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Someone's running to Tommy. The panting, swearing and his own name was heard from a long distance. Small figure ran out to the beach and smiled with relief.
— Tommy! Oh, thank Prime it's you.
Quackity stopped to take a breath. Tommy didn't even turned around to look at him. He was still sitting there and watching the side Wilbur went to. His cheeks were covered in very tiny salt crystals made from tears, his hair was weirdly shaped because of rain, and his eyes were red. It seems like he beaten up the sand before him, so there was a small pit. Quackity stood up.
— I woke up and looked up what's been going on in Las Nevadas through cameras and saw you guys standing there for couple of minutes, sorry I didn't go out to...
— He is gone, Big Q.
— Wait, wait, what do you mean by "gone"? Is he, like, dead or something? Please, don't tell me he died.
— This is worse than death. He left me. Went back to fucking America, and left me here! I thought we were brothers! — Tommy didn't have any more tears to cry, so he was just screaming.
— What do you mean by "he went back to America"?! — Quackity totally lost the track of events. — He was a fucking american all along?! Wait, so that means... what the fuck...
Quackity sat down near Tommy and stared at the same point as him. A lot is going on right now in his mind. Mainly the processing of thought about L'Manburg and how he wasn't accepted because he wasn't british, and how it would've changed his life if everyone knew back then that Wilbur is not british either.
— So he did it purposely.
— What? — Tommy asked quietly.
— He didn't accepted me to L'Manburg when I asked about it, while he was american himself. And you guys thought that Eret was a traitor...
Tommy chuckled softly, shook his head, and looked at Quackity.
— You know, you were always funny, Big Q. Even during serious things and talks, I always had a bit of fun from you. Thank you, man.
— Hey, hey, hey, what's this speech for? Ey, stand up and let's go, I will make you something tasty to eat. Come on, up and go, dude!
Tommy stood up and took Quackity's hand like he always took Wilbur's. Quackity looked at the boy with incredible softness in his eye. He understands why Wilbur cared so much about him before — guy looks like a lost puppy in the rain. They both went to Las Nevadas, and while they were passing through RanVan, Tommy sighed sadly, and Quackity looked at the pit and closed his eyes for a few seconds.
— Something happened here, right? And it's not about the damn horse of yours? — Tommy asked.
— You knew the plan Wilbur had? — Quackity opened eyes and looked at Tommy. — He wanted to blow up Boner, thinking that it will have the impact on me, he thought that I cared about the fucking horse more than people around me. So Ranboo saved Boner even though they worked with Wilbur, but...
Quackity started tearing up, but immediately took a couple breaths and calmed down, and then continued:
— ...but they blew themself up. On purpose. I think it was to teach Wilbur a lesson. Don't know if he even learned anything from that.
Tommy stared at the pit wide-eyed, at the same place where, as he knew, pressure plate was. The thoughts that he was the reason Ranboo died here came up to him, and he fell down on his knees, crying out loud. Quackity put his hand on Tom's shoulder to give him sense of understanding and not being alone in this, and cried as well, but much quietly.
— They saved me, Tubbo and Wilbur while doing so, not counting the horse. I don't know where they are now, but I am so sorry that I didn't say anything to them earlier.
— They are a ghost now, as far as I know, — Tommy said, wiping his eyes. — Last time I saw them was near my home like a week ago, but they saw Sam and ran away. I don't know why, maybe it's because of... walking thing they had, I don't know..
— Oh, you didn't know?.. — Quackity covered his mouths with both hands.
— Know what?
— Sam killed Ranboo to teach Dream something, but Dream... he never fucking cared about Ranboo! It's like...
— This situation, — Tommy finished.
They stayed here for a few minutes more and then Quackity helped Tommy to stand up, and they entered Las Nevadas.
— Wanna eat, Tomathy? — Quackity smiled at him, knowing damn well Tommy doesn't like this nickname, and he punched Q in the shoulder. — I know you don't like my restaurant, but the fries we have are m-m-m! — he licked his mouths like he just ate something really tasty and stroke his belly, and Tommy laughed at this.
— I believe you, Big Q.
They came up to the doors, and Quackity just noticed the smashed windows.
— What a great goodbye present from a Wilbur Soot himself, — he said angrily.
Tommy scratched his head and said:
— Sorry, Big Q, I helped him to do this. I'm truly sorry, I will repair them, I promise!
— You better do, because this isn't the first time you guys do this and me repairing it instead of you or Foolish.
— Sorry, — Tommy said again.
— Stop saying "sorry", Tommy! It happened, whatever, you will just renew it and it'll be ok! Don't be sorry, you just lost your stupid ass brother, you don't have to be sorry for him and his bad impact on you. Now, let's go inside and take a seat you want, and I will make you something to eat. How 'bout fries?
Tommy nodded and went inside, already looking for a best seat. Quackity went to the kitchen, turned on the stove and poured fresh oil into a fry pan. Then he took the bag with fries and an ice cream bucket out of the freezer, and a bottle of milk from refrigerator.
— Gonna make you some milkshake while you're waiting. Which flavor do you like: blueberry, raspberry, banana, chocolate...
— I'll go with raspberry.
Quackity nodded to himself and started making a drink for the kid.
— Hey, Big Q, — started Tom, waiting for Q's "hm?", — you ever thought about death?
— Oh, I died once, — Quackity said a bit louder from the kitchen. — Not a good one, if you'll ask me. You know, the duel with Techno...
— Yeah, I know. But I'm talking about... suicide.
Quackity immediately stopped doing whatever he was up to. He turned around and looked at Tommy sadly.
— Tommy, don't say that you ever had these thoughts.
— Remember when me and Wil came to Las Nevadas for the first time? How you invited us to look around and we went up the penis tower?
— It's Space Noodle, Tommy.
— Uh... doesn't matter. So, remember when I came really close to the borders of the balcony and stepped out a bit? You asked me to go back then.
— Yes! You scared the shit out of me! Oh, sorry, I need to get fries out. Continue, please.
— I... I don't know, I got like... flashbacks from... from exile, — Tommy inhaled heavily and continued. — You know, Dream abused me in exile.
— He fucking WHAT?! — Quackity screamed, bashing the frying pan on the kitchen table.
— He used to torture me mentally every day. I can't even say what he has done! But... but you know, Big Q, I built something there. Something that Dream didn't ruin like everything else. I built a big, big tower, so big I couldn't even see anyone from there. And I wanted... — he started struggling with breathing, and Quackity took the cup and ran up to him.
— Shh, Tommy take a breath, here's your milkshake. Take a moment, calm down. He's not gonna do anything to you anymore, I promise, Tommy. I promise.
Tommy took a sip of a drink, calmed down a little and looked straight into Quackity's eye and said on one breath:
— I wanted to jump off of it and kill myself just to end this.
Quackity's eyes widened. He remembered the night he held this beautifully shimmering dagger, encrusted with emeralds, which was a gift from Foolish, at a very dangerous distance from his heart, already broken. This day he found out that Karl no longer remembers him and thinks that Quackity killed him.
Then he looked back at the day Slime died. He returned to his place with the thought of ending it all and taking both of his own remaining lives. He sat at his table, opened the bottle of whiskey and took the revolver, which he stole from Schlatt after his death, out of the table. Couple of sips, some pills he kept in the drawer for Fundy to help him sleep better, cocked the trigger, and... there was no bullets. He had a tantrum and cried himself to sleep, thinking that it was worst night he ever had.
Nobody ever asked him about this. Nobody cared how he feels. He just kept it to himself, because he had no one else to listen to him. And now he's not lonely, and he listened to what Tommy told him, feeling his pain of being lonely in this and having nobody here for you. Something in Quackity broke that day. He felt tears coming up.
— Holy shit, Tommy... I'm so, so sorry, — Quackity sat down and hugged Tommy lightly. Boy cried into his shoulder, while he patted him on the back. — I'm so sorry it happened, Tommy. Come on, don't be afraid to cry. It's ok now. I'm here, and you're here, we're both safe, you can relax.
— I am so scared of being alone now, Big Q... Please, promise me he wouldn't find me there. Promise that you'll be here always.
— I promise, — Quackity released him from his embrace, took him by the shoulders and, smiling softly, said: — you'll be safe here, I will not let him do anything to you.
Two of them were just sitting there and hugging each other with comfort, and both felt so relieved yet sad. Tommy finally felt himself safe since the prison encounter, even though Wilbur assumed that he will be safe now and Dream will stop hunting him down. Quackity finally felt himself not alone since Charlie's death.
Maybe it can be better from now on...
They hope so.