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“Fuck!” Schlatt yelled, throwing his pen across the room.
The newest trade deals needed to be approved but it was three am and Schlatt could hardly read them anymore. He reached for the bottle of whiskey he kept beneath his desk and took a swig from it, not feeling the burn anymore.
“Why does Dream have to have such high prices for us?” he mumbled, “I swear no one else’s are this bad.”
Schlatt ran a hand through his hair and sighed, Looks like I’m sleeping here again. He knew that Quackity refused to let him sleep in their bed while he was drunk, which was most nights. The next morning Quackity entered Schlatt’s office, finding him slumped over his desk, the bottle still in his hand.
---
Schlatt sighed, another argument with Quackity, another long night. The topic was the same, Schlatt’s drinking. It was the only thing they talked about nowadays. He sat down at his desk and rubbed his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. A bottle of pills sat next to another bottle, this time it was vodka. The door opened and Quackity walked in, his tie loose.
“You should really fix that tie,” Schlatt said, picking up the bottle of pills, opening it and pouring a few into his palm.
“What? Are you taking drugs now too?” Quackity asked, his voice sharp, “And my tie’s fine.”
“It’s just pain meds, chill. You’re so uptight all the time.”
“Because you’re always drunk off your ass!”
“I’m fine!”
“No! No you’re not Schlatt,” Quackity said, lowering his voice, “Please, I’m worried about you. I know that you miss Tubbo but-”
“Don’t say his fucking name! Don’t fucking say it!”
Quackity looked at Schlatt as he swallowed the pills and took a swig from his vodka bottle. Quackity frowned before doing what he wished he did months ago. He stepped forward and took the bottle from Schlatt, shattering it against the wall.
Schlatt stood up “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”
“What’s wrong with me?! What’s wrong with you?! You’re killing yourself Schlatt and I don’t want to be around when that happens!” Quackity yelled before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Schlatt sat back down at his desk, Maybe he’s right.
---
Schlatt didn’t stop. In fact he got worse, drinking through seven bottles of whiskey a day. He started smoking and the floor around his chair had started to collect ash. He hadn’t been able to get close to Quackity in two weeks due to the alcohol and now smoke. He missed his boyfriend, he missed his son, he missed his wife. Why did everyone he love end up leaving him? He sighed and started signing papers, barely understanding what was on them. Probably more trade deals that were far too harsh but he was too drunk to care. He just signed it and moved on to the next one, Quackity will take care of it.
“Fucking Ender, why are there so many pieces of paper?” Schlatt asked himself, “Surely they don’t need this many words.”
Schlatt opened a new bottle of whiskey and took a swig before lighting a cigarette. The door opened and Quackity walked in.
“Schlatt it’s two in the morning,” Quackity said quietly, “Come to bed.”
“By that logic you should too,” Schlatt replied.
“I’m not in mood to argue with you Schlatt,” Quackity said, taking Schlatt’s hand and gently pulling him up, “Just come to bed. I don’t care if you're drunk. I just miss you.”
“I still have work to do love,” Schlatt replied, pulling his hand, “Go back to sleep, I’ll be there soon.”
“That’s what you always said and then you’d drink,” Quackity said, “Please Schlatt, just come to bed, I’ll help you with the paperwork tomorrow.”
“For fuck’s sake Quackity!” Schlatt yelled, slamming his hand on the desk.
Quackity jumped at the sound, his wings pressing against his back “Fine.”
---
Quackity avoided him the day after that and Schlatt still felt incredibly guilty a week later. He already drank too much and today it was even worse. It was the anniversary of Tubbo’s disappearance. Schlatt shut himself in his office and didn’t leave, not caring about eating and ignoring all knocks at his door. Crashes and yelling could be heard coming from the room and people quickly learnt to avoid the area. Except one. A soft knock and his name being called could be heard at the door. The only response was another crash.
“Schlatt?” Quackity called out, slowly opening the door and entering.
He quickly ducked as an empty glass bottle hit the door close enough to his face that a glass shard cut across his cheek. Quackity yelped and his small wings wrapped around himself. Schlatt paused and looked at Quackity, shocked.
“Quackity?”
Said man looked at Schlatt, shaking, “Sch-Schlatt?”
“Fuck I’m so sorry Quackity,” Schlatt said, walking up to him.
“Schlatt-”
“Please I’m so sorry-”
“Schlatt listen to me-”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, fuck you’re bleeding, uhh what do I have, fuck-”
“Schlatt!” Quackity yelled, cutting off Schlatt’s rambling with a quick kiss, “It’s okay. It was an accident right?”
Schlatt nodded rapidly, “I’m so so sorry Quackity. You’ve been trying to help me and I’ve been such a fucking dick. Please forgive me.”
Schlatt rested his head on Quackity’s shoulder, being mindful of his horns. Quackity reached a hand up and rested it on Schlatt’s upper back, rubbing it in circles. His other hand stroked Schlatt’s hair, Schlatt’s hands resting on Quackity’s upper arms.
“It’s okay,” Quackity repeated, “It was an accident. I know you wouldn’t deliberately hurt me.”
Schlatt nodded, “I’m sorry Quackity, I love you so much and I would never hurt you.”
Quackity nodded, “I know, I know. Now come with me.”
Quackity led Schlatt out of his office, ignoring the looks from the other staff members, into their bedroom.
“Come on, you really need to sleep,” Quackity said, stroking Schlatt’s hair and pulling him down onto the bed with him.
Schlatt felt himself grow tired as he lay down on the bed. It had been far too long since he’d slept on a bed instead of slumped over his desk. He looked at Quackity as he too laid down.
“Quackity!” Schlatt exclaimed, sitting up, “Your face!”
“I know it’s pretty Schlatt,” Quackity joked.
“No! Well it is but your cheek is still bleeding,” Schlatt said, getting up to find a cloth.
“Schlatt it’s fine.”
“No it’s not,” Schlatt replied, sitting back down on the bed with a rag, “Come on, sit up.”
Quackity grumbled something along the lines of “overprotective bastard” and sat up. Schlatt gently wiped the blood away and applied some pressure to stop the bleeding.
“I’m not overprotective,” Schlatt mumbled, “I’m just trying to help you.”
“Of course you aren’t,” Quackity said, smiling softly as Schlatt removed the rag, “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry for everything Quackity. You deserve someone better. Everyday I wake up and think ‘Is this the day he leaves me?’ because you deserve so much better than a drunk.”
“You’re not just a drunk Schlatt,” Quackity said, putting a hand on his cheek and stroking under his eye with his thumb.
Schlatt placed his hand over Quackity’s and kissed his boyfriend’s palm, mumbling, “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes,” Quackity replied, “You are smart and brave and funny and not to mention pretty good eye candy-”
Schlatt chucked at the last statement.
“But most importantly, you’re you,” Quackity continued before kissing Schlatt’s nose, “And I’m not going anywhere. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
Schlatt smiled softly, “I know that I need to stop. It’s just so hard, I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Then let me help you.”
Schlatt nodded, lying down and pulling Quackity down with him, “Alright.”
Quackity brushed some loose strands of hair out of Schlatt’s eyes, “Your eyes are so pretty! I want to see them!”
Schlatt laughed, draping an arm over Quackity and pulling him closer, “I love you Quackity.”
“I love you too babe.”
Schlatt smiled, taking in his fiance, “Remember the night we met?”
“Yeah, you were my knight in shining armour,” Quackity grinned at the man “You walked up, punched that guy and saved me. Then you walked me home. It was very romantic.”
“I did offer for you to come drinking with me after that but I only saw you when you joined my staff.”
“You should have seen your face when you recognised me, I wish I had a camera. You looked so shocked I thought you’d faint,” Quackity laughed at Schlatt’s expression and cupped his face, “Aw don’t be like that.”
“What did I say again? ‘You are surprising?’”
“‘You are full of surprises Mr Quackity’ I believe.”
Schlatt smiled, kissing the man softly, “You still are love.”