Static Between Us - 2-D x Reader

Chapter 1 - A Room of My Own (Finally)

You're walking through the halls, half awake. The floor creaks under your boots, sticky from who-knows-what, and the overhead lights flicker like they're possessed. They probably are.

You still haven't gotten used to the smell — like cigarettes, old beer, maybe blood, and definitely something dead. A rat, maybe. Or Murdoc's dignity.

Kong Studios wasn't glamorous. It wasn't even sanitary. But somehow, you got a room here. One of the side crew. Not quite part of the band, but close enough to pass through security without getting chased off with a wrench. You'd done enough behind-the-scenes work — fixing cables, running sound checks, dragging broken gear up from the basement — that they let you stick around.

Your "room" used to be a janitor's closet. It still smells like bleach and mold, but hey — there's a bed. Sort of. More like a cot. You've slept worse.

You rub your eyes as you head toward the kitchen. You need coffee. Or maybe just hot water and blind hope. But as you round the corner, you see him — 2-D — sitting cross-legged on the kitchen counter like it's normal. His hair's a mess. Blue. His eyes, black and sunken, stare at the toaster like it's about to tell him a secret.

"Oh. Mornin'," he mumbles without looking at you.

"Mornin'," you say back, voice rough.

He gestures toward a half-full mug of something dark. "I made that. I think it's coffee."

You walk over. Sniff it with caution like it might attack you.

"...Did you use water or...?" you said, looking up at him with tired eyes.

"Dunno. Found a bottle on the floor. Smelled okay."

You pour it down the sink.

He doesn't protest. Just swings his legs. "Suit yerself."

Down the hall, you hear Murdoc's voice echoing like a demon who learned to swear. He's yelling about "someone" touching his bass. You know for a fact he left it outside in the rain yesterday. You saw it. You walked around it.

"Oi!" he snarls as he stomps past the kitchen, shirtless and also pants-less, cigarette dangling from his mouth, bottle of something unlabeled in his hand. "You! Don't touch my stuff."

"I didn't," you mutter, sipping your own instant coffee from a clean mug.

"Whatever. Just don't." Murdoc said, clearly just wanting to start some sort of trouble, it's like he got some sick enjoyment out of it.

You roll your eyes. 2-D grins a little, you can see his two missing teeth, that stupid grin...

"'E gets cranky when the voices in his head stop talkin' to him," 2-D says, voice soft and a little airy.

"Does that happen often?" you question, already guessing it does.

"Nah. Never." he said, in a more joking tone.

Later, you find Noodle in the hallway, quietly folding origami out of receipts and snack wrappers. She waves when she sees you. You wave back. She's always sweet — focused and quiet, but she's the only one who seems remotely normal in this place. When you pass her, she slips a tiny paper crane into your pocket like a secret and keeps walking.

You head into the studio, where Russel is already working. Headphones on, drum pads lit. He spots you and pulls one side of the headphones off.

"Need anything?" he asks, voice deep but calm. "Power's out in half the building again. Murdoc blew a fuse with some amp Frankenstein project."

You shake your head. "I'm just here to untangle wires and not die."

"Good plan." He hands you a donut. You don't question it, but your definitely gonna throw it away when he's not looking.

The day drags. You coil cables, dodge roaches, and try not to trip over Noodle's guitar cases or whatever junk Murdoc left on the floor. You hear 2-D singing in one of the sound booths. Something unfinished or maybe just another one of his projects that Murdoc will shut down. The words are slurred and dreamy — maybe real lyrics, maybe just nonsense. Either way, it sounds good. Like it always does.

You stop outside the door for a second, listening.

"—She was walkin' through the static, real slow... dunno what she was lookin' for though—"

You don't ask if that line's about you.

You don't want to know.

Not yet.