Warning: there's mentions of self-harm and shit in this chapter with all that jazz so yeah

Puma's POV

Happy ends. Happy ends. Happy ends. All stories end with happy endings. Except this isn't a story. This is reality, sweetie. And in your reality, you don't deserve a happy ending. The only ending you might be able to get is death, and don't even hope for that. And Connor? You really think he likes you? Oh, you naive child...

"Puma?" I heard a faraway voice.

No. Don't drag me away. I need to punish myself for being selfish. So I have to let Negativity talk.

"Puma!" I heard a loud shout of my name. The yell was so loud I jumped a bit, my eyes flashing open.

"Are you alright?" Connor asked quietly, lowering his voice.

"Y-yeah. What time is it?" I questioned, trying to keep my voice from quivering and looking at my clock to see the time.

"It's five thirty-three in the morning. You were having a nightmare. You don't sound okay."

"Oh? A n-nightmare? No. No." I shook my head.

"Have I ever told you you're a bad liar?" Connor smiled, making me go a slight shade of red. Though it wasn't noticeable in the darkness.

Scanning my surroundings around me, I lay in my bed, the way I fell asleep. Connor was in his shirt and pants lying next to me. The door was locked, so Hunter and Artemis were nowhere to be seen. Elektra had taken a liking to the outdoors and spent her time there. 

"Might've mentioned it," I responded sheepishly.

"Why don't you tell me about it?" Connor lay down, staring at the ceiling like he always does.

"It's nothing really. Just... negative thoughts." I said. It was true, at least part of it.

"I'm sorry that your nightmares haven't stopped. You've had them for a long time I can tell."

"It's fine," I answered indirectly. I didn't want to talk about it so I abruptly changed the subject. "I can't believe it's over."

"Yeah. I wish I could've done more." Connor said.

"You infiltrated CyberLife tower. There's no going above that." I smiled at him, nudging myself closer.

"We infiltrated a tower. But so what? You got to the battle, you got to fight."

I had no way of answering that, I just yawned. "Are we going to work then?"

"No, probably not. Everyone is still calming down from the battle, so maybe give it a couple of weeks."

"Awesome. This is like back in 2020." I smiled. "Except I was four and didn't remember much. But hey, no preschool or first grade for me those years."

Connor ran his hand through my hair, letting it slip through his realistic fingers. We locked eyes with each other, and I could tell the same thing clicked through our minds because we leaned toward each other.

No one could possibly interrupt us now...

Connor placed his hand near the end of my bed and leaned on his other arm to hoist himself up as our lips met. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I leaned into the kiss. Breaking away, the android was standing over me, studying me curiously. Tilting my head a bit to the left, I looked back at him, the corners of my mouth twitching to form a soft smile. Connie ran his fingers down the side of my face before returning the same smile. My eyes fell to the collar of his shirt. Without realizing it, I subconsciously licked my lips before pushing my hands on his chest, flipping to pin him to the bed. I knew Connor could easily overpower me because he's stronger and smarter. But the fact that he was letting me do this proved that he trusted me.

"Do you remember when we first met?" He asked when I didn't do anything.

"Yeah. It was a week ago after all." I nodded, remembering the day. "You were asking for my dad, and I couldn't stop thinking about how attractive you looked."

I gave out a small giggle.

"And I was a dumb android that only followed orders." Connor sighed. I slumped to lie down next to him. I couldn't think of any way to respond so I just stayed silent.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Six-o-seven," Connor responded without pausing to think.

"Well, I might drop by the store and get some stuff."

"Okay, then I'll drop by Hank's house to check up on him. He went home right after the battle, and I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet."

"Sounds like a plan." I gave a grin and slipped out of bed. My side was sore, so closing the door of the bathroom after me, I lifted my shirt to see my wound. Peeking under the layers of bandages, the wound didn't look as bad as it seemed. It didn't even hurt. Washing my face with cold water, I thundered down the stairs to get a snack. Hunter greeted me with glee, getting out of his sleeping spot and running to me, his tail violently smacking him as he wagged it. I couldn't help smiling. Reaching for a god treat, Hunter trotted back to his sleeping spot to begin eating. After watching him for a bit, I opened the fridge to scramble myself a breakfast.

"Have fun shopping. I'll see you later!" Connor's voice sounded as he went down the stairs.

"See you later," I smiled, giving him a wave.

The door closed and I started getting ready. Today was going to be a good day.

***

Stopping at a Walmart I stopped by to get some food and wander the store. I really didn't want to return home for some reason, I needed to take my mind off things. Dragging random foods and snacks I felt like eating into my cart, I found myself strolling through the "Climbing & Mountaineering Equipment".

Eh, might as well. I shrugged, though I really just wanted away from the Karen stereotype woman that was demanding to see the manager.

Carabiners, gym chalk, rock climbing wall stones, liquid chalk, ropes, climbing shoes, climbing net-

Ropes, huh? Negativity perked up. Take one.

I didn't dare move. I knew Negativity was right, but I didn't want to take it.

Take it goddamnit! Negativity hissed at me. Shakily picking up a long thick rope and throwing it into my cart, I speed walked to the self-checkout. We used to have android workers that checked things out for us, but I guess that's not a thing anymore. We've changed the course of history. Markus has changed the course of history.

After paying, I walked to my car, my heart growing really heavy. I didn't have the energy to hum to a song as I drove to my house. I wonder if Connor was home already. If he was, how would I explain the rope I bought to him?

Connor was not home. Taking a breath, I ran downstairs to shove it into the nearest drawer I could find.

Oh, look how much you care for your Connor. Just got together and you're already back to normal, huh? Why don't you go take that kitchen knife and cut your hands while you're at it?

What did I have to lose? I thought to myself, taking a sharp knife strolling up the stairs. In the bathroom, I closed the door shut, turning to look at myself with my knife in the mirror.

What's the holdup? Negativity jeered. Clattering the knife onto the counter, I rolled up the sleeve of my left arm. I leaned in to place my elbows onto the counter before examining my forearm, for now, clear of cuts. Not looking away from my arm, I took the knife and placed its blade in my hand. I was struck to a stop again. I told Connor I wouldn't do this anymore. I can't be more of a burden to him than I already am.

"Puma what do you think you're doing?" I heard a calm but fierce voice from the doorway.

"Deciding whether or not to cut myself," I answered Connor calmly.

Slowly approaching me, Connor took the knife away from me, placing it on the counter away from me. I shut my eyes, questioning whether the newly deviant would yell at me or slap me across the face.

"Well, I'm glad I got here in time." He wrapped his arms around me.

I felt my eyes tearing up at that phrase. I promised him I would be better, yet it got me nowhere.

"I'm sorry..." I said barely audibly.

"You saying 'I'm sorry' over and over isn't going to change anything," Connor explained. "I'll just take all the knives away for the month. How does that sound? Habits take three weeks to form, so a month should definitely have you stop self-harm."

"But- but what if I have to cut something?" I looked up at him questionably, to which he raised an eyebrow. "N-not myself, I meant if I wanted to cook something," I said quietly.

"I'll do it myself then." He stated. "Now, let's go have lunch. What would you like to eat?" 

A/N: sorry I haven't posted in a while, I was doing YouTube, then I got my computer taken away because my parents think that'll make me have better grades, I'm starting a new book which has something to do with this series, I'll keep it a secret for now, but feel free to guess.

There are also different endings to this, I dunno if I mentioned that. There's the bad ending, at least 3 alternative endings, and a good ending. For alternate endings, I wanted to ask you, yes you, if you had an idea on how the story might end. You might want to wait until the big epic branch off, which I've just finished writing, it's going to be Chapter 25.

I don't know if I missed anything or not, but yeah, here's this. 

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