Work Text
Paintbrush has always been someone who wants to work alone. It was hard for them to work with others. Ideas that didn’t come from their own head felt.. confusing, or unnatural. They didn’t know how to explain it.
It was hard for them to make friends because of it. Just because they liked to WORK alone didn’t mean they liked to BE alone. So, they often feel lonely and isolated.
That is, until they met Lightbulb and the other Bright Lights.
Meeting her felt like a breath of fresh air. Lightbulb was the complete opposite of Paintbrush, but they somehow just… clicked.
When Paintbrush came out as nonbinary to Lightbulb, she instantly understood, and even made a couple jokes to help them feel more comfortable. And it worked. Coming out to her was surprisingly one of the easiest things they’ve ever done. It felt natural. It felt right.
It wasn’t long before Paintbrush began to gain feelings for their best friend. They already shared rooms together in the hotel with Test Tube and Fan, even sharing the same bed. But no romantic relationship has ever been established between them, or even talked about.
Paintbrush started hiding things again, feeling too scared to talk about anything related to their feelings. Lightbulb quickly noticed this, of course, and tried to get them to open up again like they used to, but Paintbrush always pushed her away, saying they were just tired and needed some extra sleep.
And yet, Lightbulb still stayed with them. They still lived together and did almost everything together, but it just felt off. It felt like there was an unknown tension in the air. They didn’t know how to fix it, and that scared them.
Lightbulb woke up to the noise of crying. She sat up from her and Painty’s shared bed, looking around. Had she been hearing things?“Fan, are you sleep talking again..?” She mumbled, looking over to the other side of the room where Test Tube and Fan slept. No response. Well, that was that. Subconsciously writing it off as her imagination, she glanced over and noticed that Painty wasn’t asleep next to her. Worry edged her thoughts, but she tried to brush it off. Paintbrush was their own person. They could take care of themselves. A choked sob sounded from the bathroom, although it was muffled as if someone was trying to cover it. Lightbulb looked over and saw that the door was closed and the light was on.Trying to not wake Fan or Test Tube, Lightbulb quietly slipped out of her side of the bed and walked over to the bathroom. She hesitated briefly before knocking softly.“Painty?” She whispered, trying to keep her voice down but loud enough so they could hear her. “Are you in there? Are you okay? Can I… come in?” She struggled to find the right words, shifting on her feet.There was no response. Lightbulb felt even more worried. “Paintbrush?”Nothing.Lightbulb sighed.“I’m gonna… I’m gonna come in, okay?”Lightbulb paused briefly before turning the door knob. It wasn’t locked, to her relief. She quickly stepped inside the small bathroom, closing the door behind her. Her eyes landed on something that made her stomach drop.Paintbrush was huddled in the corner of the room, their hands buried into their face as they cried. They looked up as Lightbulb entered, a strained look on their face.“Paintbrush?! Are you oka- no, dumb question! Of course you’re not okay! What’s wrong?”Lightbulb moved closer and sat herself down next to them, reaching out hesitantly. Paintbrush flinched away, sobbing even more. Lightbulb pulled back, not knowing what to do. Did she hug them? Did she tell them it would be okay? Did she get Test Tube and Fan? She didn’t know. God, she hated not knowing!Her mind whirled as she watched Paintbrush sit there and cry. Trying to think of something to say, she blurted the first thing that came to mind.“Remember when you got eliminated? In season 2?”Paintbrush stopped at that, looking up in confusion. Their eyes were dull and unfocused, and Lightbulb wondered if they even saw her.Lightbulb forced her voice not to waver as she continued. “Y-you were devastated. I could tell. I knew you wanted to keep going. You’ve always loved this show! You wanted to get higher-“Lightbulb was cut off as Paintbrush chuckled. “You think I wanted to keep going because of my love for the show? No.. I wanted to keep going for my love to you.”Lightbulb felt her mouth go dry as that was said. Paintbrush loved… her? “I… Painty… you don’t mean that,” she chuckled half heartedly, “nobody could love my weird quirks.”Paintbrush shook their head, tears still streaming down their face. “Don’t say that.. don’t say bad things about yourself.. I love you, Lightbulb. I love your quirks, I love how you always try.. even if you don’t know what to do. I love you.”Lightbulb was stunned silent, feeling a warm blush on her cheeks. “I.. I don’t know what to say.. w- why are you so upset? Why are you crying?”Paintbrush looked away. “I had a nightmare that you.. left. That everyone just.. left. I don’t know how to explain it,” they mumbled with a soft sight, “…this is just so confusing.”Lightbulb smiled sadly. “I get it. And I love you too, you know. You shouldn’t have been afraid to tell me how you feel, assuming this is why you’ve been acting distant from me, Testy, and Flat-Face lately. I’m sorry if any of us have ever made you feel like you couldn’t be honest.”Paintbrush stared at Lightbulb, their lips quivering. “No.. no, it was never you guys. It was never you. It’s always been my fault. I’ve just been-““Stop, no, don’t.” Lightbulb firmly cut them off with a sharp glare. “It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s not yours, it’s not mine, it’s not anyone’s. It was just… how things were meant to be. But what matters is that we’re being honest with each other now.”Paintbrush sighed softly, nodding.“I love you too, okay? I want you to hear me say that.”Paintbrush closed their eyes before nodding again. “I hear you.”Lightbulb smiled. “May I hug you?”“Of course you can.” Paintbrush didn’t hesitate.Lightbulb happily pulled Paintbrush close to her and wrapped her arms around them. Paintbrush sobbed and started crying again. “It’s okay.. you’re not alone anymore. You have me. It’ll be okay.”Surprisingly, she found herself believing her own words.
Yeah, things will be okay.