Work Text:
Box never really thought about making friends.
After all, why would she? She was dead.
It wasn’t like there weren’t other objects around, but most of them were dealing with the trauma of dying. She tried talking to them, but the moment they ask about that damn red line, she knows it’s over. She would explain to them what it is, or at least what she knows about it. A way to come back alive. If only it was as easy as it sounds.
The rest would always play exactly the same. She watches as hope fills their bodies, just to see it disintegrate alongside the rest of their existence as that red line catches up to them and kills them forever. Everyone that she ever met in that afterlife ended their own life once again by trying to regain it. Poetic.
At some point she just gave up on the idea of finding friends. There was no point to it. She would serve a job as some kind of afterlife guide and give them the chance to escape. Everyone took the chance, and no one succeeded.
In her infinite time as a dead soul, Box thought a lot about what she was offering others, but not taking herself. She already died. She died and no one cared about it. She watched how everyone was happy that the competition got smaller as she drowned, left to be forgotten. It was a painful memory, and the only thing that she remembers besides that is everything that led up to it.
And so, for some twisted reason, she decided to stay in that limbo. A limbo where she wasn’t exactly dead, but neither was she alive. She didn’t want to risk it. She was not gonna race the red line, so she condemned herself to be a lost soul, desperately wishing for a way out, but too afraid to take action.
But she’s alive now.
A girl died, and as a self imposed guide, Box showed her the ropes of the afterlife. They chatted for a while, and soon enough, she found a lot of other objects, almost all being friends with that girl. The people that ended up on the show that indirectly led to her death were all there, reuniting with friends they thought they were never gonna see again. All happily chatting with each other as a cruel reality was sinking in Box’s mind.
Everyone knew her, but she didn’t know anyone.
Long story short, the first girl managed to persuade her into risking everything (or whatever little things she had) for a chance of another life. Box didn’t think it through enough, and so she accepted. And for the first time ever, she saw how people escaped the limbo where she was forever stuck. And she escaped with them.
It was particularly funny seeing everyone cheer at the death of Steve Cobs, and that concert was a good time, seeing everyone come together to celebrate. And she felt happy for a few hours, dancing and laughing with everyone. But she felt the unspoken tension in the air, and she soon realized how twisted her existence truly was.
OJ was kind enough (or forced by his newly acquired boyfriend) to offer her a room, and luckily, she didn’t need to share it with anyone. The room quickly became a safe haven for her. A place where to escape when everything was too much, and with how chaotic things were when 40 or so objects come to the realization that death is now permanent, things were never not too much for Box.
It was also infuriating when everyone acts like they know her. Nickel and Balloon acted like best buddies around her, saying they were best friends in the third season (she didn’t even know that there was a third season, much less that her dead body was a part of it) and that the three of them were unstoppable, all while Box just awkwardly laughed and nodded while looking for an opportunity to escape from them. Clover and the Cherries kept apologizing for stuff that they did (or whatever incident happened between her corpse and Clover, she still didn’t understand what the girl was talking about) that Box wasn’t even aware of. Cheesy’s insensitive jokes, whether intentional or not, about corpses that he always seemed to make around Box always ends up with her giving a fake laugh and running away, not without hearing that annoying knee slap. But the worst one was Trophy without doubt. Every time the two of them cross paths, Trophy would always make some aggressive remark about how he knew how she was dead all the time and he never fell for her tricks. What tricks is he even talking about? Being dead? Does he think that she faked her death to win the competition?
Everyone else wasn’t much better. Some people tried to treat her as a friend, but their voice and eyes always revealed the guilt inside of them. Others gave her pity glances, which weren’t very discreet. A few avoided her all together, which Box doesn’t know how to feel about.
So she lays in her room, tired of everything and everyone. She keeps swimming around the thoughts in her head.
Firstly, Box thinks of MePhone. She wants to hate him for reasons that she herself still can’t understand, but she feels nothing for him. No hate, no empathy, no love. The guy is basically her creator, and she was trapped in a limbo of his creation, while he used her dead corpse to entertain people, twice. It’s so easy to blame him for everything, from her death, her personality, her lack of friends and even her own existence. And yet, she can’t feel anything for him. Nothing.
Secondly, Box thinks about Nickel and Balloon. Those two are always acting so friendly around her, and she’s so ashamed that she needs to run away from them when they are only trying to be friendly. Those two are such idiots, and yet they seem so close to each other, to the point that Box once thought that they were an actual couple, just to be informed by a flustered Balloon and a confused Nickel that they just were pretty good friends. But at the end of day, she envied them more than anything. To have a friend (or whatever those two were, she still thinks that they are a couple) she could trust for everything. She wanted to have with someone, what those two had.
Thirdly, Box thinks about herself. She was never bothered by loneliness. You learn to live with it when you are literally dead and everyone you meet in the limbo just decides to die again. But Box is now alive, and now the loneliness starts to hurt. But she has no idea how to fight that. She can always make friends, but everyone there knows each other so much and she’s practically a stranger that’s watching from the side. It’s made worse when everyone seemingly knows her so much, yet they know nothing about her. One time someone even talked about her as if she was a boy. It’s impressive the arrogance of some of them. She could run away and start from zero in some other place, but where would she find someone with whom she could talk about the events of her life and be understood when all her life was basically spent as a corpse.
And lastly, she would think about her, the girl that literally changed her life, although she still didn’t know if it was for the better.
“Box? Are you there? Can I come in?”
Speaking of the devil. Box thoughts are interrupted when a knock on the door is heard followed by the voice of that girl. Box gets up from her bed to open the door. She knows that if it was anyone else, she would just ignore them.
Suitcase’s face turns into a soft smile when she sees Box. Without the need of words, Box lets Suitcase into her room before closing the door. Without the need of words, Box lets Suitcase into her room before closing the door. Suitcase sits in Box bed with a little jump that Box couldn’t help but find a bit adorable.
“What are you doing here?” Asked Box, silently reprimanding herself for sounding so cold and uninterested. But Suitcase didn’t seem to mind the tone as she just formed a smile before answering.
“I wanted to check on how you were doing! It’s been a while since we last talked.”
“It’s been a week.” Said Box in the most deadpan tone possible.
Suitcase just laughed which surprised Box. She knew that not everyone got her sense of humor, and it wasn’t any different with Suitcase, at least the first times they talked. But it seems she’s getting used to Box’s humor, to which Box couldn’t help but form a little smile.
“Yeah well, when you win an entire show and save your friends from the threat of a power hungry CEO that is the dad of your creator, everyone looks at you to guide them.” Joked Suitcase.
“Especially when they realize that death is now permanent.” Followed Box. Suitcase just let out a sad sigh.
“It’s been hard for everyone… Lightbulb has to be constantly watched because she’ll kill herself in an accident at any moment. Every time Balloon is without Nickel, he’s extremely anxious about anything that may pop him and needs someone to calm him.” Suitcase said, not without pronouncing Nickel’s name with disgust as always.
“Good thing I’m already used to being dead, right?” Box jokes.
Suitcase didn’t reply, but instead just looked directly at Box with such a sad expression that Box can’t help but feel really guilty about. “Sorry.”
Neither of the two says anything for a few seconds, which Box uses to sit down in her bed beside Suitcase. Both of them in their own world of thoughts. Box doesn’t know what to say, as she doesn’t wanna make Suitcase, the only object she feels remotely comfortable with, uncomfortable. But she doesn’t have to search for a way to not make things awkward for long because Suitcase starts the conversation again.
“How have you been? It’s been a week since we came back alive. Have you made a friend?”
Could Box really call someone in the hotel a friend? She really has to think about it. Nickel and Balloon seemingly were trying, but Box always ended up uncomfortable when she talks with them because they never fail to bring up season 3 and how good of a team the three of them were. Tea Kettle always checks if she had eaten something that day, but she does that with everyone in the hotel. Clover was way too absentminded and didn’t seem to notice those around her, even if she was trying to spark a friendship with Box. She can’t call Clover a friend, at least not yet. What about Suitcase? Can she call Suitcase a friend? No. As much as she wants to, she can’t. Not yet.
“No.” She answered while looking at the closed door of her room, as if she was trying to detect if someone was behind it, listening to their conversation.
Silence filled the room again. The awkward silence just fills Box's head with anxious thoughts. Now Suitcase is gonna think she’s an antisocial that doesn’t want anyone near her.
“It’s just…” Starts Box, trying to explain to Suitcase what she cannot explain to herself. “Everyone knows each other and I know no one here, you know? All these groups that have already been formed since months and even years ago. And all that time I was dead, you know?”
“I’m sure everyone would be ha-”
“Not everyone. Paintbrush has a temper and I’m sure they won’t appreciate me around; Silver Spoon is way too full of himself and is basically a moth to the light that is Candle; OJ just looks at me like I killed his boyfriend every time I ask him something; Salt and Pepper are, well, Salt and Pepper; and Trophy is just an asshole through and through. Honestly, I’m surprised Clover seems to enjoy his presence. And then the ones that actively try to include me in something are idiots. Paper seems way too stressed about everything and every time he tries to talk to me he’s about to fall asleep the moment I say something; Cabby weirds me out the way she knows everything about everyone, Lightbulb and Clover live in their own world and I just can’t seem to understand and have a pleasant time with either of way; Fan just talks about the show in which I was dead; and every time Taco comes to me she seems like someone is holding her at gunpoint. And don’t get me started on Balloon and Nickel, especially Nickel.”
Once Box realized she was basically saying how every friend of Suitcase sucks, she stopped and turned to face her, just to find her silently laughing. Box was utterly confused. She expected Suitcase to defend and stand up for her friends, or to get angry at her for almost yelling the whole rant. But Suitcase just giggled, and Box couldn't help but find her laugh to be really cute.”
“They are like that, yeah… But give them a chance and you’ll see that beneath the surface they are wonderful people!!” Said Suitcase in a way that Box compared to the way she told her the story of how she saved those aliens. Everytime she talks about a friend of hers, she always has that soft and loving tone in her voice. Box hoped that one day, she could be part of the people that Suitcase talks so lovingly about. “Except Nickel. Nickel sucks.”
Box wasn’t expecting the sudden Nickel trashtalk, and she burst out laughing, with Suitcase soon joining her. The two of them laughed a little bit, and once they both calmed down, the silence came back. But this time there’s an enjoyable silence. No words were really needed at the moment.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be with you this week.” Suitcase broke the silence once again. Box couldn’t help but stare at her as Suitcase just looked down at her feet. “Everything’s been so hard and everyone looks to me for guidance because I’m the one that brought us back and defeated Cobs. I really wish I could have helped you feel more welcomed here instead of leaving you alone for a week… I really am just making excuses, huh?”
Box didn’t know how to feel. For one part, it’s the first time someone ever said something like that to her, the first time someone showed concern for her. On the other side of the coin, she doesn’t want Suitcase to feel like that, not for her.
“It’s okay! Really! It wasn’t that hard either way.” Tried to reassure Box, but Suitcase wasn’t convinced. “Besides, I’m used to being by myself, right? I was dead!!” Box’s joke just seemed to make Suitcase more sad, which made Box panic grow exponentially. But Box can’t find the words to make the situation better, so she stays silent.
And again, it’s Suitcase who talks first.
“I came here to try and make you feel better and now you’re the one trying to make me feel better… Heh… Thank you. I needed that.” Says Suitcase, leaving Box, once again, without knowing how to react.
“I- Of course!! You can come to me whenever you need.” Replies Box, trying to sound confident even if she isn’t. Her worries vanish a little when Suitcase giggles again.
“Likewise! Say, how about tomorrow I present you to everyone and help you find another friend?”
“Another?” Box is speechless at Suitcase’s proposal.
“Of course! Unless you don’t consider me a friend yet, which I hope you do… We can always start with someone else if that’s the case.”
“No, no. I- I mean- Of course I consider you a friend. How could I not?” Box was panicking, but in a good way. Suitcase just giggled in response.
“I’m glad. I’ll get going now, I’ll look for you tomorrow, ok?” Said Suitcase while getting up from the bed.
“Yeah, sure”
Suitcase started to reach for the door before being stopped by Box.
“Suitcase.” Once Suitcase turned around to face Box, she continued. “I- Thank you. For being my first friend.”
Suitcase looked at Box surprised for a second before smiling and replying.
“Of course. How could I not?” And with that, she left the room, leaving behind for the night a speechless Box.
After a while of staring at the once again closed door from which Suitcase left, Box started to smile, and for the first time in a while, it was not a forced smile. She was truly glad her first friend turned out to be Suitcase.
Box spent the time before sleeping thinking about the whole conversation while smiling at the ceiling. She found a friend. And for the first time in her life, and in her death, she doesn’t feel alone.