Work Text:
Why are the paths we tread always filled with such danger?
Mono laid down on the dusty floor coughing amongst debris. Reaching up he rubbed his sore head surprised to feel hair but thankfully no blood. It saddened him, realizing he's lost his hat as well as the useful flashlight sparking on the floor beside him.
But at least he still had Six. His best and only friend. The girl he saved and has saved him at times in return. Whom he deeply cares for, grown close and shares tender moments he never thought possible in this unforgiving world.
She was right behind him when-
Right behind him...
In the room that had just collaped.
A deep gasp left Mono as he fearfully turned, afraid that if he'd been left so shaken by the room that had nearly killed him, then how much worse could it have been for her.
"SIX!" he shouted out in panic, rubbing his eyes. Paying no concern he walks further back into dark and dusty room that he can barely see into.
But Mono can hear.
Coughs and little gasps.
"SIX!!!" he frantically shouted again. Tripping over loose boards making the ground unsteady he carries on until, even within the dark her yellow raincoat stands out.
Six struggles but is unable to move. A couch and anything else in the room above that wasn't nailed down is pinning half of her, leaving her trapped.
"Mono, please..." she barely rasped out. Tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
"I've got you," he said. Taking her hand in his own, Mono yanks backwards, failing to rip Six out from under the couch but managing to tear a scream out from her instead. "I'm sorry!" he apologizes.
Taking a breath, Mono wrapped his arms around Six. Pulling back once more, she whines and wiggles her legs as much as possible until, with a little yelp from Mono she comes loose.
A not uncomfortable weight settled on Mono. Six stares down from above. She sinks lower, hugging him tighter and whispers, "Thank you," into his ear. With a kiss to his cheek she stands up, offering a hand yet wincing at the weight on one of her ankles.
Mono could see how there were cuts and a little blood on her leg down from where he was. He doesn't want Six getting hurt any further and picks himself up. Offering his shoulder Six wraps her arm atop it while Mono took her hand in his own and wraps his other arm around her back, helping by taking weight off her leg.
This isn't good. I don't like our chances of getting through this city if Six is hurt. Hopefully we'll find somewhere to rest...
Such hopes were not dashed for once. Having made their way through one impossibly difficult to open door, Mono and Six slowly shuffled by a long hall into a peculiar room. Fit for kids, with many toys scattered about and drawings of an ominous figure standing within a doorway.
Mono guided Six toward the other end where a bed to hide under sits. He helps her lean against the wall before standing up and getting ready to leave. She quickly grabs his hand from where she sits, looking at him curiously. "Where are you going?" she asked, not wanting to be left behind.
"I'm just going to check and see what's down that hall back there real fast. Make sure this place is safe."
Six looked at him nervously, feeling uneasy. "What if something happens? You should wait until I can come with."
"I'll be okay Six. I promise. If there's anything dangerous out there I'll sneak right back and we'll hide out until you're ready to leave."
Despite not wanting to let go, Six relented. Giving his hand a firm squeeze she tells him, "Be safe."
With a parting kiss to her forehead, Mono looked down at her and smiled. "Always."
Crouched low, Mono silently steps out of the kid's room and into the hall. He makes his way down, disregarding the closed door of the two at the end of it. But as he walks into the only other room that's open a low hum fills his gut with dread.
The loud shriek of static.
Light that'll draw him in. Like moth to flame.
All his attention focused on the TV before him.
With nobody to pull him back Mono placed his hand upon the screen.
I'm sorry Six. I didn't think there'd be a-
He tuned the signal.
~
Violet light.
Long hall.
Closed door.
Mono had been here before.
He'd glimpsed all of it from the other televisions within the city. Always a force he couldn't resist. Six would drag him away. Pull him back from the unknown.
He'd left her behind. Nowhere to go now but forward.
But if Mono was being honest with himself... he can't deny that he was at least a little bit curious about what lies behind that door.
Mono jumped up and grabbed the handle. The door slowly opens. Violet light shines through with greater intensity and the sight before him is shocking.
The room before him is laid out similarly to the one he'd left Six in not a little while ago. A bed against one wall and toys of all sorts, even a music box shoved against the another.
And sitting in the middle of it all are two large monsters.
One draped in yellow, bigger of the two. Arms unnaturally disjointed and long. Hair hanging, pooling beneath her.
The other clothed in a long brown coat flowing behind. Hair shaggy and unkempt, he kneels before the other.
They both stare into each others eyes. Her arms coiled up and around an arm of the other monster, who locks them together hand in hand, laying his lips on a finger.
Mono bore witness to a scene most unexpected, that he doesn't wish to interfere with.
A side glance from the one dressed in brown tells him it's too late. Angry at the disturbance and with a sneer it stood up and faced Mono, looking all too similar to the figure depicted in the drawings he'd seen earlier. "Stupid boy, why are you here? Can't you look ahead and see where your choices will lead?"
The monster began to advance on Mono, the arms of its companion unspooling from his own. "Had you left well enough alone this could've all been avoided," it growls out, reaching for Mono who only manages a couple steps back into the hall out of the room.
Mono shut his eyes and looked away. The hallway behind him had been a dead end. With nowhere to run anyway he tenses up, expecting the inevitable pain.
But it never comes.
Mono opened his eyes and hazards looking forward. The monster in brown no longer focuses on him but rather on the one in yellow, whose arms are stretched as far as they can and still lock them together hand in hand. An eye peaks out from her hair, staring, silently pleading for him to come back and not let go.
The monster in brown looked back at Mono and beyond, considering. He heaves a sigh, resolving himself to his fate... and walks back, her arms coiling about his own again, neither of their grip having ever waivered. "Don't tread upon this path child, find a new one and never return," he warns. Upon reaching the door he grabs its handle and looks out for the last time. "She's still worth it, so look out for each other."
The door closed, leaving Mono behind in stunned silence. He would've considered the warning given to him if not for a pair of arms wrapping themselves around his chest from behind, pulling him back.
~
The red thread that binds our hearts could hold us back. But can it also-
"Mono!"
Shouts and panicked shaking pulled Mono from his slumber. Six kneels beside him looking down, squeezing his hand with both her own, happy and relieved that he has finally woken up.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself," Six laughs. "Are you alright?"
Mono sat up, rubbing his head, "Yeah I'm fine. What happened?"
"You were gone for awhile and I started to get worried. So I limped my way in here and found you with half your body inside a TV."
Looking over, Mono saw Six's still hurt leg wrapped with a little cloth, a simple bandage. "I'm sorry about that," he says.
"It's okay... Did you finally see what had you so curious?"
Mono had told Six about the door after she'd pulled him away at the other TVs. Curious though they both may be the notion of messing with magic or some force similarly unknown left her wary.
"Yeah. It was the same door at the end of a hallway."
"And... did you see what was behind it?" Six pressed.
Giving her hand a tight squeeze, Mono shook his head. "It was nothing I would've wanted. Nothing I'm going to interfere with ever again." He gives Six a smile, "You're everything I need."
Six was confused by why Mono was being so vague. But so long as he isn't going to put himself in more danger she's content. Favoring him with a smile of her own, she pulls out a surprise for him taken from that kid's room, hoping he'll like it.
"I found this for you. For us really," she said, revealing a tiny spool of red thread.
Mono tilted his head in interest as Six tied an end around his wrist and proceeded to unspool a decent amount. She bites the thread off from its source before tying the other end off to her own wrist as well.
"If one of us starts falling behind we'll know right away. We won't ever be separated and can help each other move forward like we've been doing."
Mono chuckled lightly, touched by the gesture. "This is a terrible idea. We're going to get tangled up in everything-
He never got to finish what he had to say as Six leaned in, giving him a soft kiss on his lips. Mono closed his eyes and smiled into it.
But that's okay. We're always going to get tangled up in more trouble eventually. It's inevitable.
Mono took Six's hand again, squeezing and locking them together.
"Whatever paths we tread, I wouldn't want to walk them with anyone else but you."