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Wilbur's jacket is warm and soft, outlined with silk and handcrafted. A triangular pattern is etched onto the back, and it means the world to him. He smiles at the citizens of L'manberg as he walks by, grinning at Tommy when he spots him. His little brother gives him the finger, which of course he does, but he smiles back before he continues to talk with Tubbo. Tommy and Tubbo still have their uniforms on, which Wilbur isn't all that surprised at. Wilbur's uniform was made by himself, with missed stitches and horrible line work. He was never good at sewing, and he's thankful that he doesn't have to keep repairing his stupid uniform.
Wilbur loved it, he really did, but he's thankful that he doesn't have to wear it anymore.
He's thankful that he's finally free, that L'manberg is finally free. It was a long and hard war, but everything is alright now, and Wilbur is unbelievably happy about that. He knows that everyone else is, of course, but he's convinced that he's the happiest. He can hear Fundy's footsteps behind him, and Wilbur wonders if his son thinks he won't notice. Wilbur turns around, wincing when Fundy runs directly into him. His tail puffs out, his ears lowering against his head for half a second. "My little furry son," Wilbur coos, gently grinning at the fox hybrid. Fundy narrows his eyes at him, huffing out a sigh. "What do you need, Fundy?"
"I saw smoke coming from Niki's bakery," he tells him. "Like, not the normal kind. The fire kind. I was just about to go check, but.." he motions towards the gates of L'manberg, and..there's Eret. Wilbur curls up his lip, feeling rage boil in his chest at the sight of the King. "I figured I could deal with him better than you could. I won't kill him." Wilbur rolls his eyes, looking away for half a second. As much as he hates to admit it, Fundy is right about that.
"Okay," he murmurs. "If he tries anything, you're definitely free to rid the world of him," Wilbur mutters, shifting in his jacket. "Be careful," he reaches out, squeezing his son's shoulder. "If anything happened to you.." he shakes his head. "Be safe, Fundy."
His son gives him a wide smile, his canines nearly jutting above his lips. "I always am, Will." And then he's off walking towards the entrance, his tail lashing low to the ground as he does so. Wilbur knows that it's hard for him, that Eret was his friend. Of course, Eret had always been their friend.
Until he wasn't.
Wilbur breathes out, wondering if he should take off his jacket as he makes his way towards Niki's bakery. He looks up, wiping the sweat off of his forehead as he stares at the sun that's beating down on his back. As much as he loves his jacket, it's too warm for the summer weather that L'manberg harbours. Wilbur frowns at the smell of smoke, tilting his head to the side as he stares off into the distance. He sees smoke rising from Niki's bakery, filling the skies with plumes of dark grey. That isn't natural at all, there's..
Fuck.
Wilbur takes off running, a scream tearing its way out of his throat. "Niki!" He shouts, running as fast as he can. He sprints towards her bakery, listening to any cries of help or of his name or of anything, and he hears nothing. "Niki!" Wilbur sees the fire, throwing his hand over his mouth when he runs directly into a cloud of smoke, doubling over coughing "Niki!" He throws his jacket off of him, shoving up his jumper sleeves.
Wilbur races into the bakery, desperately looking around for any sight of Niki. He hears a faint coughing from one of the rooms, and he immediately rushes to the door. The doorknob burns his hand and he bites down on his lip to stifle a cry of pain, jerking his hand back. Wilbur takes a short breath before he puts his hand on the doorknob again, feeling stray embers fall onto his arms, searing him.
He throws open the door, staring at Niki's ashen face. He moves as fast as he can, grabbing her from under her arms, picking her up and cradling her close to his chest. Wilbur walks backwards, coughing as smoke blows in his face, trying his best to ignore it. He sees the light of the outside shine in from the front door, and he stumbles forwards, trying his best to just make it out, to just get Niki out-
Wilbur stumbles out of the burning bakery, clutching Niki to his chest. He moves to the field next to the bakery, staring down at his stupid bomber jacket that lays on the ground, completely unscathed. "Niki, Niki- are you alright? Are you okay?" Niki coughs against his chest, her eyes squeezed shut. "It's alright, I've got you. I've got you, okay? You're going to be okay, but you- you need to breathe, Niki, you have to breathe."
"Will.." Niki hisses out, her hands gripping his jumper. "Thank you, thank-"
"Don't thank me," Wilbur murmurs, feeling the panic in his chest finally settle down. "I'm okay, you're the one who was in there longer," he feels his hand stop burning, although he assumes that's from the adrenaline. "You're okay, right? You're okay."
Niki breathes out, her head resting against his chest. "I'm okay," she confirms, her voice hoarse and soft. If he had been any later, if he had been just a second later- "Will," Niki murmurs, peering up at him. "I'm okay. You got here just in time. You got me out. You saved me." Wilbur briefly wonders if he's that obvious, and then he realises, that when it comes to Niki, yes, he is.
"Okay," he agrees, feeling too exhausted to argue. "Here," he moves an arm, grabbing his jacket. He doesn't think it'll help much, considering how hot the weather is and how hot the flames were, but it could be a comfort, maybe. He remembers that Fundy always liked to wear his jacket whenever he was scared, no matter how how it was. "Here, you can..you can have my jacket, yeah?" Wilbur slips it over her shoulders, wiping away a stray tear. "We're okay."
"We're okay," Niki agrees, her eyes shining. She reaches out, wiping away one of his own tears. Wilbur doesn't know if he's crying out of fear or because of the smoke or because he's so happy that Niki is alright, but he assumes that it's all three. "We're okay."
He sits there with Niki for a long time, and they both simply hold each other, quietly clinging onto the other so they won't suddenly disappear.
Wilbur stumbles out into the snow, feeling his hair stick to his forehead. He gasps for air, feeling the cold winter air fill his lungs. He doubles over, feeling like he's been punched in the stomach. He falls to his knees, sobbing as he throws his hands out to break his fall. He stays still, his chest heaving as he cries, trying to be as silent as he possibly can. Wilbur doesn't want to wake up Phil, he really doesn't want to wake up his dad. Phil has already done so much for him, and..and-
"Will," he feels a hand on his back, listens to Niki's voice. "Will, come on, you're gonna get sick," she murmurs, and Wilbur turns to look up at her, shifting so he's sat down. He doesn't think he can stand. Niki seems to pick up on that, she always does, and sits next to him. She shrugs off her jacket, one with a triangular pattern on the back of it, and slides it over his shoulders. She loops an arm around his neck, pulling him closer to her. "You're alright. Breathe, Will."
He does, albeit with difficulty. He pulls his knees up to his chest, resting his head on top of them. "I'm sorry," he whispers. "I'm so sorry."
"Shh," Niki murmurs, running her fingers through his hair. Wilbur focuses on the touch, lets it ground him. "You don't have to be sorry for anything," he blinks, looking up at her. Her ears are already tinted red from the cold. "I'm alright," Niki tells him, giving him the gentlest smile Wilbur has seen in a long time. "Are you?"
"No," he admits, slipping off his gloves. He motions for her to hold out her hands and she does, allowing Wilbur to slip his gloves over her hands. "I'm scared, Niki. I'm scared."
"I know," Niki breathes out, her eyes turning soft. "I'll keep you safe, Will. I promise."
He shifts in the jacket she gave him, feeling the silk that it's outlined with. "I know," Wilbur says, because he does. He does know that, Niki has never lied to him. Niki has never failed to protect him. "I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry that I..I'm sorry." Niki rests her head on his shoulder, and he rests his head on hers.
"You didn't have anyone to ground you," Niki murmurs. "It'll be alright, Wilbur. Everything will be okay. It always is, right?" Wilbur closes his eyes, feeling himself shiver. He reaches out, pulling Niki a little closer to him, just so she won't freeze to death.
"Right," he agrees, although he doesn't believe it. "We're okay," Wilbur murmurs, feeling like the words are supposed to mean something. "Do you think about before?" He asks. "About before the war. Back when we were kids."
There's a long pause.
"Of course I do, Will. You would always help me with my bakery, and I'd help you steal from merchants." Wilbur laughs, watching as a cloud of smoke leaves his mouth when he does.
"We should go inside," he whispers. "It's cold."
"Yeah," Niki agrees, but neither of them make an attempt to get up. "I love you, Will. No matter what happens, okay? I'll always be here. I promise."
"I love you too, Niki," Wilbur smiles, feeling the cold fade away. "We're going to be alright." He says the words because he feels like he should, because they feel right.
And they sit there in the snow, holding each other close, refusing to let go, just in case the other disappears.
The jacket is hung up on the back of the door, its triangular pattern facing him.
Wilbur smiles when he looks at it, wondering how it's survived for so long. "I'm going to go out." He calls, hearing the muffled "okay" from Phil. Techno and Tommy don't say anything, and Wilbur assumes that's because they're too far away to hear him.
He'd like to think that they've stopped hating him.
He tugs on his boots, rolling up the sleeves of his jumper as he walks. There's a small hole in it, right above his heart. Wilbur can't quite remember how he got it, but he assumes that it happened in the war. One of them, at least. He looks to the door, moving towards it. He pauses when he's directly in front of it, his hand hovering above the doorknob. He looks up at the jacket, breathing in. Wilbur grabs it, slinging it over his shoulder.
Wilbur closes the door softly when he leaves, breathing out. Spring here is nearly perfect. The grass is slightly wet, dewdrops still shining on their blades. The leaves are still growing back, but almost all the trees here have regained their leaves. Everything is green and mellow and peaceful, and Wilbur doesn't remember that last time he felt like that.
"Will!" Niki's voice calls out to him, and he beams as he turns to face his best friend. She's under one of the bigger trees, a book in her lap, a blanket resting below her. "How are you?" She asks, voice a little softer when he reaches her. Wilbur sits down in front of her, putting the jacket in his lap.
"I'm okay," he smiles, running a hand through his hair. "How are you?" He asks after a beat of silence, feeling a gentle breeze ruffle his hair.
"I'm fine," Niki tells him, reaching out to take the jacket. She places it in between them, leaning back against the tree. "This jacket.." she laughs, ducking her head. "It's survived so much."
Wilbur smiles, running his fingers along the soft fabric. "It has," he agrees. "Just like us."
"Just like us," Niki repeats, smiling at him. "We turned out okay, I think." Wilbur laughs, ducking his head for a second.
"Yeah, I think so, too. Thank you," he looks up at her, his chest tightening. Her hair is even lighter with the sun bouncing off of it, her eyes soft and gentle. They always have been soft and gentle, Niki has always been soft and gentle. "For everything."
Niki reaches out, taking his hand in her own. "Thank you, Will," she smiles. "For everything."
"We were okay," he murmurs. "We were okay."
"We were," she agrees. "And we'll keep being okay." The words are said like a promise, and Wilbur assumes that they are one.
He looks down at the jacket, looks at the broken seams and washed out colours. It's been through so much. Through years of war and agony and healing, and yet it still remains.
Wilbur smiles.
Yeah, they'll be okay. They always have been.