As always, I do not own tpoh nor the characters.

Warning: feels and fluff. As in a LOT of fluffy feels.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

The banging that came from behind the door echoed down the stairs, past shelves of vials, and right to the lower floor of The House of Paint. It even reached the bundle of a punch-pink blanket sitting on the rosewood colored armchair.

"…mmmf…" The blankets growled, curling into itself.

KNOCK! KNOCK, KNOCK!

"Mmmf…" It growled again while the large eyes on the armchair glanced in the direction of the knocking.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Before the pile of fabric could hiss yet again, the armchair leaned forward and flung out the sleeping figure hiding within the blanket.

"Whoa-OW!" Madras yelped. She untangled herself from her blanket, pushed herself up from the cold wooden floor, and glared at her armchair.

"And just what make you think you have the right-"

The loud knocking echoed through the air again, cutting the cyclops's rant short. Madras paused, sighed, and smoothed her wrinkled plaid sweater as she walked towards the stairs. When her foot rested on the first step, she glanced over her shoulder, tossing a wry "One of these days I am going to throw you into a dumpster…" over her shoulder to the sentient piece of furniture.

With every step she took, the steps beneath her feet creaked in response to her weight. She didn't notice them however; the persistent banging overpowered the petty whines of the stairs. As she came closer to the front door, she noticed how frantic the knocking sounded. It was as if a panicky machine gun was begging to come in.

That didn't change Madras's peevish mood however; how dare someone interrupt her beauty sleep? Is one not allowed to get a good night's sleep before the world ends?

KNOCK, KNOCK!

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Madras hissed as she approached the door at last. She hovered up to the peephole, whipped the lid open, and pierced her unsettling stare through the tiny glass.

"The House of Paint is closed, please leave!" She barked. Then she blinked and narrowed her eye. She did not see anyone in front of her door. Either she had an odd, invisible customer or-

"Madras, it's us! Please, let us in!" A high pitched voice cried, somewhere below the peephole.

Then a green sock puppet bounced up, babbling "Letusin!" before gravity pulled him back down. It jumped up again, repeating the garbling plea.

"…Assok…? And Hero?" Madas asked, recognizing the other voice from earlier. "But…but where's-?"

"Madras, can we please come in?" Hero cried, doing her best to remain polite and calm at the same time. "I-It's an emergency!"

"'Mer gen see! 'Mer gen see!" Assok hopped again, his voice growing hoarse.

Madras forgot her agitation and swiftly unlocked the door. She gasped when she swung the door open, shocked at what she found lying on her front porch.

RGB. In tattered clothes. With a blank screen. And draping his arm over poor Hero's shoulder.

"Wh-wh-what-?" She stopped herself, briefly shook her head, and ordered, "All of you, inside. Now."

The girl dragged the man inside with Assok pushing the back of RGB's feet, helping shove the man through the door. Once RGB was completely past the door, Madras slammed it shut and took his other arm over her shoulder.

"We're taking him to my bedroom," Madras said as she tugged RGB alongside Hero. "Just follow my lead."

Hero nodded mutely, keeping her unconscious friend in the corner of her concerned eye. Together, the two managed to haul RGB clumsily down the stairs, through the long hallway, and into Madras's bedroom. To Hero's surprise, the merchant's bedroom held a queen sized bed with wine red sheets. The girl, however, was too occupied with RGB to question why such a short woman needed such a large bed. With Madras's help, the monster was heaved onto the mattress.

The one eyed beauty pressed her ear on top of RGB's heart. Or, at least, where his heart should have been; dead men didn't have beating hearts. Instead of listening for a steady heartbeat, she listened for the soft purr of white noise. That was the heartbeat of a dead man, if you listened hard enough.

And after pressing her ear a bit closer to RGB's chest, she heard it. The low hum of static weakly resonating from below his magenta shirt.

"…he's alive." She whispered.

"Really?" Hero beamed, relieved.

"Well, by the standards of this world, yes." Madras lifted her head from RGB and reached for his gloved hand. She gave it a light squeeze, feeling the sickly coolness of the fabric.

"S-so…he'll be okay?" The child asked. "Y-you can help him, right?"

"I'm a merchant, not a doctor." She replied almost too coolly. "All I can do is patch up his clothes and let him rest. His condition doesn't seem too serious, however…so a little nap may be all he needs." The woman turned around, fully facing Hero. "Do me a favor and go fetch some extra blankets. Sleeping Beauty here is going to need them."

"O-okay." Hero said before plucking Assok off the ground and placing him onto her shoulder.

"They're in the closet down the hall," Madras explained. "Third one on the left. It's the one with the brass doorknob."

The girl nodded and hurried to the door. Once the clomp clomp clomp of her footsteps had vanished, Madras turned back to RGB. Wordlessly she smoothed out his lapels, removing the wrinkles in the boysenberry fabric. Then she brushed her fingers against his garnet red bowtie, feeling a few grains of debris stuck in its folds.

At least his clothes were dry, indicating that water was not the cause of his condition...but she still wondered what sort of emotion brought him to this state. It definitely wasn't the work of petty fears. No, this was caused by something greater, stronger.

Madras sighed, and laid down besides RGB. She rested her head on his chest so she could listen to the empty purr of his heart. Taking a deep breath, she slowly shut her eye, feeling her eyelashes brush against RGB.

The hollow, steady hum of white noise always brought Madras comfort. So emotionless, yet so soothing. To her, the soft sound took her away into another part of her mind where she could forget the bitterness festering inside of her, just for a while. She could float into nothingness, simply not thinking of anything. With static on her side, she could even forget how the world was ending, how reality was gradually crumbling away.

And this was one reason why she liked RGB. To her, his heartbeat was worth putting up with his trouble and cowardice.

However, she knew that this sound would only remain with RGB as long as he was 'alive' in this world.

Then there would only be silence.

Madras curled her fingers around one of his golden-lined lapels until her unearthly fingers held a fistful of his suit. She continued to rest her head over his heart, wanting to imprint his heartbeat into her memory.

"...don't die just yet." Madras murmured into his shirt. "Even if you're already dead, or a walking dead man…" She tightened her grip on his lapel as the seconds slipped by like drops of rain.

The woman never budged from her position. She didn't dare question what was taking Hero so long to get those blankets. All she did was continue to listen to RGB's heart. She was almost tempted to fall asleep like that.

And she just might have, too, had a hand not touched her shoulder and gently pushed her off.

"M-M-Madras, please, you know I can't stand dreams." RGB croaked.

She stared at the flat mouth on his screen for a minute, then slapped her hand over her face.

"Honestly, RGB, you are the most unromantic man in existence." Madras huffed before bringing her head in front of his face, her nose an inch away from the screen. After a second of staring into him, she closed the distance between her lips and him. RGB flinched, surprised at the sudden kiss. Gentle sparks tickled her lips as RGB gradually relaxed. He shyly wrapped his arms around Madras's waist and pulled her a bit closer. Accepting the invitation, Madras pulled herself completely on top of him and wrapped her own arms around RGB's absent neck.

As much as she enjoyed listening to his heartbeat, she had to admit his 'kisses' were also a lovely distraction. Almost loving the sensation, the cyclops boldly slipped the tip of her tongue against his rainbow mouth. RGB made a dull "Mmph...!" but quickly accepted the affection, letting his antennae droop lazily against the headboard. Madras sighed, relishing the oddly acidic taste of his ink.

Meanwhile, a faint, muffled shuffling grew closer to the doorway. Grunting, a girl dragged a thick, heavy blanket through the door, with her back to the couple.

"Sorry I-mph-took so-urgh-long." Hero said. She dropped the strawberry pink duvet on the floor and picked up Assok, who was still pulling the quilt in his mouth. "It's really heavy and got stuck whi-uh…"

Hero paused once she turned around, getting a good look at the couple. They hastily broke away and awkwardly stared at the girl. The room went silent, with Hero and Assok staring at RGB and Madras, the latter wiping away the colorful drool around her mouth.

"W-W-We can explain!" RGB stuttered, frantically waving a hand at Hero. "I-I...er,well..w-we,uh…"

"Uh…" Hero took a step back while not making eye contact with her friends. "I...We'll come back later!"

"L-Lay ter!" Assok nervously mimicked, hiding his face into his fabric in embarrassment. The girl dropped the thick blanket at her feet, took a few hesitant steps backwards, and hastily shut the bedroom door. After a brief silence, Madras and RGB could make out the girl's muffled "...Eww! Cooties!" from behind the wall. Then they heard her footsteps fade down the hall.

"...er…" RGB began, earning Madras's attention. "Well...I...um…"

Madras gazed at his screen with a deadpan gleam in her eye. His mouth wavered as if biting his lip, and sighed. He reached up to his volume knob and turned it counterclockwise until his volume level was down to zero. Now mute, he gave Madras a hopeful smirk.

"That's better." She said and leaned forward again. With her lips against his screen, she pressed her right hand over his heart, feeling his steady, purring heartbeat. It seemed a bit louder, however, whenever her tongue twirled against his mouth.

It didn't make it any less enjoyable. And so the unlikely couple remained there, able to feel each other's heartbeat.

"...Hey, Assok?"

"Haya sok?"

"Do you...think RGB has cooties…?"

"Koo tees?"

"...I guess you don't know what those are, either, huh."

AN: That last little bit was inspired during a writing stream. Blame Mahotou XD