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He was going to die.
As much as he desperately, desperately wished to deny it, there was no dancing around this imminent reality anymore.
He had reached the end of the line.
Stuck with his arch nemesis, trapped in that stupid mechanic contraption...
He, Lord Hater, number one superstar, was about to meet his doom.
“Hey, Hatey—” Wander took a deep breath (as much as there was room to breathe in, anyway). “you don’t think this lil’ box thingy can get any tighter than this… right?”
He hoped that it wouldn’t, but his instincts were screaming otherwise.
With Wander crammed against his sides, they were already squished enough as it was.
“Cuz’ if so, then we might be in a teensy tiny bit in trouble…” He gestured with his hands with the little space they still had.
“You THINK SO?! ” Hater snapped, withholding the growing urge to strangle Wander with his bare hands. “UGH! This is all your fault!”
He paused, waiting for a reaction that didn’t come.
Instead, there was only silence.
Eerie, dreadful silence.
…
What was going on? Why wasn’t Wander opening his mouth to say something sickeningly optimistic or sing a stupid song?
He examined him more carefully, but couldn’t dare believe what he saw.
Was he actually shaking?
Seeing his worst enemy cower like that — by all accounts, it should have been the best moment of Hater’s life.
So why did he feel like his heart just sank to the pit of his stomach?
“Pal, assuming we might not get out of this alive… I got something I need to tell ya.”
Wander’s tone was hesitant yet urgent, in a way Hater didn’t think his voice could ever sound like.
Honestly? It gave him the creeps.
“Wha- what are you talking about?! I’m Lord Hater!” He babbled in a shoddy attempt to quell up his increasing anxiety. “Number one superstar! I can’t— I won’t die trapped in a stupid metal box!”
Wander smiled.
That dumb, irritatingly warm smile of his that always made Hater’s gut mysteriously tighten up.
“I know, I know, but…” He licked his lips, as if he was mulling over something.
Again, with that weird hesitation.
They were so close to one another, Hater could feel Wander’s heart beating rapidly against his own. It did nothing to help ease his own nerves.
“What? What are you talking about? Keep talking!”
“Well, I’ve kinda been meaning to talk to you ‘bout this for a while now, actually—”
As if waiting for its cue, the walls started moving once more, closing in.
“What? What?! ”
“On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t—”
“Grop narf it Wander, you are NOT gonna leave me on a cliffhanger as we’re both about to die! ”
“Okay, okay!”
Eyes closed shut, Wander took a deep breath. That shy, apprehensive look didn’t suit him, Hater thought.
Yet, he had to admit, he also kind of enjoyed seeing Wander like that.
“Okay… here goes nothing.” He cleared his throat, and Hater couldn’t help but inch even closer in anticipation. “So, uh, I’ve kinda, sorta, maybe been… crushing on you?”
The world stopped.
There was a loud bang and a blinding light, forcing Hater to blink.
“Wander, buddy!”
“Lord Hater, sir!”
Hasty hands unglued his body from his enemy’s, but he still didn’t feel any calmer.
Wander… liked him?
He had a crush on him?
Unlike Hater, Wander looked like the face of serenity, as if a heavy weight had just been lifted from his shoulders.
“Sylvia! You came back!”
“Of course I did, buddy. You know I’d never leave you behind.”
They jumped into a tight embrace, vowing to never separate themselves from one another ever again.
“Are you okay, sir?” He felt his commander touch his shoulder, but could barely register the words being aimed at him.
Hater shoved Peepers away, forcefully grabbing Wander by the shoulders, turning him face-to-face.
“You… like me?”
“Wait, what?” Sylvia and Peepers said in unison.
It was hard to tell, but underneath the layer of orange fur, Wander was blushing.
Despite his embarrassment, he managed to maintain eye contact with Hater.
There was no turning back now.
“Sure do.”
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
After the hell of a stressful day he’d been through, this sudden bombshell was the last thing he was ready to hear.
Next thing he knew, the edges of his vision blurred. Hater’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as he blacked out.