Work Text:
The forty-nine days you spent in lobotomy corporation was a time permanently burned into your mind.
Relative to other jobs you had, including your job in Limbus Company now, the time you’ve spent in Lobcorp’s underground was short. Still, nothing could compare to the horrors you’ve seen there, the people you’ve lost along the way, and the blood, sweat, and tears you’ve shed everyday on the job.
You remember your previous manager, X, who managed his employees with clinical precision despite floundering at times. He who was quick to send orders and who pushed everyone, including himself, beyond limits. Unlike manager Dante, who looked at you in worry and pushed for you to stay in your room and rest because <You look ill>, X was a calculating and uncaring manager, only concerned with work results and generated enkaphalin boxes.
You remember how one day, the manager sent you to work with a batch of newbies— no ego suit and no ego weapon. Not even a second after the work day officially began, you received an order to stay in the shelter. The clerks and those seven newly hired agents, with hopes and dreams and bubbling with excitement to begin working for a wing, dead in a matter of minutes.
You remember sitting numbly inside the shelter, thinking of how confused the new hires would have been at the blaring alarms signaling the start of the core suppression– the fear and horror in their eyes as they come face to face with the red mist and the abnormalities triggered by your stay in the shelter.
There were sounds of struggle muffled through the shelter's walls. At least, you thought there were. You were aware P-corp's technology made it so anyone inside the shelter would be unaffected by the outside world but you could feel the thumping steps of an abnormality; could hear the desperate firing of bullets and dull blades hacking at anything it could reach.
The workday ended without reaching a single qliphoth meltdown. You even didn't know it was over until Lord Chesed released you from the shelter, calmly guiding you out of the facility and through the mangled remains of your deceased coworkers.
You tried not to look at it. To not even think of it.
Why why why? Why you? And why didn’t the manager face the core suppression head on? Why did he have to resolve to a cowardly method? Did he not feel bad for the people who died caught in the crosshairs of a “mission”?
The questions would not leave your head and you only spiraled further.
Why were you the one to stay alive--
Three sharp knocks pulls you out from your self-pitying.
Sluggishly, you push yourself off the bed and trudged your way to the door, ignoring the cacophony of dark whispers drifting about from the curtains of darkness manifested in your room.
Mephistopheles’ rooms were a manifestation of its settler’s mind. Most of the time, it was your safe space— a mostly barren room with a comfy enough bed, a desk piled with work documents, and the shelf displaying ego gifts from long ago. Other times, it was crammed with all the activities you’d ever want to do, eager to match the energy buzzing under your skin, searching for release . And when your thoughts would turn darker and the clawing guilt grew, Mephistopheles changed too.
Outis greets you with a sharp nod, eyes adjusting to the darkness of your room as you did with the light of the corridor. "I came to check on you," her voice was soft yet firm, a hint of warmth underneath her formal tone. "The executive manager announced that you were unwell earlier. Has your condition improved?"
You stared at her blearily, body still not entirely yours. Running on autopilot, you could not find the words to answer her— couldn't even begin to come up with words to describe yourself as you are now. Biting your lip, you make a non-committal motion with your head, not exactly a denial but not confirming anything either.
She lets out a deep hum. "The room must be inhibiting your recovery;" she concludes. "These rooms- tsk, how do they expect you to get rest if the nature of these rooms worsens your current state." Outis clicks her tongue, clearly annoyed. You yourself found it mildly amusing. The irony of resting in a room actively tormenting you.
Suddenly, your fellow sinner holds out a hand. “Staying here is counterproductive to your betterment. Stay in my room for tonight. It would do you best not to be tormented while you are resting.”
The two of you stood at the border between reality and the melting pot of loathing of your room. Outis stood tall and firm, ready to whisk you away to relative peace. A small part of yourself wanted to come with her, to finally have a small moment of peace (To indulge in the fantasy of being together even if just for a night)
You did not take her hand, shamefully lowering your gaze. You were unable to explain that even with the harsh whispers and miserable questions ricocheting around your room, you could not bring yourself to leave. You know that in her eyes, it would be irrational, illogical. To stay would cause you to spiral further but the idea of leaving upset you more.
You hunched into yourself, backing away slowly, still unable to meet her eyes. You waited for her to drag you out or to leave, so sure she would scorn you for refusing her. Instead, Outis steps into the darkness of your room with you. “Then, I shall accompany you.”
You step forward, blocking her path into the room of your torment. The worry and the fear and the shame washes over you at once and your chest is tight with anxiousness for what she would see inside your room. She quirks a brow but makes no move to back out.
"I-it's okay, Miss Outis," you stutter out, voice raspy from disuse and you force every sound out of your throat. "I'll be f..ine by myself."
"Nonsense," she huffs. She says so surely it pauses the worry wiring through your body for a moment. You look eye to eye and Outis's face softens. "I can't have a subor– ahem, colleague suffer under my watch."
Her resolve melts your doubts but you still can't help but worry. Outis was capable, yes, but what if your room —your fathoms— harm her too. She wouldn't back down, though, and you can't deny that inside you, there was a part over the moon that she'd do all this to help you recover.
You yielded to her resolution, slowing walking back and letting her inside.
Outis shuts the door to your room, and the darkness fully envelopes you once again. With a hand around your shoulders, she guides you to your bed, gently laying you on the pillows. A fuzzy warmth builds in your gut and you stomp that feeling down. She was here for your well being, you mustn't think of her that way. Get it together.
You watch her shuck off her blazer and she drapes it over your desk chair. She takes the time to smooth out any possible wrinkles before moving to your bed, positioning herself beside you.
Your heart lurches into your throat when she wraps her arms around you and the fluttering in your stomach just wouldn't stop. You couldn't bring yourself to tell her to let go (because you didn't want her to), head filled with thoughts of her and you were scared of what kind of sound would tumble out your mouth.
No. Breath. Calm down. She's trying to be a comforting presence. Calm down.
It’s warm in Outis’ embrace, even with her being mostly in uniform. You feel the rumble of her chest before you hear her voice, humming a soft melody. The tune were slightly disconnected, when notes went too high or too low, but it soothed an aching in your chest.
She brushes a hand through your hair, and the motion calms you slightly. You feel the room shifting slightly. The darkness thins and the whispers turn quiet as you settle deeper into the crook of her neck, wanting to bury yourself deeper into her.
For a moment, you believe in this brief moment of domesticity, wanting to bask in this blissful moment within Outis's embrace.
But your dumb, evil brain always ruins everything.
Your thoughts wander again to the warmth in your stomach. Without her blazer, you could see the outlines of Outis’s biceps more clearly, the white fabric hugging her muscles and the sight was doing things to your body that you didn’t know what to do. You pressed your thighs together to hide your growing wetness.
Stupid, stupid, why couldn't you think of anything else? The shame floods your system and your mind scrambles to think of anything else but the only other thought that sticks to your mind is Lob corp and your dead coworkers and—
You did not want to face that though, even with the ache of emptiness and the heat of yearning swirling in your gut. So you stilled, unmoving in Outis’s hold.
She tucks you under her chin and it does nothing for you, not anymore. The fluttering feeling in your stomach from having someone you (craved) admired, so close and so affectionate, doused under the cold bite of your whirling thoughts. You didn’t know how long you stayed like that. The seconds blurred into minutes and into hours as Outis’s warmth and the unending hold your mind held on you warred against each other.
Then, Outis, ever so observant, noticed the tension in your prone body and the darkness of your room spreading. She pulls away, enough to take a good look at your face. “Can’t sleep?”
Shame flashes in your gut like a spark; you nod, trying to look at anywhere other than her. Here she was, trying to help you go to sleep and you couldn’t even do that? You did so well earlier, wasting away most of the day in and out of unconsciousness and now that she was here, you couldn’t.
You always fail when it counts–
You felt Outis shift beside you as she rose into a sitting position. “Perhaps a drink will calm you. Anything I can get you? Tea? Milk?”
“No, no. I’m good.” You try to sit up too but are pushed back into laying on the bed. “–Really, I’m fine, Miss Outis. Just…insomnia acting up, I guess.”
“Doesn’t mean we mustn’t do anything to make you more comfortable,” she chides. Outis stares at you for a moment, studying you. You squirm under her gaze, body torn on how to react.
Your mind felt blank yet simultaneously like someone was projecting a film reel of everything wrong you’ve ever done in your life. Your chest felt empty and cold and it ached with a longing you yourself didn’t understand and it spread through your torso and your arms, heavy and gripping you like an embrace. But the warmth building in your lower stomach, tingly and fluttery continued to persist and it drove your head into circles.
It was shameful. To think of your coworker, your friend, who took time out of her rest period to tend to you, like that. You knew you carried these feelings for a while but you were careful to push it down. You knew Outis’s priority was upholding her contract and you knew a workplace relationship would conflict with that. Despite that, you could not stop your greed and before you knew it, you’d weaseled your way into becoming closer with her. So much so that she’s here, tending to your lazy ass while you waste away your time and your life.
You hear Outis’s call your name and it snaps you out of your spiraling thoughts. You look at her, at the concern lightly tinging her face. “Is there anything you need to help you sleep? You seem out of it. I told you we should have stayed in my room; This place is muddling your mind,” She muses, stroking your hair again.
You could not muster any retort, simply content looking at her concerned face, mind blank as if everything was in a haze. In that moment, the longing spills out of your chest like a stab wound and it ached. The feeling surged through your chest and to the rest of your body.
It was then when you made a lapse in judgment.
In your daze, you did not notice yourself leaning forward until your lips connected with hers.
There was no sparks, no sudden relief, and no wave of euphoria but it felt right.
Then you noticed what you've done. To say Outis was shocked was an understatement. Her eyes widened with confusion and her lips parted, unable to say anything.
You've really done it now.
You hastily pull away, feeling tears springing at the corners of your eyes as the embarrassment burns at your cheeks and your chest. You flounder to explain yourself, trying to untangle from Outis's arms so you can run, run, run–
Steady hands cup your cheeks, forcing you to face Outis as she dives in to kiss you. The world stopped then, with you unable to process anything. What's happening? Is she really..?
You blink a few tears away and hesitantly kiss back. Outis's lips were not soft. You could even say they were slightly dry and chapped but it felt so good you could not think of anything else. She pulls back a little, angling her head to slot your lips together better and all you can think of is your heart thumping in your ears and the knot building in your stomach. Was this real?
You feel her tongue, warm and wet sliding on your bottom lip and it shot tingles straight to your clit. It was electrifying and you could not stop yourself from bucking your hips to ride the sensation. This seems to draw an amused chuckle out of her and the sound was so warm and rich you could not help but whine.
Outis was a direct and practical woman, and her next course of action was to address your arousal. She presses your lips together in a soft kiss before suddenly sliding her tongue in your mouth. The invasion sent shivers down your spine and you begin to grow dizzy.
With nimble hands, she undoes your pants, pulling them low enough that she could access your cunt. Her fingers traced your slit, palming at your sensitive areas. You tried to open your legs wider to give her better access but are stopped by your pants and in your frustration you pathetically try to kick them off.
Outis laughs softly. "Silly," she mutters before sliding the garment all the way down and off your legs. You lay on your back, presenting yourself with your hands holding your thighs open for her access, still not fully comprehending how you got this far. Her index finds your clit, softly padding at your sensitive nub while her thumb plays with your folds, lightly spreading your hole as she watches your juices leak out with intense interest. Her gaze has you squirming. You feel your body heat up, the fluttering in your stomach intense as she stares at you in reverence.
Finally Outis makes her move: her other hand catching your leaking fluids before gently pressing two fingers into your cunt. They slide in easily, aided by your wetness. She pumps her fingers in and out, relishing in the squelching noises of your arousal.
She presses deeper, reaching your most sensitive parts. You couldn't hold back your moans when the pads of her fingers reach the spongy walls of your g-spot. Outis curls her fingers against your g-spot, following every erratic buck of your hips and the pleasure tears through you.
It felt so good.
That was the final thought you had before something in you snapped, head thrown back in a wanton moan as your orgasm courses through your body, sparks traveling from your head to the very tips of your toes, vision turning white.
Slowly, spots of your vision began to come back and you began to register other sensations again too. You felt the small, slow circles Outis rubbed on your clit, helping you ride out your orgasm and you felt the way you were clenched down tightly on her fingers, still stroking your pleasure spot.
You also see that you've squirted all over her uniform. "S-shit, sorry Miss Outis," you hastily apologize. You were silenced with a kiss, however. Her tongue slides messily against yours and you feel light headed, having just come down from your high.
The both of you rid yourselves of your remaining clothes, on your bed, bare skinned. Your eyes trace the muscles you'd only seen traces of under her clothing; the toned thighs hidden by straight-cut pants and her cunt– oh you could not believe this was happening.
As always, she made the first move (you were too much of a coward to do so) pushing you on your back with one of your legs hitched on her shoulder. She lines up your cunts, pressing them together so your clits could rub against each other. She bucks against you first, excited to have her first brush with pleasure and you watched enraptured as her face contorts in bliss.
Weakly, you chase her cunt with your own, wanting to feel her pleasure and her wetness against your own. You settled into a rhythm, playing a game of push and pull, slowly building up the pleasure between you two, occasionally pausing to kiss.
Soon, though, you felt her hips begin to get sloppy and erratic and you knew then that she was close. You could not move much with her pinning you down but you did what you could to help her tip over the edge of orgasm, reaching into the gap between the both of you to sloppily thumb at her clit. She pressed her cunt to yours, rubbing wetness to wetness in an unrelenting, selfish race to pleasure.
She stilled when she reached her apex but you felt her hips occasionally twitch and her come gushing out as she squirted. It was hot, being coated by a clear sign of her pleasure and it stirred the fire burning in you further.
You thought that would be the end of it. They both of you came. You were tired and sticky and while you still felt slightly horny, you didn't want to bother Outis more when she was already so spent.
Outis surprises you, however, when she manhandles you so your legs wrapped around her waist in a leg-lock. She lines your cunts up again, both already so sensitive. Your clits kiss and it forces low moans out of the both of you. You felt her hips shake and briefly, you wondered why she was continuing this. These thoughts come to an abrupt halt when she slides her pussy against yours.
The next few minutes were a blur of sharp pleasure, the two of you chasing away the final embers of your arousals. She bounced against your cunt, mashing them together in a messy escalation of pleasure as you held one another in each other's arms in a passionate make out session. lips to tongue and to teeth, biting and sliding, muffling your cries and moans. It was desperate and neither of you were thinking straight.
By then end of it, when the two of you finally climax, you didn't know who came first. Just the bright flash of pleasure and each other's embrace. Outis pressed a kiss on your lips as she ground her cunt on yours, riding out her orgasm. You laid there motionless like a rag doll, unable to do anything as the pleasure washes through you.
And as the two of you came down from your high, Outis smiling gently at you, you could only think of one thing
This, truly, was bliss.
—
Nothing changed after that night. Neither of you wanted it to anyways.
When daybreak was close, the two of you talked it out, sweaty and naked under the blankets. It was too risky, pursuing a relationship with the contract the both of you were under. You knew she saw her role supporting Dante as important and she knew you were scared of losing anything more than a coworker.
It was bittersweet, having to accept that you could not have this. But she had to see her contract through the end and you were too caught up in your past losses to even think of someone new you could lose too.
And so when the morning sun rose, an hour before Dante announces the start of the workday, you kiss her farewell before she sets off to her own room.
You'd attend to your own duties as a member of the Lcb, reassuring your kindhearted manager that you feel well enough to work and the two of you stay colleagues as Limbus Company's bus department sets off on another adventure through the city.
—
Sometimes, though, the two of you delude yourselves, wanting to believe it would work out. She'd come to your room, other times you to hers, and you'd lay in each other's arms pretending you could be together. Kisses exchanged, hearts beating as one. At least, until morning comes.