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This was it. Oh, Grump, this was gonna be the end. Snorpy pressed himself up against the rocks, kicking fruitlessly at the Bugsnax surrounding him. “Stay back! Back, back, I say!” His chest heaved rapidly, it felt like he couldn’t breathe. He could vaguely hear Chandlo calling his name over the ringing in his ears, trying to reach him. He didn’t want to die. Not like this. The world seemed to stop turning, time itself blurred and warped like a poorly-developed photo. A Picantis lunged at him.
Snorpy grabbed its forearms, pushing back with all his might. He grimaced, this - this thing - would not take him down. Not on his watch. Tears streamed down his face, the struggle was a draw. A terrible, seemingly endless draw. He could hear the faint sound of skittering nearby. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a Kwookie crawling up his leg.
His hand slipped, the Picantis’ forearm hit rock dangerously close to him. Snorpy yelped.
He was pinned.
All Snorpy could hear was blood rushing in his ears. Beady, glistening eyes peered from bushes. Snorpy knew what was about to happen. He wanted to scream, he wanted to scream so bad, but it felt like his voice was caught in his throat. There wasn’t any escaping this. He’d fought so hard only for the Grumpinati to catch him when he was so close to escaping the island. Bugsnax crawl down his throat, tears crawl down his face. The world blinks.
Snorpy cries out for Chandlo and the world goes dark.
------
Chandlo stood at the cabin’s front door, his expression shifting into a concerned frown. The lights were off, and he could hear faint crying from within. He knocked on the door, being careful not to be too loud. “Snorp-dawg? Do you want me to come in?” A faint response came from inside.
“Please.”
Chandlo opened the door, listening to it creak. Rays of daylight illuminated a small chunk of the room. Snorpy was huddled up on the cot, holding the blanket he was wrapped in a vice-grip. He trembled, his eyes red and puffy from crying. Chandlo frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s one of those days,” Snorpy’s voice was hoarse, he struggled to push his words out through sobs. “Can you just come over here? Please?” Chandlo obliged without hesitation, kneeling down at Snorpy’s eye level in front of the cot. Snorpy shifted, using an arm to prop himself up. A silent invitation for Chandlo to sit next to him. Chandlo accepted.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Chandlo made sure to speak softly, knowing Snorpy didn’t like loud noises on bad days. Snorpy cautiously placed his paw in Chandlo’s, who gave it an affirming squeeze.
Snorpy broke down.
He stammered out his words through hiccuping sobs, tears running down his face. It felt like he was trying to push against a lump caught in his throat, having to try, try, try again to get the words out. “I feel like I’m going to die.” He sniffled taking in another deep breath, “Everything just feels so- so suffocating, and-” his sentence ended in a mess of sobs. “I’m scared, Chandlo. I’m so, so scared.”
Chandlo wrapped Snorpy in a soft embrace, tracing a star on the yellow Grumpus’ back with his paw. “Hey, hey. I’m here. It’s gonna be alright. I know you’re scared. It’s another one of those days, we’ve gotten through it before and we can get through it again.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Snorpy leaned into Chandlo, mumbling apologies. Ever-so-gently, Chandlo cupped his face, motioning for Snorpy to look at him. "You don't gotta apologize for havin' bad days, Snorpy. I'm here for you no matter what, I mean it." His voice was soft and his face was gentle, like those sweet sunrises over the trees.
Snorpy smiled, wiping tears from his eyes. "I truly can't thank you enough." He paused, reflecting, and chuckled, "Good grump, I'd fall to pieces without you."
------
For all the times Chandlo had held Snorpy in his arms, carried him carefully and proudly like he was the most valuable thing in the world, Snorpy had never felt fragile before.
Not until now.
As Chandlo carried Snorpy on his back he noted with many worries that the yellow Grumpus felt like he was about to fall apart at the seams. Chandlo had feared he was dead at first. The relief he felt when he noticed the rise and fall of Snorpy’s chest was indescribable. If he lost Snorpy, there would never be another. Not in a million years. Chandlo blinked tears out of his eyes, the ship was in sight. He could see the journalist doing a headcount, asking something to the others. The other Grumpuses looked among themselves before Filbo pointed at Chandlo quite excitedly. “Over there!” The journalist urged Chandlo closer.
“Hey, over here! The ship is almost ready to take off, c’mon!” Chandlo rushed uphill, being careful not to jostle Snorpy. Waves of relief swept through the rest of the group. "Oh, thank Grump!" The journalist ushered them both onto the ship, "We thought we'd lost you two back there-" they stopped, "is Snorpy ok?"
“He’s out cold, but he’s alive.” Chandlo held Snorpy closer on instinct, “I can see him breathin’.” The journalist nodded, and Chandlo stepped onto the ship, propping up Snorpy in the back and sitting next to him. They made it. They were safe. The ship would be taking off in a moment and everything would be oka-
“MAMA MEWON!”
Chandlo gasped, putting his arm in front of a still-unconscious Snorpy. He could hear Filbo yelling to the journalist. The ship lurched, Chandlo held Snorpy stable, and the ship took to the air. He closed his eyes and held Snorpy close. He could hear a Mothza Supreme nearby, jostling the ship. Tears streamed down his face and he feared they wouldn’t make it. That it would all be for nothing. That he wouldn’t get the chance to let Snorpy know just how much he loved him. Chandlo held Snorpy even closer, hoping that if only one of them had to survive it’d be the yellow Grumpus. The ship lurched, and then stabilized.
They made it.
Chandlo looked out, peering over the edge of the ship. He could see Lizbert and Eggabell cheering for them, bright-eyed, wide smiles, they had helped everyone.
Chandlo beamed and waved at them.
------
“Would you like to hear something cool?”
Snorpy had that look in his eyes, that little spark that made Chandlo’s heart flutter because whenever Snorpy had that spark in his eyes it meant he was just dying to tell Chandlo about some constellation or cryptid or welding technique that, at the moment, meant the world to him. Chandlo always loved hearing it. “Absolutely, dawg.” He pat the empty seat next to him on the couch, inviting Snorpy to sit. Snorpy obliged. “What’s the big news this time?”
“Fresno Nightcrawlers.”
“Oh?” Chandlo tilted his head, “Never heard of those before. Tell me about it.” Snorpy grinned.
“Well, they’re these humanoids that were first sighted in 2010. They’re short, no arms, red eyes. Grump, they might just be a few pairs of pants!” He chuckled. Chandlo felt his heart flutter. There was something truly special about listening to Snorpy infodump. Gently, subtly, he intertwined his paw with Snorpy’s. The yellow Grumpus continued. “Nightcrawlers have been videotaped in Polgrump, Grumphio, and Grumpsemitie, too!”
Chandlo nodded, smiling. “Sounds real interesting.” As Snorpy continued to speak, Chandlo made the move to hold Snorpy in his arms. Snorpy paused once he realized what was happening.
“Ah, sorry. Do you want me to stop?” Chandlo shook his head.
“If you’ve got more you wanna say, go ahead. I love hearin’ you talk about what you love, Snorp-dawg! Honest.”
It felt like Cupid’s arrow to the heart, hearing that. Snorpy’s face went flush. He leaned into Chandlo’s embrace, thanking him before continuing.
“Funny thing about them looking like pants, a lot of hoaxes were pulled off by Grumpuses puppeteering pairs of pants, actually…”
------
The ride back was not met with any more hiccups.
The sand and sun of the beach were warm in a way that harmonized wonderfully with the cool, misty sea breeze. Chandlo closed his eyes. Filbo had thrown an impromptu “no one died” party and it seemed everyone was particularly gung-ho about it. He could hear Gramble and Wiggle belting out an old pop song, gleefully declaring themselves brother and sister. Everyone was chattering and cheering, Triffany likely would’ve called it “a testament to grumpkind’s inclination to celebrate life.” Chandlo would’ve just called it a rager party.
“We really made it, didn’t we?” The journalist - Bisqwik, as they’d told everyone on the trip back - sat down next to him. “I never would’ve thought that the trip was gonna turn out like this.” Chandlo nodded.
“Yeah, that was intense. There’s no way I would’ve made out of there by myself! It’s a good thing Snorpy had my back.” Chandlo motioned to the still unconscious Snorpy, who had been propped up against his side. “... When did he get so strong?”
Bisqwik laughed, “You should ask him that. I don’t exactly have the answer myself. I’m just a journalist, after all.” There was some sarcasm in the final sentence that didn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated by Chandlo. “For real though. As far as I know, he’s always been pretty strong.”
“You’ve got a point, dawg. Maybe I hit my personal limit… but that doesn’t matter!” His expression was bright, his eyes sparkling with determination. Bisqwik looked proud. “There’s no limit to what me n’ Snorpy can do together! … Once he wakes up, that is.”
Bisqwik cheered, giving Chandlo a small “Grump yeah!” and a friendly laugh. “I’m gonna go talk to Filbo now. Just holler if you need something, and,” they paused, trying to find the right words, “thanks for being a friend. I mean it.” Chandlo beamed, waving to them as they walked off.
It was around then that Snorpy began to stir. Chandlo could feel the weight being lifted off his shoulder as Snorpy lifted his head, still half asleep. “... Chandlo?” his voice was hoarse and croaky. Chandlo pulled him into a hug. Snorpy seemed surprised at first, but he wasn’t unappreciative of the gesture, loosely bringing his arms around Chandlo with a satisfied hum. Chandlo could feel tears well up in his eyes, unfathomably grateful for the fact that Snorpy was here, alive and awake despite everything.
“I almost lost you back there, dawg…” Chandlo slowly traced a star on Snorpy’s back. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”
“I’m glad you’re alive, too.” Snorpy looked up past Chandlo and at the ongoing celebration. “Where are we?”
“We’re on the mainland, Filbo’s throwing a ‘nobody died’ party.” He paused, “Do you wanna join the others?”
Snorpy thought about it for a moment, unhugging Chandlo and placing a paw to his chin in contemplation. After a short while, he spoke. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”
Chandlo nodded, holding Snorpy’s paw and helping him to his feet. The two made their way to the rest of the group, and Chandlo beamed when he noticed Bisqwik and Filbo waving to the both of them. He gave Snorpy’s paw a loving squeeze, feeling his heart flutter when Snorpy returned the gesture. The setting sun was gorgeous and the energy in the air was bright and joyous.
Truly, there was no limit to what they could do together.