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ultimately i don't understand a thing
i try to do the best i can
i know you try to do the same
The trees are quiet.
Virtually untouched for years, the trees grew close together, towering over the animals lurking within. The wind blows at the leaves with a gentle breeze, echoing through the nearby valleys and mountains. Even the sugarcane on the riverbank by the forested area seems to be dancing with the wind.
There's something tranquil about it, untouched nature. The nearby village had no interest in the nearby forest, sticking to their houses and farms. For the most part, the forest has been left alone for the majority of time.
Yes, the trees are quiet.
The forest is not.
"Oh my goodness," Bad huffs. "It is not that hard to admit that you're always mean to me."
"What, me?" Skeppy's screech echoes through the empty forest. "How am I mean to you?!"
"Oh, I don't know, let's see..." Bad starts to raise his voice. "You make fun of me; you make fun of Mr. Squeegy; you made me think that you were replaced with a robot that one time; you also made me think that you lost your memory of me, your best friend, once; you---"
"Stop, stop, stop, stop--"
"What--"
"Stop!!" Skeppy interrupts. "How is that being mean; I'm teasing you!"
we're just so bound to make mistakes
you could call it a disposition
i apologize for all your tears
i wish i could be different
"That's-- you're being mean!" Bad holds up a piece of leather. "You killed our new llama friend."
"Our new llama friend?!"
"I didn't even get a chance to name her, and you killed her!"
"Ugh, be quiet!" Skeppy throws his hat on the ground. He throws his fist at a tree, rustling the leaves and causing an apple to fall onto the ground. The apple rolls across the grass, moving towards Bad's feet. He grumbles, kneeling over to pick the apple up and keep it in his rucksack. Bad decides to sit down on the riverbank, watching the fish swim before him. Skeppy simply stands there, scowling down at Bad's crouched figure.
"And there's Mr. Squeegy, too."
"What about him?"
"You killed him, remember?"
"And I got you a new one--"
"And!" Bad starts to yell again. "Doesn't change the fact you killed the original one!"
"What's your deal, Bad?!" Skeppy hisses. "It was just a mistake. A simple little mistake, you're gonna hold a grudge with me for that? For the rest of time? Is that your plan, huh, huh, huh!?"
but i'm still growing up
into the one you can call your love
i don't know if i'll ever be enough
"Well, sorry, do you think you can even apologize?" Bad shakes his head. "We make mistakes but we apologize for them, Skeppy!"
"God, sometimes I wonder why we were ever in a relationship!"
"Wait!" Bad jumps up and spins around. "What!?"
"Yeah." Skeppy huffs. "You heard me!" He kicks at the trunk of a tree. "You always do this. We always argue, you throw a fit, I reciprocate, we continue to argue and argue, over and over."
"And--" Bad sputters. "You're saying you wonder why we're even dating in the first place?"
"Yeah, because you're not a good boyfriend!"
"How am I not a good boyfriend?"
"You treat me like garbage, Bad! Ooh, Skeppy, do this; Skeppy, do that," Skeppy mocks, making gestures with his hands. "You just like having me around -- you don't actually love me!"
"You think I don't love you?"
"Not enough -- not in the way I deserve!"
"Y-you...!" Bad gasps. "You-- you're the one acting like a child all the time. I'm sitting here wondering when you're ever gonna grow up, but Skeppy, you never do! You're just as immature as the day I met you!"
"What, so you're claiming to be a good boyfriend?"
"I'm better than you ever were!"
"You know what?" Skeppy yells, face scrunched together in frustration and anger. Finger pointed at his boyfriend, he declares, "I'll leave, then."
"Yeah?" Bad straightens his back, eyebrows furrowed and frown growing. Skeppy nods, raising his chin in defiance. They both stare at each other for a moment, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Unsure of it, they stand there in a stand-off, waiting for the other to react first.
"You know what? Fine." Bad steps towards Skeppy. "Well, I." A step.
"Won't." Another step.
"Miss." Skeppy's bag is thrown into his arms.
Bad pokes him in the chest, pushing him. "You."
i'm throwing in my chips
i guess i tend to push my luck
Skeppy stills.
The wind whistles by the sugarcane behind him, as Skeppy's face goes through a multitude of emotions. His grasp on his bag is tightening with every second. Bad's face is unmoving, but his gaze darts around Skeppy, trying to gauge a reaction. They both stand there, unwilling to say more, unwilling to take back their words, unwilling to apologize. Unbudging. Bad almost feels a little bad, but remembering Skeppy's words and actions, his face remains neutral and blank.
The sun blares across Skeppy's back, illuminating him. From this position, it almost looks like Skeppy is blinding him. Bad watches as Skeppy's eyes dart to the ground, and he thinks that maybe now, it's time to apologize. Maybe he went too far. He still loves Skeppy, doesn't he? But his boyfriend is just standing there, mute, silent.
It's almost eerie how silent it got after Skeppy stopped talking. He just stands there, taking everything in.
Then, he turns around.
And flees.
and ultimately i believe we'll be okay
it's so cliché to say these things, but repetition is a key
i think i'm better when i'm with you
but i worry when you're gone
The sun's dimming lights disappear past the mountains, as Skeppy's retreating figure darts across the river and past the valley.
Bad's heart jumps.
As the figure gets smaller, he feels his own heart sink in response.
What was he thinking? He had raised his voice at his own boyfriend, saying all sorts of things that he doesn't really mean. He just let the words spill out with no apologies, driving Skeppy away.
He loves Skeppy.
He does.
How could he have doubted that?
Despite all of his flaws... he loves him.
Bad loves him. The words echo in his head. Skeppy makes Bad a better person, just by being around. Being around Skeppy makes... makes Bad want to be a better person, which is really all that matters.
Even now, Bad feels a pang in his heart at the thought of Skeppy all alone. What is he doing? Is he okay? Is he dying? What's he doing without Bad?
... Does Skeppy miss him too?
A zombie growl makes him perk up, pulling out his sword.
Sure enough, mobs have spawned; a zombie was walking right out of the darkness provided by the trees. Bad can't see much, but he can still hear the rattling of skeleton bones nearby.
The zombie starts to move towards him.
Bad swings his sword a couple of times, but the zombie just continues to walk towards him. He gets too close once and he winces when the zombie grabs onto him. He shakes the zombie off, finally dealing the final blow.
As the zombie's decaying body lays before his feet, he spies a skeleton hiding behind the nearby trees. He quickly dodges an arrow, but Bad isn't fast enough to dodge the second one soon after.
Bad winces, pulling the arrow out of his armor and throwing it aside. He charges towards the skeleton, thinking there's no time to lose as he swings his sword a few times. Eventually, the skeleton collapses into a lifeless pile of bones again; Bad picks up a few of the scattered, unattached pieces and stores them in his bag.
"Ugh, so many mobs. How's Skeppy dealing with them---"
He hears a hiss behind him.
Oh god.
Oh no.
"S'Geppy, creeper--"
It explodes.
Too much happens at once, but Bad's next conscious feeling is him on the floor next to a creeper-made hole in the ground. All he knows is that he's on the ground, the grass beneath him tickling his face and neck.
Most of what he can feel is the pain of the creeper explosion. His back feels like it's burning; he tears off his shirt, wincing as he does. The explosion burn doesn't seem to be as bad as it could've been, considering he's luckily not dead; still, he wonders if instant death wouldn't have been a blessing. Maybe it was a curse, an omen, a piece of karma for what he had said to Skeppy.
Speaking of Skeppy...
i think i need to learn to love myself
i must learn to be strong
so, for now we'll say goodbye
It was completely dark at this point.
All Bad can hear is the sound of the various mobs lurking beneath the trees as well as the occasional oink from nearby pigs. There's nothing else, except for the heavy breathing coming from Bad trying to soothe his pain and his burns.
Without Skeppy, everything feels much more quiet in comparison.
"S'Geppy," Bad whimpers, crying out. "... I miss you." His bottom lip wobbles; for some reason, he had thought that Skeppy was around, was going to watch his back. And even at the last moment, he had thought that either Skeppy would save him or duck for cover from the creeper explosion; that either way, someone would save the other. "I miss you, Skeppy..." he sobs out, his voice cracking on his boyfriend's name. "Please come back, please..."
Bad winces, forcing himself to sit up. Back against the trunk of a tree, he doesn't have the energy to look into his bag, but he knows all that's in there is the apple from the tree, some cobblestone, a few iron nuggets, and --
No Skeppy.
Bad sniffles, vision blurring before him.
although it pains me in my heart
your words they come to me in memories
they sing to me like songs
Where had they gone wrong?
The two of them loved each other, right? Skeppy can be annoying, can be a prick, can be selfish, can be---
But he's still Skeppy. He's the one who comforts him when he feels lost, he's the one who does the most thoughtful things when it's completely unexpected, he's the one who dries his tears every time he cries --
Oh. He's crying.
"S-S'Geppy..." He lets out a choked sob.
He doesn't know what to do.
When Skeppy's around, there's no thought left unspoken, nothing left undone. Without Skeppy, he doesn't know where to even begin.
Bad knows that he's not a good boyfriend. He's never been so serious about someone before, and having to... having to try with Skeppy is hard because he doesn't want to mess up, but--
God, he's messed up so bad already.
"I-I'm sorry, 'Geppy..."
"Bad."
Bad jerks, looking up.
Through his blurry vision, he can see a blue-clad figure in front of him.
"I have the bandaids," Skeppy -- oh Skeppy, he's back, Skeppy... -- mumbles, kneeling in front of him. "And all the medical supplies. Why'd you give me all of this?"
"I..."
Because I was worried about you dying, even though I was mad.
"Shh..." Skeppy takes out his bag, treating Bad's wounds with utmost care. "Don't strain yourself. Let me do this for you."
it won't be long until i'm here
soon i'll make my arrival
under shady trees, a quiet street
the roads that i have traveled
Skeppy shoves a potion in his hand before going back to bandage the wounds.
"Huh?"
"Drink."
"... What is it?"
"Look at the label."
Bad looks, his eyes growing wide as he reads the label.
"You're--- you're giving me the last of the Regeneration Potions?"
"Just drink it."
Bad nods, downing it in one gulp. Immediately he feels better, but--
"There, you should be all -- Bad? What's wrong?"
Bad continues to bawl. "I'm sorry, 'Geppy."
"What for? Oh god, Bad, please don't cry." Skeppy brushes his hair out of his face and wipes at his tears. "What's wrong, love?"
The pet name flows so sweetly off his tongue.
"I didn't mean to yell," Bad mumbles. "I love you. I didn't mean to push you away. I know I'm-- I'm not perfect, but I'm trying my best for you. I don't mean to call you a bad boyfriend; you're doing just fine, I just keep making mistakes and I--"
Skeppy shushes him as his words just dissolve into quiet sobs.
"Bad, listen. Bad," he whispers back, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I love you. I love you despite everything. That's why I'm back. Because I want to try this. I'm sorry for leaving you. I make mistakes too. I'm not a good boyfriend either, but I'm trying too. I wanna try with you."
Bad feels Skeppy press a kiss to his forehead and sees a tear fall from above. When Skeppy pulls back, he sees his boyfriend's eyes are watery as well.
"O-okay..." Bad sniffs. "I love you, 'Geppy."
Skeppy gives him a small smile.
"I love you, too, Bad."
And they sit there together, listening to each other's breaths as they watch the sunrise over the horizon.
ultimately it's a beautiful thing
like flowers blooming in a lonely field
the petals drift through crossing winds
they find their way to river streams
that scent the water beautifully
it takes me back to you
it takes me back to you
♡♡♡