Work Text:
So, Branzy liked to think he knew some things about Clown by now.
Clown liked clowns, circus stuff, psychology, memes and things that seem to be designed for kids, like plushies or ball pits for example.
He also liked books, if the bookshelf in his room was anything to go off of.
Pranks were also on his agenda.
Clown also probably disliked physical touch.
Well, Branzy wasn’t sure, seeing as he never asked or had any actual evidence or indications of that being the case, but it just fit the vibe.
Actually, Clown did hold his hands once, but that was to bring a point across, so Branzy was pretty sure that didn’t count.
Anyway, Clown and him were, you guessed it, in Clown’s room.
They probably should hang out somewhere, anywhere else at this point, but Clown’s room was just- just… Yeah.
Branzy was scrolling through Instagram and Clown was- Clown was …What was Clown doing?
Branzy turned to Clown, who was just …staring into the distance, which was approximately a meter away, because they were sitting by the edge of the bookshelf, facing the wall.
“Clown?” Branzy asked carefully, because he wasn’t sure whether or not he should do something, and if he should, what he should do.
When Clown didn’t react after a few seconds, Branzy fully turned to him and inched a little closer.
“Clown?”
Once again nothing.
Not knowing what else to do, because his ability to google ‘friend is unresponsive what do i do help help idk what to do is he okay will he be ok what do i do send help’ slipped his mind, he decided to carefully put his hand on Clown’s.
Clown startled and blinked.
“Huh-”
“Clown,” Branzy said, slightly relieved.
Clown turned to him, not moving Branzy’s off of his, which was slightly surprising to Branzy.
“Are you okay?” Branzy asked, still rather worried.
Clown blinked and nodded.
“Yeah,” he said, sounding slightly out of breath, “Yeah, I’m- I’m fine. Just… Bit in my head.”
“Anything I can do to help?” Branzy asked.
“I-,” Clown started, but immediately cut himself off, moving the hand that was not occupied by Branzy’s.
“Yeah?” Branzy asked, because there was obviously something he could do, and if Clown needed some encouragement, he was sure as hell going to get it.
Clown looked away.
“It’s stupid,” he said, “Just forget about it.”
Branzy squeezed Clown’s hand as encouragement.
“It’s very likely not,” Branzy said, genuine mode activated, “And even if it was stupid, it would be okay, because you’re great.”
“I just…,” Clown started and sighed. “Can… Could you hug me? Like, completely crush me?”
Branzy blinked.
“Oh, of course I can hug you, Clown! You look very huggable,” he said, “I don’t know about crushing you though. I mean, I wouldn’t wanna hurt you…”
“It- I-” Clown sighed again. “It wouldn’t actually hurt, just… feel grounding? And… If it did hurt I would tell you, okay?”
Branzy nodded.
“Okay,” he said, inching even closer to Clown, opening his arms, “C’mere, big guy.”
Clown hesitantly leaned against Branzy’s collarbone and gently wrapped his arms around him.
Branzy pulled Clown a little closer and wrapped his arms around him, not tight enough to hurt him (hopefully), but tight enough to be grounding.
“You wanna talk about it?” Branzy asked quietly, as to not disturb the sense of comfort around them.
“I don’t know,” Clown admitted, “I guess it just sort of feels like I don’t belong in my body… Not like, in a dysphoric way I think, just like I’m not a part of my body, if you know what I mean?”
Branzy hummed.
He did know what Clown, he thought. Unless he misunderstood, or something.
He sometimes felt like that too. Like he was somehow thrown out of his own body.
He didn’t know what else he could do at that point, so he just held Clown a little tighter.
…
…
Well, this was awkward…
So, to fill the silence, Branzy proposed something.
“I’ve been working on a little something, wanna hear about it?”
Clown nodded.
“Alright, so, it’s a little project for a prank. Um… It’s kind of a small robot. So far it only pushes around objects, but it’ll actually pick up and throw small objects that don’t move for a specific time. I’m gonna prank the EchoGang with it so hard.”
Clown chuckled quietly and snuggled closer.
“I did not take you for a hugger,” Branzy murmured.
“Why not?” Clown mumbled, “Wait, no don’t answer. Hugs are just …kinda nice.”
“Mhm…,” Branzy answered, smiling, “That is true.”
“I just like for them to happen with my consent and stuff…”
Branzy snorted.
“Yeah, that does make sense,” Branzy answered, “You can always ask me for hugs, by the way. Hugs are good.”
“They are. Please continue completely crushing my body and squishing my soul back into it, thank you.”
“Alright, alright,” Branzy laughed and tightened his hold on Clown, “Good?”
Clown nodded.
“Please also continue talking about random things,” he mumbled, sounding rather tired, “I like your voice.”
Branzy’s face heated up.
Why did Clown have to keep saying things like that as if they were completely normal to say.
But… What Clown wants, Clown shall get, so Branzy started rambling about random things.
After a while, Clown’s breaths started to slow down and Branzy lightly shook him.
“Clown, I know you’re tired, but this hardly can be comfortable,” he said, “Let’s move you to your bed, yeah?”
“...No.”
Branzy laughed under his breath.
“No?”
Clown’s hold on Branzy tightened.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to. Cuddles.”
“I- I can still cuddle you, I just thought it might be a little more comfortable for both of us if we moved to your bed. This seriously won’t be good for your bones.”
“...Fine, but you have to carry me,” Clown answered, a pout clear in his voice.
“I…,” Branzy started carefully. “I can try , but don’t blame me if you fall.”
Clown yawned and held on even tighter.
“Alright.”
Oh dang, he actually agreed to his terms and conditions…
Branzy wasn’t sure if he could carry Clown, considering he was objectively very not strong.
But oh well…
Branzy slowly started rising to a standing position and almost fell back down, but managed to stabilise himself with the bookshelf.
“Alright, Clown,” he said, voice strained, “Here’s the deal. I can carry you to the bed, but you’re gonna have to climb the ladder mostly yourself, alright?”
“...Okay,” Clown grumbled, face buried in Branzy’s shoulder.
Branzy huffed and slowly walked to the ladder.
“Don’t- Worry, I’ll be here, every step of the way.”
Clown snorted and began climbing up.
“That’s so cheesy, Brainzy…,” he mumbled and he settled in one of the corners on the side opposite to the slide, “Now cuddles.”
“Coming, coming,” Branzy said, rolling his eyes fondly as he climbed up the ladder.
Who knew that a sleepy Clown would be that demanding and cuddly?
Not Branzy, that’s for sure…
But he would gladly provide Clown with all the cuddles he wanted.
–
“Branzy,” Clown said the morning after, “I need your help procrastinating.”
“I-,” Branzy spluttered, “Is that really a good idea…?”
“No,” Clown stated bluntly, “But I do not feel like writing a four thousand word essay about the historical relevance of the novel ‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar right now.”
“You’re in the same course as Rek, aren’t you?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Rek doesn’t have an essay like that,” Branzy said, confused, “So why do you?”
Clown blankly stared at him.
“Don’t tell me you got, like, an A- in English literature…”
“I didn’t,” Clown said.
“Why do you have to do that essay then?” Branzy asked.
“Extra credit.” Clown huffed. “Come on, Branzy, I thought you knew me.”
“But why?” Branzy asked, sounding slightly desperate, “If you have an A, why would you do an extra credit assignment?”
“I never said I had an A,” Clown said blankly.
Branzy blinked.
“Did you not get an A?”
“No, I did,” Clown said, smirking, “But I didn’t say that. Don’t jump to conclusions, even if you are right.”
Branzy sighed.
“But why?”
“I…,” Clown said, confidence suddenly discarded, “Honestly, I have no idea, I guess I just hate myself.”
“Oh my gods…,” Branzy muttered, “What is wrong with you…?”
“A lot, probably.”
“Clown, no,” Branzy said, decidedly. “When… When is it due?”
“Tomorrow 4 PM.”
“Clown,” Branzy said, sighing, “I hate to be the responsible one, but if it’s due by tomorrow, you should really start now.”
“I know… I just-” Clown quietly screamed into his hands and Branzy put his hand on Clown’s shoulder, patting it.
Clown sighed.
“Man… Yeah,” Clown said, turning around, “I am going to …go and do… my essay… Yay…”
“I can uh- body…double you and maybe hug you to death?”
Clown chuckled.
“Yeah, uh, that’d be nice,” Clown mumbled, “Thank you, Branzy.”
“Maybe even uhhh… Penguin pebble you, huh?”
Clown huffed, an early version of a laugh.
“Alright, alright,” Clown said, “If you’re going to list the key words, you might as well call hugging me to death ‘Deep Pressure’.”
“It has a name?!” Branzy exclaimed.
“It does,” Clown stated “It’s like physical touch but a more grounding and extreme version of it.”
“Well,” Branzy said, “I guess that leaves one more love language, huh… Anyways, I can help you, if you want me to.”
“That’s uh- really nice of you, huh?”
“Come on, we can watch something you like when you’re done,” Branzy said, while starting to go to Clown’s room, hoping the promise would motivate Clown.
Clown followed him.
“Sanders Sides?” he asked.
“If that’s what you want…” Branzy murmured, smiling.
“Alright,” Clown whisper-shouted, “Let’s do this!”
-
“Clown?” Branzy asked as Clown walked into the kitchen in a slightly not-normal manner.
“Branzy, I need you to crush the life out of me,” said Clown as he stopped right in front of Branzy.
Branzy snorted.
That was one of the weirdest things ever said in the history of the universe, for sure, but he was glad that Clown didn’t even hesitate to ask for- no, demand a hug.
“Alright, alright,” Branzy said, laughing, and hugged Clown tightly, “You done with the essay?”
“45k words, yeah,” Clown said, “Gonna look over it again tomorrow, but I’m done for the time being.”
“Woah,” Branzy said, astounded, “That- In five hours?! You’re great. Let’s watch Sanders Sides, yeah?”
“Yes!” Clown quietly cheered, “And hug. And cuddle.”
“And hug. And cuddle,” Branzy said and moved to let go of Clown, but was stopped by Clown leaning more against him.
“Clown, you’re gonna have to let me let go, if we’re going to go to your room and watch Sanders Sides,” Branzy said, chuckling.
Clown grumbled but begrudgingly let Branzy let him go and stood back up straight.
-
“Clownnn,” Branzy whined dramatically.
“Hm?” Clown asked, channelling his most calm energy to even out Branzy’s extreme one.
“I’m dying…,” Branzy whined.
“You- uh- you want a hug…?” Clown asked slowly.
“Yes,” Branzy said, “Or how you would say it, I need you to crush me.”
Clown nodded and hugged Branzy, knocking all of the air out of his chest.
“Ah- A little less crushing, maybe-,” Branzy choked out.
“Oh- sorry,” Clown said as he loosened his hold on Branzy.
“It’s- It’s okay, Clown,” Branzy said, leaning into Clown’s warm embrace, “You’re really warm…”
“I am? That’s weird… My hands are always cold, I think.”
Branzy moved one of his hands over Clown’s near his own side.
It was cold.
“They are…” Branzy mumbled, “Huh. But the rest of your body is warm.”
“I- Yeah, they are my most outer limbs, aren’t they?”
“Mhm… it’s kinda cool…”
“Like my hands,” Clown joked, laughing quietly in Branzy’s ear.
Wow, that- Clown’s laughter was… cute? But also… Branzy didn’t know, comforting?
“Man…,” he sighed, “I could stay like this forever…”
“Alright, I’m never letting go, then.”
Branzy huffed.
“You will have to eventually,” he said, smiling like an idiot.
God, he would do anything to actually stay like this forever.
But…
“It’s getting late, Clown, we seriously need to go to sleep soon,” he mumbled, ruffling Clown’s super soft hair, “We wanted to go see the sunrise tomorrow.”
Alright, Branzy knew how that sounded, going to see the sunrise together, but he swore it wasn’t like that.
Well, he wouldn’t mind if it was like that, but it was definitely not like that.
They were just platonically seeing the sunset together, like platonic friends in a platonic friendship do platonically , when they’re doing something platonic .
So what if he maybe had a teeny tiny, itsy bitsy ginormous crush on Clown?
“Hey, don’t mess with my hair,” Clown said in a non-threatening threatening way, which sounded like what Branzy imagined the ‘>:(‘ emoticon sounded like.
“Sorry, sorry,” Branzy said in quiet laughter, “We need to go to sleep, Clown.”
Clown sighed a long and dramatic sigh, before moving away from Branzy.
“Fine…………”