Though you annoy me, I'll take your hand in mine any day

Aftermath

The following day was... Tough, to say the least. OJ took the day off of his duties to stay by MePhone's side. He seemed much more reserved than usual, still seeming to struggle with his grasp on reality, but OJ tried his hardest to make sure he was ok.

"Are you sure?"

"... Yeah, I think I'll be fine," MePhone sat at the side of the bed, his legs hanging off the side of it.

"Okay, well please let me know if you need anything, I'm here for you."

"Yeah, I know, you don't need to smother me," MePhone let out a half-hearted chuckle.

"You know I can't help but worry," OJ sighed, shuffling in place as he had been standing in the middle of the room.

"I know, I... Appreciate it." MePhone kept his gaze to the floor in front of the bed, a small smile on his face. As much as he wanted to hide away all day, and not face anybody, he didn't want to spend the entire day in a stuffy old hotel room. So he and OJ spoke out ideas of what the two could do, settling on getting out of the hotel for a bit. MePhone could use the fresh air anyways, and he wanted to avoid anyone who knew what had gone down last night to be asking him any questions.

As the two walked, it was quiet. MePhone didn't really know what to say, what even was there to say, really, and OJ remained quiet because he couldn't tell if his partner wanted to talk about anything.

The two settled on a hill nearby the hotel eventually, sitting and staring at the clouds above.

"I don't know what to do," MePhone's quiet voice broke the silence, OJ glancing over to his partner, who was laying flat against the grass, his hands resting behind his bed.

"What do you mean?"

"You've shown me nothing but compassion, and love and care since what happened up there, and I still... I still can't tell if this is real. I thought last night, after TestTube checked up on me, and while I was waiting for you, that I'd just live with this, or that this felt real enough, but I just- I can't tell today." MePhone went on, his voice still quiet as he moved one of his hands outward, almost as if he were examining it.

"Well, does this feel real?" OJ cautiously moved one of his hands over to hold MePhone's, his almost unreadable gaze moving to look at OJ.

"It does," MePhone paused, glancing away out of guilt. "But that's why I'm so scared."

His tone dropped further as he moved his hand away from OJ's letting it rest against the lower half of his screen. OJ frowned, before his expression shifted to something more like sympathy.

"What if this is just-- just another one of those shitty simulations, and I'm just going to sit there and die, or-- or it's just going to get worse, or I'm just going to blink, and suddenly I'm back up there, and none of this has happened." His tone grows more panicked as he speaks, OJ scooting a bit closer as MePhone sat himself up, hugging his knees.

"I... I don't know how to help you," OJ spoke softly, truly at a loss. MePhone chuckled.

"Yeah. I figured." Though there was no malicious, or bitter tone in those words, the tone instead sounded more defeated than anything else. It was silent for a bit, MePhone's thoughts and worries only further upsetting him as he sat there, OJ finally just deciding, screw it, he needs to do something. He scooted next to MePhone, the two of them still sat on the hill, as he carefully took one of MePhone's hands again.

"Um, try to focus on what you're feeling right now-- Um, physically I mean, maybe feel the grass around us," OJ paused, letting MePhone process what he was being asked of, as MePhone tightened the grip he and OJ shared, though not by much, it definitely seemed more of a comfort thing, as he moved his other hand to feel the grass beneath the two. His expression was still miserable, but just a little less so;