[Yuppie Psycho] One, Two, Three
Feb. 15th, 2024 12:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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teamflareTitle: One, Two, Three
Fandom: Yuppie Psycho
Pairing: Kate Hicks/Brian Pasternack/Tiki-Taka
Rating: G
Summary: The hardest part – for Brian, at least – turned out to be introducing him to Kate.
Notes: A pinch-hit I wrote forcandyheartsex about Brian finding out he has two cheerleaders now.
AO3 Link: Here.
It took Inay several weeks to figure it out, but he ended up finding a way to fix him, in the end. Brian had dragged the body of the Chief of Security through the dark corridors and then toward the workshop, and they'd plugged him into a temporary battery station just so he could work out what had kept him alive before, and what part of it had brought him so much suffering. Brian would have been lying if he'd said he understood any of it; what mattered, in the end, was that he'd succeeded in saving one more person.
He was strange. It was hard to tell where his natural eccentricity ended and where the Witch's influence started. He couldn't remember his name, and still struggled with speaking without slipping into white noise and keyboard sounds. When Inay suggested jokingly that they could just call him after the clacking of keys – Tiki-Taka – he was so enthusiastic at the idea of having even a hint of identity back that Brian didn't have the heart to say anything about how odd it was as a name. The happy buzzing of his monitor made Brian's heart feel warm, comforted by the thought that he was no longer in constant pain, no longer forced to watch surveillance footage and stay stuck in a role he'd been forcefully transformed into.
The hardest part – for Brian, at least – turned out to be introducing him to Kate.
Kate was an endless source of wonder. She was steadfast in her ability to take on any challenge or weird situation with the optimism and dedication of a model worker. Brian couldn't believe how lucky he was to know her, and to be able to stay by her side even in what had turned out to be very unusual working conditions. Still, he wouldn't have traded it for the world – but he needed her to be okay with Tiki-Taka being in the picture. Whatever that meant.
"So this is your friend!" she said, all smiles, when Brian finally gathered the nerves to take her down to the third floor and explain everything. "It's great to meet you!"
The screen that served as Tiki-Taka's face flickered to life, showing a test card and then a recording of a bunch of fish in an aquarium. Inay had fed him footage, mostly for fun, and he'd taken to picking a subject to associate with every new person he met. Rei had seemed to really enjoy the various animal documentaries he always deployed whenever they had to go talk to her, and Domori in particular would take a special interest in anything that involved foxes, though he was careful not to show either of them anything featuring snakes.
Brian wasn't entirely sure he agreed with him about Kate being a fish person, but that probably wasn't the right time to say something about it.
"Hello!" Tiki-Taka said. His voice echoed from the TV speakers with a little bit of grain, which it always did whenever he was excited – or nervous. "I'm Tiki-Taka!"
It came out exactly like a keyboard sound, which made Kate giggle, and made Brian relax as well, his shoulders slumping with relief.
"What an interesting name! You'll have to let me know if I mispronounce it." Kate grinned at him, her gaze following the movements of the fish on his screen. "How are you doing?"
"W-Well, I'm adjusting back to free-e-e-e-eedom," Tiki-Taka said, drawing out the vowel like he couldn't control his volume level. "And t-to being with Brian, of course!"
Brian felt himself flush when they both turned to give him a look. Tiki-Taka's screen switched to a recording of a puppy litter walking on grass for the first time.
"Brian is such a positive influence, isn't he?" Kate beamed, which did nothing to help Brian blush less. "We started working on the same day, you know. He's been my rock this entire time."
"That's–" Brian started.
"I know, r-right," Tiki-Taka said, ignoring him entirely. His sudden enthusiasm showed in the way his screen began to flicker periodically. "He's s-so cute, too."
Her expression way too solemn for their current situation, Kate nodded. "And so helpful and supportive. This company would be nothing without him."
"Y-you understand!" Tiki-Taka held up his hands in front of him, clasping them together. "I'm s-so happy we could meet when we have so much in common!"
Brian fidgeted with his glasses to try and hide his embarrassment. Perhaps this hadn't been such a good idea... Yet, he couldn't help but feel oddly proud of himself. No matter what happened, and no matter how often he'd have to succumb to the mortifying ordeal of being appreciated and celebrated by others, he was glad to see that not only was everything going well, but his two favorite people were getting along fine.
Watching Tiki-Taka go on a long tangent about all of his positive aspects while Kate listened intently and hummed in approval at exactly the right moments, he thought that, after all, that little bit of awkwardness was worth it.
Fandom: Yuppie Psycho
Pairing: Kate Hicks/Brian Pasternack/Tiki-Taka
Rating: G
Summary: The hardest part – for Brian, at least – turned out to be introducing him to Kate.
Notes: A pinch-hit I wrote for
candyheartsex about Brian finding out he has two cheerleaders now.AO3 Link: Here.
It took Inay several weeks to figure it out, but he ended up finding a way to fix him, in the end. Brian had dragged the body of the Chief of Security through the dark corridors and then toward the workshop, and they'd plugged him into a temporary battery station just so he could work out what had kept him alive before, and what part of it had brought him so much suffering. Brian would have been lying if he'd said he understood any of it; what mattered, in the end, was that he'd succeeded in saving one more person.
He was strange. It was hard to tell where his natural eccentricity ended and where the Witch's influence started. He couldn't remember his name, and still struggled with speaking without slipping into white noise and keyboard sounds. When Inay suggested jokingly that they could just call him after the clacking of keys – Tiki-Taka – he was so enthusiastic at the idea of having even a hint of identity back that Brian didn't have the heart to say anything about how odd it was as a name. The happy buzzing of his monitor made Brian's heart feel warm, comforted by the thought that he was no longer in constant pain, no longer forced to watch surveillance footage and stay stuck in a role he'd been forcefully transformed into.
The hardest part – for Brian, at least – turned out to be introducing him to Kate.
Kate was an endless source of wonder. She was steadfast in her ability to take on any challenge or weird situation with the optimism and dedication of a model worker. Brian couldn't believe how lucky he was to know her, and to be able to stay by her side even in what had turned out to be very unusual working conditions. Still, he wouldn't have traded it for the world – but he needed her to be okay with Tiki-Taka being in the picture. Whatever that meant.
"So this is your friend!" she said, all smiles, when Brian finally gathered the nerves to take her down to the third floor and explain everything. "It's great to meet you!"
The screen that served as Tiki-Taka's face flickered to life, showing a test card and then a recording of a bunch of fish in an aquarium. Inay had fed him footage, mostly for fun, and he'd taken to picking a subject to associate with every new person he met. Rei had seemed to really enjoy the various animal documentaries he always deployed whenever they had to go talk to her, and Domori in particular would take a special interest in anything that involved foxes, though he was careful not to show either of them anything featuring snakes.
Brian wasn't entirely sure he agreed with him about Kate being a fish person, but that probably wasn't the right time to say something about it.
"Hello!" Tiki-Taka said. His voice echoed from the TV speakers with a little bit of grain, which it always did whenever he was excited – or nervous. "I'm Tiki-Taka!"
It came out exactly like a keyboard sound, which made Kate giggle, and made Brian relax as well, his shoulders slumping with relief.
"What an interesting name! You'll have to let me know if I mispronounce it." Kate grinned at him, her gaze following the movements of the fish on his screen. "How are you doing?"
"W-Well, I'm adjusting back to free-e-e-e-eedom," Tiki-Taka said, drawing out the vowel like he couldn't control his volume level. "And t-to being with Brian, of course!"
Brian felt himself flush when they both turned to give him a look. Tiki-Taka's screen switched to a recording of a puppy litter walking on grass for the first time.
"Brian is such a positive influence, isn't he?" Kate beamed, which did nothing to help Brian blush less. "We started working on the same day, you know. He's been my rock this entire time."
"That's–" Brian started.
"I know, r-right," Tiki-Taka said, ignoring him entirely. His sudden enthusiasm showed in the way his screen began to flicker periodically. "He's s-so cute, too."
Her expression way too solemn for their current situation, Kate nodded. "And so helpful and supportive. This company would be nothing without him."
"Y-you understand!" Tiki-Taka held up his hands in front of him, clasping them together. "I'm s-so happy we could meet when we have so much in common!"
Brian fidgeted with his glasses to try and hide his embarrassment. Perhaps this hadn't been such a good idea... Yet, he couldn't help but feel oddly proud of himself. No matter what happened, and no matter how often he'd have to succumb to the mortifying ordeal of being appreciated and celebrated by others, he was glad to see that not only was everything going well, but his two favorite people were getting along fine.
Watching Tiki-Taka go on a long tangent about all of his positive aspects while Kate listened intently and hummed in approval at exactly the right moments, he thought that, after all, that little bit of awkwardness was worth it.