Fred slams the door over and over, knocking at it over and over. "Miguel!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?!?"
Anna sighs and opens the door. "Miguel?" she asked softly, only to see that he's finished pooping and had been counting the tiles for a while now.
Anna sighs. "Just make that quick," she closes the door after.
Meanwhile, Beatle is seen crunching some dead leaves near his ear in his garden using his boots.
"People are lookin' at ya," said Sabbath, sighing.
"What? Do ya expect I pick 'em up and crunch them with my hands?"
"Yeah."
"Shame. You should know what I like after years of knowin' me," snickered Beatle, before crushing another feeling his brain melt with happiness.
Back to Miguel, he can be seen lining his toys together in a very specific way, categorizing each according to species, color, and even lore-wise characterizations.
Meanwhile, Beatle pretends that his hands are two tournament fighters and plays around with them, pretending they are both fighters.
Back to Miguel, he shows to be cooking incredibly large amounts of food for "extra food that I won't be eating later but others might just to be sure".
Meanwhile, Beatle happily gardening but making sure he wears gloves and keeps all of his skin as clean as possible.
Miguel sighs, typing into his computer as Anna sits next to him and eats silently. Miguel turns to her and checks her face. "Are you mad?"
"Nope."
"Ah."
"Y'know you can't keep using that quirk of yours as an excuse."
"What?"
"Autism. It's not like you can't function properly as an adult. You do realize you can self-train, right?"
"I can't. I am not able to do that if I dislike the thing or if I'm being bothered while doing the thing."
"Sorry I brought it up. And stop staring."
Miguel's eye twitches. "You're my wife. I'm comfortable with you, so I stare."
"Well, I'm not comfortable. I'm not obliged to make you happy."
"And neither I, you." Miguel began to boil in terms of patience. He steamed each time he typed his words. "Sorry," said Miguel.
"Stop saying sorry all the time."
"Anna. I was abused at home."
"I was abandoned."
"And I was bullied and betrayed by almost everyone I loved. You really wanna go there?"
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
"Why'd you hang out with her?"
"Why'd you walk out from the jeep with Tyrone one time?"
"Huh. Where IS Tyrone. Haven't seem him a while now."
"Of course you'd look for him."
"Huh?"
"WHY. DID YOU. WALK OUT OF THE JEEP WITH HIM!?!?"
"We were going to the party. Our party."
"And you were with him."
"I am not obliged to make you happy..."
"But I am obliged to give myself happiness. And guess what? Maybe if you aren't a part of that."
Meanwhile, Gabrielle just stares at the television, detached from the situation. She spoke sarcastically, "Mom, Dad. Please stop fighting or whatever."
Anna sighs. "You wanna talk? Fine. Let's talk. You're exhausting."
"And how do you think I feel? I SUCK, ANNA!!! You made me love you. You led me on. You want me to care about you. You felt attached to me, and you only saw me as a second choice. You loved Tyrone. When he went with Jess, you went to me. You never gave me a chance than to be someone else other than 'Second Choice' or 'Just A Brotherly SHOULDER TO CRY ON!!!'"
"Sorry, you feel that way. But I'm not obliged-..."
"What do you think I'M SAYING!?!? I'm saying that you USED ME!!! Anna!!! Why can't you drill that into that thick skull of yours!?!?"
"Stop playing the victim."
"THEN QUIT YOUR CRIMES, WOMAN!!! I wanted to die, Anna!!! I NOW UNDERSTAND PROMETHEUS!!! I wanted to take MY OWN LIFE!!!"
Anna teared up. "Why? Why would you wanna-?"
"I WANT TO CONFORM, OKAY!?!? I WANT TO BE NORMAL!!! I have anxiety. When someone mocks me for it, I get scared and fail. Their mockery manifests itself. I have autism. I say and act abnormally. THERE!!! I SAID IT!!! And people say I should respect boundaries even though I CAN'T TELL ANY OF YOUR SOCIAL CUES!!! I get shamed for what I became. In class, when I fought for Jess, I was perceived the bad guy. Where I was just trying to make jokes that they NEVER UNDERSTOOD because I saw patterns OUTSIDE THE NEUROTYPICAL MIND!!! And when I play the victim for being excluded by everyone else from their adventures, I feel like a burden to you. I stood up for myself. My friends ABANDONED... ME!!!"
"WE didn't. YOU left."
"AND IT'S A GOOD THING, TOO!!! BECAUSE I'LL MAKE SURE TO WRITE ALL YOUR NAMES IN A VERY SADLY WRITTEN NOTE BEFORE I DIE!!!"]
Anna sighs. "I'm sorry we excluded you from our adventures these past five years. WE wanted you safe."
"I can handle myself."
"No, you clearly can't. And you think we have the obligation to you while you use your autism as an excuse for the very thing you can't do."
"WHICH IS!?!?"
"Being a hero. It's catch-22."
"No... I just wanted a family I can hang with. And you think since you're such a therapist you can say my nature is an excuse."
"That's not what I said."
"You said I use my autism as an excuse for my actions. And for what I say. THAT... IS... ME!!!"
"I'm sorry."
"And bottom line, who's playing the victim now? Hm? Fucking bitch. That's exactly what Tyrone said."
"I'm sorry."
Beatle walks in and both stayed silent. Beatle sits down next to Miguel. "Anna. Your problem is that you're a pushover. You fail to stand up TO AND FOR Miguel in times when he really needs it. You conform to everyone's treatment, wherein clearly you should treat Miguel more than just another person. This man fucking took bullets for you. And you did him. Don't you think he's just as exhausted, if not, more than you due to his neurodivergence? And, if I know this much about you, shouldn't you realize that I, ergo he, loves you the most? And shouldn't YOU REALIZE that he shows love differently and you just dismiss everything I ever done for you just like that?"
Anna looks down.
"Miguel. You're also a fucking pushover. But I know there's a fucking tiger in you. You suppress so much of yourself from others and refuse to show what a great and powerful person you are because you know they'll fear you, and hate you for it. You CAN DO IT. You just suppress it because you hate yourself and you fear what these foolish Humans think of you. I know your disability destroys your ability to have an initiative, so do what you do best and relearn it. I don't care what Death Leopard thinks about me. I regularly defeat him in various tasks, though it took much longer. So, act like what you are. BE yourself. No one's gonna fall for that sweet little puppy act you've got. Except idiots."
Miguel looks down.
"I was always ashamed of what I am..." sighed Beatle. "That's the real problem. You two are cowards. So, toughen up, roaches. Nah. Never mind. Besides. A cockroach is waaaay tougher than you two, hehehehehehe..." he snickered, standing up and walking away. "Keep acting like that and that kid over there will destroy either of you. Or both. Depends on who's askin'."
Arachne just stares at the TV.
Miguel sighs and holds Anna's hand.
Anna gives a soft smile.