Archive of Our Own

Skeppy groaned. Bright sunlight was streaming through the windows into the room and while it was probably a sign he should get up, the diamond encrusted man wanted nothing more than to sleep in. It was rare for him to get a proper lay in with his partner, and that was all he was hoping for today. Rolling over, he buried his face into Bad's chest, then blindly reached out for one of the nether-demon's dark wings. He carefully pulled it so it fell over both of them in a nice, safe cocoon that blocked out the sun. Pleased, Skeppy smiled and tried to return to sleep.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Someone was at the door.

Brows furrowed, Skeppy tried to ignore it. He burrowed further into his partner's chest to block it out. He was hopeful that if he just pretended they weren't there the person would get bored and leave.

The banging persisted.

Bad stirred awake.

Skeppy immediately knew his chance at a lay in with his partner was gone. It was such a rare occurrence lately that he was irritated by its loss.

Bad's beautiful, white eyes blinked open. His face softened into a happy smile at seeing Skeppy, and Skeppy couldn't help but smile back despite his less than pleasant mood.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Bad yawned.

Skeppy dropped a quick kiss to Bad's nose, feeling his chest warm at the way the demon wrinkled it adorably in response. "Morning," he replied.

Bad slowly disentangled himself from Skeppy and stretched, mindful not to smack Skeppy with his wings as they opened to their full width. "Who's at the door?" he asked.

Skeppy shrugged. "Beats me," he grumbled.

The banging was still going. In fact it was becoming louder.

"It might be urgent," Bad pointed out as he got out of bed.

Sighing, Skeppy pulled himself to his feet. "I guess you're right," he conceded as he grabbed his headbox from the bedside table. He pulled it on, and then followed after his partner to find out who was at their door.

As it turns out, their surprise visitor was none other than Quackity.

"Hey," he greeted with a grin. "Took you forever to get here."

Bad's face lit up at the sight of his friend. "Hey, Quackity!" he replied. "Sorry for the wait."

"We were sleeping," Skeppy said grumpily.

"Well, anyways, I was hoping to steal Bad away for the day," Quackity said, ignoring the human's sour mood to turn his attention to the demon. He looked up at Bad with a pleading expression. "I need your help with something, man."

Bad looked intrigued. "You need my help?" he checked.

Quackity nodded. "Yeah, I really need your help," he said, sounding impatient. "Come on!"

Bad turned to look at Skeppy. His expression was hidden beneath his headbox but Bad knew his partner well enough to see his body language was disappointed. He turned back to Quackity. "How urgent is it?" he asked.

"Very!"

"Ah."

Bad looked torn.

Skeppy sighed. "Go on, Bad," he muttered.

"But... we were supposed to spend the day together," Bad pointed out.

Shrugging, Skeppy replied, "I'll still be here when you get back. There's other days we can spend together."

Quackity started tugging at Bad's arm impatiently. "See, it's fine, Bad. Now, come on," he urged.

Bad looked at Skeppy for a long moment, expression contemplative, before sighing. "Okay, Quackity, I'll help you," he said. He carefully removed Quackity's grip from his arm. "But first I have to go get ready."

"Fine but be quick," Quackity replied.

Back upstairs, Skeppy sat cross legged on their bed while Bad got ready to go out. He watched, feigning boredom, as Bad rifled through the closet for something to wear.

"I'm really sorry, Skeppy. I was really looking forward to spending the day together since we've been so busy lately," Bad rambled, tugging a dark shirt quickly over his head. It caught on one of his horns and he wrestled with the fabric unsuccessfully until Skeppy, dark eyes fond behind his headbox, wandered over and gently freed him. "Thanks," he murmured, staring down at the familiar fake face adorning the headbox.

Skeppy lifted a hand to brush Bad's dark hair out of his eyes. Bad smiled softly.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The peaceful moment was broken by Quackity's insistent knocking.

"That muffinhead," Bad muttered with a roll of his eyes. He turned to continue rifling through the closet for his jacket.

Skeppy's pout was back full force. Again, he was thankful that his headbox hid his expressions.

Once Bad was ready, he stopped at the threshold to their bedroom. "I'll see you later at dinner," he said, leaning down to drop a quick kiss to Skeppy's headbox.

The diamond encrusted man snorted at the gesture. Ridiculously, it made his heart skip.

"See you," he replied.

Then Bad was gone.

Skeppy looked out their bedroom window to see Quackity tugging Bad down the path. He ignored the flare of jealousy he felt at the sight, and turned away. He had other things he could be doing.

It was hard to ignore the thoughts in his head. Even as he distracted himself by doing menial chores around the house, Skeppy couldn't help but think about how much time Bad had been spending with Quackity lately. He got it; they were friends so of course they would want to spend time together. But it was just so constant now that Skeppy... Skeppy felt a little left out.

Aggressively scrubbing the counter top, he tried to remember that Bad always came back home to him. He always returned with a bright smile and warm hug.

It was just hard to think about that whenever he caught the way Quackity's face took on a familiar expression of fondness for the demon. Skeppy liked the other man, he really did, but whenever Quackity looked at Bad that way he could feel the insidious jealousy coiling tight in his gut.

"Stop thinking about it," he ordered himself sternly.

He tried to focus on his current task. With little luck. As always, his thoughts trailed back to Bad.

"Fuck," he muttered. He looked around himself at the home they shared and felt an ache in his chest at how much less cosy it felt without Bad's warm presence filling the place. "That settles it. I need to get out."

It was no good moping around the mansion.

It would have been easy to find someone to spend time with back in his homelands of Invaded. Skeppy had never had a shortage of his own friends; from Vurb to Spifey to Zelk to even Mega. But they were all back at Invaded where they had their own lives. He was content with the life he shared with Bad here and wouldn't change it for the world; as long as Skeppy had Bad then he was happy. But it was obvious that Skeppy had yet to really connect with the community here the way Bad had.

He thought about it some more as he packed away the cleaning supplies he had been using, and then went about getting ready to leave the house. Thinking about it really did make him miss Invaded.

"We should go back and visit again soon," Skeppy mused. It had been a few months since their last trip there.

Walking down the main path, Skeppy looked around for any signs of people who might be willing to hang out. He had made a few friends since they'd moved here but in general he tended to keep to himself or spend time with his partner.

And just like that his thoughts trickled back to Bad.

"Yo, Skeppy," Sapnap greeted, breaking Skeppy from his thoughts.

The diamond man turned to the other. "Hey!"

"What are you up to?" Sapnap asked. He fell into step beside him

Shrugging, Skeppy replied casually, "not much. Was just looking for something to do."

"Well, you can come train with me if you want to," Sapnap offered. "I'm trying to hone my fight skills until nobody can fuck with me at all."

Chuckling, Skeppy shook his head. "I didn't think people fucked with you anyways," he responded.

Sapnap grinned. "Gotta make sure it stays that way though."

"Well, I'm down to crush you in training," Skeppy said.

Rolling his eyes, Sapnap lightly punched Skeppy's shoulder. "Whatever, man."

Returning home after spending the day fighting, Skeppy was immensely tired. It was the kind of tired that came from a hard day's work, and it felt good to be practicing his fighting skills again. He'd been a little rusty but he had been quick to fall back into the swing of things.

There was a skip to his step as he walked through the door.

"Bad," he called excitedly. "Bad, I'm home!"

There was no answer.

Confused, he wandered through their mansion but found no trace of his partner.

"I guess he's not home yet," he murmured. "But he did say he'd be back for dinner with me."

It was a little after their usual dinner time so it was likely he was just running late. Given how busy they were, they always had dinner together, unless they let the other know they couldn't make it, so Skeppy knew Bad would be home soon.

With that in mind, Skeppy headed to the kitchen. He wasn't the greatest cook, or as Bad would tease after Skeppy had nearly burned their first home together back in Invaded down, the safest cook. But he could still make something decent.

A few hours later, food long turned cold and thrown away, Skeppy sighed. He could see the light outside starting to disappear, and he was starting to feel tired.

He decided to just head up to bed. Alone.

He was halfway up the stairs when the front door opened and he turned. Both he and Bad paused when their eyes met.

"Hi, Skeppy," Bad greeted cheerfully, tail wagging slightly behind him.

"You'll have to make yourself something to eat," Skeppy said lightly, "the food I made went cold."

"Oh." Bad's wings dropped and his tail stopped wagging. "I'm sorry for being late."

"It's fine," Skeppy assured. "I'm tired though so I'm heading up to bed. Good night, Bad."

Then he continued up the stairs to start his nightly routine. It felt more methodical and robotic without the playful hip checks and sneaked kisses that happened whenever they did the routine together.

A little later, settled comfortably into bed, Skeppy was half asleep when he felt the covers shift. He felt as Bad shuffled closer and curled around him, tail wrapping loosely around one of his legs.

"Good night, Skeppy," Bad murmured, pressing a kiss behind one of Skeppy's ears.

Sleepily, Skeppy pressed back into the embrace. "Night, Bad," he mumbled. He reached for the clawed hand settled on his hip and intertwined their fingers. The stinging in his heart was immediately soothed.

Waking to the smell of something cooking, Skeppy stretched, wincing mildly at the ache in his muscles from yesterday's training. He got up and grabbed his headbox, and then headed downstairs to the kitchen to find out what the smell was.

Bad turned to him the second he walked through the door. "Good morning, Skeppy!"

"Morning," Skeppy yawned.

"I felt bad for missing dinner last night even though I said I'd be home so... I made you pancakes," he said.

Skeppy smiled at the gesture. His stomach felt fluttery with butterflies. Skeppy wandered over to look at the stack of pancakes Bad had made. His mouth watered immediately. They looked delicious.

He tipped his headbox up just enough to lean over and press a quick kiss to Bad's cheek.

"Thank you," he said, dropping the headbox back into place. "You didn't need to do this."

Bad's face was flushed from the affection. His smile was soft and fond, and filled with love.

Digging into breakfast, Skeppy groaned. "These are so good," he praised as he shoveled more pancakes into his mouth under his headbox.

Bad snorted at the sight. "Thank you."

Conversation flowed easily between them as they ate. It was a bright, cheery morning.

"Oh!" Skeppy suddenly said. "I was thinking yesterday that we should probably take a trip back to Invaded soon."

Bad's smile fell a little. "How soon?" he asked.

"I didn't really think about it," Skeppy admitted with a little shrug. He wasn't sure what to make of Bad's apparent reluctance. "I was just thinking that I missed everyone back there and it had been a while since our last trip together. We used to go on them, like, all the time."

"It's just... I promised Quackity that I'd help him with his project," Bad said.

"Oh."

Right, Bad... Bad had prior engagements with Quackity that he hadn't told Skeppy about. That was fine. He was fine.

"I'm not sure how long it will take but I don't want to go on a long trip until it's done. It'd be rude to leave him to do most of the work after I agreed to help," Bad explained.

Nodding, Skeppy replied, "no, yeah, that... that makes sense. I get it."

"But you can always go yourself!" Bad hastened to say.

The two of them had of course been on trips without the other. Short, little trips down to the mines or into the woods for supplies. Not once since they had met had they traveled that far from each other; Skeppy had thought it was an unspoken agreement between then that they would tackle adventures together.

It was strange realising Bad didn't have the same discomfort towards the idea of being that far from each other as he did.

"I know you miss Invaded so I'd understand if you'd still want to go," Bad added to fill the silence.

Skeppy simply shook his head.

He got up and busied himself with clearing away their empty plates. It was a small mercy that his headbox kept his expression hidden.

Really, Skeppy knew it was silly to be so upset. He knew that Bad loved him. He did. But with how little they'd spent together lately he was feeling strangely fragile. He had been left to his own devices so much that he was getting lonely.

"Skeppy?" Bad called, following after him. "You okay?"

With his back turned to the other, Skeppy nodded, not trusting his voice, and focused on washing up their plates. He blinked rapidly at the slight tremble in his hands and immediately shoved them under the warm, sudsy water to hide it from Bad.

"Are you sure?" Bad checked as he padded closer.

His voice sounded like a kicked puppy, and guilt clogged Skeppy's throat at the sound. It wasn't Bad's fault Skeppy felt like this.

Remembering that communication was important for relationships, Skeppy opened his mouth to speak. Only to snap it shut at a loud, repetitive knocking at their door.

"Oh, fudge! I was supposed to meet with Quackity!"

Skeppy nodded faintly to show he'd heard. "Bye," he managed to say with a decently even voice.

"Bye, Skeppy! I love you!" Bad called before the door slammed closed behind him.

Skeppy focused on the washing up. The tears pooling in his eyes weren't important.

Things continued much the same for the next few weeks.

Bad was always off with Quackity. Skeppy, when he wasn't kicking around the mansion by himself, was off training with Sapnap.

Neither of them said anything about the lack of time they were sharing together.

Mornings were rushed, dinners were missed, and by the time night rolled around they were both too tired to talk as they curled around each other to sleep.

On a walk through the community to clear his head, Skeppy's mind started to wander. Lately, his loneliness was getting even worse. He enjoyed his time spent with Sapnap because he was a good friend. But they didn't spend time together unless it was to train.It only made him miss his idots back in Inavded more. He chuckled remembering some of the shenanigans they got up to.

He thought about the last time they had all been together, and how full his heart had felt. Maybe he should speak to Bad again about visiting them? He still wasn't entirely comfortable going by himself but he wondered if he could convince his partner to take a break from whatever project he had with Quackity.

It was always so much more fun going anywhere with Bad.

And, as always, he started thinking about how much he missed Bad.

He thought of his bright smile; the way it lit up his entire face and made Skeppy's heart feel lighter. He thought of his warm hugs; the way his wings sometimes wrapped to envelope them both. He thought of his laughter; the way it ranged from a mischievous little teehee to full on giggles.

His laughter. Skeppy's brow furrowed. He could hear his laughter. Without even really thinking about it, Skeppy's feet were carrying him after the sound, his heart feeling fluttery at just hearing his partner's happiness, and he smiled involuntarily.

He turned a corner and stopped.

Gut heavy with a sudden flare of jealousy, Skeppy watched the way Bad and Quackiry interacted. The way their eyes lit up at each other's jokes and softened at each other's touch.

Skeppy felt suddenly very sick.

He knew that Bad would never break his trust the same way he would never break Bad's. He knew that. It didn't make his chest ache any less at the sight of him off with someone else... someone that looked at him the same way Skeppy did.

He turned and left. Not wanting to see anymore. Their voices carried after him though.

"Bad! Dude, I love you!"

Skeppy froze.

"Aww, thank you. Quackity, I love you too!"

Skeppy felt choked.

Logically, he knew it was nothing more than platonic. It was common for Bad and even Skeppy himself to let their friends know they were loved and appreciated. But even though he knew that, he could feel his chest tightening.

He ran.

He raced past Puffy on his way home and ignored her concerned calls of his name. It probably wasn't a good idea to have a breakdown in front of one of Bad's close friends.

The second he was home he headed up to the comfort of their room. Everywhere he looked reminded him of Bad. He chucked off his headbox and threw himself onto Bad's side of the bed. Pulling Bad's pillow close, he tried not to cry as his chest tightened to the point it was hard to breathe.

Eventually, face buried in Bad's pillow, he fell asleep with tears soaking into the plush fabric.

Blearily, Skeppy opened his gummy eyes. His head felt sore from having fallen asleep crying and his chest still ached slightly.

He furrowed his brows. It was morning and he was still on Bad's side of the bed, fingers stiff from his white knuckled grip on his pillow.

Bad hadn't come home last night.

As much as Skeppy knew for a fact there was a reasonable explanation for him having not come home, Skeppy felt his eyes well with tears again at the knowledge his partner had not returned home. He had been out the entire day and night, and hadn't even had the decency to mention it.

"Wait!" Skeppy shot up out of bed. "He could be in danger!"

That thought had him rapidly scooping his discarded headbox up and rushing to grab his trusty diamond axe. Then he bolted out the door and down the path.

His panicked rush came to an abrupt halt at finding Bad making his way up the path to their house. The second the demon saw him a bright smile bloomed across his features and he sped up until they were stood in front of each other.

"You... you're okay," Skeppy said breathlessly.

"Huh?" Bad looked confused for a moment before understanding dawned on his face. "Oh! Sorry, I was working with Quackity and by the time I was done it was already pretty late so he said I could use the spare room."

Nodding faintly, Skeppy said, "I see. I was worried something happened to you." He strapped his axe to his hip awkwardly.

"I'm sorry," Bad apologised, looking genuinely contrite, "I didn't mean to worry you."

He hadn't come home.

Because he had stayed at Quackity's.

His mind was a frustrating repetition of those two facts. Annoyingly, he could not shake the feeling of dread settling heavy in his stomach. He missed Bad so much it hurt but Bad was out with other people.

"Well, you're home now," Skeppy pointed out. He looked hopefully at his partner. "We can maybe spend some time together, if you're up for it."

Bad's smile turned stiff. Skeppy felt that familiar ache in his chest resurface.

"Actually, I was only heading home to get changed," he said with a wince.

"I see," Skeppy said.

Making a split second decision, Skeppy said, "remember that trip to Invaded I mentioned? Well, I wanted to let you know that I'm going on it."

Bad blinked. He tilted his head to the side as his white eyes studied Skeppy closely. He couldn't see his expression but he watched for any signs in his body language.

"I've been really missing our friends," he admitted honestly. "It would be nice to see them again."

Slowly, Bad nodded. "Of course."

"I, uh, I know you have your... thing with Quackity so I'm not expecting you to come with me but," he trailed off awkwardly. He wasn't really sure what else there was to say.

Bad started walking again and Skeppy fell into step beside him.

"Do you know when you're heading off?" Bad asked.

Skeppy shrugged. "Probably in the morning."

"I see."

He didn't want to go back to Invaded without Bad by his side. But it was probably for the best that he went and spent some time with his own friends.

In the morning, Skeppy felt unsure about his quick decision. It had been so long since he'd been a lone traveller he was almost nervous to leave the house.

"You okay, Skeppy?" Bad checked. He was watching from the bedroom doorway as Skeppy rifled through their closet for last minute additions to his bags.

Pausing, Skeppy thought about the question. It was the perfect opportunity to say the truth; he had been getting into his own head far too much lately and even though he knew he was loved he was having a hard time remembering it. He was missing people but mostly he was missing Bad. But the words got stuck in his throat and didn't come out.

He shrugged flippantly. "Yeah, I'm mostly all set," he answered casually. "I'm more antsy to get going. Not had to travel alone in forever."

Bad nodded in understanding. After the two had met and formed a friendship, the two had become practically inseparable to the point it would be difficult to come across one without the other being around somehwere close by. This would be the first long trip either of them would take alone.

"I'm sorry I can't come with you," Bad said. He looked genuinely upset; eyes glassy, wings drooping, and tail limp. "I'm going to miss you."

A mean, insidious little part of Skeppy wanted to reply 'yeah, that's how I've felt lately' but he was quick to squash it down. The petty reply would only upset them both, and that was the last thing he wanted. He loved Bad and he knew Bad loved him.

Walking over to him, Skeppy pulled him into a tight hug and felt his heart skip a beat when Bad wrapped his arms around him in return. There was no other place besides Bad's arms that he felt this content.

"I'll miss you too," he said.

But maybe some time away would do them both good.

The fact he was so bent out of shape lately probably had something to do with the fact he didn't really have anyone around here besides Bad, and so when the demon was busy Skeppy was pretty much alone. It was probably a good idea to visit his friends and have some time hanging out with people for more than just training (as much as he did enjoy doing that with Sapnap).

Trying to remain optimistic, Skeppy pulled away from the embrace with a smile. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to the corner of Bad's mouth, and said, "I'll be back before you know it."

"I love you," Bad said as he proceeded to press little kisses across Skeppy's face. He kissed his brows, his nose, his cheeks, his freckle like diamonds, his jaw, and everywhere he could reach. "I love you so much, my sweet."

Skeppy laughed.

The constant pained throbbing of his heart settled at the attention. He felt light and fluttery, and smothered in the best way.

"I love you too," Skeppy replied with so much raw honesty it surprised them both. He brushed a tear from Bad's cheek and felt his own well with tears. "I love you, Bad. I really love you."

He wrapped his arms around Bad's neck and tugged him close to press a gentle, loving kiss to his lips.

And then he was pulling away. He shouldered his packs. Pulled on his headbox. Grabbed his axe. Then walked out the door to start his journey to Invaded.

Skeppy loved his friends in Invaded.

It had been Vurb that had found him first; the pug had been on the hunt in the woods when he had caught a familiar scent and immediately raced to follow it. He had appeared out of nowhere for Skeppy with an excited bark of his name, and nearly barrelled Skeppy over in his haste to hug him. The two had laughed and held each other tight.

Then the pug had started tugging him towards the part of Invaded their friends could be found. Vurb had been chatting a mile a minute about all the diamond man had missed.

Before they even noticed him, Skeppy had felt his face split into a wide smile from just watching them argue and joke with each other. He had really missed them.

But then Mega, with a confused head tilt, had signed asking where Bad was. Skeppy's smile had tightened but he had brushed the question aside with a simple explanation of him being busy with projects. They had not mentioned Bad since then. But even with nobody bringing him up Bad was all Skeppy could think about. His entire being yearned with the desire to head home and see Bad.

He was glad to have seen his friends though. It had been a really good two weeks. He had needed it; needed to spend time with these people he considered his family.

By the time he was getting ready to head back home, Skeppy almost wanted to extend his stay a little. Then his heart tugged painfully. His heart missed his love too much to stay away any longer.

"You have to come visit us again soon!" Spifey said.

Vurb nodded beside him eagerly in agreement. His head was moving so rapidly Skeppy was a little concerned for his neck.

Zelk snorted. "And next time drag that demon of yours back here," he said.

Mega signed, "he's the smarter of you both. Which makes him the easier one to deal with." His smug smirk was hidden behind his scarf but Skeppy knew it was there.

Laughing, Skeppy shook his head. "Whatever, brat." He reached out and ruffled the teenager's hair and laughed at the glare he got in response.

Then Skeppy was stepping away from them all. "I'll see what I can do about getting Bad back for a visit," he said. "Bye, guys. Gonna miss you!"

He started his journey back home.

The second he was back he felt excitement shoot through his body. He was going to see Bad. It had been nearly a month since they had seen each other last - travelling to Invaded took a good chunk of time on top of the two weeks he spent with his friends - which made Skeppy antsy to be reunited with his partner.

He sped his pace up until he was back at the quartz mansion he shared with Bad.

The second he opened the door he was hit full force with a very clingy nether demon. Stumbling backwards, he barely managed to avoid falling from the sudden weight of Bad jumping at him, and his bags fell to the floor.

"I take it you missed me," Skeppy joked as he wrapped his arms around Bad. He rubbed soothing circles into the demon's back between his wings.

Bad buried his face into the space between Skeppy's headbox and hoodie, and a faint purr started to vibrate through his body."It doesn't feel like home if you're not here," he admitted.

Heart beating so fast he thought it might explode, Skeppy pressed a kiss to the top of Bad's head. He kicked his bags inside and then pulled the door shut behind them both. "I missed you too, Bad," he murmured into the demon's hair as he carried him further into their house.

They settled in the living room together. Bad pulled himself away from the tight embrace enough to tug Skeppy's signature headbox off; something only the demon had permission to do. He was careful with it as he placed it on the side table. And then he cupped Skeppy's face in his hands and simply looked.

Bashful, Skeppy felt his face heat up.

The reunion was cut short by loud, repetitive banging at their door. Bad's purring cut off abruptly and Skeppy snatched his headbox back. The moment was broken and neither of them were particularly happy.

They stepped carefully over Skeppy's bags to open the door.

Quackity was there.

Which, in Skeppy's mind, was bad enough. He seemed to have the most inopportune timing. But when he caught sight of the bouquet of flowers in his hands, Skeppy clenched his jaw to hold back a scathing remark.

"Oh, you're back," Quackity said upon seeing Skeppy behind Bad. He offered a quick little wave in greeting before turning his attention to Bad. He held the flowers out to him with a hopeful expression. "Bad, these are for you!"

Skeppy wanted to set them on fire. He watched as Bad took the proffered flowers with a look of confusion.

"Is this for helping you with the project?" Bad asked. "Because I already told you that I didn't need thanking. I was happy to help a friend."

Skeppy blinked. That was... oh, dear. That must have hurt. He may have felt a little sympathetic for Quackity after that one.

"No, I..." Quackity took a deep breath. "I was hoping we could go on a date."

"Why would I go on a date with you?" Bad asked bluntly. Skeppy definitely felt sympathetic for Quackity now. "I'm already married to Skeppy."

Quackity looked between the two of them with an expression of shock and slowly dawning horror. "Oh, shit! I've been hitting on a married man!"

Bad wrinkled his nose. "You didn't know I was married?" he asked in surprise.

Quackity's genuine shock was enough of an answer.

Bad looked baffled. "It's never been a secret!" he argued.

"That explains why you looked damn near ready to kill me anytime I came around," Quackity realised, looking at Skeppy.

"You can't even see my face," Skeppy replied in confusion.

"I could feel the killing intent behind that little derp face though," Quackity said.

Skeppy snorted. Throwing an arm across Bad's shoulders, Skeppy leaned forward towards Quackity and said, "well, now you know that we're married I'd appreciate it if you didn't hit on my partner."

Quackity nodded rapidly.

Bad held the flowers back out to him with an apologetic smile.

"I am... I am so sorry about this whole mess," Quackity said. He looked and sounded sincere. "I hope we can all remain friends though!"

Bad nodded. "Of course!"

Quackity offered them one last guilt ridden but sincerely apologetic look, and then he was gone.

As Bad closed the door again, he turned to Skeppy with a confused expression. "Can you believe he didn't know we were married?" he asked incredulously.

Skeppy laughed. "You didn't know he had a thing for you?" he shot back.

Bad wrinkled his nose again. "No, I don't really pay attention to romance unless it's related to you," he said honestly.

Skeppy's breath stuttered in his chest.

"That was an unfairly romantic thing to say after I've not seen you for, like, ever," Skeppy complained, pressing his covered head to Bad's shoulder.

Giggling, Bad gently pushed him back so he could again remove the headbox. His white eyes glowed bright with joy at seeing Skeppy's flustered expression.

But then his face settled into a thoughtful look.

"I'm sorry that I left you alone so much for Quackity lately. I didn't realise how little time we had been spending together until you were really gone," Bad apologised softly.

"You're annoyingly good at reading me sometimes," Skeppy muttered.

The ache he had been feeling so much was gone; vanquished by the soft love and gentle affection Bad was showering him with.

"I could say the same about you," Bad pointed out with a laugh. "That's what married life is like though."

Skeppy smiled softly. "I'm sorry for not talking to you about how I was feeling before," Skeppy apologised.

"Oh! I just realised you've been on the road for so long you must be hungry and tired!"

Skeppy nodded. "A little, yeah. Mostly I just missed you."

Bad blushed, and ushered him towards the kitchen so he could make something for them both.

Skeppy groaned. Bright sunlight was streaming through the windows into the room and while it was probably a sign he should get up, the diamond encrusted man wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. He blinked as arms wrapped around him from behind and pulled him back against his partner's chest. The embrace was warm and comforting, and within moments he was drifting off back into sleep.

"Love you, Skeppy," Bad whispered sleepily, draping one of his heavy, leathery wings over them to properly cocoon them in their own perfect bubble.