Work Text:
The day had come to an end; and it had been a good one. Mariana was exhausted, he had no idea how Slime managed to do this every day, but it felt good, knowing that his daughter had enjoyed the day and now laid her in her bed, snoring softly. She truly was a miracle, his Juana.
He allowed his eyes to close and drifted into a light sleep, filled with nothing but the warm feeling of a job well done.
When Mariana opened his eyes again that warmth still hung around his heart and he smiled, even if his head was heavy with sleep. He should get up, leave Juana to her rest. Growing children needed their rest.
As soon as Mariana pushed himself out of his chair he felt it. The familiar tingling in his right foot, the numbness as he tried to put weight on it, the tugging of gravity as he stumbled and fell forwards. He landed face forward on the unsanded wooden floor, his left hand grazing Juana‘s red felt blanket on its way down.
He didn‘t notice right away. Whether it was the tiredness or the happiness or the shock of the fall he didn‘t know, but he didn‘t. He didn‘t even move at first. Instead he felt after the small pains in his right elbow, his face, his knees. Felt the numbness in his foot fading and the coldness of the floor cooling his cheek.
But then he pushed himself up, first onto his elbows, then onto his knees and lastly back into a standing position.
And then it clicked. In one painful moment all happiness was drained out of him and Mariana stood in the empty room, face almost expressionless save for the too open eyes, holding his breath.
It was gone. That Bed, the stupid bed that Slime wouldn‘t let him forget he hadn‘t built. The itchy felt blanket they only had because Juana was allergic to the woolen one. And Juana herself. His Juana. Juanaflippa. His daughter, with her slightly dented glasses and freckles and blonde ponytails and that gun that Slime had somehow gotten her. His daughter that he had just begun to get to know.
She was gone and Mariana didn‘t know what to do.
He knew why she was gone. It was that stupid bed rule, one touch and they‘re gone, but that didn‘t help in the slightest, because she was gone. It was an accident. He hadn‘t meant to damn their daughter.
He left then. Left his daughter‘s bedroom because, what could he do there? What good could come of him standing in the cold, almost sterile room?
His daughter had disappeared in a second. No scream, no painful last moment, nothing. She was there, sleeping peacefully, and then she wasn‘t.
The Numbness continued occupying his mind as he stepped out into the night and started making his way home. Maybe the emotion would hit later. Maybe the sadness would set in after he had a proper night of sleep.
Yes, he decided, he only needed some sleep. Then he could think about this, find a way to get her back. Because even in this emotionless state one thing was clear: Mariana was going to get his daughter back.
The new-built balcony of his house was already in sight when he was stopped.
„Hey, Hola Hola,“ Slime said as he placed himself in between Mariana and his rest. He was smiling. An unsure smile; but he was smiling.
„gracias por cuidar de nuestra hija hoy y el gran sexo“ He was stepping closer, whether to throttle Mariana or to kiss him was unclear, but Mariana took a step back regardless.
„Juana Flippa murió,“ he said, his tone even and lapping with emptiness. And then he stepped around Slime and walked off, leaving his husband to deal with this alone.
Because they didn‘t talk about things like this. They never did.