SkaterCheese's Snapshots Collection (Inanimate Insanity fanfiction)

Teambuilding at its Finest [Taco x Microphone]

Taco has to see Microphone at once.

I wrote this one for a good friend of mine, TimbreTime! They had a neat concept that I wanted to breathe life into. This was written in August 2018 at around 2am local time, so it was before episode 13 came out.

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Taco tapped her foot impatiently, focusing on the sound of clumsy, no-grace Mic stumbling through the woods. One would think their regular meetings would teach Mic how to be quiet, but as usual, she found a way to thwart expectations.

Eventually, Mic burst through some bushes.

"I'm here!" She glanced around in a panic. "I don't think I was followed. ...What's up?"

"It's about time you got here; I've been waiting for an eternity." Taco clasped her hands together. "But now that you've finally had the nerve to show up-"

"Knife."

"He has nothing to do with this. I told you, he's not a threat. This situation is about us, and our fatal flaw as a team."

Mic kept panting, but looked confused. Taco clarified, "Our team might be strong, but it's vulnerable. That bully won't rip us apart, but we need to patch up our weaknesses."

"You really... think so?"

"I don't think, I know. And I know, we need to be the strongest team we can be."

"Riiiight..." Microphone rubbed the back of her 'neck.' "Er, what problem is there in the way we treat each other? Aside from the obvious."

"It's actually quite simple. We don't have enough, *ahem,* vested interest in whether we win. And we both lack something in the diet of our daily interactions."

"In English, please?"

Taco quickly turned around to hide her fluster. "What I mean to say is, in order to win, I'm going to have to give you the privilege of touching me."

"Excuse me, what?"

A clear of her throat. "Follow my directions very carefully. Come stand behind me."

Mic did so. Taco closed her eyes. "Now hold your hands out as far as you can." She did. "Lift me up." With a bit of effort, she did. "Now listen very carefully. You're going to hold me close."

"Uhh..."

"If you don't want us to win, put me down right now."

"Um..." Mic held her closer. Taco spun herself in Mic's arms and hugged her, eyes still screwed shut. "Now sit down." Mic did so. A moment passed; Taco sighed. *'...How wonderful.'*

"...Um, Taco, isn't this-"

"Team-building at its finest." Taco adjusted herself so she could hear Mic's (elevated) heartbeat more clearly, like it was her own. "If we do this for a while, we'll have an advantage in the next challenge. Just... Trust me."

Taco's hold on Mic tightened. Mic's posture was uncertain, vacillating. Each second felt a bit longer in her arms.

This request, if rejected... would hurt.

Taco hated this fact, this vulnerability. It was so embarrassing to ask such a thing.. And from *Mic,* of all people.

But the relief that came when Mic properly hugged back was so powerful that it was worth it.