Chapter Text
The life of a borrower isn't…easy.
You knew this well, of course. The small shed you used as a base hadn't seen use from human beans in years. It was a bit of a pity- while the other few local borrowers you saw on the regular lamented having to be so vigilant to stay away from the beans, you craved contact with them.
Beans were…huge. Indescribable- so much akin to borrowers and yet so, so different! Their ears- small, rather pathetic things- sat flush against the sides of their heads, they lacked any tail, yet they seemed to excel in everything! Borrowers lived constantly in their shadows, below their clocks and behind their paintings, always warned by their elders to keep out of their sights.
But why?
Surely the beans were intelligent. One look at anyone's home and one could easily see how dependent on the beans borrowers were? Even you, situated outside of the main house as you were, still relied on the trinkets and treats left by the beans that formerly inhabited the estate.
Ah, how you missed the days when there were actual beans here. Seeing them work, seeing them play- the children were always so entertaining. And then one day…poof! All gone. The borrowers that lived in the house had informed you that the beans had moved out, and after that they steadily trickled out themselves. Some made home in the nearby woods- those you kept in contact with. Some just…disappeared. You didn't know where they ended up.
And as stocked provisions slowly dwindled and nearby plants became picked over for any useful material, you found yourself facing down the choice your neighbors had already made.
Where to go from here?
It was a rainy day when it happened, a gentle rapping on your door as a quiet voice called out to you.
"Y/N? There's someone out here who you might be interested in meeting." Through the muffled door you can recognize the call of your neighbor, one of the oldest borrowers who lived in the main house who now resided in a stump not far from the shed. You two had talked sometimes over beans and things, but very rarely did they come over unprompted.
"Ohoh! Their interest in meeting me is rather iiiiirrelevent!" A loud, boisterous voice echoes through the door, only for the tell-tale squeak of it being opened to sound throughout your small abode. An odd-looking borrower struts in, with patterned-fabric pants and large goggles that obscured the eyes rather than enlarged them. Their tails lashes and curls with excitement, twisting nodes and adjusting elastics on their head as they survey the room before finally settling on…
They extend a hand, flashing a toothy grin as they proclaim their offer:
"Y/N! Come and be my intern!"
…huh?
—
And so began your journey to a mystical place called 'the pizza-plex'.
Your newfound companion, who called themself Donni, had been hyping it up the entire trip there.
"Truly the pizzaplex is the greatest monument of bean-kind technology! Imagine it! A facility filled to the brim with marvels that exist only in that space- well, one can only assume they exist only inside the confines of the pizzeplex, for I moooost certainly haven't seen them elsewhere in my travels, no-sir!" They had…a tendency to ramble on, as the self-proclaimed 'greatest scientist of borrower-kind'. They tell you they'll be able to properly show you their credentials once the final destination was reached.
"And, of course, the copious amounts of beans themselves." They chuckle and elbow you.
"I…don't know what you've heard, but I wouldn't say I'm really up there as a 'great mind of borrower-kind'." You nervously chuckle back.
Apparently, your neighbor may have hyped you and your interest in human beans up a bit much. But that wasn't the only thing that made the promise of this 'internship' so alluring.
"You don't need to be, my friend!" Donni laughs a confident laugh as they move aside a particularly tough branch. "So long as you're a borrower worth your salt there will be a place for you here!"
Mmm…salt…
With the beans leaving the estate beyond the shed, such elusive delicacies had long since run out of your stockpile of supplies. And yet, alongside this 'outstanding research opportunity', Donni promised a haven of food at the pizzaplex.
Salt, pepper, sugar, cheese, clean water- it almost sounded too good to be true.
"...Wait, here?" You're brought out of your reverie as Donni pauses at an open clearing, carefully regarding the asphalt. Their teeth catch a glimpse of the morning light and give off a shine as they throw their arms to the horizon.
"Gaze across the blacktop sea, Y/N, for yonder awaits your new home!"
And true to their word, silhouetted by the rising sun was the largest bean structure you'd ever laid eyes upon. It stretched far beyond what the eye could see, towering leagues above you (was this the famous 'skyscrapers' that the house beans had talked about?), and the small window into the facility showed a world as bright as day within.
The street was quiet, with only the most distant hum of cars to be heard as Donni led you across to the promised paradise. There was a giddiness to their step, and, if you were being honest, a nervous tremble to yours.
This place was full of people.
It had to be. The beans at your prior house had managed to fit 4 of themselves into one car, and the lot in front of the pizza-plex had dozens.
"Oh please, that's barely anything! I timed it so we'd make it at the shift change! The nocturnal beans are leaving and the other beans are getting this place opened up!"
More of them?!
"Uh…is this place really safe then?" Sure, you had a curiosity in beans, but was it worth the risk of encountering so darn many of them?!
Donni barks laughs, once more elbowing you in jest (they really don't put much more behind it). "Don't get cold feet with me now, intern! We still have to actually get in!" They say nothing to alleviate your concerns. Ah…what had you signed yourself up for really?
"So, what exactly is this whole 'intern' title?" You ask as both of you scamper across the front lot. Donni was adamant on taking the best route (though, again, said nothing about the safeness of said route) which involved the two of you making your way back. Occasionally you glance up, praying no beans see you and mistake you for rats. The last thing you wanted was to be caught and labeled as a pest, and…yeah. Being a borrower wasn't the safest life.
"'Intern' is a title that the larger, more important beans call the smaller, newer beans. Or at least, the ones that pique MY interest do so- there seems to be a unique bean hierarchy in this environment, ruled by an omnipotent hivemind called 'Upper Management'." Donni prattles off some other titles, like 'engineer' and 'technician' and 'general management' which apparently, was a lesser entity than Upper Management. "Of course you needn't worry about aaaany of that for now!" They come to a stop behind a particularly dark corner, illuminated only by a single red light and signage written in bean-tongue.
"This, my dear intern, is our entrance." They gesture with a dramatic and all-encompassing sweep of their hands to the large metal door that most certainly held no room for even a borrower to fit through. Your neck aches as for the nth time today you force yourself to look up and up and up, vertigo almost kicking in as ever at your current angle against the wall the sky itself is blotted out.
"...So uh…" a quick look around yielded no other entry ways- none that were borrower-sized, at the very least.
"Come, come! Wait right here!" Donni gestures to you to follow them as they make their way to an old mop. Its handle rests against the door, littered with notches and dents from use. "Right here, please." They point very specifically to the bottom, as you make yourself ready to borrow in the mophead. Luckily it's not wet.
"Ah bup bup! Watch." Donni calls from slightly above you- having easily scampered up some of the notches on the mop and waiting until they have your attention.
"As your senior I do expect you to heed my instructions, but it's far more important that you learn things here! Otherwise, this great beacon of bean-technology will be utterly wasted! Wasted, I tell you! Narry another borrower aside myself lives in these walls, and it takes guts and brains and intelligence to do so!" Their lecture gets quieter the further they scale the mop handle, until they are at the top.
"Now listen! The code is as follows-"
A beep accompanies every call as they press buttons, and with a click and hiss the door in front of you opens.
You can't help but marvel at the technology- it was like a ghost simply welcomed you into their home! And yet…
"Is it supposed to be so dark?" You ask, Donni sliding down the handle with practiced ease and dusting themself off.
"Oh of course. No one uses the utility corridors, which makes it all the better as an access point. I'm just glad they didn't change the code while I was out!" They snort. Without much hesitation they take your hand and drag you inside, the door automatically beginning to fall shut behind the two of you as you enter.
The dingy brick walls and unkept red carpeting is far more in line with a traditional domestic borrower's residence. What was so different was the copious amounts of orange tarps covering unknown items, heavy fences with cartoonish caricatures of animals, and just the sheer amount of stuff.
"What…is all this?" You ask as your eyes adjust to the low light.
"Oh this?" Donni scoffs. "Bean memorabilia. The specialized beans have miniature stuffed creatures of themselves. Some beans go nuts over 'em. Personally? Not terribly fond of them." They purposefully take out what you recognize as a single blade from a pair of scissors and slice off the faux eyes of one. The bean-bear topples over as they narrowly hop out of the way.
"Just large enough to hide inside of, though." They reach underneath and retreat with a handful of stuffing. "Not to mention veeeery soft." They get down on hands and knees and quickly scoop a few more handfuls of stuffing into their satchel and various pockets.
"I've been meaning to ask you…" You look on and try not to flinch, unsure if you should take your own weapon and slice the nearby…chicken…and join Donni in borrowing. "Why do you call them beans? I mean, yes, human beans, but…" You shrug. You didn't want to explicitly say that with their emphasis on 'science' and 'beans' you'd expected them to use their full names. If only to add to the verbosity of their sentences to emphasize their knowledge.
"Ah, very astute of you, Y/N!" They perk up immediately, ears standing tall as they grin at you. With one more shove they latch the satchel shut. "That particular choice of nomenclature, my dear intern, I shall explain after we ascend. For now, keep that question in mind. Good science always starts with a good query!" Humming a pleased tune they adjust the strap of their satchel and gesture for you to follow.
So be it!
Quickly stooping down to grab a bit more stuffing that Donni neglected, you trot along after them. Climbing up a fence (which is peculiar to see inside) you find a familiar setup. A set of bent and rusting nails stick out of the wall at a peculiar yet intentional angle. A clear set of steps for any borrower. Donni is already at the top, fiddling with a wire.
"Come along now!"
You sigh, quickly jaunting up the stairway as Donni seems satisfied with their work.
"Hm! Quite fast!" Donni looks you up and down fetching a small pad of paper and a stick of graphite as they take notes. "Agile…physique…" They punctuate their notes with a tap of their pencil before stashing it back away in their vest. You try not to blush- is that a compliment? Or do they see it as an objective fact? You were agile. Strong, too. Living a bit aways from the house had its challenges and benefits but it certainly made you bolster your physical attributes to survive comfortably.
With a shake of your head you rid yourself of those thoughts. Donni sets up a complex system with various materials that levies the wire upwards. A special hook allows you both to use the leverage to slide to the middle of the ceiling where a long piece of metal awaits.
"Now this, this you must become well acquainted with." The slightest patter of your feet against the metal are drowned out, increasingly so, by the ambient noise. The dull woosh of too-large fans. The hum of electricity. The murmurs of people.
Wait.
Beans?
You look at Donni as your ears perk up, the scientist beaming at your observation.
"This is the railway. It connects to the entire plex, the fastest and safest way to travel." They speak with a low reverence. They were undoubtedly proud of the place they made their home.
Gradually, the distance between the floor and the railway increases. Neon pink lights begin to come into view, twisting once more into the caricatures seen before. Posters depicting the top-hated bear that Donni had slain show up with growing frequency, the chicken you spared, an alligator, a wolf, and soon enough-
Donni puts a hand out to steady and stop you. With a finger pressed to their lips they gesture downwards once more.
A single, lone bean.
No, wait, that wasn't right. This one was oddly shaped, wheels in place of legs with glowing eyes-
"That is one of the other 'beans'. Animatronics, they're called. Born of human hands, they never leave this place." They whisper. You can hardly believe it. Human beans, creating other beans by hand? You look between the wandering bean and the increasingly smug smile growing on Donni's face.
"Like I said, this place is the pinnacle of bean technology." They snicker. Hefting their satchel, they continue their delicate step along the railway. You glance down once more. The curious bean spins, seeming to retrace its steps. Can it be called steps if they don't have legs?
"Will…they ever notice us?"
"Ha!" Donni barks another laugh, purposefully quieter.
"Beans, human or animatronics, are all the same in this- they all think that they are the biggest they can be. So while we always have to look up to keep awareness, they eternally keep their heads down." Their tail swishes with pride. "Here, though, it is us who can look down upon them. That is why they are beans, and we are borrowers." With their logic explained, they gesture for you to follow.
Sparing one last glance to the animatronic bean, you steady your nerves and follow.
There was much to learn from this place.