Chapter Text
Fundy carefully hung the sign with "Toll gate" written on it above the small booth before stepping back and nodding to himself. It all looked good, he thought, especially for being made in just a single day. He was sure that digging out the rest of the tunnel wouldn't take more than three days, especially if Slime decided to help them out for at least a bit again. He paused for a moment to wonder... if he offered to, would Quackity let him stay around and continue working through the night? That could be nice, he wouldn't have to go to sleep yet, and... before he could bring that up, he noticed the man taking a step forward and squinting at the sign.
"...Is something wrong?" he asked. Did he misspell anything? Slowly, Quackity shook his head.
"No, no, I think it's fine," he answered, taking another step forward. "I just... can you read what it says?"
"...Just Toll gate," the fox hybrid answered. Quackity nodded in acknowledgment. "...Why?" Fundy asked after a moment of hesitation. The man turned to face him and pointed at the long scar running across his eye. He didn't look upset, but Fundy still cringed slightly when the realization hit him. "Oh. Sorry."
"It's okay, don't worry. You're probably just tired," the man suggested, and Fundy nodded. It probably ruined his chances of getting to work through the night, but it was most likely true either way. "...I'm surprised you can see anything down here, though. How is this enough light to write?" he asked, motioning to the single block of glowstone they added to the tunnel.
"Well... I'm a fox hybrid, so I don't need too much light," he explained with a shrug. Quackity fell silent for a moment before sighing and closing his eyes.
"Right. Looks like we're both tired," he pointed out, and Fundy absentmindedly nodded again. "Well, we should probably start heading back then."
For a moment, Fundy considered objecting and saying he'd rather stay around and dig for at least a moment, but he quickly gave up on that. He reluctantly followed Quackity to the entrance of the tunnel. He stepped outside, finally feeling the sand under his feet again, took a deep breath of the cool night air, turned around, and... He could barely see any lights in Las Nevadas. The giant sign, the space needle, almost everything was covered by darkness. The only thing still lit up and visible was a part of the casino that was supposedly not finished yet. That seemed... bad. Trying to keep calm, the fox hybrid looked at Quackity just in time to see the man rubbing his temples and swearing quietly.
"Not again," he groaned. Well, that was still... somewhat reassuring? It meant that the man probably knew what was happening.
"What's wrong with the lights?" Fundy asked, and Quackity shook his head.
"Nothing, the redstone they're hooked up to is just... ugh, I thought Sam fixed that," he complained. Fundy breathed a sigh of relief, so it wasn't anything serious...
"Do you want me to take a look at that? Maybe I can help?" he suggested. It was a great excuse to not sleep yet, and it was actually useful!
"Sure," Quackity agreed, not giving his answer a second thought. Instead, he squinted at the ground. "...You don't have any torches, right?"
"...I don't," Fundy confirmed, and the man sighed again.
"I thought the light from the sign would help us get back, but..." he shook his head. "It's fine, walking isn't that hard," he decided and started to head back. Almost immediately, he stumbled over a small stone lying in the sand and fell to the ground.
"Are you okay?" Fundy caught up to him just when the man lifted his head up and spat out some sand, making a repulsed face in the process. Then, he nodded.
"Yeah," he answered, getting back to his feet. Fundy held his hands out to catch him if he was to lose his balance again, but at this point, he wasn't sure if Quackity could even notice that in the darkness. "Yeah, I'm fine," he insisted. Suddenly, an idea formed in the fox hybrid's mind.
"Do you want me to lead you?" he offered without thinking it through. Quackity seemed to hesitate for a moment before sighing quietly. Fundy considered just taking the offer back to save them both the embarrassment, but before he could, he got an answer.
"...Yeah. That sounds helpful," Quackity agreed, brushing the sand off his shirt before blindly trying to reach out to Fundy. After breaking through the surprise, the fox hybrid carefully took his hand.
"Alright, let's go," he said, gently trying to lead him up the hill, steering him away from rougher terrain and providing as much balance as he could.
He... wasn't sure if he was holding his hand right. He probably was, Quackity wasn't complaining and he had no idea if there even was a way to hold someone's hand "wrong", but he could never be entirely sure. He rarely held hands with people, Yogurt disliked that kind of affection and before adopting him, Fundy spent months on his own. Not to mention, even before that he didn't have many opportunities to "practice". After they finally made it up the hill and were almost by the road, the fox hybrid decided that there would be no harm in asking. If he was doing something wrong, maybe he could at least fix it during this last stretch?
"Hey, uh, Quackity?" he started, glancing back at the man he was leading. Quackity looked vaguely in his direction and seemed curious. "I'm not holding your hand wrong or anything, right?" he asked.
"...What?" Quackity responded, and his curiosity seemed to be replaced by pure confusion. He chuckled quietly. "What does that even mean?" he asked, and Fundy shrugged. That was a good question.
"...I don't know, it's just... I didn't hold anyone's hand in ages, so I... want to make sure I'm not doing it wrong?" he explained hesitantly, and the man slowly nodded along.
"Alright," he said, and to Fundy's great relief, he didn't sound judgemental. "You're doing it fine, don't worry about that," he added, making Fundy relax even more. Then, a somewhat dreaded question came. "How long has it been?" Quackity asked.
"Oh, uh, well..." the fox hybrid hesitated, nervously tensing his shoulders. "A couple of months. Maybe a year. I don't know," he shrugged the question off. The man he was leading hummed quietly.
"Oh wow," he answered, and sounded almost-sad. "Do you need a hug?" he... teased? That had to be it, Fundy decided. A joke to lighten the mood, not an... offer, or anything.
"Probably," he laughed quietly, and after just a moment, the man's laughter joined him.
For some reason, he still half-expected Quackity to pull him into an embrace, or at least offer to. That didn't happen, of course, and it shouldn't have been all that surprising. The man was technically Fundy's... boss? President? No matter which title fitted better, they both meant the same in regards to giving out hugs just because he hinted that it's been a long time since he last got one. That's why he quickly accepted that he would get nothing... well, except for an opportunity to work with some redstone the moment they make it further into Las Nevadas. That was something almost as good, he liked redstone and it would make him feel more useful! It also couldn't make him all choked up and touched while a hug surely would, that was an upside for sure... By the time they reached the fountain in front of the casino, he almost convinced himself. He led Quackity just a bit further, until he was sure that the light coming from the building let the man see most of their surroundings. Then he stopped and waited... the man was yet to let go of his hand.
"So... where's the redstone?" he asked after a moment of silence. Maybe Quackity just needed a moment to orient himself before leading him there?
"Well... We're standing over it. It's a big circuit connecting all the buildings... that's probably why it keeps breaking," the man explained, and Fundy nodded.
"Yeah... Maybe we could separate them? We can make a room where they almost-connect if something needs to be turned off... then even if something breaks, it won't affect everything!" he thought out loud, and the more he considered the idea, the better it seemed. Were there even any flaws to that plan? Quackity hummed quietly and didn't interrupt until he was sure the fox hybrid was done.
"That sounds great," he nodded in approval. Almost immediately, Fundy felt a rush of energy and motivation, it sounded great and he was not going to rest until he was done! Sure, he didn't even look at the redstone yet, it would probably be a tedious job, but he truly couldn't care less- "But how about we take care of that in the morning?" Quackity continued, and Fundy's excitement almost instantly vanished.
"What? Why?" he asked. The lights were broken now, so he should fix them now, right?
"It's very late," Quackity answered with a light shrug. "It's dark, we're both tired, and no one will notice the broken redstone until tomorrow evening. So I think we should just go to sleep and take care of that later," he explained further. Fundy did not like that idea, but he wasn't sure if arguing would be... wise. The man still seemed to notice his hesitation. "Look, you agreed you were tired when we were leaving the tunnel. Why not get some sleep, then?" he asked. Fundy answered almost instantly, long before he could think his words through.
"What if I don't want to sleep?" he answered, and despite his greatest efforts to sound casual about this, he was certain there was still a hint of desperation in his voice. Desperation Quackity clearly picked up on. The man sighed and fell silent for a moment. "It's just... I..." he tried to think of an excuse. "I... Don't have a bed...?" he said finally, and the man in front of him sighed again, more heavily this time.
"Okay, forget fixing the redstone in the morning. I'm clearing both of our schedules until noon at least, okay? Now follow me," he said and started to confidently walk into the darkness again. For a brief second, Fundy considered sneaking away while the man's back was turned, but he quickly realized they were both too tired for something like that. Reluctantly, he tried to follow.
"Where are we going?" he asked when he caught up to the man. At this point, they must've been too far from the light to let Quackity see much, but the man didn't stop.
"The hotel," he answered with a shrug. "It's not finished yet, but at least one bedroom should be usable. We can get you your own bed in the morning," he explained, and Fundy couldn't help but cringe slightly.
"What if I don't want a bed?" he answered with a question. "Any bed. Even the one from the hotel."
"The couches by the entrance are alright too," Quackity responded. They were close enough to the building to let Fundy see those through the window, and they sure looked comfortable... he still didn't think he should use them to rest, though. Before he could actually think all that through, he noticed that Quackity wasn't slowing down and managed to grab his shoulder just before he'd hit the glass.
"You're walking into a window," he informed when the man looked back in his general direction with a confused frown on his face. Still looking a bit lost, Quackity reached forward and quickly felt the glass' cold surface.
"Right," he awkwardly pulled his hand back. "Can you... help me to the door, then?"
"Sure," Fundy nodded, letting go of his shoulder and grabbing his hand again. He still hoped he wasn't doing that wrong somehow. He helped Quackity to the door and led him inside without any issues. Once Quackity realized they were walking on the floor rather than the street, he stopped.
"Perfect. Now, to the nearest couch?" he requested, and Fundy took a look around. He wasn't getting out of this one, was he?
"Fine," he agreed reluctantly, starting to walk towards one of the couches. When they reached it, Quackity used his free hand to feel around for it before sitting down and patting the spot next to him. After a second of hesitation, Fundy sat down. "Okay, what now?"
"Now we can rest," Quackity answered. Just before the fox hybrid could say that he didn't want to sleep again, the man spoke again. "You don't have to sleep, but at least relax. Maybe close your eyes for a moment? I'll sit here with you, okay?" he explained, and his voice sounded... nicer, Fundy noticed. Or his tiredness was just really getting to him.
"Okay," he nodded. He didn't have to sleep, just take a little break from doing anything else. Relax, enjoy his comfortable seat, and... and...
Soon enough, his eyes started to close on their own. He almost forgot how nice it was to keep them shut for longer than just a blink, and now they felt far too heavy to open again. He wasn't falling asleep, he tried to convince himself before yawning. He was just resting his eyes, it was nothing like sleeping. His head started to feel heavy too, tilting to the side no matter how much he tried to hold it up... Man, he really was tired. Slowly, he lost the strength and motivation to keep himself up, letting his body drop to the left so he could lie down- the next thing he knew, his head was resting on Quackity's shoulder. He froze for a moment, should he sit back up? Or would that make the situation even more awkward? Should he just pretend to be dead?
Quackity let go of his hand, reminding him that he still didn't let go since entering the building. How long has it been since then? A minute? An hour? He couldn't tell with how hazy the tiredness made his brain. For a moment, he thought this was his cue to sit up and apologize only for the man to slowly put his hand over his shoulders instead. That must've been the closest thing to a hug he's received in ages. Did Quackity know he was still awake? If he did, he didn't say anything about the situation, and Fundy decided to keep the silence. He was sure he wouldn't be awake for long anyway. He could feel his consciousness slipping away and he didn't want to fight it anymore. In a minute or so, he was certain he would be asleep... and for the first time in months, that thought didn't scare him. He wasn't alone, and he was sure that if anything happened, Quackity would be kind enough to wake him up.
The man was right, he thought right before he finally fell asleep. The repairs could wait, and they both deserved some rest before taking care of them.