow morning," the taller skeleton declined, backing into his room and quickly shutting the door behind himself.

"See you tomorrow morning...," Goth called out as the small click of the bedroom door locking echoed through the quiet apartment in place of a reply.

In their four and a half months living together, Palette had never locked his door before now.

The small skeleton stood watching his roommate's door, dejected and at a loss for the sudden shift in behavior. Their interactions before Goth left for work that morning had been enjoyable and Palette seemed like he was in his usual chipper mood when he arrived for the afternoon shift change. They didn't get to talk much due to the waiting customers, but the short conversation they had was amicable enough.

There was nothing standing out to indicate the problem was on Goth's end since the artist didn't seem upset or angry with him. Something had to have happened between the time he left work and the time Palette arrived home, that was the only reasonable explanation.

"Today was...," Goth mumbled, trying to recall who was on afternoon shift today. Henderson and Melissa had arrived before Palette, and Claire was supposed to switch out Brea. Plopping himself back on the couch with his phone in his hands, the hooded skeleton began typing out a text in hopes of solving the mystery.

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Goth yawned as he walked down the sidewalk beside his companion, thoroughly stumped by the conundrum on his hands. His texts to Claire hadn't yielded any promising information. Palette had apparently been acting normal at work yesterday, taking orders as per usual, and messages from her fellow coworkers had produced similar stories.

He had attempted to get some information out of Palette when they woke up, but the artist was uncharacteristically distant and quiet as they ate breakfast, insisting he was only tired despite going to bed early the night before.

At least Goth could find relief in knowing Palette wasn't starving himself.

The pair stopped at a crosswalk one block from the cafe, though the hooded skeleton might as well have been by himself considering the lack of conversation going on. Palette seemed to be in his own little world, staring ahead but not really taking in what he was seeing.

That look bothered Goth.

Was there a problem on the way home instead? That's the only other time something could have happened... but Palette didn't look nervous at the moment, only distracted. If he ran into a mugger or a deviant on the way home last night, the artist would probably be on high alert right now...

Which meant either something happened at work that no one noticed or Goth was the cause. Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell which the way things stood right now. Until Palette spoke up or new evidence came to light, he was stuck with assumptions.

The green light of the crosswalk sign flicked on, allowing them to cross the street. Within minutes, the pair were walking into the empty cafe. The bell above the door, which usually rang with a soft chime, seemed off-key today.

"Morning," Tai called from where he was clocking in at the register. Palette gave his greeting before walking into the break room to put away his bag and jacket. As Goth walked by, the ebony-haired man leaned on the counter, "Something going on? You look off."

Goth's eye light shifted toward the doorway, staring for a moment before he caved, softly admitting, "Palette's been acting weird, but he won't tell me why."

"Ah, trouble in paradise," Tai nodded with a smirk.

"What?! No!" Goth exclaimed quietly, his cheek flushing in mortification, "Why would you say that?"

The man huffed out a laugh, "Really? Come on. Every time I've been on shift with him, he's mentioned you; things he learned from you, things you did together, reciting jokes he heard from you... which reminds me, you've been holding out 'cause it sounds like you have some pretty good ones. Also, you should've seen how fired up he got when he found out you'd never gone out after work, not to mention the fuss he made at the bar when Zeke kept pushing you."

Goth blinked, his mouth opening and closing like a stranded fish before he murmured, "He talks about me?"

"Yeah, he does, and he lights up like a firework when he does," Tai confirmed, flipping switches to warm up the machines as he continued, "And then there's you. You've become much more open and conversational with everyone, you actually came out for a gettogether; something you've never done before, and you're just... happier in general lately. That all started after Palette showed up. Clearly, you've both had an effect on each other."

While Goth couldn't doubt the effect on his end, there was still a seed of doubt given the last night's events, "I wish I could believe that, but-"

"Believe what?" Palette asked as he came through the doorway, tying his apron around his waist.

"Nothing," Goth hastily declared with a pointed look at Tai. His coworker threw their hands up in compliance before the small skeleton weaved around a bewildered Palette to retrieve his own apron, taking a breath to calm himself as he reached his coat cubbie.

The shop would be opening soon, so he had to focus on doing his job... he'd worry about emotional problems later.

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Word Count: 1,176