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ENA: Fragment Ego (AU)

A little ENA x Coral Glasses because I love them and I need some hurt/comfort lmao.

This is still part of the au (as seen above), so if you have no idea what parts of this story is referring to, see the following posts:

Extremely raw rundown of the AU

AU Worker ENA information

After Hours

TW for PTSD and mental health stuff Word Count: 2745 (this ended up being so much longer than I meant it to be, whoops)

It had been some time since Coral Glasses started working alongside ENA and the team she worked with. She still wasn't entirely sure what they were trying to accomplish yet, but she appreciated the hard work they all seemed to put into it.

ENA was an especially hard worker, always running around doing various tasks for others. Coral eventually decided to join her on her ventures from time to time, always watching as ENA approached complete strangers with new sale pitches or divestment opportunities. Coral really admired her determination.

ENA was a little skeptical when Coral started joining her on her business ventures. Not many people actually wanted to be around her, let alone nice to her like Coral was. She tried to insist she could handle her business herself, but Coral insisted, and eventually ENA became fond of having a business partner.

After a long day, ENA and Coral were heading back to the casino to regroup with Froggy. Coral fidgeted with some papers, reading back a summary of the day's events in her head before looking up at ENA skipping just ahead of her. "[Ena?]" Coral suddenly called to her.

ENA paused mid-skip, looking behind her and letting Coral catch up to her side, "What's on the agenda, business companion?" her cheery, salesperson voice asked.

Coral also paused, averting her gaze as she tried not to wrinkle the papers in her shaky hands. "[I was... thinking that since it's been such a long day... maybe you'd like to hang out? Maybe grab a drink at the casino? Eh?]"

"Hm? Like a trust building exercise?" ENA asked, pointing a clawed finger to her chin in thought, "Ah! Yes, strong bonds between coworkers keeps business running smoothly! I would find great joy in clocking in some overtime with you."

Coral gave a small relieved sigh. She was still learning to understand ENA's strange way of communicating, but she believed that meant ENA was happy to hang out with her. She smiled softly to herself, her gaze falling to the ground as she thought about the kinds of things she and ENA would discuss.

Then suddenly the harsh, more feminine voice of ENA's meanie side interrupted her thoughts, "Hey, four-eyes! You coming or what?"

Coral perked up, shaking herself out of her thoughts completely before speeding up to catch up to her, "[Sorry...]"

The two of them headed to the bar, not saying a whole lot to one another until they sat down and ordered what they wanted. Upon receiving their drinks, they sat in silence.

Coral wasn't sure what to talk about, awkwardly sipping on her glass as she tried to come up with conversation topics. She looked over at the other. She noted how ENA tapped her jagged, geometric fingers against her glass. Her face seemed to be indecisive on which side to be on, switching between the smiling and cheery red side and the grumpy pale yellow one. It was like she didn't know how she felt, just sitting around in awkward silence in a bar. She almost seemed restless, like she ought to be doing something else. Another job.

Coral then looked around the rest of the bar, noticing how other customers would occasionally glance over at them. They were looking mostly at ENA, only really looking at Coral as if to silently question why she was sitting next to the dual-toned woman. She turned back to her drink, taking another sip and trying to ignore the prying eyes. "[So ENA, what... do you like to do for fun?]" Coral finally piped up.

That seemed to pull ENA out of her thoughts, her face finally settling on her meanie side, mouth turned down into a frown, "Fun?"

"[Yeah, you know, what do you do outside of work?]"

ENA stared at Coral for a moment, making the monotone woman feel nervous. She groaned, "I'm a very busy individual. Work hardly ends."

"[I suppose I've never seen you not working.]" Coral noted quietly to herself.

There was another awkward pause, Coral looking around the bar again to look for something else to talk about. She noted again other patrons watching ENA with mistrusting eyes, which did give her another topic to bring up. She just hoped it didn't pry too much. "[You know, ENA, ever since we started working together, I noticed that a lot of people don't seem to like you very much.]"

ENA's cheerful demeanor returned, a soothing masculine voice, "Indeed, most disagree with my business practices. It is the burden an entrepreneur must bare."

"[I- yes, I suppose so. But, and correct me if I'm wrong, I heard it was because your kind-]"

"My kind? What do you mean by that, hm?" Meanie's voice piped back in. She seemed ready to be defensive, but was willing to hold back to hear Coral out.

"[Apologies, I didn't mean for that to come off as offensive. I just suppose I'm curious about ENAs as a whole. I don't know much, but I just...]" Coral paused, sighing as she felt her cheeks warm up, "[I just want to get to know you better, and I was just curious about where you come from. That's all.]"

ENA softened a little, her bitter frown turning into that of curious indifference. She grumbled, "Fine. What do you want to know?" She knew fully well what was going to be asked next. She wasn't asked very often due to her reputation and with the way people mostly avoided her, but when they did talk to her, they all asked the same thing.

"[It's said that ENAs once came from an old genie... is that true?]"

ENA tensed up, but tried to refrain from lashing out. She really liked Coral Glasses and the friendship they were developing. She would've usually dodged the question, offering up a stepping stone to her latest pyramid scheme instead of an answer. But this time, she did have some strange, unfamiliar desire to talk about it. "It is much more of a challenge to deny than it is to confirm." ENA's salesperson voice returned, though it didn't sound as cheerful as it typically did.

Coral suddenly felt nervous. Hearing the smooth voice sound so serious as apposed to her more natural and happy demeanor was something much more nerve-racking than meanie's rude yelling.

ENA noticed the unnerved look on Coral's face before looking around at all the other patrons looking at them. Looking at her. She suddenly perked up, wiping off any note of distress on her own face to the best of her ability before looking back at Coral and returning to her typical business voice, "Ah, unfortunately I don't think that department is open to patrons at this time! Such... classified matters should be taken up to a private meeting with HR."

Coral looked at ENA with raised brows, noticing that now ENA was the one that was looking nervous despite her customer service smile. "[Did... you want to talk about this somewhere else?]" She asked.

ENA nodded, "I believe we will be more efficient in our work with less distraction. Perhaps we can go somewhere not so out in the open? Somewhere only GØD can hear us? Hm?”

Coral nodded, leaving some chocolates on the bar top to pay for their drinks. Both women stood up and left the casino, ENA following behind Coral as she led the way to her own home. “[Apologies for the mess. I’ve been so busy with work I haven’t had a chance to clean up.]”

“No worries, friend. All it takes is a place and some food,” ENA smiled before Coral led her over to a couch, letting her sit down, “but I thought you weren’t from the business district?”

“[I’m not. This is just where I’m living while I’m working here,]” Coral smiled at her, making sure she was comfortable before resuming their earlier conversation, “[So you confirm that you are indeed a genie?]”

ENA perked up again, feeling tense, “…And right back to business, I see! I always admired that about you.”

Coral felt her cheeks flush at that and she tried to hide her flattered expression through sitting down and crossing her legs, trying to come off as professional.

ENA cleared her throat, “Well, the truth is simply yes. I am the remains of the genie’s life divestment!”

“[Fascinating, but… then why does everyone hate ENAs? Genies are usually respected and loved, are they not?]”

“Well, not to have bias, but the genie was simply an entrepreneur ahead of her time. The people didn’t understand the stock she was selling nor the sacrifices she had to make to get the work done,” ENA said with great pride, like she was defending GØD themself, “I’m surprised a brilliant mind like yours is not already in the loop.”

Coral chuckled nervously, “[Ah, I tend to indulge myself in my job rather than go off on historical tangents. Admittedly, my knowledge of genies only goes as far as work-related things. Like that one time I was searching for the horse door genie inauguration coordinator. In fact, that’s actually where I heard the supposed rumor of you being a genie, ENA.]”

“Oh, don’t be mistaken. I am not a genie. Though I do enjoy bringing small pleasures to those I provide services for,” ENA clapped happily at the thought of working again.

“[Ah, right. You only originate from a genie…]” Coral hummed, “[So what was it like then? To have been a genie?]”

That question made something stir within ENA as she paused, hands grabbing at fabric of her pants. Her red smile folded downwards, a frown forming on her pale yellow side. Coral also frowned, realizing she just struck a nerve.

ENA’s feminine meanie voice finally spoke. It wasn’t a yell like Coral had expected, but a soft, distressed voice, “I am but a fragment of the genie, and my memory reflects as such. I recall horrors I have never experienced and the things that other bloodlines despise me for.”

Coral’s eyes widened a bit. She had never seen the hard worker crumble like this, “[ENA? Are you okay?]” ENA’s face was downturned, her hat covering whatever expression she was wearing. Coral put a hand on ENA’s shoulder, “[ENA, I’m sorry, didn’t mean to upset you.]”

ENA’s face snapped back up, giving Coral a view of her face. It was an alarming view, the red side of her face was completely dark and her pale yellow side was more of a cold gray. The whites of her eyes were completely black and her usually dark iris was a bright white. Her hands remained on her thighs, fingers digging into the fabric of her pants and even slightly tearing up the fabric from the intense grip. She twitched and trembled uncontrollably.

“I-I’m not—“ ENA paused, lips trembling as she spoke. It almost sounded like the wind had been knocked out of her. “—a bad person. I was— just doing my job!”

Coral moved her hand off of ENA’s shoulder, instead grabbing both of her hands, letting the other woman squeeze her hands for comfort. The sharp, angular claws dug into her skin but she didn’t want to pull away, not when ENA was in such a state. The monotone woman frowned, brows furrowed in uncertainty of what to do to help. Something told her that ENA had been burying this down for a while with no one to really talk to about it. She took a deep breath, “[I know, ENA. You’re not a bad person.]”

ENA looked at Coral with a distant gaze, though it seemed more like she was staring through her, her mind somewhere else. She then looked down at her hands, realizing how much she was squeezing and digging her claws into Coral’s, small amounts of blood seeping from the punctures. She froze, “I’m hurting you.” ENA released Coral, bringing her hands to her chest and scratching the blood off her fingertips, “I’m sorry. All I ever do is hurt people. That’s all I’m good for.”

Coral looked down at her bleeding hands, just kind of shaking them like that would make them feel better. "[Hey, it's okay. I'm fine.]" Coral reassured her, grabbing her hands again and offering a soft smile, "[but again, you're not a bad person, ENA. I love working with you. You're funny and so passionate about your work... even when you don't want to be. I know you've done some things in the past that you're not proud of but, like you said, you were just doing your job.]"

ENA looked at her again, really looked at her. The white iris staring at her. Her lips parted as if to say something, but nothing came out, so instead she pressed her lips together in a straight line. She felt Coral's hands in hers, squeezing them gently. A small, barely noticeable smile crossed the anxious gray face.

Without warning, ENA wrapped her arms around Coral, leaning her head against the other's shoulder. "Thank you. No one's ever told me that before."

Coral was frozen in place for a moment before she fully accepted the hug. She frowned slightly at what ENA told her but didn't say anything about it, she just held ENA in her arms for as long as she needed to.

The two of them stayed like that for some time before ENA spoke up again, "I hope I'm not intruding when I ask but could I... stay in your company for the night?"

"[Of course, ENA. I would... greatly enjoy clocking in some more overtime with you,]" Coral answered with a small chuckle.

ENA looked up at her, her face having returned to normal now and giving Coral a rare sight. Her pale yellow meanie side was actually smiling. Like- genuinely smiling. Not the sneer she typically had before she was going to insult you and call you names. It seemed both sides of her were just content in the moment. She laughed before resting her forehead against Coral's, "Now you're speaking my language. Thank you."

Coral blushed, being so close to ENA like this. Sweat dripped down the side of her forehead, "[Let's get you to bed. You must be tired.]"

ENA's salesperson voice finally picked up again, "I usually don't like to clock out, but I suppose it's time for me to get off this emotional rollercoaster."

Coral stood up, grabbing ENA's mitten-like hand in hers and led her to a bedroom, "[I don't think I have any night clothes that would fit you, unfortunately, but you're free to look around in my closet.]"

"I am fine with sleeping in my uniform." ENA waved a dismissive hand.

Coral nodded, "[Very well. Uh- make yourself comfortable. My room's just down the hall if you need me-]"

"You're leaving?" ENA asked as she started getting comfortable.

"[I figured since you were tired you'd want to go to bed-]"

"Just because I'm sleeping doesn't mean you have to leave, Coral."

Coral's heart skipped a beat. Come to think of it, ENA had never called her by her name. She wasn't sure if she called anyone by their actual name, perhaps another strange quirk of her abnormal speech patterns.

"[You want to share a room?]"

ENA's feminine voice jumped back in, a nervous frown crossing her face. The blue shadow that usually clung to her forehead looked like it was creeping down the rest of her face, "I don't think I could bear the barbarity of being alone right now." She admitted.

Coral fidgeted with her fingers, "[Alright, I think I can... try to provide some comfort-]" she was cut off when ENA suddenly reached for her arm and pulled her down onto the mattress. They both laid down and got comfortable, ENA making herself feel right at home with her arms wrapped around Coral's waist.

They laid there in silence for a few moments, ENA softly breathing against Coral's abdomen with her eyes closed.

Then she suddenly spoke. A soft, dreamy tone... probably the most relaxed tone of voice Coral had ever heard from the business woman. "Coral?" ENA yawned, "Have you... ever considered having a long-term business companion?"

Coral lifted her head to look down at ENA, who was already softly snoring like she hadn't said anything at all. She sighed and laid her head back down.

She didn't always understand ENA's business metaphors, but she quietly hoped that she had interpreted this one correctly.

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